Chapter 37: The Sea Emperor and the King of the Underworld
Along with devouring the "God-King" Zeus's divine power completely, golden divine power surged over Shirou's body, and his brown eyes were now covered in a pale gold.
In fact, it was not difficult for Shirou to destroy a planet now; it was just that he couldn't reach the level of output required to pulverize a planet in a single, instantaneous burst.
Feeling this power, Shirou ignored the body of Zeus turning into specks of starlight before him and turned his gaze toward the "Sea Emperor" Poseidon, who was in close pursuit.
As Shirou's gaze swept over him, even Poseidon felt a momentary flash of dread in his heart. This "Godslayer" was too powerful—he had slain his brother Zeus with such speed and seized his divine power. Now that his strength had skyrocketed, Poseidon feared it would be difficult to match him with his power alone.
However, after that brief trepidation, an endless surge of fury followed. His brother had been slain, and the culprit was right before his eyes; was he to flee in a pathetic state?
"Die for me!"
Poseidon grit his teeth and swung his golden war-halberd. Blue divine power surged across his body, transforming into a towering wave that shot into the clouds. As he swung the trident, the seawater gathered instantly, forming a blue water dragon that roared as it charged toward Shirou!
Facing the blue water dragon sweeping toward him, Shirou remained undaunted. He swung his pitch-black demonic sword, and a slash imbued with golden divine power swept out, colliding with the water dragon released by the Sea Emperor's full strength.
Bang—!
The water dragon was blown apart by Shirou's slash, falling as a deluge of rain across the sky.
Shirou and Poseidon stood suspended in the sky, facing each other. Their gazes were stern, and another clash seemed imminent. But at that moment, in the center of the whirlpool in the sea area below, the pervasive black mist suddenly surged and shot into the sky.
"What is that!?"
Shirou looked with confusion at the black mist piercing the heavens. Simultaneously, the frantically churning black mist gradually dissipated, revealing the figure of a man dressed in silver-black armor.
He possessed a handsome face not inferior to Zeus or Poseidon. His tall, athletic physique was covered in silver-black armor, and his black hair and grey eyes were highly distinctive. In his hand, he held a weapon that was different from both Zeus's and Poseidon's: it was a greatsword with a black hilt, a guard shaped like a pair of open wings, and a dark silver blade.
That was likely the artifact owned by the "King of the Underworld," Hades.
"A sword...? Shouldn't it be a bident?"
Shirou felt somewhat puzzled by the type of artifact in Hades's hand. In Greek mythology, Hades ruled the Underworld and held the title of "King of the Underworld." As the brother of Zeus and Poseidon, Hades possessed an artifact on the same level as Zeus's thunderbolt and Poseidon's trident: the Helmet of Invisibility.
While the silver-black armor Hades wore provided high defense, the helmet on his head was the true artifact. The power of the "Helmet of Invisibility" could completely erase the concept of Hades's existence from this world, making it impossible for anyone to perceive him. This was why Shirou had only been able to observe the spreading black mist earlier but could not detect Hades's presence no matter what.
Aside from the Helmet of Invisibility, the weapon Hades was supposed to possess in Greek mythology should have been a bident. What was the meaning of this greatsword he now held?
It was hard to explain. Since he couldn't find an answer through thinking, Shirou didn't intend to waste any more brainpower. He turned a stern gaze toward the confronting "Sea Emperor" Poseidon and "King of the Underworld" Hades.
"You don't actually think the two of you combined can match me, do you?"
As he spoke, the pitch-black demonic sword in Shirou's hand continuously released deep blue energy. The patterns on the blade flowed with golden divine power, revealing an unstoppable majesty that seemed to echo Shirou's words.
Hades then spoke: "Regardless, you have already killed our brother Zeus, and Hephaestus died at your hands as well. Your relationship with the gods is beyond repair, and the battle between us is inevitable!"
As Hades spoke, Poseidon—who had no desire to repeat his brother's words—swung his golden trident. Waves surged in the sky, and blue divine power billowed. Similarly, Hades was shrouded in an intimidating black mist of death, and the "Sword of Hades" in his hand pulsed with the aura of a curse.
That "Sword of Hades" possessed the power to cut through everything in the world and carried a curse. Anyone struck by it would be cursed; even beings with eternal and indestructible souls would be banished to a world of nothingness outside the cycle of reincarnation if killed by this sword, with no possibility of escape.
Furthermore, this was an invisible sword that mortals could not see; even a "Godslayer" normally wouldn't be able to see its true form. Only Shirou, whose strength far surpassed all "Godslayers" to date and could be called the greatest of all time, could fully see the prototype of this sword.
Upon seeing the sword, Shirou's only thought was...
"Your sword seems pretty good too..."
Shirou's words made Hades feel that something was not quite right.
"What do you mean?"
His grey eyes focused on Shirou, his tone revealing an unquestionable pressure. This was the unique temperament of the King of the Underworld, who held dominion over death. An ordinary person—or even a normal "Godslayer"—would be overwhelmed by such an aura.
But Shirou felt no pressure at all; he even began to smile.
"Heh, nothing. I just think that 'Sword of Hades' in your hand is very suitable for filling up my inventory."
Hearing this, Hades's face immediately contorted with incomparable rage.
"Damn 'Godslayer', I will tear you into ten thousand pieces, then extract your soul and imprison it in the Underworld, so that you may never be reincarnated for all eternity!"
"How scary. Well, I can't let you succeed then." Shirou raised his demonic sword and pointed the tip directly at Hades's face.
Hades's eyes bulged with rage, and veins popped on his forehead.
"You have offended the gods, yet your arrogance is still so rampant!"
With a roar, Hades swung the "Sword of Hades" and charged toward Shirou. Poseidon—a man of few words but great ruthlessness—saw Hades's move and immediately swung his golden trident, sending a water dragon soaring into the sky!
Seeing their actions, Shirou let out a cold laugh. "It seems your proud divinity failed to bring you even a shred of self-awareness."
With that, he gripped his pitch-black demonic sword "Twilight" and swung it violently toward the incoming Hades and Poseidon!
That single strike sliced a massive crack into the sky!
Space was cut open, revealing a deep, pitch-black unknown realm. Instantly, intense wind pressure and vibrations swept across the entire world.
Boom, boom, boom—!!!
Heaven and earth were shaking... no, the entire planet was shaking! Light was captured, annihilated, and devoured, turning into brilliant bands of light as it fell into that seemingly endless night within the abyssal black void!
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