My sword struck his spear, and the sparks that flew from the contact seemed to set the air ablaze. I advanced fiercely, like a hammer that knows no fatigue, landing wide blows with a mixture of desperation and fervor to end the fight. I felt that every blow I dealt the god was powered by the faith burning in my chest, by the prayers of the faithful who, far away, whispered my name like a shield.
And for a moment, I believed I could match him. The invisible armor generated by the energy of all the prayers I had received up to that point not only made me more resilient, but made me feel invincible, as if at that moment I could defeat Zeus himself and not even break a sweat.
But I was wrong.
At first, I noticed that Hades continued to move with cold efficiency, parrying my every blow with the same ease with which one would brush aside branches on a path. His every step seemed to be a reminder that he didn't take me seriously, but in that moment of fervor, I failed to notice.
His spear spun in fluid patterns, effortlessly dismantling my attempts to attack.
Still, as I persisted, something changed in his stance.
His gaze, previously calm, sharpened. The spear began to move faster, and I noticed how his thrusts became more precise, managing to graze me. The only thing preventing it from piercing my skin was the temporary armor of prayers, but I knew it wouldn't last forever; after all, the system itself had warned me.
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Ding! 🔔
→ Prayer Armor Activated (Status: Temporary)
Type: Spiritual protection based on devotional faith
Source: 200 active followers in Kaeron
Durability: 79% ↘ (Decreasing due to sustained damage)
⛨ This armor is a direct reflection of the faith your followers have in you. It multiplies all your attributes x100 for a set amount of time. Each hit reduces its integrity. The link to the mortal plane maintains its existence, but its permanence is not guaranteed.
⚠️ Warning: Hostile energy detected. Threat level: Infernal Sovereign.
Protection is under abnormal pressure. Estimated time to failure upon direct impact from a [Ω] class attack is <1 minute if the threat is not reinforced or dispelled.
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A sudden twist deflected my thrust and returned it in the form of a diagonal lash that opened my shoulder to the bone. I didn't have time to scream. Only to stagger back, gasping, as my blood splattered on the black floor like fresh ink.
"Do you think that will be enough?" said Hades, without raising his voice. "You're way out of your league, kid."
He was right, after all. When he had been fighting Demeter, he had managed to scan him using the 'scan' function, and let's just say that his stats were a little better than mine. Now he had scanned them again, and although his stats were still huge, I noticed that he was holding back a lot more with me than with Demeter. With Demeter, he was using half his power, but with me, well...
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🔍 DIVINE SCAN – ACTIVE
👤 Target: Hades – King of the Underworld, God of Death and the Dead
📊 Class: S (Primordial Olympian)
🩸 HP: 320,000 / 320,000
🔥 Divine Energy: 45,000 / 45,000
Attribute Value
⚔️ Strength 1120
💨 Speed 680
🛡️ Endurance 1350
🧠 Willpower 1030
🎯 Accuracy 750
🧱 Authority 1550
🛐 Domains Death, Shadows, Oaths
🚨 Status Restrained – 15% Power Limit Active
🔒 Hidden Skills 9
☠️ Necrowill Aura Active – Induces Fear, Decay, and Soul Pressure
🔗 Chthonic Bond Bound to the Core of the Underworld – Favored Terrain
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His stats were even more monstrous than Athena's, but seeing the system warning, I realized that the gods are capable of restraining their power if they choose to, so I fear that even
Still, I threw myself forward again. It was too late to turn back, so I had no choice but to see it through to the end.
The Dominion energy crackled on my blade, gleaming as I slashed in an upward arc and we collided. Once, twice, three times. Each clash left cracks in the ground. Fragments of rock flew like shrapnel.
Then Hades took a step toward me.
His presence grew heavier. His shadow lengthened, distorting the ground. My feet trembled. The spear fell like lightning, and I barely managed to block it. The impact sent me flying five meters back, dragged by the sheer weight of the blow.
I noticed that my arms were shaking. The energy I was receiving from Kaeron was still there, but it was no longer enough to keep up the pace. Every muscle, every joint ached. And yet I charged again.
This time, my slash was interrupted by a brutal counterattack that dealt me a series of rapid thrusts that broke my armor in less than two seconds. At that moment, the spear grazed my abdomen and tore part of my side with a clean cut that splattered my blood on the ground, staining it a golden color.
Pain soon overwhelmed me, and I screamed wildly and fell to my knees, breathing heavily, my vision blurred by black edges.
"You were starting to annoy me," Hades growled. His tone was still measured, but it no longer sounded indifferent.
He raised a hand.
The ground beneath my feet suddenly cracked, and a column of bones and fire rose from the depths and threw me into the air. I fell, rolling among ruins and screams. I felt bones breaking. I heard a scream that I couldn't tell was mine or the specters the god had just summoned and now surrounded me.
Even so, with a cry, I used the last of my divine energy and expelled the specters, producing a burst of light that illuminated the entire temple. Now free of them, I tried to get up, despite feeling a sharp pain in my side, which I quickly grabbed with my hand and noticed that my tunic and hand were stained a bright golden color that looked like glitter because it shone so brightly, which surprised me.
"Apparently, the blood of the gods is golden," I thought in amazement as I struggled to my feet.
As I stood up, because I had to stand up, even though my body begged me not to, I saw him and realized.
He was no longer holding back.
The shadow around him swirled like a living storm. His eyes now burned with a glow that was not human. And his spear no longer seemed like just a weapon: it was an extension of his power over the Underworld, pulsing with hunger.
The god seemed to notice that I was no longer a threat, so he began to walk toward me. He did so slowly and deliberately. As if he were in no hurry to end my suffering.
"You put up a good fight for someone so weak. But this is where it all ends, boy. I'd tell you that you were a worthy opponent, but to be honest, you didn't even make me use half of my true power, which is disappointing. But then again, I didn't expect much from you. I just thought that since Zeus himself had you on such a level on such a high level of alert, you would at least be a challenge. It seems my brother is just being paranoid again." He said this in a tone of disappointment as he continued to walk slowly toward me, slowly but surely approaching where I was, unable to move much because of the wound in my side.
Hades' footsteps echoed like hammer blows. The echo of his power surrounded me, crushing and suffocating. Every fiber of my body screamed to stop him, but I could barely stand. The spear descended slowly at his side, dragging a black trail, as if the darkness itself were crying for me before devouring me.
And then, I heard a voice rise from the ruins of the temple, laden with urgency.
"Hades, stop! Enough! This is not justice, it is revenge!" cried Hecate, appearing through the blackened mist. Her clothes were torn, covered in ash, but her eyes still shone as she pleaded with Hades.
She approached, almost staggering, her fingers outstretched, as if she could stop the spear with words alone.
"This boy did not attack you to challenge you, or out of arrogance! He only tried to protect Demeter! The Hesperides appointed him as her escort, and he did his duty! Nothing more! Nothing that justifies this!"
But Hades did not listen to her.
His gaze did not stray from me once.
"Your magic does not impress me, Hecate. Neither does your plea," he said without pausing. "You entered my kingdom without permission and demanded for the King to fulfill your wishes. You have violated my law. And you have destroyed my palace."
I saw him stop a few steps away from me.
"And you expect there to be no consequences?"
His tone was no longer angry. It was worse. It was the tone of someone who had made up his mind. I interpreted this as my cue to panic.
"Demeter invaded my hall. You, Hecate, broke my trust and led her to me. And this... servant dared to raise his sword against the King of the Underworld himself."
He raised his spear as I closed my eyes waiting for the final strike.
My body didn't respond. The wound in my side burned like lava. Golden blood fell in thin, luminous threads onto the shattered marble. I could only close my eyes and wait the end.
Until something changed.
And I felt the air stop.
Literally. So I opened my eyes.
The wind did not move. The shadows did not flicker. Everything seemed to freeze in a fraction of a second.
And in that forced silence, a figure appeared behind Hades' throne, as if it had been there all along and only now decided to make itself known.
A figure wrapped in a dress of withered leaves and flowers. Her aura reminded me of the spring and autumn.
Persephone.
"What are you doing, Hades?" asked the goddess, her voice soft yet filling every corner of the temple.
Hades froze. I could see his spear stop in midair, just inches from me, causing me to let out a sigh I didn't know I was holding.
The god's shadows also receded as if they recognized her.
"Per...sephone, my love," he whispered, taking a step toward her.
She lowered her eyes to me. She looked at me for a moment. And even though she didn't know me, her lips trembled slightly. There was compassion in her gaze. Perhaps even a hint of curiosity.
"Why were you going to kill him?"
"He defied my kingdom. He destroyed my halls. He unleashed a war of light in the heart of the Underworld," Hades replied, but his voice was no longer so firm. It was no longer so sure.
Persephone took a step toward him. With each step she took, small dark flowers sprouted from the broken slabs.
"And that's why you're killing him? That's why you look like this?"
Hades clenched his jaw. The spear vibrated between his fingers.
"He... he forced me to stop holding back! He made me...!"
Persephone raised her hand. Not with authority, but rather with tenderness.
"It wasn't him who forced you. It was your pride, my love."
Hades didn't answer and kept his silence.
A silence so deep that not even the specters dared to move. Hecate watched, trembling slightly. I... I could hardly believe what I was seeing.
The Queen of the Underworld had saved me.
However, the sound was suddenly broken without warning by a voice I knew well, that of a desperate mother.
"PERSEPHONE, MY DEAR DAUGHTER, YOU'RE HERE!!" Demeter shouted from the corner where she stood, probably still wounded from her encounter with Hades, but despite this, with a smile and genuine joy for the first time since I meet her.