Divine Mask: I Have Numerous God Clones

"W-what's going on? Why are you—" His voice cracked, a mixture of fear and confusion.

Hades didn't even look fully at him, only glancing down from the corner of his eye with an almost bored expression. His face remained calm, but there was a dangerous chill in his gaze.

"You're awake," he said evenly, his tone flat, as if he had been expecting it. "Good. But I'd advise you not to move much."

There was a subtle warning in his voice, sharp enough to freeze Vesperin where he sat. His heart still racing, Vesperin's breath came in shallow gasps. He slowly turned his head, eyes scanning the ground around them. His blood ran cold.

Corpses of Abyss Beasts lay strewn about, their bodies twisted into grotesque shapes, broken and torn as if they had been playthings in some brutal game.

The dark, deformed beasts were larger than anything Vesperin had fought before, their hulking forms motionless in death. It was a massacre.

His stomach churned at the sight, but worse than that was the realization sinking into him. These weren't just any Abyss Beasts. They were some of the strongest creatures he had encountered in the Abyss Hole—and Hades had killed them all.

Vesperin's hands trembled. His mind screamed at him to run, but his body wouldn't respond. He looked back at Hades, swallowing hard, his throat dry. The fear was evident in his voice now, the bravado he once had gone. "H-how did you…?"

Hades finally turned to face him fully, his eyes gleaming with amusement. He smirked, but the smile didn't reach his eyes. "Does it really matter?" he asked, his tone almost mocking. "What you should be concerned about right now is staying alive."

Vesperin's pulse quickened, his chest tightening as the full weight of his situation hit him. The man standing before him wasn't just any powerful cultivator—he was something else, something far more dangerous than he had imagined.

Fear bubbled up inside Vesperin, threatening to spill over. His mouth felt dry, and his voice came out in a trembling whisper. "D-don't kill me," he stammered, his tone betraying the panic clawing at his insides. "I'm… I'm the son of Velkar Malachor. My father… he's an eight-star warrior now!"

He swallowed hard, trying to steady his breath, but the words tumbled out in desperation. "If you harm me, he'll—"

Hades, who had been watching him with calm detachment, suddenly raised an eyebrow. There was a flicker of genuine surprise in his otherwise unreadable expression. "Velkar Malachor?" Hades' voice was quiet but laced with curiosity. "He's reached eight-star now?"

Vesperin nodded quickly, the relief flooding his body for a brief moment. His father's name would surely be enough to protect him. "Y-yes! So you understand, right? If you know what's good for you, you'll let me go. My father will reward you greatly for keeping me alive."

His words came out in a rushed, pleading tone, the confidence in them faltering slightly as he stared into Hades' cold eyes. But still, he clung to the hope that his father's status would be enough to sway this dangerous man.

Hades remained silent for a moment, his gaze fixed on Vesperin. His face was impossible to read, his expression giving nothing away. The silence stretched, and with each passing second, Vesperin's heart raced faster, uncertainty gnawing at him.

Then, slowly, a smirk began to spread across Hades' face—a smirk that sent a chill down Vesperin's spine. There was something dark, almost mocking, in the way Hades smiled, and it unsettled him deeply.

"I see," Hades said, his tone smooth, almost amused. "So, you're from the Malachor Clan."

Vesperin, sensing a chance to gain some control over the situation, forced a nervous smile. "Yes… that's right. The Malachor Clan is wealthy, powerful. I can give you whatever you want," he said, his voice picking up a hint of desperation as he tried to sound confident.

"Just… as long as you take me deeper into the Abyss Hole, where I can cultivate better, I'll reward you handsomely. Money, resources—name it, and it's yours."

Hades' smirk widened, though there was a cold gleam in his eyes that Vesperin failed to notice. He leaned in slightly, his voice low but filled with a dangerous edge. "Is that so?"

The words sent another shiver down Vesperin's spine. He nodded quickly, trying to maintain his nervous smile, hoping to make his offer sound enticing enough. "Y-yes… Whatever you want. I can get it for you."

Hades let out a soft chuckle, though it lacked warmth. The amusement in his eyes remained, but there was something else lurking beneath the surface—something far more calculating. "You must be very loaded, then," he said, his voice smooth as silk. "A son of the Malachor Clan with deep pockets…"

Vesperin's forced smile widened, thinking he was making progress. "Yes, exactly. I can make sure you're well taken care of. Just help me reach the deeper parts of the Abyss Hole, and the rewards will be more than worth your while."

Hades stared at him for a long moment, his smirk unwavering, but in his eyes, a glint of dark satisfaction grew. "Interesting," he murmured, almost to himself.

Vesperin's relief grew as he misread the situation, believing Hades had taken the bait. But behind that smirk, Hades was already weaving his own plans, seeing the weakling in front of him as nothing more than a pawn in a much larger game.