CHAPTER 122: GOD VS TITAN

"Before I kill you, let me ask you something." His eyes locked on him. "Was it you? The one who planned everything from the start?"

He already knew the answer. But he needed to hear it from him.

"I like that confidence," the man said, grinning wide. "But don’t forget—it took the entire Olympians to stop me. But you see, it was Hades who chained me down. His blood was the only key to break it. The old fool ruined everything when he chose to sacrifice himself."

His grin stretched wider.

"Then you came along. A child of two powerful gods. The first pure child of the Underworld. I thought you died that day... but no. You lived. And it was your blood that let me rise."

He leaned in, voice low. "Anything else?"

"No," he answered.

Typhon’s fist shot out. It smashed into his face and wrenched him down. His body spun sideways, teeth rattling from the impact.

He twisted with the momentum. His leg snapped up, boot driving into Typhon’s face. The force dragged the giant’s head down with him.

Typhon’s head slammed against the ground. The stone cracked beneath the impact. He was already back on his feet.

He stood over him, silent, staring down. Not a word. Not a flicker of emotion. Just those eyes.

The ground buckled. Serpents burst from the earth, their bodies coiling, scales grinding against stone, hissing as they reached for him.

He tilted his head slightly, dodging it as if unimpressed. Then he swung, his boot cracking against Typhon’s jaw with a sharp snap that sent blood spraying.

Typhon’s massive body jolted, bouncing to the side like a rock skipping over water.

He followed, each step deliberate, voice dropping cold and sharp.

"That’s it? That’s your full power?"

"Shut up!"

Typhon roared, a blast of fire tearing from his throat like a blazing spear of light.

He raised his arm, shadows surging up into a wall, the heat crashing against it. The stone shook under the impact.

More serpents burst from the ground, fangs snapping as they lunged for him. He cut them down in an instant, his blade ripping through scale and bone.

He shot forward, closing the distance.

Typhon’s arm twisted, flesh warping into a massive serpent. Its jaws split wide, lungs rumbling as it dove for him.

He slipped to the side in one motion. His blade drove into the serpent’s jaw, splitting it open as he ripped past. When he stopped, the edge was already leveled beneath Typhon’s chin.

"C’mon," he said, a wild smile twisting his face. "Use your full strength. Let me enjoy this fight." His voice rose, sharp, fevered. "My blood’s boiling... so let’s kill each other."

The blade pressed tighter, biting against his scaled flesh—then sank back into the shadows, vanishing from sight.

"It’s not every day I get to fight someone who once stood against the Olympian gods alone."

Typhon pushed himself to his feet, glaring down. "Your thirst for battle burns hotter than the gods themselves."

They closed the distance, face to face.

Both swung at once—fists colliding against opposite sides of each other’s jaws. Bone cracked, but neither moved. Neither even blinked.

They swung again.

This time Typhon’s knee slammed into him. The strike thundered, folding him in half before launching him skyward.

As he rose, Typhon was already above him. His shadow blotted out the light as he brought his massive arm down like a hammer, aiming to smash him from the air.

His hand shot up. Fingers clamped around Typhon’s forearm, stopping the blow mid-swing. His body twisted in one fluid motion, dragging himself onto Typhon’s back.

With a violent shove of his heel, he drove Typhon downward.

The giant crashed into the ground, the earth splitting open under his weight.

He followed. He plummeted like a meteor, knee leading, every ounce of force focused into the strike.

At the last instant, Typhon rolled aside.

His knee struck the earth instead.

The impact ripped the island apart. The ground cratered, rock bursting outward, and the sea surged in every direction. A wall of water rose, waves tearing against the sky.

They didn’t wait. They collided again.

No words. No hesitation. Just fists.

Each strike split the air, shockwaves bursting with every impact. His jaw snapped sideways under Typhon’s punch, but his fist was already driving into the giant’s ribs. Typhon staggered a step—then roared, swinging back even harder.

The more he struck him, the stronger Typhon became. Muscles swelled, scales hardening, his movements faster, heavier. Every punch rattled the island. Every collision ripped the ground apart.

He didn’t stop. He took the blows head-on, blood spraying from his mouth, ribs cracking, but his eyes burned colder with every hit. His fists never slowed.

Stone split beneath them. The earth gave way.

Together they plowed into the riverbed, the impact tearing the false Styx apart. Water erupted skyward, collapsing in on itself. The ground caved, the entire world of the false river shaking under their fury.

The black waters burst and collapsed, flooding into nothing.

His knee drove into Typhon’s gut. His elbow cracked across his jaw. One last punch hurled the monster up and out of the shattered underground.

Typhon tore through rock, bursting free in an explosion of stone and water.

He rose after him, shadows streaming off his body.

They were both on the island again.

The fight did not end.

They traded blows until the sun fell. Then they fought through the night, fists breaking bone, shadows tearing scale, fire splitting sky.

Days passed.

His armor hung in pieces, cracked and torn, his shadows frayed and shredded from overuse. Blood streaked his skin, his breath harsh, but his fists never stopped moving.

Typhon’s body was the same—his scales shattered in places, his serpent-heads severed and burned away, ichor pouring from his wounds. Yet every strike he took only seemed to drive him harder. His strength didn’t fade. It grew.

They fought until mountains split, rivers boiled dry, and the false heavens cracked overhead. The battlefield was nothing but ruin—craters, shattered stone, seas turned black.

Neither yielded.

Their fists had become their language, their defiance. Blow after blow, hour after hour, until even the air itself seemed too tired to hold their weight.

"I can do this all day."

"It doesn’t look like it."

"You want to keep this up?" he paused, a thin grin on his lips. "Because I’ve got power to spare."

"Kid, quit lying. You can’t even breathe properly." Typhon’s voice rumbled, guttural, cruel.

"Like you can either." His chest heaved, but his eyes burned steady. "I think I’ll devour you. Make your power mine."

Typhon threw his head back and laughed, the sound splitting the broken earth. "I swear on the River Styx—if you defeat me, I’ll grant you my power. But if you lose..." His grin spread wide, sharp and merciless. "...I’ll make good use of that body of yours."

His grip tightened on his blade. Their eyes locked.

"Let’s end this," they said in unison.

Shadowbane appeared in his hand. Shadows gathered around him, crawling into his flesh, sinking into his soul. His form twisted, growing monstrous—larger, darker, flames of black fire burning off his body.

He raised the blade high. Power bled from every pore.

"Absolute Null."

Across from him, Typhon spread his arms wide. The sky split, clouds torn apart, earth shattering beneath his weight. Fire, storm, flood, quake—every disaster born at once.

"Storm Cataclysm!"

The world itself collided.

The ground tore open, oceans rose, and hurricanes swallowed the sky. Waves slammed into waves, breaking the island apart. Typhon’s attack bore down harder, a storm of pure chaos, slowly overwhelming him.

Shadows clawed at the earth, dragging everything in. Shadowbane shook in his grip, the force threatening to break through his defenses.

For a moment, Typhon’s storm seemed unstoppable.

But while his focus held on breaking him, he didn’t see it—until it was too late.

From behind, massive shadows rose, coiling into a tide. They swallowed him whole, dragging his colossal form into the dark.

Weak from the clash, Typhon struggled. Chains of shadow wrapped tight around him, crushing, compressing, folding his vast frame smaller and smaller until all that remained was a single, pulsing prism of shadow.

He stepped forward. His hand closed around it.

Without hesitation, he devoured it.

His back slammed against the ground, eyes shutting for a moment.

Typhon’s voice rumbled through the silence. "You stupid brat... you cheated."

He laughed, breath ragged. "Cheated? Maybe. But it’s the only way I could deal with you. I know it’s not so prideful, but I had no other option. You’re a monster."

He smirked faintly, blood on his lips. "Besides... you swore on the River Styx. I didn’t."

"It’s not too bad," he muttered, voice trailing lower. Then his eyes narrowed, sharp. "But if you lend me your power, I’ll put your soul into a real body."

That made Typhon pause. "...Really?"

"Yeah," he said, his tone flat but steady. "I swear it. On the River Styx."

Typhon let out a guttural laugh, half-wounded, half-thrilled. "You’d better not break your word, boy."

"I won’t." His eyes closed again, his body finally sinking into the dirt. "Now... let me sleep."

The chains dissolved back into shadow, the oath sealed.