A deep black cloud of smoke and dust rose inside the arena, and a powerful shockwave swept in all directions.
The violent slashing waves nearly cut apart all the black platforms covered in deep scars.
Hades took one step forward, causing the already shattered ground to once again shake as surging lava rose several meters high.
He emerged from the black mist, swung his spear, and slashed through the arena, cutting apart a batch of broken rock walls.
Viktor transformed into a surging stream of water, deftly passing through the overwhelming spears of flame before finally landing on a pile of shattered rocks.
Beneath his feet, the black rocks slowly floated up and tightly wrapped themselves around his arms.
The rocks gradually contracted, forming a massive stone fist.
It drew a pitch-black afterimage through the air and slammed hard into Hades's broad back, which was wrapped in flames.
Bang!
The deep shockwave scattered the fragments of rock across the ground.
Sharp pieces of rock burst through the air like meteors, embedding themselves one after another in the center of the black platform.
The terrifying impact caused the center of the land to tremble, and even the surging lava seemed to freeze for a second.
Hades widened his eyes, feeling as though his bones were bending under the powerful impact, while an intense pressure spread throughout his entire body.
The two continued exchanging blows, terrifying shockwaves and scorching waves of heat tearing relentlessly through this utterly insane arena.
Every fierce collision made the ghosts in the stands cheer.
Their cries nearly overturned the entire starry sky, echoing throughout the upper levels of Hell.
Wave after wave of cheers made the arena even more chaotic, while the two fought with greater frequency and force.
But after a bout of fierce combat, Viktor's body transformed into flames and retreated.
He slowly raised his head and looked at Hades's long health bar. It had not even fallen to one-tenth.
However, Viktor was not surprised.
Because gods had always been the hardest bosses to challenge.
And this was not only reflected in their special mechanics.
[Intermittent Illusion] would not appear in domains that ordinary humans could never enter, such as the domain of a god.
And the Underworld was equivalent to Hades's own domain.
Likewise, Hades, the well-behaved God King of the Underworld, would not trigger [Intermittent Illusion] in his Underworld.
Therefore, Viktor did not need to spend any effort dealing with the illusion buff on Hades.
Even so, the various attributes of gods were absolutely existences that surpassed all other living creatures.
They were so-called "stat monsters."
Especially someone like Hades, who was one of the few God Kings even among the gods.
Even among all the gods, he was one of the strongest bosses.
Don't be fooled by how Viktor seemed to have the advantage now, appearing relaxed and at ease in his battle against a god.
In reality, the Hades before him had only displayed one-tenth of his strength at his peak.
That's right. The special "10%" that had appeared beside this God King's name back then represented only one-tenth of Hades's power.
And with just this one-tenth of his attributes, Viktor had already been fighting Hades for a long time, yet the other side had barely lost any health.
More importantly, even if Hades's entire health bar were depleted, it would still be impossible to truly kill him.
As the Lord of the Underworld, Hades not only possessed abilities whose numerical values surpassed those of other creatures, but also had a unique and terrifying mechanic, while in combat, Hades could revive nine times.
Every time he died, Hades would revive in Tartarus.
All of his attributes would increase by ten percent after each resurrection, and even his level would rise by one tier.
After going through nine cycles of death, Hades would completely recover to his peak state, and his level would also reach the maximum of level eighty.
Therefore, Viktor simply could not defeat Hades directly here.
More importantly, he had only just entered the Underworld. It was ultimately still somewhat unrealistic for him to fight this God King to the end.
Viktor lowered his head and looked at the body he was currently using, falling into thought.
He currently had no physical body, and he could not occupy and use Erika's body for a long period.
Otherwise, Erika's soul would be unable to return to her body and might fall into a prolonged state of suspended death.
At that point, he would truly have replaced Erika.
He did not want to do that.
At this moment, Hades stood on the other side of the arena. Seeing Viktor stop attacking, he also stood still.
As a God King, he possessed a pride that belonged solely to him.
In battle, he would absolutely never launch a sneak attack on a challenger.
Thus, Hades stood motionless, steadily placing his towering spear beside him.
The gold-trimmed end of the spear planted itself heavily beside him and sank into the ground.
He folded his arms, while his long, burning beard fluttered slightly as his lips moved.
"What, you don't dare to fight anymore?", he said in a contemptuous tone.
But in truth, this was the first time Hades had ever admired a human like this.
The dog thief before him clearly did not look that strong, yet he was actually able to fight him to a standstill.
Hades had not fought a battle with all his strength like this in a very long time.
Having lived in Tartarus for so long, he had almost forgotten the exhilaration of battle.
Now, fighting Viktor again had actually allowed him to regain the passion he once had for battle.
But unfortunately, this human before him was the thief who had abducted his beloved dog.
So Hades could not forgive him.
At the very least, he planned to throw this little thief into the River Styx, letting him sink into its depths and experience the bone-deep cold.
At the thought of this punishment, a hint of smugness rose in Hades's heart.
There was no doubt that this was the punishment the human before him would find hardest to accept.
After hearing Hades's taunt, Viktor calmly slipped both hands into his pockets.
He raised his head and looked at the towering giant that rose into the sky, a faint smile on his face.
"Of course not, Lord Hades."
When these words reached Hades's ears, he froze slightly.
This dog thief had dared to call him by his real name so arrogantly at first. How had he suddenly become so polite?
Could it be that this little thief had realized he was no match for him, put aside his pride, and begun to respect him?
At this thought, a trace of satisfaction rose in Hades's heart.
So he began to think.
As long as this man returned his beloved dog, perhaps he could let him soak in the River Styx for a few fewer days.
Besides, this human's strength was not bad.
He happened to need a few new subordinates. Perhaps he could consider taking him under his command.
Just as Hades was pondering Viktor's potential value, a cold voice interrupted his thoughts, "Because I'm only buying time."
As soon as these words were spoken, Hades instantly froze as though he had been sealed in ice.
He stared fixedly at the man before him, and a powerful feeling rose in his heart.
As though responding to his guess, the black crow perched on Viktor's shoulder slowly opened its mysterious single eye.
A faint azure light flickered within that deep pupil.
Like a dazzling star, it cast a brilliant ray of light across this land of Hell.
As this light rose, the scorched Hell seemed to be illuminated by a star, making everything clearly visible.
Immediately afterward, a deafening roar echoed throughout the upper levels of Hell.
A heavy dragging sound came from behind Viktor.
The magnificent Gate of Hell behind him actually began to slowly open to both sides.
Scorching wind carrying waves of heat swept across the ground, stirring up countless distorted cries of the dead.
Those chaotic, ear-piercing howls almost pierced through the entire world, causing the countless ghosts on the platforms to tremble.
'This sound.....'
Expressions of fear and confusion appeared on the faces of the ghosts.
However, that distant and mournful sound never stopped, continuing to echo throughout all of Hell.
The sound also entered Hades's ears.
He turned his head toward the sound, his crimson gaze falling upon the distant Gate of Hell.
In an instant, a massive mechanical gate wreathed in flames slowly emerged from beyond the Gate of Hell.
Those mechanical steps surrounded by flames descended layer by layer from the sky, finally standing firmly before the gate engraved with a flaming skull.
Behind the supreme heavenly gate wrapped in flames, millions upon millions of crimson souls clung tightly to its frame.
Despite having their souls torn apart by the mechanical fragments, they continued to roar madly from behind the gate.
It seemed they wanted to pass through that supreme heavenly gate and break into the depths of Hell.
Hades widened his eyes at the sight, shock and disbelief flashing in his crimson pupils.
"Thank you for not closing the Gate of Hell."
Viktor's cold and firm voice rang out, interrupting Hades's astonishment.
Hades's gaze gradually shifted from the astonishing sight to Viktor.
He saw the human standing before those millions of souls, appearing utterly calm.
The black windbreaker behind him seemed to flutter with the scorching waves of heat.
Meanwhile, the hundreds of millions of dead souls climbing the Gate of Hell roared and howled, wanting to pour out from behind Viktor and rush into this world.
The eruptions of flames and lava grew increasingly violent, while the wails of the dead intertwined with the twisting sounds of machinery and the thunderous roar of flames.
Together, they formed a tragic and stirring symphony.
"Giving my tens of millions of 'brothers' a place to stay."