The Fourth Beast

39

Pandemonium

VI

Arjuna

12 hours before Great Red's imprisonment

4 hours after the Academy's lockdown

The moment they came near the Greek base, Arjuna had a foreboding feeling as if someone was standing just outside his vision. He was never the type to dismiss his intuition, no matter how absurd it might sound to others.

His first assumption was that either they were assassins or scouts from the Greek; of course, they could be from other unknown parties. And since every time they used any type of spell to scan the surroundings, this feeling would disappear completely. Arjuna concluded that whoever was trying to tailgate them wasn't powerful enough to intercept their team.

He was also aware of the possibility that other Big Ones from the Greek faction may enter Grigori's territories since Ares had already done so.

He and everyone else were aware that they were carrying out an extremely dangerous mission on a highly alerted enemy base. And it wasn't a mere scouting mission.

That was why, they created a small team packed with the strongest heavy hitters.

That was why, they took one and a half hours to just scout the base and every territory around it.

That was why, all of them went all out right from the start to finish this mission as quickly as possible.

And yet, they were caught by someone they shouldn't face.

Hades, the God of the Realm of the Dead, one of the Big Three of the Greeks, and the only one of the Greek faction who still retained his power and position even after the fall of Olympus until to this day.

The moment he appeared in front of them, in his Godly form without holding back, Arjuna felt a primal fear distorting his every sense. All of his willpower was being used just to breathe and stand. He noticed that Tobio, who immediately came out from the base at the first sign of trouble, and Lavinia were already on their knees and Vali was frozen on his spot.

The only reason Arjuna was slightly in better condition was because the blood of Indra, the King of the Gods and Lord of Heaven, flowed through his veins.

Yes, he was the Son of Indra and had met multiple Gods and Individuals who were much stronger than Hades, but never in their Godly form. After all, standing before certain Gods in their full power would have crippled him permanently even though he was a Demi-God.

And since Hades decided to enter the battlefield in his Godly form, it meant he wasn't here for small talks.

Then, without uttering a single word, Hades waved his staff.

There was no grandeur motion, no over-the-top spell casting, no flexing of Divinity... Hades waved his staff as if he was flicking off some bugs. But the power behind that motion...

All colors were erased from the world. And from the dark and desolate, they started to pour out. Skeletons and shades screaming and devouring everything in their path. And the fear that gripped Arjuna before intensified to the point where he could just stand and watch.

It lasted barely for a moment as something resonated within him, releasing an untold amount of Divinity and destroying the fear that paralyzed him.

Arjuna took a deep breath as the colors returned to the world. And he realized what happened.

"Vasavi Shakti," The spear of Light that was granted to him by his father. When the Divine Weapon realized that Arjuna's life was in dire danger, it sprung to action; empowering Arjuna's Divinity which removed the 'Fear' caused by Hades' True Form and covered him with its own Divine power to shield him from the incoming attack.