Darkness Within The Light

There was no doubt about it. As momentary as it might have been, there is no denying that Typhon got wounded, even if he regenerated himself at a fast rate soon after.

It seemed that 'indirectly' using the environment did not cause the Nega-Skill to take effect. If that were so, then the reason why he was fine after Baal treated him like a ragdoll was simply that he was able to regenerate inside the dual-element tornado while he was not looking. It made it seem like nothing he did would have any result.

Typhon hid it well, he was going to give him that, but his cover would not work anymore. Besides, his use was nearing its end, so the value of his life was drastically decreasing with each passing second.

Now that he knew what to do, Baal commanded the chain to attack Typhon. There was no delay as it immediately extended, intending to harm the falling figure.

The monster was not going to let himself be done in so easily, though. Instead of punching the giant chain away as he did before, this time, he used his snake arm to bite the incoming metal string while using the other to grab it just in time to prevent being skewered by it. However, the strength behind it, combined with the gravity, was able to push him down faster despite trying his best to stay in the air with his wings.

Down below, Baal was already waiting. Waving his trident, he summoned several tendrils of water that swiftly rose from the ocean and latched to Typhon, pulling him down even quicker.

The son of Tartarus glanced back. He clearly saw his enemy below him, staring like a predator waiting for his prey to fall into his hands, causing a frown of annoyance to mar his face. Nevertheless, he was not going to show weakness simply because he was not weak.

Using the strength he was famous for, Typhon slowly moved the bladed end of the chain that was just a few meters away from his face. When he knew it was safe, he stopped his resistance, allowing the metal whip to continue unimpeded into the ocean, barely missing his cheek.

With the threat gone, Typhon immediately turned around, releasing him from his watery restraints, just in time to see Baal kicking the descending chain, making it do an arc back up, surround his neck, and then fall again, only to be caught in his enemy's hand.

The difference in size might have painted a funny picture for some people, but Typhon was not laughing. After all, he was currently suspended in mid-air with something around his neck, and by the looks of it, it would not be for decoration.

Lo and behold, Baal grinned manically before exerting strength that didn't lose to his and pulled down the chain with wicked pleasure.

The effects were instant. Both his arms went toward his neck by reflex as a strange sound escaped his mouth. Slowly, the Storm God began to walk away with the bladed end over his shoulders.

With each step, the rattling chains tensed more, which in turn made the monster gasp for air with extreme discomfort. His tail was wiggling left to right in a futile attempt to break free to no avail. In fact, he seemed to be making it worse for himself.

While Baal was leisurely walking away, Typhon's brain tried to develop a solution in the few remaining moments of clarity he had left. The number of attempts at trying to break the chains had not been small—even if only a few moments had passed since Baal started hanging him. Yet, no matter how much he tried, he could not do it.

Typhon breathed fire through the snake head onto the chains on his neck in a desperate effort to set himself free. Naturally, his own flames would not harm him, so he had no reservations.

He had to be quick, though. Not only was he being left without air, but he could also feel the muscles around his neck tearing apart. At this rate, he didn't know if he would die first from asphyxia or by having his head torn off. Not to mention that his strength was leaving him, and fast.

Thanks to his efforts, the original black color on the metal whip gradually turned into a vibrant mix of red and orange. Nevertheless, the fire was also gradually losing the original grandeur and might.

Unhurriedly, Baal continued his walk without a care for his opponent's struggles. He so much wanted to see his expression right now as life slowly was leaving his eyes, but he had to give him a small trace of hope to escape. A sense of security, so to speak. That way, his fall in despair would be more amusing to witness.

Ironically, he didn't have to wait for long as the original resistance he felt soon came to an end. A splashing sound followed—one that unfortunately was not what he expected.

Instead of being Typhon's head, the one falling to the ocean, it was the new 'other end' of the chain he was holding. By the looks of it, the fire was able to weaken the steel's properties enough for it to break in the end.

The Canaanite God turned around to see his foe fall down in a coughing fit, barely being able to keep hovering in the skies. As the Lord of Heaven, he would obviously not allow the vermin to remain there, though. His broken enemies should not be tasting the highness of the firmament.

With that in mind, Baal reaffirmed his grip on the bladed chain and swung it with force at Typhon. As he was still recovering, he couldn't offer any type of resistance. The metal whip struck him, impacting right in the side of his face.

The King of Monsters released a pained growl as he fell, soon crashing into the ocean. Yet, his suffering wouldn't end there.

After he managed to recover enough to open his eyes, albeit with difficulty, he spotted a shadow towering over him. Before he could even react, the same water tendrils from Baal's previous attack attached themselves to him again, and as if that weren't enough, multiple ice pillars started to surround his figure, not leaving him any room to escape.

Powerless, he watched as the flying island impacted on him by the force of gravity before exploding in countless pieces. His eyes briefly turned white after the collision that buried his whole body happened, his fate unknown.

With the destruction of the flying city, Baal's death naturally took place as well. His body was lying face down on the ocean like a drowned man. The Leviathan, who watched the events from a safe distance, opted for not getting close to the dead God to help. Knowing the history between him and her ancestor, she would be killed as soon as he revived. At least he had the decency to set up a barrier around them before the blast happened, although he was most likely protecting the others, and she just happened to be near.

God Hand that was pre-programmed soon came into effect, though, reviving the Canaanite God as well as slowly restoring the destroyed city back into the sky.

Baal slowly got up while spitting some water that was left in his mouth. He added a mental note to choose a better place to die the next time. Still, those were things he would worry about another time. For the time being, he had to find out about his enemy's fate. A simple task now that he possessed Poseidon's Trident which gave him Authority over Water.

Right after he tried to sense Typhon's location, he immediately jumped back as an enormous figure emerged from his previous location. It was an enraged creature who only sought his blood.

Baal laughed as he kept retreating while Typhon pursued him in a constant chase. The giant creature was terribly wounded, and even his regeneration was having trouble to keep up. However, he didn't care about that. What he thought made him invincible against opponents that were Divine in nature was easily proved wrong, and that made him angry but also brought a tinge of fear within him.

"What's the matter, granny? I thought you were going to make me wallow in despair? At this rate, I will end up wallowing in boredom instead!" His taunts only made Typhon persecute him with more fierceness.

"Stop running, coward!" His shouts fell on deaf ears as Baal continued to jump back and avoid the mad swings, even purposedly making it seem like he was going to get caught on some occasions only to disappear in a burst of white lightning in the next second.

The frustration was so great that he decided to attack the flying island with a fire breath instead. However, contrary to his expectations, he barely did any damage. "God Hand, little parasite. You should be familiar with the abilities of the one that killed your sons time and time again, right?"

His words brought another sense of fury in him. In his rage, he switched his target and decided to attack the Chaldeans. He shot a beam without delay, yet a blue barrier blocked his assault, much to his further annoyance.

"Oh, no, no, no. What are you doing? You are attacking Humanity's last hope! What are you going to do if he gets killed?" Baal's 'concerned' speech nearly made him suffocate with his own anger.

"Do you think I care?! I will gladly destroy him and everyone else if with that I can erase that smirk from your face!" Typhon bellowed with intensity. Nevertheless, what he said only made his enemy smirk wider.

"Hoh? Is that so? Wouldn't that make you a Threat To Humanity? Words have power, you know?" The King of Monsters didn't bother about the implications behind his opponent's words. Rather than wait for him to stop that annoying smile in his own accord, he decided to take the matter into his own hands.

Punching the ocean with incredible might, he made numerous Magic Circles appear all around. From them, numerous Demon God Pillars emerged, their eyes quickly moving a scanning the place. Despite their numbers, there were only two types. One of them was purple with round eyes, while the other was yellow with diamond-shaped ones. If anything, the latter managed to make Baal's smile twitch for a second.

The Demon God Pillars didn't hesitate to launch an attack on the small God at the command of Typhon. Some of them used swarm tactics while other shot laser beams from their eyes.

Baal wasn't going to get outdone, though. Repeating the same motion Typhon did, he summoned his own Demon Pillars group that instantly began to counterattack against his 'brothers'. While it was true it was outnumbered, and there was a notable difference in power, it would do for now.

He then took off into the sky, with Typhon following soon after. The giant creature didn't let him any rest and directly attacked. Baal, unbothered by this, started to speak while also dodging the attacks coming his way. "Let me tell you an amusing story, vermin."

"Shut up! I only want to hear your screams!" After shouting so, Typhon threw a punch at him. The Storm God used his three weapons to defend and the following impact to gain more distance while speaking once again, totally ignoring his foe.

"There was once a thief in a remote village. He liked to steal possessions people took for granted but they didn't really need. Be it money, farm animals, treasures, or tools. He was very notorious, but nobody could catch him no matter what they did."

"I told you to shut up!" A sea of fire escaped Typhon's mouth—one that trapped Baal in its fiery cage of red. Yet, his voice continued sounding on the monster's ears as if it were coming from inside his head.

"Those that got their properties stolen felt a heartache in their hearts. 'Is this what despair feels like?' they wondered endlessly. They couldn't endure anymore, so they decided to call a famous hero known for his kindness in helping those in trouble."

The son of Tartarus didn't bother speaking against his tale anymore, knowing he would not listen to him. Instead, he did a tail swipe on the enemy who he knew was behind him.

Baal flapped his wings and ascended even more, effectively dodging the incoming strike as he continued his story. "That Hero was strong and wise. He immediately captured the thief and brought him with the village's authorities. It was then decided that the thief would return all the stolen possessions plus some more he had in his collection to compensate them. Additionally, he would be whipped once by every person involved."

"The Hero, despite his misgivings about the punishment, ended up relenting. However, he would personally observe it to ensure no one went out of line. The first day, he had to restrain himself from helping the thief after the scream of pain he uttered with every strike from the whip."

Typhon released torrents of cutting winds in all directions to facilitate hitting his target, but Baal repeated the same motion, negating his assault. It was like fighting against a mirror.

"As it was getting late, they decided to postpone the punishment until the next day and threw the thief into a small cell in a crudely made dungeon. When morning came, and the Hero went to check up on the thief, he saw something horrible. There, the mutilated corpse of what used to be once a human remained—one that he knew too well."

The King of Monsters swiftly appeared behind Baal to make a tri-attack with his mouth, snake arm, and the serpents in his head. He was getting a foreboding feeling that increased every time Baal spoke. As if instead of a dumb story, it was his death sentence.

In response to Typhon's combined attack, the Storm God did one of his own. He shot a combination of water, fire, and light to meet the incoming assault.

The explosion resulting from the collision did nothing but generate more distance between them, something Baal took advantage of to continue his story.

"Pained by something that he indirectly caused, the Hero fled from the village with grief-filled eyes. One month later, after he finally calmed down, he launched an investigation on the events that occurred that day. It was then that he discovered a shocking truth. The little thief wasn't stealing those possessions. He was recovering them, for they belonged to him from the very beginning. He had unknowingly helped the real thieves while condemning an innocent soul to damnation. Isn't that funny? The 'thief' who caused small amounts of despair to those people got all that despair combined back by the hands of a Hero."

'I will use your Noble Phantasm if you don't mind, sir Hero.' With a mental message to the person he knew was not hearing him, Baal's malevolent smile grew as he eyed Typhon like a dead rat already. "Let me be that Hero now, little thief. Now that you have declared your intentions against humankind, the final condition for『Unfaithful Knight of the Sun』has been met. Let's begin the countdown for your death. From this point onward, Threats to Humanity's Skills, Traits, Authorities, Attributes, Noble Phantasms, Divinity, and Alignments..."

"...Are all rendered null!"