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——
Aetherion looked at Helios standing before him, his fiery orange hair the same length as his own, flowing like living fire.
Helios stood in a firm stance, his golden, gleaming eyes shining as if they contained the sun itself.
Even his body—more muscular than Aetherion's—was just as tall, standing over two meters.
Aetherion smiled lightly and said,
"Can't you see? I was spending some quality time with my little sister."
Though he smiled, a hint of annoyance could be heard in his voice.
Helios simply laughed.
"Hahahaha! Do I look like I care! I wanted to fight you again. After all, I've improved even more,"
he said enthusiastically.
Aetherion shook his head and took his stance.
"Yeah, yeah, I know. You keep growing stronger blah blah blah."
Even though Aetherion tone sounded sarcastic.
He truly meant it.
The first time Aetherion had met Helios—when he sought him as an ally—they had fought.
That fight had been underwhelming.
Aetherion had been disappointed and had even voiced it, calling Helios weak.
He had questioned how someone who possessed the domains of the Sun—the most powerful star, the brightest star that lit the world—could be so soft.
Back then, Helios had been timid and easygoing, almost indifferent to his own strength.
He had simply watched over the sun as it crossed the sky, caring little for himself and focusing only on his family and siblings, enjoying peaceful moments.
But now, he was different.
After that defeat, something had ignited within him.
It was as if the sun in his heart had begun to burn fiercely.
He wanted to surpass Aetherion.
Before Aetherion could think further, Helios moved at light speed.
Sunlight engulfed his body as flames wrapped around his fists.
He unleashed a flurry of punches, each one blazing with heat.
They scraped and burned across Aetherion's body, cutting and scorching his skin—but the wounds regenerated almost instantly.
Still, blood dripped down his chest despite the lack of visible scars.
Helios followed with a high kick aimed at Aetherion's head.
Aetherion ducked low and countered with a sweeping kick, trying to knock Helios off balance.
But Helios leapt into the air, forming a spear of solar fire and hurling it downward.
Aetherion instantly summoned a shield of moonlight and starlight, blocking the attack.
Helios didn't stop.
Using the flames around his body to accelerate, he descended like a meteor, delivering another powerful kick.
Aetherion raised his arms just in time, blocking the strike—but the force still sent him flying hundreds of meters backward.
Helios grinned.
"Truly enjoyable, fighting you—my rival."
He continued attacking relentlessly, punches and kicks raining down.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Aetherion matched him blow for blow.
"Yeah, yeah," Aetherion replied with a smile. "It's fun, isn't it?"
And it truly was.
Very few beings could even put up a fight against Aetherion now—and Helios had grown immensely.
It was honestly impressive.
In truth, Aetherion didn't just see Helios as a rival anymore.
He was a good friend.
They clashed again and again.
Aetherion infused gravity and moonlight into a punch and drove it toward Helios's stomach.
Helios sidestepped, twisting his body and swinging a powerful right hook.
Aetherion ducked beneath it—but Helios followed through, spinning and landing a crushing kick.
Boom! Break!
Aetherion blocked with his arm but was still hurled backward and his arm breaking.
He steadied himself, scratches lining his body, ichor dripping faintly.
But his body regenerated immediately, also fixing his broken arm just as fast.
He shook it off and chuckled.
"Hah… this really is a good fight."
Then, he reached up and removed the cloth covering his eyes.
He knew he had to.
Helios possessed one of the annoying and most troublesome domains—Truth.
It allowed him to see the truth behind an opponent's actions, techniques, and movements, even predicting what they would do next.
That was how Helios had landed the opening blow—descending from the sky and striking with perfect precision.
Only now did Aetherion fully understand how it felt to fight against someone like himself.
Someone who could see attack patterns.
Someone who could read intent.
Someone who knew what you were going to do—before you did it.
It was astonishing.
And irritating.
Aetherion looked around and noticed that the area was still intact despite the clash of fists and kicks.
The battle hadn't caused any real damage, but he did notice something—divine energy was protecting the surrounding nature.
Even the areas that had been slightly damaged were healing almost instantly.
When he looked to his right, about a hundred meters away, Demeter was waving at him and giving him a thumbs-up, wearing an innocent smile.
Aetherion smiled back, a hint of imperial confidence in his expression.
He glanced down at himself.
"Jeez… he really did a number on me, didn't he?"
he muttered.
After all, this was the most damage he had taken in quite some time.
Ironically, the only thing that hadn't been damaged at all was the hood he had received from Metis.
He touched it lightly.
"Hm. Quite durable, isn't it?"
he muttered with a small chuckle.
Finally, he refocused on his opponent.
Helios stood before him, wearing a smug, cocky grin.
"What? Don't tell me you're already giving up?" Helios teased, waving his hand invitingly. "Ha! What a shame!"
Aetherion smiled faintly.
"Don't worry. I'll give you my full might now."
He immediately reinforced his body with earth, making himself tougher—almost unbreakable.
Moonlight and starlight surged through him as well, increasing his speed to beyond light itself.
With crushing force, Aetherion launched forward and threw a punch at Helios.
Helios let out a wide grin.
"Yeah! Finally!"
He threw a punch of his own, both of them moving faster than light.
But before their fists could collide—
A golden shield suddenly formed between them.
The impact was halted instantly, preventing the shockwave from tearing across the island and potentially destroying it.
The ground beneath them glowed faintly as golden light spread outward.
Both Aetherion and Helios froze and looked downward in confusion.
Then, a beautiful and ethereal voice echoed through the air:
[Divine law: Thy who start a fight, shall experience the punishment of pain.]
Golden light chains suddenly wrapped around Helios—not Aetherion.
Helios' eyes widened in horror as the divine chains tightened around him.
"Oh—! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Hey—hey!" he shouted as pain coursed through his body, his voice cracking. "It hurts!"
Aetherion wiped sweat from his forehead and stiffened as the voice spoke again:
"You two idiots—do you want to destroy this entire island?"
Aetherion turned toward the source of the voice.
There stood two women.
One wore a cloth similar in design to his own.
She had pale blonde hair—almost white—flowing gently down her back, her presence calm yet overwhelming.
Beside her stood another woman with golden hair and royal purple eyes.
She was breathtaking—unnaturally so.
It felt as though the world itself gravitated toward her.
Aetherion let out a nervous laugh.
"Oh, Hera, Themis—it's good to see you."
He immediately dispelled the divine energy surrounding his body and glanced toward Helios, who was still writhing in pain.
"Ah—damn it! Let me go! Please! I just wanted a fight!"
Helios groaned as the punishment continued.
Aetherion chose to ignore him.
He walked toward the two women politely, raising a hand with a charming smile.
"Thank you for stopping this idiot before he wrecked the island I created,"
he said lightly, trying to ease the tension.
It didn't work.
Themis stared at him, unimpressed.
Hera crossed her arms, glaring.
"Huh? You're glad we stopped this idiot!?" Hera said sharply. "You seemed to be enjoying that fight quite a bit, didn't you?"
Themis added calmly,
"Wasn't it you who charged at him, your body overflowing with enough divine energy to destroy a multiple mountains?"
Aetherion looked away, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Oh? Did I do that?" he said innocently. "Nah. I was just trying to stop Helios—the wretched, sinful bastard!"
He spoke with exaggerated righteousness, as if he truly believed his own words.
Themis stared at him, speechless.
"You really are shameless, aren't you, Aetherion?"
Hera sighed heavily.
With a fiery look on her face and irritation in her eyes, she threw a punch infused with divine energy at Aetherion's shoulder, sending him flying few meters away with a pained expression.
"You shameless idiot, Aetherion! Show some dignity as the leader of this island!"
——
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