"Pimp, bro!" Percy was the first to react to Ocean Song's arrival.
Frankly, most of the kids were just too exhausted to even talk at this point.
And Ares, contrary to his attitude moments prior, was uncharacteristically silent as he sized up Ocean Song.
"Percy, Tyson, Malcolm." Ocean Song smiled lightly as he greeted the ones he knew. "It's good to see you three."
He wasn't oblivious to their state, but he couldn't go over and fuss over them at the moment. Not with such a foe staring him down.
Tyson looked worse, and anger bubbled up in Ocean Song's chest, but he forcibly pushed it back down for now.
He knew his junior brother would be alright; beaten and bloodied, he would heal. For now, he was able to stand back up, and he was still breathing; it was enough.
"Bawhooo!"
"And you too, of course, Nessie."
Percy, having gained a second wind, was about to open his mouth again, but he noticed something odd about his brother. His clothes looked singed, burned in some places. Not only that, but when his brother's robes billowed—despite there being no strong breeze—he could see some charred and blackened skin on his arms.
"I apologize for arriving late; I came as soon as I found out." Ocean Song stated, his eyes never leaving the God of War's.
He had become accustomed to having his Divine Sense sweep out periodically while he was carrying Lyra across the country.
He noticed the commotion from dozens of miles out and flew here as fast as he could, ignoring everything else.
The Sky was not accommodating.
"You all did well; allow me to take things from here." Ocean Song Declared. "Towards the south exit of this park, there is a young girl waiting; please take her with you."
"They're not going anywhere." Ares spoke for the first time, though he didn't focus on the kids behind Ocean Song; he snapped his fingers, and a great many more of his 'Bikers' appeared out of black mist, surrounding them all.
To be honest, Ares didn't really care about the kids anymore. Well, he just needed one or two to stuff the bag of stolen goods in their hands. But otherwise, they were utterly insignificant. He only spoke up just now because he felt challenged and responded in kind.
Someone didn't get to come around and tell him what to do; in that, he told the kids to leave.
"I didn't allow them to leave." Ares said plainly.
Ocean Song didn't respond immediately; instead, he looked up at the sky.
A raindrop fell down and splashed across his cheek. In one fluid motion, Ocean Song raised his arm out, extended fully as his sword hung in the air, parallel to the ground.
Ares tilted his head slightly in confusion.
However, Percy saw it clearly. The churning of his divine blood resulted in him feeling it before it happened.
A single drop of rain seemed to fall from the sky, different from the others. It landed at the tip of Ocean Song's sword. Against all logic, it was loud enough to be heard by the naked ear as it plopped against his weapon.
A blue hue enveloped his sword, and with a flick of his wrist, the single raindrop turned into hundreds of tiny needles and shot off at each and every summoned minion of Hades.
The kids only felt a faint wisp of wind pass them by as every biker fell simultaneously.
"Fellow Daoist, you were saying?" Ocean Song looked back at Ares.
Ares narrowed his eyes.
It was rare for him to be so…insulted openly like this.
Yet he didn't act out of rage.
It was equally rare that Ares had an opponent he recognized as worthy.
However, there was one prevailing thought within his mind. As much as he would love a bloody fight to the death, he had a job to finish.
"I couldn't tell before, but you're something special, aren't you?" Ares examined Ocean Song properly this time. "You know, there are rules. Gods have to…limit themselves. We can't just go around killing brats as we like. But there's an exception to that, did you know? When we're challenged. Oh, if it's one of the brats, I'd still have to hold back. But when a monster challenges me?" His lips slowly pulled into a big grin. "Well, let's just say that I don't have to hold back as much."
There was a simple answer to all his problems.
He could get everything he wanted and not have to deal with the annoying kids anymore. At the very least, he couldn't let them run away; at best, he could still just blame them and say something like, 'They got caught up in a fight he couldn't hold back in.'
"Hey kids, have you ever seen a god's Divine Form before?" Ares laughed, and the skin on his face cracked as a baleful red hue shined outwards.
Ocean Song's eyes widened. "Close your eyes—!"
The world was filled with a crimson hue, and the kids screamed.
It was barely a glimpse, yet their eyes were burned away completely. They all fell to the ground, clutching their faces, crying out, and wailing as they thrashed on the ground.
"Domain Expansion—All things in this universe are equal."
For the kids, the searing pain that went down to their very souls abruptly dissipated. The feeling of their eyes quite literally melting out of their sockets had likewise disappeared. That agonizing pain was seared into their minds but only lasted a brief moment.
They hesitantly opened their eyes to realize they could still see, that they still had eyes.
What surprised them the most wasn't this, though.
It was like the world was split into two.
Below them, a black and white symbol rotated, surging with power. All around them, it was as if they were at the center of the universe.
Ocean Song stood in front of them protectively, shielding them from the might of Ares' divine form.
They can barely see it opposite him.
The crimson light, vaguely in the form of a person, was pressing down all around them, but it couldn't reach them.
"The true form of a god is not something a mortal should behold." Ocean Song stated, as he knew they were confused as to what just happened.
When they glanced up, they saw it.
Ocean Song's eyes were closed, and blood dripped down his face.
"Pimp Bro, your eyes…" Percy whispered.
Ocean Song just smiled. "Watch, this is a rare sight. It is not simply a battle of power, but a battle between our Dao."
Ocean Song didn't explain. His Dao of Yin-Yang: to balance the Universe, there is always a cost. To remove one's suffering is to take it upon yourself.
The Divine Power of Ares continued to press down like a mountain, yet the 'world' around them was unwavering. They could see the vibrations, the subtly shifting of the stars around them, yet there was no sign of it collapsing.
"My heart, unwavering." Ocean Song Declared, taking a heavy step forward. "My Dao, Eternal." His Domain pushed back, pressing back against Ares. "Equalize."
As soon as he declared the word, the world around him shifted again. The Tai-Chi on the ground spun rapidly, swirling together all the errant energies. Like an all-consuming vortex, it swallowed up everything around them as it shrunk continuously until it landed into the palm of Ocean Song's hand.
He looked up at Ares and smiled as he pushed it forward.
The Tai-Chi collided with the God of War's divine form, and the unbelievable happened. His all-encompassing divine nature was forced back, snapped back into place. Forced back into its normal 'container.'
Ares didn't have a spare moment to understand what just happened; his body arched, and the power sent him hurling backwards away from the group, disappearing from sight.
"Go, flee now." Ocean Song stated, gesturing to them. "Nessie, watch over them."
The kids didn't have any time to process, as if their legs carried them without their brain's orders. Ocean Song nodded to himself as the kids disappeared from sight, running the opposite direction as the very angry tremor in front of him.
An angry god returned at this point.
Ares slammed into the earth in front of Ocean Song, who didn't even react as pieces of earth flew past him.
"You!?" Ares was having trouble finding the right words. It was rare for a god like him to be dumbfounded. "You forced me out of my Divine Form?!"
The words were laced with both anger and confusion.
At this point, he wasn't even looking at the group running away.
"At best, you're a minor god!" Ares honestly couldn't tell what the fuck Ocean Song was. Was he a god, a minor god, or something close to it? "That's impossible." He hissed. "I am an Olympian."
"I wonder, fellow Daoist. Do I still look like an ant in your eyes?" Ocean Song asked. "My Dao is Yin-Yang, Universal Balance. Balance is achieved through the principle of equalization. You are invited to evaluate my Dao, fellow Daoist." Ocean Song casually put a hand behind his back as the other held his sword at his side.
Ares was still confused; he had no idea what Ocean Song was even talking about, but it sounded insulting.
He clenched his teeth, glaring towards Ocean Song. "Whatever you did, you can't do it again, can you? You're not feeling too hot now, are you?"
"To balance Heaven and Earth, one must bear the weight of both." Ocean Song didn't deny it.
He had made use of his Dao far beyond what his cultivation base should have allowed for. He wouldn't be able to use his Domain Expansion for the time being or for a period in the future.
His opponent was stronger than the last. However, his cultivation was also higher than last time. One should not underestimate the power increase that a minor realm brings. The Ocean Song of the Middle Stages of the Nascent Soul Realm would convincingly defeat his Early Nascent Soul Realm self.
The most important benefit, of course, was his increased Dao insights he had gained, but he was still not at the Dao Seeking Realm.
And truth be told, he only forced Ares back to his 'normal' form for a small period. At the cost of not being able to utilize his Domain for perhaps a few months and a significant portion of his stamina and Qi, he could only force Ares back for maybe ten minutes, at best.
The only reason it worked so well was because Ares didn't expect it and heavily underestimated Ocean Song.
All these concepts allowed him to perform a feat far beyond his cultivation level, but at great cost.
"You're still an insignificant ant!" Ares growled and lunged at him, sword in hand.
Ocean Song deflected his slash, with a shockwave erupting at the collision of weapons. It caused the nearby trees and the earth beneath their feet to become uprooted and blown away.
However, Ocean Song frowned because he knew he lost in 'power' in that exchange even if he deflected it.
The God of War was no weak foe.
Each of his attacks threatened heaven and earth. Ocean Song kept up as best as he could, each cataclysmic collision turning the park into a barren wasteland.
"I have to admit, monster!" Ares' grin turned maniacal as he slashed again, cutting a huge gorge into the earth below them. "I didn't expect you to be this skilled! I can see where that other brat learned from!"
Ocean Song sidestepped it, using the most minimal energy needed to dodge, and gathered his Qi, thrusting his blade back.
Ares raised his blade to blade it, and he let out an audible "oof" as it impacted, but he barely skirted back a few steps before just continuing to grin and charging back at him.
"And fighting me while blind too!" Ares managed to draw blood on his next swing, a shallow wound across his chest.
Ocean Song's eyelids were still shut tight. He frowned and grabbed his blade with both hands, putting in a large amount of his Qi reserves to swing downwards.
Ares braced himself; as with another cataclysmic booming of steel as the two weapons met, the ground under Ares' feet cracked and shattered.
"Oh, what's wrong? Touch a nerve?" Ares laughed, having the time of his life. He grabbed Ocean Song's sheathed sword barehanded, something he wouldn't have thought twice about, but he was momentarily surprised that it still cut into his palm. But he still pulled it forward and slammed his head into the Cyclops'.
Ocean Song stumbled back but quickly regained his clarity. "Ocean Sword, First Form—Crashing Waves!"
Ares' eyes widened as his own godly power surged out to meet it.
It was like the world was split again into a red and blue as the two powers collided. Even the 'seal' above them that Ares placed to keep out eavesdroppers of a divine nature began to tear at the seams.
The ripples of the two sides caused even the storm clouds above to split down the middle.
His blade slashed through the 'attack,' but he couldn't negate all of it as it slammed into his chest. The God of War was knocked backwards, hitting the ground a few times before rolling to a stop.
However, he was far from out.
He barely stayed down for a second before climbing back up to his feet.
Ares looked down at his blade, shattered at the hilt, and unconsciously he threw up a mouthful of divine blood before wiping his mouth.
The golden ichor that was his godly blood caused the ground to sizzle, as it contained his bloodlust.
"Nice hit." Ares breathed out. "I feel like I can get serious now." He tossed away the shattered blade and called out a much more menacing spear. It radiated blood and death, and countless numbers of lives had been lost to the weapon.
Around his body, an equally baleful and menacing armor enveloped him, black and red that glowed with divine light.
Ocean Song was breathing heavier.
He was already nearly running on empty.
It wasn't merely just armor and a new weapon he held. His power had increased noticeably, as if he was straining his 'vessel' to its upmost limits.
This wasn't like Thor, who used a 'full' attack at the limits of his vessel without assuming his divine form.
This was Ares pulling in every ounce of power he could without his current vessel popping immediately, even if it began to fray at the seams.
Ocean Song barely had time to react before an armored-covered knee slammed into his face. As painful as it was, he gritted his teeth and swung his entire body to dodge a spear thrust that followed it up.
His instincts had him swing up his sword to deflect another, barely parrying the spear away from his face.
He was 'seeing' through his Divine Sense, but it felt like his Divine Sense was starting to fizzle as well.
It was making it harder to keep up.
An armored fist connected with his cheek, but he threw his own punch, his own having much less of an effect, barely phasing the God of War while he was thrown to the ground.
A swing of his spear collided with the half-prone Ocean Song, lifting him up off the ground and sending him tumbling across the scorched and barren earth.
Ares whistled as he walked towards the spot Ocean Song's body had landed. The Cyclops pushed himself back up to his feet, sword in hand as he swung it defiantly.
Ares was genuinely surprised that he still had to block it, but he casually pushed it to the side and swung the butt of his spear at the side of Ocean Song's head, knocking him down again.
"You see now?" Ares Song knelt down, talking rather calmly despite everything. "Alright, maybe you're not an ant, but it's all the same."
He swept his arms around. "I'm still a god, you're…small, brat. Do you want to know how the gods see you and all those like you? We don't. You're a tiny grain of sand in a desert, barely even worth acknowledging. Alright, you're a slightly bigger grain of sand, but that's it."
He spoke Ocean Song with the butt of his spear, particularly hard, with a bit of a sadistic grin on his face as he did.
"What, got nothing cheeky left to say? No more random bullshit you want to throw out?"
Ocean Song looked up, and in one fluid motion, he threw a punch at the face of the God of War. Ares was going to slap it away casually, but a surge of power erupted around Ocean Song.
The God of War saw his third eye open, and suddenly his power increased dramatically.
He was taken off guard as Ocean Song's fist met the side of his helmet, lifting Ares up off the ground and sending him flying away.
He had been hiding that trump card of his to land a solid blow.
Ares felt his head jumbled for a moment but stood back from him. There was now a newfound dent on his helmet, making him look rather comical, as it plainly showed the outline of a fist.
Ocean Song let out panting breaths, followed by a mouthful of blood as he wobbled to his feet.
"Even if a pearl is the size of a grain of sand, it can still shine radiantly." He stood up straight. "I'm small? Then allow me to rectify myself in your view." Once more, a Tai-Chi symbol expanded out of Ocean Song. It wasn't his domain but an expression of his Dao. "One thought splits into Yin and Yang; even if there were another one of you, I could fight you both at the same time!" He declared as a second Ocean Song appeared opposite him.
One of Yin, one of Yang.
One housed his demon nature, the other his divine nature.
"What!?" Ares was taken aback again, but the Demonic Ocean Song launched itself at him, carrying the full weight of his Demonic Strength.
Ares felt the full force of his physical might as Demonic Ocean Song's fist landed on the chest of his armor.
The other Ocean Song didn't stand to the side; he was already behind Ares, swinging his sword down as a crashing wave slammed into the God of War.
Ares let out a roar as he felt the blade push through his armor and into his skin. He grabbed the Demonic Ocean Song, throwing him to the side, before spinning his body and hitting the sword-wielding Ocean Song with the shaft of his spear.
But just as quickly they jumped back at him.
Demonic Ocean Song grabbed him from behind, holding him in place. The other Ocean Song shot at him, thrusting his sword at his heart.
Ares scoffed, elbowing the Demonic Ocean song, causing his face to splatter with blood before throwing him at his copy, knocking the two of them down.
"Take my Super Dragon Fist!" Demonic Ocean Song roared, reeling his fist back, only to throw a kick.
Ares, momentarily stunned, missed the sword quite literally thrown at his head. Not sharply, it spun through the air; the hilt smacked his helmet with enough force that it whipped his head back and stunned him physically for a single breath.
The kick landed on his chest, and he felt the vibrations through his armor and into his stomach.
The other Ocean Song recovered his blade before it hit the ground and slashed down the back of the God of War.
Ares let out a howl, divine blood splattering outwards.
With a roar, his Divine power erupted outwards; both Ocean Songs couldn't dodge it in time, and they felt the full force of his divine nature slam into them.
Divine Ocean Song found himself on the ground some dozens of yards away, his head spinning as he reoriented himself. He tried to stand up, but he fell over, his legs wobbling a few times before he could regain his footing.
He could see his other half still throwing itself at him.
He was about to rejoin the fight, but he looked down at his feet and saw something strange.
Why was there a bag here?
How did a bag survive the battle so far? This place was quite literally a wasteland at this point, yet there was still a fully intact bag.
Ocean Song picked it up.
Ares paused, feeling a strange sense of foreboding. He didn't even look as he dodged another punch and simply grabbed Demonic Ocean Song by the face and slammed him into the ground.
His gaze then landed on the other Ocean Song.
"...put that down." Ares said firmly.
Ocean Song looked up at Ares, not putting it down. "What's inside?"
"Nothing."
Ocean Song opened it and pulled out Zeus's Divine Weapon. The famous Lightning Bolt, the weapon that made nuclear bombs look like firecrackers.
Ocean Song now held it in his hand.
"....."
"..."
Ocean Song pointed it at Ares.
"Don't—!"
The world then became filled with Lightning.
It was hard for either of them to tell what happened. In fact, both Ocean Songs snapped back together as they were originally; he could faintly recall his Demonic Half getting completely eviscerated by Lightning.
The sky above them for miles had been cleared.
The 'sealing' around the area had been completely destroyed as well.
Ocean Song was only faring well because he had unleashed it, but despite that, he felt his arms numb, barely able to even lift them.
Finally, he raised his head; his weak Divine Sense swept out, and he could faintly see Ares still there.
Standing would be generous.
He was barely on a knee; most of his armor had been utterly destroyed, his body cracked and charred, and his spear was nowhere in sight.
"You…bastard." Ares breathed out, throwing up a mouthful of blood.
Funnily enough, they were both about equal now.
Ocean Song praised his own Dao for letting him bring the God of War down to his level.
As much as he wanted to lift up the Lightning Bolt again, he feared he didn't have the strength to wield it even partially without dying completely.
The two of them, strangely, didn't need words to be said.
The fight hadn't ended.
They were both ready to fight to the end.
However, Ocean Song's 'gaze' turned slightly, confusion warped his face, and Ares must have noticed it as well.
Well, he noticed Ocean Song turning his attention away and also the large shadow looming over him that suddenly appeared.
Ares turned his head to see Nessie staring at him, and she was holding something in her mouth.
"What the fuck!?" Ares blurted out.
Nessie spit Hera's Golden Apple Tree on top of him. "Bawhoooo!" She cried out triumphantly before disappearing.
Ares confusingly looked around, then looked at Ocean Song.
"..."
"...."
"Don't—!"
"Great Goddess Hera! I found your Golden Apple Tree and the thief who stole it!" Ocean Song yelled at the top of his lungs.
Without a moment to prepare, a very angry gaze now turned towards him, and it narrowed in right on Ares with the proverbial hand in the cookie jar.
"Ares!" Hera roared from Mount Olympus, enough to shake the world around them.
Ares wasn't sure what was higher at this point.
The hate he felt towards Ocean Song or the fear towards Hera.
No, that wasn't right.
He realized the answer to that question immediately.
It came with the hand of his mother reaching through space to grab him by the throat.
His mother—he feared his mother much more right now.
[Line Break]
A/N
It was completely calculated and planned, like a proper cultivator does.
If you want to read 1 chapter ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone
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