AMON THE PUNISHER
1784 Words
UNDERWORLD ARC
Chapter 8: Amon the Punisher
The wasteland fell silent.
The dust from Amon's landing slowly drifted away, revealing the towering fallen angel standing within a massive crater.
He was nearly twice Hades' height.
His pale, dirty-white skin was covered in battle scars, while a single enormous black wing stretched behind him. Two jagged horns curved from his forehead, and his dark emerald eyes burned with murderous intent.
Resting upon his shoulder was a massive obsidian lance stained by countless battles.
Every breath he took radiated overwhelming pressure.
Persephone unconsciously stepped backward.
"So... that's Amon..."
Hades simply smiled.
"So you're the famous Punisher."
He stretched lazily before placing both hands behind his head.
"I expected someone uglier."
Amon's expression remained emotionless.
"I am Amon."
"My duty..."
"...is to erase all enemies of Lord Lucifer."
Hades yawned.
"Cool."
"So..."
"What've you got?"
Without warning—
WHOOSH!!
Amon vanished.
Persephone gasped.
"W-Where did he—"
A sharp killing intent erupted behind Hades.
Amon had already appeared in his blind spot.
His lance shot forward like lightning.
CLANG!!
Silence.
Hades hadn't even turned around.
Still standing casually with both hands behind his head...
He caught the tip of the lance using only one hand.
"...Seriously?"
He sighed.
"You people really don't know how to greet guests."
Amon's eyes narrowed.
Hades slowly pushed the lance aside before finally turning around.
"Alright."
He cracked his neck.
"My turn."
BOOM!!
His fist exploded forward.
Amon answered with one of his own.
The two punches collided.
The entire Underworld trembled.
A colossal shockwave exploded outward, ripping apart cliffs and sending rivers of lava surging into the air.
The ground split open for miles.
A hurricane of divine and demonic energy swept across the battlefield.
Far away...
Lucifer's cloak fluttered violently.
"Ho..."
He grinned.
"Dis boy got some powa."
Beelzebub narrowed his eyes.
"He's stronger than when he fought Lord Atlas."
Azazel folded his arms.
"This..."
"...will be interesting."
The moment their fists separated—
Both warriors disappeared.
BOOM!!
BANG!!
CRASH!!
The battlefield erupted into chaos.
They moved so quickly that Persephone could no longer distinguish their bodies.
Only flashes.
Shockwaves.
Exploding mountains.
Collapsing cliffs.
Every collision echoed throughout the realm.
Lucifer laughed loudly.
"HAHA!"
"He still no transform!"
Samael's eyes widened.
"...Impossible."
"He's matching Amon in base form."
"No..."
"He's pushing him back."
The exchange continued relentlessly.
Punches.
Kicks.
Elbows.
Knees.
Neither side gave an inch.
Finally—
Hades slipped beneath Amon's sweeping lance.
THUD!!
His fist buried itself into Amon's ribs.
Before the fallen angel could recover—
WHAM!!
A spinning kick smashed into his jaw.
Amon crashed into the ground, carving an enormous trench through solid rock.
Persephone smiled.
"He did it!"
But...
Amon slowly stood.
His face remained expressionless.
He didn't even raise his weapon.
He simply stood there.
Waiting.
Hades grinned.
"Giving up?"
No response.
"Suit yourself."
He charged.
His fist rocketed toward Amon's face.
Then—
BANG!!
Without warning...
Hades himself was blasted sideways.
He crashed through an entire mountain.
Persephone screamed.
"Lord Hades!!"
Far away...
Lucifer's grin widened.
"Hmph..."
"Don't tell me..."
"Amon already use dat technique."
"Hehehe..."
"Let's see how arrogant boy survive dis."
Hades climbed from the rubble.
"...What?"
He rushed forward again.
BOOM!!
Once again...
He was struck by an invisible force.
Another mountain collapsed.
Persephone stared in disbelief.
"H-He isn't moving..."
"Then..."
"What's attacking Lord Hades?"
Again.
Again.
Again.
Again.
Eight times.
Every charge ended exactly the same way.
Even Beelzebub shook his head.
"It's over."
"You cannot fight..."
"...what you cannot see."
Persephone's hands trembled.
"No..."
"Please..."
Hades slowly rose from the shattered earth.
His clothes were torn.
Dust covered his body.
Yet...
He was smiling.
This time...
He assumed a completely different stance.
One foot forward.
Shoulders relaxed.
Eyes closed.
He breathed deeply.
Then...
He charged again.
Samael sighed.
"Fool."
"This ends now."
Amon activated his technique.
Five seconds ahead—
The invisible strike descended.
Just before impact—
Hades suddenly twisted.
Both arms crossed before him.
CLANG!!
The invisible attack collided against his crossed forearms.
Shockwaves exploded outward.
Everyone froze.
Amon's eyes widened.
"...Impossible."
Hades slowly lowered his guard.
A grin spread across his face.
"...Gotcha."
Complete silence.
Persephone blinked.
"H-He blocked it..."
Lucifer stopped smiling.
Beelzebub stared without blinking.
Amon himself took a step backward.
"H-How..."
"How did you..."
Hades pointed toward him.
"It wasn't luck."
He cracked his knuckles.
"I'll prove it."
He charged once more.
Again—
Amon's invisible attack came.
This time...
Hades casually shifted right.
CLANG!!
Perfect block.
Not even pushed back.
Azazel's mouth slowly opened.
"...No..."
"Even I..."
"I've never countered that technique."
Beelzebub spoke quietly.
"...He's figured it out."
Amon stared in disbelief.
"...How?"
Hades smiled.
"You people seem to forget something."
He pointed upward.
"My father..."
"...is the King of Time."
"So naturally..."
"I understand time better than most."
He looked directly into Amon's eyes.
"Your secret technique..."
"Time Skip Art."
Amon's pupils shrank.
"You..."
"...know it?"
Persephone looked completely lost.
"...What's Time Skip Art?"
Without taking his eyes off Amon, Hades answered.
"It allows him to leap five to eight seconds into the future."
"He attacks me there..."
"Then returns to the present."
"That's why he appears completely motionless."
Persephone nodded repeatedly.
"Oh..."
"I understand."
Hades glanced at her.
"...No."
"You don't."
She awkwardly smiled.
"...Not even a little."
Far away...
Beelzebub finally understood.
"So..."
"Those reckless charges..."
"He wasn't attacking."
"He was collecting information."
Lucifer burst into laughter.
"HAHAHAHA!"
"Dis boy battle instinct crazy!"
Inside his mind...
Hades smiled.
Thanks... Uncle Atlas.
Your training really paid off.
He rolled his shoulders.
Persephone quickly reached into the Divine Bag.
"My Lord!"
"Should I bring your weapon?"
Hades waved his hand.
"No."
He looked at Amon.
"I don't need weapons..."
"...to deal with this fallen fella."
The taunt visibly irritated Amon.
His aura exploded.
He charged first.
Time Skip activated.
Invisible strikes rained down.
CLANG!!
CLANG!!
CLANG!!
Hades blocked every single one.
Then—
While blocking with his fist—
His leg shot upward simultaneously.
BAM!!
His kick smashed into Amon's jaw.
The fallen angel staggered.
He had attacked...
While defending.
Lucifer's generals watched speechlessly.
Amon growled.
His demonic energy erupted.
"If five seconds isn't enough..."
"...then fifteen will be."
Dark energy surrounded him.
The air distorted violently.
His Time Skip Art evolved.
Fifteen seconds.
Attacks now came from the left...
Right...
Behind...
Above...
An almost complete 270-degree assault.
Invisible blades tore through the battlefield.
Persephone couldn't even follow what was happening.
Yet...
Hades danced.
Every movement flowed naturally.
His arms moved like flowing water.
His feet glided effortlessly.
He blocked...
Parried...
Deflected...
Countered...
It was as though he possessed eyes in every direction.
To everyone watching...
It resembled a graceful dance more than a battle.
Azazel whispered,
"...Monster."
Eventually...
Amon's breathing became heavy.
His aura weakened.
The strain of maintaining such an advanced Time Skip Art rapidly drained his energy.
He stepped backward.
Hades did the same.
Silence returned.
Then...
Hades slowly closed his eyes.
A gentle lavender aura began flowing around him.
Unlike before, this energy was calm.
Peaceful.
Yet unimaginably dense.
Dark crimson sparks danced across his body.
Golden pressure distorted the surrounding air.
The ground beneath him cracked without him moving.
Beelzebub's eyes widened.
"He's transforming..."
Lucifer grinned excitedly.
"Hehehe..."
"Now dis interesting."
After nearly a minute...
The aura stabilized.
Instead of fully transforming...
It condensed back into Hades' body.
He slowly opened his eyes.
His stance changed completely.
His left fist rested calmly behind him.
His right hand extended forward with an open palm.
Like a master of ancient martial arts.
Hades smiled.
"I won't waste my full power on someone at your level."
"So..."
"I'll show you something new."
"This..."
"...is Divine Energy Omen."
The air itself trembled.
Amon roared and charged.
Time Skip activated.
But—
Hades disappeared.
His speed had increased several times over.
Before Amon could react—
RIP!!
Hades' fist tore clean through his shoulder.
Blood erupted.
Amon screamed.
Before he could recover—
A sphere of condensed lavender divine energy formed within Hades' palm.
It hummed softly...
Yet contained terrifying destructive power.
"Goodnight."
He thrust it forward.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!
The Divine Energy sphere detonated point-blank against Amon's chest.
A blinding explosion engulfed the battlefield.
The shockwave spiraled through the Underworld, flattening everything in its path.
Minutes later...
The smoke finally settled.
Persephone smiled with relief.
"It's over..."
She ran toward Hades.
"My Lord—"
Suddenly—
Hades spun around.
A blade of pure divine energy instantly formed in his hand.
SHING!!
One clean s***h.
Her head fell.
Silence.
Beelzebub's eyes widened.
"...What?"
Persephone's body collapsed.
Lucifer's generals stared in horror.
Hades simply smirked.
"You really thought..."
"...I'd fall for something that cheap?"
The body dissolved into black smoke.
It transformed back into—
Amon.
The fallen angel's severed head slowly faded into ash before disappearing completely.
The real Persephone emerged from behind a broken cliff, completely unharmed.
She walked toward him slowly.
"...What if..."
"...that had really been me?"
Hades sheathed the energy blade.
"I'd know."
"Even if I were asleep."
She tilted her head.
"How?"
Hades chuckled.
"When I was twelve..."
"Uncle Atlas dragged me to Jotunheim for training."
"He said the freezing cold would make me tougher."
He sighed.
"Worst vacation of my life."
Persephone laughed softly.
"And?"
"Then Loki showed up."
"He spent weeks shape-shifting into everyone imaginable."
"My brothers."
"My teachers."
"Even my mother."
He rubbed his forehead.
"That annoying trickster nearly drove me insane."
"So now..."
"I can tell when someone's pretending."
Persephone smiled.
"...I suppose I should thank Lord Loki."
"...Don't."
Hades shivered.
"I still owe him several punches."
Inside his mind, however, Hades noticed something strange.
This body...
It's evolving again.
Every battle makes it stronger.
Amon pushed me further...
If this keeps up...
How strong will I become before leaving this place?
Persephone interrupted his thoughts.
"We should rest."
"And start planning how to reclaim the Underworld."
Hades immediately nodded.
"I agree."
"I'm starving."
He looked toward her Divine Bag.
"...You didn't feed all our food to Cerberus..."
"...did you?"
Persephone burst into laughter.
"No."
"I made sure to save enough."
"Good."
"Because taming another legendary beast on an empty stomach sounds exhausting."
Together...
The future King and Queen of the Underworld walked away from the ruined battlefield.
High above them...
Lucifer and his generals silently returned to their floating fortress.
Azazel finally spoke.
"We cannot underestimate him anymore."
Lucifer merely chuckled as he entered his throne room.
"Hehehe..."
"Let him play..."
"When time come..."
"Everything go burn."
His laughter echoed throughout the castle.
Only Samael remained outside.
Watching the distant figures of Hades and Persephone.
For the first time...
Doubt crept into his heart.
End of Chapter 8
- Writer
