Chapter 141 August vs Hyakinthos, a fair trade.

I'm back! Sorry for the long absent, was busy, stressed and tired and needed a break. IRL stuffs. Who knows adulting would be this stressful.

To be honest with y'all, I got lazy, was too tired to write, don't get me wrong, the ideas and everything are still coming, it's just fatigue I guess. It's hard to explain, I want to write, but my body and mind just felt tired after a busy day. Like I just wanna lie on my bed, cuddle with my wife, and relax. Like I said, adulting is hard.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the story.

*Warning*

This chapter contains brutality, violence, and gore, readers discretion is advised.

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*Chapter start*

August's spear crackled with violent lightning as it sliced through the air, heading straight for Hyakinthos' throat. His eyes gleamed with a violent, sinister light, single-mindedly aiming to kill.

Hyakinthos was caught off guard by the newfound speed August displayed. He tried to raise his blade to intercept but was too slow. August quickly exploited this, his spear ripping through the captain of Apollo Familia's throat with a bone-chilling squelch. Blood splattered and misted through the air, turning into red vapor due to the crackling heat of the lightning and the fiery inferno of his black miasma-like flames.

Hyakinthos' eyes widened. He hadn't expected August to possess such speed. He knew of his body enhancement magic, Endless Battle, but had thought the spear user had already used it. The pain was mind-numbing, his muscles tensing as thousands of volts of electricity tore through the fibers of his throat like tiny blades.

"SQUACHDJIE!!!" A gurgling sound of blood escaped from his mouth as the red substance quickly pooled down his throat. But August wasn't done. As soon as he finished his cut, he turned to the left, his spear leaving a trail of red lightning in its wake as he slashed at Hyakinthos' abdomen.

Another bone-chilling sound accompanied the flying blood and guts, quickly evaporating from the spear's energy. A gnarly, shredded wound appeared on Hyakinthos' stomach, his intestines falling to the ground, smoking from the heat.

Blood splashed onto August's face, burning and boiling his skin. Hyakinthos' blood felt like hot molten magma, but August paid it no mind. The look of pain and horror on Hyakinthos' face put a brief smile on his own.

Then it changed to a crazed grin. As Hyakinthos' eyes met his, a maddened gleam replaced the azure blue, now turned obsidian black. "Just kidding," Hyakinthos sneered, slashing his sword forward, black flames enveloping the blade.

August sensed danger as all the hair on his body stood on end. He jumped back but was a tad too slow. Overconfident in his victory, he hadn't expected the counterattack.

Hyakinthos' sword cut through August's left shoulder, making him grunt and wince in pain. His blood felt like it was boiling from the inside. He quickly turned mid-jump, mitigating some of the damage and creating space between him and Hyakinthos' burning black inferno.

He glared, gritting his teeth as he watched the wounds on Hyakinthos' body close, his flesh bubbling with a black substance as it mended. "Got your hopes up, didn't I?" Hyakinthos mocked, his tone hysterical. A fit of laughter followed as he held his stomach like a madman. "Y-you should have seen the look on your face! HAHAHAHA!!!" He wiped a tear of black sludge from his eye as his laughter died down.

August glared at Hyakinthos. He tried to move but stopped, feeling the stinging pain in his left shoulder run down towards his elbow. Glancing at the wound, he saw black veins bulging on his shoulder, running down his arm and up his neck. He could feel the corrosion in his flesh, an infection slowly eating him from the inside.

"Shit." August cursed as he returned his attention back towards Hyakinthos. He had a huge smile on his face as his eyes looked at August shoulder.

"I've got to say, as much as I despise those Evilus bastards, they do know their stuff." Hyakinthos playfully twirled his sword as he circled August, whose eyes tracked him warily. "Such a shame. Once this is over, Evilus will be next."

August stood straight, he then stabbed his spear on the ground, ripped a portion of his clothing, and tied it tightly on his left shoulder where the black veins stopped. He grabbed his spear with a chuckle. "Next huh? Apollo is more of a fool than I thought."

This made Hyakinthos stopped, he looked at August with an angry glare. "Excuse me? A fool you say?"

"Yes, a fool." August rested his spear on his uninjured shoulder, smiling at Hyakinthos. "Did he really think Evilus wouldn't expect his betrayal? If so, he's truly stupid."

"Mind your tongue, Boy!" Hyakinthos raised his sword and pointed it at August, the flames that coiled around his body flared up in anger. "I will not have a deadman insult my god!"

"Fuck, you're as stupid as him if you think this would go your way." The smile on August's face grew larger, and finally, he couldn't hold it in anymore, a laugh escaped his lips. "Wait, did you really think your plan would succeed? Holy shit you lots are so fucking stupid."

Hyakinthos gritted his teeth at the insult; he couldn't take the insult, especially the one thrown at his god. "I'LL KILL YOU!!!" He roared as he dashed towards August, his sword raised up high.

'So fucking predictable.' August had a smile on his face, he took a step forward as his right hand moved towards the edge of his spear's body. He then loaded mana into his feet as it dug deep into the ground. In a blink of an eye, he beamed towards Hyakinthos.

The two of them met at the middle, but August was faster, and now he had an advantage against Hyakinthos. His mind was clear, while Hyakinthos' was filled with anger, clouding his judgment.

And that is a fatal mistake against a fighter as experienced as August.

That was his plan all along, to rile Hyakinthos up. He knew the type, people like Apollo and Hyakinthos tend to flock together—those who have big egos, a narcissistic belief in themselves, and an unwavering confidence that everything they do is the right answer.

Once you question all of that and made a fool out of them, they would inevitably snap. Case in point, Hyakinthos, who is running straight for August, with a singular purpose to kill him for the insults he had thrown his and his god's way.

August could spot multiple openings in Hyakinthos' swing; he cringed as he remembered a moment where he would let his emotions get the better of him in the past. 'Is this how I looked like to my enemies back then?' he asked himself.

With all the openings available, August chose the one where he could inflict the most amount of pain. He had learned from experience—Hyakinthos seemed immortal, but he knew it had a limit. He didn't know how long it would take for him to truly kill the bastard, but he knew he could. After all, no one in the world is truly immortal; even the gods themselves can be killed.

His very weapon and partner, Beowulf, is designed to kill the seemingly immortal gods; that's proof enough. He didn't care how long it would take or how many times he would kill Hyakinthos; at the end of the day, his objective is still the same.

To kill him. And to do that, he must inflict the most amount of damage in the most lethal and painful way possible.

As Hyakinthos charged forward, August met him head-on. The reach of his spear gave him an advantage in leveraging space, especially since he is holding it at the very edge. Before he could even enter inside Hyakinthos' effective striking range, he stabbed his spear forward, straight to Hyakinthos' roaring mouth.

His spear pierced through, exiting through the nape; he then sidestepped the slash, dodging it by the skin of his teeth.

Hyakinthos' slash left him off balance; it was too wide of a swing, with too much power put behind it. It wasn't a well-thought-out attack; instead, it was a wild slash filled with his anger. And August took advantage of it, down to the last minute detail.

He kicked Hyakinthos in his shin, making him lose his balance even more; he then stepped to his side as Hyakinthos' body was bending forward in a clumsy way. He gripped his spear on both sides; it was still stuck inside Hyakinthos' mouth, going through his nape.

Grabbing the two sides, he pushed with his left and pulled with his right, twisting Hyakinthos' neck in a violent crunch. Just when you thought it was over, he twisted more, making Hyakinthos' head do a 180; he let go of one side and forcefully pulled his spear as he once again created distance.

He learned from his mistake earlier; he knew Hyakinthos would heal, and like clockwork, Hyakinthos did. As his neck twisted back, the bone crunching as it did, the hole in his mouth bubbling with black miasma-like liquid flames as it slowly closed the wounds.

August smiled wryly at that; he watched as Hyakinthos healed his wounds, his eyes red from anger at what August did to him, while he does heal, that doesn't mean he couldn't feel the pain. Hyakinthos wanted nothing more than to rip August apart.

"I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!!!" Hyakinthos was like a mindless beast; he roared at August and charged at him with reckless abandon.

"You can try." August smiled with amusement; adding fuel to the fire that was Hyakinthos' anger.

August jumped back to evade Hyakinthos' blade, his red lightning-clad mana protecting him from the heat that exuded from the Apollo captain.

While doing so, he continued to mock Hyakinthos while also making sure to send lethal strikes his way—piercing him in the head, cutting his stomach open, even aiming an uppercut-like strike down his groin region, cutting up to his chest and retreating before Hyakinthos could retaliate.

August lost track of how long he had been doing this; he couldn't care less. He knew he was causing damage; Hyakinthos winced here, groaned there. Even his healing was slowing down. He knew he was making progress in ridding him of his pseudo-immortality.

As August dodged another slash, he jumped back. Upon landing, his knees buckled; the stinging pain in his left shoulder now enveloped his entire hand. It felt numb, with a gnawing pain pulsing every second.

He coughed a couple of times as he took a knee, spitting out black blood that corroded the ground. He stared at his injury and found that his left side was full of boils that spat out black pus-like substance.

The infection had almost reached his chest. The tourniquet was doing its job, but he knew it wasn't enough. He could feel it; he now had a time limit.

He raised his spear just in time to block Hyakinthos' blow. His feet dug deep into the ground, cracking it under the force of the attack. He pushed forward, kicking the ground to create space away from the madman.

August was breathing heavily; he knew his system was compromised. If he wanted to kick himself for what happened earlier, it was such a rookie mistake, one that he had preached to his familia members over and over again.

"Do not let your guard down, do not assume victory unless you have made sure of it," were the precise words he used. Oh, how ironic that the one thing he had always preached would be the same thing he failed to uphold.

'The old man would fucking kill me if he finds out,' he thought to himself with a chuckle. 'I need to finish it. Gaé Bulg Beowulf would take too much time; he won't let me finish the chant.' He pondered on what to do. To be honest, even with the power-up Hyakinthos received, August was still the superior fighter.

Be it in experience or martial prowess, he was head and shoulders above Hyakinthos. But the problem was the injury he had received. He could feel it slowly killing him inside, and he knew once it spread more and reached his heart, he would die.

He could already feel his body deteriorating; he knew it was only a matter of time. He could stall it with his mana, but by doing so, his focus against Hyakinthos' assault would be divided with controlling the mana.

He needed to control the mana inside his body to combat the infection, and that would require his attention. By doing so, the chances of him making a mistake and getting cut again would rise. And he was not willing to risk another slash from that sword of his.

Another, more radical idea entered his mind, and to be honest, he was considering it.

Considering it was an understatement. It might just be his only option right now. "Fuck it," he cursed as he stood up. He moved his hand near the blade of his spear, and with gritted teeth, he placed it at the joint of his left shoulder.

Hyakinthos stopped in his tracks. He had a general idea of what August was planning, but he couldn't believe that he would really go for it.

SQUELCH!

Blood splattered in the air as August grunted in pain, his spear bloody as he cut his left arm completely off. He gritted his teeth as the pain assaulted him; then he used his spear charged with lightning, pressing it into the open wound to cauterize the flesh to prevent bleeding to death.

Hyakinthos stared at the process with shock on his face. A chuckle then emerged, slowly morphing into a maddened laugh. "HAHAHAHA, YOU CRAZY BASTARD!"

August winced and smiled at Hyakinthos through gritted teeth, his smile sinister and full of predatory intent. "Maybe I am..." He gripped his spear with his right hand and got into his stance.

"You're a fucking madman. Do you really believe you can beat me now, in the state you're in?" Hyakinthos returned to his former arrogant and egotistical self; seeing August with one arm made him assured of his victory.

He might not be as versed as August within the realm of martial prowess, but every adventurer knew that losing an arm was a death sentence. It meant losing your sense of balance, leverage, and even coordination.

It was even harsher for a spear user like August, since a spear is a two-handed weapon.

"You seem proud," August spoke, his tone a bit jovial. Adrenaline kicking in to numb the pain of losing an arm."You should be. You are the only opponent who has been able to injure me this severely." A smile formed on his lips; this smile made Hyakinthos feel uneasy. Especially with the way he seems to be ignoring the pain of losing a limb.

He felt August should be rattled; losing an arm was a huge blow, but why did he feel like he was staring death right in the face?

"You could feel it, couldn't you?" August continued, his voice sending shivers down Hyakinthos' spine. "That pseudo-immortality of yours, that magic that is protecting you against me, you could feel it starting to wear off."

Hyakinthos turned serious; his eyes glared at August as he too got into his stance. "A rambling of a dead man," he muttered with venom laced in his voice.

"Maybe so..." August shrugged and smiled. "But I'm not the one bleeding over here." He pointed towards Hyakinthos' right leg with his spear; a cut, a miniscule cut, was there, and it wasn't healing, at least not as fast as it once did, black blood trickling down Hyakinthos' leg.

The magic that was healing him had been drained to a point where it ignores small cuts, and priorities lethal damage.

In short, it's running out of juice.

That small cut made Hyakinthos' hair stand on end. He could feel a chill run up the back of his head.

"It's a fair trade, if you ask me," August's voice snapped him out of his stupor. He looked at August and saw a predatory smile; he felt his heart beat fast. He could feel the hand of death grasping his heart, its scythe placed at his neck as he stared into August's eyes. "You took my arm, I'll take your life." August's words filled Hyakinthos with fear—a primal fear of death, one that every being had.

Right now, he realized that August had truly earned his alias. The Gaé Bulg, the mortal spear of death... He was death incarnate himself.

He could see a silhouette of a wolf behind August, staring at him with snarling mouth, looking at him as if he were prey.

Hyakinthos stood amidst the chaos of his chest heaving with each ragged breath. The evidence of their intense battle surrounded him, the scars of their clashing steels and crackling magic. Yet, above it all, he could hear it—the mournful toll of funeral bells echoing in the hollow chambers of his heart.

*Badump!*

Hyakinthos stood before August, his breath ragged, and his heart thundering in his ears. Each beat echoed like a funeral bell, tolling his impending demise.

*Badump!*

The sound filled him with dread, reverberating through his soul.

*Badump!*

With each toll of those invisible bells, Hyakinthos felt a chill crawl down his spine. It wasn't fear; no, it was something deeper—a primal recognition of the inevitable, a reminder that life's fragile thread could be severed.

*Badump!*

Every thump intensified the fear clutching at his heart.

*Badump!*

He felt the weight of death looming over him.

*Badump!*

August advanced toward him, a predator closing in on its prey. Unconsciously, Hyakinthos took a step back; his breathing quickened, and panic gripped him.

*Badump!*

Death approached, inevitable and menacing.

*Badump!*

And it was coming for him.

*Badump!*

The wolf stalks its prey.

*Badump, badump, badump, badump!*

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Chapter 141 is now complete. How are you all enjoying the story so far?

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