Chapter 137: The Dark Death Star and the Breath of the Abyss
Inside the vast expanse of the starry cosmos.
A streak of crimson and a streak of white flashed past at breakneck speed, leaving ripples of distorted space in their wake. In the blink of an eye, they had already cleared the boundaries of the solar system.
The three Seraphs trailed closely behind, refusing to give them a single moment to breathe. With their six pairs of grand angelic wings fully unfurled, they pushed their flight speed to the absolute limit.
Finally—
The moment the two fugitives plunged into an unknown planet blanketed in shadows, the Seraphs came to a sudden halt.
"The planet ahead is the Dark Death Star," Sariel, the noticeably petite angel among the three, murmured with a slight frown. "Do we keep pursuing?"
"Lock down the surrounding space first and wait for Lord Zeus," Metatron, leading the vanguard, ordered with a firm nod. He signaled the angelic legion to scatter, weaving a massive, grid-like array to completely blockade the Dark Death Star.
The third Seraph, Mael, didn't bother joining the formation. Instead, he quietly sent a private message to Sariel.
"Are we seriously going to keep tagging along for this?"
They belonged to the Eighth and Second Angelic Corps, respectively. Unlike Metatron, who was a specialized boundary angel, they weren't actually Zeus's direct subordinates.
This entire trip was simply because they had received an oracle from the Primary Deities to investigate a strange Dark Death Star that had suddenly appeared near the solar system. Out of basic courtesy, they had paid a formal visit to the local overseer, which happened to be Zeus.
Through a bizarre twist of fate, they had ended up getting dragged into his sudden manhunt. After all, the rules of the Pantheon explicitly stated that whenever a rogue, external deity was encountered, all neighboring gods were obligated to join the conflict.
"Let's just sit tight and see how things play out," Sariel replied, completely unbothered. "Anyway, our task is only to investigate. If there's any danger, we leave immediately."
He already held a pretty low opinion of Zeus, and getting randomly dragged into a massive brawl left him in a sour mood. He had zero interest in playing a part in Zeus's personal feud against these outside gods.
Besides, even if they won, they wouldn't see a single drop of the rewards. There was no point in putting their lives on the line for a guy like him.
Seeing her point, Mael instantly caught on. He immediately slacked off, choosing to watch the show from the sidelines while they waited for Zeus to make his grand entrance.
Meanwhile, Shirazawa and Shiro had already cut through the dense atmospheric layer of the Dark Death Star, touching down on its surface.
The interior of the planet was an entirely different world.
"And here I thought a planet this pitch-black on the outside wouldn't have a single internal light source. Turns out it was just blocked out by the heavy atmosphere," Shirazawa remarked, hovering in mid-air as he looked down, a flicker of genuine surprise crossing his eyes.
The Dark Death Star possessed no oceans. Rugged, jagged mountain ranges tore through the entire planet's crust, and every corner of the landscape was heavily suffused with the distinct stench of death.
Blistering lava welled up from massive fissures in the earth, looking terrifying and scalding hot. Colossal rivers of molten rock, birthed from countless erupting volcanoes, surged across the terrain like a pack of ravaging beasts, painting a picture of pure destruction. The light source Shirazawa had noticed was coming entirely from the glow of these massive lava rivers.
The whole place looked exactly like a vision of hell, which honestly made the couple feel right at home.
"Aze, it feels almost exactly like we're back in the Middle Stratum of the labyrinth. Talk about a wave of nostalgia," Shiro said, her eyes narrowing as she took in the sight with a cheerful smile.
"Are you sure you aren't just feeling nostalgic about eating those massive seahorse catfish?" Shirazawa teased with a playful grin.
"Pfft, absolutely not!"
Shiro rolled her eyes. Sure, the catfish had tasted decent back then, but that was strictly by the horrific standards of labyrinth wildlife. Now that her palate had been thoroughly spoiled by an endless stream of exquisite gourmet food, she looked down on those basic catfish. Though, if it were one of those massive labyrinth eels, she might actually consider it. After all, those things were pretty rare, and their meat was incredibly tender, smooth, and delicious beyond belief.
Oh no, oh no. The more she thought about it, the hungrier she got. She needed to stop torturing her brain.
"Let's go. Let's find a solid spot to set up some traps," Shirazawa said, taking her hand as they stepped down onto the solid ground of the Dark Death Star.
"Yeah," Shiro murmured softly, cutely leaning her shoulder against his arm.
As a spider, her core combat methodology had always revolved around setting up meticulous traps well in advance. Plan everything out thoroughly, sit back, and quietly wait for the prey to walk right into the spider's web—that was the ultimate way to ensure the enemy died without even a place to bury their bones.
"It's honestly pretty weird that a planet like this actually has breathable oxygen," Shiro noted, glancing around at their surroundings.
The universe was truly a massive place packed with endless anomalies.
"Can you feel the dark elements lingering in the air?" Shirazawa asked. "The density is honestly a bit ridiculous."
He was genuinely starting to suspect whether this location shared some kind of underground connection to the Underworld. After all, D's absolute specialty lay in darkness and abyssal magic. With the dark elements here being this over-the-top, it was highly probable that this place was some kind of forgotten inheritance she had left behind.
Especially when you paired it with the hellish landscape all around them, it was incredibly easy to let one's imagination run wild. If a few high-tier demons randomly spawned right now, the aesthetic would be completely seamless.
Shiro, however, didn't let her thoughts drift too far, mostly because her attention was suddenly locked onto something in the far distance. Concealed deep within the heavy shadows, something felt like it was hiding, practically begging them to take a closer look.
Following the line of her gaze, Shirazawa's expression instantly turned heavy and solemn.
A colossal, abyssal chasm that looked like it practically split the entire planet in half ran across the surface of the world. The bottom of the canyon was an absolute void of pure blackness, and every now and then, a bizarre, haunting wail would echo up from the depths, sending a primal shiver down the spine.
A classic line instantly echoed in both of their minds: *When you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss also gazes into you.*
"Darling, how about we just pull a runner for now? We can always harvest those chicken wings another day," the naturally cautious Shiro said, a layer of genuine worry settling over her.
She couldn't shake the nagging feeling that they had accidentally stumbled headfirst into some massive, cosmic conspiracy between gods and demons. Her real life had only just begun, and she hadn't even gotten a chance to pop out a bunch of cute little baby spiders with Shirazawa yet. She had absolutely zero desire to die an early, tragic death. A divine war of that scale simply wasn't something they could casually meddle in.
The corner of Shirazawa's mouth lifted into a gentle smile. He reached out and lightly tapped her head, soothing her sudden panic. "What is there to be scared of? You've got your husband right here."
"Besides, the energy reserves back in the alternate world are completely dried up. If we want to break through to the Middle God tier, we have to find an alternative path. This place right here might just be our ultimate opportunity."
He locked his gaze onto the abyssal trench, a brilliant glint flashing through his eyes.
Hearing his explanation, Shiro's face softened into a deeply conflicted pout.
True affection was honestly the most brutal thing in the universe. The moment you developed genuine feelings, you automatically gained a weakness, and with a weakness came endless worries.
Their current dynamic was practically identical to those childhood friends, Asaka and Kunihiko. The young girl simply wanted to find a peaceful, quiet corner of the world to live out a stable life, while the young man was fueled by a massive fire of ambition, wanting to carve out his own legendary legacy across the cosmos. It was a classic clash of entirely opposing philosophies.
In a situation like this, someone eventually had to learn the art of compromise.
Shiro let out a frustrated sigh, ruffling her own hair. "Ugh, fine. Let's do it."
Shirazawa let out a soft laugh, reaching over to playfully pinch her soft cheek. "No sighing allowed. It brings bad luck."
"Fine~" Shiro mumbled, her long eyelashes fluttering low as she tried to hide the lingering knot of anxiety resting deep in her chest.
The pair touched down on the rocky terrain, searching for a prime piece of real estate to stage the upcoming brawl.
To Shiro's absolute surprise, Shirazawa immediately focused all his energy on constructing a massive, high-tier interdimensional escape array, while Shiro herself was busy laying down a massive dark magic circle to welcome the oncoming army.
Catching each other in the act, the two of them shared a knowing, heartfelt smile. They were both quietly making compromises for one another, adjusting their plans to accommodate the other's comfort, facing the impending storm as a united front.
There was no need for grand declarations. They were just a pair of stubborn, tsundere souls whose bodies and hearts were perfectly aligned, even if their words said otherwise.
"What's the holdup?"
Out in the vacuum of space, a massive burst of divine light erupted as Zeus arrived outside the perimeter of the Dark Death Star, trailing a long, majestic wake of holy energy from his twelve glowing wings.
Metatron immediately stepped forward to brief him on the tactical situation.
"What is there to even hesitate about?! We have an elite vanguard of seven hundred thousand angels plus three full-fledged Seraphs! Don't tell me you can't even lock down a pair of measly outsider gods?!" Hearing Metatron's cautious report, Zeus's temper instantly flared.
"But my lord, the dense concentration of dark elements saturating the Dark Death Star will heavily suppress our holy attributes. In the event that—" Metatron explained with a bitter expression.
"Are you seriously trying to tell me how to do my job?" Zeus interrupted, directing a freezing, menacing glare straight at him.
"I wouldn't dare! This subordinate overstepped his bounds," Metatron quickly lowered his head, eagerly apologizing for the infraction.
"Hmph, useless trash." Zeus let out a cold snort, turning his freezing gaze back toward the distant silhouette of the Dark Death Star. "I'm going to make absolutely sure that anyone who dares to defy my authority pays a horrific price."
"All units, follow me! We push inside!"
"Light will universally triumph over the darkness!"
*Boom!*
With a grand wave of his arm, Zeus led the charge, his twelve blazing wings painting a magnificent picture as he rocketed straight through the planet's atmospheric barrier.
"I guess we should head in and take a look too," Sariel and Mael exchanged a brief look before transforming into twin streaks of light, trailing right behind Zeus's wake.
Shortly after the entire angelic legion had cleared the orbital sector, a sleek spatial portal slowly shimmered into existence.
"Ara... why does it smell so strongly of the Abyss down there? Could Big Sister Hades have personally made a move...?"
She had originally just wrapped up her shifts and returned to Earth for a peaceful vacation, yet before she could even figure out the situation, she had somehow gotten completely tangled up in this cosmic mess.
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