Several clones swung their spears at him, but Apophis didn't even bother to dodge. The moment the spears reached him, darkness manifested around his body, acting as a shield. The clones crumbled into nothingness the second they touched that shadow, as if they were being dissolved.
Darkness began to manifest all around me—behind, left, right, and front.
I was using the Treasured Horse to teleport randomly to keep him guessing, but he was tracking my movements with terrifying ease. I blinked away just as a hand of darkness tried to seize me, but a corner of my traditional robes was caught and instantly dissolved into nothing.
Apophis, the legendary dragon of shadows, controls darkness itself. He is a creature that finds his true value in the blackest night. He was holding back for now, but soon, he would manipulate the very weather to turn this region into a world of eternal night. If that happens, this becomes his domain. We will be at an overwhelming disadvantage.
I continued to teleport, thrusting the Holy Spear and firing waves of sacred energy. Each time, Apophis summoned darkness to swallow the light. While defending, he retaliated with bullets of shadow fired from the shifting gloom.
The attacks were linear and easy to dodge, but one graze meant death. The shadow bullets that missed me hit the ground, melting the earth where they landed. If a God took a direct hit from that, they wouldn't survive.
Furthermore, it seemed he could sense my position through the darkness he had spread. He was pinpointing exactly where I would reappear after a teleport.
The tension was different from my fight with Issei. This was a dance on a razor's edge.
"Heh... now, how should I dismantle this?"
I realized I must be a little insane to be smiling in a situation like this.
While parrying Apophis's darkness, I glanced back. Georg and the others were busy dealing with the endless swarm of Evil Dragons Apophis had created using the Holy Grail.
Georg was manipulating mist and magic to thin the herd from the rear, while Jeanne, in her Balance Breaker form, soared through the sky atop a dragon made of holy swords.
"Ha! You think these things can scratch the great Perseus?!"
Wielding his circular shield and longsword, Perseus blocked a dragon's fire with his shield before slicing it apart. He threw the shield, crushing a dragon's skull, and then let his aura flare in his empty left hand. The energy gathered, manifesting his Sacred Gear.
In his left hand, a massive shield appeared, featuring the carved face of Medusa with snakes for hair.
"Open your eyes! My Sacred Gear—Aegis Mineralization: Death Mandate of the Gorgon Queen!"
The eyes on the shield snapped open, emitting a petrifying light. The Evil Dragons caught in the radiance turned to stone mid-flight and plummeted. They shattered into a million pieces the moment they hit the ground.
That Sacred Gear had the power to petrify anyone weaker than Perseus. He was a rare case of a user manifesting a gear based on the original hero 'Perseus.' By combining his sword skills with the shield's ability, he was systematically clearing the sky.
Determined not to be outdone, Hercules let out a roar.
"I'm not gonna let 'P-Man' get all the glory!"
"Stop calling me P-Man!" Perseus yelled back. He had left the Hero Faction for a while after losing faith in my direction, but this bickering was a return to our old daily routine.
Hercules punched a dragon square in the face as he shouted.
"Give me a break, Lord Devil! Balance Breaker!!"
For a second, a binding spell flickered around Hercules's body, but as if acknowledging his will, the shackles shattered.
After the Great War of the Monsters, Hercules had been placed under heavy restrictions. If he used his power, a curse carved into his body would activate, searing him from the inside out. But now, the curse didn't burn him—it broke. He had been granted permission to use his full strength.
As he entered his Balance Breaker state, his appearance was different than before. It used to be a form covered in jagged protrusions. Now, it was much cleaner.
Thick, silver gauntlets covered his forearms. They were simple, unadorned, and functional.
"My new Balance Breaker: Detonation Mighty Fist! TAKE THIS!"
Hercules swung a heavy arm, dealing a crushing blow to an Evil Dragon. In an instant, the creature's entire body exploded. The shockwave of the detonation caught the surrounding dragons, blowing them away. Hercules moved like a heavyweight boxer, delivering high-speed, lethal strikes that systematically slaughtered the enemy.
"I didn't just sit on my hands while my power was sealed," Hercules said. "I dove into my own Sacred Gear and faced myself, just like the Red Dragon Emperor did. When I did that, my Balance Breaker changed to fit who I am now."
The rest of us were stunned. I never expected Hercules to take a page out of Issei Hyoudou's book. The old Hercules would have never possessed such humility.
"I wasn't thinking about getting stronger so I could go on another rampage," Hercules continued, tearing through dragons. "I just... I thought about why I lost to the next head of the Bael clan. It was simple. That man's punch... I can still feel it right here. Even though time has passed, it hasn't faded. His fist had a soul. Mine was empty."
Hercules's fists hadn't been able to do any meaningful damage to Sairaorg Bael. But Sairaorg's fist had possessed enough power to shatter Hercules's body in a single blow.
A strike delivered with the soul is something that resonates forever. I knew exactly how he felt.
"The Devil King made me work as a janitor at a kindergarten. At first, I was like, 'Why me?' But lately... I've started thinking it's not so bad. Those brats, they wave at me when they go home. They call me 'Mister' and smile. After everything I did. It's hard to believe, right? Even I find it strange sometimes. But those kids woke me up. They changed me in a way I never thought possible."
Hercules pointed a finger at Apophis and took a deep breath. He let out a shout so loud it shook the very air.
"Hey, Apophis! I came here to protect those kids! Laugh if you want! But I'm not losing here—not in a million years!"
Hercules took his stance, staring down the swarm of dragons.
"Come on then, you pieces of garbage! You're not getting a step further! I swear it on my soul!"
[Cao Cao's Perspective: End]
Wait... was Hercules the protagonist of this story?
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