Hephaestus quickly found Ryan again and then flew toward him. He seemed like a mad bull charging around like that. Still, while it wasn't one of the most skillful ways to fight, it was highly effective. Although making the enemy mad was one of Ryan's most common tactics, he decided to shut up regarding the problems that Hephaestus had with Aphrodite, the main reason being the fact that he was suffering damage from his words as well.

Ryan used Flash to escape Hephaestus' charge. He succeeded and then began to attack his left side. Still, as if the quality of his own armor were a league above the other, Ryan didn't cause a single scratch. When Hephaestus returned, he dodged again and used Power of Money, but not even that skill.

​​

"Let's see…" Ryan muttered.

The next time Hephaestus attacked, Ryan didn't try to dodge until the very last moment, and then when the enemy got close enough, Ryan summoned that big ass sword and made it collide against Hephaestus' neck. The massive creature was actually forced to slow down when the blade scratched his neck. Still, it wasn't nearly enough. The wound was too small since Ryan didn't have time to make it a spin.

Hephaestus took his time to check the wound on his neck, and Ryan used that chance to fire Acid Arrows on the enemy's face. He also fired poisoned arrows since he had no idea at which level Hephaestus' poison Resistance was. In that regard, the Chimeras Crossbow really came in handy since they could fire three bolts at the same thing.

"Tsk," Hephaestus clicked his tongue in annoyance.

In the end, Ryan's plan was working pretty well. Hephaestus looked as if he was being annoyed by the acid and Poison. However, he quickly charged at Ryan again. In order to keep attacking nonstop, instead of using Teleport or Flash, Ryan used Evading Shot, and since he was using it alongside almost twenty magic bows, he could maneuver pretty well in midair and dodge Hephaestus attacks.

At some point, Hephaestus cooled his head and noticed that the charge wouldn't help him in any way. So, he returned to the tactic of firing rocks at Ryan. However, this time, he kicked some that were pretty weak, so his kicks made them explode, and a cannon of small rocks that were fast like machine guns flew toward Ryan. He dodging them would be impossible, but Ryan clenched his teeth and decided to accept the pain. He couldn't stop attacking, after all.

While he was moving backward, Ryan attacked Hephaestus and made sure that the effect of the poison was stacking up. It was even better since the power of acid could decrease endurance and mentality, so those two were an excellent combination. Meanwhile, Ryan also made sure to dodge all the pieces of the rock that were about to hit his vitals. While Hephaestus only summoned some big rocks, they were made of mana and, after being kicked, could fly faster than the speed of sound, so they would naturally cause a lot of damage, even against Ryan's Frost Armor.

"Tsk," Hephaestus clicked his tongue in annoyance again.

After doing that, Hephaestus changed his tactics… rather drastically. Out of nowhere, a massive hammer made of mithril appeared in his hands, and Ryan couldn't help but gulp. If Hephaestus, with his speed, hits him with that, Ryan would be a goner. Ryan decided to create some distance between them, but Hephaestus quickly began to follow. As if that wasn't troublesome enough, he used those special swords to block his path.

"This guy…" Ryan mustered.

Ryan quickly activated Mana Barrier, but that didn't make Hephaestus stop. His torrent of swords only grew more severe… perhaps he wanted to make Ryan run out of mana, and that was bound to happen since it was obvious that Hephaestus was more prepared for the battle.

Ryan suddenly stopped and then changed directions. Instead of running away, he flew directly toward Hephaestus' face. He could fly at the same speed as the swords at his best speed, so his back was fine. The problem was his front. Hephaestus began to swing his hammer, ready to smash Ryan into a pulp. But in the end, Hephaestus, only his swords with his swing, created a powerful shockwave. As for Ryan, he decided to see Hephaestus speed from a safer distance. As it turned out, he barely had room to see his swing.

"Shit…" Ryan said. "Haste is already active and Sloth Aura won't be enough… Perhaps if I cast Slow on him, then perhaps our speeds will more or less equal."

Even if that plan works, Ryan will have to consider the cost of mana and the danger of getting too close to Hephaestus. There wasn't room for mistakes… Ryan decided to summon the Absolute Death Crossbow and then hit Hephaestus' eyes. There was a small hole in the helmet that he was using, so it should work. He probably didn't have Tyr's crazy reflexes, so the chances of him blinding him for a while were quite high. However, the very moment Ryan pulled the trigger, a visor made of mithril appeared and protected Hephaestus.

"Son of a bitch… he probably watched my whole battle against Tyr and now has some countermeasures," Ryan clicked his tongue in annoyance.

Out of nowhere, Hephaestus began to spin around while holding his hammer with both hands, and then after a while, he tossed it toward Ryan. He used Teleport to move upward, and Ryan succeeded, but then Hephaestus appeared right in front of him and grabbed his neck.

"Fuck…" Ryan opened his eyes widely.

Without wasting time, Hephaestus began to suffocate Ryan, and he immediately understood that he would die in a few moments. The difference in physical strength was that big… When Ryan felt that his neck was about to snap, he used the Draconic Bow. The weapon appeared right in front of Hephaestus, and he didn't have time to dodge. In the end, the arrow flew and caused a massive explosion in the area.