A Clever Trip to Hell (6)
Persephone, the adorable daughter of the goddess Demeter and wife of Hades, the ruler of Hell.
She froze for a split second, showing an uncharacteristically undignified side, but quickly composed herself and flashed a gentle smile.
What if... this angel is truly the one who blows the trumpet on Judgment Day?
She doesn't seem aware of it herself, but this angel possesses tremendous danger—the power to wipe out the world in an instant.
Of course, Persephone still planned to shelter her. But keeping her trapped in Hell for the long term wouldn't be good for the angel. After all, she wasn't one of the dead; by rights, she belonged on the surface world.
Which meant she had to send her back to those humans at the Anomaly Management Agency...
'They won't just let her go if they find out.'
If the agency learned she was the angel who heralds the apocalypse with that trumpet, the odds of them leaving her alone were zero.
They seemed to cherish and care for her in their own way. But at their core, they were all about humanity's peace and the survival of civilization.
If they deemed her a threat to mankind, they'd slap her in severe isolation—or worse—immediately.
'I can't let that happen...'
Persephone had no intention of allowing it.
"Angel."
"Yep?"
The little angel was munching away at ambrosia with her tiny mouth.
For some reason, she felt like her own daughter—an existence that tugged at her heartstrings.
Persephone stroked the angel's soft hair with a rustle and said,
"I'll protect you, my little angel."
"...Thank you..."
"There, there."
She'd have to prepare a parting gift for when she left.
After listening to the upbeat Taniping song and even the Pororo Sled Adventure opening, I returned to the palace in high spirits.
Something's off...
Persephone sis was beaming at me with that bright smile, but I could tell her vibe had shifted subtly.
Like she'd made some resolve deep in her heart?
-Grrr...
I tilted my head and patted the head of my now-familiar triple doggo.
Three heads, and it seemed like each had its own personality.
Patting one made the other two jealous—it was a bit tricky.
But I was an angel who showered love equally on all!
No matter how tiring, I diligently stroked each head one by one.
Finally, after petting them all.
-Woof woof...
And after giving our precious doggo's head a pat too.
"Angel."
A warm voice called out to me.
It was Persephone sis, with her warm heart and super big chest.
I led doggo and triple doggo toward the voice.
There sat a gloomy uncle on the throne with a sullen expression, and sis grinning confidently, like she'd achieved her goal.
"Yep?"
"Come here for a sec?"
I nodded at Persephone sis's words and toddled over.
She gave my head a quick pat, then gently took my hand.
"Our little angel. Ever worn a hat?"
"A hat...?"
"Yeah."
"I've worn a cap before."
So I nodded, and she beamed before whispering softly,
"We prepared a pretty helmet just for you."
"Hmm..."
"Wear it when you're out and about."
No sooner had she finished than gloomy uncle snapped his fingers.
Poof! A fancy helmet appeared out of thin air.
"Helmet...?"
It looked pretty, but super heavy at first glance.
Wearing that on my head would hurt my neck for sure...
As I felt a twinge of unease, Persephone sis leaned in close.
"Don't worry. It won't feel heavy at all on your head."
"Yep?"
She grinned mischievously and said,
"It's a transparent helmet. Think the thought, and you can turn invisible."
"..."
I jumped in surprise.
Me, invisible?
Like the invisibility cloak from Harry Potter?
My heart pounded.
The romance I'd buried deep inside bubbled up.
"You know Medusa?"
"Medusa...?"
"Yeah, the lady with snakes wriggling all over her head."
"Eek..."
Just imagining it creeped me out.
I hate snakes.
"Her slayer, Perseus, used this helmet to go invisible and take her down."
"Oh..."
"It's already battle-tested. What do you say? Wanna wear it?"
I nodded furiously.
An invisibility helmet!
Ideas for using it flooded my mind endlessly.
"But you have to promise something first."
"Yep."
"No using it to mess with people."
"No worries! I'll just play Minecraft super late at night!"
"Gasp... Kids need to sleep early. No lending if that's how you'll use it."
Hiiing...
Sneaking Minecraft while everyone's asleep!
Just thinking about it was thrilling and fun.
"Now, promise. Early to bed at night."
"Okay..."
"Good girl."
With the promise made, gloomy uncle stood, helmet in hand.
"Contract term: 100 years. It'll return after that."
"Yep."
"Also, no transferring it to others. If you try, it comes straight back to me."
A-young sis might eye it greedily, but...
If scary uncle says no, I'll just pass on the message.
Uncle plopped the helmet softly on my head.
Amazingly, it melted away into transparency!
Just like sis said—not heavy at all.
"Think it in your head to go invisible. Got it?"
"Yes!"
"Then off you go."
"Yep, bye-bye!"
I waved goodbye to gloomy uncle and stepped out of the grand palace.
Hecate sis and Persephone sis flanked me protectively.
"Whoa!"
I gasped in awe at the load on Hecate sis's back.
It was stuffed full of the promised snacks!
That much...
"Heehee..."
Should last me at least a year, right?
Munching snacks while playing Minecraft!
Yay!
"Here, say ahh."
"Nom..."
The trip back to the agency was smooth sailing.
With super-strong Persephone sis and Hecate sis by my side, no wandering souls dared approach.
-Ker-rung... Ker-rung...
Triple doggo's back was comfy as ever.
Familiar path from before, too.
"Gasp, you're back!"
Back at the river.
The boat guy, lounging lazily by his boat at the shore, spotted us again.
"G-get on..."
"Sure."
Poor boat guy turned gloomy at the sight of Persephone sis, but perked up with a bright smile after I handed him a cracker.
He knew good snacks—total snack expert.
"Here we are~"
One cracker, and he was all sunshine.
Snacks are truly great, I thought as I hopped off the boat.
"Hmm..."
Persephone sis scratched her head.
"Sorry, angel."
"Yep?"
"Looks like agency folks are waiting at the border. This is as far as I go."
"Aha..."
Hecate sis looked apologetic too—she couldn't come farther either.
A bit disappointing, but they'd made my short Hell stay so fun.
And escorted me all this way.
"I'll load the snacks on your doggos' backs, so head back together. You know the way, right?"
"Yep!"
"If anything dangerous happens, name-drop me. Say Persephone sis and Mom will get revenge if they touch you."
"Yep."
"Make lots of friends, don't get hurt. Eat your meals properly."
Hmm... Persephone sis poured out worries with a concerned face.
"Tell the humans right away if you get hurt. Don't stay up too late."
This feels just like...
"No late-night snacks. Study hard too."
A mom...?
"Don't hang with bad people. The agency'll handle stuff, but don't just eat snacks all day."
To the fussing Persephone sis, I blurted out the first thing that popped into my head.
"You'll keep your promise, right? To behave."
"Yep, Mommy."
"..."
The instant I replied, Persephone sis froze solid.
Eh? Did I mess up?
As I worried, she zoomed over at light speed and scooped me up tight.
"That's it—my angel's my daughter from now on."
"Eeeek..."
"Touch her, and I'll kill you all!"
Eek... Dizzy...
Put me down...