Chapter 56 - God of War Vs King of Heroes

A calm walk with no worries—that's what could describe Ikki's steps as he walked toward the God of War.

Meanwhile, the Boar attacked his friends with bloodlust. Despite its size, it was incredibly fast! In a single breath, it crossed the distance between Percy and itself and attacked with its sharp tusks.

Annabeth and Grover quickly jumped backward, while Percy rolled to the side and entered the breaking zone of the sea. He had an idea to deal with the Boar more quickly, as they had to leave the area as soon as possible to avoid being caught in the crossfire between Ares and Ikki, who were likely destroying the beach in their battle.

Common sense didn't apply to two beings, one a god and the other a mortal as strong as one; it was better to stay out of it or stay far from the battle between the two.

As he thought about this, he got distracted, but Annabeth quickly shouted a warning.

"Percy, watch out!"

The giant boar attacked. Maybe because of Ares' words, it chose Percy as its main target, who, to be honest, was tired of running from monsters, Hades, Ares, or anyone.

When the boar charged at him, Percy unsheathed his pen and took a step to the side.

Riptide appeared in his hands.

He swung his sword upward. The right tusk of the boar was severed at his feet as the beast, disoriented, charged toward the sea.

"Wave!"

Percy shouted.

Immediately, a wave appeared out of nowhere and engulfed the boar, wrapping around it like a blanket. The beast screeched once, terrified. And then it was gone, swallowed by the sea.

Percy exited the surf and approached Annabeth and Grover. The two were relieved it ended so easily.

"That was amazing, Percy..." said the Satyr with shining eyes. Annabeth nodded. Percy showed some brains by using the water from this place, which was his advantage.

The three quickly focused on their friend. He had stopped a few meters from Ares but hadn't started fighting; they were talking. Unfortunately, they couldn't hear because they were a bit far away, and they didn't make much effort to speak loudly.

After a brief glance at their friend with concern and confidence that he would win the battle, Percy, Annabeth, and Grover exchanged looks and moved even farther away. They left the beach and went to a place where they could only see the silhouettes of the two gods on the horizon.

...

Ikki stood a few meters in front of Ares, feeling the influence of the God trying to affect him, but he ignored it with the help of [Monarch's Domain] and continued to look at his current enemy with indifferent eyes.

Ares did the same, but he had a sneer dancing on his lips. A vein bulged from his forehead as he remembered the offenses of the mortal before him.

He warned him.

"Kid, I'll give you some advice. Treat the Gods with the respect they deserve, don't let your victory over Hercules get to your head. He wasn't worthy of being among us Gods; he was just a doorman. This is also my last warning."

"Another insult, and I'll turn you into..."

"A cockroach." Ikki rolled his eyes and continued, "Or a worm. Maybe one of your relatives, the boar. Yeah, I'm sure that would save you from getting your divine hide whipped, right?"

Flames danced above his War God glasses. Ares clenched his teeth and forced a hateful smile as he said, "Ah, you're really asking to be crushed into a pool of blood!"

"If I lose, turn me into whatever you want. Keep the thunderbolt. If I win, the helm and the thunderbolt are mine, and you leave," Ikki said casually, as he wiped a splash of sea water from his face. His long black hair was pushed aside by the wind.

Ares felt his heart race like a deer in headlights, imagining another kind of fight with the boy before him who was even more beautiful than his lover. His body reacted on its own, saving him from an irreversible path. He bit his lower lip, and the pain pulled him from his brief imagination. For a moment, he sat there, terrified by the idea of falling into that path forever...

He cursed fate for the boy being so beautiful that it made him hesitate to fight him.

Breathing deeply, he put on the best sneer he could, brandishing the baseball bat he had resting on his shoulder, and asked, "How would you like to be crushed? Classic or modern?"

"For me, either works. Use any weapon. I'll use my fists," Ikki said, snapping his fingers.

It would be a great way to release his contained emotions...

He remembered his time with Artemis, her laughter, and even her stories. Like the time she put a sign on Apollo's thong saying "Kick Me" at one of the Olympian parties or when she threw a skunk at Aphrodite as a prank and made her pee on the Goddess. These stories, and more of their conversations, showed such a beautiful side of her that made him question many times whether Artemis was truly the cruel Goddess of the Hunt as told in the stories. Maybe he was the only man who witnessed this side; he hoped that was the case. But with Orion in the picture, he knew he wasn't the only one, and remembering the tale of their romance left his heart shattered.

Though he had pushed these thoughts to the back of his mind, all of it left his heart broken, chaotic, undecided, anguished, fractured, sad, and he had to control and maintain his reason.

Someone might say he was being dramatic, given that with his looks, he could have any woman he wanted, and Artemis was just a matter of time as well. But it wasn't about beauty; they had an inexplicable connection, at least that's how he felt, but that was beside the point. He would never try to seduce the Goddess who had taken his heart, because he knew she hated that and wouldn't try to do it out of selfishness...

Hearing the words of the boy in front of him, Ares smiled widely, saying, "Now this got interesting, boy of the skies. So, let's start with the modern way."

The boy's words were the challenge he needed to fight him without being subjected to the ancient laws. A god could only fight a hero if he was challenged, a total nonsense in his opinion! It prevented the bloodbath he craved!

The baseball bat in his hand transformed into a huge two-handed sword. The hilt was a large silver skull with a ruby in its mouth.

"But tell me, Ikki Phoenix. No matter how strong you are, I've been fighting for eternity. My strength is limitless, and I cannot die, but what about you? What do you have besides a pitiful amount of strength? What do you have besides a few simple fights that aren't worth mentioning? Tell me?!" Ares asked, snapping his fingers and preparing for battle. He wouldn't underestimate the little guy who killed Hercules, but he knew he was no match for the God of War!

"That's where you're wrong, Ares," Ikki said suddenly, looking into the War God's eyes. "I am more than enough to handle it all."

"Because I am Ikki Phoenix..."

These simple words carried a determination and confidence in himself that was unshakable.

"Hahahaha..." Ares laughed upon hearing his words. Amidst his laughter, he disappeared like lightning and appeared in front of Ikki, throwing his fist downward toward his face.

Instinctively, Ikki stepped back and tilted his upper body to the side while watching the War God's fist descend with such weight that the air seemed to be compressed beneath it. Of course, he didn't miss the chance for a counterattack and raised his leg, delivering a powerful kick to Ares' stomach, making his eyes bulge and causing him to spit golden blood.

The impact was so strong that it caused a terrible whirlwind behind Ares, so fierce that the sand vanished! In its place, there was a gigantic crater that stretched to the horizon, soon filled by the sea!

The War God didn't fly backward like a bullet because Ikki's attack contained a bit of the 'source' power that prevented him from moving back, unless he wanted to, of course.

The God of War felt as though he had been hit by a mountain in his stomach. That punch was so heavy that he was sure his internal organs were partially destroyed. He quickly recovered from the blow and kicked the chest of the King of Greek Heroes—or so he thought, since he hit an illusion caused by Ikki's unimaginable speed, a post-image.

The real Ikki appeared behind him, landing a sequence of three kicks to the low, middle, and high parts of his body. The force of the kick sent Ares flying through him and into the ocean behind him, causing a massive eruption of water.

These blows left the God of War stunned for a few seconds as blood poured from his mouth, and he felt his bones cracking like a spider's web. If he hadn't raised his arm at the last second to defend, his neck would have been broken!

Now, he understood why the boy had defeated Hercules; he was strong! His blows were so heavy that if he weren't a God, he would have turned into a blood mist with just one of them! It was terrifying to imagine that a smaller boy than him had such strength.

He quickly recovered and attacked Ikki with all his power. His muscles inflated, and he grew to the size of a goalpost on a soccer field. Despite his growth, his speed increased instead of decreasing. Using his fighting techniques, he tried to strike Ikki with a spinning kick, which Ikki blocked by simply raising his arm.

Ikki counterattacked with his own high kick toward the War God's neck. He had to jump a bit to reach it, but to his surprise, Ares instinctively moved his head back and dodged the kick. He then took the opportunity to punch him, but Ikki held his fist and spun his body in mid-air, landing a kick to Ares' jaw.

This time, he didn't hold the God in place, so the impact of the blow sent the War God flying backward for hundreds of meters like a ragdoll. Ares crashed to the ground and strangely dragged himself a few more meters before coming to rest in the middle of the surf, where the water covered him as it flowed through his body.

Ikki landed on the ground and looked back at where half of the beach had been destroyed by the first blow he landed on Ares earlier. During their exchange of blows, they had changed positions. Part of his heart regretted destroying such a place; he should have held back even more. However, the God of War was definitely stronger than Hercules, as he had used a bit more strength than in that fight, and still, Ares had managed to defend and counterattack.

Ares, who was losing consciousness, felt the taste of blood in his throat. That woke him up and prevented him from losing consciousness. He stood up, his body screaming in pain. His mind was in shock, totally blank.

He still couldn't believe he had lost in a pure martial arts fight! What a humiliation! He wouldn't lose to a mortal! Not a chance. Thinking about that, Ares let out a roar. The roar that followed made Hades' earthquake seem like a minor event. The sea itself exploded away from him, leaving a circle of wet sand thirty meters in diameter.

His expression went beyond hatred. It was pain, shock, and total disbelief for having been defeated in such a brief exchange of blows!

"Not bad, not bad..."

Ares said, spitting blood and feeling pain spread through his body. Then, without wasting time talking nonsense, he moved with his greatest speed, breaking the sound barrier and going beyond what lightning could reach. He appeared in front of the boy with his fist extended for a punch, striking with enough force to distort the air and nearly tear space.

Ikki raised his arm and allowed the blow to land. To his surprise, he felt a slight numbness and quickly counterattacked with a kick to the War God's chest. This time, he used even more strength than before and launched the deity toward the ocean and through it faster than lightning. He quickly moved and, in an instant, reached the island hundreds of kilometers from the beach, where Ares had landed on a mountain that was completely destroyed.