Darkness.
Death.
Chaos.
Countless laws emanated from Hades' palms, unleashing boundless divine power. Everything before him was gradually consumed. As this immense divine power descended, blades forged from the laws materialized and pierced through the void once more.
In terms of sheer mastery over laws and control over divine power, Hades was not inferior to any deity. However, when it came to the intricacies of skill, Hades could only admit to being an outsider. He was not proficient in technique; for him, force was paramount. With overwhelming strength, no matter how formidable or astonishing his opponents were, he could crush them completely through absolute law and divine power. Mastering technique required prolonged training, something that couldn't be achieved overnight.
Iapetos, on the other hand, flawlessly wielded his control over the laws of dimensions, exemplifying the effectiveness of mastering a single discipline. Enormous power gathered in his hands, exclusive to the laws of dimensions. The space around Hades began to collapse at a visible rate. In mere moments, everything had crumbled and been annihilated. The speed of this destruction was staggering.
Hades, faced with the encircling dimensional space, remained unfazed. With a wave of his hand, the laws of darkness formed an impenetrable barrier, like a chasm preventing the cracks of the dimensional laws from approaching.
"Iapetos," Hades stated calmly, "it's futile. With only your dimensional laws, it's impossible to swallow me."
Instead of a verbal response from Iapetos, countless blades of dimensional energy fell, capable of severing everything and sending it to another dimension. These blades seemed poised to penetrate Hades completely.
Yet, these blades met with other blades formed from the laws of Hades. The clash of these laws caused the surrounding space to collapse and the ground to disintegrate, instantly erasing everything.
However, when the battle between the two gods paused briefly, everything that had been destroyed began to restore rapidly at a visible pace. This wasn't due to divine power but was a characteristic unique to the Mythical World. In this era, the destroyed Mythical World would repair itself, returning to its pre-destruction state. This peculiar trait allowed countless gods to engage in frenzied battles or reckless actions without affecting the Mythical World.
This was the special nature of the Mythical World in this era. As for the future, when the time came, the surface world, transformed into Earth, could no longer withstand such destruction or power surpassing human limits. When that time arrived, gods would have to descend in human form, as the surface world would no longer be able to bear more.
The battle between the two gods was monotonous and tiresome, a pure clash of laws and divine power. It seemed their combat had entered a bizarre loop of repetition.
Yet!
Throughout, Hades remained calm, his emotions unperturbed by this seemingly futile battle. He spoke quietly, "Iapetos, bring out your artifact. Otherwise, this ends now."
Hades' voice was indifferent. As he raised his hand, countless laws transformed into a colossal blade of law. As this blade descended again, Iapetos' previously composed expression turned grave. This blade's power was magnified manifold compared to the previous ones.
"This is..." Iapetos thought to himself, "the control of skill? The power of the blade of law has increased nearly a hundredfold?"
Thoughts raced through Iapetos' mind, but he didn't hesitate or act carelessly. He raised his hand, gathering numerous laws into a terrifying dimensional blade. As this blade fell, it seemed to silence everything around.
Buzz~~~
With a resonance that seemed to echo through the world, the massive blade of law sliced through everything, aiming directly for Iapetos' head, poised to take his life. The swiftness of these events was astonishing, leaving Iapetos barely any time to react.
However!
Just as victory seemed assured, Hades opened his hand. In the midst of the dark divine power, a colossal beast formed from darkness itself emerged, seemingly embodying the entirety of the underworld.
"Roar!"
The dark beast roared furiously, charging towards Iapetos with its vast maw, as if it intended to devour the god entirely.
Hades appeared to have the upper hand, but any deity familiar with him knew that this battle was only beginning. The supposed advantage Hades held was a mere jest. The true terror would unveil when the full might of the Twelve Titan Gods was revealed.
Black star-like blades began to manifest around Iapetos, their numbers countless. As these stars emerged, the infinite power of the dimensional laws received a tremendous boost, shattering Hades' terrifying blade and the approaching dark beast in an instant.
Hades' eyes, aside from their profound darkness, showed no surprise. He had anticipated this all along.
"Hades!" Iapetos spoke calmly. "You are the first deity to witness the Mother Goddess's gift. You should feel honored."
"Honored..." Hades observed the black, blade-like stars beside Iapetos. These were the gifts from Gaia, the Earth Goddess, to her children—the Guardian Stars exclusive to the Twelve Titan Gods!
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