Chapter 680: [Final Round (3)]

One needs to open the Seventh gate—gate of Wonder to use this Hirudora (Daytime Tiger) taijutsu.

This jutsu launch an extremely compressed air pressure at the opponent which takes the shape of a tiger and this jutsu explodes on the command of the user.

In the Naruverse, Maito Guy had used this move, and had easily destroyed Suiton—Daikodan no Jutsu (Water Style—Super Shark Bomb Jutsu) of Kisame, furthermore seriously injured him, and was able to successfully captured him alive. And the shockwave created by this taijutsu was so strong that, it was spread throughout the whole turtle island, this shows the might of Hirudora (Daytime Tiger).

Furthermore, unlike Maito Guy, the one who executed this technique was none other than Allen whose magical power, physique and strength were million times better than the Konoha's Sublime Green Beast of Prey!

The might of Hirudora in his hand was a thousand times stronger or probably even beyond that…!

With the destructive power of the (Daytime Tiger), the protection blessing of the Temple of Athena was broken easily by the power of the attack and even Phobos and Deimos who was not the direct target of the attack was also blown away violently by it.

In the ground of the temple, a very large crater was made, turning into a lake of boiling magma. Ting! When the dust and smoke settled, Allen slowly descended, standing in the surface of the magma lake that was created so suddenly, creating tiny ripples.

Walking step by step as if it was a concrete platform, Allen arrived at the broken ground where a certain someone was also sprawled on the ground, coughing up blood.

However, although he was beaten so badly, Ares was still smiling as if he was feeling nothing from his defeat but joy and delight. Blood covered his lips, running through his cheeks and neck. His clothes were completely torn apart, revealing his bloodied ripped body.

“Ha ha ha, you’re the best Epimetheus…” Ares grinned as he saw Allen walking towards him.

“That was a good punch…”

“If it wasn’t good, it would not reach you… so it needed to be that good…” Allen replied with a nonchalant voice.

Even he was exhausted.

But, although Allen's body should be injured all over and wracked by pain, he felt none of it, and even the serious wound on his chest had begun to heal. The recovery ability of someone like him was really inhumanly high. It was incomparable to even that of a War God like Ares!

Allen stared at Ares who looked like a little boy that sat on the ground after throwing a tantrum.

Maybe it was because he was burned by the flames of Hirudora which was powered by the destructive power of the Ice Phoenix, or maybe it was because he had expended too much divine power, but the infamous Greek God of War had shrunk, returning to the little boy look he had several hours ago.

He was truly a god with the divine trait of immortality. Even though he was just consumed by flames and might of full-powered Hirudora, he had already resurrected. Athena was the same… she was also currently in the same condition…

Of course, even Allen doubted the kind of attack just then could have completely killed him.

Although he was already deprived of his combat ability, he still had a fearsome vitality.

"Then, let's part here...... Ares, did you hear me? The world needed you, so don’t be a fool and selfish idiot like before, and do your work as a God. Although you may have some conflict with Athena, but this is not the time for such a thing. Without the Celestial Realm, without a world, even you wouldn’t be able to play as much as you like…"

"—Why would you not finish me? Slaying me would allow you to usurp new powers, becoming a true God Slayer. And if that happened, you would become an even more powerful warrior; why would you abandon such a good opportunity?"

Allen was startled. The response of Ares was outside of his expectations. But he just smiled smugly. Seeing this, the War God frowned.

"...Pity? Responsibility? Why would you trust someone like me, Epimetheus…? You should know that I’m the least candidate for such heroism…!" After hearing the angry words of an unimpressed Ares, Allen couldn't help but reply with a frustrated and tired voice. “I can become stronger, indeed, Ares… but I already realized that no matter how powerful I become, a single person cannot change an entire world’s destiny…” Allen muttered with an indifferent voice. “If I can deal with everything alone, Ares… believe me, I would lop your head off without hesitation. But… the Gods have all died down, leaving only a selected few. The Celestial Realm is in pretty bad shape, and I alone cannot turn the tables upside down. You’re alive, Ares…doesn’t that give you a role to play in this game…? That much is enough to prove that fate has something store in you in this whole farce!"

"... ...?"

"I don’t know if relying on you is a mistake or not in my part, but…you are still a God! The Olympian God of War; Ares… and the Roman God of War; Mars… both identities make you the God of the Living, giving hope to your people, for victory and glory… now it’s time to do your job. Ares, be a man and live up to your name…” Allen snorted.

“In this war, there’s no path to victory… Epimetheus, you should know that” Ares cocked his head, with a nonchalant expression. “Right now, it’s all about dying slowly or dying fast…”

“You won’t know if you won’t try…” Allen frowned and responded immediately.

“Hmph! Don’t give me such childish reasoning, Epimetheus. Don’t think that just because I’m locked up in here, doesn’t mean I don’t know anything about the outside world…every fallen hero, all of them, passed through my body. Their hatred, their anger, their despair, their longing—all of them surge through me, grating every cell and blood of my body. And this battle…? There’s no clear way to victory, even my damn sister should have realized that. She was just too stubborn to admit it. She always thinks she has the answer to everything, that she is the best in everything—but, no, all she will do will be left in vain! No matter what strategy she makes, this war is utterly hopeless…!” Ares scowled in contempt.

“And you are really saying that…? You’ve really fallen Ares…!” Allen snorted.

Ares glared at him but Allen was not fazed. His gaze didn't falter and he stared right through the eyes of the God of War, “As a God of War, one should not admit defeat so easily… Athena is indeed greater than you, Ares, because she knows that no matter how much despair she would obtain, she would still stand up and try, and try, and try again…that surrendering is the real defeat…!”

“Fool…!” Ares scowled. “In War, there is no absolute victory! You can obtain victory but you can also receive defeat…! They are just two faces of the same coin! A War God that doesn’t accept defeat and still cling on their pathetic ideal is nothing but a fool of a frog wanting to fly in the sky! In a war, we sometimes lose, we sometimes win…! There’s no Absolute Victory…! It's also a pride, to know when to stop when it is enough!"

"Refusing to give up even though it's already hopeless is not a virtue...but stupidity!!"

Ares roared.

"Indeed, every tiny change can affect the entire outcome… but in this war, there’s no such thing…! You might be strong, Epimetheus…if only there are dozens of you, there might be a chance… but too bad, we have already fallen behind by a lap in this race… we started too late…!”

Allen stepped forward. His eyes blazing in bright starlight. “…but that doesn’t mean we can give up! Ares, even if we lose, we should lose with dignity. And we can only lose after we had tried everything we can…that’s how you can be a man…!”

“…hmph! Try acting tough Epimetheus, there will come a day when we will all die. It just a matter of when and where… and so, before that happens, why don’t we just do all we wanted to do and try to not to pass on without regrets…instead of procrastinating and wanting to delay something inevitable…! Death is a part of war…! And accepting it also our own responsibility, rather than fighting it… like a fool,”

Allen’s eyes narrowed.

After a few minutes of staring showdown, he gnashed his teeth in rage. He turned around and started walking away…

“You’re wrong Ares…” then, he suddenly stopped.

”…?”

Allen turned towards Ares, his gaze solemn and full of dignity and pride. “Indeed, what you said might also be right… Indeed this is foolishness. Trying to go against fate is like a mantis wanting to stop a carriage. However, so what? This foolishness is what makes a man, a man! Ares...don't forget..."

"...Dying is the day worth living for!”

Allen clenched his fists tightly it created a menacing crackle as if bones are being crushed.

“…?!!”

The eyes of Ares widened in shock. Even Phobos and Deimos who was standing behind Ares were startled as they look at Allen with surprise and astonishment.

“…we can indeed pass our time happily and without regrets, all while waiting for our death to come. But… rather than that, the day where you take a stand on and refuse to lay down in the face of danger and death is the most beautiful and wonderful moment in the world, a man can ask for.”

Allen smiled confidently. “The day where we give up our lives for a greater cause is the day we can truly find the true purpose of our own existence. The true meaning of our lives… this goal might end up in failure but that doesn’t matter…”

Allen glared at Ares. His expression firm and full of steel-like resolution and confidence. “All that matters is that we have the courage to stand up and fight. We dared to face head-on, even with fear creeping within our hearts… what’s regrettable about it…?”

“… …”

“Nothing…” Allen smiled faintly as he shrugged his shoulders. He turned around and started walking away. “…You stand up for something that is greater than yourself. You sacrifice yourself for what you believe in. Why would you regret it…? You’ve already done what you can…death is a good extrication…don’t you think so too, Ares…?”

“… …”

“That is true… satisfaction…!”

Ares brows furrowed as he turned towards Allen who was leaving further away. His expression heavy and his gaze darkens…

“Father…”

Deimos called out softly.

However, Ares seemed to have not heard anything as he continued to look at the direction of Allen, even though the latter’s figure is nowhere to be seen already.

… …