7 Heracles, The Hero

'What is he?' Hercules questioned inwardly as sweat dropped from his brow as he watched Sukuna dodge his attacks and backflip away from him before swiping his arm through the air with a smile on his face.

'Shit!' Heracles screamed inwardly as he felt something coming toward him, he couldn't see it but his senses screamed at him to dodge which he did.

BOOOSH!

The sound of something being destroyed sounded from behind Heracles but his eyes never left the man in front of him, the man who was smiling with amusement clear on his face.

Growing annoyed with the look on Sukuna's face, Heracles dashed toward him before beginning to deliver a barrage of attacks, all of which were dodged or parried by Sukuna.

"Uck, damn trickery," Heracles grumbled after Sukuna swiped his hand and a cur appeared on his chest.

"Hah." Sukuna chuckled at the tone of the Demi-God whose wound healed already.

"Hmpf!" Heracles snorted before delivering a strong punch to Sukuna's guarded stomach which sent him high into the air and into one of the taller buildings of Kuoh town.

"That's more like it," Sukuna said as he walked through the building he just crashed into, this was a fight with the Heracles of Legend, this shouldn't be some casual fight, Sukuna expected much from the Hero.

'I need to set up a barrier.' Heracles said to himself before he began casting the barrier spell, he was fully aware that he needed to make sure there were only a small amount of human casualties at most, the human world needed to be excluded from their wrath or things would get messy and Heracles assumed Sukuna thought the same but no, he didn't think that at all.

"Let's give this a shot," Sukuna said to himself still in the building but near the hole he had created when crashing into it.

'Authority of Haste.' Sukuna said inwardly as before he disappeared from his spot in the building and reappeared next to Heracles who looked as if he was beginning to cast a spell before delivering a punch to his ribs which sent him flying like a ragdoll.

"Energy consuming but very still useful," Sukuna noted verbally as he strolled toward the clearly angry Heracles.

You see, Sukuna during his training had stumbled upon something in his Mindscape, cubes. He came across a field of cubes all of which were unique and different from others but despite that, he could touch only a few and when he did their meanings and uses infused themselves into him, they were called Authorities.

Authorities in this form were something foreign to Sukuna what he did understand was that when he absorbed an Authority he gained the power or right to give orders to the concept. In this case, Sukuna gained the authority of Haste and Silence.

The Authority of Haste gave Sukuna an incredible amount of speed while the Authority of Silence completely silenced anything and everything Sukuna wished but there was a price for using these Authorities, it was his energy.

'it's fortunate that I practiced using the authority of haste in my mindscape, if not I would've lost control.' Sukuna said inwardly, his training covered his control of his previous abilities as well as his Authority control.

"You don't even have the common courtesy to let me place a barrier when you know the consequences that we will face if I don't," Heracles grumbled as he walked toward Sukuna on an empty street.

"Consequences?" Sukuna said with a raised brow, he couldn't remember the last time he had to suffer consequences.

"Arrogant bastard," Heracles said sensing the meaning of Sukuna's words.

'I'll need to find a chance mid-fight to place a barrier, I can't let him get the jump on me again.' Heracles said to himself as he began to charge at Sukuna who was walking toward him with his hands in his pocket.

BOOM! BOOM!! BOOOM!!!

The sound of Sukuna and Heracles' fists connecting sounded throughout the mid-sized town of Kuoh causing many humans to wake and feel the worst had happened and those of the supernatural society to grow curious.

"Tsk." Heracles sucked his teeth as he pulled out a club from his magic storage, his weapon of choice for his brutish fighting style.

In the heart of the town, chaos reigned as the two clashed, their powers shaking everything around them. On one side stood Sukuna, a man of mysterious origins, his presence alone exuding an aura of dread and power. Opposite him was Heracles, the legendary Greek Hero and a Son of Zeus.

The clash began once again with a thunderous sound as Sukuna charged forward, his movements fluid and precise. Heracles, towering in stature, braced himself for the impact, his muscles rippling with divine strength. With a mighty swing of his club, Heracles aimed to crush Sukuna, but the nimble fighter evaded with a graceful leap, landing behind his opponent.

Sukuna wasted no time, unleashing a barrage of strikes, each one aimed at exploiting the slightest opening in Heracles' defense. Heracles, however, was no ordinary opponent. With his immense strength and endurance, he weathered the storm of blows, retaliating with crushing strikes of his own.

Buildings crumbled and streets cracked under the force of their blows, sending debris flying in all directions. The citizens, caught in the crossfire, either fled in terror as the two combatants continued their devastating duel or outright died; the talks between the two men were over and now it was simply a fight.

Sukuna, recognizing the need to change tactics, leaped back, creating distance between himself and Heracles. Channeling his energy, he summoned a vortex of malicious energy, sending it hurtling towards Heracles with a smirk decorating his face, he wasn't using his slash attacks or authorities purposely at this point, and for a few reasons though none of them involved Heracles himself.

The hero stood firm, raising the shield he took from his magic storage to deflect the attack, but the force of the impact sent him skidding back, leaving a trail of destruction in his wake, the power of the attack was noteworthy.

Seizing the opportunity, Sukuna closed the distance once more, his movements a blur as he unleashed a flurry of strikes, each one aimed with deadly precision. Heracles, though battered and bruised, refused to yield, his resolve as unbreakable as his legendary club which was gifted to him.

With a mighty roar, Heracles summoned his divine strength, imbuing his next strike with most of his power as he grew desperate. The ground trembled as he brought his club down with earth-shattering force, but Sukuna, ever the elusive fighter, dodged at the last moment, the force of the blow creating a crater where he once stood.

As the dust settled, Sukuna stood unscathed, a smirk still playing on his lips. Sensing an opportunity, he lunged forward, his hand crackling with his new energy. With a swift motion, he struck Heracles with a catastrophic blow, sending a shockwave through the air and knocking the hero to the ground.

Heracles, though down, was not completely out just yet. With a defiant roar, he rose to his feet, his eyes blazing with determination and hope. Channeling his remaining strength, he launched a final, desperate attack, aiming to end the battle once and for all.

Sukuna, however, was ready. With a deft movement, he countered Heracles' attack, redirecting the force of the blowback towards the hero. Heracles, caught off guard, could do nothing as the force of his own attack as well as Sukuna's sent him hurtling through the air, crashing into the ground with a resounding thud, he was finished and he knew it.

"Is this everything?" Sukuna questioned as he looked down at the Demi-God Hero.

"You'll... pay for... this one day," Heracles said between batted breaths as he looked at Sukuna with hatred in his eyes but deep within them Sukuna could sense relief, an odd emotion for one to have in a situation like this.

"Oh?" Sukuna said with amusement in his tone but then something caught his attention, a violently thunderous roar in the sky.

VROOSH!

The sound of something dropping from the sky and landing near Sakuna and Heracles reverberated through the surroundings but what caught Sukuna's attention was the fact that the defeated Heracles was in the arms of a man with blonde hair instead of on the ground where he belonged.

'He's fast.' Sukuna said inwardly, he knew that he would need to use the Authority of Haste to combat this man in terms of speed, his regular speed wasn't enough.

"Father..." Heracles said weakly.

"I've told you countless times that your arrogance would be the end of you, you're not the strongest." The blonde-haired man said with disappointment clear in his tone and face.

"I apologize... father," Heracles said with a defeated tone, this was his first loss in this manner.

"What's your name mortal?" The blonde-haired man said as he looked at Sukuna who was examining him with a critical eye, the power exuding from the blonde-haired man dwarfed Heracles hundreds of times over.

"Ryomen Sukuna," Sukuna replied deciding that the power coming from the questioner made him worthy of that answer.

"I see, I am Zeus," The God said before continuing.

"I thank you for teaching this child a valuable lesson, he had to learn someday," Zeus said.

"Hah, a lesson... I suppose you could call this that." Sukuna replied calmly still smirking.

"But before we leave, I'll say-," Zeus said before being interrupted by Sukuna.

"Leave? No, you won't be-," Sukuna said before this time he was interrupted by Zeus.

"You're strong boy but don't be overconfident, you are neither unequaled nor special," Zeus said after he reappeared behind Sukuna then disappeared with Heracles altogether.

To be continued...