Heracles and Regulus Nemea clashed with thunderous force, their duel sending shockwaves through the surrounding forest.
Heracles leapt forward, fist cocked back and glowing with orange light, as he unleashed an explosive punch directly at Regulus' broad chest.
The impact burst into a fiery detonation that cracked the earth beneath them and sent debris flying into the sky.
Regulus barely flinched and he dug his paws into the dirt, enduring the blast with a growl before countering with a roar so powerful that it dispersed the smoke and shook the trees.
The sonic wave slammed into Heracles, causing him to skid back, feet dragging lines through the forest floor.
The momentary gap closed instantly as Regulus lunged again.
They collided, fists and claws clashing, knees and shoulders crashing into one another with primal violence.Their sheer physical power created gusts of wind, and the distant sound of wildlife fleeing was audible.
On the sidelines, Arthur and Cao Cao stood watching from an old log.
Arthur casually waved a small red flag with Heracles' face crudely doodled on it.
"You can do this, Herc. We believe in you... kinda."
Cao Cao blinked and pointed.
"Where the hell did you even get that?"
Arthur looked at the flag.
"No idea. It just sort of appeared out of nowhere."
Cao Cao gave him a flat look.
"You're unbelievable."
Back in the fight, Regulus suddenly lunged and sank his massive jaws into Heracles' arm, drawing blood.
Heracles roared in pain but didn't panic.
Instead, he grinned through clenched teeth and channeled all the energy in his Variant Detonation to his trapped arm.
*Boom!*
A massive point-blank explosion erupted from his arm.
Regulus was blown back, smoke rolling off his singed mane as he landed with a growl.
Heracles stumbled back as well, clutching his bloodied arm but grinning like a lunatic.
"You're not bad. But you still pale in comparison to the original."
Regulus commented, licking the blood off his fangs.
Heracles wiped the sweat from his brow and laughed breathlessly.
"Well damn, thanks. I'll take that as a compliment."
He cracked his knuckles, fire flaring around his limbs.
"But I'm not him. I'm me. And I've got my own tricks."
He roared toward the sky.
"Balance Breaker! Detonation Mighty Comet!"
A surge of violent orange aura exploded around Heracles.
Metallic emerged from his forearms, shoulders, and shins, his body radiated with condensed explosions, each step creating miniature explosions.
Regulus snarled and slammed his paws into the ground, causing the earth to quake beneath him.
"Bring it on then, Heracles!!"
They lunged.
The clash resumed with even more intensity.
Heracles now moved faster, each blow laced with detonating spikes and shockwaves.
Regulus used roars, fangs, and brutal claw swipes to retaliate.
The battlefield was scarred, blackened, and torn from their prolonged battle.
...
Time passed quickly.
The sun dipped lower, the sun setting into the horizon.
By the time sunset hit, Heracles was on his knees, gasping and bleeding from his mouth, arms trembling from the strain.
His spikes were cracked, and his explosive aura were dimming.
Across from him, Regulus stood tall, panting slightly, a few scratches and blackened tufts of fur the only signs of damage he bore.
Heracles growled and raised his arms as orange spikes jutted out again.
"Missile Barrage!"
He launched a rain of spiked projectiles.
Regulus ducked, dodged, and weaved with bestial grace, avoiding all of them.
Before Heracles could adjust, the golden lion charged, slamming into him with a clawed swipe that sent Heracles tumbling.
Cao Cao ate from his bag of popcorn.
"Woah. That looked painful."
He turned to Arthur.
"Should we do something?"
Arthur, still calmly sipping his cola, shook his head.
"Don't. Let's just watch."
Back on the battlefield, Regulus pinned Heracles beneath him, claws digging into the dirt beside the warrior's face.
"Is that all, Heracles? Is that all your resolve amounts to?!"
He snarled.
Heracles gritted his teeth, pushing against Regulus' jaw with both hands, stopping the lion's mouth inches from his face.
"I… I'm not done yet…"
Regulus roared and raised his claws for a blow, but Heracles moved first.
"IS... THAT... ALL!!!"
He released both claws and grabbed Regulus by the mane, screaming through the pain.
NOT… IT'S… NOT!!!"
All his missiles, every single spike, fired off in unison, causing a massive, point-blank explosion that shook the entire forest.
Smoke and dust blanketed the area.
Cao Cao stood up, eyes wide.
"Heracles!"
Arthur finally cracked a smirk and stood.
"Finally."
As the smoke cleared, a white glow shimmered at the center.
Regulus blinked, taking a step back, eyes narrowing.
There, Heracles stood, bloody, bruised, armor broken, but covered in a radiant white aura that pulsed like a living flame.
His breaths were deep, calm, and controlled.
He looked at his own arms in disbelief.
"What… is this?"
Arthur cupped his hands and shouted across the clearing.
"That's Touki! You finally broke through. Congrats!"
Heracles blinked.
"Touki…?"
Arthur nodded.
"The manifestation of your own life force and fighting spirit. It increases offense, defense, speed, everything. It's all because of your hard work."
Regulus narrowed his eyes, turning toward Arthur.
"I see now. You brought him here not just to spar, but to awaken this. How cunning of you, Devil boy."
Arthur shrugged with a lazy grin.
"Well, it worked, didn't it?"
Regulus returned his gaze to Heracles.
"It does not matter. Even with Touki… you can't defeat me."
Heracles wiped off the blood from his lips, but his grin never faded.
"Maybe. Maybe not. But we'll never know unless we try."
The two once again began to circle, the battlefield trembling under their renewed auras.
The last rays of sunlight flickered across their figures.
Cao Cao exhaled slowly, murmuring,
"This is insane…"
Arthur smiled.
"Yeah… but it's our kind of insane."
The battle between Heracles and Regulus continued.
Heracles, now awakened Touki, launched forward like a comet, his fists glowing orange and white, each punch exploding on impact with the might of a comet.
Every movement was sharper, every strike faster, the ground beneath his feet split with each step, his punches turning the air into shockwaves of pressure.
Regulus didn't back down as he matched Heracles blow for blow, his golden fur flashing with each motion, his claws slicing through stone and air alike.
His roars shattered nearby boulders, and each of his paw swipes gouged trenches into the earth.
Their collision was cataclysmic, the battlefield, once a quiet forest glade, had been reduced to a wasteland of uprooted trees, shattered ground, and swirling dust clouds.
On the edge of the battlefield, Cao Cao gripped his True Longinus tightly, having embedded the tip deep into the ground to keep himself from being blown away by the force of their clash.
"This shit is insane!"
Meanwhile, Arthur leaned casually against a tree that somehow hadn't been torn from the ground, sipping another can of cola, a light breeze lifting his hair.
"Now this is a fight."
He said, watching as Heracles and Regulus collided again with a thunderous shockwave.
Cao Cao glanced over, incredulous.
"You're not even a little worried?! Heracles is getting his ass kicked!"
Arthur didn't look away from the clash.
"If he can't push past this, then he doesn't deserve to stand at our level. He asked for this."
Back in the cratered center of the battlefield, Heracles suddenly found an opening.
Regulus overextended during a claw swipe, and Heracles ducked under it.
His fists glowed brighter than ever before.
"TAKE THIS!!"
With a mighty roar, Heracles slammed both fists downward onto Regulus's skull.
The impact caused the very earth to ripple and buckle, a massive crater forming beneath the lion's body as the shockwave flattened nearby trees like dominoes.
Dust and debris rose like a curtain, hiding the outcome for a few seconds.
Heracles stumbled back, panting hard.
Blood dripped from his nose, his arms trembling.
His body was covered in injuries, but he stood tall.
"You... had enough…?"
Heracles breathed, his voice rough but steady.
For a moment, there was only silence.
Then… Regulus stirred.
The lion slowly rose from the crater, one paw at a time, his head lifting.
His golden fur was scorched and hs eyes glowed, not with rage, but with something colder.
Regulus licked his lips.
"You truly are different from the original Heracles. You've carved your own path. I respect that."
He admitted, voice gravelly.
Heracles straightened, his instincts suddenly screaming.
Regulus's golden aura flared violently, swirling around him like a storm.
The very earth began to tremble beneath him.
Birds fled from the forest, fissures opened around the crater, spreading outward with loud cracks as if the ground itself feared what was coming.
"But... there is something you should know..."
Regulus growled.
Heracles narrowed his eyes, taking a defensive stance.
The pressure in the air changed, became thicker, almost suffocating.
He could feel it.
The kind of feeling that came from being born a beast of legend.
"I've been holding back."
The moment he finished his sentence, Regulus vanished.
Heracles's eyes widened, he didn't see him move, didn't even sense it.
"Where-"
Before he could finish, Regulus appeared right in front of him like a golden flash and slammed his jeweled skull into his chest.
The impact was devastating.
Heracles was launched like a missile, crashing through three trees and skidding violently across the ground until he hit a boulder and came to a stop.
His body twitched, coughing up blood as he tried to breathe.
Cao Cao moved without thinking.
"HERACLES!"
He pulled his spear from the ground and prepared to run in.
But a hand grabbed his shoulder.
Arthur.
"Don't."
Cao Cao turned, furious.
"He's going to kill him!"
Arthur's gaze remained fixed on Heracles, unwavering.
"You have to trust him."
Cao Cao's grip on his spear tightened.
"He's barely conscious!"
Arthur's voice remained calm, but his tone was firmer.
"He wanted this. He asked for this fight not just to grow stronger, but to prove he could stand. If you take that from him now, you're telling him he's weak."
Cao Cao looked back at Heracles, who was trying to rise to one knee, shaking and gasping.
Regulus was approaching him slowly, his aura still flaring, eyes unreadable.
Cao Cao hesitated, then lowered his spear.
"…He better not die."
Arthur's lips twitched into a grin.
"He won't. That dumbass has something stronger than his body."
"What's that?"
"His spirit."
The battlefield trembled again as Heracles, bloody and broken, planted one hand on the ground and pushed himself upright.
He wiped the blood from his mouth and looked at Regulus with defiant eyes.
"…Still not done."
He muttered.
Regulus paused a few feet away, eyes narrowed.
Heracles' aura flared back to life, brighter than before, his Touki now pulsing more fiercely.
"I said… I'm not done... yet."
Arthur's eyes glinted.
"Atta boy."
Regulus stood tall, towering before Heracles, who was barely standing, swaying on his feet.
Blood dripped from his lips, his arms hung heavy, and his body trembled from the unbearable strain, the fire in his eyes remained unwavering.
"You're not done yet?"
Regulus asked calmly, his voice deep and even.
"Why? You could've run away. There is no shame in retreat. I could've killed you, boy."
Heracles coughed, blood splattering against the dirt.
He smiled through the pain, shaking his head slowly.
"I… don't know... I just couldn't move... Something inside me refused... It's like... if I even took one step back… I'd never forgive myself."
He inhaled sharply, forcing air into bruised lungs.
"Even if you're stronger than me... Even if I can't win… I'll keep standing... I'll keep swinging... Until I can't anymore..."
Regulus's eyes narrowed slightly, flickering with something unreadable.
"Even if it meant dying?"
Heracles didn't hesitate.
"I'd rather lose my life than lose my fight."
The golden lion's pupils widened ever so slightly.
For a long moment, he was silent, simply watching the broken human before him.
He saw no fear, ho hesitation, just resolve.
Pure, reckless, beautifully stubborn resolve.
(Hmph… such an odd human. It's as if I'm back in ancient Greece… staring down that fool again.)
Regulus lowered his head slightly, his aura beginning to calm.
He then stepped forward.
"Come closer, boy."
He said softly.
Heracles blinked.
"H-Huh?"
"Come. Stand in front of me."
Though unsteady, Heracles obeyed.
Each step was a struggle.
His muscles screamed, his lungs burned, but he walked until he stood face to face with the towering lion, only inches apart.
Regulus gazed into his eyes.
"What is your dream?"
Heracles blinked again, taken aback by the sudden question.
"My dream?"
He repeated.
Regulus nodded.
"What drives you to keep fighting?"
There was no hesitation in Heracles' answer.
"To be the strongest human on Earth... I wanna fight monsters, legends, gods. Not for revenge. Not for glory. Just because I love it. I want to test myself every day. To push beyond my limits, to see how far I can go... That's it."
Regulus was silent for a long time.
Then he smiled.
"A noble goal... How about this then…"
His body began to glow.
A brilliant light engulfed him, blinding everyone in the vicinity.
When the light faded, the golden lion was gone.
In its place, embedded in the cracked earth before Heracles, was a magnificent battle axe, massive, single-edged, with the image of a lion etched at the center and a handle wrapped in leather.
Heracles stared, confused and exhausted.
Then the axe spoke.
"This is your Labour... try and lift me up. But you must not use Touki, nor your Sacred Gear. Just yourself."
Heracles blinked, stunned.
"W-What? Why not?"
"Because I want to see how far your will can go."
Still panting, Heracles glanced at Arthur.
The redhead had that same sly smirk as always and gave a short nod.
"Go on. He's waiting."
Heracles turned back.
He reached out, fingers brushing the handle.
He closed his eyes.
He took a breath.
And he lifted.
The ground cracked slightly beneath his feet.
His muscles strained, every nerve screamed, and sweat poured down his back.
For a moment, it didn't move, and then it did.
The axe rose from the earth like Caliburn from the stone.
Regulus chuckled in surprise.
"You actually did it. How does it feel?"
Heracles opened his eyes.
The axe rested in his grip, its weight overwhelming, but bearable.
"Like… I'm holding something earth-shattering."
He muttered, half in awe.
Regulus's voice rang in his mind, proud.
"Heracles, you've shown me you are more than just brute strength. You have courage, honor, and an unwavering spirit. So from now on… I choose you as my new host. But only if you promise me this."
His tone turned serious.
"That you will pursue your dream. Not with arrogance. Not with cruelty. But with pride and honor."
Heracles stared at the axe in disbelief.
"You're serious…? You're actually choosing me…?"
The axe began to glow, golden light enveloping Heracles.
"I am. What is your answer?"
Heracles grinned, a bloody, battered grin full of pride and joy.
"I will. I promise."
The axe vanished in a burst of light, and Heracles stumbled back, now wrapped in a golden aura.
He looked down at his handsas he feeling this new power.
Just then, footsteps crunched over gravel.
"That… was the craziest thing I've ever seen."
Cao Cao said, walking up, his voice breathless with disbelief.
"But, I gotta admit, it was pretty badass."
Arthur gave a small chuckle and clapped Heracles on the shoulder.
"Congrats, Herc. And welcome to the Longinus club. How are you feeling?"
Heracles turned to them both, eyes bright, mouth open to say something, but then he swayed.
And fell.
"Woah there big guy!"
Arthur caught him mid-fall, lowering him carefully to the ground.
Cao Cao crouched beside them, frowning.
"He's knocked out. That fight drained him too much."
Arthur nodded, checking Heracles' pulse.
"He'll live. But we gotta get him to a hospital to be safe."
Cao Cao nodded and helped Arthur lift Heracles up, slinging one of his heavy arms over his shoulder.
As they began their slow walk out of the ruined battlefield, the sun finally dipped below the horizon, casting long shadows through the battered trees.
In Arthur's mind, Ddraig's voice echoed.
(Was this your plan all along, partner?)
Arthur gave a small smirk.
(Honestly? The plan went way better than I expected.)
And with that, the trio continued their trek, Heracles unconscious but smiling in his sleep, glowing faintly with newfound power, and his future forever changed.
DxD
Hello readers!
To those who don't know yet, I just remade my old JJK fanfic.
It is called "Okkotsu Yuta: The King of Sorcerers", goahead and try it out.
Thank you everyone and see you later!