Island Serapis

[Sea]

Serapis #59
@Landayan ​

The combined efforts did not truly work with their ideas; the truth hurts the trio – for it is but an easier answer to work with. Had they be able to harm Cerberus with its own attacks it would been a far easier plan of action to take. After all no matter how fast Cerberus, there is a limit one is capable of take against a trio of powerful men – especially of beast like the hellhound. Gambit would have to think. And he would decide to utilize history but more than likely his knowledge of mythology to bypass the hound. The Prince has seen the issue, even if they are capable of beating Cerberus, they would have to go all out just to do it – it is simply not wise. And any damage taken in the course of this fight would be a precursor to an increasingly bad situation when he would meet Hades later on. Here Gambit would take a time to think but thinking is not one that the Prince has time to do so – for the beast would start spewing a cone of lava-like fire breath onto them which led the trio into simply dodging them. This time however, whether by luck or by design Gambit has decided to try something differently. Setting into a mist of cold air through the use of cool balls that would permeate the arena into a cold fog, obscuring the vision of them, and Cerberus. This is not a problem for the dog however, for he is a beast – sniffing them out is nothing but child’s play. But it is not the reason why the Prince did so. Snow would form, and then an armada of spears, form with ice and snow would take place. Fireballs would launch from Cerberus’s mouth but would be met with Gambit’s spears. Each clash with fire and ice would result in even more fog and mist, further obscuring the mist if it hasn’t already been impossible to see.

But Gambit’s attack held the advantage, what is mere fireballs from the mouth of three dog heads compared to the seemly infinitely generating of ice spears? Cerberus would dodge, he could sniff them out after all, and he would catch the closest one – Gambit. Dodging the spears at high speed, despite its large size, it is as they would have thought – the hound is deceptively fast – even going as far as blinking to dodge the spears. However, its size is also a disadvantage, for as soon as the dog would close in onto Gambit, spears of different angles would strike on the back of Cerberus as well as its legs. Its force surprisingly enough to even cause at least of a painful reaction from Cerberus as it winces for a moment before the spears would freeze the dog in various parts solid. Gambit however isn’t done however – as the Prince metamorphosis into a demon, a screech from the screams of the Prince would resonate as a shockwave in a form of a ball would hit Cerberus rather hard point blank. An explosion occurred in the courtyard as its wind pressure of the shockwave would break structures and buildings – glasses shattered from the powerful shockwave in a ring of its epicentre. Smoke would occur as mist is being replaced, the Prince would have dealt an immense damage to Cerberus, and he would utilize a negotiation of sorts – hoping that he would do enough damage to force Cerberus.

The Prince would speak, but in seconds – a roar would be heard coming from where Cerberus is. A roar similarly to Gambit, would push the smoke away – showing the state of Cerberus. And perhaps to the trio’s surprise. Cerberus did not seem to receive much damage. The dog bled but it doesn’t seem to be substantial to say the least, the injuries it received is unlike Gambit’s most powerful attack, it would not add up. The bleeding came from stab wounds of sorts whereby the powerful shockwave of scream would not be able to do so even if it would cut, the wound is too different. While it’s damage is insignificant to say the least, Cerberus is a sentient beast – he may not have the incredible intelligence of man, but he would be able to understand the Prince’s words. And so the dog growled lowly, it would circle slowly around the Prince – its tail carefully encircling the Prince. Its drool, dripped from their mouth and to the ground. Its breath. Steaming hot while smoke would arise from within as if touching its mouth would burn one’s hands immediately. The Prince has Cerberus's attention.

 

[Gambit]

@Sea
​

The rapacious hound let loose a parade of fireballs from above; but the prince, after hearing the voice of its presumed weakness summoned a stampede of cool balls. Reacting to the scorching temperature, the two spheres of opposite chemistry would turn the battlefield into a village hidden in the mist. Zero visibility. But for someone like Gambit who has mastered the philosophy of the weather would muster an army of ice spears skyward as soon as the cold spheres took the form of snow. Two elemental platoons would clash, ramifying a large-scale fog that would endlessly unloose his impaling ice! Forget about the shockwave that has been occurring since.

Alas, after the beasts equally parried with the speed of the attack would be punctured multiple times before drawing near to the prince. Landayan hadn't stopped, for he morphed into his demonkind form - Vampire. Insert The Lord of the Night. And a screaming ball of sound banged against the dog, yet concealing the vicinity for another round. The Cerberus kept on. Dealing a similar growl that would eventually wax the smog.

A stare-down occurred. Prince and the Beast. The former came to parlay. A cumulative series of bets to his luck and intellect. Infinite thoughts on the mystery of the land. How to deal with them. How to win without actually trying to win. The Gambit piqued his interest. It listened.

Circling the prince who has both T-Bag and Reynolds stood by his two sides while facing the beast, boiling substance drooled from him, melting the very ground. Its tails are seemingly on standby. Enter the bargain. But a cigar would be lit first. A single puff would be drawn. Inhale. Exhale. Smoke dispersed upwards. Vanishing in the wind.

"When I was young, I was surrounded by the beasts in the forest. Terrifying creatures.", Gambit looked back in time.

"At first, I detested them. They yanked me from my playfield and dragged me all the way to their caves.", another puff. Another look upwards and exhale.

"But as time went by, I understood them. They could reason. They could acknowledge. And above all, they showed compassion. And I, a young crowned prince, found shelter outside my own. The mellowness of motherly care. Tender. Melodic. Endearing for the most part. They gave me life. Shortlived to say the least. For they were eradicated by my own kin. Adopted albeit."

He would smoke once more. This time, a pretty long one. The cigar burnt past the middle stick. Gambit stared at the glowing ember of it, still reminiscing his childhood. And he continued, "and I was alone again."

"Cerberus.", he called forth.

"Since then, I have been trying to rebuild my own menagerie of creatures like you. Not as talented and sturdy as you are. But at least, you won't be alone anymore. For years, you have been locked up in this cage, fulfilling that duty of yours. If I become the Lord of the Underworld, everything else rises up to the Earth."

"Together with my mutated beasts, you will be unleashed to the wilds. Above all, we have what we call the World Government, they kill beasts of your kind, and treat them like stupid mindless creatures. You and I, we will kill them. And their souls will endlessly kneel right before us."

"I am giving you. LIFE."

"We can't continue dealing blows after blows. I will only win in the end. I am strong, you know. But if you crouch down in front of me, then this agony would be over."

Gambit grinned like the demon he is before maxing out the cigar in a single puff, tossing it to the ground before grinding it with his right foot. The future Lord of the Underworld awaits a response.

 

[Sea]

Serapis #60
@Landayan ​

The bargain began, Gambit has decided to take a short moment to lit up his cigar – before he would begin the negotiation with Cerberus. But not before giving a short story about his life. He attempted to relate to Cerberus, a beast of mythology. Using his own past and his experience with such beasts, he would show that he would understand beasts. He could understand Cerberus. Afterwards, he would finally start his bargain with the beast, this time a promise of freedom – to roam free and to hunt those that would kill such beast. The Prince would loudly proclaim. A life. Though one of servitude, it is a slightly different. The Prince attempt to persuade Cerberus that fighting would only lead to his eventual victory that only through kneeling the would-be King of the Underworld that Cerberus would find solace. The Prince’s words are definitely something. Even to attempt a bargain with the guard dog of the Underworld is definitely one of interest. Not many would do so. However, the Prince is sorely mistaken about three things. Cerberus would roar at point blank, though without blow the Prince away. The smell, and the wind of his very roar however, would likely be enough force to blow his body back slightly, whilst giving the breath of a beast.

The Prince made the first mistake of presuming Cerberus’s life in the Underworld is one of prison and solitude. That is wholly untrue unfortunately. The beast has been allowed to roam as far as it is concerned with, wherever it wants to. It did not need nor want to leave the Underworld. Cerberus is created for the purpose of guarding the Underworld – and even a beast of itself prides in its own duty. It has been allowed to roam the castle which Hades presides anywhere it wants to. And it has no intentions of leaving the Underworld. The second mistake the Prince seems to make is the idea of Cerberus would betray Hades. Cerberus whilst a beast of mythology, is still essentially a guard dog, domesticated in a sense to Hades, or rather to the King of the Underworld. The idea of the dog leaving its master is something that would make little sense. Like all dogs and their owners, a bond exists between them. Hades is the current King, and Gambit isn’t, even if he were to be one later on – the point would still stand that Gambit has not achieved that goal and title.

Green flames would manifest closely around the Prince, though not moving. Cerberus isn’t happy with Gambit’s words, and that would be the Prince’s last mistake with his bargain. While it is true that Gambit most likely to defeat Cerberus. The three-headed dog is tenacious. A full-on fight even with the three of them would likely result in injuries that they would rather not have before facing the Olympian himself. Even if Gambit managed to injure Cerberus thus far, the small injuries would show the difficulties in bringing down the guard dog of the Underworld. The fight would not just tire Gambit needlessly but also make the confrontation harder. An unwise decision perhaps to take the fight head-on like this. However, the lack of further actions by Cerberus even with Gambit surrounded by the green flames closely, shows that perhaps the beast is watching for Gambit’s reactions or plan of actions. Burning red flames would start to form around the mouths of Cerberus, as if ready to attack Gambit once more. It would seem that Gambit has one more chance to perhaps find a way out of this fight. Would he choose to follow his original idea to bypass Cerberus? Or would he decide to think of another persuasion? Or to fight head-on with Cerberus?

 

[Gambit]

@Sea
​

Cerberus circled around Gambit in the midst of his bargain. It listened. Carefully, he did. Words of freedom disseminated unto the beast. For a little while, the prince thought that the deal was on. He was wrong. He was wrong in the fact that loyalty has been in play since. The dog growled in return. The answer to his bid.

The beast opened its mouth, wide enough to unleash a wind pressure powerful enough to even slightly have Gambit skid backward. A little over a quarter of a meter from where he stood. It was enough to bump his back against the shoulders of his two commanders who had standing side by side behind him.

But Landayan fought back. Not physically though. He responded with the same quality of wind pressure. But this blast of wind carries his will. The will to surmount whatever tempest life has conferred upon him. In an awkward position in front of the beast, Gambit stood still. And still with his demon-vampire form. For he wouldn't take no as an answer. Standing mightily with bo staff in his right hand, cigar in his mouth, his very core─the heart unloose a tremendous aura that would ramify across the area in a circular fashion. The aura isn't dark nor it was ominous. It was a testament. A call for amnesty. Salvation. Compassion, should the dog be able to feel its intent. This is Prince Landayan's Color of the Supreme!

"I do not intend to harm you, pup. I only want the throne. And should you wish to stay after all is done, so be it."

Words of parlay once more. And whether the hound in hell would take the offer one couldn't refuse or not, The prince would walk towards the dog, not even attempting to bypass anything. He would expect a clear path to pass through. And if none of this transpired, then it was a clear rejection. And Gambit would consider him as an enemy for he chose Hades as his King. Should that finally befall, then the pirate captain would strike the beast using his staff that he would quickly morph into two hammers with all his might.

 

[Sea]

Serapis #61
@Landayan ​

The Prince did not realize the problem, or rather the bond of Cerberus – that is one thing Gambit might not be able to understand, well at least not yet anyway. But Gambit would still fight back, using the kingly quality of his Haki, the Prince burst forth a similar wind pressure. A clash of wind and pressure – but ultimately not one that would determine much of any resolution. Cerberus, powerful as it is, is unlikely to be affected by such Haki and it would show in its tenacious attitude. Gambit would speak once more, this time he would simply walked through Cerberus, and perhaps as he might have hoped for – Cerberus did not intervene. Is the Prince’s theory about the dead allowed him passage true? Only time would tell. But there is only one problem remains. There is a trio, and only one is ‘the dead’ for the lack of better words. T-Bag and Reynolds however are alive as they ever been, given Gambit’s theory they would be the ones left behind. Turning its attention from Gambit, the dog now looks towards the other two. Its fierce attitude remains, and it would perceive the two as the intruder. Would the now duo decide to back off into the sewers and wait for Gambit’s return? Or would they choose to fight? Gambit has been allowed past Cerberus, and it is probably better not to give Cerberus a second thought.

Should Gambit continue into the castle without fighting. He would walk past the slightly ajar castle main doors, perhaps likely some pushing of the doors are needed though strength is not really needed as only a gentle push is more than enough to get through. It is of wonder how Cerberus would be able to squeeze itself through. But no matter, such thoughts would be best left to later on. In front of him a long hallway, candle stands on each side of the hallway unlit. But as soon as Gambit were to walk past them – green flames would light up on both sides of the candle stands. In front of him a dimly light emanated from a room past a completely open double door. An incredible smell could be picked up even from where the entrance door which Gambit stood. Food, chicken, turkey – various fragrance that one would be delighted to smell – a grand feast. Should Gambit try to sense anyone through the use of Haki, he would only sense not a soul but rather one of a mass pulsating out from the room. A strange thing to detect. Whether or not he would do so is unlikely to matter, he would know by gut feeling what is in front of him, or rather who. Once the Prince would walk through the doors, he would see – a table filled with a feast one may consider fit for a King. In front of him is Hades – seated as he looks at the newcomer, smirking. Beside him is a lady, but those with knowledge of the Olympians would quickly deduce to be none other than Persephone, happily seated beside him as she would feed Hades with food, like an obsessed wife.

“Fufufufu… What took you so long my little pawn? I thought I had Cerberus allowed you entry.”

The truth would finally arrive, Gambit from the get-go would have been allowed entry – but perhaps their very ‘jump-to-the-gun’ reactions of attacking Cerberus would lead to a later arrival than the Prince might have realized. But no matter the cause, Hades did not seem bothered by anything, in fact his words are more sarcastic, he probably already knew what happened.

“Come… take a seat. Enjoy the feast.”

The dinner room is rather grand, the table decently long – filled with delicious food that would made anyone to salivate at the sight of it. The room is decently lit up but the chandeliers atop is not lighted up, remaining a pitch black that would be impossible to see what’s on the ceiling outside of the somewhat low hanging chandeliers – a strange thing to see.

 

[Gambit]

@Sea​

From a brief staredown, Cerberus and Gambit showered the room with their wind pressures, albeit in different fashions. For the former was a mere growl, but the latter, willpower of the highest comamnd─King's Haki. The entire battleground was filled with pressure, grandblasting in all directions before it operated like a vacuum force in reverse. And it settled down. The prince briefly talked, a warning. And he walked. He walked past the dog of hell. And it complied. It paved the way. The floor is now owned by the undead.

T-Bag and Reynolds were this close to following him the moment the hound slid to the side as Gambit closed in. The prince ordered, "No. I am the only one allowed inside. After all, I am an Undead. "

And he took it from there. A door, unfastened is waiting. He progressed. He applied a light brush to it. Then a hallway of dim lighting would receive him in a favorable manner. The candle lights of similar vibrant would start to light up one after the other, giving yet another mystery to the next couple of meters that he would cross. But he did not need to worry, for his echolocation would do the deed. A clear understanding of what's up ahead. A grand feast after the long hallway awaits. And inside, the King and Queen of Hell. Alas, he would puff the very last of his cigar. He'd grind the butt of it onto the candle stand at the end of the tunnel. Standing in front of the open door, he would revert to his human form. Bo Staff in right hand, he came in. A Greeting from the King.

“Fufufufu… What took you so long my little pawn? I thought I had Cerberus allowed you entry.”

"My commanders were a little excited to feast on him. Please accept my humblest apologies."

Gambit sat down across the table from where Hades sat. "Your hospitality. A different level if I may remark. ", he said before crossing his legs. Left over the right. He rest his left elbow on the chair's arm rest before letting his chin rest as well against his fist. The Bo Staff, puncturing it against the floor, so that it stands.

The prince couldn't help but stare at the feast. It was mouth watering. He would dig in but before that, a glance at the maiden serving Hades. She was beautiful. "Pleasure meeting you Hades. And to you as well, milady. Persephone. "

A brief smile at her before turning to Hades and sitting properly. And then to the turkey leg and thigh parts as it's the closest to him. He poured a wine into the golden cup at his left side. "Did you prepare all these, milady? You know, I could use your talent at seas. I don't want you to spend your lifetime here alone after all is done. "

He returned the smirk back at Hades.

 

[Sea]

Serapis #62
@Landayan ​

The Prince met face to face with the King of the Underworld, the conversation would continue in banters, with Gambit making sure he would respond kindly – his tone speaks one of nobility, much like Hades himself. Though that’s where their similarities end, royalty differs somewhat after all. Sitting down from the other side of the chair, a cigar is lit as he sat in a rather nonchalant manner. The Prince would lay his eyes upon the feast that is prepared for himself and Hades. Yet his eyes would wander to perhaps the most man-thing he could have done, looking at a beautiful lady. Not that it wasn’t to be expected. The Prince is well... a known playboy after all. A greeting not just to Hades but also to Persephone, a smile to accompany his words. Persephone would glance once at Gambit, a cold store – similar to one of the maids, one that Gambit would know so well in the library. But there is a difference. This cold stare isn’t one that the maid shown, something that is primordial in nature. The stare that Persephone showed is one of disgust. As if she is looking upon something less than human, an insect. Only a glance was all that is made before she would return to look at Hades, immediately throwing back into smiles and happiness. Not even simply acknowledging his words, her seemly obsession only seems to allow her to recognize Hades as her love. Her eyes and facial expression towards Hades as she feeds him is more than enough to show. Is this what Demeter was being here for? Did Hades did something to Persephone that created such obsession with the King of the Underworld? Such answers are not easily found.

“It seems like your encounter with that old fool Thanatos and the Fates have changed something in you.”

Hades spoke in response to Gambit, noting the change in the confidence from before. The smirk that Gambit show did not seem to change Hades in the slightest. The confidence of the two is overflowing – a game of chess has seemed to be played between the both. With what seems to be Hades playing the chessboard for the most part.

“Their insistence to remain neutral and alone to their jobs has been but a thorn in my side. But alas it did not matter. For you, little Landayan – have come all this way. I suppose you are not here to remain a pawn.”

Before Gambit could likely answer the obvious, Hades immediately continued his words.

“Throughout your entire life, you have been cultivated, nurtured into a toy of mine. It is your destiny that you would become mine. A toy that would destroy the foundations of these world. Fufufufu…”

“So why not join me? Little Landayan? Together…. Let’s make the world a living Hell..!”

 

[Gambit]

@Sea @Ichimonji
​

The prince remained still on the table, enjoying the feast worthy of royal dining. He even remarked on the delectable dish. But above all, commended the exquisite talent and beauty of the goddess before him. A true masterpiece of heaven and earth. A rank above the others. She is Hades' valuable. But the prince wouldn't appreciate the dark tone of her gaze and in his mind the fashioned thoughts─ How dare this woman put a scowl on her face. I am Landayan Morrow, Prince of all Hirayans. To think that this woman was the one Demeter wanted to secure. There must be a catch. Is this her play? I have to find out.

Gambit for the most part would be easily attracted to women. That's his way of keeping his darkest waves at bay. An escape from reality. But as time went by, even his fantasy intertwined with reality and there have been times when they can hardly be separated or distinguished. His romantic, or perhaps his silly thoughts would be overcome by the dreaded nature of the earth they live on. There must always be someone to put the blame for all of these. King Sapiro─the man who made the deal with the Goroseis to rupture his biological family's early life. General Magiting─his master and the man who salvaged him from the forest but later on dared to impale his heart with treason. Blackbeard─the man who destroyed the Silver Hair Pirates and killed his captain Larsi. Maybe Hades─the man who admitted guilt of it all.

As we talked about Hades, he spoke and threw in several thoughts. First about the sudden change in the prince's personality. From an absolute fool and careless one to a more calculated and confident being. "You could say that. But all the credit goes to the Fates."

Gambit spoke in response to the first verse. He sipped a glass of wine and puffed his cigar thereafter. But he only had some of the turkeys in front of him. His appetite has always been affected by his smoking habits. He leaned backward again. Letting his back rest against the chair. And he puffed again, exhaling the smoke upwards before it dispersed across the ceiling he couldn't even see with his bare eyes. He turned again to the woman and continue to speak, wearing a minuscule smirk.

"During my encounter with Atropos, I came across a certain book about life's worth. The woman was the most elegant woman I have ever seen. You're right. Far more splendid than the woman we think about, Hades."

"Hehe.", he chuckled a little before an attempt to puff his cigar, but he opted to speak further. “In life, as in the game of chess, one’s own pawns block one’s path."

He pressed, pointing his cigar at Hades as he turned back to him slowly. "However, we, pawns are the very heart and soul of the game."

He puffed his cigar, this time for real, releasing the smoke across the table. Almost covering the distance between him and Hades.

"Oversaturating the expandability of these pieces jeopardizes the dynamics of your plot. You forget about the minuscule details that might ruin the attempt to conquer the other."

"And...", he paused briefly, trying to grasp what Hades is offering him. He couldn't help but laugh. "Hahahahaha. An alliance with you? A king to a pawn? I have just figured out how you have managed to impact the life I have had. Well done. A conspiracy amongst the brokers of the earth, posing yourselves as gods and goddesses, toying with humans and other races for your own games of chess."

"Hahahaha. Forget it, at the end of the day, when played well, pawn gets the promotion and checkmate ends the game.”

"I pass, Hades. I believe I have to be promoted and end the game here, King.", he concluded. Turning the deal off before leaving another dagger to his throat.

"She also begged me to tell you this─", Landayan continued. This time, he leaned forward, clasping his fists after he put the cigar to his mouth and bit it with his lips. "The deal is off." He said all that as the face of La Spada flashed back inside his head but with his natural guttural ominous baritone voice. The grin continued.

 

[Sea]

Serapis #63
@Landayan @Ichimonji ​

The conversation continued, the chessboard continues to move. The Prince intended to usurp the throne – or in this case be promoted. As such the words of the pawn would refer to one of a chessboard term. The Prince believed he had the upper hand – that him being a pawn, and that Hades’s plan would ultimately fail due to his usage of the pawn that would ruin his plans. Rejecting the proposal to join Hades in creation of a new world, he would desire to promoted a King, from a pawn when they would reach the end of one side. Finally, Gambit’s words would hit Hades. The deal is off.

“…..”

A surprised look would seem to wear across Hades’s face. The she, in this case is well understood. Hades only made one deal with a woman after all, which exist as yet another pawn in the chessboard. Though, perhaps a pawn would not be correct for her case. The look which Hades might come across as a small victory for Gambit.

“F--- FUHAHAHAHAHAHA!”

Unable to contain his laughter. Hades laugh heartily, a complete change. Like a brat hearing something comedic. His laugh and demeanour even surprised Persephone. Whom likely never seen her husband like this. Her face goes into slight concern. Did Gambit break Hades? The laugh would continue for a short moment, before Hades would slowly calm himself down.

“For all your confidence. You don’t seem to understand anything, not even the logic of a chess game it seems. A pawn will never be promoted as a King. And the deal is off you said? Fufufufufufuhahahaha! The deal will never be off; her fate has long been sealed the moment she took the deal! Pitiful La Spada. She would never realize what it meant. She is nothing but a chess piece on a chessboard, to fulfil my goals.”

“Unlike you, she has a role to play on my board. But I am giving you chance… to have some value in your life. Your destiny, Landayan. Don’t you wish to become something better? Better than this life of play-house? The Hiraya Kingdom, it is but a stepping stone towards greatness. Without those incidents do you think you would have become who you are today?”

A number of chains would rattle off the ceilings as the chandelier would finally lit up in green. Chained atop the ceiling, a large number of bodies could be seen, but amongst them a few would likely catch the Prince's eyes: King Sapiro, Queen Lira, Kalasag, even Reynolds and T-Bag, their body dirtied, their eyes blackened as black blood would seemly teared down from their eyelids. Their body lifelessly hung up for spectacle, whether they are real or illusion would be difficult to perceive – for they are in the Underworld after all, they could be easily been the real souls as they would been as fake. Even using Haki or echolocation, the Prince would find it impossible to determine whether specifically for Reynolds and T-Bag to be alive nor their location – in fact it would be impossible to determine anything outside the castle unlike the castle interior, the castle has been rather strange, much like Thanatos’s mansion. It is increasingly difficult to understand the situation around the Prince as if the castle itself is isolated from the outside.

​

“The empire you created, the allies and their bonds you sought – they are nothing but obstacles in your path – a weight that anchors you down. You do not need them. You are meant to be alone.”

Persephone would continue to lay by the side of Hades, her facial expression returns to one of happiness, looking towards the King of the Underworld with nothing but adoration. Hades has been controlling the chessboard with absolute certainty, mistakes were all accounted for. The Prince attempt to provoke Hades by presuming La Spada’s deal with Hades was something that would affect his plan. But ultimately, Hades have long understood the true motives of the deal. Whether or not La Spada would go back on the deal is irrelevant.

“Bow to me, Landayan. And I will offer you a life that is worth living for. The fools in Olympus… Zeus, they would all fear and submit to us.”

 

[Gambit]

@Sea @Ichimonji
​

Two chess pieces are mounted on the board. Face to face but couldn't devour each other just yet for the other elements of the game are surrounding the fine dine they call battleground of the wits. When he turned down the offer of the godfather of Hell, he rolled over to reveal the same rejection La Spada said through him.

There was a moment of silence when Gambit concluded his initial piece. A fazed reaction could be read on his face. However, seconds later, his words were swamped by laughter. The Lord of the Underworld couldn't contain it. That even the Queen herself was dumbfounded by the mere thought of it. It was a great move by the pawn. How would the King react to this? It is his turn to move another piece. Rook four steps back. Bishop far down left the King.

The prince, a man who has dealt with hundreds of evil Godfathers in his heydays as an assassin and a center of attraction in the game of poker certainly knows to differentiate one bluff from another. Or when a bluff isn't one, to begin with. Thinking that he won the early stage, he would join the King in his hilarity. A chorus of midnight facade.

"Muahahahaha.", a baritone yet solid merriment as he kept on leaning forward. His body exerts heat due to this rejoice. And it continued with a rather more crunchy roll of glee. And as his face turned red as his blood kept on flowing rapidly, it would be followed by a long series of silent laughter while his mouth is still open. The room was filled with the prince's amusement despite Hades' rambling about.

“For all your confidence. You don’t seem to understand anything, not even the logic of a chess game it seems. A pawn will never be promoted as a King. And the deal is off you said? Fufufufufufuhahahaha! The deal will never be off; her fate has long been sealed the moment she took the deal! Pitiful La Spada. She would never realize what it meant. She is nothing but a chess piece on a chessboard, to fulfil my goals.”

“Unlike you, she has a role to play on my board. But I am giving you chance… to have some value in your life. Your destiny, Landayan. Don’t you wish to become something better? Better than this life of play-house? The Hiraya Kingdom, it is but a stepping stone towards greatness. Without those incidents do you think you would have become who you are today?”

"Muahahahaha! Hades─", Gambit started to respond but he was stopped by a series of coughs, a chain-smoker indeed. Only it was triggered by Hades' talking blather. "You're the one who doesn't understand the game of chess. Do you think I care about her? She's an enemy. I only conveyed the message to you. I don't care what sort of deal you two arranged. Nor do I care about the goals you want to be fulfilled."

But all this confidence would suddenly vanquish when he heard about the Kingdom and the incidents before and beyond. He wore a scowl on his face. His eyes suddenly were covered by the shadows his brows have cast. He was glaring at Hades as he recalled everything about his past. The tragedies. The mishaps. The fall. And then it was followed by death. As everything up above beamed up. Only for him to witness a grand display of his loved ones' corpses. Hung by the chains. His pupils became diluted as he kept looking in horror. He would give credence to King Sapiro's body, but Lira, the mother he only knew was another topic. Above all, the two commanders he brought with him to Hell.

"Nooooo! You bastard!", he roared. "What did you do?". A sudden shift of victor right this round. Hades' rook has advanced to the north, facing Gambit's Queen while the Knight stood by the left L. The prince had to move. This time, a careful approach. Hades continued to speak. A single word would change the atmosphere of the game─ALONE. For years, Landayan had been in solitude. And from that solitude, the way he viewed things emerged differently. The values he once taught became a distant memory. A noble turned criminal. All because of loneliness. As he kept on staring at T-Bag's body─his best friend, he recalled the very first time they met. They were once an enemy but a certain mission has forged a bond between them, fanning out from the cores of their ruthlessness, embracing the philosophy of solidarity.

"Solitude taught me evil. In loneliness, our hearts run darker and deeper. As you crawl into the pit of darkness, there's no one there to fetch you up. These sinister thoughts will only morph into vicious acts that would eventually crush your soul even further."

After saying that, he recalled a phrase from T-Bag when asked about his pants pocket habit. "I always turn my pockets inside out to remind myself that my son is always there for me. Hehehe. He always grabbed 'em wildly when my hands were full or dirty."

"But you missed out on a minor detail. T-Bag would always turn his pockets inside out. That's the strength of our bond. I am done with solitude. Solidarity is the path I wish to take. That's the answer to my weakness. Our collective strength is what brought us the empire we stand in today, not the destiny you claim to have forged for me. But if you insist, I will bow just as you wish."

Gambit rose to his full length, grabbing the staff pinned to his right side before collapsing it into two Warhammers: Blue (left) and Red (right). As he wielded both hammers in a reverse grip, heads facing the ground, he stepped back a couple of meters only for Hades to see his kneel. And he did. He did but in line with this bow, an almighty pound against the ground using his Hammers that it would leave significant cracks across the castle.

Beyond lightning speed, Gambit oscillates his Clima-Warhammers like a piston against the ground causing it to vibrate at high speed while simultaneously electrocuting it with his hammers and navigation skills. Forcing the electricity deep underground causes massive caverns or craters as well as intense branches of shockwaves that will stem and will branch across the target area to artificially create fault lines. What it would bring upon is anyone's guess but that's one key to winning this game.

After doing that, he rose up again, pulling the hammers swiftly from the dig before swinging them across the air and towards Hades himself, sending all the rubbles he plowed from the ground. "Get up... You're one of the obstacles I must beat. I would never submit to you..."

 

[Sea]

Serapis #64
@Landayan ​

The words continue to exchange between the Hades and Gambit, the ego of both continues to inflate into massive proportions. Indeed, for the both of them – humiliation is not something they can willingly accept. And it would show, regardless of how the both of them feel from the insults they throw and receive to each other. That said Hades is unlikely to take heed of the words of someone whom seemed to think that a pawn may promoted to the King – the logic of the chess is after all defined. Although ultimately such words are meaningless, metaphors that the both of them are effectively using to speak about their plans. Hades has his own plans, and even now how he planned to achieved it is unknown. A secret held dearly.

The appearance of his close ones would appear by the ceiling – this time immediately stumping Gambit, that he would quickly turn from confidence into anger, anger that not only did the parents of the Landayan is hanged rather disrespectfully off the ceiling – his friends which he only just saw them off are now on the ceiling as well. Yet, the bond between Gambit and his friends were deep enough – perhaps to a surprise to Hades that he was able to discern the illusions that Hades have seemly conjured in such a way. Knowing how T-Bag would have acted or rather his habits have given the Prince renewed confidence. He believed that these are fake, or at least for T-Bag and Reynolds. Yet, Gambit would continue to monologue, believing his bonds were greater. He would however decide to bow as per the wishes of Hades. Taking a few steps forth with the staff in tow, collapsing it into halves of two different coloured war hammers. Backing a little into a ‘kneeling’ position before he would bow alongside with the hammers. A slam. Using the piston – the Prince smashed the floor. Cracks would appear along the floor and walls, causing a quake in its wake. However, despite the power of the weapon Gambit used, something is off.

“What? A toy hammer? I’m disappointed in you.”

Despite the power, the damage done to the castle – the shockwave following alongside the cracks of the damaged floor and ceiling did not create a cause of concern for Hades. Persephone would continue to stay by Hades, though she is more shocked than anything. Yet Hades did not flinch as around him the floor being destroyed would stop short in front of him and spread past behind him. With the rubbles that Gambit would dug out from the ground – which he would quickly use as a form of projectile to bat towards the King of the Underworld, these rubbles would fly straight into Hades. Yet before rubbles would hit Hades, the rubbles dusted into green-like mist. The cracks would start to heal as green mist would seemly appear that the castle generally speaking will repair whatever damage it has taken from Gambit’s hammer, yet nothing else would seem to happen., perhaps much like Thanatos mansion, the castle itself is entirely different.

“My love. Why don’t you go back to the room? This will take a while.”

“Yes My Lord!”

Persephone would quickly walk through another door of the dining hall, leaving only Hades and Gambit to their fight. As Persephone disappears, the atmosphere of the room will change, the walls would shift, as the chair which Hades sat would start to emanate green-like souls. A large volume of souls would surround the dining room, even moving flatly across the walls. The dining hall is slowly changing, distorting into an empty room, food, chairs and tables would dissipate into nothingness. The only in which would remain is Hades’s chair which the Olympian would continue to sit. With a single gesture of his hand, Hades closed up his fingers into a fist – and with his gesture large swaths of green-like hands would appear from all around the room, the walls, ceilings and even the floor. These hands would all stretch out towards the Prince, aiming to crush him under its immense strength if the Prince were to be caught, the first hand out of many that Gambit would immediately notice however is the one directly underneath his own feet.

 

[Gambit]

The prince of pirates and the king of hell continued their faceoff. After a series of mockery, hilarity, and animosity, the former finally took the chance to move another piece of chess. A backward move yet it moved forward. As he plunged his hammers into the ground, cracks began to spread across the dining room. And as it did, so were the rubbles he plucked from the craters, tossing them all at Hades. He would not move, instead, the debris would turn into specks of green mist. It was supposed to be a pre-requisite for his future move. But not only that, for when the branches of the cracks manifested, they would soon revert to their prior form.

What?! ─ the prince was held by surprise. It was then he realized that the green mist was behind all these. Did Hades call it? It could be.

How did it happen? ─ was the first question Gambit had in mind after seeing the restoration of the cracks. My hammer oscillated on the ground faster than the sound. How could it be restored back in the piece so swiftly? Is this an illusion? He stared at Hades briefly. The Underworld King would not even flinch from he sat. He would then order his wife to take a leave. And as he sat, the surrounding suddenly took another form. And empty one, albeit the throne remains. It's what they are battling for in the first place.

Another staredown. This time, Hades would move his piece. A forward move. Green mist, with a lone gesture of Hades' fist, would emerge across the chessboard, manifesting a number of fists. Altogether, they catapulted at Gambit at an incredible speed. Even his Observation Haki struggled to follow. His eyes are concentrated on the ones visible to his eye. A mistake. For when he dodged the incoming fists, another one from beneath the ground erupted. No!

Hades might have thought that he caught the prince. It was his mistake. For when Gambit was dodging all the fists, he was already fashioning an advance move. He was swinging one of the hammers each time he evades, unleashing a combination of cool and heat balls in order to create a counter mist. But this mist is not identical to Hades' trick. It only fashions an illusion of the caster. A copy of him. This would be the one Hades' fist from the neath would catch.

Spoiler

God of Mischief, Loki: Gambit forms multiple illusions of himself and/or disappears completely.
- Unranked, requires 81 Navigation

Now, the prince was gone from the scene. And from his prior mistake against Kaido, he would not invoke anything. The mist he summoned would continually multiply copies of him before the real one would appear behind Hades. A distance only enough to launch a devastating strike aimed at his back!

Spoiler

Ground Test: Gambit dashes forth the opponent and lands a deadly forward strike to the body.
- DPR B, requires 41 Warhammer, 61 Strength, 61 Movement

Strength: 60+40+5 = 105 + B rank = City Level

I Updated my stats in the opening thread to follow the new rules although I know that it might be futile in this match. Lol.

 

[Sea]

Serapis #65
@Landayan ​

Green-like hands would sprout from the walls, ceiling and floor of the room in which the battle continued, the speed of the hands, weren’t necessarily incredibly fast but it has the advantage of being numerous from everywhere which even caused Gambit to struggle with. The Prince dodges at every incoming hand with great agility, but it wouldn’t be long before he is captured if all he did was just to dodge. With swings of hammer, cool and heat balls would generate. Using the combination of cold and heat to create another mist. The green mist does not linger much like a mist would normally do, it is more of a smoke. Less for obfuscating reasons that the Prince is using for. It has different purposes. With what seems to be a captured Prince, would ultimately prove to be anything but. Gambit would re-appear, but this time behind him – showing that perhaps all that is in front of Hades is but an illusion, mere clones or copies of the original. And without hesitating, the Prince would swing his hammer in a forward strike, aiming to smash Hades into pieces.

The hammer would strike the throne, smashing the back of the throne into pieces. Yet as soon as the Prince’s hammer as much as would touch the body of the Olympian, Hades would dissipate into a purple mist, much like he did the same back at the docks. However, this did not stop Hades’ original attack. Instead of attempting to capture the Prince, the hands curled up into a fist and instead aimed to punch Gambit with its numerous hands, the rest while further away in front of him would take some time, but that would not be the only case – behind Gambit would quickly sprout more hands, with the intention to punch the Prince from the back, which would be of enough force to forcefully punch him towards the other direction away from the throne if successful. From there, the large swaths of hands would return into the walls, ceiling and floor, whether the initial or secondary barrage of punches are successful or not. The throne itself would start to repair itself, green mist transforming into bits and pieces of the chair. And soon, Hades himself would reappear, sitting upon the very throne as he would do so. The souls that would surround the room would lessen, but this time, Hades gestured once more – raising his hand forward as green smoke would erupt from Hades, turning into seemly viscous-like substance as the souls within the smoke would start to appear like an amalgamation of the dead. Faces, hands, could be seen creepily on this strange smoke-like substance. And it would attempt to grab onto Gambit with its sudden rush. If successful, Gambit would be held by his neck – a deadly cold feeling would linger as it would attempt to knock the Prince unconscious with its powerful grip on his neck. A bone chilling attack.

 

[Gambit]

Hades filled the arena with hordes of ghastly hands that turned into fists, attempting to devour the prince as they sprouted from all directions. Gambit danced around, dodging every single one while simultaneously swinging his hammer to conjure illusions of himself. Intentionally letting one of the clones get caught by the green mist hand, the pirate reappeared from behind Hades and swung his weapon with enough might to inflict the first blood.

[SMASH]

The throne Hades was sitting on turned to bits after being rammed by the head of the hammer; however, Hades took the form of mist, vanishing himself from his sight only to re-emerge far from Gambit. "What?!"

"Tch!"

Clearly, the prince was frustrated with the outcome of his first two attacks. But certainly, this is the might of the Lord of the Underworld. As he displayed his frustration, Hades invoked his ghosts once more. Several of them were on standby within Hades' approach. Others would emerge behind Gambit, catching him by surprise. "Gwaaah~"

The fists rammed his back with such force that it contorted his back inward, blood squirting off his mouth as he flew towards Hades. In his flight, hordes of fists that were on standby a while ago would come rushing before swarming him, grabbing him by the neck. "Gaah!"

Falling to Hades' trick, the Landayan was held captive, held upwards, as he hung himself up. Feet struggled while he dropped his hammers, in an attempt to free himself from the trap. But his neck started to feel extremely cold like Atropos did to him in the library. The feeling of being dead. What is happening? This feeling again... His eyes slowly rested, losing their spirit. Hades would turn blur before finally giving up. "Damn y─"

Suddenly, the den den mushi kept inside his black trench coat's left pocket rang.

[Purupurupuru]

It kept on ringing. And ringing. And ringing. The prince began to have a flashback of what transpired a year ago in their pirate base, Laughing Archipelago. A memoir of a massacre. Nightmare, needless to say.

Zehahaha!

Larsi fell to the ground, his coat torn and bloodied, just as his body. Atop his chest knelt a man, although above average for a human, he seemed small compared to the giant. Around him was pure pandemonium. Minuano lay facedown on the ground, his body not moving, except for the red flowing freely into the dirt beneath him. The swordsman that had cut him down turned to face towards Larsi and the madman that stood atop him, black hair flowing wildly in the air, hand planted on Larsi's chest. He still didn't let go. How could this be? He didn't even noticed that the swordsman pulled out a pair of seastone cuffs from his coat until it clasped around his large wrist. If he had felt powerless before, not being able to access his devil fruit power, he now felt numb. Yet he tried to sit up. Stop this! He cried, only for Blackbeard to push him down again. Pained, both by his physical injuries and the mental toll, he cried for the first time since he was a child.

Eve's body lay a distance away, unmoving. Link seemed to have fallen while protecting her. He had seen Dango and Sigmund cut down early in the clash. They had barely set foot on this island before they were ambushed. They were only supposed to take a short break here before moving to Merveille. How could it have gone this wrong? Why? A shadow momentarily blocked the sun, before landing on the grass a dozen or so meters away. Gambit, carrying Drago had arrived and they were trying to rescue him. He tried to wave them away, shouting in desperation, his voice raw with grief. No, run! Save yourself. But it was too late, the swordsman moved swiftly, cutting down Drago and moving towards Gambit. Larsi tried to move again, but felt a sharp pain as the butt of a gun was slammed against his head. Darkness fell over him.

As he recalled this incident, hatred, vengeance, and wrath would ramify from the depths of his soul. Not feeling any love towards the man in front of him. He would kill. But how could he? He was bound by these mystical elements. He was bound like the chains that bound his friend not so long ago. Not being there just in time to try to save his captain, and the rest of his comrades would forever and ever linger in his mind and soul. In all of eternity, no matter how he tried to escape, there's no escaping from his failure, regardless of how many times he succeeded in rebuilding what's fallen. A scar would always be a scar. @Larsi looks like I have failed once again. How could I even face you in the afterlife if I couldn't survive this? To think that I assumed your position. I couldn't even settle the score with Teach. Here I am, in Hell. What would you do in this situation? Huh, Larsi?

A desperate call for help.

 

[Sea]

Serapis #66
@Landayan ​

The mysticism of Hades has started to frustrate the Prince, his powers have so far shown to be incredibly different and terribly strange. Landayan would have to find a weakness in Hades’ abilities before he could properly strategize. But for the time being Gambit would have to deal with two barrages of fists that staggered in their timings. Before he could properly defend himself the ones from behind quickly caught him by surprise. Rammed with a couple of fists striking him from behind as he is sent flying away from Hades, but toward the other barrage of fists. More barrages would follow, but eventually they would subside. Yet the green, creepy viscous liquid would erupt from Hades, floating in the air as the Prince would finally be held by the substance. Bone chilling cold would struck the Prince, as its grip would force the Prince into near unconsciousness. His eyes blurred, vision darkened – but before he could fall unconscious – a ringing sound would erupt from the pockets of the Prince’s coat.

The ringing would continue without interruption. The Prince couldn’t pick it up. But Hades would. The floating substance would start to expand, stretching into the pockets of the coat where the ringing would continue, and in his pockets, it would retrieve the snail, slowly being carried back from start to end, the Den Den Mushi slowly traverse the liquid into Hades’ hands.

“Is this what the call of friendship have offered you? Weakness?”

Hades quickly responded to the strange events but not one with a tone of confidence nor arrogance, the tone is completely cold. He wasn’t expecting Gambit to fall prey to his attacks so quickly. Another 180 from the confidence which the Prince has shown up till now. No. The pawn is too weak in that’s the case. Did Hades’ plan to ensure his chess piece grow into something useful in the future becoming a failure? Hades is no longer smiling much, in fact his facial expression changed, replacing smirk and arrogance with seemly disappointment. With a fling of his hand, the substance would fling Gambit towards the wall. If successful, Gambit would be released from the deathly touch of the strange green-like misty substance, his back likely smashed into the wall. If done so, the wall behind Gambit would, for some reasons start to repair itself once more, giving no signs of damage afterwards. The substance that once held the Prince would start to dissipate into green mist, before disappearing.

CLICK

Hades would click on the Den Den Mushi, whoever is calling – would likely speak up. The silence of Hades would listen. That is of course if the person calling, is still waiting for the call to be picked up.

 

[Gambit]

The prince was hit by the swarm of fists from behind. Rushing from his front was a huge hand that eventually grabbed him by his neck. Fell in the trap, a chilling sensation would start to manifest in his body. It's as if he was already dead. But before losing consciousness, he recalled a dark past that occurred in their pirate, Laughing Archipelago, an place in the Grand Line. It was the time when their crew was eradicated by Blackbeard, killing everyone except him and T-Bag, and the other members that were sent out on a mission. A nightmare it was. And underlining that reminiscence was a glaring frustration for not being able to survive this battle. A tragedy. He remembered Larsi, his friend and his captain whom he assumed to be dead. Until.

[Purupurupuru]

It would continue to ring for several seconds before Hades finally drew the den den mushi from his trench coat's pocket. He clicked. And a voice was heard on the other line. A voice so familiar began to speak. The prince's soul was suddenly plucked from the depths of darkness. He tried to recollect his sanity and consciousness and tried to keep himself flaring, heating up his body with sheer willpower to survive. He opened his eyes, wide enough that the pupils seemed to disengage from his socket. A shocking revelation. But if this was another trick by the Lord of Hell, then Gambit would not spare him from this mockery.

It could not be... I saw him die... Took his power and body by that man...

He tried to speak as soon as he heard the voice he longed to hear. The voice of the face he wanted to see in this realm he was currently trapped. But if that man really is alive. Then what else is the point of being here? He already learned the truth from Hades himself that all along, he has been manipulating his life. The last thing he wanted to see was the man who abandoned his country and let himself die ─ his biological father. There's only one thing inside his head right now. Meet the man on the other line as soon as possible!

"LARSIIII!", he roared in thrill and hope. However, the line would be cut. Nonetheless, all he needed was validation. And he just did.

With this newfound conviction to battle death. Gambit would morph into his demon form once again as soon as the green mist that held him a while ago disengaged from his neck. Wings as black as his hatred toward Blackbeard would start to sprout from his back. Claws and fangs grew naturally. Eyes as red as black manifested, and the diamond emblem on his forehead beamed like crimson blood. As soon as this is over, he would flap his wings violently, sending a mixture of air blades and shockwaves toward Hades before grabbing the hammers that he dropped prior.

Round 2 fight!

 

[Sea]

Serapis #67
@Landayan

​

The Den Den Mushi was clicked, the voice however – is not something that Hades recognise. Even if he managed to manipulate Gambit’s life. The King of the Underworld would not recognize voices like that. Thus only the words that would be spoken by the other would be the only thing Hades could tell. Yet for the Prince, the voice became a source of hope, a light in the dark. Enough to crawl himself out of those very depths of Hell. The Prince roared, transforming into a powerful demonic entity, black wings, claws and fangs – truly a monstrous figure. Regaining his mental fortitude, Landayan looked to defeat Hades. He has to meet the man on the other line, his newfound objective perhaps. With renewed vigour Landayan flapped his wings rapidly, generating both air blades and shockwave towards the other end of the throne room, with Hades as the target.

Yet the King of the Underworld – smirked. His hands placed forth to seemly attempt to block the mixture of an attack. Following that, the green mist would appear – flowing towards the front of Hades’ palm before turning into something more solid, a similar amalgamation of souls and hands that once grab hold of Landayan would be seen once more. Acting as a barrier, the air blades would clash into the green smoke, completely protecting Hades from the air blades whilst shockwaves would rock the ground. Though, it did not hit Hades but it would seem that certain parts of the thrones broke apart by it. As if not all attacks would seem to be completely defended.

​

With that, Hades started to laugh – like a maniac. It has been an amusing experience, perhaps not one that the King of the Underworld have expected. But regardless of which, things did not deviate out of his control yet. And by the looks of the naivety of the Prince – it is unlikely that it would. Suddenly, a ring of greenish flame would encircle around the throne room, the same kind of flames that Landayan have seen and experience, though not first hand. Resting his head on his hand while keeping his already stretched out hand in front of him, the throne started to repair itself. Suddenly, a powerful burst of green flames would erupt from Hades’ epicentre. Aiming to hit Landayan, whereby similarly to Cerberus, should he gotten hit by it would feel not just the burning sensation of the flames but more importantly, like T-bag before him – would feel a strange feeling on parts where the flames hit his body, as if something felt ‘off’ or ‘missing’.

 

[Gambit]

Gambit transformed into his ferocious self; vicious, savage, brutish, and cold-blooded. In this form, his physical prowess would climb up a couple of notches up. However, his sanity and wit are at risk. Even after having absolute control over his ability, the harsh nature of this form has a tendency to huge instability due to his own emotional and tragic life.

That was before. But after having learned about his identity even deeper, could something might have changed for the better? Is this the reason why he was sent here in the first place? To overcome whatever burdens he has long carried on his shoulders? An awakening after awakening. Revelation after revelation. After all, the man sitting across the other side of the room has been part of, if not another pawn made by his legal father, the King of Lireo, Hiraya. All to unravel the mystery of the century they void.

Gambit with his demonic identity attempted to damage the Lord of Hell by unloosing a barrage of wind slashes adorned with a barrage of shockwaves. However, Hades' mysterious power prevented the prince from dealing a devastating blow. And the repairing of the damaged throne occurred once again. Something is really off. What's happening? Are my attacks that weak to be deflected with such ease? Something is off here.

As Landayan wandered the secrets behind his enemy's ability, he stared at the throne as it repaired itself. His eyes were set ablaze due to the fact that Hades would not even leave his seat even after seeing Gambit in nimble and acrobatics. And he thought, Is that the source of his power? He's like a logia user. No, a special paramecia perhaps. But I never heard of such an ability, to begin with. Spada possesses the Revive-Revive Fruit while Big Mom has the Soul-Soul Fruit. Perona on the other hand is something else. Is it related to a weapon? But he's not holding anything. Regardless, it's safe to assume that my attacks lack the power to start with. Therefore, I shall go with all I got.

And with that, for the first since setting his feet on this land, Gambit would clad his weapons with his Dark Willpower, making the two Warhammers crackled with Haki. And as a master of it (120 mastery), trails of spirit-like substance would leak from it. Standing inside the ring of flames, Gambit quickly assessed that he must not be touched by it, having T-Bag experienced it. He's got intel of what it possibly may incur on him. Imbuing his weapons with electricity/lightning using his navigation skills after hurling combinations of weather balls, Gambit speeds toward Hades and runs in a lightning bolt-shaped motion while he strikes him with great might. "Storm Sorcerer Forge, Maelstorm!"

Spoiler

Storm Sorcerer Forge, Maelstorm
- DPR: A, AOE, requires 81 Warhammer, 81 Dengeki Blue/Navigation, 81 Strength, 81 Movement
120: 5. Town Level + COA: 3 + A: 3 = 11. Small Continent Level

 

[Sea]

Serapis #68
@Landayan

​

The green flames were troubling, having seen what happened to T-Bag before - whether there are truly any other effects of making contact with the flames was something that the Prince isn’t willing to risk figuring out at the moment. As such he would aimed for lightning fast strikes to take out Hades. He who strikes first wins. That sort of philosophy would seem to be the primary stratagem the Prince would choose, and likely will be for the battle ahead. With his hammers in tow, charged upon by the electricity generated through the usage of weather balls, the Prince dashed in a zig-zag manner, rushing head on towards Hades. The Prince would quickly get in front of him, swinging his hammers into a strike. What came forth is the same green mist that blocked his attacks earlier, but shooting forth to stop Gambit’s attack, yet the clash is quickly concluded. The hammers smashed quite solidly into the mist, but it would only last for a mere few seconds before Gambit’s attack would smash past it and into Hades. But once more, the same would happen. Gambit’s hammer would hit Hades, but just like before – Hades seemly dissipated into purple smoke upon contact as if his own body is made of Logia-like properties. But with the Prince’s usage of Haki – it is unlikely to be such. The mist dissipated, followed by the smashing of the throne once more, quite literally smashing it into pieces without a problem, causing even cracks and mini quakes off the floor.

“What a pity. Landayan”

Yet behind Gambit, near the windows behind the thrones the same purple mist appeared – as if walking into existence Hades materialized from it. This time no longer sitting on the throne. An imposing figure almost towering over the Prince. On his right hand, a strange spear-like weapon would manifest – his crown, armour appeared, black and spiked in design. Cape fluttering as chains seems to surround the Olympian. Lighting his weapon in green flames, Hades would swing his own weapon against Gambit with incredible force, aiming to swipe the Prince away, off to the wall. The green flames, imbued Hades’ swing not just with force but would burn Gambit with it should the weapon be allowed to touch any part of Gambit’s body. Green mist would emanate around Hades, though not as much as before – manifesting into solid green spikes that would float in the air. Fired off would be five of them, aiming to pierce Gambit, but more than likely meant to impale and pin the Prince into the wall. The throne and floor would start to regenerate once more, repairing the damage and destruction that Gambit wrought.

​

The real battle is just starting.

 

[Gambit]

Clash of the Titans continued. Two Lords. Two Myths. One shall only prevail.

With Gambit's newfound vigour, he propelled himself with incredible speed towards Hades. Surrounding him were charges of lightning and streams of Armament Haki, flowing all the way down into his weapons. Reaching his target, he swung the hammers with such force it desolated Hades' defence through his mists. Ramming through it, not only did he strike Hades but squashed the throne and the immediate area, too. The former however would dissolve just like the prior events, turning into a purple substance before vanishing before his eyes.

However, not for long till the mansion's grandmaster would re-emerge from behind. Forming from mere mists into a titanic figure. Massive enough to look down at the eight-foot-tall Prince of Hiraya. In his person, a swirling length of chains. Adorning him was a gothic knight armour and cape ─ both in the shade of darkness. And as his cape fluttered magically, the dark lord swung his weapon beaming with green flames against Gambit with such force it allowed himself to send the prince casting against the wall. As the prince dented himself into the brick veneers, five spikes made of the same elements would be launched at him at lightning speed. However, before these spikes would even touch the prince, he would burst into a swarm of bats and totally occupy the majority of the dining hall. He would do this momentarily before morphing back into demonkind. But this time, channelled a little bit of science in him as he played with his black titanium belt and pressed a button to unleash his personalized Cosmic Storm God Raid Suit.

Landayan Morrow stood a few meters behind Hades, flapping his wings as he held his hammers.

"So you finally up it a notch."

As soon as he spoke, Gambit summoned darkened mists and magnified its area of effect using a combination of heat and cool balls discharging from his hammers. These black mists would eventually engulf the entire area with darkness. Yes, darker than their souls. After that, he would coat his lightning hammer with its respective element of choice and the other hammer would plough the ground to gather earth elements. With his knowledge of Alchemy, he can turn this element into lava by mixing it with fire. Gambit purposely did this to let Hades know of his location, but by doing this, the prince would continue to create illusions of himself and let them circle around the area as if they were planning to attack, toying with fate itself. At the same time, the real prince would launch his lightning hammer at Hades before blitzing once more wielding the lava-infused hammer for one devastating blow.

Spoiler

Bat Burst: Aside from Normal Hybrid or Beast form, Gambit can burst into a cloud of bats but he cannot perform any martial arts. Can use Observation Haki.
- Unranked, requires 81 DF Mastery

Dark World: Gambit can summon a dark mist that shrouds him and the battlefield for a few turns by combining his natural misting ability with Navigation. He can see through this mist using echolocation, but his opponent cannot, normally. Also gives him access to places that are hard to secure or reach.
- Unranked, requires 61 Mastery, 61 Navigation

Thunder God Forge, Mjolnir: Gambit charges his Warhammer with electricity, compressing them before throwing the weapon to the target area in such a way that it returns to him as if it's a boomerang. As it goes, streams of lightning emit from the head of the hammer.
- DPR: A, AOE, requires 81 Warhammer, 81 Dengeki Blue/Navigation, 81 Strength

Fire Demon Forge, Surtur: Same with Hell Fire, the user gathers earth first and converts them into lava before launching himself at the opponent for a catastrophic blow. He can also choose to beat the ground and powerful streams of lava are discharged across the battlefield as if you're inside a range of volcanoes.
- DPR: A, AOE, 81 Warhammer, 81 Navigation, 81 Strength, 81 Movement, 5 * Alchemy