Third Arc: Percy Vs Typhon
"Be forever consigned to dust in the darkness!"
The Typhon took a step forward. Immediately, the entire Tartarus Burial Grounds began to quake. The dark mist around his body billowed crazily as it transformed into a giant wave of darkness energy and surged toward him.
Absolute darkness and extreme cold engulfed Percy like a boundless, inescapable, abyss. In front of this wave of darkness energy, Percy felt his body becoming rigid and he felt like dust in front of a tidal wave that reached the heavens. He was not able to attack with the Golden Crow flames he had gathered up as every cell in his body screamed for him to "escape"! If he dared to face it head on, it would only end in his complete and total destruction.
This was the first time that an attack caused his very soul to tremble in fear before it even neared his body.
Percy abruptly bit the tip of his tongue as he activated both Moonlight Flash and Extreme Mirage Lightning at the same time as he darted backwards, quick as lightning. As he was making his swift escape, he felt his back smash heavily against a wall that he had no way of seeing.
Boom!
The Tartarus Burial Grounds shook again as the wave of darkness exploded at the place where Percy had been stonewalled. The exploding darkness energy seemed to spread out like a horde of evil spirits.
The interior of the Tartarus Burial Grounds had been saturated by darkness energy of an extremely high level for an entire ten thousand years. Every inch of its walls and every grain of sand within had become incomparably durable and it also had an immeasurably strong resistance against darkness energy itself. Even though it was being impacted by this peerlessly terrifying darkness, no dust flew in the wake of the attack and the wall itself merely shook but did not collapse.
Even though Percy had not been caught by the Typhon's exploding darkness profound energy, the icy cold aftershocks caused his whole body to be wracked by unbearable pain. His brows knitted together tightly as he took big gasps of breath. After facing the Typhon's first attack, his heart instantly sank to the bottom of his stomach… Both individuals were at the Peak Ninth Realm and both of them also wielded the Illusory Tartarus Tome of Eternal Nyx but just based on the darkness profound energy that the Typhon had used in his attack, he was at least several times stronger than Luke!
Furthermore the icy cold might and pressure that were emanating from his body were at least one hundred times more stronger than Luke's!
Even when he faced the Sovereign of the Seas, the might and pressure that he had felt was vastly inferior to the Typhon's.
Because, it… was a devil from ancient times after all!
"Percy, you better listen up and listen good!" Artemis yelled in an extremely serious tone, "This Typhon! No matter what tactics or trump cards you have to use, you must use all your strength to kill him, even if you have to put your life on the line! Only your strength is not restricted by the dark devil energy in this place! So you are the only person who can kill him on this Blue Pole Star! Otherwise, the day he fully revives is the day the entire Gaia Continent and all the living creatures on this world experience a catastrophe beyond imagination!"
"Heh, right now, I have no time to care about a catastrophe." Percy's hands tightened into fists as he barked out a miserable laugh filled with self-mockery, "If I'm unable to kill him, then I'm dead meat. So I have no choice but to put everything on the line anyways… It's only that this time, there really isn't any chance of victory."
Because the monster he was facing was a devil from ancient times!
In the million years since the fall of the gods and devils, Percy was astonishingly the very first person who had crossed arms with a devil in the entire Primal Chaos Realm!
"If it was just you alone, then you'd indeed be as good as dead, as you wouldn't have a Snowball's chance in hell of beating him." Artemis said in a deep voice, "But if we add in Hong'er… then we might just have a chance!"
"Hmph, what a pitiful struggle!" The Typhon stretched out a pitch-black arm as a cluster of dark mist coalesced in front of him. After that, it started to pulsate like an enormous living organ. After the Typhon stretched out his finger, the dark mist fiercely tore itself apart as it shot out a thousand bolts of black lightning that stormed in Percy's location. Every single bolt of dark lightning was as slender as a needle but the might contained within each bolt of lightning caused all the hairs on Percy's body to stand on end as he instantly went pale.
"Don't even think of trying to break that attack, dodge all of them! If you are hit by any one of them, the darkness energy contained within will directly harm your soul!" Artemis yelled out an urgent warning.
Percy did not even stop to think about it. He clung to the side of the Tartarus Burial Grounds's walls as he once again activated Moonlight Flash and Extreme Mirage Lightning to escape from this attack at the fastest speed possible.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang…
The dark lightning tore a thousand holes in the air before it collided against the stone wall with an ear-splitting wail. At the same time, vicious currents of dark energy spilled from the dark lightning uncontrollably. Many stone walls were scattered within the Tartarus Burial Grounds, so as Percy fled backwards with all his might, all of the dark lightning was soaked up by the stone walls… Despite the dreadful power that was contained by each bolt of dark lightning, power sufficient to easily pierce through Heavenly Firm Jade, none of these lightning bolts were able to penetrate a single stone wall in this place.
These stone walls that had been saturated by darkness energy for ten thousand years had clearly become a protective umbrella for Percy as he fled pathetically.
"Hah… hah…" Percy gasped violently as he leaned heavily against a stone wall, his forehead covered in cold sweat. Once he had managed to compose himself, he realized that the two attacks made by the Typhon had pushed him from the depths of the Tartarus Burial Grounds to its middle.
If this continued, he would simply flee until he was rendered unable to flee.
"This can't continue…" Percy mumbled through gritted teeth as he stared in the direction of the Typhon, "Merely escaping is completely meaningless in this place… I'll just have to put it all on the line, no matter what!"
"Ah, this has truly shocked this king! To think that a pathetically weak and inferior lifeform such as yourself could escape this king's punishment twice in a row. But it is such a pity, because you are not qualified to become a plaything for this king. So this time, even if you have ten more lives, even if you are ten times faster, you will disappear forever! Not even a single bone will be left behind!"
The Typhon's voice seemed near and far as it rang out from within the boundless darkness, making it hard for Percy to get a lock on his position. He gritted his teeth hard as he suppressed the terror that was welling up in his heart…
"Divine Sea Transformation!"
With a low roar, all of the profound energy in Percy's body explosively swelled up as the pupils of his eyes and the surrounding profound energy instantly turned a Blue Green.
"Burning Sun Rupture!"
Percy darted out from behind the stone wall as blazing Golden Crow flames frantically ignited and exploded with full force towards the onrushing Typhon.
Boom!
When the onrushing Typhon was still sixty meters away, the Golden Crow flames abruptly ruptured, but these rupturing flames of destruction did not release the power of the Golden Crow flames which would reduce everything to nothingness. Instead the flames were quickly extinguished within the darkness as they faded away. Within the short span of a single breath, everything was plunged into pitch-black stillness once again.
"Wh…at!" Percy said as he gritted his teeth fiercely.
"This is truly a meaningless struggle." The Typhon said with icy contempt and mockery, "If it was the flames of the Vermillion Bird, this king may feel the slightest hints of trepidation. But these lowly Golden Crow flames are merely a pitiful joke!"
"…" The fact that the Typhon was an ancient devil was confirmed yet again! Not only had he identified the flames as Golden Crow flames with a single glance but he also did not show the slightest bit of amazement at seeing them.
At this moment, the Typhon's aura abruptly grew thick and heavy as the expression in his eyes fiercely changed as well… because he had felt the change in Percy's profound energy and he had also noticed the strange profound light which glowed around him.
"Poseidon… Arts!" The Typhon said in a voice that trembled suddenly. But after that, it morphed into a roar of pure fury and rage, "You actually inherited the powers of Poseidon… AHHH! THEN YOU DESERVE TO DIE EVEN MORE! EVEN MORE!"
"This king has sworn countless of times that the first thing I had to do when I saw the light of day again was to destroy every single trace of Poseidon left in this universe!"
"So you, the human who who has inherited the power of Poseidon! This king will consign both your body and soul to oblivion forever!"
The seal had lasted for one million years and what was accumulated had been one million years of resentment and rage against Poseidon!
The moment he had felt Poseidon's power on Percy's body, all the resentment that festered within the Typhon erupted like a raging volcano. In a single instant, his fury caused the entire Tartarus Burial Grounds to shake and it was a million times more intense than the fury he had previously directed towards his "unfilial son".
The Typhon roared once again as he suddenly took to the air. He shot a claw out towards Percy and a thick and dense darkness that seemed to come from a devil god that dwelt in the depths of a deep abyss shot out from his body to engulf Percy.
He wanted to use that darkness energy to imprison Percy before using his bare hands to personally tear Percy into bits and pieces. All so that he could give vent to the million years of anger and resentment he held against Poseidon.
Percy steeled himself as he tried to push aside his fear and desire to flee but the dread that welled up in his soul and his body's instinctual desire to cower in fear was incomparably intense. The pressure from this devil simply wasn't something a mortal's body could bear. Percy being able to endure up to this point was already difficult beyond belief.
"I have to put it all in the line… The only choice I have is to put it all on the line! If not, the only thing that awaits me is a meaningless death!"
His body was still being wracked by uncontrollable trembling and he gritted his teeth so hard that he had nearly broken a few of them. However, the dread in his heart instantly turned into a violent rage…
"Hong'er!"
A vermillion light shone as the Heaven Smiting Sword appeared. Percy's body shot into the air at the same time as he braced to meet the darkness energy that he could not possibly resist. While he gave vent to his emotions with a great roar, he poured all of his energy into the Heaven Smiting Sword without reservation as he smashed it towards the boundless darkness before him.
It was also at this exact moment that Percy suddenly saw the absolute darkness clearing before his very eyes.
The body of the Heaven Smiting Sword released a vermillion light that Percy was quite familiar with. In this world of darkness, that the Golden Crow flames could barely illuminate, the vermillion light that emanated from the Heaven Smiting Sword was actually able to pierce through the darkness around Percy… it revealed the approaching whirlpool of darkness… and even managed to light up every corner of the Tartarus Burial Grounds!
It even clearly revealed the full appearance of the Typhon to Percy as well!
At the same time, he felt the all-encompassing, unconquerable fear that he held towards the Typhon, which had captivated his heart, suddenly disappear. It had disappeared completely, he even felt that the vortex of darkness which sped to engulf him had become far less dreadful. Even the dark might, which radiated from the Typhon, had become less heavy.
What's… this?
All of these changes had occurred the moment Percy had put his life on the line and rushed forth with the Heaven Smiting Sword. It was just that Percy did not have the time to be amazed by these changes or even think about them. Because in the very next instant, the Heaven Smiting Sword had heavily collided with the vortex of dark energy that had been conjured by the Typhon.
The instant the sword blade approached the vortex of darkness, Percy clearly saw the originally raging and surging vortex of dark energy become sluggish… or perhaps it would be better to say that it had curled up in fear!
Rippppp!
The dreadful vortex of dark energy was sliced cleanly in two by the Heaven Smiting Sword, as if it was simply a pitch-black curtain. The dark devil energy that rushed out did not attempt to rush up and devour Percy. Instead, it curled back as if in fear before twisting backwards as it fled desperately… as if it had come face to face with the one thing in the world that it feared the most.
The incomparably dreadful vortex of darkness had been dispersed with a single blow. Percy stared at the now empty space in front of him with with blank eyes as he could barely believe what he had just witnessed. The Typhon was equally stunned. He stopped in place as both of his eyes fell heavily on the sword in Percy's hand. The gray light in his pupils grew incredibly frenzied as he gasped, "That… that is…"
At this time, Percy finally came back to his senses. His heart no longer felt any fear or pressure as he used Moonlight Flash to appear in front of the Typhon, smashing the Heaven Smiting Devil Slayer Sword down fiercely on the Typhon's chest.
The Typhon was in shock as he was struck by Percy's attack.
"ARGGHHHHHHH!"
A hoarse and shrill cry blanketed the entire Tartarus Burial Grounds. Even though Percy's blow had been hastily struck, it still carried the force of a tremendous amount of weight and sent the Typhon flying.
Percy did not give chase. He only stood there, rooted in place… All he heard was the Typhon's shrill and miserable wails, which did not die out until a long time later.
An ancient devil who could endure a seal that lasted a million years, who had a mighty devil body had actually let out such a shrill and miserable wail after being struck by Percy's sword… It was as if he had suffered the cruelest punishment in this world.
The Typhon's pitch-black body heavily smashed against a stone wall that was three hundred meters away before it flopped to the ground. But he did not stand up. Instead, he began to roll on the ground as he let out cries that spoke of incomparable agony… As for the place where the Heaven Smiting Sword had struck his chest, it was astonishingly marked with a vermillion red wound. The vermillion light radiating from the wound was exceptionally glaring and it did not fade for a long time after, as streams of pitch-black blood poured out from within.
"Devil… devil slayer… sword!"
The Typhon's voice had been warped by pain but the three words "devil slayer sword" had clearly been uttered with deep dread.
Percy stared blankly at the scene in front of him. The Tartarus Burial Grounds was no longer a world of absolute darkness. It had now become completely stained in vermillion light. And the Typhon who was incomparably terrifying was now mewling in pain as he laid curled out up on the ground… Percy bent his head to look at the vermillion greatsword which was all too familiar to him with a dazed expression on his face. Yet at this moment, it almost seemed to be a stranger.
"Hahahahaha, that was the case after all!" Artemis crowed triumphantly, "The moment an ancient devil is wounded by a devil slayer sword, the pain it endures is a thousand times greater and the time the wound takes to recover is also ten times slower than usual! So devils who are more pure than others will fear the devil slayer sword even more!"
"So now, you should know why I said that as long as you have Hong'er around, there is still a chance that you can beat this Typhon!"
"So you're saying that the reason why I was able to defeat Luke so easily was also due to Hong'er?" Percy asked in astonishment.
"Hmph, what do you think?"
"…" Percy immediately grew depressed. Since he had beaten Luke, he had always thought that his strength had reached the stage where he could go toe to toe with a practitioner of the Peak Ninth Realm. But to think that it was actually because of Hong'er!
It was no wonder why the darkness profound energy that Luke had used during their duel was far weaker than the exceedingly terrifying aura that had radiated from his body… At that time, he had already found it exceedingly strange but he had not thought of Hong'er at all. Instead, he guessed that it was because Luke was unable to obtain complete mastery over the darkness profound energy which had come from an external source.
Under the vermillion light emanating from the Heaven Smiting Devil Slayer Sword, the originally inky dark interior of the Tartarus Burial Grounds became incredibly clear and Percy could even see the small pebbles at the corners of the nest. He naturally could also see the full appearance of the Typhon… He was nearly five meters tall, black light radiating from his body. The Typhon's skin was a deep gray color while his hair was bone-white, trailing all the way to his feet.
At first glance, besides the Typhon's enormous build and the dusky hue of his skin, his appearance was basically no different from a human's. Having been tortured by a seal for a million years and having to hide from the light of day for another ten thousand years, Percy had thought that the Typhon would be exceedingly ugly and look as old as a ghost. To his surprise, the Typhon's features, while warped in pain, were exceptionally handsome, from a human's perspective. Furthermore, he did not look much older than a thirty year old man.
"It… it can't be… it can't be a devil slayer sword!"
The Typhon finally stood up, but he remained in a hunched posture and the gray hand that he held to the wound on his chest continued to tremble. Percy could still see that vermillion light leaking out from between the gaps of his fingers and it did not seem to be weakening in the slightest.
"The Sword Spirit God Clan… were the first clan of gods to be wiped out… So it isn't possible that a devil slayer sword still exists in this world!" The Typhon exclaimed in a voice that was still filled with pain. Besides a devil slayer sword, nothing else in this world could inflict a wound that would torment a true devil body for such a long period of time, despite only being only half a foot long.
"The sword light…" The Typhon's eyes widened as he let out a sudden howl, "Devil slayer swords emit a white-colored sword light… That isn't a devil slayer sword! Just what sword are you holding in your hands!? Where exactly did you get such a sword!?"
Artemis, "…"
"Hmph, you don't need to concern yourself with where my sword came from. The only thing you need to know is that you will die at the hands of this sword… and that is enough!" Percy hefted the Heaven Smiting Sword, his expression no longer containing the slightest bit of fear or desire to flee. Instead, he looked supremely confident at the moment and his lips curled into a cold smile that spoke of his impending victory.
Artemis could naturally feel the change in Percy's attitude and she spoke out abruptly, "Aren't you getting a bit too overconfident right now? The Typhon only used half his power at most when he launched that attack at you. Furthermore, the only reason you were able to wound him at all was because you caught him off guard. Even though Hong'er's power is able to heavily restrict his own power, it definitely doesn't mean that your victory is assured! His powers are far more robust and stronger than your own! And it is absolutely sufficient to overcome the disadvantage that Hong'er has put him at."
"I know." Percy said as he gripped the Heaven Smiting Sword tightly but his voice still contained more than a hint of excitement, "I can roughly gauge his strength right now. The first thing I felt when I faced him was an overwhelming dread that I wasn't able to overcome at all. But after I summoned out Hong'er, for some inexplicable reason, that feeling completely disappeared. And right now, I don't feel the slightest bit of fear. Rather… I feel even more relaxed and excited than when I faced off against Luke."
Artemis, "…?"
This was indeed strange. It was true that holy power and devil power mutually repulsed and restricted each other but Percy did not have a holy body and he did not possess any holy powers either. Furthermore, it was Hong'er's presence alone that was restricting the Typhon's devil body and devil powers.
But that was only his devil body and devil powers! It would not affect his soul!
No matter whether it was strength, spirit or species, the Typhon was far above Percy. So without even discussing the Percy who was currently far inferior to the Typhon, even if both of them were equal in terms of power, Percy would definitely still be suppressed, especially when it came to the suppression of his soul… The overwhelming terror that Percy could not shake was the most ordinary and expected outcome.
So why had Percy's fear completely disappeared and why was he able to radiate such a fierce and aggressive aura? On the other hand, it was the Typhon who… If it was a god who was on the same level as him holding a devil slayer sword, then perhaps he might feel fear. But right now he was facing a Percy whose power was far inferior to his, so why was he feeling such an intense dread?
From all the records of the devil slayer swords and from all his memories of them, it had never once been mentioned that they could also suppress a devil's soul.
Oh right, Hong'er was not simply a normal devil slayer sword! The light she radiated when she transformed into sword was completely different from the light that the fabled devil slayer swords emitted…
But being able to create such a huge suppressive effect on a devil's soul that practically transcended levels… Such an item should not even exist in this world! Whether it was the records of the Primordial Era or any inheritance of memories, there was no mention of such an item… given the level that the gods and devils existed on, it was not possible for such a thing to exist.
Unless… it was a higher order devil or god who was facing a lower level devil or god… But that was purely a suppression based on the order of things!
"…" The abnormally fierce and exuberant expression displayed on Percy's face caused Artemis to go into deep thought.
"Very good!" The Typhon's face was warped by fury. He slowly straightened up and began striding towards Percy, "It is indeed not important for this king to concern myself with that sword! Because the conclusion will be the same regardless! To think that a lowly and inferior creature such as yourself could actually inflict such pain on this king… Unforgivable!"
"This king will grind all your bones into dust!"
As his voice fell, all of the dark energy surrounding the Typhon began to surge and roil. He was only about one hundred steps away from Percy as well. He had originally believed that every step he took towards Percy would be like the footfalls of death itself as it pressed on in this lowly human, causing his entire body to tremble with fear, his courage to completely melt away and ultimately ending with Percy turning tail to flee… But right now, the only thing he saw was the cold smile that played across Percy's face and even as he pressed in, no fear appeared on Percy's face. Instead his gaze grew more fevered and excited and even his profound energy aura grew incredibly frenzied.
On the contrary, it was the Typhon who felt like his heart was being weighed down by one crushing boulder after another with every step he took. Furthermore, the light radiating from Percy's sword was especially unbearable, it caused him immense discomfort and he did not even dare to look at it directly. This natural repulsion he felt towards the light that he recognized as a great threat to his own life and soul origin continued until he suddenly focused his gaze on the sword. At the same time, the full appearance of that vermillion greatsword and the light that it emitted was completely absorbed into his mind…
At that instant, his feet completely froze and his pupils widened so much that it seemed like they would rupture.
"Heaven… Heaven Smiting Tartarus Chaos God Sword!"
Artemis, "…!?"
Thump…
The moment the Typhon started to shiver in fear, it seemed as if all of his strength had slipped away as he sank to his knees, his body trembling violently like a sieve. It was as if he had witnessed the most terrifying and unbelievable scene in this world!
This bizarre behavior and reaction was one hundred times more intense than when he had shouted out the three words "devil slayer sword"!
"F-forgive me mother chaos! Forgive me!" Typhon bowed his head, trembling intensely." I have done great wrongs! Forgive me! No no!" tartarus began screaming like he was being tortured.
-Palace of nyx-
"oh look" Clotho commented coolly." Typhon has finally realized that Percy's sword looks exactly like the sword mother chaos and Tartarus combined to form."
Lachesis sneered." And look,all his bravery drained away faster than misery's tears."
Clotho laughed as well." But just because they look the same doesn't mean Percy can defeat him. After all, he hasn't even' claimed' the sword yet!"
-Tartarus Burial Grounds-
"What's going on now?" Percy had already been prepared to launch an all-out assault. But he had never expected the Typhon to suddenly become scared witless. His brows twitched as he stared at the dazed Typhon… Could it be that this fellow's wits had been completely scrambled because he had been alone for too long?
"He just yelled out a name… Heaven Smiting Tartarus Chaos God Sword? Yes?" Percy suddenly exclaimed, "Oh right! Besides the two words 'devil slayer' that is inscribed on the sword that Hong'er transforms into, there are also two other words, 'heaven smiting.' At first, he called it a 'devil slayer sword,' then he called it the 'Heaven Smiting Chaos God Sword.' When you put those two names together, it really fits the sword that Hong'er transforms into. Could it be that he knows about Hong'er's origins? After all, like Hong'er, he also hails from the Primordial Era!
"…Now is not the time to worry about these things!" Artemis shouted in a rather strange voice but she did not address Percy's doubts, "Remember what I said just now, do not hold anything back, use all your trump cards and pay whatever price you have to because you definitely need to kill this Typhon!" Right now, his devil body and powers are being restricted by Hong'er. Furthermore, he threw his own weapon into the Gaia Continent, so when it comes to weaponry, you have the absolute advantage… Put everything you have on the line! It is definitely possible for you to kill him!"
"Alright!" Percy swiftly cast all other thoughts aside as his killing intent surged and flames ignited all over his body.
"Im… Impossible! Impossible! Impossible!" The Typhon howled hysterically but it was almost as if he was talking to himself at the same time, "Appearance… exactly the same… and this devilish might… No! It isn't possible… it definitely isn't possible! The color isn't the same… and even if it is… then how come it is also able to exude the aura of a devil slayer sword…"
At this moment, the Typhon's head suddenly jerked up as he roared at Percy, "That sword… just what kind of sword is it, where did it come from!?"
He had just yelled that the origins and history of that sword was not important… But at this moment, he repeated the words that he had shouted at Percy initially and this time, his voice was even more frenzied.
"You talk way too much!" Percy replied coldly. After that, his body blurred as he rushed towards the Typhon, "Why don't you just ask King Yama when you see him in hell!?"
Percy's words caused the devilish light in the Typhon's eyes to burn brightly. To think that he showed such a pathetic and cowardly face to a human being, just thinking about it caused his temper to boil over. "This king will cripple you first, then search your soul!"
He had changed his mind and decided not to kill Percy… It was clear that he simply had to figure out what was going on with the vermillion greatsword that Percy held in his hands!
All of the devil energy in his body swelled up as deep gray devilish markings lit up on his back. In an instant, the roiling dark devil energy formed into a enormous black shadow behind him. This black shadow was tens of meters tall and it had nine sinuous heads which twisted about, as if it was the legendary monster, the Nine-headed Hydra!
A brutal and frenzied aura which promised pain leaked out from that shadow, causing all of the energy in the Tartarus Burial Grounds to grow frenzied as well. After that, the black shadow dissolved into nine beams of dark energy which sizzled towards Percy.
"That is the Illusory Tartarus Tome of Eternal Nyx's Nine Deaths of Eternal Night! It carries nine different kinds of extremely negative concepts and it will destroy your mind before even hurting your body!"
Percy remained fearless and resolute, a corner of his mouth hooked into a cold smile. All the joints of his body creaked as he swung the Heaven Smiting Sword which weighed nearly five hundred thousand kilograms. Golden Crow flames ran along the body of the heavy sword as it instantly generated a rampaging, all-consuming firestorm which smashed heavily against the nine beams of dark devil energy.
The beams of dark devil energy were completely swallowed by the onrushing firestorm and in that instant, the space in that area completely shattered. The color of the wind changed as deafening energy explosions and the extremely terrible shrill sound of something being devoured rang in the air for a long time.
For the levels of power being shown by Percy and the Typhon, the Tartarus Burial Grounds, while being immensely sturdy, was far too small a battlefield to contain their fight. Both of their powers clashed fiercely and it seemed like the entire earth was shaking. The clothes on Percy's body had been ripped to shreds but the pupils of his eyes released a deep Blue light. He lashed out with the Heaven Smiting Sword again and again and each slash was accompanied by an earth-shattering boom.
Boom! Boom! Boooom…
Percy had made more than ten continuous slashes, forcing those nine beams of devil energy more than thirty meters into the distance, not allowing a single one to approach his body. The attack which had used about seventy percent of the Typhon's power had been completely blown away. After that, the Typhon's body shot out like a rocket and two black hands which seemed to emerge from the deepest abyss, streaming with the extremely dense dark devil energy, tore at Percy's throat.
Boom!
Sword and claw met as the scarlet red flames surged against pitch-black devil energy. Percy's body shook and his upper body bent, causing a faint shock to shoot through his heart… This Typhon had actually used a hand that had been wrapped in darkness energy to clash directly with his Heaven Smiting Sword!
Just based on this point alone, Percy was absolutely convinced that if not for the Heaven Smiting Sword in his hand, he would definitely not be the Typhon's opponent.
But the alarm and astonishment that shot through the Typhon was one hundred times more intense! He was shocked that the power of a noble and superior devil such as himself had been blocked by this inferior human being!
What alarmed him even more was that… the moment his power came into contact with that vermillion greatsword, it suddenly weakened drastically! It was as if something had mysteriously siphoned that power away!
Pop! Pop! Pop…
All the bones in Percy's body made small popping sounds and his originally dull green eyes became filled with frenzy and killing intent. Before the aftershock of the previous attack had completely dispersed, he suddenly somersaulted through the air as he smashed his sword toward the Typhon.
"Pathetic human being… if it's just you alone, you can stop dreaming of matching blows with this king!"
The Typhon gave a roar of extreme fury as both his claws shot out. At the same time, the pitch-black devilish light suddenly expanded and swelled by tens of meters. The darkness energy swept forward, intending to smash the Heaven Smiting Sword into pieces, reducing it to nothingness.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boooom…
Flames exploded violently and darkness energy wreaked havoc all over the place. Within the space of a few breaths, the flames and the devilish light had clashed against each other one hundred times as the small battlefield seemed to be engulfed in an apocalyptic calamity… If this was not the Tartarus Burial Grounds, then even if it was an island that was five hundred kilometers wide, it would have been completely obliterated by now.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boooom…
The Tartarus Burial Grounds was enduring the most terrifying calamity it had ever experienced in its existence as raging flames and sinister darkness filled every nook and cranny. The space within was crazily collapsing in on itself and the thunderous explosions sounded like they were being produced by a heavenly bell that was being repeatedly smashed by an enormous mountain… At this moment, if there were other profound practitioners on the scene, even if they were strong individuals who were at the Seventh Realm, just these earth-shaking explosions would be enough to instantly cause their energy and blood to flow in reverse, rendering them unconscious.
And if they were slightly weaker than that, they might simply be killed on the spot, completely shattered in body and soul.
One man and one devil had already exchanged hundreds of blows in this sealed world of darkness. It was as though the both of them had come to an agreement of sorts, as their strength continued to rise with no end in sight… both man and devil kept pushing each other and testing the limits of each other's power.
The catastrophe that had engulfed the Tartarus Burial Grounds grew more and more intense and it was as if the small world had been thrown into the mouth of an erupting volcano… Only the half-bloomed Underworld Python Flower remained undisturbed, even though it was right in the eye of the storm. It gently and leisurely swayed as it continued to let out those ghastly wails every now and then.
Bang!
Percy's sword exploded forward but the body of the blade was smashed aside by the Typhon. Flames which contained the strength of the heavy sword exploded against a stone wall that was more than one hundred fifty meters away. Immediately, an extremely shrill and piercing cracking sound muffled the explosions of the flames as a long crack which stretched all the way to the floor appeared on the stone wall.
To make a crack in the walls of this place was even harder than smashing apart an enormous mountain with the stroke of a sword!
Percy's blade sliced through the air as he lost his balance, but he swiftly gathered himself. Grasping the five hundred thousand kilogram Heaven Smiting Sword easily in his hand, he immediately counterattacked, fiercely smashing the Typhon's devilish claws aside.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Booooom…
The Tartarus Burial Grounds continued to shake as stone fragments began to fall from the crack in the stone wall that Percy had smashed. Before those fragments even hit the ground, they were swallowed up by an immeasurably frenzied vortex of energy.
After more than ten thousand exchanges, it was remarkable that the man and the devil were still evenly matched. From the start to now, neither party was able to gain even the slightest advantage over the other.
Percy's expression was extremely gloomy, because this was no simple exchange of skills, this was a fight to the death. Between him and the Typhon, one of them had to die… Yet his eyes were shining with an excitement which only seemed to grow fiercer still with each passing moment.
On the other hand, the Typhon was growing more and more alarmed.
He was a devil, a true devil from the ancient times and he was a ruler among the devils at that! Moreover, it was tacitly understood by all devils that humans were merely an inferior lifeform that was not much different from a scurrying ant. In the past, a casual wave of his hand would have been enough to destroy a planet that contained billions of humans.
When he had risen from tartarus, he had scarred the moon and sent the gods itself fleeing!
So even though his life and soul origin ad sustained incredible damage and his current strength was not even a fraction of what it used to be, the contempt that he had for humans still remained carved into his very bones. Even though he was in his current weakened state, the aura that Percy exuded was still many times weaker than his own… and even though Percy held a bizarre blade that caused his power to recoil and his soul to tremble uncontrollably in fear, in the eyes of the Typhon, he was still an insect.
However, from the moment he had first exchanged blows with Percy, shock began to resonate within his soul. Not only did this shock not grow weaker with each exchange, it was instead growing more and more intense with each passing moment… Initially, he had not used all of his strength, because when he was facing a lowly creature such as this, using all of his might would be a huge stain on his name. After realizing that Percy's strength was far greater than he had initially anticipated, he also began to increase the power that he used. But no matter how much his power rose, the other party was able to match it. And right now, it had reached the point where he was using ninety percent of his strength, yet he was still unable to suppress Percy.
The power that radiated from that vermillion greatsword alarmed him greatly. Given such power, every swing of that sword should expend a great amount of Percy's energy, as he merely had the body of a mortal. Shockingly, even after a thousand sword strokes, not only had his blows not become softer, they were actually growing stronger and stronger with each swing…
This was a lowly creature with an inferior body and aura. Yet he seemed to hold a power that was not inferior to the power his immortal body bestowed him!
This damnable human being, he was definitely desperately holding on just by the skin of his teeth! Given his pathetic aura and his pathetic body, how can he continue to release such a level of power!?
The Typhon's expression warped fiercely as black light suddenly exploded out of his fiendish pupils. The highest level of the Illusory Tartarus Tome of Eternal Nyx was instantly channeled and dark devil energy surged up from within his entire body without reservation.
Percy's brows knit together as he let out a great roar. All of the muscles in his arms swelled, veins twisting and joints popping explosively as he shot forward using both feet as a spring. Berserk profound energy flowed from his entire body into his arms before surging into the Heaven Smiting Sword. Without holding back, he fiercely swept the sword forward.
Boooooom!
The dark earth beneath Percy's feet had completely fractured and stone fragments were billowing in the air like leaves in his wake. He heavily smashed into the wall behind him with a loud crash… the overly strong stone wall caused the enormous power that he had endured to completely rebound back into him, rendering his entire body numb. His consciousness instantly blanked as he nearly spat a large amount of blood out of his mouth.
The Typhon was not in a much better state than he was. He had been sent flying overhead by Percy's sword smash. His huge devil body had smashed into the stone ceiling above before violently rebounding off of it. After that, he had rolled for tens of meters before he finally smashed into a stone wall.
When the Typhon finally stood up, his eyes and expression had completely changed. Even his breathing had grown incredibly rough and heavy.
He… a mighty devil lord, to think that he had actually been sent flying by a human being!
Sent flying by a human being!
Sent flying!
It was like a devilish curse that resonated in his ears and his soul again and again. When he had been wounded by Percy's sword at first, it was because he had been in a total state of shock and so he did not react fast enough to defend. But this time around, he had clearly used all of his powers in an all-out clash, and there were no cheap tricks involved either, yet he was still sent flying in the end!
Sent flying by a human being!
What kind of a humiliation was that!?
It also clearly proved that… the human who stood in front of him, the one that he had thought to be no more significant than an ant, actually had power that rivalled his own!
Percy had gotten to his feet before the Typhon and even though he had endured an attack from his opponent at full strength, the five hundred thousand kilogram Heaven Smiting Devil Slayer Sword had not budged from his grip. Though some of his bones had sustained hairline fractures and more than ten of his veins had snapped, to him, these were merely superficial injuries. He stabilized his energy and blood before slowly sauntering towards the Typhon, "Typhon, you kept calling me a pathetic and lowly human being, so here I was, thinking that you were hot stuff… But it turns out that you only amount to this much after all!"
"You… dare… to…"
Regardless of Percy's reckless mockery, the Typhon had already become so incensed and ashamed because of this humiliation that all his rationality had practically flown out the window. During the Primordial Era, even in the world of devils, he was still one of the devils that stood above the rest! Mere human beings were not even qualified to kneel in his presence!
Yet right now, he had been sent flying by a human, had been wounded by a human, was being looked upon contemptuously by a human and had even received mockery from a human.
This was like no humiliation he had ever experienced before in his lifetime!
"Light… less… Eternal… Night!"
As he chanted those words in a voice filled with enough hate to encompass the universe. Boundless darkness descended from above like a pitch-black curtain. It instantly plunged Percy into a quagmire of darkness as that terrifying devouring power immediately assaulted both his body and soul. Every cell in his body seemed to be swarmed by countless dark and sinister hands which tried to drag him towards the abyss of death.
Percy instantly recognized it. This was actually the move that Luke had used during their duel several months ago. The Dark Domain that he had released when he was on the brink of defeat, regardless of the cost.
During that moment, all the light had been swallowed up and it was as if he had been pulled into an endless dark quagmire… It was only the Heaven Smiting Sword that was still able to emit that unrelenting vermillion light within the boundless darkness. When he brandished the sword, that streak of vermillion light had easily torn through the unending night.
The Lightless Eternal Night that was used by the Typhon was many times stronger than the one that Luke had used. But the vermillion light of the Heaven Smiting Sword continued to flash in the midst of that dark abyss! In this dense and inky darkness, the light emitted by the sword was even more eye-catching.
"Break!"
"Yellow Springs Ashes!"
The Heaven Smiting Sword smashed forward heavily, instantly slashing apart this world of darkness as its sweeping blade formed a true vacuum which extended out more than ten meters in diameter. The frenzied Golden Crow flames ignited and spread like wildfire as they fiercely penetrated every nook and cranny of this dark world. In the blink of an eye, the world within the Tartarus Burial Grounds seemed to be engulfed in crimson black lava that looked tyrannical enough to annihilate everything.
Darkness and fire tore at one another and in the midst of this catastrophic collision, the Typhon and Percy resumed their battle once more. This time, the man and the devil no longer bothered testing each other's strength. Every claw and sword stroke was sent out with full force. The Typhon's expression was so warped that it barely resembled anything normal anymore. The roars coming from his mouth no longer held his previous devilish majesty, instead, they sounded malevolent and terrifying. All of the veins in Percy's body were burning and every stroke of his sword was accompanied by a hoarse cry of fury.
Lightless Eternal Night, Yellow Springs Ashes… Both of them had activated startlingly powerful domains, yet both attacks were confined within the tiny interior of the Tartarus Burial Grounds. The current Tartarus Burial Grounds could not merely be called a world that had been stricken by calamity, it had practically become a hell of destruction! It would not matter if the living or the dead entered this place, because within a few short seconds, they would all be reduced to nothingness.
Even though it had become such a realm of destruction, both opponents still continued to crazily claw at each other within.
Percy's clothes had long since been blown to shreds. His skin was a startling crimson-black color and his entire body was covered with hundreds of big and small holes, some of which were so deep that they nearly exposed bone. Many clusters of flame burned on the Typhon's body as well but the two seemed to be completely indifferent to their own injuries and their opponent's injuries. They did not care about what damage their respective domains wrought on each other and every single attack that was being made was extremely fierce and deadly… They were doing their utmost to consign their opponent to the grave!
One devil and one man had fought to the point where both parties seemed insane. Within the Styx Soul Inner World, Artemis had been quietly observing this vicious fight. Just like the Typhon, she had never thought that Percy could go toe to toe with the Typhon without exhausting all of his trump cards.
The most important reason for this was Hong'er… in other words, the existence of the Heaven Smiting Devil Slayer Sword!
Hong'er's presence allowed Percy to completely escape the spiritual suppression that the Typhon had inflicted on him purely based on the fact that the level of his power far exceeded that of Percy. At the same time, this same suppression was instead visited upon the Typhon himself!
During this fierce and vicious duel, Percy had managed to maintain his eager and composed state of my mind. Yet the Typhon, who had ten thousand times the amount of experience in cultivating his mental state, had been in a state of constant frenzied rage… and within this rage, Artemis could still detect the uncontrollable trembling of his soul.
Furthermore, when the Typhon's power approached Percy… or more accurately, approached the Heaven Smiting Devil Slayer Sword, it would instantly weaken by a full thirty percent! Such a great decline in power was not accompanied by any grand show or series of events, it simply seemed as if that power had suddenly vanished into thin air!
In other words, even though the Typhon was using all of his strength, Percy only endured what amounted to seventy percent of his full power.
This point was something that Percy had not noticed but the Typhon was well aware of it. Artemis had also clearly detected this as well.
With all these factors added together, the Typhon, who was clearly far superior to Percy in every aspect, was drawn into a deadly struggle with Percy, something that he had not even dreamed possible.
And the source behind all of these factors was the Heaven Smiting Devil Slayer Sword!
A devil slayer sword was the bane of all devils.
But the constraints that the Heaven Smiting Devil Slayer Sword had placed on the Typhon's far exceeded the effects of any other devil slayer sword that were recorded in the memories that Artemis had inherited.
The name "Heaven Smiting Chaos God Sword" that the Typhon had at first shouted out and then denied had caused an enormous ripple to resonate in Artemis's heart and up till now, she still could not calm her heart and mind.
Boom boom boom…
It was as if countless bolts of heavenly lightning were exploding in the air as more and more of the black stone that had been tempered by the darkness energy for ten thousand years began to crumble apart. Then, the stone fragments were fiercely sucked into the powerful currents of profound energy flowing through the Tartarus Burial Grounds. Fire light shot out in all directions as darkness saturated the air. The Tartarus Burial Grounds's quaking did not abate in the slightest.
Both man and devil had been bogged down in furious combat for an unknown period of time. The wounds on both their bodies were too numerous to count but the power that exploded out from the both of them were still sufficient to shake the heavens and move the earth. In both of his lives, Percy had gone through countless life-and-death battles but none of those battles had lasted as long nor been as vicious as this one.
Even though Percy had entered the highest tier of profound strength that existed within the Gaia Continent, there were still many people from the Ancient Societies who could defeat him.
However in terms of endurance and recovery ability, he was undoubtedly number one in the entire Gaia Continent.
When he had dueled with Luke several months ago, he had not known that Hong'er was able to restrict his powers. So he had to rely on his absurdly strong recovery ability to outlast Luke and defeat him. But today, he had met an opponent whose endurance and recovery ability was no less than his own.
The Typhon who possessed a devil body!
Their fight had lasted for several hours but every blow that they sent at each other was still deadly and incisive. However, their power, speed, and the sharpness of their attacks had clearly declined. Both of them had been similarly weakened, so neither party could gain a clear edge.
Boom!
The Heaven Smiting Sword clashed with the devil claws of the Typhon in midair as another thunderous explosion resounded. A large amount of black stone was pounded into dust by the aftershock of that attack, causing the air in the entire Tartarus Burial Grounds to grow gray and hazy.
Darkness energy and Golden Crow flames crazily circulated around the two as the respective energies attempted to tear away and devour one another. It was literally like seeing two vicious beasts which hated each other engage in combat.
Bang!
The ground that had already begun to sink beneath their feet started to fracture even more. The stone ceiling above their heads had also begun to resemble a giant dome. At this point, the devil claws that clashed with Percy's heavy sword suddenly drew back. With a howl of fury, the Typhon thrust out both his hands. Ten ebon beams of profound light shot out from each of his ten emaciated, claw-like fingers as they stabbed towards Percy's chest.
Percy's body unconsciously started to move backwards. Through sheer force of will, he stubbornly stopped his first reaction, forcing his body to stay put. He neither tried to dodge, nor counter strike, instead pouring all of the profound energy protecting his body into his arms. As the pupils of eyes contacted, he sent his sword sweeping towards the chest of the Typhon.
The boundless pressure generated by this sword stroke threatened to collapse the space in a thirty meter radius around them.
Boom!
The sword beam generated by the Heaven Smiting Sword fiercely swept across the Typhon's chest. There was a sickening snap as the largest bone in his chest was smashed into several pieces and his body was flung hundreds of meters away.. However, all ten beams of the dark devil energy that were shot out by the Typhon also stabbed into Percy's body, causing his vision to go dark as his body stumbled back furiously. However, both his hands still remained tightly locked around the vermillion greatsword and he refused to allow it to leave his hands.
A miserable howl of pain rang out as the longest vermillion sword wound to date had been inflicted on the Typhon's chest. The wound also brought along pain and trauma that the Typhon had never experienced before. The heavy sword energy that surged out from the vermillion sword wound on his chest, poured into his devil body as it wreaked wanton destruction on his body and already weakened life force.
Even though a long time had passed, Percy remained sitting slumped on the ground and still had not gotten up yet. The ten beams of dark devil energy that bored into his body were like ten devilish needles that came from the depths of the underworld themselves. They ate away at his flesh, meridians and internal organs, wracking his body with so much pain that even his soul could barely stand it.
He pressed his lips together tightly, refusing to let even a hiss of pain escape his lips.
"Stop inhaling right now. Use the cleansing power of the Phoenix flames and the healing power of Poseidon's profound energy!" Artemis exclaimed in a low voice, "You are really far too reckless! That energy originated from a true devil! If it enters your body, no ordinary profound energy will be able to cleanse it away! If not for you possessing the profound energy of Poseidon and the cleansing power of the Phoenix flames, you would have basically thrown away half your life there and then!"
Percy fiercely gritted his teeth while quickly regaining his composure. Phoenix flames began to swiftly circulate throughout his body as he also used Poseidon's profound energy to wrap up those ten beams of dark devil energy. In a short amount of time, all ten beams of devilish energy were sealed tightly before they were purified by both the Phoenix flames and Poseidon's profound energy working in tandem.
Pfft!
Percy lurched forward as a large amount of black blood sprayed from his mouth. All of the energy in his body, as well as his five senses, became clear. Unfortunately, his aura had weakened by yet another degree.
But it was clear that the Typhon was in a far worse situation.
Percy had taken those ten beams of devilish energy in order to land an extremely heavy blow on the Typhon. The Typhon's miserable cries of incredible pain sent a loud and clear message to Percy; that he had gotten the better of that exchange! Even though the Typhon had already gotten to his feet, the vermillion light clearly showed a hole the size of a human head carved into his chest. Black blood poured out from that hole and Percy could even see the broken pitch-black bones jutting out from inside.
Even though the Typhon tried his best not to cry out, the uncontrollable spasming of his body clearly showed how much pain he was enduring. However, his alarm was far greater than his pain!
Even though his vitality had been sapped, he still had a devil body! No matter how weak a devil body was, it was still something that a mortal's body could not hope to compete with! Furthermore, due to the lingering devil energy within the Tartarus Burial Grounds, his wounds and his energy were recovering far faster than they normally did.
He had been forced to use his profound energy from the very start, after such a long and vicious battle, only half his profound energy remained. Given that his opponent had the body of a mortal, his energy should have long been exhausted. But the young human in front of him was weakening at the same rate as he was!
Even the wounds on his body, carved out by the corrosive dark devil energy, were recovering at a rate that completely defied logic.
As for his own wounds… The burns left behind by the Golden Crow flames were still manageable, but the wounds left behind by that vermillion greatsword were another thing altogether! Not only did every one of them caused him immense and unbearable pain, they were recovering at a rate that was more than ten times slower than usual!
"You… who exactly are you!?" As he saw Percy, who had taken all ten beams of his devil energy, get up so quickly and calmly, the Typhon's pupils widened. He pressed both hands against the hole in his chest and every single finger was trembling as he continued, "You're not human… what exactly are you!?"
His voice now quivered with fear.
Even the Typhon was surprised to hear the fear in his own voice.
He had originally thought that he had encountered a human with a death wish.
Never in his wildest dreams would he have imagined that he would meet a monster among human beings!
Given that inferior human body, how could he possess this kind of vitality and recovery ability… Furthermore, all of this was occurring while he was stuck in an environment where darkness energy was sapping away at his life at every second!
The sword Percy held in his hand was also far more dreadful than any other sword the Typhon had seen during the Primordial Era!
Even when he had faced off against a true devil slayer sword all those years ago, he had not been seized by this unconscious trembling that he was feeling right now.
"My name is Percy and you will find no man more ordinary than I!" Percy said as he strode slowly towards the Typhon, "Typhon! The era of gods and devils has long since come to a close! A million years ago, you should have stopped existing in this world! Today, regardless of the Underworld Python Flower, I would still have to consign you to the grave!"
A Dark shadow stood behind Percy, smiling." Indeed, son of the sea." Chaos smiled." It is your destiny to destroy the last remnants. Rise up in power, as you stand Against the Gods!"
A.N.: yeah, we have Percy being all cool and savvy, with Chaos Fangirling him! Also any guesses what that sword is?