The Seraphic System
Chapter: 35
Pa/ t reon details at the bottom of the chapter if you're interested I'll keep posting regardless.
(God Of Strength)
The atmosphere grew tense as I stared down the God across from me. Outwardly I projected myself as confident as to try to stall for a bit more time. The two Hero Faction sacred gear users looked confused at the new arrival.
"I'm surprised to find you here, Heracles," I said, feeling a bit of amusement as the two bound humans snapped their heads to me. Then slowly looked to God in fear.
Hercules lightly scowled.
"Don't use that name."
I didn't reply to that.
"Would you care to enlighten me as to why you are here? I was sent here by Ares to retrieve his shield." I informed him.
He didn't respond.
He knelt, and I summoned my two tempest Chakrams.
"I am not here to play games. Prepare yourself." He announced.
The ground below him shattered as his massive form exploded upwards. He flew up, then began descending in what seemed like a convincing imitation of the Hulk.
Not good.
He was over a thousand levels above me in power, which meant I was in for a tough fight. Fortunately, I had some experience battling stronger opponents. Namara had been slightly stronger than me, after all.
I just hoped my being an angel wouldn't allow him to use his godly form since technically I wasn't mortal, or I was done for. I could escape to my sub-dimension, but there was the small potential chance that he could wait around long enough that he could catch me leaving my sub-dimension.
I threw one of the Tempest Chakrams at him while he was airborne and quickly unfurled my wings to propel myself away.
My blade sliced through the air toward him but veered off course as it neared him. My eyes detected a strange barrier surrounding him as he descended.
Which didn't surprise me, it would be naive of him to just leave himself open like that.
I sensed a powerful pure energy gathered around his fists, so I couldn't simply let myself get hit without any consequence.
His fist descended on my previous location and I was shocked as a massive shockwave destroyed everything around it. Sweeping up the two poor humans who found themselves in a pile of broken limbs after.
The Colosseum found itself utterly destroyed by the single punch and I stared down at him in shock.
The sheer amount of physical strength he possessed was intimidating, his title as the God of Strength obviously wasn't just for show.
I didn't stay idle for too long as I summoned my Tempest Chakram towards me. Slicing them down I used them as a focus to send down two powerful blades of wind at him as more of a probe.
So that I could get a gauge of what I was dealing with. I knew they wouldn't harm him.
The blades of visibly distorted air shot towards Hercules who rose, starting at them almost boredly. He clapped his hands together and a powerful gust of wind exploded out from him and sent the two wind blades away.
He didn't waste a moment more and started charging towards me at a manageable speed. It seemed while his strength was out of this world that his speed wasn't nearly up to the same standard.
That was good, or I may have had a serious problem.
One thing I did know was I didn't want to be close to him. I could feel myself shiver from the thought of being hit by him since he had that energy surrounding his fist my physical immunity was useless in this instance.
I sent both of Tempest Chakrams to run interference. The circular blades shoot off towards him. I had learned they could follow simple orders effectively, allowing me to manipulate them even from a distance.
With my hands now free, I slammed them onto the ground, using Mokuton to summon dozens of wooden spikes that shot up from the earth.
Just as the wooden spikes came closer to him Hercules clapped his hands in front of him and a powerful shockwave ripped through the area.
Destroying the spikes of wood with only some difficulty.
Dozens of pure holy light swords appeared around me later and in retaliation I made them shoot towards him. All of them appeared as blurs as he finally decided to dodge, using his feet to propel himself with bursts of strength.
I was forced to fly up as he reached my location rapidly with his strange method of propelling himself. He glanced up at me and performed a powerful leap upwards, I smirked in response. Creating a massive light construct in the shape of a hammer that was the size of several houses.
The light hammer illuminated the sky as it descended toward Hercules, finally giving me some results as he was forced downward from the impact. The colossal hammer of light followed him down, suddenly stopping just before it struck the ground.
Cracks appeared through the light construct in the next moment. A blue energy streaked through the cracks, and moments later it shattered. Revealing a mildly annoyed Hercules with a red mark on his face below.
Light isn't typically tangible, but magic often defies normal limits. My light embodiment, being a higher tier of magic, allowed me to effortlessly create massive constructs of light.
This meant when it became a physical construct it had to abide by physical laws, which allowed Hercules to crush my massive light hammer with his strength.
"You would do best to surrender, I would rather not hurt you but I will do what I must. Hand over the shield and you may leave." Hercules said, sounding genuine. I could feel he truly didn't want to fight me.
We had been cautiously probing each other for the most part. Though he was clearly more experienced, which was to be expected, I was strong and grew insanely fast but I still had a lot to learn.
I had fought a lot of powerful beings and I was far more experienced than anyone of my age had any right to be. I also understood that this was just the beginning of our battle.
This was an invitation to quit while I was ahead so to speak. I appreciate it, sincerely. I found that I had this bad habit of empathising with people I fought with. Which showed how skewed my mind was.
Namara being a main reminder of this. Even now I feel like we could have been great friends had he chosen a different path. Which wasn't something I could say for a lot of people.
"You don't understand. I have a quest to complete, and if I don't, it'll be a real headache. There is a friend who needs my help. I don't have many friends, so backing out isn't an option." I replied with a shrug.
He stared up at me, a brief silence as the only sound that could be heard was the wind gently blowing through the area. The sun glared down at us through the clouds that had started gathering.
"Your conviction is admirable, I can see that the title of friend holds a lot in your eyes. I'll make this quick and painless. I'm sure you will find another way." Hercules announced.
"Have it your way," I replied easily. My eyes narrowed, my chakra eyes sensing for any energy fluctuations.
A ring of light materialised above me. Dozens of powerful rods made out of condensed holy light shot out, each one replaced by another in rapid succession.
He exploded into action, faster than before. His movement was chaotic yet in a way that seemed well-practised. My ring of light followed, shooting the light rods out in a rapid fire.
Creating three holy light bombs with a fair amount of power, I sent them at him in a way that would force him back into the line of fire. Watching as instead of dodging he grabbed the massive lion pelt on his shoulder and used it as a shield.
He charged straight into the barrage of light rods, with light bombs exploding behind him. A dazzling flash briefly lit up the area as all three bombs detonated, their combined power enough to level multiple buildings.
It was like watching a rampaging Spanish bull, as the light rods seemed to bounce off his massive lion pelt while he charged toward me at an alarming pace.
My two tempest Chakrams made their appearance known, edges glowing blue with cracking lightning that caught his attention. He was forced to stop and kick away one of them with enough force to send it miles away.
He grabbed the other, grimacing slightly as lightning coursed through his arm. He threw it powerfully at me, his physical strength making it a blur I had a bit of difficulty tracking.
The tempest chakram stopped in front of my face and hovered beside me. He continued his charge towards me. A light bow formed in my hand and I notched an arrow, putting a large amount of mana into it I took aim.
As he advanced toward me, I released the string. The arrow shot toward him, embedding itself in his large pelt and pushing him back. A moment later, it exploded in a massive explosion, sending him skidding further away.
I think I've found a new favourite attack.
My normal light spears were too basic to use in a fight above High-class power I had come to quickly realise. Other than using them as cover fire.
They had served me well, but as I advanced further in the realms of power, I found myself needing more powerful and complex attacks.
Spotting another light arrow, I didn't even need to use it like a proper bow since it was created from my own light. My bow skills without calculations had been questionable.
I shot another light arrow that went soaring through the air without any resistance. Only for Hercules to dodge it in a burst of speed that left the ground shattered from the force.
Slamming the ground with one hand dust kicked up and surrounded everywhere in a mile radius. The sheer force kicked up the dust coming from the mass amount of debris scattered around.
My eyes could see him perfectly though as I sensed his energy. An outline of him coming worryingly close to me appeared. Notching another arrow I sent it at him and to my surprise he dodged.
I kicked back only to find a large fist heading straight for my stomach. A mercy I was assuming from him since it would most definitely break my neck if he went for my head.
My tempest chakram appeared, energy spreading through the middle hole as it acted like a miniature shield. Hercules' fist impacted the tempest chakram and it only resisted for a second before it was flying away.
That time had just been enough for me to get further away just in time and notch a light arrow in my bow. Releasing it as he once again came closer to me.
He was forced to back off as he made a powerful pivot. Dodging the light arrow that made a massive explosion in the distance a few moments later.
He stomped the ground a moment later, making the ground crumble below me and forcing me to stay in the air. My golden wings flapped powerfully as my light ring opened up behind me again, giving me some room to recover as he brought up his pelt.
My Tempest Chakram came back around and he was forced to deal with it again. This time I created a false illusion of the circular blade and made the other one come in from a brief blind spot.
He went to grab the false one only to blink as his hand phased through it, eyes flickering up and catching sight of the real one. Barely tilted his head in time, a thin cut was made on his cheek.
Golden blood flowed out from the small cut.
He glared up at me and charged with a renewed vigour. Forcing me back, vines sprouted out of the ground in the dozens as they attempted to slow his rampaging charge. Only with minimal success.
He began dashing forward using that strange movement technique, propelling himself by kicking off the ground. I closed my light ring and flew upward, forcing him to jump again.
This time, I created an even denser light construct to strike him, slamming it down. He clasped his hands into an arrowhead shape and burst through the construct, which destabilised and exploded behind him.
"Shi-"
That was all I could get out as he was one me, a massive fist coming from the large God. I created a dozen light barriers in the few seconds I had but they were all smashed through.
Leaving me to suffer as I felt myself curl around his giant fist. My ribs shattering and an excoriating pain tearing through my body as I was sent flying away through the air.
Eventually crashing down, my body kicking up a massive amount of dust.
-{Hercules/Alcaeus}-
Hercules landed on the ground in a crouch, the ground under him shaking. He wore a face of regret as he stared at the large dust cloud. Hercules felt stupid, he had overestimated the angel boy.
How could he have not, after watching him put on such an impressive display of courage and power? He had experiences that those even half a century older didn't have. It became obvious that this boy had been in plenty of battles.
A true warrior, he either consciously or unconsciously revelled in the thrill of battle, leading him to regard his opponents as equals. Drawing blood from him was no small feat.
Though he was a god, he was not as powerful as the principal twelve gods of his pantheon—thirteen, in his view, if you included Hestia.
He had fucked up, putting to much strength into that punch. Now he slowly walked over to where the boy was no doubt suffering. Hercules was almost afraid to see the damage which is why he walked slowly.
Twenty seconds later he reached the sight and froze as he heard choking.
Clapping lightly to clear the dust in a panic he found the boy on the floor. The throat opened with blood gushing out, stomach exposed and body broken in a way that was surely death. An eyeball even popped out.
It was a gruesome sight.
His hands shook.
'How?'
He fell to his knees.
'No, no, no.' He repeated.
An image overlapped and he found himself looking at his son. Dying as he watched helplessly. Instead, the young angel had his one eye looking at him, fear and hopelessness as it started to glass over.
He scrambled, frantically searching the small pouch he carried for anything that could help, only to discover it was missing—likely lost during a stray attack.
Hercules felt himself crumble
Years of living with regret and seeking redemption had led him here. He had carried the burden of hating Hera for so long, and now, having finally enacted the revenge that had driven him, he found himself confronting the very reason he had embarked on this path.
Only to end up becoming as bad.
How poetic.
He felt himself simply stare at the dying boy. A gentle breeze that felt out of place for the act he had just committed blew through his wild hair.
"Holy bind." Five voices pierced through the silence.
He perked up, attempting to turn toward the new voices, but found himself immobilised. Not even a moment later hundreds of wooden binding wrapped around him and felt wooden spikes burrowing into his hard skin with difficulty.
The next moment his divine energy started to drain from his reserves.
Hercules blinked in confusion, his eyes widening in shock as a blade pierced his neck. Moments later, the blade withdrew and struck through his heart. His body shattered, only to reveal the young angel standing in the same spot, but now with significantly fewer injuries.
He still looked severely damaged. Blood leaked out of his lips and his body hunched over, but instead of certain death, it looked like he would survive if not banged up for a while.
In his two perfectly intact eyes instead of fear, there was coldness and respect.
He knelt there in shock as the blade was withdrawn.
"You'll have to forgive me as I can't spare the same mercy. But unlike me, I am sure you will reform." The boy said with a cold smile.
"Holy bind." The voice called out again before he could move.
Even as he watched the blade descend towards his neck he felt nothing but relief. A tear even escaping from the sheer lift in guilt he felt. He had a certain thing about killing children.
Unlike many gods who grew apathetic toward mortals, his compassion for children and teenagers remained unwavering.
As his head rolled away from his body, he closed his eyes. Moments later, his body turned into golden dust.
Though he would reform in a year and knowing that the process would leave him weakened for some time after—he didn't regret it.
It was a small price to pay compared to becoming a monster in the pursuit of revenge.
-{Kai}-
I clutched my slowly healing wounds with a hiss of pain. My mood was foul. I was about done with playing along with this shitty quest. That punch had destroyed me. I had been lucky that he had taken his time getting over to me.
It had taken a while to gain my bearings and quickly get my angels into position. Perhaps it was a dirty move but the fight had been fun right up until I got hit.
I hadn't initiated it the first time, meaning I got to play dirty. I was also weaker than him so it wasn't a fair fight to begin with. Along with his many years of experience.
On the ground beside the golden dust that had been Heracles, was the large pelt he had been wearing as armour and using as a shield. I stored it in my inventory to look at later along with the dust.
"Father!"
My angels were quickly at my side helping me up.
Instead, I wrapped them all into a hug. Surprising them. I felt my mood rise as I was wrapped in their comforting embrace.
"I'm fine," I reassured them. "Thank you for your help. You were amazing as always."
"Uh, father. Did the scum hit your head?" One of them questioned.
"No."
I released them from the hug.
Avael scowled and glared at the golden dust, on the verge of exploding with anger. I gave her a gentle pat on the head, and her demeanour changed instantly. Her pure blue eyes softened and looked at me with an adorable gaze.
The others looked both puzzled and pleased. I wasn't usually one for physical affection, which was why my hug surprised them.
They all shared a concerned look as I coughed up a bit of blood, clutching onto me protectively.
"My body is already healing, don't worry about me. I've been hit with worse" I assured them. Taking a seat.
Fuck this hurt a lot more than I was letting on.
"I've got a task for you." I said and they all perked up.
Fuck the Fates. Fuck this quest. Fuck canon.
"Go to the diner we were meant to meet Percy at and retrieve the pearls. If he questions you just say you were sent by me to collect them and that I've got a plan. If he refuses, persuade him gently." I ordered, they all nodded.
They all looked determined to help me but hesitant to leave me. Which was understandable.
"Will you be okay being alone, father?" Tamiel questioned.
I smirked confidently.
"I'll be fine. My healing is already dulling the pain so I'll be fine. I need you to get this done for me since it'll help save me a lot of work." I informed them, which seemed to be enough.
They all nodded resolutely, unable to hide the joyful smiles at being able to help me even if all their faces darkened when I mentioned the pain.
"Conceal your aura and travel unnoticed. At the first sign of danger, flee and return to me." I ordered firmly.
I didn't need them dying on me. I already had one dead angel and I was working on bringing him back with my next download. I was anxious about letting them wander the human world but I couldn't keep them cooped up forever.
"Yes, father." They chorused. All dressed in concealing cloakes making me smile.
A few minutes later I was left alone in the middle of the destroyed Colosseum.
I slumped down on a nearby rock, holding my healing rib cage. I simply sat there for a few minutes as I waited for the pain to be dull enough so that I wouldn't feel my bones rebreaking everytime I moved.
Getting up, I limped my way over to where the two humans had been captured before the fight. Easily walking through the ruined walls of the completely destroyed colosseum that was now reduced to rubble.
Red caught my vision as I spotted a small river of blood leading back to their two broken bodies.
They were dead.
Damn it.
They had been killed by the mere aftershock of Heracles' punch. It only strengthened my resolve about killing Heracles, even if it felt like he hadn't wanted to fight.
I wasn't entirely heartless; he had genuinely offered me a way out. He didn't seem like a bad person, despite having inadvertently killed two defenceless humans.
I had wanted to know why their organisation was after my head at least. I sighed, I guess I would have to find out the next time I encountered one of their teammates.
It seemed to me that this 'Hero Faction' was involved with this whole strange plot involving the two divine weapons so I didn't doubt I was going to be forced to deal with them at some point.
Kneeling down unsteadily, I stored their corpse's inside my inventory. I didn't know what I would do with them but they weren't going to do anything else laying here dead.
There was no rush. My angels were off collecting the pearls I needed to escape the underworld. I had tried playing along with Percy, but I was done with this whole quest.
That's why I was finally doing it my way. Percy and the others would only slow me down. I would rescue his mother from the underworld, return, and then accompany him to deliver Zeus's lightning bolt.
I was also slightly curious about the power of such a divine weapon. A quick peek at it when I got the bag wouldn't hurt.
I made my way towards the barrier of mist that had concealed the massive battle that had just been fought from human eyes.
The destruction had been as bad as what you would suspect a battle between two ultimate class beings caused. The whole area was decimated and the battle hadn't been on for long.
Just as I was about to leave, a bright golden light shined from the sky. Shining down on me with an unnatural brightness.
My eyes picked up the energy and my eyes widened.
Holy power? What the hell.
A figure became visible from within the sea of bright golden energy, descending slowly from the air.
Twelve beautiful pure white wings that seemed to be made out of some sort of ethereal material stood behind her. Pure gold spun into silky perfect blonde hair that cascaded down in curls framed the stunning face that made me take a step back.
Bright verdant emerald green eyes stared down at me with glee.
The woman's figure was an easy hourglass that could probably make even the most beautiful woman feel self-conscious around. Pale soft perfect skin that felt like it couldn't be natural. The woman looked impossibly beautiful. As if she was crafted from the concept of perfect.
I stood paralysed.
An angel…
Not just any angel… A fucking seraph?
"Found you." A soft harmonic voice any mortal would find themselves entranced with joyfully announced.
-END-
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