Chapter 137 Wargames 8

Hyakinthos jumped back just in time to dodge another devastating blow from August. He was starting to take deeper breaths as he could now only defend from the relentless assault and pressure August was unleashing on him.

His mind couldn't fathom how this was possible; not only was he getting pushed back, he was being outclassed like he was nothing. This shouldn't be possible, given that the two of them were on the same level at 6, and that the orb gave him stats that would rival those at the peak of the level.

"What kind of monster are you?!" Hyakinthos growled, anger and fear mixed in his voice. He was sweating, his body full of minuscule wounds and slashes. August had been peppering his body with cuts, and they grew even more by the seconds.

August did not answer, his eyes cold and predatory, fueled by the singular goal of ridding the life of the man in front of him. He feigned left, which made Hyakinthos react and raise his weapon to counter, only for August to spin right and slash horizontally.

Hyakinthos widened his eyes and hurriedly dodged, jumping back, but the blade of August's spear reached his chest, slicing through the armor he was wearing like it was nothing and shredding his skin into a bloody mess.

"ARGHHH!!!" He scowled loudly, stopping on a dime, he moved forward and lashed back with a slash of his own, his sword glowing black as miasma-like fire enveloped his blade in a sinister shine. "DIE YOU PIECE OF SHIT!!!"

August calmly raised his spear, and with a look that could only be described as boredom and contempt, he parried the slash, red lightning coiling around his spear.

The two weapons collided as the flames and lightning battled for dominance, or at least that was what was supposed to happen.

August pulled his spear back, making Hyakinthos trip due to his momentum, falling forward, his eyes glued to August, a look of fear running through them. Everything moved in slow motion for Hyakinthos.

He watched as August raised his spear above his head, his eyes looking at his with detached coldness one would find in a person staring at a pebble on the streets. Within those eyes, he saw that he was nothing. August didn't view him as a threat... He was an annoyance.

Cold, emotionless eyes told him all that, filling him with anger. "How dare him look at me with such eyes," those thoughts filled his head, watching as the spear fell slowly towards his neck. It was a slap to his face, a spit on his pride. But most of all, deep down... Those eyes filled his heart with fear.

He tried to move his hands, but found that he couldn't. The momentum from his swing was too much, his senses allowed him to see what August was doing, but he wouldn't be fast enough to put a stop to it, much less defend it.

"YOU FUCKING THR--"

SHLACK

Hyakinthos didn't get to finish his words; he suddenly felt a lump in his throat... No, a more accurate reason is, he felt the absence of his throat. His eyes watched as the world spun, glued to the now upside-down image of August, who now had his spear by his side. His eyes were still cold, emotionless, staring at his own. Like the abyss staring straight at his soul.

He then felt himself falling; he couldn't the second of how long he was falling until he felt that his momentum came to a stop, his eyes glued to August, watching him from below, he found himself on the ground. And then something fell in front of him that blocked his eyesight. It was his now headless body.

.

.

.

.

.

-Tower of Babel.

The gods all had their mouths wide open. They couldn't process what they saw. The fight ended just like that.

They couldn't take their eyes off the mirror that was broadcasting the fight, how Hyakinthos' head had a look of disbelief, how his body was twitching uncontrollably.

And how August looked at him until the end.

A look of a man who is assured of his victory from the start. As if Hyakinthos wasn't even a threat to begin with.

They felt shivers running up their spines, some gods even held their necks, a sense of phantom pain making them gulp.

The news of Hyakinthos reaching level 6 had been circling Orario for days now, while some gods don't believe it, those who are close allies with Apollo saw how Hyakinthos held his own when they attacked Heracles familia just a day before.

Other gods started to believe it when the fight started; he was able to hold his own indeed, even fighting August to a stalemate for a few minutes. So now, they couldn't comprehend how. How is he beheaded and killed like he was nothing.

They felt awe, admiration, but most of all... The gods felt fear... If Apollo is to be believed, Hyakinthos had reached level 6, the same as August... Yet he was beaten, killed... Just like that.

It felt... Too easy.

The gods' eyes automatically looked towards Apollo, and words can't describe the look on the deity's face. It was as if he had swallowed an extremely bitter bug.

Eyes plastered on the mirror, fists clenched, his face red from anger and confusion. Gone was the arrogant demeanor he was carrying at the start of the wargames.

Apollo felt cheated; after all that was promised to him by Hecate, he now had to watch Hyakinthos, his most prized adventurer, die in the most anticlimactic way. His eyes were glued towards the face of his captain; he couldn't believe how pathetic his death was.

He turned towards Ishtar, eyes burning with rage. "What is the mea-"

Ishtar quickly placed a knife on the side of Apollo. Her eyes staring at him with coldness. She then looked around, observing if the other gods were still looking. "I suggest you keep your mouth shut... Or I'll shut it up for you." She whispered, her voice seductive and charming, yet it filled Apollo with fear. "I know you have questions, but we don't want them to hear about it now, do we?"

Apollo growled; he wanted nothing more than to choke Ishtar from where she stood. "What is the meaning of this?" He asked, his voice filled with anger and a sense of betrayal. "You... No, Evilus promised that they have given my child power, enough power to kill that fucking imbecile... So why in all the realms is my child dead instead of him?"

Ishtar chuckled; she then removed the knife from Apollo's side and pocketed it. She faced back on the mirror, a smile on her face. "And that we did."

"WHAT DO Y-" He stopped as Ishtar's eyes looked at him again; he felt his hair standing all over his body because of the look she gave him. He shook his head and kept his voice low. "What do you mean you did? Hyakinthos is dead, and that mongrel is still alive."

Ishtar returned her usual seductive smile; she leaned closer towards Apollo, a seductive voice then whispered in his ear. "We needed him dead for the orb to take its full effect."

Apollo's eyes widened; this wasn't part of the deal. The deal was that he'd join Evilus in exchange for power, for revenge. Not this. He did not want his child to be dead, no... He wanted him to be strong.

As cruel as Apollo is, he still cares for the members of his familia, especially those who are loyal and faithful towards him. He gritted his teeth and looked at Ishtar with rage and disgust... He thought he was the one playing Evilus; now he realized, Evilus had been the one playing him.

"What now?" Apollo growled, the look on Ishtar's face said it all; he now doesn't have power to go against them. All he could do now is to go along with their plans. He realized he had now become a pawn for them to use.

Yet his pride won't allow that. "Huh? What now? Do you really think I'll take this lying down?" He grabbed Ishtar by her hand, gripping it tightly enough for it to be painful. "If I'm going down, I'm taking you with me. I'm gonna tell everyone here that you're a member of Evilus."

Ishtar smirked; she then chuckled and pulled her hand out of Apollo's grasp. "Like I said, Apollo, we did what you asked. We gave Hyakinthos the power to rival, even surpass August... His death is necessary for him to achieve the full potential of Erebus' creation."

Apollo paused, his eyes asking a magnitude of questions. He opened his mouth to speak, yet Ishtar used her index finger to shush him up. "You don't want to miss this part."

Apollo gulped; he felt a sense of dread filling up his soul. "What is Evilus planning?" he asked.

"Well... Let's just say things are moving according to schedule." As soon as Ishtar uttered those words, the mirror which showed what was happening on the wargames suddenly cracked.

Slowly, the crack moved towards the edge of the mirror, filling the whole thing up. The gods all rose from their seats; confusion which turned to anger could be felt from them.

Their voices started to echo all throughout the room, voices of displeasure, confusion, and anger. The gods started to murmur amongst themselves, asking for an explanation on why the mirror cracked.

Hermes, who casted the spell, assured them that he didn't know anything about this, that this wasn't supposed to happen.

"HOW ABOUT THE OTHER MIRROR?!!" One of the gods quickly pointed out.

And then, like clockwork, the mirror shattered into pieces. Not just inside Babel; every mirror in the city that was used to watch the war games between Apollo familia and Heracles familia shattered, destroying the only device that allowed them to see what was happening.

Apollo gulped; just how much was he played by Evilus? How far is their reach? Questions started to form inside his head. He turned his attention towards Ishtar. "What did you do?"

Ishtar smirked; she then shrugged and took a large crystal ball out of her pocket. The crystal ball turned murky as it slowly showed the mountain where the wargames are taking place. "The plan."

Apollo's pride took a hit; he was not aware of the plan. All he knew is that the orb would give Hyakinthos power to rival... No, to downright kill August. He saw the stats when he updated Hyakinthos' status, and seeing it made him believe that was always the plan. Yet now, he learned that he was only a pawn to the real plan of Evilus.

He felt used; he wanted to scream in anger, yet he was afraid. Afraid because of the show of influence Evilus had demonstrated. The mirrors were but an example; how they did it he does not know. All he knows is that if they were able to reach Babel, then they could reach him as well.

He watched with bated breath as the crystal ball slowly became clearer, showing what is happening in the ongoing war games. And his eyes widened when he saw a black flame erupting out of Hyakinthos' severed neck.

.

.

.

.

.

-Back at the wargames

August turned around, walking away from the lifeless body of Hyakinthos; he felt nothing when he killed him. Honestly, it was disappointing... He expected so much more, especially after the fact that he was able to catch his spear when he threw it at Apollo familia a few days ago.

He thought he could go all out, but expectations are often far from what reality truly is.

Suddenly, the spear in his hand started to vibrate; his instincts screamed at the same time, ringing alarm bells all over his head.

He quickly snapped into fight mode, gripping Beowulf with all his might, he jumped forward while turning his body mid-air, creating as much of a distance away from that sinister feeling he felt.

The air was filled with a powerful and violent magic, brimming with dark intention, hate, and killing intent. And he could feel it all, directed towards him and him alone.

It felt suffocating, like something was pushing him down to the ground, sending chills all over his body.

His eyes widened when he saw the corpse of Hyakinthos; it was the epicenter of the sinister magic. Black miasma-like flames erupted, and he could feel the heat emanating from his body.

The flames danced around, slowly forming a tendril of black, disgusting-looking flames that protruded from his neck and slowly attached itself to his head.

August watched with bated breath as the head was slowly pulled back towards the body, witnessing Hyakinthos' lifeless corpse rising up awkwardly, like a puppet being pulled up by strings.

He heard the crackling of the black flame as it enveloped Hyakinthos' body, his wounds closing until it looked like they weren't even there in the first place.

August wasn't sure how this was possible; he had made sure of Hyakinthos' death, and that strike was lethal no matter how you looked at it. His mind raced, forming countless theories until it landed on one. One he had suspected right from the start.

It explained how Hyakinthos was able to climb towards level 6 despite being a level three. And that magic, that sinister magic, the sensation it gave.

It felt familiar; he had sensed it before. Although weaker, it didn't change the fact that the magic was the same.

"As I thought," he muttered. He willed his mana to rise as red lightning started to coil all over his body. "Apollo, you fucking idiot."

His mind quickly jumped to one answer... And that answer is... Evilus.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

***

Chapter 137 is now complete. How are you all enjoying the story so far?

Would you look at that, I was able to upload one on time, hurray me.

Same deal as before, I may ne busy and won't be consistent with the upload at the moment but I'll do my best to try and put out chapters at intended time.

Btw, if you haven't yet, please check out my other work. *Avatar: the Journey of Kai* if you have any time. I really would appreciate it.

Anyway...

Please leave a comment, review, and feedback to help me improve this fanfic. Every little thing helps me understand your preferences and will contribute to writing a better fanfic for you all to enjoy.

Thank you for following this fanfic. I hope you're enjoying it.

Have a good day, everyone. Love y'all.