Reborn As A Ghost: Time To Build My Undead Army!-Chapter 1888: Hercules
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"{Heavenly Blood Demon Style}: {First Form – Absolute Oppression}"
CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!
"W-Wha...?!"
Crack, crack...!
CRASH!
In a split second, Jonathan was struck a hundred times. His armor and sword shattered into fragments, and his body broke apart.
"AAAAAAGH!"
Jonathan screamed in agony as his bones snapped and chunks of flesh tore free from his frame. He raised his right arm to shield himself, sacrificing it—Hercules obliterated the limb into countless pieces.
BOOOM!
A massive explosion erupted across Jonathan’s body. Each of Hercules’ blows had imprinted a demonic cursed rune; now they unified into a single devastating blast.
"J-Jonathan!" Nia cried as she watched the hero plummet, one arm gone and countless bones shattered.
"Hm! Indeed, he is the strongest—to think he endured my first form, haha!" Hercules laughed cheerfully. "Now then! Who’s next? The lady over there? Come at me!"
"Mama! I’ll go heal Uncle Jonathan!" Celes rushed downward toward the falling hero.
"Ah, a child, huh? I hate fighting kids," Hercules sighed. "But my father said I cannot let you interfere with our plan, so... sorry!"
"C-Celes, wait! Don’t be reckless!"
Nia watched in horror as the demonic vampire charged straight for her son.
Time seemed to freeze.
Adrenaline surged through her veins.
If Jonathan had been reduced to that state from a single technique...
Her son...
Would explode into pieces and die instantly!
"No...! No...! No!"
In that desperate instant, her spear responded to her heart and fused into her very being.
RUMBLE!
Feathers sprouted across her body as she assumed a majestic, divine form.
FLASH!
A tornado of windstorms and thunderstorms roared downward, shielding her son and forcing Hercules back for a few precious seconds.
"Don’t you dare touch my son!"
In a heartbeat, Nia closed the distance. Two spears of wind and thunder materialized in her hands and struck Hercules without pause.
CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!
"Hah...! Not too shabby! But even then, you lack muscle, lady..."
"...?!"
Nia’s eyes widened as Hercules caught every attack effortlessly with his bare hands.
And then...
"You’re worthy of my technique, nonetheless."
His tattoos flared.
"{Heavenly Blood Demon Style}: {First Form – Absolute Oppression}"
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Explosions.
Every single punch was a compressed, devastating blast.
"Aaaaahhh!"
Nia screamed in horror and pain. Her arms tore away and detonated; dozens of bleeding holes riddled her body.
"M-Mom?"
Celes stared in disbelief as his mother fell from the sky.
"...Hah! Well, that was refreshing. I haven’t hit a woman in a while," Hercules said. "Now, kid... I’ll just kick you away. Survive and you were meant to; if not... whatever."
Hercules charged toward Celes, his leg surging with demonic and blood energy.
Celes looked up at the approaching monster.
His eyes turned blue, then his skin.
TRUUUM!
A spiraling explosion of water erupted from his entire body. The boy—once human—evolved into a Divine Sea Spirit.
"Hm? Now what’s this power—"
"DIE!!!"
Celes screamed through tears. His water coalesced into hundreds of gigantic tridents that assaulted Hercules from every direction.
"Nngh?! Ohohoh!"
Hercules laughed cheerfully as the onslaught hit, then swiftly formed a yin-yang symbol with his aura.
Bright and dark energies surged from both fists...
"{Heavenly Blood Demon Style}: {Second Form – Collapsing Dual Fist}"
He thrust both fists forward. A colossal shockwave of energy erupted, shattering Celes’ spiritual water and smashing his body instead.
BOOOM!
Celes exploded into water, raining across the city below.
"Well, well, that’s about it."
Hercules laughed as he sensed several presences rushing toward him at once.
"Damn it! Bastard!"
"Ugh, we should’ve charged together!"
Two dragons arrived—Brunhild clad in red scales and flames, Violet in purple crystal scales overflowing with darkness and shadows.
"HAAAAH!"
Both roared in unison, unleashing their Dream Weapons and striking with powerful martial arts in their full dragon forms.
"Now this is more impressive! Dragons! Yes! I thought your kind went extinct! To think so many still remain! Hahahaha!"
Hercules laughed, catching their attacks bare-handed and countering with ease. To him they were like children play-acting at martial arts.
Their strikes lacked dexterity, mastery, and experience. Not long ago these dragons had relied solely on raw draconic power since birth.
"Not bad, but not good either!"
Hercules advanced swiftly. His techniques blended seamlessly with natural movement; his aura rose steadily, matching his foes’ level.
And then...
"I got you!"
With a wicked smile beneath his mask, Hercules unleashed a lethal strike!
"{Heavenly Blood Demon Style}: {Third Form – Twin Dragon Fang}"
His hands transformed. Aura coiled around them and closed toward the dragons’ chests like the fangs of a titanic dragon akin to Lucifer.
CRAAASH!
"A-Ah...!"
"W-Wha...?!"
Massive holes exploded through Brunhild’s and Violet’s chests.
Unable to react, they fell.
All of it happened in mere seconds.
At the same moment, a skeleton knight charged alongside several others.
They had planned a simultaneous assault, but the dragons had rushed ahead and paid the price.
Darkbound’s ghostly blade struck first from above.
BOOOM!
Takeshi and Laura attacked from left and right.
Takeshi summoned dozens of serpents from his Ocean Domain; his fishing rod lashed out, seeking to pierce Hercules’ skin.
Laura charged destructive force into her fists, merging it with her manifested gauntlets—her Dream Weapons—and unleashed heavenly demon techniques.
Tear and Veredorr fused. The ice titan allowed Veredorr to "possess" her, gaining immense spiritual power and temporarily evolving to an extraordinary new level.
She swung her pair of frost axes—both Dream Weapons—from below, aiming for Hercules’ groin.
They fought not because they believed they could win, but to buy Alma time to heal the fallen.
"Hoho, yes! Come to me! Fight me! Try to kill me! HAHAHAHAHA!"
Hercules laughed wildly. His fists moved in a blur—intercepting Darkbound’s sword and shattering his skull with a punch, grasping Takeshi’s sea serpents and crushing them before blasting the boy away with an energy shockwave, blocking Laura’s explosive fists and smashing her face—leaving her toothless, one-eyed, nose crushed, jaw broken—then shrugging off Tear’s freezing assault with raw force, stomping her face, and sending her crashing downward.
"Huh! Wait, that’s it?!" Hercules scanned the area, realizing he had defeated them all. "Hmm, what to do now— Ah!"
His face brightened beneath the mask as he saw four god vessels rushing toward him—four gods who had descended into mortal bodies to confront him.
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