Combat

Author Comment;

Okay, so this chapter is supposed to be a test for how well I can write a fight sequence. I also wanted to introduce a new character. But then I thought maybe I will introduce them in the next. Enjoy.

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Apollo POV;

"Arty, you really love dragging me around, don't you? And today was supposed to be a break from the lessons. " Apollo sighed as he looked at his sister, sprinting ahead of him. She seemed to be enjoying the surroundings as they jumped from tree to tree. (You know, the Naruto method of traveling.)

"That's the whole point, Al." "Today the great goddess Artemis will finally convince the pegasi to be her familiar," she said smugly as she raised her speed. Seeing this, Apollo began flying to catch up with her, who at this point was moving at a modest one hundred kor an hour.

It had been 10 years since they discovered Artemis' apparent power spike by making familiars. Since then, she would sprint to forests all over the planet, trying to convince the various creatures there to be her familiars. Asteria barely caught her boarding the ships to other planets.

"Why are you so adamant about contracting the pegasi anyway?" It's not like you need them. " Apollo asked.

"Well, you know that I can use the abilities of the creatures I contracted with. Previously, it appeared that I had to transform into them to use the powers. But, thanks to a recent breakthrough, I can now use their abilities in my base form. And the pegasi have exactly the ability I'm looking for. " Artemis stated, with a glint in her eyes. She was too proud to mention that the Pegasi were the last of the mythical creatures in Delos she had to contract and that she had become addicted to this game of catching them, ahem, contracting them all.

Apollo quirked his eyebrows at her statement. If what she said was true, she would be way more powerful than she was months ago.

"So what can you do now? As far as I know, you've already contracted hundreds, "he asked.

"Most of them are overshadowed by my natural physique, such as super strength. But I do now have an adequate amount of control over all the elements. If I can get a Pegasus, I will get mana-less flight, which will be extremely useful," she said.

Apollo whistled at her explanation.

"So why did you bring me here?" He said trying to change the topic.

At that, Artemis gave him a goofy grin. She nervously fidgeted her fingers while looking away.

"Al, you see, this forest is called the dead-end forest for a reason. People usually don't even consider entering this place due to the number of dangerous beings here. Since it is risky, I had to bring along my trusty meat shield. " She laughed loudly at that.

"You reckless oaf of a tomboy, I am not your fucking meat shield." He started cussing as he heard her reply.

He turned to his sister a few minutes later, after taking a few deep breaths to calm himself down.

"Can't you just beat up the Pegasi and keep doing it until they form a contract, Arty?"

Artemis came to a halt and stared at him as if he were an alien.

"You Barbarian, how could you even think such blasphemous things? I am a budding nature goddess. I can't go around beating up animals," she explained.

"We have no idea what your divinity will be. I honestly doubt you can be a nature goddess like great grandmother Gaea if you can't even control animals. "

Artemis looked at him as if he had murdered her puppy. Just then, dhe ducked her head in reflex , narrowly missing a knife that would have lodged in her head if she had been a fraction of a second late.

"Haha, you have such incredible reflexes. Olympians are truly strong. This will be truly fun. "

They both turned to face the voice and looked at the man standing there. He had messy black hair, black eyes, and a simple face. He was neither too ugly nor too handsome. His body was average, with only a few muscles. He was dressed in a black jacket, black pants, and a black t-shirt. And he wore a massive black sword on his back. Both the kids cringed at his appearance.

Apollo, who was wary of the stranger, raised his voice.

"Who are you? Don't you realise what you're doing? Are you insane enough to attack two Olympians? If you want to live, you'd better let us go. "

The man looked at them and then burst out laughing, his eyes filled with hysteria.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I completely forgot to introduce myself. I can be such a klutz. " He laughed and winked at them. They felt a shiver run down their spine

"My name is Arai Kazuhiko. I'm a laid-back guy who enjoys grinding for experience points. I do have a mission here. This planet's defences were no laughing matter. I had to work hard to sneak in, you know. " He rambled on. He then gave them a brief glance.

He appeared suddenly and without warning next to Apollo and swung his dagger at him. But before that, he had to jump back to avoid an incoming arrow from Artemis.

"Oh, it appears that my mission is a bounty hunt to kill you. System San is very cruel, forcing me to kill children. Whatever, the rewards are adequate. You also have awesome equipment. " Looking at the bow Artemis had summoned from her personal dimension, Arai howled.

Artemis dashed towards her brother, whose life had just flashed before his eyes. Apollo focused, and his body was encased in golden armour with spiked knuckles. Arai, who was staring at his armour, was taken aback.

"The weapons blocked my appraisal too. Now I won't be able to keep my hands away. "

"Shut up, Bastard. Arty, this guy is strong. We've got to get serious. He is crazy. We'll take advantage of that. " Apollo said, rushing off to battle.

Arai slashed his dagger at Apollo, who blocked it with his knuckles. The blade broke at the same time Arai jumped backwards, dodging the arrow that was shot at him with deadly precision.

The ground beneath him exploded just as he was about to land, throwing him sideways directly onto Apollo's incoming fists.

"BOOM!"

Arai flew, breaking the sound barrier and landed a few kilometres away in a crater.

Apollo and Artemis followed him. They were shocked when he stood up after being unharmed, dusting off the dirt on his clothes and cracking his neck.

"Whew. Man! Olympians are a difficult nut to crack. This requires me to step up my game. " Arai said as he drew his sword, His sword's guard is shaped like a pair of bird wings. It had a pyramid-shaped pommel. It began to glow with a sinister flame.

"PIERCE CRASHER!" he yelled as he slashed his sword at them. Artemis sensed impending danger and used her control of the air around her and her brother to fling them away.

"CRASH"

They were stunned as his sword slash created a blast that wiped out a quarter of the forest.

"Hey, stop looking at me as if I'm the bad guy. Now that I've fought you, I must say that I'm very impressed. I'll give you better alternatives. Boy, you're welcome to be my slave, er, companion. As for you, girl, you are welcome to join my harem. Don't worry, I have a lot of girls already. You will never be lonely. " He was ecstatic.

The suggestion infuriated the young gods. The sky darkened in an instant as they both used their abilities to the fullest. Arai's sense of danger greatly increased. He stared in awe as multiple tornadoes formed under Artemis' command, while Apollo floated upwards, his arms and eyes glowing eerily.

The tornados collided with him as Artemis released a massive ball of fire. Thousands of icicle spears were formed when water vapour in the air crystallised.

The wind accelerated them and propelled them towards the centre of the storm. As large sections of the forest were destroyed, thunder roared and rain began to fall, drenching them.

Meanwhile, Apollo's eyes and arms emitted red-hot lasers. They reached temperatures higher than the corona of the sun. Everything that it came into contact with disintegrated.

The storm died down after 5 minutes, and Apollo landed next to his panting sister.

"Wow, Arty, that was sick!!" He yelled.

"Well, my time limit is 5 minutes. I need more practice, "she shook her head.

Looking at the massive hole left in the aftermath of their battle, Apollo wanted to disagree. However, he wisely kept it to himself.

"And the Pegasi?" he enquired, amused.

"Fuck the Pegasi." I am done. The guards will be here in a few minutes. The mana surge would have been felt all the way across the planet. " Artemis said, lying down.

"Haha. What was with that guy anyway?Crazy fucker ruining my day."Apollo started cussing. Just then, he quickly grabbed his sister and moved out of the way as the place they were in was obliterated.

"I am going to kill you fuckers. You could have just died silently, but now you made me angry. " The two gods felt helpless looking at Arai, who was bleeding all over his body and was holding a brand new sword.The sword had a blade of a gold color. The guard resembled an eye, inlaid with pearl, with the blade through the pupil. Its grip is the colour of copper metal set with moonstones.

Even though they appeared to be in better shape than Arai, they were exhausted. After the previous spell, Apollo was certain his sister couldn't move. They exchanged glances.

"Oh Fuck," Apollo and Artemis said at the same time.