- Underworld Group -
Hades and Lucifer were standing in the middle of the Underworld palace's arena. Blue-flame torches stood at the corners. While not as big as Mount Olympus's coliseum, it was still a sizable area. Lucifer's team and Persephone were sitting in the center seats while Death stood on the field ready to give the starting call.
Hades was topless with dark black pteruges at his waist. The Ares tattoo on his back matched Poseidon's. White tattoos in the shape of thin, long scars partially covered his body. His body which had seemed slim in his suit was just as muscular as Zeus', if not more so. Persephone's whistle made him smile briefly before returning to a worried expression.
"Once again, you're sure about this?" Hades asked Lucifer.
Lucifer faked a smile. "Yes, trust me. Sometimes my training is a form of relaxation."
Hades's face stayed doubtful. He felt like he knew Lucifer well enough to know that something was off. The request for a duel made him wonder what exactly had happened in Lucifer's match with Poseidon. He wasn't going to hold back out of respect but there was a nagging part of him that urged him to ask more questions.
"What exactly happened between my brother and you in your match?" Hades asked.
Lucifer felt bad lying to Hades. He had no problem damaging Poseidon's image to others, but doing so with Hades seemed wrong. He knew Hades didn't blindly love the other two Olympian leaders but still didn't want to cause conflict. He was hoping to give Zeus the honor of doing that.
"I lost," Lucifer said while stretching. "I just want to try my luck in a better matchup is all. We'd have to have a rematch someday, why not now?"
Hades's expression grew even more unsure. "Okay...but after last time..." He rubbed his arm. "I...I just don't want you doing this for the wrong reasons."
Lucifer waved his hand casually. "That's the past. Come on, let's have a good match and then we can talk business."
Hades laughed nervously. "If you say so..."
Hades and Lucifer separated to opposite sides of the arena. Hades walked with his head down while Lucifer kept up his fake grin. Lucifer's team was exchanging questions with Persephone.
"Are you sure this is what he wants, Peter?" Persephone asked.
"I'm sure," Peter lied. "Luce's trainin' has always been insane. This is nothin' new, I assure ya."
Elijah put a handful of seasoned popcorn in his mouth. "This is excellent by the way."
Persephone perked up. "Thank you! For such a simple recipe it's actually quite popular among Underworld spectators."
"I think ya might be takin' after Satan a bit," Peter said to Elijah.
Elijah offered Peter the bucket to which Peter begrudgingly took a handful. Persephone switched from a smile watching the two eat the popcorn to a worried look as she turned to Hades and Lucifer.
"No disrespect meant...but how much stronger has Lucifer gotten?" Persephone asked the group.
"Night and day," Peter accidentally sighed. "He's far above what he used to be."
Persephone turned to Peter. "What is it?"
"Nothin'," Peter responded. "I just wish others would acknowledge that he's not the same hot-headed demigod he used to be."
Persephone was worried by Peter's statement. She wanted to tell Hades but knew she should at least wait until Death isn't around.
'I hope he's gotten as strong as you imply,' Persephone thought. 'Hades won't hold back. I really don't want to see a repeat of last time.'
Death lifted his hands to Lucifer and Hades. "As soon as I drop my arms, begin."
Hades and Lucifer nodded. Death dropped his arms and the two ran at each other. Death quickly ran over to join the others. He would be tasked with stopping any dangerous stray attacks.
Hades leaped into the air and brought down a whip of blue fire. Lucifer separated the whip and responded with two jets of orange flames.
Peter had an intense stare as he watched the match. 'Alright Luce, whether ya actually wanted it or not, let's see how much ya improved.'
Lucifer and Hades were exchanging blasts of fire while slowly closing their distance. Once they were in striking range of each other they both started upping the speed of their attacks. Blue flames shot around Lucifer while explosive orbs flew past Hades. The two were in a dance of attacking and countering.
Lucifer jumped into the air and created a thick smokescreen as he went. Two wolves made of blue flame followed him into the smoke and latched onto his legs. The sensation from the bites felt like white-hot nails. He managed to blast them off but his legs had received serious damage. He shot himself backward with one hand to regain distance from Hades while laying a cloud of explosive orbs.
Explosions filled the center of the arena as Lucifer landed near the wall that his team was sitting above. Lucifer listened for movement while his eyes tracked for more fiery animals. He channeled a short but powerful stream of fire out of his left hand.
Hades appeared out of the smoke with blue flames around his fist and a dark glow in his eyes. He brought his fist down on Lucifer's cheek. The sound caused Lucifer's team and Persephone to stand up. Death didn't move to intervene, expecting Lucifer's follow-up.
Lucifer threw his left hand into the air, striking Hades diagonally across the chest with the channeled flame. He decided to push the advantage. He jumped, aiming to knee Hades in the face.
Hades took the full brunt of Lucifer's knee and responded by grabbing Lucifer's leg and whipping him to the ground. He was going to continue his counter but felt dizzy. Lucifer's attack had surprised him with the amount of strength behind it.
'How did you get so much stronger?' Hades thought to himself. 'The fire is to be expected but this strength is completely different.'
Lucifer stood up with a cough. He and Hades circled each other.
Hades stretched his hands out to his side and faced the palms upward. Blue flames shot out in all directions, turning into fiery wolves, birds, and snakes. The dark glow around Hades's eyes had gotten stronger. The Underworld god's sclera was pitch black while the pupils were small blue flames.
"Thank you for taking me seriously," Lucifer said to Hades. "Let me return the favor."
Lucifer's hands ignited into blue fire. Whips of orange fire came out of his back. He ran towards Hades and shot out small fireballs. The whips on his back were able to stop most of the animals Hades had created but couldn't catch them all. Snakes latched onto his legs while a wolf landed a bite on his side.
Hades ran at Lucifer, burning the ground beneath his feet as he did. The nagging feeling in the back of his mind never stopped. His goal was to end this fight quickly so the two could just move on from this. He threw his arms out to his side and created two massive snakes that trapped him and Lucifer in close quarters.
Lucifer went to grab Hades. He felt Hades's fist slam into his stomach as he flailed his hands out. He only managed to graze Hades in the trade.
Hades grabbed Lucifer by the forearms and held him up. He brought his head down on Lucifer's nose with such force that splurts of blood ended up covering both their faces. He went to release Lucifer's arms, expecting the fight to be over.
Lucifer ignited his arms with blue fire, causing severe damage to Hades's hands. He shot himself toward Hades with his left hand while using his right to throw a hook. His punch's physical power wasn't very strong given his position but the flames around his hand had left Hades's cheek darkened from the burn.
As confident as Lucifer felt in the moment, he knew it was over. He felt the two large snakes clamp down onto his shoulders. They threw his body across the arena and lodged him into the stone walls. His entire body was in immense pain. His skin felt like it was burning all over. The punctures from Hades's summons were even worse. Still, with all this, he couldn't help but smile.
The others jumped down to check on Lucifer.
Peter offered a hand to Lucifer. "He's fine."
Yvere checked on Lucifer while Lao checked on Hades.
"Good fight," Elijah said. "I thought you had him."
Lucifer kept his grin while grabbing Peter's hand. "That's because you don't him well enough."
"Does this hurt?" Yvere asked as she dug her fingers into the punctures on Lucifer's shoulders.
"No..." Lucifer said through his teeth.
Hades felt the burn on his cheek with his damaged hands. He didn't notice Lao and Persephone coming up to him.
"How fast?" Lao asked.
"Hmm?" Hades responded. "Oh! Normal speed is fine, thank you."
Hades watched Lucifer's wounds get restored instantly by Yvere. "On second thought, instant."
"You okay?" Persephone asked Hades.
"I'm fine," Hades said, grunting from the pain of Lao's healing. "Re-really."
"I can go slower," Lao said.
"No, it's fine," Hades said with a wave of his hand. "He really has improved. I wonder how my brother fared against him?"
Persephone started playing with her hair. "Regardless, he's certainly better than last time."