{Back in Furusato}
Hades has encountered arrogant beings before—having lived for eons and traversed an infinite number of universes and dimensions, even among fellow gods, strength has been the overwhelming pinnacle of life. Regashi Ketsueki, standing before Hades, resembled thousands of other beings the lava-orange-haired god had encountered. But each time, it drove the god insane nonetheless.
Fire erupted from Hades's fists. "Arrogant brat… you wish to challenge me!? Even after knowing who I am!?"
Regashi smiled calmly, his arms hidden underneath his long, black cloak. "You make yourself seem immortal, but you gods have lost to humanity before. Surely you do not wish to relive your most traumatic moments from your battle with Reiwa Takuetsu, yes?"
"Reiwa had stolen our powers! Without them, he would not have been able to come close to the power of gods!" Hades boomed, enraged by the brown-haired male's words.
Without a doubt, the temperature of the room rose significantly—even the paintings on the walls started to melt. Hades' hair swayed from the power his body currently radiated.
With a smirk, Regashi spoke, "If you're really a god, that means that you have lived far longer than any human... So how does a god lose to a mere mortal, especially after said mortal only had power for less than half of his life?"
The flames in Hades's fists grew hotter. For a few moments, not a word was exchanged between Regashi and the god; only their eyes made contact with one another. The brown-haired male was calm and collected, unlike Hades, who was like a bomb waiting to explode.
"Once I'm finished with you… I'll put an end to this universe to ensure that not another human in this abnormal reality can disrupt the multiverse again!"
Hades teleported behind Regashi at incomprehensible speeds, clasping his hands together above his head and slamming them down onto the motionless body of the brown-haired male.
Oddly, nothing happened.
"What is this…!?"
With one finger, Regashi had ceased Hades's crushing attack, and the god's clasped hands held back with relative ease. Somehow, Regashi had the ability to cancel a powerful attack, leaving Hades entirely clueless.
Accompanying the immense bewilderment, Hades was filled with underlying anxiety. Not once, but twice has this universe bred humans that could match or eclipse the power of gods.
"Damn you!" Hades roared, disconnecting his hands from one another.
*SWOOSH!*
With a devastating amount of force, Hades flattened his palm and thrust his arm forward, his flaming hand preparing to strike Regashi much faster than his previous attack. However, even now Hades was far too slow, his wrist being caught by the leader of the Furusato Unit.
With glowing green eyes, Regashi locked eyes with Hades and said, "You are stronger than most, but I've yet to feel threatened."
Instinctually, Hades gripped onto Regashi's collar and flung the brown-haired male through the ceiling—*CRASH!*—smashing a hole through the top of the castle.
'Those two attacks had to be flukes! There's no way a simple organism can stand up to my might!' Hades mulled as he examined his wrist, which had been captured by Regashi.
The god then looked up to the sky, where he had thrown Regashi.
'I have to finish this, now!'
*FWOOSH!*
As he chased after Regashi, Hades leapt into the air, creating a larger hole in the ceiling. The lava-orange-haired god had spotted his opponent almost instantly, the brown-haired male's body falling lifelessly from the skies.
"Perish!"
With a venomous punch, Hades unleashed a cataclysm of potent magic at Regashi, only to miss completely. Regashi flickered out of the air, popping back into the sky once more directly behind the god, a grin stretching his lips.
"You'll have to be faster than that!" Regashi exclaimed wickedly.
When Hades was able to turn around in the air, he noticed Regashi clenching his fists, causing everything in sight to shift, the world distorting through the god's eyes. Hades was powerless as this occurred; he could have fled to another dimension or universe to escape it, but then he would have left the monstrosity known as Regashi to live longer than he should.
Primarily, Hades was confounded by the astounding control Regashi had over the realm itself.
After a moment, the entire world was flipped for Hades, and the skies were flooded with arbitrary items: uprooted trees, boulders, and surprisingly, water. It was as if Earth had lost all of its gravity. Despite the uncanny events, Hades ignored the environment around him and flew toward Regashi, his body engulfed in flames.
"You can't be human!" Hades asserted as he swung his right fist of fire, missing. "This type of power is unreachable for a mortal! Morphing reality as a whole!"
Regashi's eyes shined brighter. "Do you still plan to kill me, Hades? I'm waiting!"
Swallowing his own pride, Hades enabled orange cracks in the air to surround his left hand, the rifts resembling orange lightning, although they were the farthest thing from such.
"RAH!" Hades cried viciously.
*KRRSHH!*
With anger, Hades launched the orange fissures that splintered the air toward Regashi, dismantling the world around him. The brown-haired boy did nothing as the impending rifts crashed into him, forcing the Earth to return to normal.
Eventually, Regashi's body crashed back into the castle in Furusato—*CRASH!*—and he proceeded to fall through numerous floors. Back in the air, Hades observed as his successful attack pushed his opponent into the ground, his nerves subsiding.
"You can't alter reality if reality itself is being torn apart, right?" Hades queried rhetorically, letting the orange cracks in the air dissipate.
The god visited the castle of Furusato once more, scrutinizing the immobile body of Regashi Ketsueki, smirking triumphantly. Of course, Hades just had to win. How could a mere human defeat a god, especially Hades.
"With Zeus gone, someone has to step in…" Hades chuckled, creating a portal behind him.
Unbeknownst to Hades, Regashi limply balanced himself onto his feet, a wicked grin still etched into his countenance. Stretching one arm outward, the brown-haired male shot a beam of light from his fingertips, knocking Hades off his feet and sending the god through his own portal.
"Congratulations, Hades! You do have a brain, it seems!" Regashi patronized the god, ambling toward the portal.
XXX
Picking himself up from the grassy ground, Hades quickly jumped to his feet, his eyes darting all around. He was in the Realm—the universal title for what some may call Heaven, a realm above all realms. Golden arches filled the beautiful, bright realm, complemented by puffy clouds and a glorious sun that illuminated everything.
In other words, the Realm was the home of all gods, or what was left of them. It was a sacred place, housing religious figures from all kinds of pantheons.
Behind Hades, his portal from the human world still remained, making his eyes widen. Before the god could shut the portal, a hand forced itself onto its orange rims, preventing Hades from closing it off for good.
"No!" Hades yelled, waves of fear rippling through his body.
Touching a portal was considered physically impossible, as it was a means of transportation that tore holes through reality—meaning that a portal itself was just the absence of space. But in this moment, a single hand had managed to keep it open.
Roughly five seconds later, a figure entered the Realm through the portal, stepping in slowly.
"Oh, wow—this place is… different." A familiar voice said with unyielding amazement.
Hades froze, his eyes glued to the figure standing before him.
Regashi had managed to infiltrate the Realm, a Heaven full of sacred beings.
"Leave, now! This place is not for you!" Hades barked, ordering the brown-haired male to depart.
With glowing green eyes, Regashi met Hades's gaze firmly, arching a brow. Unlike before, the male's arms were now exposed, no longer hidden underneath his cloak. Just the sight of Regashi's hands made the god tremble in fear after experiencing the terrifying power they harbored.
"So this is where you have been hiding since the Keisan War… I'd love to cower away in Heaven, too." Regashi stated, apparent wonder in his emerald eyes.
*KRRSHH!*
The cackling sound of orange rifts in the air had returned, floating around Hades's body. "I told you to leave! I will make sure that you do not get back up if you damage so much as a blade of grass here!"
Regashi's grin widened. Unknown to Hades, Regashi kneeled, lowering his hand to the grassy ground beneath his feet. With one light pluck, Regashi ripped a blade of grass from the ground, standing up and lifting it to his face.
"Like this?" Regashi goaded, dropping the piece of grass.
Even though the instant Regashi pulled the blade of grass from the ground, another immediately replaced it, the act left Hades irate, his flames and orange rifts pulsing intensely.
"You are, by far, the most imprudent organism I have ever met! I will enjoy seeing your blood pour out of your body!" Hades bellowed, veins bulging from his head.
Regashi's grin widened even more, transforming into a smile.
"Make that a promise."
XXX
And that's the end of this chapter! I hope you enjoyed this, even though it was nothing but constant clashing between Hades and Regashi! This is all so weird for me: at the start of this novel, the biggest worry was just a few villages being raided, now we have our favorite ruler invading Heaven! What will happen next? Stay tuned for more!
Have a Great Day!
Peace - Cr1ticalz_