Chapter 387

What a joke! This guy's fighting power is nothing special even for a Gold Saint!

They've been fighting for over an hour now. Oh dear, at the start Gus could send the Phoenix Saint flying into the sky with a single blow, but after using his two ultimate techniques...

He just said, "The same move won't work on a Saint twice," then he deciphered his own move and used a technique called the Phoenix Phantom Magic Fist, leaving Aya Ghos feeling utterly thrilled.

Then he unleashed a Phoenix Wing Sky Soar, shattering his entire Surplice. Is he mistaken about his own? The Surplice of the Three Giants should rival a Gold Saint's defense, yet he smashed his own armor to pieces—what kind of power is this?

Meanwhile, the opponent's Phoenix Bronze Cloth became eerily regenerative—destroyed countless times by Aya Ghos, yet even when reduced to dust, it would restore itself moments later.

"How? Is that all you've got? I'm disappointed." Phoenix Ikki crossed his arms, spoke with a haughty expression.

At the start of the duel, Aya Ghos didn't even consider this Bronze Saint a threat, sending his underlings instead—predictably, they were all defeated by Phoenix Ikki.

At the very least, he could hold his own against a Gold Saint, even facing one of the strongest, Shaka.

In terms of fighting spirit and power, Phoenix Ikki is top-tier; after clearing the opposing Saints, even when facing the mighty Underworld Three Giants' Aya Ghos, the Phoenix Constellation showed no fear and launched into a full-scale battle.

Initially he was indeed at a disadvantage, even being flung into the sky and having a cross drawn on the ground.

But after withstanding two of his attacks, the Phoenix Constellation saw through his moves—first using the Phoenix Phantom Magic Fist to break his will, then following up with a Phoenix Wing Sky Soar that left this seemingly invincible Underworld Giant questioning his existence.

"Damn, impossible—how could I lose to someone like you? How could I lose to a mere Bronze Saint?" Gus, obviously unwilling to accept defeat, charged forward and furiously swung both fists.

Unfortunately, those attacks were futile—his two fists were caught straight away by Phoenix Ikki.

"Forget it—I can't even be bothered to kill you; you're practically a wreck. If you disappeared from my sight now, I might spare you." Phoenix Constellation snorted and sent Aya Ghos flying into the sky with a single punch.

"Ah! Ah! How could this happen? I actually lost to a mere Bronze Saint! Ah!" Gus let out a sudden scream as his whole body was blasted into fragments by a dark energy sphere.

At that moment, a vague humanoid figure appeared before the Phoenix Constellation.

"Who are you?" Phoenix Ikki felt an unimaginable pressure from the vague humanoid, his whole body trembling with fear.

"Heh heh! What a useless waste! As one of my Underworld Three Giants, and even touted as the strongest of them."

"No, no, Lord Underworld King, please give me one more chance—I will definitely defeat the Phoenix Constellation." Aya Ghos' face filled with terror, knowing exactly how Hades would treat those who lose.

He had nothing to say about it, considering Aya Ghos of the Heavenly Mighty Star ranks first among the Three Giants, famed as the strongest and Hades' army's top fighter.

That's why Hades sent him to retrieve his own flesh, but now not only has the Underworld King's body escaped, he himself was defeated by a mere Bronze Saint—utterly embarrassing.

"Hmph! Silence! To be so easily defeated by Athena's Saints, and by a Bronze Saint at that—Aya Ghos, you have no reason to live." The shadowy figure ignored the Phoenix Constellation, waved a hand, and obliterated the fallen Aya Ghos.

"Are you Hades, King of the Underworld?" No wonder I felt such immense pressure—I never expected it to be Hades himself, who seemingly lacks a body, meaning he wants to possess Shun's body? Hah! Delusional—perfect, since no one can harm my brother; I'll take advantage of your lack of form and strike you down here.

"That's right, I am Hades, King of the Underworld, Phoenix Constellation Ikki—or rather, you were once my warrior! The former Heavenly Violent Star, the Phoenix Bird Blaze." Hades suddenly spoke these meaningful words, leaving Phoenix Ikki puzzled.

When he first saw the Phoenix Constellation, he felt a deep familiarity; after seeing him again, Hades finally recognized him as the former Heavenly Violent Star, the Phoenix Bird Blaze from the last Holy War—even his appearance matched that of his past life exactly. Underworld warriors differ from Saints, as Saints are chosen through strict selection.

The essence of an Underworld warrior lies in his Surplice and the demon star residing within it; their strength has little to do with later training, mainly depending on whether their demon star is powerful.

If the inherited demon star is strong enough, even an ordinary person who gains its qualification can instantly become a match for a Gold Saint.

In his previous life, he was chosen by his own Heavenly Violent Star demon star and became that star—unexpectedly, in this era...

... he became a Saint of Athena, and moreover, the Phoenix Constellation had never been born since the mythic age—making him the first Phoenix Saint.

"Would you like to return to my service? I can let you re‑inherit the Surplice of the Heavenly Violent Star and become one of the Underworld Three Giants." Hades' soul said.

"Hmph! I'll never serve you! You've been spouting weird nonsense since the start—take this Phoenix Phantom Magic Fist!" Phoenix Ikki snorted and launched an attack at Hades.

Since the opponent is a spirit, let's use the Phoenix Constellation's signature technique—a mental attack, the Phoenix Phantom Magic Fist—and see how it works on him.

As he threw his punch, Hades' soul snorted, and a mighty divine aura instantly blew the Phoenix Constellation away, shattering most of his Cloth.

"Ah!" A scream escaped Phoenix Ikki as he fell to the ground, his head spinning.

Then the Phoenix Constellation witnessed a bizarre sight: Hades' soul suddenly gained a fleshly form—and that body was none other than his own brother, Shun.

Immediately after, his brother smirked, drew a black sword, and sliced off his own head.

"Ah ah ah! Damn it!" The Phoenix Constellation clutched his head, gasping heavily, realizing what he'd just seen wasn't real but an aftereffect of the Phoenix Phantom Magic Fist.

"Hmph! You dare to throw a punch at a god? Know that attacking a deity is a grave sin—I don't even need to dodge; your attack will simply rebound." Hades' soul snorted.

Unless one attains the Eighth Sense, transcending the laws and the bonds of life and death, no being can challenge a god; before a deity, a human's cosmos is pitifully weak.

"Your body isn't bad; I'll temporarily use it for now. I have no choice—I must make do and hurry to the battlefield."

Hades sought to possess Phoenix Ikki's body, having just felt the cosmos of the Gemini Gods vanish.

Even Poseidon's cosmos had disappeared; I only arrived a little late, and the battlefield underwent such a massive shift—what ace does Athena have up her sleeve?

Even if the 13th Gold Saint, Ophiuchus, awakens, in a one‑on‑one he could only match my Gemini Gods to a draw; with Poseidon present, how could they lose? Moreover, the reason Ophiuchus never awakens during a Holy War is that Athena cannot fully control it, since its power also derives from a god.

Unless Poseidon double‑crosses again, stabbing me in the back while joining Athena's side—his own cosmos vanishing merely because he hid it.

Hades had no more words for the Phoenix Constellation; he simply immobilized its body, intending to take it over first.

At the start of every Holy War, Hades occupies the purest human body in the world.

The main reason is that he doesn't want his soul tainted by a corrupt human body; only the purest human vessel allows him to barely endure the disgust of possession. Don't assume only the purest body lets Hades exert his full power—any human he possesses can still wield great strength.

He avoids other bodies simply due to his personal cleanliness obsession! This Phoenix Constellation, having awakened the Seventh Sense, would make a decent host.

However, as Hades tried to forcefully possess the Phoenix Constellation, a figure descended from the sky, landed beside it, and placed a hand on its body.

"Stay calm, Phoenix Constellation; I'll use my own cosmos to suppress Hades' soul and drive it out of your body." Rhade poured his powerful divine cosmos into the Phoenix Constellation's body.

His own cosmic awareness had been watching this scene; when Hades' soul appeared and attempted to seize the Phoenix Constellation's body, Rhade knew his chance had come.

"Heaven offers a path you refuse to take; hell has no gate, yet you come knocking. Hades, if you came with your own body to fight me, I might still be a bit wary of you."

But you appear before me as a mere spirit—so I won't hold back; using the Phoenix Constellation's body, I will seal your soul completely.

"Ah! Uh..." The Phoenix Constellation clutched his head, collapsing in agony, feeling as if his body would explode; two psychic forces invaded him like heavenly‑earth giants, making him feel utterly tiny and frail.

"Who—what are you? You, too, are a god—why do you oppose me?" Hades' soul exclaimed in surprise.

"I am the god who restored Athena's divine body." Rhade declared.

At this moment, Phoenix Ikki's body, under the invasion of Rhade's and Hades' souls, had reached the brink of collapse.

Rhade could only infuse some life force into the Phoenix Constellation to keep his flesh from totally breaking down.

"This life force—so that's how you repaired Athena's divine body, right? You wretched thing, why help Athena? That filthy woman has sided with humanity against the gods; as a deity you ought to be on my side." Hades said.

At this moment, Hades also discovered that his soul seemed to be bound by some strange power, bound inside the Phoenix Constellation, and the culprit was the god before him.

The opponent likely possesses an ability that can target soul power, but as the Underworld King Hades is also an expert in soul matters; the opponent wants to completely seize his divine soul, but it's not that easy.

"Give up your meaningless struggle! Underworld King Hades, I have already dealt with your Twin Gods and your brother, the Sea Emperor Poseidon." Luode said.

At the same time, Luode also exerted his Soul-Soul Fruit Ability to the fullest, combining it with the power of his God's Small Universe, hoping to suppress Hades' soul.

My Soul-Soul Fruit Ability has always been invincible, even taking the soul of the War God World's Supreme God Zeus, but the Underworld King Hades of the Saint World actually managed to resist my power.

It must be said, as for the Underworld King's expertise in souls, Hades is very high; if I encountered him elsewhere, my Soul-Soul Fruit Ability would fundamentally be unable to shake his soul.

That is, taking advantage of when he tried to seize the Phoenix Constellation, Luode used his Soul-Soul Fruit Ability to forcibly seal Hades within this body.

"Ah! You are, I, I am now in great pain; I feel my whole body is about to burst open." The Phoenix Constellation, with great difficulty, opened his mouth and said.

At this moment, not only his body, but his soul also felt an indescribable pain, as if it were about to be torn apart.

"Stay calm, Phoenix Constellation, remember! Your body belongs to you.

"The Underworld King is merely an outsider; I will use my God's Small Universe and special ability to help you fight." Luode, while comforting the Phoenix Constellation, increased his power output, allowing the Phoenix Constellation to launch a counterattack.

Even if I temporarily sealed Hades within Phoenix Ikki's body, the true master of this body is still Phoenix Ikki.

Only with his help can I completely deal with Hades' divine soul.

"Damn! A mere mortal actually dares to defy me!" The Underworld King Hades snorted coldly, activating his power, intending to completely annihilate the Phoenix Constellation's soul. As long as the Phoenix Constellation's soul is destroyed, I can occupy this body and then deal with the god before me.

"Ah ah! This is my body, Underworld King Hades, you dare not take it; I will surely defeat you." The Phoenix Constellation, gritting his teeth, with the assistance of Luode's God's Small Universe and bolstered by Life Elemental Force, began to counterattack against the Underworld King Hades.

"That's right, just like that, Phoenix Constellation, remember: this body is yours; he is merely an outsider.

"Resist him, defeat him, then let me seal him." Luode continuously provided the Phoenix Constellation with life force, God's Small Universe, and even infused God's Power from the side.

At this moment, the Phoenix Constellation's Cloth, even under Luode's divine power transformation, underwent changes, growing a pair of huge golden wings; the Phoenix's tail feathers became more magnificent and beautiful, and the battle armor even enveloped the entire body, covered with lovely patterns, becoming extraordinarily noble and splendid.

The Phoenix Constellation's God Cloth appeared.

In the confrontation with the Underworld King Hades' soul, the Phoenix Constellation Ikki's Small Universe also reached the Eighth Sense.

Furthermore, Luode infused the Phoenix Constellation with powerful God's Power, God's Small Universe, and continuously poured in Life Energy.

Not only did it change the Phoenix Constellation's body, but it also altered his Bronze Cloth.

With the support of the Eighth Sense Small Universe and God's Power, it directly evolved to the level of God Cloth; with the God Cloth's support and the comprehension of the Eighth Sense Small Universe, the Phoenix Constellation Ikki instantly gained the advantage, suppressing Hades' soul.

"Damn! A mere human, if not for a god helping you, I would have already destroyed your soul.

"Damn, you actually, you actually, you actually awakened the God Cloth! How, how is this possible?" The Underworld King Hades revealed a look of seeing a ghost.

Wanting to evolve one's own Cloth and Underworld Cloth to the level of God Cloth or God Underworld Cloth, besides a powerful Small Universe, there is also a crucial thing: that is God's Blood.

Within God's Blood lies powerful God's Power; only with the support of the Supreme God's God's Power can the Cloth undergo a fundamental change, transforming into battle armor infinitely close to a god.

But the Phoenix Constellation before us likely has not come into contact with God's Blood.

Moreover, this god before us has not given his God's Blood to the Phoenix Constellation.

More importantly, the opponent's God's Blood likely cannot awaken the Phoenix Constellation's God Cloth either, for only the God's Blood of the Forgemaker Athena can achieve that.

Eighty-eight holy armors, only Yatianna is their master; only Yatianna's divine blood can make the holy armors become God Cloths. (End of chapter)