Chapter 12: Pontus and Poseidon (5)
The punches of the mindless Pontus were heavy.
Even without the clubs he wielded when rational, fighting with just fists and feet felt deeper, more intense.
"Man, those punches hit differently," Poseidon remarked.
Whoosh, swoosh!
Pontus fought with pankration, while Poseidon countered with his self-crafted mixed martial arts.
Devoid of reason, Pontus' techniques became starkly simple and clean, each move lethal.
He didn't hesitate to aim for the eyes or snap at the neck, making him an even trickier opponent than when he fought with reason—a bizarre phenomenon.
"This is ridiculous. Is he more dangerous without reason?"
"So his divine potential was holding him back?"
Thud!
Their fists collided with shoulders and chests, forcing them apart.
Their physical strength was equal, their technical skill matched.
In this fierce deadlock, where the outcome was uncertain, the goddesses watching from a safe distance observed anxiously.
"This is turning into a battle of endurance," Eurynome said.
"Yes, Lady Eurynome. No one expected Pontus to have such skill, even if Poseidon's prowess was known," Styx replied.
"Still, watching two of the greatest fighters go at it is something else," Metis added.
The others nodded at Metis' words.
Though it was a battle against an enemy, as goddesses of this world, they couldn't help but admire martial prowess.
If this weren't a war, they'd likely be enjoying nectar and ambrosia, spectating the clash of titanic warriors with glee.
***
Unlike the goddesses, who had shifted from anxiety to spectatorship, Poseidon was locked in extreme focus.
A battle between gods was superhuman. Beyond the five senses, they relied on a sixth.
Some gods could manipulate their bodies at will, and most attacks could be blocked or dodged blindfolded.
Against a mindless Pontus, who was his equal, a single moment of carelessness could lead to Poseidon's downfall.
Trading punches and vying for spatial control with near-prophetic precision, their fight dragged on for twenty grueling minutes.
"Phew, this isn't working, is it?" Poseidon panted.
"…"
Pontus, mechanical in his movements, responded only with relentless martial arts.
Seeing his machine-like state, Poseidon realized he needed a new approach.
'I've landed several hits, but his recovery is faster than the damage I deal. There's barely any physical impact. Looks like I need to pin him down and go all out…'
***
As time passed, even the watching gods, nymphs, and mythical creatures grew bored.
Then, Pontus' claw-like hand grazed Poseidon, tearing into his chest with a splatter of blood.
The sharp cut left a wound across Poseidon's net-like muscles.
As his stance faltered, Pontus mechanically swung a powerful finishing blow.
THUD!
"No!!!"
The goddesses watching from afar screamed, and many gods observing the battle sensed Poseidon's defeat.
As they began to consider their next moves, a voice tinged with amusement rang out.
"Gotcha."
To all appearances, Pontus' fist had pierced Poseidon's abdomen—a clear sign of defeat.
But Poseidon was grinning, while Pontus struggled.
Pontus frantically tried to pull his fist from Poseidon's body.
"Sorry, but I moved my guts up already. You punched an empty spot. And now, you're caught."
Like a fisherman trapping a great shark in a net, Poseidon tightened his abdominal muscles as Pontus thrashed.
The more the prey struggled, the tighter the trap.
"Farewell. You were a decent opponent. Going berserk and defying expectations was a nice touch."
Poseidon swung both fists at the flailing Pontus.
Tap.
The sound was as light as a feather brushing skin, with no apparent impact.
Pontus, momentarily puzzled, glanced at where Poseidon's fists landed, seeing no visible damage.
But the gods watching from a third-party perspective were horrified.
Beyond Pontus' intact abdomen, a massive hole had formed, with shockwaves radiating outward.
"They call this 'cunjin' or 'fajin' in China. You're the first god I've used it on, so consider it an honor."
The seemingly light punch was anything but. Pontus finally realized the gravity of the situation.
His abdomen disintegrated into dust, a gaping hole forming as his body, unable to recover, began to shrivel from the strain of his rampage.
Behind the hole in his body, the sea itself was pierced by an even larger chasm, carved through the ocean by the force of the blow.
As Pontus' body shriveled, unable to withstand the accumulated damage, it collapsed entirely.
With Pontus' fall, Poseidon relaxed his tensed muscles, releasing him.
Looking at the spectacle he'd caused, Poseidon burst into laughter, shouting something incomprehensible to the gods and nymphs.
"Haha! See, I told you Moses parted the sea with his fists! Look, it's doable!"
The gods, nymphs, and monsters watching were dumbfounded, mouths agape at Poseidon's display.
"Tch, I told him not to solve everything with his fists, but he's at it again. Look at him—bloodied knuckles and a battered body from his reckless stunt. He had a perfectly good weapon, tsk tsk tsk," Hera clucked.
"Hehe, Hera, worried about your little brother?" Hestia teased.
"What?! Hestia, take that back! I'm just scolding a fool!"
"Sure, sure, whatever you say," Demeter chimed in.
The three sisters shook their heads, though they weren't surprised, as if they'd expected this from Poseidon.
Hades, watching from the underworld, felt the same.
"As expected, that brute did exactly what I thought he would," Hades said.
"Hades, you're not surprised by this?" Thanatos asked.
"Hah! Thanatos, you don't know how much we suffered because of that brute in Kronos' belly. All my siblings were tormented by him," Hades replied.
Thanatos, god of death, realized the secret behind the strength of the world's rulers.
'So, this kind of environment naturally breeds such power.'
But the goddesses closest to the scene were even more shocked.
"My… I didn't even see anything like this during the Titanomachy," Styx stammered, speechless at Poseidon's feat.
"Was the trident holding him back? That final technique and style—truly a warrior. That's the kind of grit a man needs,"
Eurynome said, marveling at Poseidon's masculinity while eyeing the trident with suspicion.
Hummmm.
"Don't complain to me. Your master's the one acting like that," Eurynome said to the trident.
"Is this really one of the three chief gods, Zeus' brother…?"
Metis muttered, pondering the implications of Poseidon's terrifying tenacity and strength for the relationship between Olympus and the sea.
***
Finally, Pontus, one of the Protogenoi, had fallen.
True to his nature as a Protogenos, even in defeat, he writhed and regenerated, a grotesque sight.
But it was clear he no longer had the strength to fully recover.
With gurgling gasps, his regeneration seemed to cause him more pain, like a wriggling insect.
Gurgle, hack!
Poseidon lifted Pontus, tearing out his sinews and muscles, and bound him tightly with chains made of blue adamantine, a metal found only in the sea.
Facing the countless gods, nymphs, and monsters watching, he shouted:
"The war is over!"
Waaaaah!
***
After everything was settled, Poseidon found the aftermath of the war more exhausting than the war itself.
There was already much to clean up, but the rebels required his personal judgment.
Not all rebels could be judged equally—most had been manipulated by Pontus' power, and the severity of their crimes varied between major gods, nymphs, and mythical creatures.
First, Poseidon dealt with Thaumas and Phorcys, Pontus' children who had willingly joined the war despite not being under his influence. He rendered them unconscious and imprisoned them alongside Pontus in the deepest part of the Oceanus Strait.
For the sea nymphs and some mythical creatures with lesser crimes, he granted forgiveness with a one-year confinement.
The issue was Nereus, Doris, Amphitrite, and some of their sisters.
And the greatest offender, Thetis, who had served as Pontus' catalyst and now lay unconscious, pierced by Eurynome's trident.
"You know your actions warrant being locked away with Pontus," Poseidon said.
Nereus, Doris, and Amphitrite, kneeling before him, couldn't lift their heads.
Thetis, still unconscious since the war's end, was confined in solitary, her judgment deferred.
"However, considering you acted for your family, minimized harm during the war, and that gods like Keto and Eurybia, who fought for me, gave up their rewards to plead for you, I sentence you to one year of confinement and ten years of labor to atone for your sins."
Shocked by the lenient sentence, Nereus, Doris, and Amphitrite looked up at Poseidon.
The sea's creatures, gods, and nymphs watching the judgment were equally stunned.
Unfazed by their reactions, Poseidon maintained a stern expression and concluded:
"That ends the judgment. As for Thetis, considering she was a victim, her sentence will be deferred until her recovery."
Ignoring the murmurs of astonishment, Poseidon left the courtroom.
On his way to his now-completed palace, he muttered to himself:
"Phew, trials really aren't my thing."
Unlike his stoic courtroom demeanor, Poseidon grumbled as if wearing ill-fitting clothes.
Eurynome, appearing out of nowhere, clapped her hands.
Clap, clap, clap.
"For something you say doesn't suit you, you handled it quite well," she said.
Poseidon glanced at her with a 'When did you get here?' look, then, seeing her clapping, responded with a playful grin.