IMPACT
1221 Words
UNDERWORLD ARC
Chapter 15: Impact
Silence.
An eerie silence settled over the battlefield.
The smoke slowly drifted away.
Standing at its center...
...was Hades.
His eyes remained closed.
His breathing was calm.
His gray irises had transformed into intricate golden gear-like patterns that rotated slowly beneath his eyelids whenever they briefly opened.
No anger.
No arrogance.
No playful grin.
Only perfect stillness.
The trio stared at him.
For the first time since the battle began...
Fear entered their hearts.
Zxe frowned.
"...I can't feel anything."
"Where did his presence go?"
Zel's five eyes continuously shifted.
"If I wasn't looking directly at him..."
"...I would think no one was standing there."
Even Aza tightened his grip around the bone staff.
"...What have you become?"
Hades slowly lifted the Divine Bident.
A faint smile appeared.
"...Let's continue."
Without warning—
He gently stepped forward with his left foot.
That single step...
...vanished.
No explosion.
No flash.
No sound.
He simply...
...wasn't there anymore.
Aza's eyes widened.
"Wha—"
BOOOOM!!
A fist buried itself deep into his abdomen.
The priest's eyes bulged.
He hadn't even seen Hades move.
His body folded around the punch before being launched like a cannonball through several ruined walls.
The explosion echoed across the fortress.
Zxe and Zel froze.
"...Impossible..."
Beelzebub's mouth hung open.
"...I..."
"I didn't even see him move."
Persephone whispered softly.
"...Pure Mind..."
Hades calmly lowered his fist.
Still expressionless.
Still breathing evenly.
Zxe suddenly roared.
"STOP IGNORING ME!!"
He charged like a berserk beast.
His right fist expanded with demonic energy.
Hades remained still.
The punch arrived.
At the last possible instant...
Hades' eyes flashed.
He spun the Divine Bident effortlessly.
The hilt deflected Zxe's fist.
The bladed end simultaneously redirected Zel's incoming katana.
One smooth motion.
No wasted movement.
No unnecessary strength.
Just perfect precision.
Before either opponent could recover—
Hades spun.
His body rotated once.
A devastating roundhouse kick landed squarely against both demons.
BOOOOOOM!!
Zxe crashed into the western wall.
Zel into the eastern ruins.
Both structures collapsed instantly.
The watching demonkins erupted in disbelief.
"...What was that?!"
"He countered both of them at once!"
"He didn't even struggle!"
Beelzebub slowly shook his head.
"...Every movement..."
"...is perfect."
"There isn't a single wasted action."
Aza emerged from the rubble, coughing blood.
"...Impossible..."
"We're one mind..."
"We should never lose coordination."
He raised his staff.
"Again!"
The trio regrouped instantly.
This time...
No one attacked recklessly.
They synchronized perfectly.
Lightning.
Swordsmanship.
Brute force.
All three launched a relentless barrage.
Punches.
Slashes.
Staff strikes.
Every attack complemented the others.
The battlefield disappeared beneath their assault.
Yet...
Hades barely moved.
A slight tilt.
A small step.
A gentle turn.
Every attack missed by mere centimeters.
His footwork resembled flowing water.
Elegant.
Effortless.
Untouchable.
Zxe screamed in frustration.
"JUST STAND STILL!!"
Hades calmly sidestepped another punch.
"...You already know."
"You simply..."
"...can't touch me."
For the first time...
Emotion appeared on Aza's face.
Panic.
He immediately pointed the bone staff forward.
A bolt of black lightning erupted at nearly point-blank range.
The distance was too short.
Too sudden.
Everyone expected it to connect.
Instead—
Hades lightly tapped the ground.
His body rose gracefully into the air.
He landed...
...on top of the lightning bolt itself.
The spectators gasped.
"He..."
"...he's standing on lightning?!"
Using the bolt like solid ground...
Hades sprinted across it.
Before Aza could process what was happening—
Hades swung the Divine Bident.
A violent vibration blast erupted from its blades.
BOOOOOOM!!
Aza barely raised his staff in time.
Even then...
The impact hurled him hundreds of meters backward.
The trio had completely lost control of the battle.
For the first time...
They were being cornered.
Zxe clenched his fists.
"This isn't happening!"
Zel quietly lowered his head.
"...We've lost..."
Aza suddenly looked toward them.
His expression changed.
Cold.
Merciless.
"If that's the case..."
"...Then sacrifices must be made."
Before either of them understood—
His hands pierced straight through their chests.
SHHK!!
Zxe coughed blood.
"W...what..."
Zel's five eyes widened.
"...Brother...?"
Aza crushed both of their hearts.
"No..."
"This body alone..."
"...will be enough."
Dark energy exploded.
Their bodies began dissolving.
"AAAAAAHHHHHH!!"
Their screams echoed throughout the battlefield.
Their flesh melted into black liquid before flowing directly into Aza's body.
Bones twisted.
Muscles expanded.
Horns erupted from his skull.
Multiple limbs burst from his back.
His body grotesquely mutated into a monstrous chimera.
His screams no longer sounded human.
Only madness remained.
The demonkins watched in horror.
"He..."
"He sacrificed his own counterparts..."
Persephone lowered her eyes.
"...How tragic."
Hades finally frowned.
Disappointment crossed his otherwise tranquil face.
"So..."
"You were willing to kill even yourself..."
"...just to win."
He slowly pointed the Divine Bident toward the monstrous Aza.
"...I'm done playing."
"This attack..."
"...will end your suffering."
The transformed Aza had completely lost his sanity.
He fired countless scorching energy bullets in every direction.
Mountains exploded.
Ruins vanished.
Everything around him was annihilated indiscriminately.
Hades calmly walked forward.
One step.
Another.
Every projectile missed.
Each one passed mere inches from his body.
His movements resembled flowing water.
Nothing touched him.
Seeing Hades approaching—
Aza opened his enormous mouth.
Dark energy gathered.
The very air trembled.
Then—
He unleashed a gigantic beam of destruction.
The beam consumed everything before it.
The ground evaporated.
Even the atmosphere distorted.
Yet...
Hades didn't retreat.
He accelerated.
At the final instant—
He lowered the Divine Bident beneath his feet.
Using the flat side of its vibrating blade...
He surfed across the destructive beam itself.
The vibration continuously split the energy beneath him, allowing him to glide forward effortlessly.
The demonkins could scarcely believe their eyes.
"He's..."
"...riding the attack?!"
Within seconds—
Hades reached Aza.
He leapt high into the air.
Both hands gripped the Divine Bident.
Golden vibrations concentrated along its twin blades.
The weapon hummed violently.
For the first time since awakening Pure Mind...
Hades spoke with absolute certainty.
"...This is the end."
One clean swing.
SHHHHHK!!
The vibrating blade sliced cleanly through Aza's neck.
There was no resistance.
No struggle.
His monstrous head separated instantly.
The giant body remained standing for a brief second...
Then collapsed.
The head disintegrated into black ash before touching the ground.
Silence.
The battlefield was over.
Pure Mind slowly faded.
The golden gears within Hades' eyes disappeared.
His breathing became uneven again.
His shoulders trembled.
He dropped to one knee.
"...Haa..."
"...Haa..."
Beelzebub immediately understood.
"So that's it..."
"He hasn't mastered the technique."
"It only lasts while absolute concentration is maintained."
"The moment the battle ends..."
"...the state collapses."
Hades planted the Divine Bident into the ground and slowly stood.
His familiar carefree grin returned.
He scratched the back of his head.
"...Man..."
"My head hurts."
"I'll leave mastering that technique for another day."
He pulled the Bident free and rested it across his shoulder.
Then he looked toward the massive throne room at the heart of the ruined fortress.
His smile slowly faded.
"...Only one left."
Far beyond the broken gates...
A familiar demonic laugh echoed through the darkness.
"Hahahahaha..."
"Come, Hades..."
"Me don wait long enough."
"Da final show..."
"...fit begin."
Hades sighed.
"What a noisy guy."
With slow, confident steps...
He walked toward Lucifer's throne.
The final battle for the Underworld...
...was about to begin.
End of Chapter 15
- Writer
