"I expect nothing less from my brothers…"
As soon as Damon finished speaking, he extended one hand to the side. A faint vibration passed through the air before his familiar katana appeared between his fingers. The blade remained sheathed, but even so, the incredible pressure released by the weapon was impossible to ignore.
Hades and Poseidon seemed to be transported into the past. Only Chaos knew how many millennia had passed since the last time they had seen Damon use that sword. Both gods could not help remembering simpler times, although they had also been difficult, when Damon still relied mainly on his skill with the katana, his affinity with the wind, and Gaia's blessing.
However, the weapon before them was very different from the one they remembered. It was obvious that Damon had made sure his weapon evolved with the passage of time, just as he had.
"It has been so long since I last saw you use that sword that I began to think you had gotten rid of your divine weapon," Poseidon commented as he summoned the trident Damon had created for him.
The divine weapon shone between his hands, releasing considerable pressure and demonstrating that the God of the Sea had taken his brother's words from some time ago seriously.
"I normally don't use it unless I'm training or dealing with something truly serious," Damon replied as he ran one finger over the hilt of his katana. "Over time, I've developed so many abilities that it would be impossible for me to use all of them, even if I wanted to."
Damon smiled broadly.
"Don't worry, though. I'll go easy on you…"
Poseidon did not need to hear anything else. With one powerful burst of movement, he launched himself forward and crossed the distance between them in an instant. The tip of his trident headed directly toward Damon's chest, seeking to force him to move at Poseidon's pace so he could maintain control of the fight.
Seeing him approach, Damon slightly turned his body and deflected the weapon with his katana. The collision between the two weapons released a powerful pressure wave that cracked the stone beneath their feet. Upon seeing how easily Damon had stopped his advance, Poseidon changed the angle of his trident and unleashed a rapid series of thrusts. Each attack was faster than the last, attempting to prevent the redhead from finding any room to respond.
Hades, for his part, watched the scene and released a quiet sigh.
"Idiot… Always rushing in without thinking twice," the pale-skinned god muttered.
With a slight movement of his hands, the ground beneath Damon began to tremble. A small quake passed through the field and shifted the stone beneath his feet just as Poseidon unleashed a powerful horizontal strike. Damon lost part of his balance and had to raise his katana to block the trident directly. The impact forced his feet several inches backward.
Poseidon showed a wide smile when he felt it. "I've got you YEEYYYh." Damon did not even bother to reply. He twisted his wrist, deflected the trident to the side, and launched a direct kick toward his brother's abdomen. Poseidon used the shaft of his weapon to block it, but the force pushed him backward. The God of the Sea stopped his movement by driving the end of the trident into the ground.
A small bead of sweat appeared on Damon's forehead. Even after so much time and all the conversations they had shared, Poseidon continued fighting in the exact same way.
Attacking with overwhelming strength and attempting to eliminate any possibility of retaliation through constant pressure was not a bad strategy. In fact, it could be devastating against someone incapable of keeping up with the God of the Sea. Very few gods could remain standing while Poseidon unleashed an endless succession of attacks upon them.
However, against someone stronger or experienced enough, his movements eventually became predictable. Even someone with exceptional defenses, such as Athena, would probably have a good chance against him.
Damon had already tried explaining that to him in the past, so he had no intention of repeating the conversation. Poseidon was an adult god and understood his own weaknesses perfectly well.
Poseidon launched himself forward again, but this time Damon felt a slight disturbance in the air behind his body. He quickly understood that it was Hades using the Helm of Darkness, which completely concealed his divine presence and prevented Damon from seeing him with his own eyes.
Under normal circumstances, locating him would have been extremely difficult. However, Hades still existed within the same plane, which meant that even if he had vanished from sight and his presence was impossible to perceive, the air continued moving around his body. Since the wind was practically an extension of Damon, detecting the movements of the God of the Underworld was simple for him, even if he could neither see him nor directly sense his energy.
Damon tilted his head just as a dark blade passed through the place where his neck had been. Hades appeared behind him for a fraction of a second before vanishing again. Sensing the danger of having Hades advancing from behind and Poseidon approaching from the side, Damon disappeared from his position in an explosion of speed.
He could not deny that Hades's ability surprised him slightly. Were it not for his own senses and capabilities, Hades would probably be the sibling who caused Damon the most trouble during a fight.
Hades was far less aggressive than the others and rarely allowed himself to be controlled by impulse. His patience made him difficult to predict for any opponent who did not possess more than one way to perceive his movements or enough experience to fight practically blind. All of that made the God of the Underworld the kind of enemy capable of killing you before you even realized you were already dead.
Damon was pulled from his thoughts when he noticed a massive amount of shadows advancing toward him from the corner of his eye. The darkness quickly spread across the ground until it connected with his own shadow, and an invisible force began immobilizing his legs while slowly rising toward the rest of his body.
The sensation immediately felt familiar. It had been a long time since he last faced someone who used shadows in that manner. Hades's control was far beyond anything the Nara Clan could ever achieve, but the principle behind the technique remained similar.
A small smile appeared on Damon's face. Before the paralysis could reach his torso, he quickly spun the katana and drove the tip of the blade into the ground. A current of energy expanded beneath his feet in the form of a wave of light, separating the two shadows for a brief instant.
Hades appeared behind him with a slightly surprised expression.
"I didn't expect you to escape so quickly. Had I known, I would have put in more effort."
"Ha, ha… I've dealt with something similar before, although nothing comparable to yours," Damon replied as he pulled his katana from the ground.
Poseidon used the conversation as an opportunity to attack again. The trident descended with enough force to split Damon in half, but the redhead moved to the side and allowed the strike to crash directly into the ground, causing an explosion of dirt and dust to rise in every direction.
Hades had been preparing another technique while keeping Damon distracted through their conversation, but he was forced to throw all his plans to hell in order to avoid the sudden shockwave created by Poseidon's attack. The God of the Underworld directed a cold look toward his brother.
"Poseidon, could you think before attacking? You know I'm here, right? You're not the only one fighting Damon."
"Don't be such a killjoy, Hades. How about you move faster instead of complaining? Come on, I'll lead the way," Poseidon replied without taking his eyes off Damon.
Damon released a small laugh while resting the katana against his shoulder.
"At this rate, Kronos will have enough time to escape, reclaim his throne, and lose it again before the two of you learn how to fight together," the god mocked, amused by his brothers' obvious lack of coordination.
Poseidon clicked his tongue. "Don't get excited. We're only warming up."
Hades merely rolled his eyes without attempting to deny anything. It was obvious that, to some extent, he agreed with Damon's words. Poseidon had spent who knew how long arguing with Zeus and the other gods over every pointless matter imaginable, while Hades remained confined within the Underworld fulfilling his responsibilities. Over the centuries, their coordination had become considerably rusty.
The God of the Sea tightened his grip around his trident before striking the ground with the base of the weapon. An enormous amount of water appeared around the field and began spreading across the stone. Poseidon did not attempt to attack directly this time. Instead, he controlled the currents to restrict Damon's movements and force him toward a specific area.
Damon slightly raised an eyebrow, not expecting such an intelligent attack from Poseidon.
With a thought from the God of the Sea, several streams of water rose in the shape of whips and attacked from different directions. Damon cut through the first two with his katana and dodged the third, but every movement brought him closer to the position Poseidon had prepared.
Hades quickly took advantage of the opportunity and began moving through the shadows at great speed. He emerged from the ground with one hand extended toward Damon while the earth beneath the redhead's feet hardened to keep him trapped.
However, before he could even touch him, several roots emerged from the ground while the branches of the nearby trees extended at great speed, attempting to wrap themselves around the arms and legs of the God of the Underworld.
Hades had already expected a possible counterattack. With a burst of speed, he launched himself backward while the earth beneath his feet began to deform. A dome of stone quickly rose around him, protecting him long enough to disappear into the darkness before the branches pierced through the defense.
Poseidon used that instant to send all the water gathered across the field toward Damon. The current advanced like an enormous wave, swallowing trees and branches as though they were nothing while covering all the space before the redhead.
Seeing the attack approaching, Damon raised one hand. The air began moving at great speed as a freezing breeze spread from his palm. The temperature dropped in an instant, and the wave began freezing before it could reach him. The ice rapidly advanced through the entire current in the opposite direction until it reached Poseidon directly.
The eyes of the God of the Sea widened slightly. The ice covered his legs, his torso, and finally his arms, leaving him completely immobilized. Poseidon gritted his teeth and began gathering his divine power to free himself, but Damon had already disappeared.
Within milliseconds, the redhead appeared before him and rotated his entire body before delivering a powerful kick to his chest. The ice exploded into hundreds of fragments, and Poseidon was launched into the forest, crashing through several trees before disappearing among the branches.
Damon raised one hand to his forehead and looked in the direction his brother had flown.
"Better luck next time, brother!"
He received no immediate response. A movement beneath his feet caught his attention before the ground suddenly softened.
Damon felt his legs sink as all the earth around him collapsed. Vast amounts of mud, stones, and soil began covering him at incredible speed. He attempted to move one arm, but the earth continued compressing around his body and dragging him downward.
Within seconds, Damon completely disappeared beneath the training field. Hades remained on the surface with both hands extended while the earth continued gathering over the area, burying his brother deeper and deeper while increasing the pressure around his body.
For a brief moment, the field fell completely silent.
Beneath the ground, Damon felt the strength of the technique compressing every part of his body. It was far more dangerous than it appeared. Someone without enough power would not simply become trapped; the pressure would eventually crush their bones, and the immense amount of earth would prevent any attempt at movement.
Even Damon's control over the wind was practically useless in a place where there was barely any space for air to circulate. Of course, Damon still possessed his power of Destruction and could erase all the matter surrounding him with a simple wave of energy, but any opponent without a similar ability would find themselves in serious trouble. Even if they somehow survived the pressure, Hades could continue dragging them downward until they were buried at a depth that was nearly impossible to reach.
Damon could not help feeling impressed by his brother once again.
A second later, an explosion of power shook the field. The earth burst open, and Damon shot into the sky within a massive cloud of dust, stones, and mud. He remained floating for several seconds before slowly descending back to the ground.
His body was completely covered in dirt. Part of his hair had become stuck to his face because of the mud, while small stones continued falling from his shoulders.
Hades watched him with the same serious expression as always. "I almost had you there, brother."
Damon returned his gaze with a smile before pointing toward his own body in disbelief. "Did you really have to do this to me?"
A mocking laugh from the forest drew the attention of both gods. Poseidon returned on foot while removing several broken branches from his clothing. "Don't be such a girl, Damon. Are you afraid of a little dirt?"
Damon gave him a flat stare as the God of the Sea finished dusting himself off. "Besides, you broke the rules," Poseidon added.
"Poseidon, I didn't break any rules. What are you talking about?"
"Well, uh…" The God of the Sea attempted to answer, but Damon interrupted him before he could invent an excuse. "Exactly. You don't even know what to say," Damon dismissed him with a wave of his hand.
As he observed the exchange, Hades released a sigh, although a barely visible smile appeared at the corner of his lips. He had not participated much in the conversation, but simply being there and witnessing the moment was more than enough for him.
The truth was that he could not deny that a small part of himself, hidden within the deepest reaches of his dark heart, genuinely appreciated moments like these. They were simple moments, but that was precisely why he felt the desire to preserve them in his memory as though they were among his most valuable paintings.
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