Aetherion, seeing the spear flying toward him, did not hesitate.
He raised his hand, and from the earth below, a massive wall erupted upward.
He immediately reinforced it with his divine energy, making it even tougher.
The spear struck the wall but failed to pierce through, shattering instead.
But in that same instant, Aetherion sensed something was wrong.
He turned—
And Pallas was already there, standing to his side with an axe in his hands, a wicked grin stretched across his face.
"Got you,"
Pallas said.
Aetherion reacted instantly.
Drawing power from his earth domain, he shaped metal into existence, enhancing it with divine energy until a sword formed in his hand.
He raised it just in time, blocking the descending axe.
"Oh? You blocked it,"
Pallas said, halting his movement.
Aetherion noticed a look of surprise on Pallas face, as if he didn't expect him to block his attack.
While surprised, Aetherion without hesitation took a stance with his sword.
"Did you really think you'd catch me with something like that?" Aetherion replied calmly. "It was too simple."
"…And way too weak," he added mockingly.
Pallas's grin widened, murderous intent leaking from his eyes, and yet clearly the man was enjoying himself.
"I've heard about you," Pallas said. "The so-called Blind Hunter. They say that every prey your eyes fall upon is never seen again."
His gaze sharpened.
His divine energy unleashed.
His mere presence at this moment solely expresses killing intent.
"So… does that make me your prey?"
Aetherion looked at him, not a care about the killing intent Pallas was pressing on him.
Instead a predatory smile forming on his lips.
"Why else would I be focusing only on you?"
he replied.
Raising his sword, Aetherion spoke coldly,
"You won't see the light again once I'm done with you."
Before Pallas could even fully react, Aetherion lifted his blade—
And starlight erupted around them.
The sword in his hand glowed as star divinity flooded into it.
Above them, the stars themselves seemed to shift, streams of light descending from the sky and converging into the blade, enhancing it severalfold.
Pallas watched carefully, eyes narrowing.
"Keep your eyes open," Aetherion said mockingly. "This might be too fast for you, old man."
And then—
[Star Domain: Starblitz.]
Aetherion vanished.
In the next instant, he reappeared directly in front of Pallas, swinging his sword downward with terrifying speed.
Pallas barely managed to react, using his mastery of combat to leap upward at the last moment, narrowly avoiding the slash.
But Aetherion didn't stop.
Using the momentum of his swing, he twisted mid-air and sent a massive arc of starlight slicing upward toward the sky.
Pallas's eyes widened.
He immediately summoned a sword of his own, reinforcing it with divine energy, and swung to intercept the incoming arc.
BOOM.
The collision exploded violently, louder than before.
Smoke and debris filled the battlefield as shockwaves rippled outward, shaking the land as if two mountains had collided.
Even gods fighting nearby were forced to retreat.
Hera, Nike, and Kratos reacted instantly, shielding their army from the aftermath.
When the smoke finally cleared—
Pallas stood wounded.
Blood dripped from his lips, a deep gash carved across his chest down to his lower abdomen.
Golden ichor spilled onto the ground beneath him.
Yet he was smiling.
"Haha… that was a good attack," Pallas said sincerely. "Well done, son of Kronos."
Aetherion stared at him in disbelief.
"Are you insane? Why are you laughing?" he asked. "You're bleeding out, you know?!"
"Yes," Pallas replied calmly, his wounds regenerating slowly—far slower than Aetherion's. "And it was worth it."
He lifted his sword indstead this time.
"I suppose we should start taking this more seriously now, shouldn't we?"
His aura surged.
[Combat Domain + Weapon Domain: Sky Splitter.]
Pallas swung downward.
The attack was so fast that even Aetherion was momentarily startled.
But he reacted and responded in kind.
[Moon & Star Domain: Gravitational Force.]
Aetherion swung his sword, compressing gravity around the blade, multiplying its power by combining the pull of the moon with the force of the stars.
The two attacks collided.
BOOM.
A colossal explosion erupted, sending shockwaves across the battlefield.
Even gods kilometers away were blown back by the force.
Hera and the major gods reinforced their barriers to protect their forces.
As the dust cleared, Aetherion didn't let up.
He surged forward and struck again.
Pallas, a master of combat, easily blocked the blow, countering with a brutal kick to Aetherion's stomach that sent him flying.
Mid-air, Aetherion formed a spear of pure starlight and hurled it toward Pallas.
Pallas tilted his head aside, letting it pass.
BOOM.
The explosion behind him shook the battlefield once more.
And so their dance continued.
Swords clashed.
Spears, axes, and blades formed and shattered.
Aetherion even summoned a bow, firing star-forged arrows at Pallas from a distance.
Both of them were smiling.
They were enjoying this.
The air grew heavier.
The battle more intense.
And yet—
Neither of them had entered their divine form.
That single realization stunned everyone watching.