"Bring me a miracle? Child, you really are interesting."
Hades gave a stiff laugh. On him, even a smile looked faintly comical.
"That's right. I'm going to bring the King of the Underworld a miracle!"
Thaumas ignored the mockery and spoke with conviction.
"And what miracle do you intend to bring me? Remember, I am a god, while you are only human.
What could I possibly need from you, besides you yourself?" Hades sounded a little aggrieved.
To Hades, Thaumas's words seemed to slight an all-powerful god.
"No! There is something you lack, my lord!" Thaumas declared confidently.
"Yes, there is. I lack you, and only you! Without you, the King of the Underworld simply cannot go on."
Those suggestive words had come from the usually cold Hades.
No way. The tongue-tied King of the Underworld could say something that seductive?
Wait. Was he flirting with me?
No wonder Persephone had never chosen to leave such a straightforward King of the Underworld. According to some versions of the myth, she later became the Underworld's true ruler and could come and go as she pleased, yet she stayed.
How did that saying go?
Sometimes he's pretty handsome.
Unfortunately, Thaumas did not like anyone more handsome than himself, especially another man.
"Thank you for your affection, my lord. I'm very happy," Thaumas said, and Hades's face lit up at once,
"but I'm sorry. I can't return your feelings!" Hades's expression turned cold again.
"So you're rejecting me, is that it?" Divine power surged from Hades. The Helm of Darkness appeared on his head, armor wrapped itself around him, and he drew his sword.
"Hades! Think carefully!"
Seeing trouble brewing, Athena raised Athena's Spear and the Aegis (Zeus's shield) in an instant.
Athena's Spear
symbolized unstoppable might and the resolve to pursue freedom.