Divine Mask: I Have Numerous God Clones

Even as the light grew stronger, Hades' body continued to crumble. Pieces of him turned to dust, drifting away on the wind like sand, his very essence seeming to disintegrate right before Vesperin's eyes.

Vesperin, watching in a mixture of shock and disbelief, sneered. He took a step back, convinced he had won. "You're bluffing," he spat, his voice filled with contempt. "Look at you—you're falling apart, turning to ashes! All your power, all that talk—it means nothing!"

He grinned, his arrogance growing as Hades' body continued to crumble. "Finally, all your threats, all your games, come to an end. You're nothing but dust now."

But even as his body disintegrated, Hades wore that same unsettling smirk, his eyes glinting with a dark amusement. "Are you so sure?" he whispered, his voice low, carrying a sinister edge that sliced through the air like a dagger.

Vesperin's sneer faltered for the briefest of moments, a flicker of doubt flashing in his eyes. His confident stance wavered as he took in the eerie calm in Hades' expression.

The cracks continued to widen, and Hades' form grew thinner, until finally, his entire body collapsed into ash, the dark light extinguishing into nothing.

The silence that followed was suffocating. The pile of ash where Hades had once stood lay still, untouched by the faint breeze that drifted through the abyss.

For a moment, Vesperin exhaled, his body releasing the tension he'd unknowingly held. "It's over," he muttered to himself, relief evident in his voice. "Finally..."

But then, something stirred.

From behind the pile of ash, where Hades had disintegrated, a shadow moved. Vesperin's breath caught in his throat, his eyes widening in disbelief.

Emerging from the remnants of dust was a young boy, his figure clear against the backdrop of the darkness. His presence was undeniable, radiating an eerie calm that was almost more terrifying than Hades himself.

Vesperin's jaw went slack. He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. His body froze, his mind struggling to comprehend what he was seeing. The sneer that had once graced his lips was now gone, replaced with a look of pure shock.

The boy—Lucas—stood there, his posture relaxed, his face unreadable, exuding an air of calm detachment. He tilted his head slightly, his cold, calculating eyes locked onto Vesperin, who was still frozen in shock.

The earlier chaos, the violent battle, and the near-death experience Vesperin had just faced seemed meaningless to Lucas. He stood there, completely unaffected, as if nothing had ever happened.

His silence was unnerving, and the lack of any urgency in his movements made the tension in the air almost unbearable. Lucas' calm presence was far more terrifying than anything Vesperin had faced so far.

"Too stunned to speak?" Lucas finally said, his voice soft, laced with an almost playful mockery. His tone was casual, as if they were discussing something as mundane as the weather, not the life-or-death situation they were in.

He took a step forward, each movement slow and deliberate, his amusement growing with every passing second.

The air between them seemed to grow heavier as Lucas closed the distance. There was something about his presence—something that made the space around him feel suffocating, like the darkness itself was bending to his will.

Vesperin, still struggling to comprehend what had just happened, felt a surge of panic rising in his chest. His confidence from earlier had vanished completely. This boy—no, this monster—was far beyond anything he could have expected.

"W-who are you?" Vesperin finally stammered, his voice trembling, a mix of confusion and genuine fear creeping into his words. His earlier arrogance had evaporated, replaced with the raw vulnerability of someone who had just realized they were utterly powerless.

Lucas smirked, the corner of his lips curling up into a smile that didn't reach his cold eyes. He didn't bother answering.

Instead, with lightning speed, he moved—so fast that Vesperin barely registered the motion. In the blink of an eye, Lucas was directly in front of him, his expression still calm, almost bored.

Before Vesperin could react, Lucas drove his fist into Vesperin's stomach with brutal force. The blow landed with a sickening thud, and the pain hit Vesperin like a tidal wave.

His eyes widened in shock, his breath completely knocked out of him as he doubled over in agony. But Lucas wasn't done.

In one fluid motion, Lucas followed up with a precise, sharp strike to the back of Vesperin's neck. The impact was immediate. Vesperin's body went limp as his eyes rolled back, and he crumpled to the ground like a rag doll, completely unconscious before he even hit the dirt.

Lucas straightened, looking down at Vesperin's limp form with a dark, satisfied smirk. There was no sign of concern or hesitation in his expression—only amusement, as if this had all been some kind of twisted game.

"You really thought you could control this situation," Lucas muttered to the unconscious Vesperin, his voice low and chilling, almost like a whisper in the darkness. "But you've always been out of your depth."

He crouched down next to Vesperin's lifeless body, studying him with a mixture of amusement and disdain. The slight rise and fall of Vesperin's chest was the only indication that he was still alive. Lucas reached out, pushing Vesperin's shoulder lightly, as though testing just how out of it he was.

"Pathetic," Lucas murmured, his eyes narrowing as he cast one last glance at the fallen boy.

He paced around Vesperin for a moment, considering his options. Then, with a slow exhale, he bent down again, this time speaking directly into Vesperin's ear, even though the other couldn't hear him.

"I'll have my fun with you soon enough," Lucas whispered, his voice dripping with menace. "But for now, you're not ready."

Straightening, Lucas gave a final, dismissive glance at Vesperin's lifeless form. "Sleep," he commanded, the word more a decree than a suggestion. "You'll wake when I decide it's time."

Without another word, Lucas turned away, his presence cold and commanding, leaving the unconscious Vesperin to his fate.