Death Knocks on Hell’s Door Chapter 34

Chapter 34 Farewell

The boundary of the Mediterranean trembled as if the very seabed were shaking. The pressure had reached a terrifying level, with rubble falling from the palace above, making it difficult to even stand.

The pressure of the deep sea was not something mere mortals could withstand. Water gods moved freely within their domains, just as humans walked on land, because the sea was entirely under their control, naturally allowing them to move effortlessly. But the foreign waters infused with Nordic divine power were different. They bore immense pressure. If the defense line were breached, there would be no space left for the water gods to survive.

Maintaining the barrier, holding back the assault with all the strength of the sea realm, was an extremely exhausting task. Not only did they have to endure immense pressure, but they also needed to continuously channel their divine power to reinforce the barrier. They were facing a force capable of annihilating an entire pantheon. Even though the attack that reached here was just a fragment of its full strength, it was still enough to pose a grave threat.

It was like the border guards fighting a protracted war of unknown duration, unable to see the end, yet never retreating.

Pantheons from around the world were engaged in this hard-fought struggle.

In mysterious Egypt, the god of the waters of primordial chaos, Nuun, raised his arms to block the invasion of the Nordic waters.

In China, the dragon kings of the West, South, and North each erected a Divine Sea-Pacifying Needle. However, the East Sea’s divine artifact was taken by Sun Wukong to become his Golden-Hooped Jade Scepter, leaving the East Sea temporarily without a magical tool. Fortunately, the Goddess of the Yangtze River and the God of Yellow River, lent their strength. Additionally, the Water God Gonggong provided support from the side, embodying the Chinese spirit of unity as strength. Thus, a great calamity passed unnoticed by mortals.

In Greece, Poseidon wielded his trident, leading three thousand water gods to maintain the barrier. While Egypt was in North Africa and China in East Asia, the Greek and the Norse pantheons both belonged to Europe. Although not in the same direction, their proximity made them the most affected, making it arguably the most dangerous place outside the main battlefield.

However, with great risk came great reward. Poseidon realized that as the Nordic gods continued to perish, he could absorb the unowned divine power and convert it into his own strength. Even though the process was troublesome, the power gained was real and tangible.

It was a gift from the will of the world to the gods who protected it.

That fool Zeus had scornfully refused to lend a hand, missing out on an opportunity that could have rapidly increased his power.

While all the water gods were focused on stabilizing the barrier, Poseidon suddenly heard the familiar sound of a conch shell.

It was Venus calling him.

Poseidon immediately withdrew his hand, turned, and began to walk out.

As he withdrew his divine power, the other water gods immediately felt the increased pressure. A large number of weaker gods couldn’t hold on and collapsed to the ground, some even spitting blood.

“Your Majesty!” Thetis called out to stop him.

Poseidon paused for a moment, then continued walking with steady strides, his voice cold. “This is the last time.”

Forest. Treehouse.

The soft, pink-tipped nails left a deep scratch across Adonis’ back, his golden hair disheveled on the pillow. His snow-white skin flushed with a faint red hue. The golden-haired youth trembled, his long, butterfly-like eyelashes fluttering as his luscious lips parted in soft, melodic gasps.

Afterward, Venus lay on Adonis’ chest, his emerald green eyes gazing at him. “Adonis, are you upset today?”

Venus had originally intended to complain about the mess Ares had caused by barging into his chambers, but noticing that Adonis seemed in a bad mood, he decided against bringing up such bothersome matters.

……It wasn’t exactly that Adonis was in a bad mood. Venus could sense that something was off, so he thoughtfully said, “Let’s not do anything else today.”

He was always asking Adonis to indulge his own desires, but he couldn’t just think of himself all the time. Venus assumed that Adonis wasn’t in the mood for that sort of thing, so he planned to spend the day simply helping Adonis relax.

But Adonis misunderstood his meaning and simply said, “Alright.”

Then, he pulled him onto the bed and got straight to the point, skipping the usual routine of chatting, walking, singing, and dancing. Truly, it was a case of “not doing anything else.”

Venus: “……” When he said “not do anything else,” he meant Adonis didn’t have to do anything. Was Adonis misunderstanding?

From this, it seemed that Adonis was actually in a very good mood, better than ever before.

Venus almost couldn’t get out of bed.

He didn’t get out of bed either. He lazily lay on Adonis’ body, but still felt something was not quite right.

Adonis wasn’t happy.

“If you’re having any trouble, you can always tell me,” Venus said. “I’m a god, I can help you.”

Adonis gently stroked his hair. “I’m fine.”

There was nothing Venus could do about the matters beneath the sea. As the God of Love and Beauty, he wasn’t skilled in defense or combat. He was simply not the type of god suited for hardship. Poseidon had no intention of bringing Venus to the perilous sea. The pressure at the deep-sea boundary was already so intense that Venus would collapse the moment he stepped in. He could never let him stay on the front lines. To protect him from falling into danger, he also wasn’t planning to reveal his true identity to him.

The reason he wasn’t happy was because the situation in the sea was critical. He could no longer leave so often, and there would be a long period of time where he wouldn’t see Venus.

And leaving the grown Venus surrounded by wolves in Olympus, the consequences were easy to imagine.

Poseidon even considered using a chastity spell on Venus, much like a husband leaving for a long journey and locking his wife’s chastity belt to prevent her from being with other men. That way, Venus would belong completely to him.

Using such a spell on Venus would be like forcibly suppressing his divine nature, as if casting a water god into a sea of fire to be scorched.

Water and fire could not coexist, and fire was a torture for Poseidon. The chastity spell, for Venus, would be a cruel punishment that could last for centuries.

His obsessive, violent nature was part of his divine essence, and his demand for a perfect lover was no less so. In order for Venus to remain perfect, Poseidon felt he should not consider whether this would cause him pain.

If he didn’t cast the chastity spell, he would be betraying his own divine nature. If he did cast it, he would be suppressing Venus’ divine nature.

Given Poseidon’s obsessive and selfish character, he was never one to sacrifice himself for others.

Yet, gentleness and selflessness were also part of the God of Sea’s nature.

He had spent over a century showing Venus his gentle side, offering him companionship.

A cruel thought flashed briefly in his mind, but he found that he couldn’t bring himself to act on it.

In the end, the gentle divine nature that belonged to Adonis won out. He didn’t subject Venus to such a punishment, which meant he was implicitly accepting that Venus might—no, would—be involved with other men.

As for how furious he would become later, and how he might take his vengeance on Venus…… what did that have to do with the current Adonis? Anyway, whenever he saw Venus, he couldn’t bring himself to be angry. There was no violence in his heart, and he couldn’t bring himself to act on any impulse to hurt her.

At most…… he would just sulk, like he was now.

The God of Sea’s dual divinity was akin to a human’s dual personality. The difference was that a human’s personalities could be seen as entirely separate entities, while his two divine natures, though contradictory, existed together as one. Each aspect was truly a part of him. Now, Poseidon was contemplating how to make the identity of Adonis disappear before Venus, in a way that would seem plausible.

He decided to stage an accident, an attack by wild beasts that would end in death.

Since Venus treated getting into bed as casually as eating a meal, Poseidon intended to make Adonis a dish that would remain in his thoughts, the one he had never had enough of. He would make sure Venus always remembered it as a perfect, beautiful dish, one he could never have again.

No matter how many delicacies Venus tasted afterward, none of them would surpass the memory of Adonis. He would lose interest in any man who wasn’t him, and the best outcome would be for him to be unable to enjoy anyone else at all.

Even if he couldn’t be his only one, he would be the most unforgettable, the most irreplaceable.

Even if he disappeared for hundreds of years, he couldn’t let Venus forget him.

Adonis got out of bed and changed into his hunting attire. “I’m going to hunt in the forest.”

“Now?” Venus froze for a moment, his heart suddenly pounding in his chest as an unsettling sense of foreboding washed over him.

He wasn’t a God of Prophecy who could foresee what would happen, but his sudden sixth sense left him feeling uneasy.

Venus quickly got out of bed and wrapped his arms around Adonis from behind. “Can we not go? I just feel…… like there’s danger in the forest.”

Adonis gently pried his hands away. “I hunt in the forest every day. I’m experienced. How could I run into danger?”

“But……” Venus couldn’t explain why he felt this way. He hurriedly changed into his own clothes. “Then let’s go together.”

Adonis didn’t refuse.

Outside, hidden behind a large tree, Ares watched as Venus and Adonis finally emerged from the house, both dressed in different clothes. They must have been doing something shameful in the house.

Ares clenched his fists tightly, gritting his teeth.

He had secretly followed Venus down the mountain and saw him meeting this mortal. They embraced and kissed upon meeting, then went into the house together, only coming out hours later.

Venus had never shown him such a sweet smile.

Who was that wild man to deserve such affection?

Ares had inherited Hera’s jealousy, and for any rival who posed a threat, he was determined to eliminate them completely.

A vicious plan took shape in his mind.

With that inexplicable sense of foreboding, Venus stayed close to Adonis, almost never leaving his side.

But the strong, youthful man walked quickly, and before long, he had pulled a fair distance ahead of Venus.

“Adonis, wait for me,” Venus couldn’t help but call out.

“Hurry up, Venus,” Adonis replied, unusually not stopping to wait for him. “If it gets dark, we won’t be able to see the prey.”

Venus had no choice but to push through his unease and follow, constantly looking around nervously.

Ares seized the moment, transforming into a wild boar and silently sneaking through the forest toward Adonis.

Adonis, staring at the seemingly normal patch of grass, gave a mocking glance.

As one of the strongest among the third generation of gods, he could easily see through Ares’ true form, a fourth-generation god disguised as a wild boar.

The only reason his nephew would appear here was because he coveted Venus. There was no other explanation.

Had he turned into a wild boar and approached him secretly out of jealousy, intending to kill him?

Just like his mother Hera, Ares was ruthless, resorting to such crude methods.

At least it saved him the trouble of creating an accident.

But the God of Sea’s thirst for revenge was strong. Even if he used Ares to achieve his goal, it didn’t mean he would ignore Ares’ intent to kill him.

Adonis drew his bow and notched an arrow, shooting it at the grass with lightning speed, hitting the exact spot where Ares was creeping toward him.

Ares, hidden in the grass and waiting for the right moment, let out a painful scream. “Raaaah!!”

How could this be? He had suppressed his presence so carefully. How could such a weak mortal have sensed his position so keenly? If that arrow had been even slightly off, he would have died on the spot!

The excruciating pain turned Ares’ jealousy into pure hatred. He charged out of the grass, heading straight for Adonis.

Venus, not far away, screamed in terror, “Adonis, be careful!”

But Adonis, facing the wild boar’s direct assault, remained eerily calm. He watched the enraged boar charge at him, its sharp tusks reflecting in his golden eyes. His expression didn’t change, and with a smile, he calmly dropped his bow and arrow.

The coward’s so frightened that he even dropped his weapon, Ares thought disdainfully. He couldn’t understand how someone like this could win Venus’ favor.

Just as the wild boar’s tusks were about to pierce Adonis’ abdomen, the blue-haired god vanished at lightning speed, blending into the jungle. Only a lifeless shell remained in place.

Even Ares, who was so close, didn’t notice anything wrong. He smirked as he watched the lifeless mortal, then ran into the forest, transforming back into his human form. He grabbed the arrow still lodged in his abdomen and staggered back to Olympus, where he would need to tend to his wound.

He still had to deal with the arrow injury on his body.

In the forest, Venus watched in horror as the wild boar’s tusks pierced through Adonis’ body, blooming a blood-red flower in his abdomen.

“Adonis!” Venus’ scream was heart-wrenching.

He rushed toward him, losing his shoe in the process. Thorns and sharp stones cut into his bare feet, and the thorns of a white rose pierced his delicate skin. Venus ignored the pain and ran towards Adonis’ body with all his might.

The blood dripping from his feet stained the earth, and where he ran, vibrant red roses bloomed, blending with the white roses that had turned crimson from the blood, creating a stark, heartbreaking sight.

Venus reached Adonis’ side and knelt, unable to believe that the Adonis he had been talking and laughing with just moments ago now lay here, cold and silent.

He held Adonis in his arms, kissed his pale cheek, and tears streamed down his face. “Adonis, wake up, don’t scare me. I told you there was danger in the forest, why didn’t you listen? Why did you walk so fast? You could have been fine……” Venus seemed on the verge of breaking down.

Poseidon wavered for a moment, wanting to step out and tell him that he was unharmed. But it wouldn’t change anything. He couldn’t bring Venus to the depths of the sea, nor could he remain on Mount Olympus forever. Venus moving on to another lover was inevitable. With Adonis dead, Venus would remember him for centuries. If Adonis were still alive, however, Venus would soon forget him and treat him like any other past lover.

What Poseidon wanted was for Venus to be deeply and irrevocably attached to him. His body might not be his alone for now, but his heart would forever belong to him.

Poseidon’s gaze turned cold, his gentle divine nature replaced by obsession. The brief flicker of guilt vanished, and his heart grew cold and hard again.

“I haven’t finished listening to the story you told last time. It was written in Chinese characters, which I can’t understand. It’s really frustrating to hear only half of a story without knowing how it ends, you know? You could have at least told me the ending before you died.” Thinking of this, Venus was overwhelmed with sorrow and cried even more pitifully.

Poseidon, who had been hiding behind a tree, debating whether to step out and comfort him: “……”

This heartless little thing.

What exactly was he feeling guilty for?

No matter how much Venus pleaded, Adonis kept his eyes tightly shut, never to look at him with those warm eyes again.

Venus realized that what he was holding in his arms was nothing but an empty shell.

Once he understood this, he stood up decisively, wiping away his tears. “I will go to the underworld. I will bring Adonis’ soul back.”

Heartbroken, the God of Love hurriedly left the forest, determined to bring his beloved back from the underworld.

After Venus departed, Poseidon silently stepped out from behind the tree.

He gazed for a long time at the direction in which Venus had gone. Plucking a red rose from the ground, he gently sniffed its fragrance before tucking it into his chest. Then, he turned and headed into the sea.

Author’s Note: 【Reference Materials】

Among Venus’ many lovers, Adonis was said to be her greatest love. The God of War, Ares, could not tolerate Venus’ passionate affection for the young, handsome Adonis. In a fit of jealousy, he transformed into a wild boar and killed the young man. (Another version of the story states that the wild boar was released by the Goddess of the Hunt, Artemis, as Adonis had boasted to be a better hunter than her.)

Upon hearing the news, Venus rushed to save him. Along the way, the thorns of white roses pierced her bare feet, and her blood dripped onto the earth. Wherever she ran, crimson roses bloomed, and that is how the red rose came to be.

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