"Say it. How do you plan to torment your teacher this time?"
Having arrived in the temple hall and sat down, Goddess Hecate, dressed in a black long skirt, crossed her arms in front of her body and crossed her legs.
Her beautiful red eyes glared at Jason before her.
Her expression appeared somewhat impatient, but more so helpless.
There was no helping it. Who let her end up with such a wayward disciple?
"Eh, Teacher, do not say it like that. How could I possibly torment you..." Before Jason could finish speaking,
"You are not tormenting me? Then I will leave." Saying this, Hecate prepared to stand up and depart.
"No no no, I will continue tormenting you then." After Jason subconsciously replied, he was grabbed by Hecate, who had turned and glared at him, and subjected to a fierce round of torment.
"Teacher, this is called entrapment." Jason looked somewhat depressed at Hecate before him, who had instantly improved her mood after tormenting him.
He then told Hecate about his plan to offer tribute to Underworld King Hades and Underworld Queen Persephone.
And Hecate naturally knew about this matter... Or rather, many of the underworld's gods now knew.
Furthermore, along with the matter of Jason offering tribute to the gods, it was gradually spreading in the underworld.
Having heard what tribute Jason offered to Artemis and Apollo and the others, and having witnessed the process of Jason bringing his senior brother out of the underworld.
Now the gods of the underworld were all anticipating how Jason would proceed.
"Their wedding, right... I know that. Say it. What do you need me to help you with?"
"Actually, you do not need to do anything right now, Teacher. Because this is the tribute I am offering them, and there is plenty of time, so I just wanted to tell you... And also, Teacher, you absolutely must not tell Sister Persephone, otherwise the surprise will be ruined!"
For such a small request, Hecate naturally had no reason to refuse.
So after nodding, she thought for a moment, then asked Jason somewhat curiously: "Then this wedding... What was it called again... Oh right, is it romantic?"
"Of course. This time, I will definitely give Brother-in-law Hades and Sister Persephone an unforgettable wedding experience!"
Jason nodded, vowing solemnly.
And seeing Jason like this, Hecate recalled the series of effects after Jason offered tribute to Artemis last time...
"You should still take it easy."
Hecate could not help but say to Jason: "Do not forget, there are still several gods you need to offer tribute to afterward."
"I know... But I still plan to give it my all."
Jason shook his head at Hecate and said seriously: "After all, Brother-in-law Hades and Sister Persephone have helped me a lot all along..."
"And what about me?" Hecate subconsciously followed up.
"You, Teacher?" Jason was stunned, looking at the beautiful goddess before him, then could not help but smile.
"Right, Teacher. I heard that Cerberus was locked up in the abyss... Is that true?"
Hecate looked at Jason, who was changing the subject, her brows furrowing. Right now, she really wanted to pry open his head and see what exactly he was thinking.
But she soon gave up and said: "Yes. Because the Underworld King was reluctant to punish you, he used it as a scapegoat."
"Mm... Teacher, do you know how I can save it?"
"You want to save it?" Hecate looked at Jason.
"I do not care about it. I am afraid that after it is released, the next time it sees me, it will come bite me." Jason spread his hands, expressing helplessness.
Besides, this was originally his fault anyway.
"Then go find the Underworld King yourself. It is no use coming to me."
"Alright, I will go find Brother-in-law Hades in a bit."
Jason nodded, and then the two fell into a silent gaze at each other for a period of time.
"...Wait, that is it?"
"Huh?" Jason looked puzzled at the somewhat surprised Hecate.
"Nothing else?" Hecate added.
"Mm..." Jason thought for a moment. "It seems there is nothing else."
"You came to find me just for this trivial matter?!" Hecate's face darkened.
"Why can I not come find you, Teacher, if there is nothing?"
Jason replied with evident surprise, then smiled at Hecate again and said: "Besides, the main reason I came here is because I missed you, Teacher."
After a period of reunion, Jason then left Hecate's temple and headed to Underworld King Hades.
Hecate did not follow, sending Jason off with a single sentence about needing to do an experiment.
And under the accompaniment of underworld butterflies, Jason in white clothes arrived safely before Underworld King Hades.
Although Hades was the Underworld King and lord of the underworld, in reality he was very idle.
There were many matters in the underworld, but he was neither the god of death nor the judge. All the large and small affairs in the underworld were handled by specialized gods.
Hades was just as his title suggested: merely the master of the underworld.
Upon seeing Underworld King Hades, Jason stated his purpose.
"I handed Cerberus's punishment over to the Three Goddesses of Vengeance... Almost all the punishments in the underworld, large and small, are carried out by them. Go find them. They will tell you about Cerberus."
And as if Hades had long anticipated that Jason would come to him for this matter, he quickly gave his answer.
"I see. Got it, Brother-in-law Hades... Right, Brother-in-law Hades, do you have any way for me to freely cross the River of Pain?"
Jason then relayed the ferryman Charon's words to Hades.
Hearing this, Hades thought for a moment.
"I remember you have a pegasus, right?"
"Mm." Jason nodded. "It was lent to me by Lord Poseidon and Goddess Hestia."
"Wait for me a moment."
With that, Hades left the temple.
After a period of time, the returning Hades held a black bridle in his hand.
"This is the bridle of my war horse. I am giving it to you now."
Hades said this, handing the bridle to Jason, and explained: "Next time you come to the underworld, put this bridle on that pegasus. It will then have the right to freely enter and exit the underworld and to fly in the skies above the underworld."
Jason did not stand on ceremony and accepted the black bridle from Hades.
After all, this was now his brother-in-law.
Hades then had one of the nymphs in his temple lead Jason to the place where the Three Goddesses of Vengeance were located.
The Three Goddesses of Vengeance were, respectively, Alecto the Goddess of Unrest, Megaera the Goddess of Jealousy, and Tisiphone the Goddess of Retribution.
They had wings on their shoulders. On the earth, they pursued murderers (especially those who committed fratricide), tormenting their consciences, driving them mad.
And in the underworld, they were responsible for executing punishments on the sinful departed souls.
These three deities could travel between the human world and the underworld, just like the gods' messenger Hermes.
They punished all injustices and wrongs, sparing no one.
They were filled with anger, merciless and cruel, using "punishment" as the means to maintain order.
But at the same time, they were faithful to their mission, upholding the absoluteness of order with their awe-inspiring divinity. They were the most feared deities among the Greeks.
When Jason arrived before them, before he could say anything to them, they recognized Jason and knew his purpose.
After all, a youth in white clothes, accompanied by underworld butterflies, with golden hair and blue eyes.
Such distinctiveness was far too high.
"Jason, child of the Goddess of Crossroads Hecate from the human world, the three-headed hellhound Cerberus you seek is not with us right now."
Thus, the Goddess of Unrest Alecto stepped forward, gazing at Jason before her, and said: "It is now in the endless abyss, and the great primordial deity, the God of the Abyss Tartarus, is waiting for your arrival within the abyss."
Hearing this, Jason could not help but be stunned.
"This is also punishment for you, child of Hecate."
The Goddess of Jealousy Megaera then stepped forward and said to Jason: "You disrupted the order of the underworld. Even though this was with the permission of Underworld King Hades, and you were not the mastermind, you were still one of those who disrupted the order."
"Therefore, you must go to the endless abyss and bring the three-headed hellhound Cerberus out from within."
And then the last goddess, the Goddess of Retribution Tisiphone, stepped forward and said to Jason: "When you bring out Cerberus, we will acknowledge you... And the gods of the underworld will truly acknowledge you."
After hearing the words of the Three Goddesses of Vengeance, Jason suddenly understood.
He understood the reason why Hecate and Hades had suddenly let him act alone today. Probably... They had long anticipated this situation.
And heading to the endless abyss, where even the concept of time seemed absent, to bring out the three-headed hellhound Cerberus imprisoned inside.
Such a punishment was actually not minor.
Because it must be known that in the abyss of Tartarus were imprisoned numerous powerful gods, who had no chance of ever coming out, demonstrating the might of the God of the Abyss Tartarus.
After all, this was one of the five primordial deities.
And because Hecate's actions back then were extremely concealed, and few gods knew about the demon spear, naturally no one would know that Jason had actually already gone to the endless abyss of Tartarus under Hecate's lead.
Hades could feel at ease, probably because Hecate had secretly indicated as much to him, telling him not to worry.
"I understand, great three goddesses."
Coming back to his senses, Jason revealed a shallow smile and said to the Three Goddesses of Vengeance: "I am willing to accept this punishment."
With that, under the surprised gazes of the Three Goddesses of Vengeance, Jason walked into the endless abyss with a calm face, utterly fearless, and was swallowed by it.
"...He just went in like that?" The youngest, the Goddess of Retribution Tisiphone, turned her head, looking surprised at her two sisters.
She then discovered that they were equally surprised.
"Should I say, as expected of the child who has recently gained the most fame among the gods and is valued by numerous deities."
The second sister, the Goddess of Jealousy Megaera, said with an admiring face: "Just this courage alone is enough to prove his qualifications!"
"Then should we help a little?" The youngest, the Goddess of Retribution Tisiphone, could not help but ask: "If he goes in and cannot come out..."
"...Let us watch a bit more."
The eldest sister, the Goddess of Unrest Alecto, spoke last and said: "If he has not come out within a month's time, we will go in and beseech the God of the Abyss to spare this child... A month's punishment is sufficient."
Hearing their eldest sister's words, the other two goddesses looked at each other and nodded in agreement with this proposal.
And what they did not know was that just as their conversation ended, when Jason had only just entered this endless abyss...
"Child of Hecate, you have come again."
The embodiment of the endless abyss, one of the great primordial deities, the God of the Abyss Tartarus, transformed into a white-haired elder and came before Jason.
And regarding Tartarus's arrival, Jason was not surprised.
After respectfully saluting him, Jason said: "Great primordial deity, it has been a long time since we last met, Lord Tartarus. This time I came..."
"You came for that little dog, right? I know."
With that, Tartarus gently waved his hand.
In the next moment, the three-headed hellhound Cerberus, with all three heads in a state of utter confusion, appeared before Jason.