Soul Land 2: Peerless Tang Sect Meet Ruthless Silba

Chapter 9: Shut The Hell Up (2)

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They collided, and the silver serpent writhed under the blaze, putting up a struggle against the hellfire, forcing Hades to exert more focus into it, but like all metal, it melted under the heat. The snakes form dissolved apart into nothing.

Hades landed heavily, his breaths ragged. His armor had long since broken apart, leaving him with his cape shredded, a scratched shirt, and pants, revealing his ichor-stained muscles.

His left arm hung limply at his side, the wound gushing blood onto the floor. If he didn't fear having his soul flayed, he would've used his fire to stop the bleeding. Despite his injuries, he stood tall, his eyes fixed on the devastation in front of him.

The floor was red and melted, the remains of his infernal attack sculpting a scorched road through the chamber. But even as he surveyed the battlefield, a thought crossed his mind.

This wasn't over. Not even close.

From the heart of the wreckage, Hades spotted Silba, steam rising from his unharmed body. In his left hand, he now held a gleaming neon blue Trident, its edges shimmering like the surface of the ocean under the moonlight.

Covering his body were shining blue magical circles, intricate patterns that pulsated with healing energy. They are what shielded him from the flames of the damned.

Hades narrowed his eyes, his voice a low groan. "Of course you'd survive that. You're just full of surprises, aren't you?" As he asked this, his sharp eyes caught sight of his nephew's right hand. It was trembling.

"Shouldn't I be the one saying that. I never thought you had that up your sleeve?" The demigod returned his weapon, leaving himself barehanded. "But sacrificing your own arm. You're crazy?" He flexes his trembling hand rapidly to stop the trembling.

Behind him, a swirling silver vortex began to manifest. Hades stood a short distance away but remained cautious. "Not like you gave me much choice, genius."

Without waiting for a response, Hades melted into the darkness, his voice trailing off. "I'll take that as a compliment." Silba murmured as he scanned his surroundings.

The floor below him rippled, and a circle of darkness appeared. The throne room trembled as a massive column of shadow shot out. If it had landed, it would have damaged him nearly as much as the hellfire—but it didn't. Silba simply took a step outside the circle to avoid it completely.

Spotting Hades from afar, about to blast another river of flames at him, Silba scoffed, "Not so fast." He brought his arm out.

The King of the Dead barely had a moment to react before a shimmering silver hexagon materialized beside him. His face twisted in annoyance. "Damn it." He cursed before getting teleported inside the vortex.

Inside the swirling water, Hades cloaked himself in shadows and darkness, shielding himself from the jagged currents. But his defenses were the least of his worries. Above him, his nephew loomed, the silver hexagon spinning ominously at his side.

A punch came out of nowhere. His nephew's fist broke through the defenses cloaking his body and made its way to his abdomen with an impact that most likely cracked a few ribs.

"UGH!—Cough!" He staggered back, ichor spilling from his lips.

The son of Poseidon teleported again.

*PIERCE!*

He reappeared behind Hades with his claws digging through his shoulder. Hades seethed in pain, but that was the least of his troubles as the demigod teleported once again.

*KICK!*

*PUNCH!*

Silba swam through the silver water like a jet, attacking his uncle from all sides. Hades's body swerved from all sides. "It's over!"

*PUNCH!*

Pain rippled through him, but instead of losing hope, a calculated smile formed on his face, sparking a perplexed look from Silba.

Stygian chains suddenly sprung out of the broken shards of darkness, wrapping themselves around Perseus, receiving a look of surprise from the demigod. "!!!" He pulled on the chains, but they proved too sturdy. "What is this?!" He grunted as he attempted to free himself with Asimi Rhythmo, but it was useless.

'Ok, this one's on you, child.' Kronos shook his head disappointedly.

'Shut it you old bastard!' He barked as he wriggled incessantly to get out like a bull, only to find the chains gripping tighter.

"You like it." Hades spoke. "They're the same chains used on my brother, only better." He turned around. "You can thank Hephaestus for that. He reforged it after taking a page from your book."

Silba's face darkened with silent anger, staring at his uncle with a look of pure murder. "Hades... let me go." He told his uncle with a tone that promised death if he didn't do as he said.

Unfazed by the threat, Hades opened his palm to materialize a black Bident onto his hand. "I know you don't like to be chained, so do forgive me." Hades apologized. "But I cannot allow this to go on."

His weapon then ignited with hellfire. "Perseus Silba Jackson, I'm taking you down." He pointed the flaming Bident at the demigod's neck.

"Try anything and you're done." He warned, inching the flaming bident closer.

The son of Poseidon closed his eyes as if accepting his fate. 'Grandfather, I'll be using that if you don't mind.' He told Kronos.

'Yeah, sure. knock yourself out.' The titan shrugged his shoulders. 'It's not like I can stop you.'

'Nope.' He retorted before opening his left eye. Golden lightning-like veins spiraled across his arm, slowly breaking apart the black chains. Silba's left eye beamed with a sinister gold that brought back terrible memories for Lord of the Underworld.

"No!" Hades shouted as he thrust the weapon forward, but a problem arose. He was moving too slowly. Way too slowly!

*THUNDER!*

Thunder sounded out.

The shout came like a thunderclap, and a flash of grey lightning ripped through the bottom of the vortex. It was none other than the bloodied face of Zeus. "SILBA!!!" His electricity-covered fist made its way to the chained Silba.

It went through Hades, whose body vanished at just the right moment and struck the defending demigod.

*BOOM!*

The silver demigod's body smacked against the ceiling with the force of a meteor, the structure groaning under the strain as debris rained down, but Zeus wasn't finished.

Raising his fist, now shrouded in storm clouds, the king of the gods summoned a gargantuan bolt of lightning. Its power was immense, the air around it charged and staticking wildly, lifting hair and vibrating the very atmosphere.

Hades frowned, and spotting Poseidon from a couple of meters away, he grabbed him, and the two sank into the shadows, just as the thunderstrike fell.

*LIGHTNING!*

The blinding white lightning engulfed the chamber, consuming everything in its path with an explosion. For a moment, the battlefield was nothing but searing light and deafening noise.

*THUNDERBOLT!*

*BOOM!*

The throne room trembled as Zeus unleashed another devastating strike, the power behind his lightning shaking the very foundations of the structure. His face twisted with fury, veins bulging against his bloodied skin.

"Hrrrrmm!" The king of Olympus growled. With unrelenting ferocity, he summoned more bolts of lightning, each one fiercer than the last.

*THUNDER!*

*ZAP!*

*LIGHTNING!*

*THUNDERBOLT!*

*BOOM!*

Zeus didn't stop. The air crackled violently as consecutive strikes rained down on the spot where his nephew was. The throne room was consumed by flashes of blinding light and deafening roars, the sheer destructive energy.

*THUNDERBOLT!*

*THUNDERBOLT!*

*THUNDERBOLT!*

Each attack seemed to grow in intensity. Zeus was unwavering, his sole focus on obliterating the source of all his problems.

*LIGHTNING!*

*THUNDER!*

*LIGHTNING!*

Over and over the room lit up brighter than the sun. Zeus smiled in sick joy as he let out his aggression at the source of it. "DIE!" Bringing forward both his arms, he let out a cyclone of lightning right at the demigod that busted a hole through the ceiling much like Hades's flames did.

"Did you get him?" Silbas casually asked while leaning lazily against the god king's back. Zeus blinked, the stupefied look on his face morphing into anger—only to be met with a sudden fist to his jaw.

*PUNCH!*

The force of the blow sent Zeus hurtling.

Teleporting directly in his path, Silba floated above him, his sharp claws pulsing with a black and gold miasma. "You're as stupid as you are arrogant." He made a cross slashing with both arms.

Zeus's eyes widened. He felt his face ache in phantom pain from those claws, and he reached up to send a thunderbolt his way to attempt to counter against it, doing whatever possible to avoid getting hit.

"Seriously, do I always have to bail you out?" Hades gave an annoyed sigh as he placed his hand on his shoulder, and the both of them dissolved into shadows, the dark tendrils dragging them out of Silba's range.

Lucky they did too.

*SLASH!*

*BOOM!*

The vessel quaked as pillars of black and golden energy exploded out, sparing nothing in its wake. If that attack had struck Zeus, it wouldn't have merely injured him—it would have taken a large piece of him at the least and killed him at the worst.

Hades appeared alongside Poseidon, who sat with a detached expression. The god of the sea looked drained of life.

"We can't keep fighting like this. We're only wasting time." Hades muttered, pulling a cube of ambrosia from his cloak. He bit into it, letting it flow through him, dulling the pain across his battered body—but it wasn't enough. He'd need far more to recover fully. "And that's exactly what he wants." He added grimly as he tossed Zeus his second piece.

Zeus caught the cube, scarfing it down in one bite. His face was plastered with frustration as he ate it. "What do you want me to do, Hades?" He growled, his voice a mix of anger and exhaustion. "He's too fast! Every time I get close, he slips away like the snake he is!"

Sighing, the Lord of the Dead raised his arm and summoned millions of undead, ghosts, skeletons, zombies—you name it—along with creatures of the Underworld directly at Silba, thinking that the sheer amount would buy them a few moments.

"Listen up, you two." Hades began. "You can feel it too, can't you. The aura of this vessel stirring—it's shifting, building. We're running out of time before that thing ends us all. We can't afford to give up yet. I have a plan. Poseidon—" He looked to seated Poseidon, who looked no different than the withered husks that resided in his kingdom.

Seething, Hades grabbed his brother by the collar before slapping him across the face.

*SLAP!*

The sharp sound echoed, startling even Zeus.

Poseidon blinked in shock. staring at Hades, who glared back at him. "Now is not the time to be having a pity party, gods dammit!" He shouted at his younger brother. "If you want to help your son, then stop him before he brings about our extinction. He needs his father, not whatever the fuck this is!" He said, and his brother simply stared, eyes wide.

He was right. His son needed him, and in this moment, as his father, he needed to stop his child. When this was all over, he would deal with the consequences, but right now he had to stop him.

Nodding, Poseidon straightened his posture as he gripped his Trident, his sea-green eyes resolute. "Alright—

"RAAAAAAAAAAAGH!" Silba's roar cut him off as his aura rampaged wildly.

The army of the Underworld that swarmed him was gone.

Teleporting in an instant, Silba appeared before the Big Three, his claws gleaming with black and gold energy, ready to strike. Zeus responded instinctively, charging forward with his divine weapon—but before they could collide, shadows enveloped them, whisking the brothers away.

'Damn it, Hades!' Zeus thought bitterly as his eyes twitched with frustration.

Reappearing far from Silba, Poseidon slammed his Trident into the ground. The air shifted as massive waves rose around them, spiraling into vortexes, tsunamis, and many other sea-born disasters aimed directly at his son. Silba responded in kind, meeting his father's onslaught with equal ferocity.

Zeus joined in, summoning a devastating thunderstorm hurricane, lightning tearing across the sky as he unleashed its fury. Hades wasn't far behind, summoning a tornado of hellfire.

The battlefield became chaotic. The combined might of the three gods crashing against the savage power of Silba.

Silba screeched in rage, his voice like a blade tearing through the air. The sheer might of the disasters converging on him forced him to remain on the defensive, unable to teleport to the three brothers locations. His silver water clashed violently against Poseidon's tsunamis, Zeus's thunderstorm hurricane, and Hades's infernal tornado. He had to bring out elemental magic circles around him to counter the onslaught.

"SCREEEEEECH!"

With a furious cry, Silba swung his claws, breaking apart a cyclone with a single swipe. The disasters seemed endless, and although he managed to deflect or dispel most of them, some slipped past. When that happened, he had no choice but to Rythmo away, each evasion fueling his growing frustration. Despite his immense power, he couldn't locate his opponents amidst the chaos.

Unknown to him, the Big Three were currently invisible thanks to Hades, who had his hand on his brother's back to keep them that way. "All right, what's the plan?" The sea god asked.

"It's simple, but you're not going to like it, but first we need first aid." He nudged towards Zeus, who grumbled, but he didn't deny the fact that his arms still felt off.

"Sure." He replied, and the sea god began healing his brothers with three giant water balls that splashed on their heads.

Moments later, Hades's torn arm and Zeus's bruised face were completely restored. Both gods exhaled in relief as their wounds healed.

The healing worked in tandem with the ambrosia, and soon, moments later, the hole in Hades's arm and Zeus's bruised face were restored. The two sighed in relief as they felt their wounds heal. "If he gets me next time, I won't be able to do this for you." He warned.

"Noted." He replied curtly. "Here's the plan. I'll search for the weapon. With my abilities, I can traverse this place much easier, which leaves only you two to keep him busy for, I don't know, let's say twenty minutes." He signaled to the raging silver monster, ripping apart a hurricane with a swipe of his hand.

"Come out, you cowards!" Silba has had enough as black and golden pillars of destruction erupted from his aura. The force of the attack spread far and wide, bringing all the weather disasters down in one fell swoop. "RAAAAAAAAAAGH!"

With a frown, Zeus shifted his head to Hades and said, "Are you out of your f—

"Zeus, shut the hell up. Nobody wants to hear your damn opinion. This is your fault." Hades interrupted, earning himself a sneering glare from Zeus. Before the king of the gods could say anything else, Hades removed his hand from his shoulder, making him visible.

"Hades!" Zeus shouted but was met with a brutal kick to the face from Silba, sending the king of the gods sprawling across the floor, crashing into the wall with a resounding boom.

*BOOM!*

"There you are!" Silba chased after him, and the two clashed again, the sound of lightning and magic erupting around them.

*LIGHTNING!*

Zeus's eyes sparked as twin lightning bolts shot from his outstretched hands, aimed at Silba, hoping to land a decisive blow. But Silba dodged with ease, his silver water swirling around him like a protective shield.

"DIE!" "FALL!" Both shouted as they punched each other across the face.

Turning his back on the fight, Hades looked to Poseidon, his expression unreadable. "Before I go, I'll make one last wave of undead to keep him thinking I'm still around." His voice was calm, even as he sent another surge of underworld creatures—skeletons, spirits, and massive beasts—crashing toward Silba. Among the summoned creatures were a handful of giant skeletons, their immense size upstaging Talos.

"I'll make sure to keep him busy for as long as I can." Poseidon replied. His eyes, once dim, now burned with renewed determination. The sea god's power surged, water spiraling around him as he prepared for the coming onslaught.

"Do your best to keep him thinking I'm still here. And make sure you heal yourselves. You'll need it."

Poseidon gave a quick, firm nod, his resolve clear in his eyes. "Leave it to me." He raised his Trident high as water swirled around him.

"Oh yeah, one last thing." He turned back, receiving a nod from Poseidon. "Try not to die." He finished and summoned one final wave of undead to keep Silba distracted. As the creatures charged, Hades melted into the shadows, vanishing.

*RUMBLE!*

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(Aloha. I've been working on this story so late one too many times my body didn't feel right, so I took some rest, and now I feel as fresh as a daisy. I'm going to end this pre-arc in the next four to five chapters so I can get a move on for Percy's Isekai in Soul Land. Later alligators.🐊)