110 [110] Against the Gods

Chapter 110: Against the Gods

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Hikaru, the Yaggdrissil God Tree, must have snitched to his underlings about me and how I destroyed part of his soul. 

All of Norse and its Nine Realms took the conceptual Tree Yggdrasil as their home, both Asgardians and Frost Giants, and all the others who were part of Norse. Perhaps that's why they were angry at me and were looking for revenge, or something worse that I'm unable to predict.

Whatever the case, they were after me, and I didn't mind slaughtering them at all.

The air crackled with tension, like the brewing of a coming storm. As Hel, the arrogant Goddess, lay defensively beneath me, her death but a heartbeat away. 

"Stop it!" Yet, before I could finish her, her luck shone. The Valkyrie intervened, running towards me with a wand in her hand.

Of course, I didn't listen, I ignored her and curled my fist. It crackled with lightning Qi as I drew it back to attack Hel, to flatten her body against the earth, but the Valkyrie interrupted me with an attack.

"Mana Barrage!" She cried, summoning a cascade of magic circles that shimmered with deadly intent. A myriad of beams, each a different hue of mana, surged toward me, an onslaught that would overwhelm any ordinary foe. 

'Huh,' But an ordinary foe I was not. Sadly I wasn't strong enough to just slap the beams away either; the wand seemed to be a God-class weapon, the beams were not weak.

In the face of such an assault, my initial plan shifted. My fist redirected toward the magical barrage. But rather than meeting it with brute force, I played smart. With a [Whirlwind Blink], my form vanished, reappearing mere inches in front of the Valkyrie. 

Her eyes widened in shock, and she gasped. She began to charge another spell to block my attack, but it was too late.

My fist tore through the fabrics of air and hit her in the jaw; I surged out an Overlord technique right into her face. 

[Raging Storm of Chaotic Destruction]

Wind and lightning swirled into a tempestuous vortex around my arm, erupting upon impact. The Valkyrie's last-ditch barrier, summoned in the nick of time, shattered like glass. The surrounding buildings were left as no more than dust in the wind. Her scream echoed, a mix of pain and disbelief, while her body was sent flying, bearing the scars of pain and broken bones.

If not for the barrier that the Valkyrie girl put on at the very last second, she'd have died instantly. Although she wasn't dead now, she couldn't get in my way again.

"You dare?!"

However, this had interrupted me enough.

Hel was back to her feet. Turning back, I found her glaring at me while she wielded a red, spear weapon in her hand. If not for the situation with Norse and my anger, I'd have called her hot; her red hair danced in the air along the blue parts of it, as she scowled at me with her eyes bleeding.

"Pay for your foolishness, mortal."

[Image Here]

'Another God-class, divine weapon. It's a spiked club this time.' I noted. All these Gods and Goddesses really were rich in treasures, it's making me greedy.

Rage overcame my greed though. All I wanted to see right now was to see that face of her split in two.

There was no deep reason for hate. And it wasn't personal. She was from Norse, and she was hunting for me, that's the reason I was hunting her back. Nothing else.

She kicked the ground and blitzed toward me with her bloody club swinging. I did the same, though instead of calling my Cloud Hammer, I clashed with her club with my bare fist.

Or at least, I intended to.

That isn't quite what happened, as a green and a red figure between us, with the first running up to me and tackling me down, while the other tackled down the Goddess.

We both recognized who the two of these were, so we didn't mindlessly attack them.

"Let me go!" though the goddess did yell at Satan to free herself, he didn't listen.

'A pity,' I clicked my tongue as I allowed my technique to fall. There was no point in continuing this fight, they wouldn't allow me to kill a Goddess. I couldn't overpower all of them.

'Stupid Rias,' I noticed the red-haired girl hiding behind debris in the distance, with a phone in her hand. 'She should have called them after I was done killing the bitch.'

"Calm down, both of you!" One of the sour Satans, Sirzechs Lucifer yelled as he pushed down Hel on the ground. She tried to overpower him, but she couldn't move. She wasn't the most powerful physically.

Ajuka Bezzelebub didn't need to do the same with me, I had already dropped my technique, so he just held my shoulders and looked at me disapprovingly.

On a side note, someone had erected an Instant Dungeon. So no damage has been done to the real world. I knew someone would erect it, that's why I hadn't bothered doing so myself.

As for the range, it looks like only those in the room were pulled in, instead of all the supernatural entities in the school. I wouldn't want the kids of the school to get pulled into this, especially my friends, so it's all good.

The tension in the air lifted slightly as Hel struggled against Sirzechs Lucifer's hold, her voice a mix of fury and desperation. "Let me go, Lucifer!" she demanded, her angry voice reverberating through the ruined landscape.

Sirzechs, unfazed, firmly held her in place. "Calm down, Goddess," he said with his voice filled with authority. His grip was unyielding, a clear indication that he wasn't going to relent easily. "We don't wish for this fight to continue."

I didn't like that, but it was true. The Satans could be said to match high-ranking Gods, especially the Super Satans, they could probably match Chief Gods. However, they were just four of them, even if there were many other devils equal to them, they weren't the strongest faction in the world. If Hel were to die and Loki vowed to make the devils pay, it wouldn't end well for them. So they had to stop the bratty Goddess.

From the corner of my eyes, I noticed Grayfia tending to Rossweisse's injuries, who was barely waking up now. Her healing spells were swift and precise, so it seemed the Valkyrie would leave.

Hel's gaze darted between Sirzechs and me. Noticing that I had no immediate intention to renew our clash, I was wearing a calm expression. Seeing it, her resistance waned; she must feel insulted that a 'mortal' was calmer than her in this situation. So she sighed and stopped resisting, and moments later, Sirzechs allowed her to stand, albeit under his watchful eyes.

"It's good that you guys are here now," she said as she wiped blood from her lips. "Hand over the little mortal to us, both Odin and Loki demand his presence. I'm sure you guys would comply knowing that."

"Comply what?" Sirzechs scowled. He was always calm and cheerful, but it felt insulting to have this Goddess speak to him as if he was obliged to bow to her. Although he wasn't the most arrogant of devils, he was still that – a devil. As the strongest devil of his time, and perhaps all times, he must feel at least slightly infuriated that this Goddess was causing a scene and pretending to be on a higher pedestal than him.

When just earlier she was getting slammed around by me.

"You can't just expect us to hand him over," he said, his voice controlled.

"What? Are you saying you-" Goddess Hel's growl was interrupted as a short magical girl slipped into this realm, appearing in this subspace with a flash of light.

Serafall Leviathan, the Satan in charge of foreign affairs like this, stepped into the fray. "You say we should 'hand him over' as if he's a weakling who you can push around," she remarked, her tone laced with a hint of amusement. Her eyes twinkled with mischief as she continued, "We all saw you getting thrown around by him. He's not the weaker one here, Goddess, we're unable to simply 'hand him over'. What if he throws us around too?"

The last line was meant as a joke, which seemed to irritate Hel. Why weren't the Satans teaming up to defeat me and hand me over to her on a silver platter, she must be wondering. What a stupid little divinity.

"Satan Leviathan, you-"

As if she intended to get on her nerves, Serafall revealed a playful smile and interrupted her. "Plus, you know he's my husband? We're married on paper."

The words hung in the air, just a jest on a first look, but the absurdity of her statement, under such grave circumstances, caught everyone off guard. It also meant that, since she dared bring up that joke I played on her at this crucial time, she had subtly implied which side she was on in this fight. She had no reason to help the Goddess, and if Hel insisted on fighting, the Satans would stand by my side instead.

A moment of silence followed, and I couldn't help but smirk at the memory. Oh, how even the smallest of jests could weave into the fabric of these complex supernatural politics.

Hel's expression shifted from anger to confusion, then to a begrudging acknowledgment. She seemed to understand the subtext – the Satans weren't going to hand me over, not without a fight, not without just cause. Not without a hefty bribe.

The elongating silence made the air grow dangerous again. However, before Hel would break the silence with a bribe, a bait proposal, a figure slid seamlessly from the real world into our confined battlefield.

"Heya~ Good day to you all," the Dragon Goddess greeted, her voice resonating with a cheer that belied the charged atmosphere.

Her presence sent a sudden shift in the wind. Quetzalcoatl's aura was a vibrant tapestry of authority and grace, hidden behind an expression of playfulness.

"…It's you," the Goddess of Hel said with a growl.

"It really is, isn't it?" I laughed as Quetzalcoatl's eyes settled on her, narrowing ever so slightly. "Are you aware that the Aztecs are in an alliance with this little boy?"

Hel blinked and then scoffed, disbelief etched on her features. "An alliance? Someone like you? With a mortal? Sure." she questioned, her voice dripping with skepticism.

Quetzalcoatl's expression remained unflinching, a smile playing on her lips. "Aqua, if you would," she said, turning her gaze to me.

Understanding her intention, I reached into my soul and summoned the Sword of Death for which I had almost lost my life against her. The weapon materialized in my hand, with a ghostly white light, its ominous aura palpable.

Hel's smirk fell. The air seemed to grow colder as the sword appeared. Why else would I be wielding the sword of Quetzalcoatl's brother, if we weren't really close?

Hel's confident demeanor faltered slightly, her eyes widening as she took in the sight of the dreaded weapon. As a fellow Goddess of Death, she knew the weapon wasn't weak. I hadn't used my full arsenal of powers against her, which must hurt her ego.

The silence that followed was heavy, filled with the unspoken realization of the power dynamics at play.

Quetzalcoatl's voice broke the silence, her expression serious now. "So no, little girl, it matters not whether you're attacking his home or his school," she said, proving that she had been eavesdropping on the meeting earlier, just like me. "If the Norse dare to pick a fight with him, they're daring to pick a fight with the Aztecs. Be careful."

"…." Hel clenched her jaw. She was a delusional Goddess who challenged Odin without fearing death, so in front of Quetzalcoatl's provocation, she felt more rage than fear.

"Fuck, dammit," after a long silence, only curses left her lips. Hel, the Norse Goddess of Hell, stood seething with barely contained rage, her eyes ablaze with a ferocity that spoke of her desire for vengeance against me. I smirked at her only to see her grow angrier.

"Fuck you. I'm leaving." She growled and turned around to leave.

Although it felt good to provoke her, I too couldn't help but feel a similar sense of dissatisfaction. This shouldn't be enough. The fight had been left unfinished, a conclusion yet to be reached. It was a lingering itch that'd eat at me for days.

"…Neither of us are satisfied, right, Goddess?" My voice cut through the tense silence, halting her in her tracks. I'll bait her in.

Everyone else turned their eyes to me, their expressions a mix of surprise. I ignored them and said to Hel's back, "How about we continue our clash from before? One attack. I'm sure these people will allow it, as long as we both agree."

Murmurs of disapproval rippled through the room, but Hel's response was a stark contrast. A grin spread across her face as she turned around, a predatory smile that welcomed the challenge. "Agreed," she said, her voice a low growl. "One attack, sure."

….

A minute later, the stage was set for a final exchange, surrounded by everyone else, as well as the Valkyrie who had recovered from her injury. I also noticed the peerage members of Rias and Sona, they looked unsure about this. The two Holy Sword girls were among the observers too, though they stood near the Goddess Quetzalcoatl than any of the Devils. 

The moment was ripe with anticipation, every spectator's gaze locked onto the center where destiny was about to unfold. Only Quetzalcoatl was grinning in the corner, her arms crossed as she had her Wisdom Eyes spinning like a vortex to view this battle.

"Ready when you are~" Hel's invitation hung in the air, laced with impatience. Yet, her actions betrayed her words as she launched herself at me, a blur of divine fury. Her spear, a divine weapon, gleamed menacingly. She moved with the grace and speed only a goddess could muster, her attack slicing through the air, like a deadly dance aiming to end my life.

But I was unmoved. As she surged forward, I called upon the [Crown Icon] over my head, a dark crown forming in the sky. My transformation was immediate – my hair darkened to the deepest black, my eyes ignited with a crimson fury, a match to Hel's own aggression. 

I saw Hel's grin falter slightly in front of my own, wider one. Koneko's scream pierced the tense silence, a distant echo against the backdrop of the battle. I summoned the [Hollow King's Spear], its form pure and devoid of color, a weapon not of this world but born of my will. Of my first Path. 

As Hel's spear bore down upon me, I met her charge with a calm that betrayed the storm within. Our weapons collided in a spectacle that defied description. It was more than a clash of steel or will – it was a collision of fates and the divine. Her Divinity burned, as did my Soulfire. The divine spear, imbued with the essence of death, met my ethereal, ghostly lance in a burst of blinding light.

It bloomed into a cataclysmic collision, a burst of energy that illuminated the entire space. Time seemed to slow, the world holding its breath as the two forces met in an epic showdown.

– Shiiing….

But in a flash, it was over.

We slipped past each other, pausing along the world. A collective breath was held in anticipation, as our backs faced each other.

The sound of something being cut rang out; stunned silence spread. Only punctuated by the sound of something hitting the ground with a dull thud, followed by a feminine scream of pain. Hel's right arm severed cleanly at the base, lay discarded on the floor, as she kneeled beside it, holding her stump as she cried.

"Arghhhh!" Her scream shattered the silence, a guttural cry of pain and fury. Her eyes, wild with anger, locked onto mine, a promise of retribution burning within them. But before she could act on her rage, the others intervened.

The Valkyrie acted swiftly. With a wave of her hand and an incantation under her breath, she teleported both herself and Hel away before I could harm them further, whisking her off to safety and away from the storm that was I.

I stood amidst the aftermath, my breathing steady, my gaze unwavering, as I let the Crown Icon vanish. I kicked the severed arm at my feet, sending it to my Void Storage, while the arms of a laughing Quetzalcoatl grabbed my shoulders.

"You're so weird," she laughed. "Why do you have so many Icons?"

"…."

Fortunately, that didn't lead to an interrogation session. She let me off as the others came close to me, starting with Rias who threw herself into my arms while yelling, 'I was so scared!' as if this entire thing was about her.

Although I would have liked it if Hel died, this works too. Now Norse knew not to send anyone to catch me, I had the backing of the Satans and Aztecs. I'm yet not strong enough to bring down their entire forces on my own, so I'll let them wait it out.

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