"–to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, until parted by death. Do you, Zenkichi Hitoyoshi, take–"
"Wait, wait, wait, wait! What the hell's going on here?!" Zenkichi raised his voice in protest, he stared at Brunhilde and Göll in disbelief. "What's with the wedding speech? We're just going to do a Völundr, right?"
They were in a dark tunnel, the path leading into the colosseum. But they weren't the only ones in it.
Alongside Brunhilde were most of her sisters and the other Einherjar for Ragnarok.
"Yes, that's right." Brunhilde nodded with a flat expression. As if she didn't find the setting weird. "Is there a problem?"
"Yeah, are you saying you don't want our sister? Huh? I'll kill you, brat!" A tall woman with long dark purple and straight hair with bangs, with golden fiery eyes and wearing military attire angrily yelled at Zenkichi.
"Don't be so hard on the kid, Hrist." A muscular old man with wrinkled skin and long silver hair said, pacifying the angry Valkyrie. He had numerous white bandages wrapped around his body. He was Sasaki Kojiro, the man who brought the first victory for Humanity. "Besides, he's right. This wasn't how our Völundr went either."
"Ours as well," A man dressed in some elegant clothes who looked to be in his early forties with silver hair and different colored eyes said, like Sasaki, he was covered with bandages. This was humanity's most famous serial killer, Jack The Ripper!
"Right? Hlökk-chan~"
"Hmph! No, it certainly did not." A girl with blonde hair and red eyes replied with gritted teeth. Though her tone soon turned gentle as she saw Jack wincing. "Hey, I told you not to move around so much. See? You've opened up some of your wounds."
"Ne, ne. Kondo-san, where's the cake? I want to eat some cake~"
"Please be patient, Okita-dono. Ah." There was a brief pause. "...It seems like they don't have any."
"Then what's the point of me being here?!"
Zenkichi stared at him with an incredulous look and turned towards the only seemingly normal person in the area.
"Why?" The question was clear.
Göll looked embarrassed and apologetic simultaneously as she looked away from him, "I-ah, nee-sama forced me to do this. The others came here out of curiosity. I don't even understand why I'm the one who should be saying these words, don't we have Rasputin in the roster? Nee-sama, you should've asked him instead of me!"
Brunhilde let out a long sigh, "Fiiiineee~ Everyone, please disperse and head back to the audience stands? That match is starting soon and I have something private to say to Zenkichi here."
The others looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders before reluctantly complying with Brunhilde's request. Göll was the last one to leave, though not before looking back at her sister with a look of worry. Brunhilde shot her a comforting smile before she finally left along with the others.
As they left, Zenkichi couldn't help but feel a mix of relief and confusion. He turned to Brunhilde, who had a mischievous smile on her face.
"So, what's this private thing you want to tell me?" Zenkichi asked, his curiosity piqued.
Brunhilde took a step closer to him, her eyes gleaming with excitement. "Well, you see, Zenkichi... You are likely the key to ending this whole situation, Ragnarok. I only know a mere fraction of what this group chat app could do but I'm already in awe of it, its powers goes beyond any kind of Gods that I know about."
"And you are its admin. You might know the reason or not for being one, but whatever power that created that app probably sees something in you that's worth it."
Zenkichi scratched the back of his head, "That's it? You're willing to stake the survival of humanity and change your many millennia plan that you've been painstakingly been planning for... for someone you have no knowledge of and could only believe in some otherworldly entity's judgement."
"Yes. This Ragnarok plan had already been a gamble since the very start. You think asking your help would've made this tournament more harder or something? Don't forget, this is just the fifth match. We still have eight more matches to decide the fate of my world's humanity." Brunhilde grinned, resolve, determination and confidence shone in her eyes.
'This woman... She's crazy.' Though he thought of her as that, Zenkichi couldn't help but grin back.
No wonder she would have the guts to rebel against the Gods and lead the charge to Humanity's survival. Not just because she was courageous, brave, or even because she hated the Gods. No–...
It was because she was utterly and completely devoted to the cause. She believed in the potential of humanity, in their ability to surpass their limits and overcome any obstacle that stood in their way. And now, she believed in him.
Zenkichi took a deep breath, a surge of determination coursing through his veins. He looked deep into Brunhilde's eyes and said, "Alright, Brunhilde. I may not fully understand the extent of Ragnarok, beyond saving humanity that is, but I'm willing to fight. Not just because I want to save this world's humanity and mine, but because I'm human as well."
'Partly.'
"I have my own pride as a human being, and I won't let it be trampled on by anyone, not even the gods. So, let's do this."
Brunhilde's smile widened, her eyes sparkling with a mix of relief and gratitude. "Thank you," her body unexpectedly started glowing an ethereal teal glow as she stood closer to Zenkichi, engulfing both of them in the light. "That's what I've been waiting to hear all day. Now, c'mon. Let's fuck the Gods up their rears."
"My name is Brunhilde, I shall be your armour in your battle and bring you victory!"
.....
The stadium that hosted Ragnarok were filled with all kinds of murmurs from both humans and Gods.
The humans were expectedly excited. After all, despite their dislike of Jack The Ripper, they had tied with the Gods and are now more hopeful that they would possibly win this tournament and continue on living.
The Gods on the other hand, were worried and frightful. How could they not? Especially the Greek Pantheon. Two of their most powerful Gods are dead! This was something they all didn't expect. Humans! Mere humans that they thought they could kill with just a flick of their fingers...are defying them and have killed some of their strongest Gods already! But because of their pride, they didn't openly show it lest the humans caught them lacking.
"Huh? What's going on?" On the human side, a woman wearing white clothes resembling that of the Victorian era muttered as she stared down at the stage. "Are those...cases of alcohol?"
She pointed at the stacks of all kinds of alcoholic beverages gathered in the center, all neatly organized as some kind of pyramid.
"It's in preparation for the next fighter, right? And since Jack won, it meant that humanity has the say on what the battlefield will be."
"So what's with the beer bottles? No way. Are they...settling this fight as a drink off?!"
"Hahahaha! Now that's my kind of fight!!"
On the Gods' side, they too shared similar confusion and disbelief as they looked at the alcohol-filled stage. It was not the kind of battle they were used to, and they wondered how this could determine the fate of humanity.
"Ohohoho! It seems which human that have been chosen as this match's fighter has a unconventional method of combat," Zeus, the king of the Greek Gods, commented with a raised eyebrow and rubbing his long white beard. "But I suppose it is within their nature to surprise us."
"It appears so, Lord Zeus" Hermes, the Messenger of Gods, agreed to his King as always. "Due to a sudden last minute change on humanity's side, I have no information to which fighter will be fighting."
"However," Hermes's red eyes turned towards an empty throne next to Zeus and towards a angry looking Shiva, "considering Lord Odin's absence and Lord Shiva's current temperament, it seems Lord Odin is our fighter for this round."
"Hoho. For that one eyed fogey to do this," Zeus dark abyss eyes began to shine with burning curiosity. "I wonder just how interesting his opponent would be."
As the crowd continued to murmur and speculate about the upcoming battle, Zenkichi stood alone at the edge of the stage, observing the beer pyramid before him. A mischievous grin split across his face.
But there was something off about him. He wore his school uniform, looked quite dashing with his new good looks.
The only strange part of him were the metallic gauntlets and grieves attached to his limbs, looking quite dangerous with sharp blades covering them. Lines of gold and green glowed across the surface of pieces of armour, tracing intricate patterns that seemed to pulse with energy.
Record of Ragnarok, Fifth Match....
Zenkichi versus Odin
Was about to begin.
.....
AN: Sorry for taking so long. A truck driver had accidentally cut the electrical wire near my house why he/she was driving so the entire area around my house went blackout for hours, no access to the internet means I couldn't post this out until lights are back. And as for why I couldn't just post this in a nearby netcafe... I forgot about it and started playing some Left4Dead2, my most favorite game since childhood. It's been a while since I played since most of the computers I played on before didn't have it, until this one computer I stumbled upon the other day, and searching it online(steam) revealed it being...not free! What the hell?!
Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the story!
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•terrence L mccall
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•ItsDragonking
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•Davide Cordivani
❄️A bigger shout out to the who ascended to become a One Above All!!
•Orion Chung
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