After speaking, Arthur pointed toward Thanatos lying inside the crater.
Receiving its master's promise, the Dark Moon Greatsword hummed happily before shooting forward.
A moment later—
the blade pierced directly through Thanatos's chest.
Thanatos slowly opened his pitch-black eyes.
A trace of disappointment flashed within them.
This body had already been reduced to the brink of collapse by Arthur's relentless magical bombardment.
Now, after taking another strike from the Dark Moon Greatsword, it was hanging by a thread.
Its life force was all but extinguished.
Of course—
this wasn't Thanatos's body.
Even if it collapsed completely, as long as it hadn't been entirely destroyed, Thanatos could still use it to launch an attack.
(Voldemort: THAT'S MY BODY! HAS ANYONE ASKED FOR MY OPINION?!)
Thanatos had hoped to use this opportunity to ambush Arthur.
Unfortunately, Arthur was far too cautious.
He never approached.
Standing at the edge of the crater, Arthur asked casually,
"What?"
"Out of tricks already?"
Truthfully, Thanatos had disappointed him.
A genuine god.
Yet throughout the entire battle, he had fought like a complete novice with almost no practical combat experience.
Aside from his mastery over death power—
the god behaved exactly like a second-rate villain from a low-budget movie.
And right on cue—
he started talking again.
Thanatos spoke calmly.
"Mortal."
"I admit that I underestimated your strength this time."
"But do not become arrogant."
"The next time we meet, you will not be so fortunate."
In Thanatos's eyes, his defeat stemmed entirely from the fact that his true body could not descend into the mortal world.
He had been unable to display his full power.
Secretly, he swore to himself.
If he ever discovered a way to descend into the mortal world with his true body—
or unleash his complete strength there—
he would tear Arthur apart piece by piece.
Arthur chuckled.
"The next time?"
"Let's talk about that after you actually find a way out of the Underworld."
Although Arthur didn't fully understand why gods were confined to subspaces, the System had already explained one thing.
A being like Thanatos would be rejected by the world itself the moment he fully descended into reality.
By the time Thanatos solved that problem—
Arthur suspected he'd already be killing gods as easily as slaughtering chickens.
Thanatos seemed to think of something.
A cold smile appeared on his face.
"Perhaps I cannot easily enter the mortal world."
"But that doesn't mean mortals won't come to the Underworld."
"Just wait."
"If I ever get my hands on the souls of your family or friends…"
"I'll torment them endlessly."
"Until the day we meet again."
Arthur's eyes narrowed slightly.
He possessed countless methods to extend the lives of those close to him.
Even if they died unexpectedly, he could resurrect them.
Still—
he found Thanatos's words extremely unpleasant.
Arthur stared at him coldly.
"Can I interpret that as a threat?"
Noticing Arthur's reaction, Thanatos sneered.
"And what if it is?"
"Mortals will always be mortals."
"Trying to touch the domain of death is your greatest act of foolishness."
"Do not mistake this temporary victory for true triumph."
"One day…"
"I will show you exactly why gods cannot be challenged."
Arthur had already grown tired of listening.
His hand seals shifted.
The Dark Moon Greatsword erupted with freezing power.
In an instant, Thanatos was completely encased in ice.
Even transformed into an ice statue, Thanatos could still perceive the outside world.
Arthur had deliberately left that ability intact.
Originally—
he wanted Thanatos to hear what came next.
"Honestly," Arthur said calmly,
"I never planned on bothering you."
"You stayed in the Underworld."
"I stayed in the mortal world."
"We had absolutely nothing to do with each other."
"But you insisted on causing trouble."
"And then you threatened my family and friends."
Arthur's voice gradually grew colder.
"In that case…"
"Don't blame me when I eventually march into the Underworld and kill you."
Thanatos paid no attention whatsoever.
He simply didn't believe Arthur could ever reach the Underworld.
In fact—
if Arthur somehow managed to arrive there, it would be perfect.
The Underworld was Thanatos's domain.
Within it, he could unleash his full strength.
Not only that—
he could command the power of the entire Underworld itself.
He absolutely refused to believe that a human who merely wielded death power could defeat him at full strength.
Naturally, Arthur didn't care whether Thanatos believed him.
He continued calmly.
"Remember this."
"The next time we meet…"
"I'll pierce your heart."
Then Arthur snapped his fingers.
Cracks instantly spread across the frozen Thanatos.
The ice statue shattered.
Countless fractures appeared before the entire structure collapsed into fine frozen powder.
This time—
Arthur completely destroyed Voldemort's soul.
Even the soul imprint itself was erased.
Not even Thanatos could resurrect him now.
The others standing nearby remained silent for a long time.
None of them could fully process what they had just witnessed.
Eventually, Harry spoke in disbelief.
"Arthur…"
"Did you just kill Death?"
"I would assume your eyesight hasn't deteriorated to the point where you can't distinguish reality."
"And you're wearing glasses, Mr. Potter."
Naturally, that comment came from Snape.
As always—
his tongue remained as poisonous as ever.
Among all the men present, Snape was perhaps the quickest to accept what had happened.
After all—
he was Arthur's teacher in name.
Having spent years around Arthur, Snape had already witnessed countless unbelievable miracles.
Long ago, he had formed an estimate of Arthur's capabilities.
Killing a god—
while shocking—
wasn't completely outside his expectations.
At that moment, Arthur walked back toward the group.
"To be precise," he explained,
"I only killed an upgraded version of Voldemort."
"Death never truly descended."
"It merely attached itself to Voldemort's body."
"What I destroyed was Voldemort."
"As for Death's consciousness…"
"It's already returned to the Underworld."
Clearly, Arthur had overheard Harry and Snape's conversation.
The group exchanged looks.
For some reason—
Arthur sounded disappointed.
Almost as though he regretted not killing Death itself.
Surely he wasn't actually planning to hunt down a god?
Hermione leapt into Arthur's arms.
The little witch looked up curiously.
"So what do we do next, Cousin?"
"Are we going to find trouble for that Death God?"
With her feline hearing, Hermione had heard every word exchanged between Arthur and Thanatos.
And truthfully—
she was curious.
Very curious.
The Underworld.
What did it actually look like?
If given the opportunity—
she very much wanted to accompany Arthur and see it for herself.
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