home

search

Chapter 91 - Hell’s Strongest Warriors

  The dojo cats, Catato and Catito, trail behind Steve and Wei as they leap through a portal, their eyes swiftly scanning the battlefield. Without hesitation, they rush toward their fallen brother, CATOTO, stopping to mourn his loss. Low, grief-stricken moans slip from their throats, steadily growing into a unified, defiant meow that echoes through the battlefield.

  Steve, holding Wei, propels both of them straight at Zeus with a cyclone. Zeus leaps backward to evade the impact, but before they hit the ground, Steve redirects the cyclone mid-air, curving it behind the thunder champion. As they close in, Zeus charges his fists with thunder and pivots, punching forward to meet their advance.

  Wei counters with a triple-bladed sword, its width expanding to match the gap between Zeus’ crackling fists. As the blades and fists collide with a resounding clash, thunderbolts erupt from above. The bolts miss their mark as Steve and Wei push Zeus backward, forcing the blades’ tips deeper into his fists. However, the thunder-charged fists emit surging strikes that bypass the sword’s defenses, slamming into both men and sending them tumbling across the ground.

  Freed from the sword, Zeus summons a thunderstrike from above, aiming it at the two. In response, Wei conjures a stream of water fused with lava, surging from behind and curving to intercept the falling thunder – then he extends it, driving it toward Zeus. Smoke billows from the scalding water as the lava rapidly solidifies, trapping Zeus within.

  Poseidon dashes forward, rushing to aid Zeus, but the dojo cats blur into action. With blinding speed, they intercept the sea king, their claws slashing against his divine form as they streak past him in rapid, coordinated strikes. Catato enlarges his tail, sweeping it at Poseidon’s feet just as Catito jumps onto Poseidon’s chest, delivering a powerful kick with enlarged paws that forces the sea king to stagger backward. Despite their efforts, Poseidon is supported by a stream of water from behind which keeps him from falling. Instead, he’s lifted into the air, riding the stream as it grows into a wave, its width expanding beneath him.

  The cats dash toward the soul crowd, using them as distractions. As Poseidon rides the wave, it surges over the souls, submerging them in the process. Meanwhile, Cerberus fires flames from its remaining two heads, limping forward and adjusting their direction. Poseidon shifts the wave’s width and height to evade the encroaching flames. Redirecting his focus to Cerberus, he dives down to the bottom of the wave. As the water crashes into the helpless dog, he thrusts his trident forward – only to strike the already missing leg. Before anyone can react, multiple blows land against Poseidon’s head – but he remains standing.

  Wei dashes toward the encased Zeus while Steve splits off to take on Poseidon. With heated blades in hand, Wei raises his sword high, using a stream of water to propel himself upward, aiming to strike from above. Anticipating the move, Zeus easily breaks free from the hardened lava and charges his fist. Unable to halt his attack in time, Wei’s blades strike, but Zeus blocks with a single arm, causing the weapons to lodge into his flesh as lava spews from the blades, burning deeper. In that instant, Zeus’ fist slams into Wei’s stomach. Though the punch doesn’t pierce all the way through, the force sends him flying, a smoldering burn mark now scarring his abdomen, the hole visible and smoking.

  “No human should have the power equal to a divine entity,” Zeus says, pulling Wei’s sword from his arm.

  Wei struggles but manages to rise, using streams of water to dodge the barrage of thunder strikes coming from both above and ahead. He begins to encircle Zeus with a single, continuous stream of water, boiling it with lava. Smoke and molten rock billow as he moves. Once Zeus is fully engulfed in smoke, Wei summons a massive water stream from beneath him, swirling it around before crashing Zeus to the ground. Zeus immediately rises, clapping his hands in applause. It seems he feels no pain, despite the injuries.

  Electricity surges through Zeus' body, thunder strikes exploding from his form. He moves forward, closing in on Wei, who tries to evade with a water stream. But Zeus doesn't follow Wei directly. Instead, he lets the thunder strikes make contact with the base of Wei’s stream. Suddenly, the stream is severed at the base, and as Wei falls, thunder strikes hit him from behind, sending him crashing to the ground. Before Wei can summon another stream beneath him to move, more thunder strikes rain down from above, overwhelming him.

  Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

  Meanwhile, Steve fires ice bullets from his dual guns, the speed and force amplified by cyclones that erupt from the barrels alongside the projectiles. While the first several bullets strike Poseidon’s head, the rest are stopped by a wave that rises in front of the sea king, moving forward and drowning the bullets before they can reach him. In an unexpected move, Steve propels himself through the crashing wave, encasing himself in ice – only to find that Poseidon is no longer visible. From above, the sea king appears, gripping his trident with both hands, aiming a downward stab. The trident pierces through Steve’s hardened legs, pinning him to the ground. Reacting to the pain, Steve quickly summons a cyclone that lifts both himself and Poseidon into the air.

  With the trident still embedded in his legs, Steve fires bullets at Poseidon, who is swirling uncontrollably inside the cyclone. The sea king guards his face, allowing his body and arms to take the hits. Though the bullets don’t pierce him, dented wounds become more visible. Poseidon then summons the trident back into his hands, and as he’s hurled away from the cyclone, he throws it, boosted by a surge of water from his hand. The trident would have missed Steve anyway, but just as it passes, a cat dashes at it, deflecting its path. A flame from Cerberus follows, amplified through Catito. Poseidon skillfully evades it, quickly rising after rolling on the ground. However, he’s caught off guard when Catato’s enlarged tail trips him. As he stumbles, he summons a water stream to stabilize himself, but is quickly pinned down by a cyclone as Steve closes in.

  Steve leaps forward, ice blades jutting out from the barrels of his guns. Aimed at Poseidon’s head, the blades are halted as the sea king engulfs his head in a protective bubble. Boosted by cyclones, Steve fires the blades into the bubble, managing to lodge them in Poseidon’s head, though only shallowly. Water erupts from beneath, forming a water tank that engulfs both Poseidon and Steve. Not accustomed to fighting underwater, Steve is struck in the arms by the trident as he raises them to protect his throat and head. Poseidon is relentless, continuing to push Steve around with the lodged trident. Suddenly, an enlarged Catito crashes down onto the sea king, while Catato swims and successfully pulls Steve out of harm’s way, though his arms remain impaled by the trident.

  With the last thunder strike, Wei lies face down on the floor, panting. Zeus charges up his bolt, preparing the next strike as a finishing blow. In that moment, Wei makes a desperate decision – sacrificing non-elite souls. He summons a wave behind them, pushing the souls toward him. Meanwhile, he springs forward, propelling himself through his own wave. Zeus hurls the bolt, its immense power cutting through the wave and the souls within it with ease. However, the bolt comes to a sudden halt just before reaching Wei – he has used more water to pull other souls in front of him as a shield.

  “I’m impressed,” Zeus says.

  “I’m not going down that easiry,” Wei responds.

  “What’s with the pronunciation?”

  Wei begins sending souls toward Zeus in towering waves as he slowly retreats closer to the gate, where Christine cowers in front. Soon, she too is swept up in a wave. Zeus, with thunder strikes bursting from his body, braces for impact, his arms shielding his face. Fortunately for Christine, she’s on top of the wave and doesn’t come into direct contact with Zeus. However, she’s sent crashing to the floor as the wave passes the thunder champion.

  As the last wave dissipates, a stream of water fused with lava erupts from below, engulfing Zeus. However, this time the attack fails to encase him in hardened lava due to the constant thunder strikes emanating from Zeus’ body. Seizing the moment, Zeus dashes forward, the bolt gripped tightly in his hand. With each dash, a thunderbolt strikes the ground where Zeus had been moments before. He deliberately zigzags to evade Wei’s attacks, then, to further confuse him, summons thunderbolts from above as soon as he finishes each dash. Wei’s back is now pressed against the closed gate, his breath coming in quick, shallow gasps. He can hear the sound of his own hyperventilation as Zeus closes in.

  Wei closes his eyes, preparing for the worst. Then, he feels himself being lifted. Opening his eyes, he sees Cerberus has rushed into the thunderstorm to save him, gripping him in its mouth. The beast endures thunder strikes with each movement, its body wracked with pain as it maneuvers through the storm.

  Suddenly, from seemingly out of nowhere, Zeus leaps from the ground, both hands gripping the bolt. The bolt embeds itself into Cerberus’ chihuahua head, followed by a thunder strike from within, instantly exploding its skull. Yet, just before its final moment, the beast releases Wei, allowing the middle head – the husky – to grab him. The husky swings its head, throwing Wei aside as the massive body continues to run, Zeus still riding it. The husky’s eyes burn with determination, ready to accept its fate.

Recommended Popular Novels