SEVEN.

THE SPIRIT SANCTUM.

"WHAT IF, AS ARCHDUCHESS we decide to go to the Spirit Sanctum portal, where Thanatos exists?"

Minami isn't sure if Tartarus noticed anything, but she has to give up everything if she want this to work. 

"You're an exciting kid. I'm not sure how you two are going to get there, but I appreciate your confidence. Only if you can defeat my monsters, that is."

Minami gulped; she expected this, and she knew Tartarus was not someone to deceive with. Especially if you're dealing with a Promordial God of the Underworld.

"Paano kung kaya ko?" Hamon naman ni Minami, crossing her arms at him.

"You're assuring because of your contract, but are you sure he's trustworthy? That kid could possibly murder you! You are kidding yourself, Archduchess!"Tartarus roared at her.

"And no one really defeated my Asquembe, not even once."

They believed Tartarus has several creatures, one of them is Gigantes, Hyperion, Akhlys and Typhon. No one gets out of here alive.

And also he's the father of Typhon and the Gigantes, of whom Gaia is the mother. The father of Tartarus is Chaos. He is the "prison guard" of Tartarus, the darkest pit in the Underworld where monsters go to reform once they are slain. 

Tartarus is also the place where Uranus threw, in chains, the Elder Cyclopes and the Hekatonkhieres, and the place where most of the Titans were chained after the First Titan War, thus literally making Tartarus both a place and a being. He's one of the Protogenoi. 

And they were still alive was because Tartarus was too busy marveling at his mortal form. She realizes that protogenoi like Tartarus are unlike their descendants to the point that not even a Titan could stand alone against Tartarus. 

"Shut your fucking mouth, Tartarus." Saku frowned at him, and he quickly grabbed her and embraced her, now throwing him angry glares.

"Come on, tell her you're a liar. You've been testing her all along! She's just a pawn in your—"

"Tch," That was all Saku could say. He held his death scythe, and Saku shoved Minami before releasing his black chains to grab her.

Hindi naman niya 'to nagustuhan at nagpupumiglas na lang, "Saku! Nagbibiro ka, 'di' ba? Let me out! My plan will work! Nandito na rin tayo, 'di' ba?"

"Shut up!"He hissed. "Y-you don't know how dangerous those Tartarus' monsters are, you haven't seen them yourself." After all, he is Hades' son. Saku never attempted into the abyss, but he was aware of the dangers these monsters could offer.

Like how cold this place is, Saku's death scythe was encircled by unexpected energy, and dark threads began to form around it, as if it was engraving Tartarus' fate on it. It enables him to rewrite someone's misfortunes.

"Hellbound of Fate!"

Saku inhaled deeply, sensing how cold this area is. This cold is unbearable for most people.

He rose up straight and grabbed Tartarus' skull in his palm, saying at tsaka nginisian 'to, "Don't belittle us, old man."

Tartarus has declared war, so he might as well do the same. He didn't intend to expose those things to Minami. He didn't intend to be that way.

'Di niya sinusubukang samantalahin ang kabaitan niya. Pero bago siya magtiwala, kailangan niyang malaman kung sino talaga siya.

No one should be able to withstand the moon's voice and the eyes of the Inferno Isles. Tartarus has never heard of someone being commanded on those seven sins, so what is this?

Has Hades' son contracted with Sloth? What on Earth is this? Was his magic difficult to read due to its speed? Is it possible that he was born too strong? And he used the same methods as they did? Who's this guy?

"Perhaps I angered you a little, huh?"Tartarus questioned him.

He didn't appear to be interested in Chaos' realm like the girl, so why does he want to help her go there? Saku frequently visited with his father as a child to train his destructive magic, particularly the power of the death scythe.

He never mentioned this to the Imetheos' headmistress, and he only appeared as a Demigod.

Not until they see how dangerous he may be after the war has begun. If it was going to happen again, they could only assume he was assisting his father in eliminating everyone in the six nations.

And the question is, what is his true objective?

"Yes, you surely did. So I guess I have to train you a little, just as I did with my old man." Saku demanded, slowly crossing his arms at him. Tartarus didn't like any of that. Especially how he addresses him.

Hinampas niya ang spear niya before even glaring at Saku, "Do you have any idea who you're speaking with?"

The area has starting to become even more eerie. At syempre 'di gusto ni Minami ang kanyang nakikita. This spot was covered in spooky mist, and she could tell that more than one person was watching them.

Saku's prior fear was understandable. Is that what they're going to deal with? She is not prepared for this.

"Saku, what kind of monsters are we up against again?" She replayed his messages in her thoughts.

Tartarus' monsters. And perhaps it took him long enough to understand that they are in serious danger now that they are trapped in the abyss pit. There are numerous eyes looking at them.

The army is made up of Tartarus monsters. There are ten thousand of them. Saku was unaffected by the situation, but he could tell Minami was being dragged in. No one escaped Tartarus alive. Even demigods. 

"It's not only the monsters that you should look out for. Typhoeus was the Father of All Monsters and was believed to have fire-flashing eyes and a winged body. The lower part of his body was made of enormous viper coils that would stretch to the top of his head and produce a hissing sound.

"When Typhoeus and Echidna united, they produced some of the most fierce monsters of the Underworld. These creatures include Cereberus, the Hydra, the Nemean Lion, Chimera, the Sphinx and The Caucasian Eagle.

Tartarus was responsible for carrying the souls of sinners from earth to hell. The hell was depicted as a pit where these souls would be punished for eternity."

Minami struggled with the chains, lit up her body, and touched the black chains, and she can manipulate their own light energy and photons. As they are the particles mediating the electromagnetic force, they can channel them towards various electromagnetic capabilities and any purpose she can think of.

This was her Personal Light ability. 

☫✠_____♆_____✡♆

MINAMI UNDERSTANDS WHERE his fear comes from. And think how much anxiety we will experience if we simply let our own judgment to take over. Darkness will not win. The light will overcome the darkness. She will become the source of light and hope for everyone.

"Still, we haven't lose right!?" She exclaimed and she smiled at him.

"Sa tingin ko, lahat tayo ay mayroon ding kinakatakutan 'di'ba? At hindi naman nakakahiyang aminin na may kinakatakutan ka rin.

"And you know what? I truly appreciate someone who knows they're weak but still stands up to their opponent, no matter how big or dangerous they are. That's how I define a strong person."

"Minami,"

Minami gave him a smile and took his hand once more, "And to someone who has failed, made a few mistakes, and feels like everyone is against them—they're really strong for choosing to live despite of their circumstances," she said.

"Which is why—"

Nagulat na lamang si Saku nang diretsahang tumakbo si Minami as she was burning some flames on her palms, as soon as the flames, nagsibol ang mga rosas mula sa kanyang kamay and using her vines, she created a blade by pushing the petals together. Instead of being regular petals, these were made like blades. 

With a smirk on her face, she had never felt more powerful.

'This is not something new lalo na noong una naming nalaman na ang mga tao ng Rusvil ay magiging mga kaaway namin. Kaya kung sa tingin mo ay masisindak ako ni Tartarus dito, nagkakamali siya.' These are the thoughts that went across her head. She wouldn't mind taking a risk kung at bilang kapalit, lubos siyang pinagkakatiwalaan ni Saku.

"Go ahead, reveal your monsters. Be it Hydra, Chimera, or the Caucasian Eagle. Wala akong pake kung Ilang halimaw ang meron ka," She paused a bit and she gulped at sinigawan niya ito kung paano siya bansagan ni Saku, "Old man!"

"Minami!" Napasapo na lamang si Saku sa mukha niya dahil sa mga pinagagawa niya. How can she say anything so casually? Is she mimicking him? Minami, at least, knew why she was coming here. The Spirit Sanctum.

The hidden doorway that allows you to see Thanatos is visible through it. There is no other way out of this abyss. Going out of this place was very difficult. Thanatos didn't even hide his monsters, who were basically glaring and hissing at them. What's weird about this is that he labeled Saku a liar. With what intent? 

At kung totoo man 'to, siya mismo ang pipilit kay Saku na ipagtapat ang sarili niyang kalokohan. 'At kung 'di talaga siya magsasabi ng totoo at may plano para sa akin, hindi ko siya papakawalan!'This is what she's been thinking right now. 

Yes, Saku is one of her main suspects, and nothing will change that. Given the scale of the a possibility war that he might have started during the last Fates.

She had to play his game for now. Kung 'yun ang gusto niya. Kaya naman kailangan niyang makasama 'to para malaman niya ang tinatago nito. That murder certainly has something to do with it, and who knows when the day of judgment may arrive.

 Now, the most important issue is how they want to cross through the Spirit Sanctum. Everybody's focused on them. Monsters from Tartarus stood watch over them. What is his desire from her? And the reason he had to cause discomfort Saku is what really gets her attention. Why is this happening?

She could get the answers she wanted if only Nanako were here. However, she doubted that she would start talking to her after their argument. And Minami's greatest concern is her friend's fate.

Nanako is the daughter of a mythical creature. Kaya naman itinaya niya ang lahat para matigil ang kaguluhang 'to. Para siyang nilalamon ng buhay dito.

"You damn children! You've done it now, and you're not getting away with it!"Tumayo sa upuan si Tartarus and shove his spear. He flicked his fingers and summoned Hydra to face them.

The Lernaean Hydra was a gigantic, nine-headed water-serpent, which haunted the swamps of Lerna. Heracles was sent to destroy her as one of his twelve labours, but for each of her heads that he decapitated, two more sprang fort.

So with the help of Iolaus, he applied burning brands to the severed stumps, cauterizing the wounds and preventing the regeneration. It screamed at them, and Tartarus expected the Archduchess to be afraid, but he didn't see it.

"Even if you shove that monster in my face, I'm not scared! Minami spat at him, gripping her blade, her brows furrowed and glared at him.

She holds her handle with both hands and with a very strong grasp. It's the most basic sword stance that can be seen in every fight. This stance will allow her to deflect incoming attacks and keep your enemy at a distance. Bago pa man siya tumakbo, laking gulat na lamang ni Minami nang biglang nagyelo ang buong lugar.

"Hey, would you like to come see me and leave that realm? Then you have to leave that place. There is a realm there in your place that you can enter to find the quickest route to free me from prison."

"Thanatos, ano'ng kalokohan—"

Saku and Minami are being pulled out of the abyss by a block of ice that's currently pushing around the abyss. The ice is gradually turning into a snowstorm. It angered the beasts, and now the ice began to freeze them.

In combat, users may freeze liquids (particularly water) in their environment and weaponize it - creating slippery surfaces, barriers to movement, bludgeoning weapons, or sharp cutting weapons. It may even freeze the liquids in their opponents. Frozen limbs will become painful, immobile, and brittle.

These abilities are known as Freezing. That had to be Thanatos' doing. And a few seconds later, they discover that they are being carried into the shadowy, eerie forests.

They were surrounded by towering trees that gave the impression that they were in the midst of some sort of mysterious, unknown magic. In the forest, a monster let out a roar.

It appears that the exam has already begun. The Minotaur is before them now.