HP: god of potions

Chapter 147

Grey's attacks grew even faster, his strength increasing with every blow. He struck Darkseid with a barrage of punches, each one shattering the sound barrier a thousand times over. Trigon tried to intervene, but Grey turned, his fist slamming into the demon's face with enough force to send him tumbling across the planet. Darkseid roared, unleashing a flurry of strikes that Grey met with equal ferocity. Their battle reached a fever pitch, every punch reshaping the landscape. Entire mountain ranges rose and fell, storms erupted from the sheer pressure, and the ground itself became molten. But then it shifted.

Trigon, rising from the shattered peaks, his enormous form wreathed in black flame, descended upon Grey like an apocalyptic force. He swung one titanic fist, and the blow connected with the force of a collapsing star. Grey was hurled through miles of molten rock and shattered stone, the impact birthing a canyon that split the planet's crust. Grey recovered instantly, his form blazing with raw energy. He launched himself back into the fray, driving his fist into Trigon's massive chest. The demon staggered, black ichor spilling from the impact site — but his regeneration sealed the wound almost immediately. Snarling, Trigon retaliated with a sweeping backhand that cracked the air itself, sending Grey hurtling through the atmosphere.

Before Grey could right himself, Darkseid was there. He appeared in a blur of motion, driving a knee into Grey's gut with such force that shockwaves radiated into the stratosphere. Grey coughed blood, but his eyes only blazed brighter. He retaliated with a crushing elbow strike to Darkseid's face, sending the New God reeling. Trigon capitalized on the moment, unleashing a massive double-fisted strike that drove Grey into the ground like a meteor. The surface cracked and buckled, entire continents shifting as the impact sent tsunamis racing across the planet. The air itself ignited, turning the skies into a storm of fire and lightning.

Grey rose from the crater, breathing heavily, his body steaming with heat and power. But he could feel it — his physical advantages, granted by the potions, were beginning to wane. His blows weren't landing with quite the same devastating impact. Darkseid and Trigon, their rage now fully unleashed, were pushing him back.

Darkseid advanced, his eyes burning with the power of the Omega Effect. But he didn't fire. This was a contest of strength. He struck with a thunderous right hook, the force behind it enough to shatter a moon had it been in their path. Grey blocked, but the impact drove him back, his feet carving trenches into the scorched earth. Trigon followed, his claws flashing. Grey dodged, but not fast enough — the demon's talons raked across his side, drawing blood that hissed as it hit the ground. Grey countered with a brutal uppercut that snapped Trigon's head back, but the demon only laughed, his wounds already knitting closed.

The two titans attacked in unison. Darkseid's blows came with mechanical precision and overwhelming power, each one a hammer strike that threatened to break Grey's bones. Trigon was wild and relentless, his attacks a storm of claws and fists and hellfire. Grey fought back, his fists blurring, his strikes shaking the very core of the planet — but he was being forced onto the defensive. Then Darkseid landed a perfect strike. His fist drove into Grey's chest with a force that cracked the sound barrier a hundred times over. The impact sent Grey crashing through the planet's surface and into its molten core. The world screamed in protest, lava erupting from the wound.

But Grey was far from finished. He erupted from the core in a pillar of fire and light, his form a blazing comet. He struck Trigon mid-flight, driving the demon into the ground with enough force to send shockwaves through the planet's mantle. But even as Trigon fell, Darkseid was there — his knee smashed into Grey's ribs, followed by a devastating haymaker that sent Grey tumbling. Grey's body ached.

The air rippled with destructive energy as Trigon and Darkseid pressed their assault. Grey's fists lashed out, but the tide was shifting. Darkseid's blows grew heavier, faster — each strike felt like the weight of a dying star. Trigon's claws raked across his flesh, molten wounds closing almost as fast as they appeared, but the pain gnawed at him. For the first time, Grey's breathing grew ragged. Darkseid slammed a hammer-like fist into Grey's chest. The impact blasted him through miles of rock and fire, his body skipping across the molten surface of the planet like a stone. The earth split beneath him, continents cracking as tidal waves of magma rose. Grey pushed himself up, only for Trigon to descend, his enormous form blotting out the sky.

A massive foot crashed down. Grey barely rolled aside, the shockwave obliterating the landscape. Mountains disintegrated into dust. He surged forward, his speed a blur — his fist connected with Trigon's jaw. The demon staggered, but this time, he didn't fall. Trigon's hand snapped out, seizing Grey by the throat. "You fight well, mortal," Trigon growled, his eyes burning with infernal light. "But your strength wanes." With a savage roar, Trigon hurled Grey into the sky — and Darkseid was waiting.

The New God struck like a thunderclap. His punch drove Grey higher, the atmosphere igniting around them. Another blow. Another. Grey couldn't recover. He shot through the air like a comet, bones creaking under the relentless onslaught. And then Darkseid's arms locked around him. A crushing bear hug, the pressure immense. Grey's vision blurred as his ribs cracked. He fought back, elbows driving into Darkseid's sides, but the hold didn't break. Trigon rose to meet them. His massive claws speared forward. Grey twisted — too slow.

The claws sank into his side, blood spraying into the void. Agony lanced through him, but he didn't scream. Instead, his hand shot forward, grasping Trigon's wrist. With a furious burst of strength, he wrenched the demon's arm — the bones snapped with a sickening crack. Trigon howled, but Darkseid didn't falter. The Omega Beams flared. Grey barely shifted in time. The beams grazed him, burning through his side and carving deep trenches into the dying planet below. The ground trembled, fissures splitting the world apart. Then the planet broke. The crust fractured, molten core spilling into space. Shards of land and fire spiraled outward, and the three combatants fought amid the ruin. Grey's speed was slowing.

Trigon's fist met his jaw, and stars burst behind his eyes. Darkseid's kick followed, sending him careening through debris. He caught himself on a floating chunk of rock — just as a massive slab of molten stone crashed into him, crushing him against its surface. He pushed free, but too late. Darkseid was there. A punch to the gut. The force shattered the rock behind him. Grey coughed blood. Trigon descended again, and his claws found their mark. For the first time, Grey stumbled. "Your strength fails you," Darkseid rumbled. "And now you fall." But Grey's eyes still burned with defiance.

 Grey stood amidst the chaos, his body battered and scorched, his breathing ragged. The molten ground beneath him hissed with every step he took. Yet, through the destruction, he smiled — a slow, dangerous curve of his lips. "I forgot to tell you guys," he said, his voice cutting through the thunder and fire like a blade. "I am a wizard." The space around them shuddered. Reality fractured. And then his domain manifested.