If anyone were to ask Shendu why he and Zoran were on such good terms, the answer he could give couldn't possibly be simpler.
"Because we're brothers," Shendu replied calmly.
"Brothers?"
Hades' gaze swept across Shendu and Zoran, pondering as he slowly nodded.
From the head down, he had completely materialized into flesh and bone, leaving only a single step remaining until his full resurrection.
"I see. It seems you share the same convictions. The same convictions unite people, while differing convictions drive them down separate paths."
"Only by casting aside the shackles of race can powerhouses truly unite."
At last, the clock symbolizing the countdown was completely swallowed by the darkness.
An overwhelming aura of might swept across the entire Netherworld from the hall, and Hades rose from his throne.
He had fully and completely resurrected.
Arising in a state even more formidable than he was a hundred thousand years ago, possessed of even greater power.
"Thank you for being willing to wait for me," he said, looking toward Shendu and Zoran with a sincere tone.
An aura carrying his unique hetero-energy swept across the hall and the Netherworld warriors outside.
Those warriors whom Shendu had turned into a hamster legion not long ago suddenly began to glow with brilliant light.
"The war souls burning within the dark abyss are hereby granted the right to burn once more!"
This formidable hetero-energy forcefully shattered the transformation restriction Shendu had cast. Starting with Logan, they transformed back into Netherworld warriors once again, standing tall upon the earth.
Simultaneously, the entire hall began to expand rapidly outward, marvelous structures rising from the deep earth, reborn amidst the tremors.
This power skillfully bypassed Zoran and Shendu, as Hades proclaimed his return to the Seven Parallel Universes.
Only after completing this did he refocus his gaze upon the two uninvited Nebula Body powerhouses.
Either one of these two was a formidable enemy against whom he would have to unleash his full power to fight.
The hetero-energy levels of all three were extremely close, rivaling one another within a margin that did not exceed a single black hole grade.
If Shendu and Zoran joined forces, Hades would have zero chance of winning.
Even if they simply attacked together in the most basic manner, while Hades and Shendu's Nebula Bodies engaged in a standoff, Zoran only needed to launch a slight sneak attack against his physical origin body, and Hades would instantly be plunged into eternal damnation.
Hades was crystal clear on how the battle lines were drawn.
Revived once more after enduring one hundred thousand years of solitude, he could not afford to gamble on Zoran's attitude while he fought Shendu.
Across from him, Shendu erupted with hetero-energy that shattered his throne, stepping heavily toward Hades.
He had waited far too long for this moment.
An adversary finally stood before him who could match his might, stirring a restless, surging frenzy deep within his heart.
Unlike Whale Shark King, whom he had to forcibly suppress his hetero-energy to fight, and unlike Bradley, whose Cloud Bat Legion still lacked the requisite tier despite their combination, the Hades before him was a true, legitimate opponent.
Hades abruptly extended a hand toward Shendu, declaring with bold magnanimity: "The battle of powerhouses lies in equilibrium!"
His voice suddenly grew ethereal, echoing through the grand hall.
"When I grew tired of pursuing, I learned to hit the mark at a single glance; ever since a contrary wind began to blow, I have been able to withstand the winds from all eight directions and steer my boat right through!"
Within Hades' body, hetero-energy erupted. His voice rang out like thunder as he roared: "Netherworld Black Hole!!!"
He unleashed his ultimate technique against Shendu almost instantly.
A Netherworld Black Hole materialized in an instant, expanding from a microscopic singularity into a pitch-black, nebula-like abyss.
The hall that had just finished rising was pulverized in a split second, swallowed directly into the Netherworld Black Hole.
Aside from warriors recognized by the Netherworld, only Shendu and Zoran present on the scene could truly feel the weight of this gravitational pull.
Even Snow Emperor, the most powerful entity in the universe one hundred thousand years ago, had once been swallowed by the Netherworld Black Hole when caught off-guard.
A virtually infinite gravitational pull lunged toward Zoran and Shendu.
"Long live Hades! Long live Hades!"
Striking the moment he revived, Hades' power was so awe-inspiring that countless Netherworld warriors raised their arms and cheered.
Yet, as the gravitational pull struck, Shendu stood at the very forefront of the Netherworld Black Hole.
Gathering hetero-energy into his body, he threw a punch directly at the Netherworld Black Hole, shattering its gravitational pull as though it were a tangible substance.
Wisps of black thread drifted past his flanks.
"Your Netherworld Black Hole is powerful, but with me prepared, it's still far from enough to swallow me!" Shendu opened his arms wide, stating bluntly.
Behind him, Zoran appeared even more relaxed.
The gravity of the Netherworld Black Hole favored him just as much.
Yet when the gravitational force assailed him, Zoran merely wore a calm expression and flicked his wrist lightly, wiping away the black hole's gravity entirely.
The Moon Demon, who wielded the forces of gravity, being swallowed by gravity?
Only the most third-rate playwrights could possibly conceive of such a comical development.
The potency of the Netherworld Black Hole lay in the internal black hole gravity it unleashed, and this very gravity could not even exert a tenth of its effect before Zoran, a being on the scale of a Nebula Body.
As a world with relatively fragile mechanics and abilities, almost the entirety of Hades' peerless martial arts mastery, aside from his raw hetero-energy, was concentrated within the Netherworld Black Hole.
Therefore, speaking of absolute counters, Zoran was actually the one who countered Hades the most thoroughly.
"Gravity? It is mine to command," Zoran said softly, his words melting like a sigh into the restless Netherworld Black Hole.
Abruptly, the gravitational pull of the Netherworld Black Hole plummeted.
At the entrance of those twisted, nebula-like fragmented plumes, the speed of its swallowing and distortion suddenly slowed down uncontrollably.
It was as if some force was forcefully suppressing its progression, gradually bringing it to a halt.
Though thwarted from the very start, Hades showed no panic on his face; his soaring aura remained completely unabated.
He let out a hearty laugh, unable to help himself from sighing: "Good!"
With another rotation of his arms, within the dark expanse of the Netherworld Black Hole, a microscopic speck of light bloomed with dazzling brilliance.
Unlike the darkness of the Netherworld Black Hole, that point of light was brilliantly luminous.
"With a powerhouse before me, there is only this: seeking life amidst death!"
Hades roared in fury, and his personal hetero-energy surged directly toward that speck of light.
At that exact moment, deep within the Netherworld Black Hole.
Clad in white-and-gold robes and wearing a veil over her face, a woman gazed up at the singularity suddenly bursting with light overhead, a look of bewilderment washing over her face.
"Snow Emperor." Beside her, a sinister-looking elder bowed slightly, following her gaze up toward the singularity.
"The singularity within the black hole is the core of the Netherworld Black Hole, and our only hope of escaping it..."
"Yet this hope is controlled entirely by Hades. Only his own hetero-energy can unlock the Netherworld Black Hole through the singularity..."
Snow Emperor murmured to herself, gazing at the singularity with a puzzled expression.
"Why do I sense Hades' power? He is forcefully impacting the singularity... Hades, is he letting us out? Why would he do such a thing?"
No one could give Snow Emperor an answer, not even Ghost King standing beside her.
After pondering for a moment and finding no answers, Snow Emperor could only wave her hand and issue a command:
"Inform Titusz and all White Tiger warriors, we are breaking out of the Netherworld Black Hole, right now!"
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