Hades vs Beelzebub part 2
1346 Words
ARC ONE: BIRTH OF THE KING
Chapter 5: Hades vs. Beelzebub II
Dust rolled across the ruined marketplace.
A deep trench stretched for hundreds of meters where Hades had been blasted away.
Silence.
Then...
BOOM!
The rubble exploded.
Hades leaped back onto the battlefield, sliding across the shattered ground before planting his saber into the earth to stop himself.
He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.
"...Now that's more like it."
Across from him, Beelzebub stood in his awakened form.
His insect-like wings stretched across the sky.
Countless flies circled around him like a living storm.
Dark green aura seeped from his body, corroding everything it touched.
He looked less like an angel...
And more like a nightmare.
"You still smile?"
Beelzebub asked coldly.
Hades shrugged.
"If I stop smiling, then you win."
The demon disappeared.
BOOM!
He appeared before Hades with a thunderous punch.
Hades blocked with his saber.
CLANG!
Another punch.
Then another.
Then another.
Beelzebub unleashed a relentless barrage.
His fists became invisible.
The air exploded with every strike.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Hades couldn't counter.
Couldn't dodge.
All he could do was defend.
Each punch pushed him farther backward.
His boots carved deep trenches into the ground.
The aura surrounding his sword flickered under the overwhelming assault.
"...Damn."
"So this is your real strength."
Beelzebub didn't answer.
He simply attacked faster.
The battlefield trembled beneath the rain of punches.
---
Far away...
Atlas stood upon one of Mount Othrys' highest cliffs.
Beside him stood Azeris.
Both watched the battle in silence.
Atlas folded his muscular arms.
"Hades..."
"...don't focus on matching his strength."
"Remember your training."
---
Five Years Earlier...
The Titan training grounds echoed with explosions.
A thirteen-year-old Hades lay flat on his back, bruised from head to toe.
Atlas stood above him.
"Again."
Hades groaned.
"I've already lost thirty-seven times today."
"Thirty-eight."
Atlas pulled him back to his feet.
"What wins battles?"
Hades sighed.
"Strength?"
Atlas punched him in the face.
"No."
Hades crashed into the dirt.
"...Power?"
Another punch.
"No."
"...Technique?"
A kick.
"No."
Hades rubbed his swollen cheek.
"Then what?"
Atlas crouched before him.
"Understanding."
He pointed toward Hades' eyes.
"Every warrior has habits."
"They breathe differently."
"They shift their weight."
"They tighten certain muscles before attacking."
"They reveal their intentions..."
"...long before they move."
Hades blinked.
"So..."
"I should watch them?"
Atlas smiled.
"Exactly."
"The strongest warrior isn't the one with the greatest power."
"It's the one who understands the battlefield."
He looked toward the horizon.
"Your grandfather Uranus was once called invincible."
"Yet your father defeated him."
"One day..."
"Someone may defeat Cronus."
"And someday..."
"Someone may even defeat you."
Hades frowned.
"So there isn't a strongest?"
Atlas shook his head.
"No."
"There are only those who stop learning."
---
The memory faded.
Back in the present...
Hades closed his eyes.
He stopped resisting.
He stopped panicking.
He simply...
Watched.
Beelzebub threw another punch.
Hades noticed the slight movement of his shoulder beforehand.
He leaned sideways.
The punch missed.
Beelzebub frowned.
A second punch.
Hades ducked.
A third.
He stepped aside.
A fourth.
He narrowly evaded it.
The fallen angel's eyes widened.
"...Impossible."
Hades smiled.
"I finally see it."
Beelzebub lunged again.
This time...
Hades caught his fist.
The entire battlefield fell silent.
Beelzebub stared in disbelief.
"My attack..."
"...was stopped?"
Hades laughed.
"You've got a bad habit."
"You always tense your left shoulder before attacking."
The demon's eyes widened.
"I noticed."
Hades twisted Beelzebub's arm.
CRACK!
The demon roared in pain.
Hades drove his fist into Beelzebub's chest.
BOOOOM!!
The fallen angel flew backward.
Before he could recover—
Hades thrust his palm forward.
Lavender energy gathered instantly.
"Let's try this."
DIVINE IMPACT!
A massive sphere of compressed energy blasted forward.
It struck Beelzebub head-on.
BOOOOOOOOOOM!!
The explosion illuminated the skies above Mount Othrys.
When the smoke cleared...
Beelzebub knelt inside a massive crater.
His armor was shattered.
Blood streamed from countless wounds.
He slowly looked up...
Only to freeze.
Hades was smiling.
But...
His sword was gone.
Instead...
He held something enormous over his shoulder.
A strange metallic weapon unlike anything Beelzebub had ever seen.
The demon frowned.
"...What is that?"
Hades proudly patted it.
"Oh, this?"
"I call it..."
He grinned.
"The Divine Gatling Gun."
Beelzebub blinked.
"A...what?"
"A really loud problem."
The six rotating barrels began spinning.
WHIRRRRRR!!
Lavender energy gathered inside the weapon.
Hades rested it against his shoulder.
"You know..."
"I've been watching human inventions."
"They're surprisingly creative."
He aimed.
"So..."
"Let's see if this works."
The barrels erupted.
RATATATATATATATA!!
Hundreds of condensed divine bullets tore across the battlefield.
Each shot exploded on impact.
Beelzebub desperately dodged.
Some struck his wings.
Others pierced his armor.
Several blasted straight through his defenses.
Explosion after explosion engulfed the battlefield.
The Lord of Flies was driven completely backward.
Finally...
The barrage ceased.
Smoke filled the air.
Beelzebub collapsed onto one knee.
His breathing had become ragged.
His wings were badly damaged.
Hades smiled.
"Looks like it worked."
The Gatling Gun dissolved into particles of light.
The energy reshaped itself.
Moments later...
A long divine staff appeared in Hades' hand.
He twirled it once.
"Now..."
"Let's finish this."
He shot into the sky.
Higher.
Higher still.
The clouds split around him.
He pointed the glowing staff downward.
Divine energy gathered at its tip.
"This ends here!"
He descended like a falling star.
The heavens trembled beneath his power.
Beelzebub looked up.
For the first time...
Fear appeared in his eyes.
But just before Hades could strike—
His aura flickered.
The white-haired prince suddenly coughed blood.
"...What?"
His vision blurred.
The divine staff vanished.
His transformation began breaking apart.
"No..."
His body refused to move.
The overwhelming divine power he had released had exceeded what his young body could withstand.
His strength disappeared.
He fell helplessly from the sky.
CRAAASH!!
Hades slammed into the ground.
His transformation completely vanished.
His hair remained white...
But the immense aura was gone.
He struggled to stand.
"Damn..."
"My body..."
"...won't move..."
Beelzebub slowly rose.
Though heavily wounded...
He was still capable of fighting.
He limped toward Hades.
"You've lost."
Dark energy gathered within his claws.
"This..."
"...is your end."
Just as he raised his hand—
The earth suddenly trembled.
BOOM!!
Gigantic vines burst from beneath the ground.
They wrapped around Beelzebub's body before he could react.
"What?!"
The vines tightened.
Another enormous flowering pod rose beneath Hades, gently surrounding him before carrying him away from the battlefield.
A familiar voice echoed.
"You've done enough, brat."
Demeter stepped into the ruined marketplace.
Green divine energy flowed around her as flowers bloomed beneath every step she took.
Beside her...
Hestia hurried toward the pod protecting Hades.
Demeter looked coldly at Beelzebub.
"I'm the only one allowed to call him a brat."
She took another step.
"I'm the only one allowed to tease him."
Another.
"I'm the only one allowed to beat some sense into him."
Her emerald eyes glowed.
"But anyone else..."
Her divine aura erupted.
"...will answer to me."
For the first time...
Beelzebub felt genuine danger.
Before Demeter could attack—
The ground beneath him split open.
Countless demonic hands reached out from the abyss.
They tore apart the vines binding him.
"Hmph."
Beelzebub smirked.
"It seems Hell still has use for me."
The hands dragged him into the darkness.
Within seconds...
He was gone.
Silence returned to the battlefield.
Hestia gently held Hades' unconscious hand.
"He'll be alright..."
Demeter said quietly, though concern hid beneath her usual harsh tone.
"We're taking him home."
Far away...
Standing atop the Palace of Time...
Cronus had watched everything.
Every clash.
Every transformation.
Every display of overwhelming potential.
His expression darkened.
"At only eighteen..."
"He pushed a fallen angel to the brink."
He slowly clenched his fist.
"If he continues to grow..."
His voice barely rose above a whisper.
"...one day..."
"...he really will surpass me."
The fear planted years ago by Uranus' curse had begun to bloom.
And with it...
A terrible decision started forming in the King of Time's heart.
End of Chapter 5
- Writer
