Chapter 6. Celestial War

[BEYOND EVERLONG GATES]

Mount Olympus, Home of Greek gods.

Archers lined up along the rampart the fortress as they held their weapons firmly in their hands. The armies of the Olympian gods known to all as 'Legion', readied themselves for the carnage about to begin.

They were the first line of defence against the Titans of the underworld, so they plan to whittle the Titan's numbers down as much as they could to ensure that Hades would feel the pain of losing his armies.

Ares the god of war assured all of them that the fortress will hold strong even if their opponents were abominable creatures created from Hades' blood.

Their confidence also stemmed from that fact that the fortress of Olympus has never fallen.

“Do not show any mercy! For your enemies will show you none.” Ares' voice boomed across the entire fortress, as he stood on top of a tower.

“Kill as many as you can, for the more you kill, the more they will feel how futile their endeavors are.”

““YES!!””

Ares raised his sword high up in the air as it glinted in crimson light.

“For Olympus!” he shouted

““FOR OLYMPUS”” The soldiers echoed.

Hercules looked at the united front that had gathered to face the forces of Hades, his uncle. He found this scene quite funny because he never thought he would one day fight against his own uncle whom he had always looked up to.

“Fate sure knows how to make gods, demigods and mortals suffer.” Hercules muttered as he gazed at the Titan armies who had now begin to blow their own war horns and beat their war drums.

The sound of war spread across the land, making those who stood on the protective wall of the fortress grip their weapons as if their lives depended on it.

One hour later...

“Form ranks!”

Heraklis, son of Hades and the commander of the Underworld Titans sat atop 'Zargarl'; a six legged fire breathing horse specially created and trained by Hades. He was at the center of the army.

“Today we conquer!” Heraklis shouted.

“Tomorrow we feast! Raise your swords and spears! Hold your axes and flails. We fight for the true godking and ruler of the underworld, Hades! Offer the blood of our enemies to honor him! I ask you now, Titans of the underworld, are you ready to kill?!”

““KILL””

““KILL””

““KILL””

Heraklis now raised his hand and pointed at the structure built the night before, at the center of the demon army.

“Open the gate.” Heraklis ordered.

Immediately, a giant red portal appeared in the center of the underworld titans, which surprised Ares and the Legion of Olympus.

Hercules who was standing at the top of the fortress felt his body shudder after seeing the red giant portal in the distance.

T-This No...we've been tricked!” Ares' eyes widened in shock because he knew there and then that the demons had hidden their true motive well. Their target wasn't merely the Amberfang Fortress in Olympus, their target... was the throne room.

Hercules felt a chill run down his spine as his gaze fell on Hades' newest creation and wielder of that accursed godhood system; Vengeance god Black Heart.

Black Heart smiled and waved at him. That simple gesture made the Hercules know something was definitely wrong.

“ARES! RETREAT!” Hercules screamed, but it was a tad too late as Vengeance god Black Heart transformed into a black dragon, spewing purplish flame all over the battlefield, annihilating both friend and foes alike. That action infuriated Heraklis as Black Heart had killed off almost half his army. Although Heraklis failed to see that the Vengeance god had just annihilated the Legion and also killed Ares the god of war, nevertheless, Heraklis had still planned on killing Black Heart after the war.

“You vile creature!” Heraklis screamed at Black Heart, then swung his scythe. Even though the distance was over forty feet, the invisible destructive force of that attack managed to reach Black Heart, penetrating through his dragon skin and causing him massive damage.

“AARRGGHH!” Black Heart fell to his knees.

«Host condition critical. System interface breached.»

Black Heart knew what was happening; Hades was going to rip the system out of him. He couldn't let that happen, if he can't control the demonic vengeful system, then no one else in this world will.

“Goddess Athena, I pray thee, send Azazel to a world without Olympus, and have him begin anew.” Black Heart reverted to his human form and prayed. Heraklis raised his scythe once again to finish off Black Heart, but then a bright white light enveloped Black Heart, the light lasted for five seconds before fading. Black Heart slumped, falling down from the clouds and into the mortal world 'Earth'. Heraklis was stunned as he knew what had just happened.

“NOOOOOOOOOO!!”

*

In void space of the solar system, a wormhole opened up and tossed out a humanoid figure dressed in black spandex. This figure was Black Heart.

He opened his eyes as his wounds began to heal.

“In the past, my feud was with the Olympian gods and the humans, but now Heraklis son of Hades of the Underworld has betrayed me. I, Vengeance god Black Heart, will annihilate all life. For I have come to understand that there is no such as friends or foes, all are but imperfect beings in need of cleansing, and I shall be the one to cleanse them. This is my vow!”

*

Loveth walked into the gym, her eyes scanning the room for familiar faces. That's when she saw him - Maximus, the mysterious boy from her school.. and the one who makes her heart beats faster. He was fighting with the instructors, his movements swift and deadly.

Loveth's eyes widened as she watched, her heart racing with excitement. She had never seen anyone fight like that before.

As the fight ended, Loveth approached Maximus, her eyes shining with admiration.

"Wow, you're amazing!" she exclaimed.

Maximus turned to her, his chest heaving with exhaustion.

"Thanks," he said, his eyes crinkling at the corners.

"I needed to blow off some steam."

Loveth nodded, her ponytail bobbing up and down.

"I know the feeling," she said.

"So, how's school going?"

Maximus shrugged, his shoulders flexing with the movement.

"It's okay, I guess. Just trying to survive."

Loveth laughed, her eyes sparkling with amusement.

"I know the feeling," she said.

"But hey, at least we have martial arts to keep us sane, right?"

Maximus smiled, his eyes warming with appreciation.

"Exactly," he said.

"So, what's your style?"

Loveth's eyes lit up, her face animated with enthusiasm.

"I'm a black belt in taekwondo," she said.

"How about you?"

Maximus's eyes gleamed with pride.

"I'm a black belt in karate," he said.

"But I've also been training in kickboxing and jiu-jitsu."

As they chatted, Loveth couldn't help but notice the way Maximus's eyes seemed to gleam with an inner light, the way his movements seemed almost feral. And then, it hit her - the realization that Maximus was a werewolf, just like her. That meant her father was right.

"Maximus," she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Can I ask you something?"

Maximus's eyes narrowed, his face intent.

"What is it?"

Loveth's heart raced with excitement, her words tumbling out in a rush.

"I'm a werewolf, Maximus. But I can't shapeshift, because my mom is human. I've always felt like an outsider, like I don't quite fit in either world."

Maximus's eyes widened, his face softening with understanding.

"I know exactly what you mean," he said.

"I'm a werewolf too, Loveth. And I know how hard it can be to find your place in the world." Then Maximus looked her in the eye.

"Would you like to go out with me?"