Hades growled angrily: "Even without that sword, I can still end you!"
The deathly divine power around him suddenly boiled, transforming into liquid shadow tentacles that surged wildly from the void, like the manifestation of the deepest sea of sin in the Underworld, rolling toward Saori in a sky-covering wave.
Saori took a deep breath. Her God Cloth bloomed with unprecedented light.
She swung her staff, and a golden tide of light turned into countless sharp wings of light and sacred runes, meeting the dark torrent of death head-on.
Golden light and black shadows intertwined, annihilated, and regenerated. Each collision caused the space of Elysium to tremble violently, producing fine black cracks, which were then barely repaired by the divine realm itself.
Shattered fragments of light and shadow fell like a torrential rain, corroding the originally sacred land into a mess of holes.
In the midst of this breathtaking clash, Hades's cold voice pierced through the energy turbulence: "Athena, you possess the identity of a god, a noble bloodline, eternal life, and authority..."
"But why do you always fight so desperately for humanity?"
Saori swung her staff, cutting off several incoming shadow tentacles, her eyes clear and determined. "Because I have learned from humans something I never had when I was a 'god'."
"And that is emotion!"
"Familial love, friendship, romantic love, the will to protect, the resolve to sacrifice, hope for the future, anger at injustice, compassion for the weak..."
"These emotions may bring pain and tears, but they also create unparalleled courage, wisdom, unity, and... love."
"They are so complex, so contradictory, yet so beautiful."
"They allow brief lives to burst forth with light that surpasses eternity, allowing fragile bodies to carry the will to shake destiny!"
"Beautiful?" Hades let out a bone-chilling sneer. His battle did not pause for a moment... the shadow tentacles attacked even more fiercely. "I see only endless ugliness from those insects!"
During the fierce battle, he slashed his left hand across the void.
A screen of light and shadow, its edges flowing with dark underworld fire and its interior connecting to a corner of the Living World, suddenly unfurled in the sky above Elysium.
The image showed a super-luxurious hotel on a small island somewhere in the Living World.
Crystal chandeliers reflected off marble floors polished to a mirror shine. The air was filled with the scent of champagne and gourmet food.
The men and women attending the banquet were all impeccably dressed and elegantly mannered… clearly the pinnacle of power and wealth from Earth.
However, the 'ritual' they were performing was enough to make anyone with a shred of conscience shatter with rage.
In the center of the banquet hall was not a dance floor or a podium, but a bloody stage arranged like a cult altar.
A child, her hands bound, her eyes lively and innocent, showed no fear, seemingly believing that these adults were playing a beautiful game with her, unaware of the greed in their eyes.
What happened next turned Saori's face pale, her stomach churning.
It was not merely killing... it was the darkest, most depraved, most animalistic parts of human nature, displayed nakedly in the most 'civilized' and 'luxurious' way.
"Do you see, Athena." Hades's voice coiled around her ears like a venomous snake. "This is what the Earth's current upper echelons are doing."
"Do you really think there is anything beautiful about these ugly, filthy insects, worse than the most brutal beasts?"
The shocking images and Hades's soul-piercing words did indeed shake Saori's spirit for a moment.
But she quickly calmed down, her cold gaze fixed on Hades. "Hades, you did all of this, didn't you!"
"You twisted the laws of reincarnation, casting the souls of those 'beasts'… violent, greedy, filled with primal devouring desires… into human bodies!"
"They are not true humans at all! They are beasts in human skin! They are the despicable tools you use to defile humanity and attack my convictions!"
"So what if I did?" Hades admitted calmly. "But this is fair, isn't it?"
"Humans proclaim themselves the lords of all creation, ruling over and slaughtering countless creatures, from birds and beasts to fish and insects..."
"They regard other lives as inferior, sacrificing them for their own desires."
"So, having those creatures that humans have eaten reincarnate as 'humans', letting them also taste what it's like to be human... isn't this the most fitting retribution for humanity?"
Saori was not convinced. She said coldly, "If such humans are considered guilty in your eyes, then..."
"What about you, Hades, who manipulate the cycle of life and death, instigate countless wars, cause the tragic deaths of billions of humans, leaving their souls unrest? Aren't you the source of evil?"
As she questioned, Saori pointed her staff at the light screen in the air.
"In the name of Athena, this profanation of life, this defilement of humanity, shall be punished by the gods!"
Hum!
Above that luxury hotel in the Living World, golden divine clouds gathered in the clear night sky.
Countless beams of purifying light fell, engulfing the hotel.
"Argh!!!"
In the light screen, those 'beasts in fine clothing' performing their evil rituals let out incredibly miserable screams under the sacred purifying light.
They seemed to be undergoing extremely cruel punishment, painfully tearing at their skin.
The little girl was rescued by a former Pope watching secretly from the shadows.
She looked at these adults with some fear, thinking the light felt warm and comfortable.
It wasn't just them experiencing divine punishment. 'Beasts in fine clothing' all over the world were receiving divine punishment.
Hades watched coldly as Saori delivered divine punishment, his face showing no fluctuation.
"Mere beasts," He commented indifferently. "For them to have such an experience, they can be considered to have no regrets."
The battle paused for a moment due to this interlude, then erupted with even greater intensity.
Having lost his Sword of Hades, Hades's attack methods became more sinister and varied.
His deathly divine power sometimes transformed into a devouring dark domain, sometimes condensed into highly penetrating shadow lances.
And Saori, though wearing the God Cloth and holding the Nike staff, had not fully revived her true body as Athena.
With these offsetting factors, the power they could exert was very close.
They fought from the skies of Elysium down to the shattered earth, from beside the mausoleum to the crumbling borders.
Divine blood splattered. Both the God Cloth and the Hades Divine Cloth gained more cracks and dents.