Alexander:
"She really handed over Aegis to you." Annabeth muttered in disbelief while studying the gauntlet and shield in disbelief, "This is practically her symbol of power outside of owls and her personal spear. There's no way my mother was even remotely happy about this."
"You're not wrong. She looked like she was trying to hold back from vaporizing me before she left. Definitely not happy about it." I agreed from the spot on her lap where my head was currently resting, "I felt kinda bad."
I honestly kinda did. Imagine that you were a goddess and the chief strategist of Olympus, everyone on the Olympic Council heads your words of advice. Unlike the other war god of your pantheon, your mythology isn't marred by embarrassment and instead show's how terrifyingly cunning you are. Even the oldest and most powerful of the gods hesitate before thinking of crossing you. You're practically the baddest bitch on the block.
And then your father tells you to hand over your symbol of power to some jackass of a demigod who also happens to be fucking your daughter.
I'm almost legitimately surprised she didn't vaporize me.
Annabeth collapsed the shield back into the armored gauntlet and set it down on the table next to us, "Alex as much as I know you don't want to, you need to give this back to my mother. Gods are stubborn and prideful beings with a long memory. My mother is going to feel slighted at this for probably centuries at a minimum and I'd rather not have a dead boyfriend should she decide to take revenge at an opportune moment."
Looking up at her directly I raised an eyebrow in question, "I feel like I should point out that once again I didn't ask for it. Zeus was the one who ordered it to be handed over to me and your mother even agreed it made logical sense considering I'm the one on the front lines fighting the big boys currently."
"I know that Alex." Annabeth said with a poke to my forehead to get her point across, "But Athena isn't able to make Zeus feel her wrath. You on the other hand, despite probably being the strongest demigod alive, are an easier target and a lot squishier."
I knew Annabeth had a point, but honestly, there was no way I was giving that shield up. It was a divine weapon whose name was synonymous with being the ultimate defense. Even now my eyes could scarcely believe the buffs this thing gave out.
Aegis, The Ultimate Defense: A divine shield crafted for and used by both Zeus and Athena. This shield's name has become synonymous with the term "unbreachable defense" in the modern area. It may no longer bear the fearsome Gorgon on its front due to changing to its current user's preference, but anyone on the battlefield will still fear its appearance.
- DMG is dependent on STR and DEX stats along with any modifiers you or the shield may have.
- Due to enchantments and the very belief put into the shield from worship, this shield is nigh unbreakable. Requires true primordial force to be destroyed.
- Shield will always return to the user
- Armor Transformation
- Ultimate Defense (While wielding the shield or armor any damage taken that isn't blocked by the shield itself is reduced by 25% due to the shields aura)
- Fear Aura (Lesser beings will quake in fear at this legendary defender)
- Absorbs, reflects, and dissipates most forms of mortal and divine energy
- Energy absorbed can be built up and repulsed out
Oh yeah, I was kicking some titan ass with this thing.
"Listen, I'll find another way to make it up to your mother." I promised, "Because I'm going to need that shield. Fighting that last titan was already hard enough and he was still weakened from Tartarus. I probably would have died had it not been for Michael infusing me with his power and making me his champion."
Michael really did come in clutch with that save. Now technically I probably didn't need it with the number of stat points I had in reserve and The Colt, but I was trying my best to save those for a very rainy day. Michael making me his champion had made sure I didn't have to waste them on a weak titan.
"Besides I already think I know how to appease your mother." I smirked. The thing I had in mind would take some investigating since I didn't have much memory of the series it was from, but it should cover my debt to the goddess.
Annabeth probably already knew what I was getting at too. I could see the gears turning in her head as she used that incredibly smart brain of hers, but she seemed to let it go as she decided to move on to another argument we'd been having.
"Your right, fighting titans is dangerous. Which is why-"
"Annabeth once again the answer is no." I cut her off, "I'm not taking you to a titan fight. Besides the fact that they want me to win against him alone, you are nowhere near powerful enough for this. It's way above yours and almost everyone else's weight class."
Gray eyes narrowed at me, "So you're saying I'm too weak and would just slow you down?"
'It's a trap!' My brain yelled out in warning.
Athena's children might have been characterized by their smarts and love of learning, but Athena herself was a war goddess and at the end of the day her kids shared those traits as well. They might not be as bad as the Ares kids, but they had their pride when it came to their fighting abilities. Hell, outside of the Ares cabin they were probably the best fighters in the camp.
Annabeth was a great example of that. Even with my training under Michael, she was still a better swordsman than me by a country mile. My only advantage was the extreme amount of power and strength I had compared to her.
That martial pride combined with the fact that Annabeth's "fatal flaw" was hubris, which was just pride cranked up to 11, meant that the wrong answer would hurt her something fierce.
"No." I said slowly, "But just like how you don't want your mother to smite me, I don't want a titan to smite you. The last time I fought one he brought out his divine form. Apparently, I can look upon those just fine, but I'd rather you not get atomized just because this one might decide to bring it out mid-fight before you can close your eyes."
I'd hesitate to even bring Percy to this if I could and he was in my weight class. That being said, I'd have to see if Percy was able to actually look upon divine forms like I could. Maybe it was something that had to do with power and not my gamer's body. If so then Percy should be able to handle them just fine for when I'd maybe need his help in the future.
If not then I'd have to find a workaround. Maybe ask Hephaestus to modify those night vision bronze sunglasses I gave Percy years ago?
"Fine, but you're taking me to that new dig site in China I was talking about earlier before you dropped that you had Aegis on me." Annabeth huffed.
"I can spare a day or two. Take you on an international date and then spend the last day preparing and training my little apprentice further." I agreed, "Though do you really want to spend what could be our last date at a dusty old dig site."
Gray eyes locked onto my silver ones in anger, "You dare and go die on me and I'll kick your ass, superboy."
"How can you kick a ghost's ass?"
"Oh trust me, I'll find a way." She promised with a tone that left me with little doubt, "And as for our date, we're not going to spend the entire time at the dig site of course."
With that, Annabeth pushed my head off of her lap and got up to make her way to the door. Presumably to pack for our day trip, but she took a paper receipt out of her pocket and dropped it onto my bed before she did.
"Be a good boyfriend and I'll show you what I bought when we check into our hotel for the night, after dinner of course." She promised with an innocent smile and walked out the door of my cabin.
Blinking in confusion, I grabbed the receipt and unfurled it.
"Victori… ohhhhh." I muttered as I put two and two together.
What a woman.
"Attaboy Nico." I encouraged with a lazy grin as I sipped on a small glass of whiskey on the rocks, "Remember, fire can be tricky to control compared to other elements. Honestly other than lightning, it's one of the hardest to control. You can't coax it or play nice with it. You have to force your will upon it with ironclad determination. Make it do what you want it to."
I was pretty much all packed up and prepped for my hunt. I was planning on leaving once the sun began to set, but that still left me plenty of time to train my adorable little apprentice.
That last part annoyed Nico to no end whenever I called him that. But it was true, as, even though the Son of Hades was only a year or two younger than me, his demigod growth spurt hadn't really kicked in yet. Which meant he was still the adorable little brother I had picked up all those years ago.
Honestly, it was kind of weird. Percy, Annabeth, and I all would have towered over Nico back at his age. To say nothing of our massive height advantage over him now in our adult bodies we had matured into.
At first, I thought it had to do with being Hades' kid, but then I remembered his sister Bianca, who was about our age and had grown into her adult form via accelerated puberty right along with the three of us.
And by the way, she was an absolute smoke show. Exactly how you would think someone with godly genes and Italian heritage would grow up to be.
There weren't many women that could truly make me question my current choice to not pursue a harem like my father and brother, or at least an approved side piece, but god damn was she one of them.
It made me feel worse for Nico. Poor kid should absolutely be drowning in female attention if those were the genes he had to work with.
A flash of heat washed over me and the tree in front of us was reduced to partial cinders. Along with the nearby grass and plants withering and dying as the green was seemingly drained away from them.
An interesting note about Nico's and Bianca's powers: They were all tinged with death. Or necrotic power if you wanted to be more specific.
His shadows? Drained the light and life out of you and the surrounding area.
Ice powers? Stole the heat and soul out of anything that touched it.
Fire? Reduced everything to ash and left wounds that wouldn't close on just about anything that wasn't me.
You get the idea.
I said it before and I'll say it again. This world is so lucky that the randomizer didn't make me Hade's son. I loved Artemis don't get me wrong. The woman had quite literally become a mother to me and showered me with nothing but kindness.
But the sheer versatility the Hades kids had…
I hadn't even touched on his ghost-summoning ability or geokinesis.
With the power of the system, I would have wreaked utter havoc. Especially before people like Artemis, Percy, and Annabeth made me care about people and realized that this probably wasn't a game world, but just that I had gamer-like powers.
"Still wasn't as big as yours." Nico muttered while looking down at the flickering embers of green flame in his hands.
"I've told you a dozen times Nicky, it's absolutely normal and fine that you're not as powerful as me." I said as I moved up and ruffled his ebony hair, "I'm a freak of nature. So is Percy. You're already stronger than pretty much every other demigod here and in New Rome other than a handful. Especially when you're using your shadows, ice, and ghosts."
A frown etched its way on Nico's face, "You're not a freak."
I snorted and I couldn't stop the chuckle that escaped my lips, "Sure I am. I'm Artemis's son, Zeus's legacy, Lucifer's grandson, and Michael's champion. I shouldn't exist. Certified grade A freak if I do say so myself."
Yeah, I was pretty liberal about throwing out that I was Lucy's grandson. But again, it wasn't my problem they wanted to keep it a secret. Hell, it was already an open secret amongst the faction's higher-ups and once the whole God being dead thing got out, it was small time comparatively.
Also, I knew for a fact Rias existed considering I'd met her brother and checked to see what her age was on Devilnet. It meant that Vali and his asshole grandad existed, who were openly Lucifer's descendants.
Maybe dear old dad wanted to potentially protect us from Riveman or whatever the fuck his name was wrath at having to openly share the title as Lucifer's decedents.
But I said bring it on.
'There's that temper and pride again.' My mind idly reminded me.
Also going back to Rias's age, she was about as old as me. Which meant at best I had about a year and a half before the DXD cannon started. Not great, but not bad either.
Nico frowned at me again and looked over at me critically, "You're in an oddly good mood. Way too relaxed for someone who's about to go into a deathmatch with a titan."
I pointed to the whisky in my hand and Nico scoffed, "I saw you pour mortal alcohol in that. You especially would need way more than even a whole bottle of that stuff to even feel anything."
"Caught me red-handed Nicky." I sighed in mock surrender, "Truth is that I had a very good night last night. Got rewarded for being an awesome boyfriend."
Nico evidently got what I was putting down because his face flushed immediately.
"Don't worry Nicky, once your growth spurt kicks in and you become big and strong like me and Percy, we'll be your wingmen. We'll find you your own tall and blonde amazonian to take out." I teased.
I figured I had Nico's type nailed down. As whenever Annabeth was with us he often refused to look her in the eye or tried his best to say as few words as possible.
It was adorable and I couldn't blame him. My girlfriend was hot after all.
"Now c'mon and try a little more." I goaded, "I still have some time left before I have to go. This time when you're channeling the fire, try and add some emotion to it! Personally, I sometimes try to add some fury or anger to my fire when I use it."
My words were headed well. Because the next hellish green fireball Nico unleashed incinerated the entire tree and everything around it to ash in a grand ball of flame.
"Great job!" I cheered as the heat washed over me and I saw Nico's dark eyes practically dancing with anger.
Wonder what he used to fuel the anger? My guess was on the Stoll brothers.
A safe bet of course. Nico never did quite get over the lima bean incident after all.
With my nigh indestructible leather jacket on, a thin layer of the celestial weave Hephaestus had made underneath it, and my pants, and guns slung around my back and hip I stepped out of my portal and flick my blade back into my inventory with the quick select.
The sun was nearly fully set and Devil's Tower stared back at me in the distance.
Why the hell a titan was in the middle of bumbfuck nowhere, I still didn't know, but I was sure as hell going to find the fuck out.
"Stats."
Alexander Arc, Lvl: 280
Title: Sword of Michael
[HP] - 28400/28400
[MP] - 23250/23250
[STR] - 295 (15%) = 339
[VIT] - 284 [PER] - 312 (40%) = 436
[DEX] - 275
[INT] - 310
[WIS] - 250
[LUK] - 129
Points - 850
Training, unlimited monster hunter via Tsurugi being able to take me anywhere, and slaying Koios had made me stronger than I had ever been before. I had even finally pulled ahead of Percy.
Though knowing him he'd have some bullshit surge in power sooner or later, again.
And now had plenty of mana to stay invisible for about as long as I wanted. Training the skill, getting photokinesis requirements halved by being Michael's champion, and having each of my INT points count towards more mana from it as well had ensured that.
Before I thought each mana point had been giving me about 50 mana per point. Now it was giving me roughly around 75 a point. Not a bad boost at all.
Now, where were those little hooligans?
A powerful twitch in my legs sent me sailing upwards and gracefully grabbing onto the top of the tallest tree I could find. Steadying myself I found that I had teleported onto a wooded plateau miles away from the tower.
Perfect.
Whipping out a pair of binoculars, I let my enhanced sight and night vision do their thing as I scanned the horizon. I don't know what exactly I expected, but a shimmer caught my eye that seemed to wave back and forth around the base of the natural tower.
I focused and activated my magic sight and the shimmer grew but still resisted me peering through it.
Ah, someone was using the mist to hide that wasn't in the normally passive way it formed. It seems my titan friend had someone skilled in its manipulation.
Clever, but not good enough.
Fire burned behind my eyes as Michael's fiery power flared within me. Angelic grace mixed with my own natural magic as my vision became… more.
The mystic barrier was pierced by my eyes and hundreds of souls and magical auras were suddenly revealed to me. The most powerful one was at the base of the tower, its aura blazing with divine power.
Iapetus.
My leg muscles tensed and another twitch sent me flying through the air. My knees bent on contact with the ground and the earth shattered beneath me. Seconds later lightning arced around my body, flooding every cell in my body.
The world became a near blur around me as I rushed forward.
Lightning enhancement had been leveled quite well over the years. Far more than invisibility or really any other skill of mine had been. Which meant that just like invisibility, I could abuse it just about as liberally as I wanted to these days.
And abuse it I did.
Rivers and plains were torn beneath me with every impact of my foot. Yet despite all the thundering noise I had to be making, not a single being was able to react by the time I reached the first group, I had targeted.
A patrol that was scouting beyond the mist wall. I could see it was a smorgasbord of different races now that I had a closer look.
It seemed Iapetus actually tried to build balanced squads of fighters and mages. Interesting, but something like that only would have worked if I had led an assault with demigod infantry. Against a single powerful fighter that was more mobile than they could ever be?
*Chirp* *Chirp* *Chirp*
Well, my point was proven as I crashed into the squad with twin chidoris that were screaming with holy-infused lightning.
The two cyclops who were guarding the rear were reduced to fine ash as the lightning and holy energy sliced into and ate away at them. I cut the energy off a moment later and grabbed the rifle slung around my back.
The rest had finally noticed my presence, but not fast enough to avoid a hail of celestial bronze bullets that were suddenly mag dumped into them at near point-blank range. My gunfire furiously cut into several harpies, lycans, and human magicians.
Bodies and golden dust hit the floor and only two remained from the party.
A devil and a fallen.
Obviously, I knew Khaos Brigade and Kronos were working together. That much had already been established. The human mages who were currently dead on the ground further proved the point.
But still, the absolute gall on these mother fuckers. I knew the devil and fallen governments had already warned their people about coming into Greco-Roman territory without permission following the treaty I had proposed.
"W-what!?" The fallen stuttered at the sudden death that befallen his squad, "Who the hell are you!?"
A light spear began to form in his hands and his four darkened wings spread out in preparation to do battle with me. It was unbeknownst to him that he'd need a lot more than four wings if he wanted to be in my weight class.
"Seup stop!" The devil girl next to him shrieked in terror as she grabbed the hand with the light spear and wrenched it down, "Are you insane!? You're going to get us killed!"
Oh? Did the devil chick have energy-sensing abilities?
The fallen known as Seup shot the girl a frown, "The hell are you talking Aliza? I can take the punk!"
"Sure you can fuck face." I taunted
The young man bristled but his female partner kept her grip firm and pointed at me, "Dumbass! Didn't you pay attention to any of the briefings? We're in Olympian territory and he just used lightning! Look at the strawberry blonde hair, glowing silver eyes behind aviators, and a white and silver jacket. That's Cadius Arc's demigod half brother you dimwit. The one who's at least ranked ultimate class."
Oh, there were briefings on me! I should have thought of that before considering Kronos/Luke had a hate boner for me and I had actively fucked over Khaos Brigade multiple times already, but hey! You learn something new every day.
The girl's warnings must've stirred some memories in the fallen's head because his combat-ready form faltered and dread pooled in his eyes.
"The fuck is the prince of olympus doing here!?" He stammered.
Wait, what?
"Come again?" I muttered as I had a mild aneurysm.
Do not tell me that was my nickname outside of my pantheon. I had enough gods mad at me already. The last thing I needed was for those drama queens to hear about this and get pissed because of a title and a little bit of favoritism.
I mean sure Zeus did give me access to his domains, gave me special missions with diplomatic authority, ordered a goddess to give a divine armament to me, made time for me whenever I needed to speak to him, and issued me general authority over all demigods…
Fuck.
That did not paint a convincing picture on my end, did it?
"So let me get this straight. You know who I am, which means you know of the new deal I struck with both of your leaders. Yet, you're still in our territory uninvited?" I asked with an arched eyebrow.
Utterly asinine.
"To be fair, did you really expect members of an international terrorist organization to abide by those rules?" The devil girl pointed out.
"No, but now you're going to face the consequences of it." I agreed.
They flinched as my divine blade flashed into my hands and showed open confusion when I slashed it into the air behind me. Reality warped and Serafall looked up from her desk in open confusion at the sudden portal that had opened up.
"Found these two in North America and they're openly working with the titans and Khaos Brigade. Contact Azazel for the fallen guy, otherwise, they're your problem." I informed as I yanked on my aerokinesis.
The two behind me yelped as intense air pressure bore down upon them and slammed them to the ground. With a crack of air pressure, they both shot forward through my portal and landed in a heap before the satan.
Serafall blinked in surprise, "You're not executing them?"
"I looked at their souls. They're not that evil and they're under 20. Unless they're straight up taking souls and giving out cured artifacts as Raim did, they can have another chance." I shrugged, "It's all in the documents I handed over to you guys during the meeting."
Artemis was the patron and protector of children along with maidens. So I tried not to harm kids if I could help it. I could do it if I needed to like I did with that kid Ethan years ago, but I wasn't exactly happy about it. But as far as I knew, these two hadn't sworn unbreakable divine oaths as Ethan had and their souls weren't that stained when looking with my soul vision. For devils and fallen at least.
So they get to live. For now.
Plus my demand for Raim's death had been a power move. Killing him was to send a message. Killing two nobodies wouldn't. Besides, consider this my good act for the day in payment of the war crime I was about to commit.
I flicked my blade and the portal between us closed.
I turned my attention back to the rocky tower before me. It was time to take down the rest of the patrols.
And then slay another titan.
At the base of the tower:
"And you are absolutely sure that no one has been investigating the area around you?" A blonde-haired man asked. His voice came crystal clear over his line of communication despite the light storm that was gently passing by above.
"Yes. The only beings to have come around the area were simply mortals on vacation. All were left alone and repelled magically to not arouse suspicion." A mighty being that stood over 8 feet tall and was composed of unbound muscle and power confirmed, "We are on schedule and without delay. No need to get your robes in a twist, Castellan."
Blue eyes narrowed through the magical hologram that displayed his face, "Watch your tone Iapetus."
A snort escaped the titan's lip's, "No, I don't think I will. Just because you're my brother's future φαλλός sleeve, does not mean you deserve my respect. I only listen to your orders because they are my brother's."
Lightning flashed overhead as the two soldiers of Kronos stared each other down.
"Be that as it may." Luke growled out, "Continue to ensure that you are not discovered. With the reunification of the Greeks and Romans under one authority, our operations in the Americas are becoming more and more strained. To say nothing of the angels being emboldened and the Biblical Underworld beginning to outright purge our allies in their societies. We can not afford this project's delay."
"Yes, yes, yes I understand." Iapetus patronizingly acknowledged, "The son of the huntress seems to be causing you more and more problems every day."
"Yes. You could say that indeed." The Son of Hermes ground out, "Zeus's golden boy is a thorn indeed, but one we shall deal with soon enough."
Another flash of lightning, this one far stronger than the last, signaled the storm above was slowly growing fiercer. A gave a pregnant pause to their conversation, one that was interrupted by a frantic guard. A human mage from an Asian sect of the brigade the titans had allied with.
"Sir! We have a problem!" The young woman huffed as she desperately tried to catch her hurried breaths.
Iapetus heard the future host of his brother begin to swear profusely from the magical communication spell at his side but ignored it to deal with what was probably a minor situation.
"What is it?" The Titan Lord of The West sighed, "Have we hit more snags on the runes and wards? If so then just tell-"
"No sir! They've practically been completely disarmed and destroyed." The woman interrupted, "It has to do with our patrols, sir. They've gone dark!."
Iapetus could hear Castellan's curses pick up in intensity and variety.
"Which ones?"
"All of them sir!"
"Oh." The titan muttered as another crack of lightning blew through the air.
And finally, something clicked within him.
"Mortal." He began, "When did this storm begin?"
"Uhh, maybe about five minutes ago sir?" The woman said nervously, his own suspicions sparking some of her own as she answered the question.
Castellan's curses were now in full Ancient Greek as they hit a pitch in volume Iapetus wasn't sure an adult human male should be able to reach.
"Huh." Iapetus muttered as he swore he saw a dragon made of lighting fly past a thin gap in the storm clouds above, which were now reaching a point that seemed equivalent to what modern mortals would call a "Cat 5+".
His eyes hadn't deceived him. Moments later a dragon made of blue lightning along with five eagles that were formed of white electricity that seemed to ooze with holy energy rained down from the sky above.
A shield of titanic energy warped around the titan and despite the blinding light and noise that roared past him as his entire encampment was vaporized, he could hear the demigod who he had been to talking scream out one word before his communication spell fizzled out.
"AAARRCCCCCC!"
It was only moments after that the titan remembered a report from the battle where his brother was slain months ago and of how their likely assailant had been almost impossible to track down since.
He had a sword that could break through reality didn't he?
It was only that memory and the expanding of his sense as he prepared for combat, that saved his head from being taken off. But the slow reaction had still cost him nonetheless.
Iapetus hissed in pain as he felt his left eye be slashed out by a blade that seemed to pierce through creation itself. Its onyx black edge dragging and scaring the flesh that made up his forehead.
He staggered back and dropped his shield, letting out a burst of energy to clear the dust and debris that the attack from above had created. Absently he noticed that all of his forces were gone. Every single one had been reduced to ash or melted as the ground around him literally bubbled from the heat and energy that had been released upon it.
Stone that had been carved out and had stood still for eons melted to an almost lava-like consistency and arching spikes of glass in seconds.
Reality a good 20 feet in front of him split open and a young man clad in a silver and white jacket stepped out. The same sword that had inflicted his current injury held in his right hand while a shield that didn't look familiar, but instead felt familiar hung on his off his gauntleted left arm. An itch formed in the back of his mind as the shield seemed to try and make him look away from it.
"Hello, Iapetus." The young man greeted, "The name is Alex, and I've been given a quest to kill you."
The sheer calmness in Alex's tone unnerved the titan slightly. What kind of mortal just showed up, slaughtered hundreds of people, and then told a divine being that they were going to kill you?
"Please, in the interests of both our time, do not resist."
You know, it never quite got old bombarding people with lightning strikes, and judging by their continued effectiveness, it probably never would.
"Son of Artemis." The titan before me spoke as a spear appeared in his hand, "You have interfered with our plans for the last time. If you wish to seek death in a battle with me. Then I shall grant your request."
Seconds past as we stared each other down. Then a twitch of his spear had me performing a lightning-enhanced dodge to the side, the area where I had been moments before becoming a smoking crater from a blast of his titanic energy.
In those moments he had moved as well and was upon me. His spear thrusted forward and I moved to block it with my newly gained shield. Normally it wouldn't have been smart to try and fully block a strike from a being such as a titan, but I needed to know Aegis's capabilities if I wanted to use her to the fullest extent.
A risk was needed and it paid off.
The titan's attack completely stalled as the spear tip crashed against Aegis. All momentum and energy behind it bled off as my shield flashed gold. Horror flashed through Iapetus's eyes as he seemed to put together what shield I had.
With a smirk, I yanked on the built-up energy the shield had just absorbed and ordered it to unleash itself. The titan was violently shot backward as a pulse of energy flared outwards.
Iapetus righted himself in the air and landed rather gracefully for someone of his size. Now looking upon me warily with his one good eye.
"Aegis?" He asked in disbelief.
I simply smirked at him and rushed forward to begin my own assault.
My blade slashed forward and was parried off by a swipe of his spear. I pivoted and brought my shield down at an angle, smacking away the spear as he tried to crash its blunt pole into my exposed ribs.
Without warning, Iapetus flared some of his own divine power and pushed me back a few feet. He tried capitalizing on the moment of shock and tried to puncture my chest with a quick thrust. I reacted quickly, though, raising my shield to deflect the incoming strike. The impact of the spear against Aegis was deafening despite its momentum being drained again, but I held firm against the titan.
The power of the storm roared underneath my skin and another Kirin roared from the storm above as I silently called upon my lighting dragon.
It was a feint though, one that Iapetus fell for as he immediately disengaged and tried to form another shield. Between trying to put distance between us and blocking the roaring lightning from above, he couldn't react to me slashing my ancient blade to my side and lobbing a fireball made of holy flame at his back.
My own shield of light formed around me to block the impact of my Kirin. All the while I heard the titan roar in pain as the holy fire ate at his armor and flesh, breaking his hold on the shield that had formed above him. Just in time for jaws made of lightning to chomp down on him.
Through the blinding light, I saw the titan get partially buried into stone which had already been almost molten from the strikes before. The now bubbling slag had consumed him from the waist down.
Now was my chance.
Lightning and muscle propelled me forward in a blink of an eye. My sword and shield disappeared into my inventory with the use of the fast equip feature, replaced by my revolver and a collar. Shots rang out and slammed into the momentarily downed titan, a partially well-placed one snapping his head back and exposing his neck. With deftness and precision afforded to me by my dexterity and perception, I leaped over Iapetus with a flip and slung a very special celestial bronze collar around his neck.
I heard it snap shut with a clink and used a burst of air to fling myself away. Just in time a burst of titanic energy erupted and blew the very ground away from the titanic warrior.
I skidded to a stop dozens of feet away and watched Iapetus rise from the newly formed crater, looking no more tired than when we started despite the grievous wounds and burns that littered his frame.
"All that… just to put a trinket on me?" Iapetus questioned in confusion, "One that doesn't even work apparently. It will take more than measly divine metal to bind my power, boy. I am not like those of the lesser pantheons that inhabit this world."
"Hn," I grunted and re-equipped my original armaments. With another burst of speed, I got within range of him once again as he made to rip the collar off. Tsurugi sang through the air in a blur as Iapetus and I began our close-quarters battle once again.
Lightning enhancement and bursts of air needed for momentum were used liberally to keep up with strikes I couldn't bring Aegis up for in time. Whenever I felt him gaining the upper hand, gouts of holy flame and spears of light lashed out to bite at the titan to tip the scales back in my favor. And when a blast of divine energy was directed at me, my legendary shield gobbled it up and reflected it back in pulses at my command.
But it was not a flawless battle.
Dried blood cacked half of my face from where his spear tip had dug into the bone that made up more forehead. My ribs ached from where repeated blunt attacks from the staff of the spear had struck when he occasionally slipped past my guard, and my mana regeneration wasn't quite keeping up with my mass use of it.
All the while I felt the system's regeneration work overtime to heal my wounds and keep my stamina up.
Progress was progress though and Iapetus was getting pissed.
Every strike I landed burned something fierce, courtesy of the holy lightning that was now channeled through my blade. I could see his aura growing brighter and stronger as he called upon more and more of his power to deal with his wounds and go on the offensive against me.
Eventually, I saw him begin to truly glow even without the use of my magical sight. It was as if his skin started to become energy itself and I could feel the heat of it begin to sting my skin.
He was finally using his divine form.
Iapetus smacked my sword to the side with a particularly heavy blow and raised his spear high as his power ballooned.
"You should feel lucky boy! It is not every day a mortal pushes us this far!" He announced as energy built at the tip of his spear, "Now begone!"
!
Warning! Divine Form (Mildly Weakened) detected.
I simply let out a smile.
His energy continued to balloon exponentially.
Then it stopped, dropped, and rolled all the way back down to where it had been.
The glowing power around the titan faded and the energy that had built up in his spear fizzled out.
An almost awkward silence settled down between us.
"You know." I offered, "I would chide you for performance problems, but I think we both know the cause."
A suffering sigh left my opponent, "The collar wasn't meant to fully suppress my power. Just stop me from accessing my divine form. That's why you've stopped me from ripping it off."
It wasn't a question.
"Courtesy of Hephaestus and the Cyclops forgers." I informed.
Another beat of silence went between us.
Then his hand flashed towards his neck and I rushed after him.
Iapetus was a great warrior, far better than the brother I had battled at the Vatican. He had truth strength and skill in his form and attacks. But his rush to rip the collar off and access his divine state left him vulnerable.
My leg snapped his unready spear hand back while Tsurugi carved the appendage that sought the restrictor on his neck free.
Golden ichor spewed forth from the severed hand and a scream left the titan's mouth.
It was time to end this.
I shoulder-checked him in the chest as hard as I possibly could, sending him to the ground. A downward thrust sent Tsurugi piercing into the ground below, right through the arm that still held his spear. Effectively pining it and the rest of his body to the ground.
Walking forward with a huff, I crouched down and straddled the titan's chest. Slamming my fists together, the armor transformation ability activated and the shield melted away. Liquid bronze surged up to my elbows on both arms and heavy bronze gauntlets formed on each arm. Flexing my now armored digits, lighting surged forward as I pumped mana into them.
"I'm almost sorry about this Iapetus, but maybe this will send a message to the rest of your fucking friends." I bit out.
Athena and Zeus wanted me to make a statement and there had been a quest given to me that I had waived away initially to marvel at Aegis. It also contained an order that mirrored what they had asked.
'The Khaos Brigade and Titan Lords threaten all you hold dear: The innocent mortals you protect, your best friend, your girlfriend, and a mother that has shown you nothing but love. Make a point that you are not to be messed with. Make an example of Iapetus.
The more brutal the better.'
That hadn't been the entire quest obviously. But it was the most important part.
"System, allocate 300 points into strength."
Breaking my rule of saving up as many points as I could, I relished in my strength practically doubling.
Then I brought my fist up…
And slammed it down with thundering force. The gauntlet combined with the lighting surging through it mimicked the sound of a thunderbolt as it landed.
The ground around us cracked and buckled and a scream even more terrible than when I had cut off his hand echoed out.
I reared back and let my fist fall again.
And again.
And again.
And again.
And again.
And again.
And again.
Going faster and putting more strength behind them each time.
Iapetus's screams were evenly drowned out by the sound of lightning strikes. Either because of their ever-increasing intensity or because of his inability to even make noises anymore.
I had lost count of my strikes by the time I felt nothing left to put forth resistance against my blows. It was only when I stopped punching did I see what was left of Iapetus.
Which was just a body connected to the smoking pile of mush from where the titan's head had once been.
Standing up and flicking the ichor and gray matter off my gauntlets, I surveyed the surrounding area. Taking in the devastation I had caused to the national monument.
Half a dozen notifications popped up and I dismissed them with a sigh. I could deal with them later. Preferably after a shower and a nap that featured my girlfriend cuddling up against me. Yeah, that sounded nice.
*Clap* *Clap* *Clap*
I stiffened as my head jerked towards the sound coming from my left. My grunt of shock left me at the sight I saw.
"Well done old sport! Now that's what I call a show!" A man with a voice as smooth as sin and a face that was simply beauty perfected cheered, "You know I didn't quite see it at the start, but you are definitely one of her's."
A frown formed on my face as I stared at the man.
"Oh now don't be like that Alexander." He said as he gently tucked a silver piece of hair back behind his ear so that it could fall down with the rest of his long and luscious platinum hair.
Widening his arms he beckoned me forward with a dazzling smile, "Come and give your grand uncle a big ole hug. Then we can go and celebrate. Tear up the town a little."
That smile turned sinister as a chuckle escaped him, "After all, it's not every day you're freed from imprisonment. And trust me, I'm about to do a lot of tearing."
Huh, I think I found out what they wanted at Devil's Tower. Also, I just wanted to point out why I didn't put the tower thing together. The whole freeing Satan thing? Called that one a while ago.
I never brought it up. As I just figured that the underworld had some common sense and had secured his prison. You know, maybe used some forethought and brainstormed the idea that a faction who opposed their current leaders and had ties to the Khaos Brigade might be very motivated to spring their progenitor from underworld supermax.
This is what I get for not asking questions and assuming peoples competence.