NOVEL NEXT Chapter 10: Chapter 10: Techniques That Can Overwhelm The Strong
Chapter 10: Techniques That Can Overwhelm The Strong
...
Hades shot out of the doors to the throne chamber like a dark arrow, his form flickering as he landed against the cold, metallic wall. He immediately reached out and pressed a palm against and closed his eyes.
As the deity who held dominion over all the riches beneath the earth, his connection to the minerals beneath the surface was second to none. The metals, the gemstones, even the very fabric of the Underworld's crust all formed an intricate network of sensation, mapping itself in his mind like a 3D model.
Unfortunately for him, his job only got a lot harder because the structure was littered with far too many magic circles that interfered with his geo sense, causing the images of the layout in his mind to become blurry and warped.
Hades' brow furrowed. "Damn, he really thought of everything." As he said that, a sudden head-splitting pain struck his head like a truck. "Aaargh!" He staggered, dropping his weapon on the floor.
He clutched his head as golden ichor dripped from his eyes. "Shit!—Fuck!—GAH!"
It was as if someone was bashing a club directly into his brain. "That clever boy!" Hades shouted with bloodshot eyes, and in his anger, backhanded the wall, shattering it as if it were nothing but brittle stone.
*BOOM!*
Turns out his nephew had also set up offensive countermeasures in the array of detection prevention magic circles meant to disorient, distort, and attack the minds of anyone attempting to locate the device all at the same time.
And the King of the Dead felt the full brunt of these mental shocks. If he weren't as powerful as he was the mental shocks attacks could've been permanent.
Taking a deep breath to steady himself, he shook his head to clear the lingering pain along with biting into an Ambrosia.
"Thats better." He muttered, then created a napkin to wipe the blood from his eyes. "This is a literal headache." Groaned the King of the Dead as he burned the Ichor-stained paper.
Then his body swirled, melting into the shadows of the floor like paint on a canvas, and he resumed his search. Hades darted through the corridors like a phantom, internally swearing to himself that if he somehow survived this, he was going to shut himself in his realm for at least the next thousand years to take a break from his family.
"If I were a giant weapon capable of genocidal extinction, where would I be?" He murmured as he darted from one corridor to another, room by bloody room.
Most rooms were either empty or held mechanical servants who paid him no mind. For every place he visited, he left behind shadow creatures to search the area with the order to relay anything they found back to him as he moved further down.
*LIGHTNING!*
*RUMBLING!*
Above he could hear the structure shake from the ongoing squabble. He definitely needed to finish his search quickly.
Hades peered through a wall and clicked his tongue in annoyance. 'Not this one either.' He pulled his head and went to another room. 'Nothing.' He went to the other.
'Aaaaand still nothing.' He went as quickly as he came. 'Could it be further down?' He wondered.
'If it is, it's likely at the very bottom so I can skip skimming the upper side.' He thought and sank downwards, sending more creatures of shadows to scout out the areas he didn't.
If he remembered right from his blurry recollection of the places' layout, there were about ninety or so floors, and currently he was on the seventieth.
*RUMBLING!*
Hades's jaw clenched. With his speed, it should take him no more than five or so minutes to arrive there. He just hoped those two would hold out by the time he gets back.
…
As the King of the Dead busied himself with ensuring Olympus wasn't reduced to nothingness, Zeus and Poseidon were holding the silver demigod off, fighting with everything they had to give.
*RUMBLING!*
*BOOM!*
*LIGHTNING!*
It was chaos. The throne room quaked under the shockwaves. Thunder roared as lightning carved through the foundations. Weather disasters were as abundant as they were endless. Dark clouds hovered on the ceiling, raining down intense hail and heavy rain with winds mercilessly howling.
Whirlpools and tsunamis surged everywhere in sight alongside the army of skeletal warriors and other nightmarish creatures infused into black cyclones, shredding apart the walls alongside a colossal tornado of hellfire that consumed the surroundings and wouldn't stop anytime soon.
It was only a matter of time before this place became a ruin.
Within the storm of destruction, three streaks of divine power can be seen clashing.
Grey, sea-green, and white light tore through the battlefield like shooting stars, darting through the chamber. Zeus and Poseidon pursued Silba, cutting through the air with untraceable speed. Yet no matter how fast they seemed to move, they always seemed to be a step behind.
They were exhausting themselves trying to drive the demigod into a corner.
*BOOM!*
*LIGHTNING!*
Silba weaved through the battlefield backward, evading the bolts of lightning that shot his way.
He was maneuvering with finesse and combating with savagery. He was untouchable when it came to maneuverability, a fact that only seemed to piss Zeus off more by the second as his face twisted in frustration.
The King of Olympus even had his legs encased in whirling winds to boost his speed. He was going his fastest, and it still wasn't close enough to reach the demigod.
With a furious roar, his palm erupted with divine lightning. "HAAAGH!"
*ZAP!*
Blinding beams of electricity shot forth toward the silver demigod.
Poseidon was right behind, his Trident glowing as he commanded the waters. Thousands of ice needles formed in an instant, launching themselves to surround his son.
*SHING!*
Their combined assault left no room for escape. But Silba was not fazed, much less impressed and effortlessly moved through the onslaught, breaking apart every ice needle sent to him. It was as if he had eyes in every corner of the battlefield.
Then, Zeus did the unexpected.
Lightning coiled around Zeus's form, his body transforming into living electricity. It didn't amplify his power, but it made traveling for him much easier. He closed the distance between them, and reverting back, he flicked his wrist, and eleven orbs of lightning and storms appeared, each one carrying the power to level mountains.
Silba glared at Zeus as if daring him to try.
The King of the Gods launched all of them.
*BOOM!*
*BOOM!*
*BOOM!*
Silba flew through the air, dodging each orb, but it was easier said than done, especially since Poseidon had regained his fighting spirit and was actively participating in the fight, something which irritated the demigod.
The sea god surged forward. Within a breath, he was face to face with his son. His fist trembled with the force of the Earthshaker as he attacked, his son did the same and their fists clashed.
*PUNCH!*
*CLASH!*
A shockwave exploded outward.
*BOOM!*
Before the short exchange could evolve into something further, Poseidon, sensing danger nearing, opted to back away just as the rest of the thunder orbs made their way to Silba, where they then crashed onto the demigod, triggering an explosion of divine electricity.
*THUNDER!*
*LIGHTNING!*
*BOOM!*
From within the storm of crackling lightning, a furious roar erupted. "Raaaaagh!" Silba emerged—unscathed but enraged—his shining hair billowing madly, his heterochromatic eyes burning with wrath.
In an instant, he lunged at Poseidon, a streak of silver light tearing through the air.
The King of the Seas blocked the attack and summoned a spire of scalding water from below them, to which his son kicked him away, causing him to move out of the way also. Throughout the battle, the demigod made sure to avoid any of the nearby weather disasters as he fought the brothers.
If he wanted to, he could have wiped them all out with his physical strength alone, but that wasn't in his best interest at the moment because of both Zeus and Poseidon. It was getting annoying.
*THUNDER!*
*LIGHTNING!*
A cyclone of electricity erupted behind the demigod, who in turn raised his hand and countered with a silver whirlpool.
*KRRRSHHH!*
At the same time, Poseidon took advantage of the momentary and thrust his Trident forward. Not falling for that, Silba grabbed it, and pulling the weapon with one arm, he used the other to elbow the Sea God.
*THUNK!*
Poseidon reeled back, having deflected it with his forearm. His son then teleported in a flash.
*CRACK!*
*KICK!*
Zeus barely registered the movement before getting double chopped in the neck and getting a face full of Silba's foot striking into his face. The King of Olympus was sent downward.
*BOOM!*
"HAAAH!" Poseidon reappeared beside him, his left fist vibrating with earthshaker.
Silba vanished again, only this time, Poseidon was prepared. The god of the seas seized his son's arm in mid-teleportation, forcing them both into the silver void together. Silba's eyes widened in brief surprise before—
*PUNCH!*
*CRACK!*
Poseidon's fist for the first time during the fight connected with his face.
Silba crashed into the ground, skidding across the ruined throne chamber before flipping back onto his feet in an instant. Brushing off the attack, he glared daggers at Poseidon, who beckoned him with his hand.
The silver demigod then flexed his fingers as his arms morphed into a pair of dark golden. Black and yellow lightning arcing around them, he swept his hands downwards.
Poseidon braced himself. A wall of water surged around him, flash-freezing into a shield of ice.
*LIGHTNING!*
A dark gold bolt, wreathed in destructive energy, erupted from Silba's arms. The attack streaked forward, enveloping the ground and turning it into a molten static mound. It slammed into the frozen barrier, shattering it, yet Poseidon stood unscathed.
Through the haze, Poseidon met his son's gaze.
The silver demigod's heterochromatic eyes burned with hatred. Throughout their scuffle, he never once questioned the lack of Hades presence. It's as if he didn't care. A feeling of unease passed through Poseidon's mind.
*BOOM!*
Zeus reappeared above him. His feet cloaked in raging winds. A colossal sword of lightning, several times larger than his body, emerged in his grasp, crackling with power.
"HAAAOOH!" Zeus bellowed, swinging the blade down with enough force to sunder mountains.
At the same time, Poseidon lunged, his Trident coated in a maelstrom of swirling water.
It was a pincer attack.
Silba stood unfazed. "…"
His left eye shone as the world around him suddenly changed.
Sound faded. Colors dulled to a lifeless gray. The battlefield froze in place, Zeus and Poseidon locked mid-attack, their divine weapons suspended in motion.
To an outsider, it was as if time itself had suddenly stopped.
'This is going to be too funny.' Kronos thought with a giddy smirk splayed across his face as he flicked a popcorn to his mouth.
"…" His grandson didn't pay him any mind as he moved his left eye right and back to stare at the unmoving expressions of the pair of brothers.
Exhaling, Silba moved.
He didn't evade. He didn't block. He simply attacked, and mercilessly at that.
*PUNCH!*
*PUNCH!*
A strike to the neck—one for each god.
Time resumed.
"GAAHHHH!" Blood sprayed as Zeus and Poseidon keeled to the ruins below, choking, gasping, clutching their throats in pain.
"You… monster!" Zeus snarled with bloodshot eyes, his voice hoarse as he forced air back into his lungs. He commanded the air to return to him so as to not go unconscious by lack of oxygen.
"!!!" Poseidon mouthed incoherently, struggling to mend the damage with water. He couldn't speak.
This humiliating moment served as another example of no matter how much knowledge they think they had on him, Perseus Silba Jackson would always leave them in the dark and guessing.
"…" Silba stood in the same spot he was before as if he had never taken a step from his spot. The floor, on the other hand, told a different story altogether. It was a jaw-dropping sight because two distinct streaks of fire burned beside him, parallel trails of silver and gold stretching from his feet towards the downed foes.
Poseidon stared at his son in utter disbelief while Zeus stared at him as if he were the monster he claimed him to be. A single question was circling in their heads.
"Just what did he do?!"
It wasn't teleportation. They would have been able to sort of predict it if it were!
It wasn't the power of time either. They could at least sense that!
In truth it was one of his personal ten, Void Perception.
It was a state where all sound fades, colors dull, and only the essence of movement remains. Within it, the perception of time stopped—enemies became still, predictable, and vulnerable. The path to strike is laid bare. To Silba, a fight was finished before it even started.
A truly monstrous technique.
It was a move he had developed specifically to bring down his former enemy turned friend and longtime rival Alcides, or as he's better known as, Heracles. That fight needed more than strength alone to surpass that monster and claim the title of the Strongest Demigod.
Kronos, who observed the fallen forms of his sons, let out a laugh. 'AHAHAHAHA!' He clapped his hands together. 'Splendidly done, grandson. Splendidly done indeed.' The Titan praised.
That little trick always managed to get a laugh out of the Titan lord. The looks on people's faces twisting into absolute shock the moment they thought they had done something special only to fall not even a second later. It was absolutely priceless.
'That wonderful display aside, you don't use it often anymore, not since your fight with that oaf. What brought this on?' He inquired.
Before Silba could respond, a tornado of lightning came barreling toward him at breakneck speed.
His descendant merely shrugged, slicking his hair back. 'Don't know.' He muttered, casually swiping his hand.
*SLICE!*
The whirlwind was cleaved in half, dispersing harmlessly into the air. 'Who am I even trying to impress?' He sighed under his breath.
Kronos smirked. 'Well, I for one definitely am. By the way, the way how many minutes are left until the Olympics goes kaplooie?'
Silba rolled his eyes. 'You're the Titan of Time. Figure it out, dingus.'
'Hmph, kids these days. No respect.' Kronos turned his nose up.
*CRACKLE!*
The sound of electricity fizzling from Zeus's body got their attention. Zeus stood up again, struggling to keep himself up. 'The idiot really cannot read the writing on the wall.' Kronos snorted.
The King of Olympus glared hatefully, his breathing labored, at the one who simply stared back with the same cold look he always did. "…Don't… huff… you dare… toy with me, you bastard!" He raised his bloodied arm as he sent lightning down to strike the silver demigod.
The demigod raised his own arm. "9th chair. Sorceress." A black fire enveloped his right arm.
*LIGHTNING!*
It struck him. But Silba withstood it with the assistance of nine magical protection circles aided by the power of his black arm, its colorful sigils and runes running rampant across its sides. Thanks to Zeus becoming exhausted, the magical circles didn't shatter immediately on impact.
"HAAAAAGH!" Zeus yelled as he grew in size until he reached the height of a football goal post.
Electricity surged around his fist as he proceeded to slam it down onto his hated foe, breaking apart the protective magic. "When I'm done with you, you'll beg me to send you to Tartarus!" He bellowed as he repetitively brought his fists down.
*PUNCH!*
*RUMBLE!*
*SLAM!*
*LIGHTNING!*
*RUMBLE!*
*PUNCH!*
*RUMBLE!*
His hits and electricity kept hitting the same spot, infusing him with more to use as he was calling out natural lightning to empower him.
"Hmph, and I'm called a one-trick pony." Zeus felt him land on his shoulder.
*SLAP!*
*LIGHTNING!*
The King of Olympus immediately swatted his shoulder, followed up by a burst of electricity for good measure.
*KICK!*
"KUH!" A brutal kick smashed into the opposite end of his face, sending him staggering through the air like a ragdoll.
He received a hard kick to the opposite cheek by Silba, sending him flying straight into the wall.
*CRASH!*
Zeus's back kissed the wall. "Again?" The King of the Gods climbed out of the rubble with gritted teeth. "NO!"
He could've sworn he swatted the boy like the pesky crow he knew he was, so then why did he get hit instead?
That was an easy question. He got played.
His 'nephew' had been nothing more than a magical clone he had made with his black arm. The fake took the hit while the real one positioned himself for the counterattack. Simple as that.
"Idiot!" Poseidon stood up, having already healed his injuries. "I thought we agreed we wouldn't make ourselves bigger targets!" He shouted and, encasing himself in a sphere of pressurized water, ran to his son.
He then summoned a tidal wave.
*LIGHTNING!*
Silba countered with his own lightning from his left, empowered by the 9th Chair. His lightning clashed against the incoming water, causing the two forces to violently cancel each other.
*WHOOSH!*
The sea god hurled his trident at the silver demigod.
Silba merely tilted his head. The deadly weapon whizzed past him, missing by mere inches. Lightning combusted out of his left arm. In the same moment, he teleported to him, where he then proceeded to break through his father's rapidly swirling water.
*PUNCH!*
Poseidon's head snapped to the side as Silba's electric fist slammed into his face. Yet, the sea god didn't stagger back. Instead, he grabbed Silba's arm mid-motion.
The silver demigod frowned as Poseidon used the sheer momentum of the attack to shift his body and bring his son crashing into the floor, dragging himself down by mistake. The exhaustion was getting to him.
*BOOM!*
*RUMBLING!*
The two immediately recovered, pushing off the ground simultaneously. No weapons. No elemental tricks. Only close quarters combat.
Silba didn't summon Deeny or any of his silver-water weapons. Whether out of fairness, confidence in his absolute skill, or to conserve his strength, no one could say. They both coated themselves in earthshaker, escalating their battle into pure martial combat.
*KICK!*
*BOOM!*
*PUNCH!*
*BOOM!*
Their movements blurred as they engaged in a deadly, high-speed exchange. Fists met fists. Footwork shifted unpredictably. Every strike held enough force to obliterate shake the chamber, yet neither yielded.
Poseidon vanished in a flash of green light, closing the distance.
*WHOOSH!*
His fist tore through the air. To counter that, Silba evaded by shifting his body to the side, evading at the last second. The sheer force of the punch obliterated the ground beneath them.
Before he could recover, Poseidon was already on him, pivoting into a jumping axe kick. Silba reacted instantly. His hand grasped the floor, using it to anchor himself as he dropped low.
The second Poseidon's strike missed, Silba lunged forward, driving his elbow deep into Poseidon's ribs.
*BAM!*
A shockwave rippled through Poseidon's body. The sea god grunted but pushed past the pain and grabbed his son by the hair, yanking him back.
Kronos let out a whistle, impressed. 'Didn't think you had it in you. About time.'
Silba's eyes widened in surprise.
*PUNCH!*
Poseidon's hook crashed into his face, but at the same time.
*KICK!*
Silba's foot connected too, striking the sea god's face.
*BOOM!*
A shockwave detonated outward, sending both reeling—but only for a moment.
*WHOOSH!*
Silba, for his part, refused to let his father dictate the fight. He was already on top of him, forcing the pace to which Poseidon wouldn't give up so easily. The air vibrated with each strike. His son's parries were just as precise, every deflection causing subtle ripples in the air.
Unlike raw strength, Earthshaker-enhanced attacks colliding together generated shockwave vibrations, warping the very atmosphere in a different way than your typical gods would.
*PUNCH!*
*BOOM!*
...
..
.
(If you wanted a clearer description, I imagine Void Perception to be like what Rin Itoshi from Blue Lock does and the flames on the ground are like Frees Fafnir from Beyblade Burst Evolution. I thought those two were cool and wanted to add them. Peace out)