MTL NOVEL Chapter 11: Chapter 11: Cry About It, Loser
Chapter 11: Cry About It, Loser
...
*BOOM!*
*RUMBLING!*
Hades moved through the structure with urgency, phasing through walls. He had already descended to the fortieth floor, and on his way there, his keen senses picked up something that was telling him he was going the right direction.
His eyes narrowed through his helm. "I'm close." He could feel the cluster of divine pressure all the way from here, growing stronger the closer he got.
While running, he observed the effects the doomsday device was having on its surroundings. The very particles in the air shimmered, floating like embers in a dying fire. It caused his hair to stand on end, screaming danger.
His grip on his flaming Bident tightened. No matter what it took—even if it meant sacrificing his own life—he would put a stop to this.
"!!!" His feet slid on the floor, coming to a stop. He sensed the presence of someone nearby.
*KRRZZT!*
*SPARK—POP!*
*GRRNNNKKK!*
*THUNK!*
Mechanical wiring and walls were getting damaged, something big was making its way here.
*CRASH!*
Hades backed away just as the wall beside him crumbled, sending debris all over. A dust cloud filled the space, but through the haze, one thing stood out: a massive silhouette along with an enormous red glowing eye.
He could tell it wasn't one of the many machines that ran the joint because he could sense life signs coming off of them.
The dust parted, revealing the colossal figure of the person clumsily stumbling out of the wreckage.
Standing in front of him stood a goliath of man. Over thirty meters tall. He was clothed in a biker's jacket with bronze spikes on the shoulder blades. It was sleeveless, showing off his big bear-like arms. Under the jacket he wore a red T-shirt, black ripped jeans with a bronze buckle, and bronze boots to match. In his hand he held a red hammer that pulsed like swerving magma.
His skin smoldered, a pinkish-red furnace glow rolling off his massive frame as if he were born inside a forge. And at the center of his forehead, a singular burning red eye.
Hades didn't need an introduction. He knew very well who this person was. It was Tyson Magma Jackson, the little brother of the man he was trying to stop. He wondered why his one-eyed nephew was even here. In truth, this was the first time they met face to face. He's only ever heard of him through his private dinner dealings with the silver demigod.
Tyson's eye stared down at the god with a tilt of his head. "Uncle?" He waved at Hades, who didn't reciprocate, only analyzing the Cyclops as he shrank down to his uncle's size. "How are you?"
The King of the Dead slowly raised his weapon to the Cyclops. His voice was cold. "Cut the chitchat, little boy. What are you doing here?" He demanded. "You better not try to stop me." He squinted his eyes, read to shoot his Bident through the monster's chest if he tried anything funny.
Normally, this would be the last thing he'd want to do. Before the war, Hades and his brother had a contractual agreement to stay out of each other's way unless they both had something to gain. They weren't friends, but they were definitely on better terms compared to Olympus.
They made deals with each other in which they both benefited from. Hades was a huge contributor to the demigod's plans by providing thousands and thousands of pounds of minerals, while Perseus provided a service to his realm by making it more efficient, like dimensional expanses, better transportation systems, and automated torment, etc. It was because of the demigod that the Underworld got a massive renovation like never before.
But it wasn't because of that that Hades didn't want to hurt the Cyclops. It was also because of their former partnership and feared reputations that, outside of that of their mutual contract, they stayed as far away from certain people in their lives.
They both had people in their lives they cared for and were not stupid enough to antagonize each other by targeting them. In layman's terms, "As long as you don't go after them, I won't go after you." and vice versa.
The Cyclops dropped his weapon and raised his hands above his head. "Not here to fight!" Tyson quickly replied, his single eye showing not a single sign of deceit in them. "Just want to help big bro and stop the big boom?"
"Oh yeah, why should I trust you?" He retorted.
"No choice." He sent the Rich One a look of defiance, something he guessed he learned from his elder brother. "I know what to do. Let me help, please."
The King of the Dead studied him. He saw no hidden motives, just raw determination from a younger sibling wanting to stop his eldest from making the biggest mistake of his life.
Hades exhaled sharply through his nose, pulling his weapon back. "Fine. You can tag along." He stepped past the Cyclops, shadows and hellfire pooling beneath him. "Try not to slow me down." He told and dashed off, breaking apart the surroundings.
Tyson grinned, hefting his weapon up. He tapped the weapon against the ground, and instantly heat erupted. The metal floors melted, liquefying into a river of lava swirling around him. Though he wasn't as strong as his elder brother, he still had his charms.
If his brother was known as the strongest demigod of today, then it wouldn't be a stretch to call him the best Cyclops of today. The apex of his species.
The molten rock pulsed, forming a moving tide beneath him as he used it to surf. The lava carried him forward, keeping pace with the god of the dead.
"Thank you, Uncle H. I won't let you down." Tyson called out from behind, his voice lighthearted despite the severity of the situation. "Let's go save the world!"
Hades only grumbled, his speed never faltering. From his short interaction with his one-eyed nephew, he could already tell what the boy's personality was like. Young, foolish, and unbearably naive. Despite all that, he definitely wasn't useless. He could sense a lot of power in him that gave him the same impression of the race who forged his Helm of Darkness.
Plus, he was right, he didn't have a choice. And right now, Hades needed all the help he could get.
'Alright, let's go save the fucking world.' He thought internally as he increased the power of his flames and shadows, with Tyson close behind.
...
*PUNCH!*
*BOOM!*
The next attack came instantly, Poseidon sent a roundhouse kick wreathed in flowing water.
*KICK!*
Silba raised his forearm above his head in defense before the impact sent him onto the shattered ground.
*BOOM!*
Rolling himself back up, he inspected his forearm. "…" That hit… was different. Stronger, Faster. Poseidon really wasn't holding back.
Another thing that he and his father shared, besides their natural unpredictability, was their ability to get stronger during a tough fight. It wasn't a massive increase, but it was visible when they were pushed to the edge, around 10% to 15% depending on circumstances, with the possibility of reaching 20% when in critical conditions.
It was something that always managed to help him out whenever he was in a tight spot.
Poseidon didn't give him time to breathe. He lunged forward, grabbing Silba by the leg, then used his free leg to attempt to deliver a heel kick to the head.
The strongest demigod also excelled in outside-the-box thinking and caught the foot with both hands, and using it to anchor himself, he teleported with Asimi Rythmo to a nearby pillar and attacked the sea god with a bicycle kick to the head.
*KICK!*
*BOOM!*
However, Poseidon at the last moment caught his foot just like his son did with him, charging up an earthshaker at the same time. But that was a mistake.
*SHINK!*
*SHINK!*
*SHINK!*
Spikes erupted from across Silba's shining body, spearing through the sea god's torso. For a moment, Poseidon seemed to have become Swiss cheese.
A fatal mistake indeed, but not for Poseidon, whose body dissolved into water right before the spikes landed.
*WHOOSH!*
He reformed beside the silver demigod, slamming a devastating punch into his gut with Earthshaker. Only this time it was much stronger because he had charged it for a longer time period when he was blocking the previous kick. A perfectly executed tactic.
*BAM!*
*CRACK!*
Winds whipped wildly around them as Silba was sent skidding backward before quickly steadying himself, clutching his gut. The attack had actually caused significant damage to his side as a silver liquid slightly leaked from it. 'Tiss, Tiss. If you're not careful, he might do some serious damage.' Kronos stated, receiving no reply from his grandchild.
The reason why was because Poseidon was on him in a flash of green light, he grabbed the demigod's wrist, twisting it into an unnatural angle, but the look on his son's face showed no reaction to the pain.
It was just one of the many kinds of trainings he underwent when learning under his grandfather. The ability to not cave into pain. It still hurt of course, but he won't bawl his eyes out even if his whole arm was bent in an unnatural angle.
*PUNCH!*
Poseidon went for a bash to the head. But Silba moved his head to the side. At the same time, he twisted the same wrist further, causing it to bleed as he, alongside the rest of his body, followed the same motion, before flipping Poseidon upside down and—
*CRASH!*
A brutal fist hammered onto Poseidon's chest, shaking the battlefield. Silba didn't stop there, and flash teleported the sea god right on the floor alongside himself directly above him, where he then elbow-dropped his father into the pavement.
*BOOM!*
*RUMBLE!*
"KAGH!" Poseidon spat blood, feeling as if a whirlpool had embedded itself into his stomach, and it was a very accurate thought because there was a dent mark over his stomach that bled out his ichor. He held his stomach, grunting profusely as he immediately worked on repairing himself back together.
Kronos let out a whistle. 'Oof, I felt that from here.'
Silba rose to his feet and inspected his wrist. He then locked it in place as he summoned tendrils of water to heal his wrist. Alongside his healing magic, it was good as new.
He looked down at his father, who stared back at him as he rushed to put himself back together. Even though they were locked in battle, the man still looked at him the same way he always did. 'You're really starting to piss me off.' He thought as his right arm was enveloped by a purple fire and Deeny appeared in his hand.
It was now a purple and black Bident with a sleek black body, pulsing with purple magical veins. Its aura was so powerful it seemed to waft around it. The head had a glowing purple crystal between two sharp blades, one larger than the other. The shaft was wrapped in twisting, claw-like protrusions, and a glowing purple crystal sat at its sharp bottom end.
Unlike how the others increased his physical power or abilities, the 9th Chair increased all aspects of his magical prowess to a level equal, if not greater, than the Goddess of Magic, his teacher.
He hit the end of the divine weapon on the ground, and just as he did, hundreds of offensive magical circles of all elements and their variations appeared around them, all aimed at Poseidon.
The sea god attempted to move but found himself doing it far too slowly for his liking, not because of the literal gut-wrenching pain but because he was being forced to. He looked up to see his son's golden left eye burning and immediately knew what was going on. His son was using the power of his father, the power of time.
Simultaneously, the spells blasted at him. The sea god ran towards him with all his might, holding his hand out to his son, but as impressive as it was that he was able to get this far under the influence of slowed-down time, he could only get so far as he watched as his son turned his head back at him.
*LIGHTNING!*
*LIGHTNING!*
*LIGHTNING!*
Hundreds of electric orbs flew around, countering each and every spell, canceling them out. The throne chamber was also lit up by the three large bolts of lightning that struck the silver demigod, who blocked with defensive spells. Zeus had returned…again.
'This bastard.' He frowned as lightning kept striking the protecting shield. 'He doesn't know when to quit.' He thought, receiving a snort from his grandfather.
*LIGHTNING!*
*LIGHTNING!*
*LIGHTNING!*
*CRACK!*
Lightning kept hitting his magical defenses, causing a crack to appear. It wouldn't hold for much longer.
'This is getting annoying now.' He thought as he used Asimi Rythmo to get out of the way of the lightning just as the defensive spells broke apart under the power.
He teleported right in the path of Zeus, running past the thunderbolts sent his way until he was close to the King of Olympus, where the spear could reach.
*WHOOSH!*
Zeus seized the moment and turned into electricity, appearing behind Silba and grabbing his arm tightly, he crushed it with all his might.
*CRACK!*
The sound of the silver demigod's arm bone breaking echoed throughout the chamber, but unlike Zeus wanted, his nephew didn't so much as flinch. Instead, he did the same thing his uncle and father did and dissolved into silver water to free himself and then, with earthshaker, karate-chopped Zeus's left wrist, breaking it.
*CHOP!*
*CRACK!*
"HRRRM!" Zeus's eye twitched in clear pain, but he pushed past it and summoned another dark cloud above them as a thunderbolt struck the both of them.
*LIGHTNING!*
It struck them both, energizing the King of Olympus while inflicting damage on the silver demigod. Silba reeled back, stood on his feet with his spear on the floor, and glared at him.
*LIGHTNING!*
Zeus wasted no time and, grabbing the demigod up by his arm, cocked his fist back, and electricity surging through his arm delivered a thunderous hammer fist as if sentencing judgment.
*LIGHTNING!*
The impact lit up the throne room. "You!" Zeus roared, pulling his arm back for a second attack.
*LIGHTNING!*
*BOOM!*
The sound of thunder and lightning grew stronger with every hit as the King of the gods grinned like a madman, seeing the demigod hanging limply, not noticing the small smirk on his face.
"Are!" He pulled his fist again to continue the rightful punishment.
*LIGHTNING!*
*BOOM!*
"Nothing!" He delivered the final blow.
*LIGHTNING!*
*BOOM!*
Zeus squinted his eyes in sick content as he observed the unmoving half-blood, thinking to himself, 'No matter how powerful you think you are, you will never be my equal.'
Before the King of Olympus could gloat in his victory, the demigod interlocked their fingers and applied pressure.
Zeus felt something strange happen to him, his own strength was leaving him. His legs buckled, forcing him to do something he would never in a million years do and kneel before his most hated enemy, who stood up as if nothing happened.
Silba hadn't overpowered him with brute force. As strong as he is, he was slightly inferior to the King of Olympus without magical or natural enhancements. Instead, he had used another of his personal ten to manipulate the kinetic flow of Zeus's own power. He was inspired by Earthshaker's power over vibrations to create a technique capable of disrupting and controlling an opponent's flow of power. It was still uncompleted, but it was more than enough to screw over the likes of Zeus.
As for why he wasn't unaffected by the earlier thrashing, for all of Zeus's strength, he was very much vulnerable to illusions. With Deeny in his hands, he cast a high-tier illusion spell combined with mist to imitate his aura to fool his uncle into believing it was him and replaced himself in a split second in the same spot the clone had.
Zeus got played...again.
The King of the Gods stared in horror into the mismatched eyes of his hated enemy, specifically the golden one that reminded him oh so much of his father and swore he could almost hear his voice mocking him through them saying, 'Cry about it, Loser.' The Titan Lord's dark chuckle resounded through his mind before being met with an earthshaker-enhanced fist directly to the face.
*PUNCH!*
Zeus's skull caved inward, a sickening crunch reverberating through the battlefield. It wasn't just a punch. It was loathing, contempt, and disrespect. All wrapped in a bow to the clown pretending to be king.
The impact sent him soaring through the air, his body obliterating through the walls before he finally came to a stop, embedded in the wreckage. 'HAHAHAHA!' Kronos laughed at the humiliation of the century.
His grandson winced. "Kronos, I swear to Forematter, I will castrate you and shove those raisins down your throat if you don't shut the eff up!" Perseus shouted.
A suffocating silence followed. The Titan of Time, immediately shut his mouth followed by small chuckling. He loved it whenever he got a riot out of him.
...
The King of the Underworld and the lava-surfing Cyclops can be seen blitzing past the hallways. They passed through the thirtieth floor about a minute ago and were now just about done traversing through the twentieth. Up ahead of them stood a reinforced, sealed entrance with the sign 10F in the middle in a blue neon light.
Hades slowed down to place his hand on Tyson's back, and they both phased through with his shadow travel power.
Once through, Hades shifted his head to his one-eyed nephew. "So…" He began, "What exactly is your plan to stop it? I'm assuming that you have something that'll help shut it down."
Tyson patted the pocket of his jacket. "Before coming here, our people gave me some things to help." He pulled out the two compact devices.
"First, what we need to do is attach this one first so the energy will stabilize and not blow up in our faces." He then withdrew the second one. "And this is what will disperse the energy safely."
"Then we just have to break it into pieces." He finished.
Hades examined them briefly before giving a satisfied nod. "Fantastic." He gave a look of relief. "If destroying didn't work, my backup plan was just to send the damn thing into Tartarus or the Shadow Dimension before activation."
"But the repercussions of doing that would have been…" He paused with a difficult look on his face, getting a confused look from the Cyclops. "Not good."
The Shadow Dimensions is a realm devoid of any light. It connected all shadows like a vast, endless abyss. It's where Hades visited whenever he shadow traveled long distances. Unlike the Underworld, he held no control over this vast domain. It was mysterious and even older than his realm. He knew next to nothing about its origins or whether or not it's part of the pantheon, and that's why he made sure never to stay too long. It was a dangerous place.
That dimension housed things in it, hungry things. He had absolutely no desire to interact with. He'd rather face a hundred Silbas than deal with than whatever the hell was living in there.
Tyson beamed. "You can thank Mr. Rich for that. He worked undercover because…well, it doesn't matter. We're stopping it here and now!"
Hades glanced at him. "And then go on to subdue your brother, who's currently kicking your dad's ass as we speak."
Tyson hesitated for just a second, but Hades caught it.
Finally, the cyclops groaned. "Ok, I'll help you fight him, but don't get ahead of yourself." He sent a warning glare at his uncle. "After this, we're going home!"
This was a temporary partnership between the both of them, but after that… the Cyclops wouldn't take it kindly if his elder brother was detained. If they tried that, he'd bust down those gates in a minute and drown their halls in his lava. Nobody picks on his big brother.
Hades raised an amused eyebrow at the subtle threat. "Fair enough. Though good luck saying that Zeus. That fool has clouds stuffed in his ear. He won't let this go." He said the last part darkly.
As if to emphasize his point, three resounding strikes of lightning were heard along with the structure shaking far more intensely than previously.
*LIGHTNING!*
*BOOM!*
*LIGHTNING!*
*BOOM!*
*LIGHTNING!*
*BOOM!*
But Tyson wasn't fazed in the least. "I'm not scared of you. Why would I be scared of him?" The Cyclops countered, receiving a snort.
Hades wondered to himself if standing up to the King of Olympus was genetic with those two.
"Moving on," Hades continued. "Besides us and that butler, who else knows about this weapon? I doubt your forces would be fighting on their mountain if they knew. Care to share?"
Tyson's expression turned wry. "The Ultimate Weapon project was kept secret. I didn't even know."
"Really?" Hades gave a look of surprise under his Helm.
Tyson sighed and began explaining. About how Perseus had ordered a retreat of the Cyclops, Telchine, and half-blood forces to withdraw so they wouldn't get caught in the blast radius. Meanwhile their so-called 'allies,' consisting of monsters and immortals who feared him, were thrown into the fray at Olympus, completely unaware that they were fighting only to end up doomed with the enemy.
"Bringing down his own people too. That's cold." He said, but he couldn't help but give a small smile of appreciation at the forethought of his Perseus. "That kid really thinks ahead."
Tyson's expression became solemn. "Except for the people who were told to stay back, they don't like my brother much. They fear him too much to ever think about betraying him. It's how he kept them in line."
And the Cyclops thought he was right to do so. He's met those two face pricks numerous times and could count on one hand the decent ones with fingers to spare. They would stab them in the back if given the chance.
What he said was true. As helpful as demigods and the blacksmiths were, the real powerhouses on their side were no doubt the Titans and Gods and monstrous creatures. On the surface, they had all joined under Kronos, united by the common goal of overthrowing Olympus and restarting the golden age.
The imprisoned Titans obviously wanted payback. Most monsters only wanted destruction unless they were like Typhon, who wanted to settle the score.
Then there were the Titans who had sided with the gods. At first glance, their betrayal wouldn't make sense. But the truth is they were treated like second-class citizens on Olympus.
Unless a Titan held a significant domain like Helios or Selene, the sun and moon, respectively, or was Zeus's hookup of the week, their influence was next to zero.
They had all gathered under Perseus's banner, but loyalty came and went when it came to immortals and monsters who held no such morals, so they all had to go.
"Brother always said to never trust anyone." He recited the words his brother told him countless times for his own safety.
Hades scoffed. "Never trust anyone, huh? Does that include you as well, or do you get a special pass just because you're his little brother?" He asked, only to receive a closed-eye smile from his one-eyed nephew.
It surprised him a little. The Cyclops didn't care whether Perseus trusted him or not. He loved his brother anyway. The King of the Underworld couldn't help but admit he was kind of jealous.
Before he could say more, the air shifted. Tyson straightened. "We're almost there." He informed.
When they reached the tenth floor. A massive window wall stretched along the corridor to their left, revealing the colossal figure of the Ultimate Weapon floating in the air, four giant anchors keeping it from floating too high. It really had the appearance of a spine with glimmering spiked protrusions forming a terrifying silhouette against the blinding golden light emanating from its core.
"…" Hades' breath hitched. Even he was momentarily speechless as he observed the wicked device.
They could feel the divine particle in the air growing thicker. It was like they were moving through an ethereal fog. The divine essence in these particles was clashing against one another very violently, creating small bursts to happen.
It was starting.
"It's timed and set for twelve pm on the dot. We still have half an hour. More than enough." Tyson told.
Hades gave a nod. "Then let's hurry so we can get back to them."
*ROAR!!!*
A lions roar suddenly sounded out.
...
..
.
(I wanted to release chap 10 and 11 yesterday, but I was baking a white cake, so that took priority. It came out pretty good. Adiós.)