“Will.” Chiffon hugged William tightly as soon as she laid her eyes on him. “I missed you.”
“I missed you too,” William replied as he hugged Chiffon just as tightly as she was holding him. “This time I came here to take you back to the Surface World. Are you ready?”
Chiffon nodded. “Un!”
Although she believed that it was not going to be easy, she believed that her husband would be able to bring them back to the World of the Living, where they would be able to be with him under the sun.
Maple and Cinnamon glanced at each other before running over to hug William and Chiffon as well.
Adephagia wiped the tears in her eyes with a handkerchief, while Erinys simply looked at this scene with a smile.
“Go,” Adephagia said softly as she patted Chiffon’s head. “Be happy, okay?”
“Yes,” Chiffon replied as she gave her Patron Goddess a hug. “Thank you for everything, Mama Adephagia.”
“You’re welcome,” Adephagia smiled. “Now, go. Thanatos has been cranky as of late. The sooner you leave the Underworld, the sooner I’ll be able to breathe easy.”
Chiffon nodded as she held William’s hand.
The Half-Elf bid Adephagia goodbye and led everyone along the path that they had used earlier. Only when they were safely aboard Erinys’ flying boat did they all breathe a sigh of relief.
“Our next stop is Lust’s Abode,” Erinys said with a worried expression on her face. “Because I can no longer use the routes that are meant for a Ferryman of the Underworld, we will have to take a long detour. But, even then, that place might have someone guarding it as well.
“Will, I want you to prepare for the possibility of us being discovered. When that happens, we will no longer hesitate and bulldoze our way to the other layers of hell in order to escape this place.”
The Half-Elf nodded in understanding. He had already prepared himself for the possibility of getting discovered, so he had already prepared himself to fight his way out of the Underworld if need be.
According to Erinys, there was only one way to leave the Underworld and that was to go up the Stairway that led to the Gates of Heaven.
This was the same stairway that William had used to take Erinys away from the Underworld, causing the rift between him and the God of Death, who was also the Half-ling’s father.
Several hours later, the flying ship finally arrived at the border of Lust’s Abode. However, Erinys didn’t dare urge the ship forward because the entire place was guarded by thousands of beasts, some of them having wings in order to patrol the skies of Lusts Abode.
“This is worse than I thought,” Erinys said as she looked helplessly at the countless monsters in front of them.
William frowned because this was indeed not good for their rescue operation. Unlike Gluttony’s Paradise where the defenders were mostly stationed at the gates of the Palace, the defenders this time were all over the place.
There was no gap they could exploit, making the Half-Elf’s frown deepen.
Even Maple and Cinnamon didn’t know what should be done in this situation, as they sat beside Chiffon on the bed, and hugged her from both sides.
Just as William, and Erinys were thinking of other options, they noticed a small carriage in the distance that was headed towards the Gates of Lust’s abode.
Erinys, who immediately recognized the flag that was waving on top of the carriage, immediately grabbed hold of William’s hand before saying “This is it!”
Without another word, the Half-ling urged the flying ship to land on the road, and block the path of the carriage completely, making it come to a complete stop.
“Who dares to block our way?!” an Anteater Lady asked. “Don’t you know who is inside of this carriage? How dare you block Lord Kazo? Do you want to face the wrath of our fan club?!”
A dozen Anteaters emerged from the carriage and glared hatefully at the flying ship that was blocking their path. They had worked hard in order to trick– errr… convince Lord Kazo to accompany them to Lust’s Abode for sightseeing purposes, when in fact, they planned to make baby anteaters with the most popular star in the Underworld.
“It’s me, Diana!” Erinys jumped off the ship, making the Anteaters on the carriage all jump up in surprise.
“It’s the President!” the Anteater whose name was Diana exclaimed happily. “Good to see you, President! All of us have missed you!”
Diana was the Vice President of the I Love Kazo Fans Club, which Erinys had founded in the Underworld. Because of Erinys’ backing, the Fanclub grew in popularity and most of its members were Lady Anteaters who had fallen in love with the rainbow-colored Anteater that had taken the Underworld by storm.
“President! Where have you been?”
“President, we have recorded Lord Kazo’s latest soundtrack. Don’t worry, we also managed to have it signed!”
“President, there will be another live concert next month, will you be able to come and watch it?”
pAnDa (nov)e1 The Anteaters all encircled Erinys and happily asked how she was doing. When the club was just founded, it was the Half-ling who had taken good care of her members, and because of this, everyone in the club adored her.
“Ah, it’s you, Erinys,” Kasogonaga stepped out of the carriage with a smile. “Is Will perhaps with you?”
The rainbow-colored Anteater was wearing black sunglasses, and clothes similar to what Elvis Prestey wore when he was still alive, which made him stand out from the crowd.
“I am here,” William said as he landed in front of his Anteater friend. “It has been a while, Kasogonaga.”
“I knew you’d be back sooner or later, Will,” Kasogonaga replied with a smile. “Do you know? You are on a wanted poster that has been spread all over the Underworld. Anyone who catches you will be given a chance to enter the Cycle of Reincarnation with the ideal life of their choosing. For most of the residents of the Underworld, it is a once in a lifetime chance, so make sure to not let yourself get caught, okay?”
William nodded before telling Kasogonaga the current situation.
A few minutes later, the rainbow-colored Anteater nodded his head in understanding.
“Let me get this straight,” Kasosonga said. “You want me to look for your wives in Lust’s Abode and tell them to try to leave the gates using Princess Sidonie’s powerful charm, right?”
William nodded. “As long as she is able to charm everyone, they will be able to leave without too much problem.”
Kasogonaga agreed to this plan, and climbed back into his carriage, along with the other Anteaters.
Due to his popularity, Kasogonaga, and his entourage could go just about anywhere in the Underworld.
William, Erinys, and Chiffon watched with bated breath as the carriage made its way to the gates of Lust’s Abode.
Because they had been concentrating so hard on Kasogonaga’s carriage, they were unable to see a single flying ship that was hovering in the air, a kilometer behind them.
“So, you’re back, Erinys,” Calli said softly.
Erinys had been her best friend for many years, and she could recognize the Half-ling’s flying ship a mile away.
Right now, Calli was hesitating if she should inform the God of Death that his daughter had returned to the Underworld, or keep this information to herself, allowing her best friend to pursue the happiness she had yearned for all of her life.
