- Lucifer and Poseidon -
Lucifer took this time with Poseidon to catch his breath, at least as much as he could.
"Why spare my life?" Poseidon asked.
"You have crimes to answer for," Lucifer said softly.
Poseidon huffed, "Really? How many beings have you spared before me? Did none of the beings you've killed have "crimes to answer for?"
Lucifer's expression was a mix of exhaustion and anger. He glared at Poseidon before blinking and letting out a sigh. He pulled his dagger away from Poseidon's throat.
"Consider yourself lucky," Lucifer stood up. "Or unlucky, depending on the perspective."
"You're not going to just leave?" Poseidon questioned. "You would be a fool to turn your back on an enemy."
"You're not my enemy anymore," Lucifer looked out at the stormy city. "Your trident's powers can only be stopped if it's removed from all sources of water," he looked down at Poseidon, "or if its owner manually deactivates it."
"How do you?" Poseidon mumbled.
Lucifer's eyes scanned the city as best they could through the rain. He knew the Underworld well enough to be able to remember where he had been when the attacks started. Before he left, he spoke to Poseidon.
"If you want any chance for redemption, just sit here and wait until Death and I return."
Lucifer was about to take off but stopped for a moment. He had a thought that he didn't want to say out loud to Poseidon.
'If any of my team are dead; if Hades or Persephone is dead; I will make sure your execution is as cruel as it can possibly be.'
Lucifer's silent glare froze Poseidon's blood. He didn't know what the archangel could be thinking but he knew he didn't want to ask.
- Heinrich, Elijah, Yvere, Apollo -
Elijah angled his right arm near the top of the building Apollo was standing on. He had Yvere close behind him, ready to reattach his limbs.
"NOW!" Heinrich shouted as more rocks collided with fiery arrows.
The ground shook as Elijah fired off a powerful bolt through the building. Apollo snickered to himself, wondering if that shot was even aimed at him until he realized, it wasn't.
Multiple bolts shot out through the building, causing the rooftop to collapse. Apollo jumped from the roof and down the opposite side of the building. He was planning on meeting up with Artemis.
Elijah's right arm looked as if it had been raked by hot metal. He nearly broke his teeth from clenching as Yvere restored what she could. The issue wasn't Yvere's mana but Elijah's pain tolerance.
Heinrich moved the group with a stone platform up to where Sabu was fighting Artemis. The three arrived at the floor with Artemis and Sabu at the same time Apollo was kicking in the glass.
- Artemis, Apollo, Sabu, Heinrich, Elijah, Yvere -
The two groups eyed each other for a moment. Apollo stared, wide-eyed with anger, at Artemis's wounds. Yvere wanted to rush over to heal Sabu but was held back by the feeling of tension in the room. The second someone made a move, the two teams would be fighting.
- Chronos -
Chronos was back. A brief moment of sadness filled his expression before twisting into vicious anger. He couldn't decide who to focus his attention on. While he would prefer to kill Hades, he felt he wouldn't have enough time to get through the wooden dome. He couldn't beat Death, so that option was off the table. It didn't take much thinking for him to conclude that killing "Death's son" was the best option.
['I don't know why you hold such a strong grudge for me, hunter. Maybe the loss of your child will give me an answer.']
Chronos wasn't sure where "Death's son" had gone, so he decided to move towards the flashes of light coming from Apollo's magic. He assumed it was a good place to start.
- Underworld -
Death moved towards the flashes of Apollo's magic. Even if Chronos wasn't there, there was a good chance Lucifer's team was. As he moved he noticed Lucifer in the distance heading in the same direction. He could tell Lucifer's body was in tatters, which distracted him from the black wings. His anger for Poseidon flared for a moment before he realized that Poseidon must be dead.
Lucifer's body wasn't as graceful as it usually was while flying. He was so exhausted that his body slumped for most of his flight. To the citizens below, it would look as if a large black bird was carrying Lucifer's remains.
Peter stayed slumped on Lao's back. He wished he had the strength to argue about being carried but the feeling in his body stole any chance of that happening. Dimitri's eyes didn't stay still as the three ran towards the flashes, his mind filled with the worst-case scenarios.
The flashes stopped, signaling to all who were running towards them that the fight was either over or moving. Everyone, except for Lucifer who lacked the strength to do so, sped up. Chronos shot himself forward with blasts of blue fire; Death started to mix in blinks to save whatever time he could; Lao sprinted faster while Dimitri started surfing along the shallow water.
The first to arrive at the building was Lao, Peter, and Dimitri. Unfortunately for the three, Chronos wasn't far behind. A wall of blue fire engulfed the lower half of the building before a wave of water crashed against it.
["DROP THE HUNTER'S CHILD AND YOU MIGHT BE ABLE TO GET AWAY!"] Chronos shouted.
Chronos didn't know why Peter was being carried. Peter tried using this to his advantage.
["Here for another execution?!"] Peter said, trying his best not to stumble as he jumped off of Lao's back.
"Peter you can't..." Lao whispered.
"The fuck I can't," Peter said through ragged breaths. "Only use yer magic to counter his flames, otherwise he'll just stop your attacks."
Dimitri nodded. "How much mana do you have left."
Peter didn't answer. He had mana, but not enough to activate his contract again. Contracts take a chunk of mana to activate, a chunk he didn't have to spare. He knew from the weight of Chronos's previous swings that he couldn't hope to block the scythe. He would be fully reliant on his speed, something his fatigued state was lacking. He hoped that Chronos would hesitate to attack.
Chronos rushed towards the three, dragging his scythe along the ground as he went. A blue trail of fire followed behind him, spawning multiple flaming creatures that reinforced his pursuit.
Up in the building, Sabu was giving an order to Heinrich and Elijah. "Check outside. Yvere and I will handle these two."
Through the cuts of his clothing, it could be seen that Sabu's forearms were turning blue. Heinrich and Elijah knew they didn't have time to argue. They both made a step towards the outside, prompting Apollo to shoot and Artemis to throw a knife. Sabu blasted the arrow away and Yvere caught the knife.
"IT'S CHRONOS!" Heinrich shouted. "HE'S FIGHTING THE OTHER THREE!"
'Death can't be far behind?' Sabu worried. 'What about Lucifer? Can those three hold out against Chronos? I should help. I should-'
Sabu's worries were interrupted by another combined attack from Artemis and Apollo. Sabu stopped the attacks and whispered to Yvere.
"Disarm Artemis, I'll lock down Apollo."
Sabu shot forward, feinting an attack against Artemis. Sabu dashed around Artemis as she guarded, throwing a hidden knife at Apollo as he went. As Artemis went to turn to strike Sabu in the back she was met with a left cross from Yvere.
"You really think those gauntlets will save you?" Artemis spat blood.
"They've helped me against better than you," Yvere put up her guard.
Elijah and Heinrich were looking down at Chronos. Elijah aimed his hand at Chronos and fired. Chronos heard the crack of lightning and instinctively activated his time magic. The bolt froze in the air.
Chronos's flaming stampede stopped. Peter, Lao, and Dimitri watched as Chronos stood still and looked up at Elijah. Chronos's eyes went glassy for a moment before he fully turned to face Elijah, putting his back to the other three. Memories flashed in his mind of the countless times he had been killed by Zeus. His intention was clear as day. He took a step towards the building.
Lao ran full-speed at Chronos, kicking up water that froze in time as he moved. His forearms went red as he jumped and slammed his fist into the back of Chronos's head.
Chronos staggered, whipping his scythe back as he did, striking Lao's gauntlets. Lao was sent flying back.
["You'll get your turn,"] Chronos threatened.
Chronos took a step to the side and deactivated his time magic. Elijah's bolt struck the ground next to him. The fiery animals that had been stopped by the magic continued their path while Chronos shot himself up to the building with a blast of blue flames.