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——
Aetherion looked at his two opponents.
One of them, whose name he knew, was Thalorion, the leader of this group.
In the beginning—before he transformed—Thalorion had black hair and ocean-blue eyes.
But now, his hair had changed, becoming like flowing water, suspended above his head as if gravity no longer applied to it.
His skin, once tan, had turned pale with a blue tint.
He looked quite intimidating, Aetherion admitted to himself, yet calm—like the stillness of the sea before a devastating tide.
Next to him was Brontesios, the bastard who had spoken ill of Aetherion's sister—the very reason why he had chosen to fight them head on.
He may not have shown it on his face, but Aetherion was still seething with anger over what he heard.
Now in his divine form, Brontesios' hair had transformed into crackling lightning, constantly sparking and writhing on top of his head as wind swirled around him.
It no longer held the brown hue it once did.
His stormy gray eyes had turned into a vibrant, electric blue—eyes that now pulsed with lightning and storm energy.
Both of them had ascended, and Aetherion could feel their Essen.
Thalorion was a Titan, while Brontesios was a god.
Still, Aetherion didn't move.
He waited for them to make the first move, not even bothering to attack.
A mischievous, light smile tugged at the corners of his lips.
'They might actually give me a fun time,'
he thought, readying himself.
Brontesios and Thalorion exchanged glances, mentally syncing their assault.
Brontesios raised his spear, and Thalorion immediately moved behind Aetherion, thrusting his sword forward.
Swish!
Aetherion responded quickly, forming two blades out of moonlight and starlight to block the incoming attack.
Boom!
But the explosive power of their divine forms was immense—it was clear they had ascended near his level.
'They a lot stronger now,'
Aetherion thought.
Before he could process more, Thalorion spun into a roundhouse kick, landing his heel squarely against Aetherion's cheek, sending him flying.
Brontesios followed up with a bolt of lightning, which hit Aetherion directly in the chest.
Scars and blood marks appeared across Aetherion's body.
Ichor spilled—but to the astonishment of both enemies, the wounds began healing instantly.
His bruises faded, his cuts vanished.
Aetherion slowly stood up, looking at them with a calm smile and touching his chin.
"Oh, don't mind that," he said lightly. "I am the Titan of Life, after all. Regeneration and vitality come quite naturally to me."
But after Aetherion noticed their expressions growing more and more serious, they moved again—this time with fury.
Brontesios vanished in a blur, appearing behind him to throw lightning bolts and blades of wind.
Thalorion moved like water, striking at Aetherion with relentless sword swings: side slashes, overhead strikes, faint, low horizontal slashes—he did everything he could.
Yet Aetherion, wielding his swords made of moonlight and starlight, parried every strike.
Sparks flew and shockwaves exploded with every clash of blades.
Aetherion was pushed back slightly, and Thalorion delivered a strong kick to his side, sending him flying.
At the same time, Aetherion had to dodge the lightning strikes from Brontesios—which, he admitted, were getting quite annoying.
Still, he noticed something: while both of them were immensely stronger in their divine forms, able to wound him now, their technique lacked refinement.
It was as if they had only trained enough to get by—enough to handle some enemies, but not someone like Aetherion.
'Honestly, Demeter wouldn't have trouble handling this guys.'
He sighed, visibly bored, and while dodging a slash from Thalorion, he muttered just loud enough for both of them to hear:
"Do you guys even train?"
The air grew still.
Brontesios and Thalorion froze for a second.
Then rage twisted their faces, veins bulging on their foreheads.
"What did you just say, you bastard?!"
Brontesios shouted, clearly furious.
Thalorion said nothing, but his eyes burned with wrath.
Then Thalorion raised his sword above his head, summoning dozens of tightly compressed water arrows in the air—so sharp and condensed that if even one hit Aetherion, it could cut straight through him.
Thalorion looked deadly serious.
"Try dodging this, you bastard,"
he growled.
Aetherion merely looked up and smiled, then wiggled his finger mockingly.
"Go on, then."
Thalorion didn't hesitate.
He swung his sword downward, and the arrows rained down like divine missiles.
Aetherion didn't look even slightly panicked.
But something strange happened—the gravity in the area suddenly shifted, becoming heavier.
Both Thalorion and Brontesios felt it instantly.
Aetherion raised one hand, and multiple glowing stars and the moon became crystal clear in the sky.
Gravity increased further, as if the moon itself had taken control and summoned a mighty tide.
The gravitational pull dragged both Thalorion and Brontesios toward him.
The arrows were still falling, but Aetherion calmly moved through them, dodging with minimal effort.
Small stars appeared around him.
And the stars around him absorbed and destroyed the arrows that got too close.
Then, just as the two were within his grasp, Aetherion caught both of them by the neck—and, to their astonishment, hurled them straight up into the very arrows that had been meant for him.
Both deities cursed.
"Damn it!"
But Thalorion, more agile and the owner of the attack, managed to stop himself and the arrows around him just in time.
Brontesios, however, wasn't as lucky.
He was struck by a storm of arrows, blood spraying as they tore through his back.
Divine ichor dripped down, sparkling against the ruin grass.
Both of them seemed exhausted now.
Aetherion, whose clothes had been torn during the skirmish, stood untouched—his wounds already healed, as if nothing had happened.
Brontesios was still recovering, weakened from the arrow storm.
Thalorion stood by him.
"I'll take care of him while you rests,"
Thalorion said, panting.
Brontesios nodded.
Thalorion looked at Aetherion confused and hesitated asked,.
"Why aren't you attacking us?"
Aetherion chuckled.
"Simply. You two are way too weak for that. So come now, attack me and let's keep playing,"
he said with a mischievous tone, clearly mocking them.
Thalorion snapped.
He lunged again, this time reinforcing his blade with the divine energy of the tide, making it flow as calmly and dangerously as the sea.
Aetherion summoned his starlight sword again and clashed with him.
Their swords collided with intensity.
Thalorion managed to land a few cuts on Aetherion's body.
Ichor trickled from the wounds—but they healed quickly, as always.
Aetherion remained smiling, unbothered by the minor injuries.
He blocked another strike and swiftly countered, slamming his fist into Thalorion's cheek, sending him flying.
Then he rushed forward, kicked the sword from Thalorion's hand, and dodged a retaliatory punch by sidestepping left.
In a blink, Aetherion delivered a jab infused with moonlight energy right into Thalorion's chin, his head snapping back violently.
It was like being kicked by a war god.
But Aetherion wasn't finished.
He hurled his sword to the ground and followed up with a powerful uppercut, launching Thalorion high into the air—helpless and reeling.
After he inhaled deeply, Aetherion turned his head to the right, spotting Brontesios rising to his feet once more.
His body was already regenerating from the injuries he had sustained.
Then, to Aetherion's surprise, Brontesios began to grow—larger and larger—until he reached a towering 15 meters in height.
He had entered his godly height.
Aetherion nearby instinctively turned their eyes upward toward Thalorion, who was still suspended in the air, his body dazed and unresponsive after Aetherion's previous attack.
His head swayed slightly, clearly disoriented and unable to move.
Just as Aetherion prepared to finish him off, Brontesios acted.
He stretched out his hand and grabbed Thalorion, pulling him back—preventing Aetherion from striking the final blow.
Aetherion simply stared at the scene, unimpressed.
"It seems I'll have to take this seriously if I want to capture you both,"
he muttered to himself, eyes narrowing as he looked skyward.
"You bastard!" Brontesios roared. "I'm going to be serious now—and finish you off!"
As he shouted, a small storm and tornado began to swirl around him.
Even the sky within Aetherion's Parallel Expansion began to shift and tremble under the change.
"Thalorion!" he shouted towards his hand. "You bastard—recover and get up so we can finish him and take him to Kronos!"
Aetherion couldn't help but chuckle, shaking his head.
'He's not the brightest, is he?'he thought. 'He still hasn't realized or he simply doesn't want to accept… I haven't even entered my Divine Form yet. And he still believes he can capture me?'
It was laughable—almost pitiful.
Looking up at the two, Aetherion's face shifted into a serious expression.
"It seems I'll have to use my eyes,"
he said quietly.
He reached for the cloth tied around his eyes and slowly removed it—unveiling the full power behind his gaze.
With his vision now unshrouded, he looked directly at his enemies—his expression calm, but absolute.
"I will be taking you both now. Understand?"
His voice echoed with authority, calm but commanding—leaving no room for doubt.
——
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