152 God VS Mortal, Beast VS Man

(A/N: Here is a little chapter I could squeeze out during my holidays. I get back home this 20th, so expect another chapter between that date and the 23rd maximum. Enjoy!)

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Seth was patiently waiting for Herakles to revive. It would be a waste to damage him any further as until he was fully healed, the next life wouldn't begin. The option of restraining the Hero and killing hi, as soon as he revived was there, but the Egyptian God wouldn't take that route, no. This battle had a meaning beyond winning or losing, beyond killing or dying.

Same as Herakles proved to be an unmatchable existence; proved to be superior to others, Seth would do the same with him.

It was true that the "first kill" came about only thanks to the surprise factor. No one, not even his allies expected that display, so taking one of his lives wasn't particularly hard. Even then, Herakles was able to react thanks to his Mind's Eye Skill out of instinct. With that in mind, the Great Hero would not be letting Seth take any more of his lives so easily.

And that was what the Kingslayer wanted.

He wouldn't say, even going as far as to affirm, that he hated Herakles. Only a few deserved that emotion from him; if he went around hating everyone that offended him, then that sentiment would lose its meaning.

But.

He was angry, extremely so. And at the same time, he was conflicted, something he did not like. Grieving Altera's death? Stupid. He considered it to be a blessing, a way for her to be released from this slavery. Yet, he would be lying if he said that it didn't cross his mind the idea of calling her back. However, as a God who guided the dead, and someone who found that role to be important because he felt it like that, not because someone told him it was, that was unacceptable, hence why there existed an internal conflict in his mind. After all, death should be fair to everyone. It should signify the end and that's it. Though it was kind of contradictory coming from someone who could endlessly revive until the end of his lifespan.

But even then, even if he accepted her death as something natural, he still was angry. Altera was the Servant he got along the most. She was something who shared a lot of similarities with him. As if she were a female version of him that descended to Earth and decided to become human. It was the first time since forever that he found someone that could understand and relate to him that well, so to have that taken away from him...yes, it made him angry.

And that was the reason why he would not let him off easy. That would put him more at risk? So be it. That would increase the chances of some accident happening to the others? It was time they learnt how to do things themselves and not rely on him for everything. That would be time consuming when his body was a ticking bomb? He would simply make more time.

Be it Hero or Villain, this unreasonableness was a trait of his kind—one that regardless if he liked it or not, was something that would accompany him forever. Nevertheless, this time, he was glad to have it because if he was thinking rationally, he would have opted for killing Herakles quickly and efficiently, and he was not up for it right now.

This... "enthusiasm" for carnage was shared by his scaled companion. The moment Seth attacked, she immediately took it as a signal to start her own assault on the man who dared to control her will with his underhanded methods. Safe to say, she also held some resentment against the Egyptian God for giving the original order.

Her massive roar also worked to awaken the rest from their shock-induced stupor. The first to react was Theseus since all the bloodlust was directed at him. Thankfully, he was already prepared for a scenario like this one.

Without a second thought, the King of Athens activated his Skill Eye of the Mind (True) A to see the optimal option among the many he could take. Yet, it seemed to be a waste as the only chance of survival the Skill was showing to him was the one he had originally planned to take, and that was use his connection to Poseidon to call for marine beasts to aid him in battle. However, it did show something that he wasn't so sure about at first, and that was use a "little" helper that he had been keeping in the dark due to fear of a similar reaction to the Leviathan. This time, though, he wouldn't be controlling it. He was sure that it would lend its help willingly now that the nephew of its master was 'dead'.

Not even a second after, Theseus materialized a simple white light sword, cut his palm a bit and quickly threw the emerging blood into the ocean.

The Beast of the Apocalypse that was about to attack stopped on her tracks warily. She remembered that this was how she fell under his control, so it was natural that she was cautious about falling in enemy hands again.

Her worries were proven to be unfounded when a monstrous shriek echoed from the depth of the ocean, one that she recognized all too well.

"Be careful! I am detecting a Magical Energy signature very close to the Leviathan just below you!" Dr.Roman's words were the last confirmation the Chaldeans needed to know that there was something approaching, and fast.

Artemis frowned, seemingly having the notion of remembering that sound from somewhere, yet nothing came to mind.

She didn't have to wait long, though. Numerous long tentacles appeared from under the water and wrapped themselves around the Argo and Golden Hind.

At that point, it was clear who the new guest was.

"Kraken." Drake muttered with a grave face. She would had to have played pirates in a bathtub instead of the real deal if she didn't know who the beast was. Everyone, to a certain extent, feared this monster. Although no one could ever prove its existence, that didn't deter many from claiming to have seen it from afar while it was sinking another ship.

She immediately noticed how the ship was moving from side to side, and even with the scales from the Wyverns coating it and Medea's work with her Witchcraft, the pressure from the pull was noticeable to the naked eye. Times like these called for her ability as a Captain.

"All you Servants with bows aim and shoot those octopus legs! You scallywags get close to the center of the deck, you don't want to get picked up by those things!" Her orders were direct and precise, leaving no room for arguments. Now it was time to act with haste.

No one complained. There was no reason to. They had to make a move or they would be swimming among all kinds of creatures.

Every Archer nocked their arrows on their bowstrings and quickly aimed for the tentacles. Medea also decided to employ her Witchcraft.

"Fire now!" With Drake's green light, even though she was not their Master, they all fired their arrows and magic at the tentacles very carefully and in quick succession. They did not want to risk damaging the ship by mistake from the result of their attack. Sadly, that also meant there wasn't much strength behind their hits. At most, what the managed to do was make the tentacles squirm in irritation.

One of those tentacles let go of the ship and raised itself high up in the air, only to come slamming down at fast speeds.

Mash wordlessly put herself in the trajectory of the Kraken's limb, ready to create a barrier through her Noble Phantasm. However, her attempt was cut short by the other beast, who in an incredible fast action, bit the tentacle, stopping it in its tracks. After that, and without any sort of compassion, she tore it apart with her powerful jaws, causing the beast underneath to release a painful shriek that resounded in all their ears.

Jason, seeing the situation, and how the Kraken had his ship as a "hostage" as well, quickly looked at Theseus, seemingly — or maybe on purpose — forgetting about Herakles' death. "Oi, what are you doing?! Do you want to sink us as well?!"

The green-haired Hero just gave him an annoyed look. "Relax. Herakles is reviving soon and that will help calm it down. You just focus on the Chaldeans, I will provide more help." Saying that, Theseus once again threw some of his blood from his still-open wound into the water. In no time, more and more marine monsters joined the fray, the same that had given them trouble in their first fight. Without a doubt, he didn't plan to make it easier for them.

"As expected from my crew. Once this is over, I will reward you handsomely." ... 'And let you take care of Medea... She tricked me before, who knows what else she may be planning. It's better to get rid of her as soon as possible.'

Theseus ignored his comment and focused on his supposed enemies' reactions. Their faces was a mix between annoyed and tired. He did have that effect on people sometimes. As for his allies, the crazy scientist seemed to have recovered, and was immediately using her Noble Phantasm on Artemis, Atalanta, and Medea. The less number of targets the better, so with three, the reduction in Mystery and Parameters would be good, but it wouldn't be ideal either. At least in the first fight she only had to worry about a single person, Artemis. Now, however, the number had gone up.

'Still. Why doesn't she use it on the other guy? With the help of the Kraken we can easily take care of them, or at least distract them enough for us to take care of him. What's stopping her?' Darwin had her hand in the side of her head, as if combing her hair. But Theseus knew that wasn't the case. She was literally using her hand to block her vision from ever looking into the other God's direction even by mistake. This led the Hero to think that she also wanted to help the Chaldeans on secret, yet there was not much evidence to prove that statement.

Speaking of that God and his opponent, Herakles was just getting up from his position on the ground. His head had already returned to its rightful place, leaving a mask of anger and pure hatred.

The bulking figure didn't waste a second to lunch himself at Seth with a speed that didn't match his frame. The man in question materialized his spear to meet the incoming stone ax.

The clash happened almost instantly. Both parties swung their weapons with incredible might; Herakles downward, while Seth upward. An erratic gale soon followed the impact in all directions, but as for the outcome, nothing was decided. However, that didn't matter to them. If it fails, try again, and try again they did.

The Chaldeans were already engaging Theseus' beasts. As for the man himself, he was commanding the Kraken to engage the Leviathan, it only needed to buy time and nothing more. Medea was about to begin a fight with her younger version, merely because she couldn't stand that cute girl act. Drake's pirates were battling the Caster's dragon tooth warriors while Jason just retreated to the backline for extra safety.

Having everyone focused on their respective opponents allowed the two Divine beings to attack each other without the need to stop to deal with unnecessary annoyances.

Seth took the initiative this time. Forming his hand into a fist, he coated it with fire before punching the deck of the Argo. He could feel the enchantment on the ship that Medea Lily did, so he wouldn't bother trying to damage it. That's why he tried something different.

The moment fist met wood, an expansive cloud of fire was thrown into Herakles' direction. Berserker released what could be taken as a grunt of disdain and swung his weapon sideways, dispersing the attack as if it was never there. However, Seth seemed to have disappeared together with the fire.

It was then that the instinct still present in his body despite his mindless state made him react. Without even turning back, Herakles moved to the side as if sliding on the floor just in time to see a spear pass by the place where his heart should be.

Seth clicked his tongue inside his mind. It was a good opportunity to take one more life. Sadly for him, the series of unfortunate events weren't over.

The Great Hero was quick to catch the moving spear, gripping it tightly. Having immobilized his enemy, he did a spin kick without delay, impacting the Kingslayer in his ribs, propelling him to the side where Jason was hiding.

Seth crashed next to the door leading to the Captain's cabin, just below the leader of the Argonauts that was near the helm of the ship, leaving a dent in the wood around the size of his body. Were it not for Medea's help with her magic, he would have kept going, making holes in the Argo and not stopping until he was in the ocean.

Jason crouched down and looked below through the wooden railings. Really, Herakles could have thrown this killing machine the other way instead of here. It only got worse when he exited the wall and looked at him menacingly. Nope! He couldn't be here, there was something farther back that needed his immediate attention. Bye, adiós, antío.

The black-haired man ignored the coward and focused back on his enemy. With a snap of his fingers, his spear was back in his hands. He was going to give it to him, Herakles' reactions were without a doubt at the top.

Removing his glasses, he breathed onto them before giving a good cleaning with his sleeves. 'It will be half as effective, but let's see what can I learn by observing you.'

"We fought before when I first came here and I won. We were shells of our former selves then, and still are now. However, I will still win and have your body fed to the crocodiles before it can disappear." Seth declared in apathy, receiving an indecipherable grunt from Herakles.

He already killed him using brute force, so that limited punching him to death. Fortunately, diversity was something he had in abundance. He would start lightly before finishing with an unstoppable might.

Taking a deep breath, the black-haired man put his glasses back on and closed his eyes. Once he opened them again, his face, as well as his whole persona seemed to have changed. "Comin' this far... don't expect an easy way out, ya hear?"

Right after speaking, Seth started drawing symbols in the air.