Chapter 139: Storm vs Storm, God vs Demi-God
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My body was shaken from the abrupt slam from Mjölnir, but I was used to fighting in such states. I steadied myself in mid-air, speeding like a bullet toward the Norse god flying backward from my earlier punch, my gaze fixed on his figure as he shook off the surprise of my resilience.
The [Tiger Icon] above me throbbed with the energy of a primal beast, pouring me with power as I threw another fist at Thor. The Thunder God blocked it with his trusty hammer, and my punch failed to even make him budge.
'So his hammer can act as a great shield,' I realized. It's powerful if it could block the same punch that sent its owner flying a moment earlier. I exchanged seven more blows with Thor, and while he blocked two with his hammer, dodging one, he had to use his hammer to slam back at me for the other attacks.
Surprisingly, he wasn't taking an offensive stance. Curious, I slowed down and gave him a stare of defiance. "Too weak to fight back?" I taunted him.
"Why do you bear an Icon, mortal?" Thor's voice thundered across the expanse, I noted a mix of intrigue and caution laced in his tone. His interest, however, earned no favor from me.
'So that's why he's not fighting? Because he is curious about my Icon?' Sadly, this was not a Q&A forum; this was a battleground, where the only truths acknowledged were those forged in the heat of conflict, I did not want to share a talk.
"I have no words for you, coward," I countered sharply, smirking tauntingly in the vortex of power swirling about us.
Thor's expression soured, a scowl marring his features as he dismissed my reticence with a snort. "Coward? I? How blasphemous."
"Are you not? You attacked a 'mortal' out of nowhere with no time to fight back," I taunted. I didn't actually consider that cowardice, that was fast work instead. But my words were working to piss off this Thunder God.
"You require a display of bravery," he announced, and with a motion that spoke of centuries of dominion over the lightning and thunder, his willpower bloomed in the sky in the form of a hexagon-shaped Icon. The sky roared, growing stormier, as the heavens scowled down at the both of us.
I blinked, looking at the Icon. That was the [Storm Icon], the physical manifestation of the tempest that bellowed with the fury of the heavens. It's not surprising that he'll have such an Icon, it suited him well.
"I hear you use thunder as well?" he kicked the air and blitzed above me, his hammer swinging backward. "Allow me to test your meager dominion over the storm."
The air between us crackled with the imminent promise of destruction. His hammer once again rushed to meet my face, and my fist cut through the air to intercept it. Our weapons of choice met in a cataclysmic sound of explosion, and the Instant Dungeon found itself cracking out of sheer pressure.
As thick and ancient as the world's oldest oaks, bolts of lightning danced a deadly ballet around us. Each one, imbued with Thor's indomitable will of the storm, met the wild, untamed essence of my [Tiger Icon] head-on. I refused to use my own power of lightning here, it'd be of no help.
However, my Tiger Icon birthed a storm of its own. Raindrops froze and turned into snowfall, and the weight of snowstorms, and avalanches was carried by my fists. My initial punches that failed to budge Mjölnir now send it and its owner backward. The impact would be far greater if I managed a direct hit to his body.
Our raw display of nature's unfettered wrath clashing with primal savagery, seemed to command the attention of the very heavens, casting the battleground in a surreal light that bore witness to our deadlock. I knew who they were; the Shinto Gods could not interfere here, but they didn't want to miss out on this incredible sight.
"Is this all you have, mortal?" It was Thor's turn to taunt me, his voice thundering above the storm. "Quite pathetic for a White Tiger."
How insulting. I chuckled as blood licked the blood trickling down my lips, refusing to rise to his bait. I could access my White Flames as well as Void Powers right now, that'd have put him in his place, but that'd burn too much of my soulfire. I had my family to save after defeating Thor, I had to preserve my resources.
Again Thor's mastery over the storm that was without parallel, each swing of his Mjölnir unleashing cataclysms that reshaped the battlefield to his will, it was getting harder to win without letting loose. The city beneath us looked like it went through nuclear bombs, tall buildings falling while fire surged even under the snow and rain.
Thor's punch hit me in the forehead and sent me hurling down into the buildings. I slammed into a few, leaving them into dust, and leaped back just in time to clash with his hammer once again.
Lightning and snowstorms clashed, and the world roared in response.
Rain transformed into sharp spears, and the howling wind became chains seeking to bind and break me. Despite the formidable arsenal at my command, I found myself being driven back, the relentless barrage of elemental fury costing me dearly. I was taking damage at each second. Each evasion, each parry, was a battle; I didn't have a hard time keeping up, but Thor's tempestuous assault clearly hadn't taken much from him.
It became increasingly clear that this battle would not be decided on brute strength or stamina alone. Thor was a deity whose name echoed through ancient lore, and with the help of the [Storm Icon], he was many times more powerful.
I realized that victory—my victory—required a level of power beyond the one I had right now. To claim this battle as my own, I needed to delve into the very depths of my power. I had to step up my game now.
With a sigh, I closed my eyes and reached deep within my soul, where my connection to the Icons lay. Thor's hammer hit on me, and I didn't bother to block. I was sent flying, and I used that few seconds of flight to choose a new Icon for myself. The [Tiger Icon], as formidable as it was, was not very helpful unless I tapped into its greater powers.
So, I brought it a friend.
The sky roared, the sea of dark clouds pausing and shifting, as the cosmos seemed to part in two. I took a moment to connect to it, it had been a while since I used it, this was an old Icon from back in my 6th life as the White Tiger, so the Tiger Icon found it nostalgic. Alongside the Tiger Icon, a second symbol of power coalesced into being.
It didn't replace the Tiger Icon, no, it appeared beside it. Two whole Icons reigned over me. The [Storm Icon], this one belonging to me, shimmered in the sky.
Thor's eyes widened, the relentless advance of his storm momentarily faltering at the sight. My [Storm Icon] sent his mind in a whirl of confusion and shock. He looked above him, finding his own Icon, and then back at mine. Mine was connected by a golden thread, creating an infinity loop with the [Tiger Icon]; the two of them had a synergy, unlike most others, reminiscing over the days of a snowstorm.
This time, however, thanks to my Storm Path, it wasn't here to bring snowstorms alone, it brought thunder that split the sky in two. One side of the sky belonged to me, and the other belonged to the man ahead.
"A second Icon... Impossible!" Thor finally let his lips form words, his astonishment palpable, his voice carrying a weight of disbelief. "How?! How does a mortal come to wield such power?"
By now he must have felt that I'm a Demi-God, yet still, he called me a mortal. How condescending. How arrogant for a weakling little god.
"Oh, a mere mortal I am not," I declared, the air around us thick with the power of my proclamation. "But I have no intention of revealing my secrets to a cowardly, weak little god. Let's end this."
Empowered by the dual might of my Icons, I surged forward, my form a blur against the backdrop of the storm. The dark clouds moved with me, invading Thor's space, as the air around us became a canvas upon which our battle was painted in devastating strokes. I supposed the spectating Gods were having a feast.
I used my Path's powers for the first time against Thor, the [Storm Icon] amplifying each of my attacks. My strikes became tempests in their own right, challenging Thor's dominion over the storm with every blow landed.
Thor didn't go down right away, however, he wasn't as weak as I taunted him to be. Our clash was a spectacle that blurred the lines between reality and illusion. The god of thunder's hammer was still the most problematic thing here, changing size from small to big depending on his attack, and sending me hurling back when it landed on me.
But it landed on me only a few times. I dodged most of it, blocking the others, as my lightning, thick and untamed, arced across the sky to clash with Thor's. Although this was not a permanent state, my dominion over the storm overwhelmed Thor's.
"What is this situation…?" Thor spat with a frown as he clashed with me, his voice laced with astonishment. His gaze sometimes flickered on the [Storm Icon] hovering beside the [Tiger Icon], a mix of anger and humiliation crossing his features.
How could a mortal have what he didn't? – I guessed that's what he's thinking right now.
"Power beyond your reckoning, god," I shot back, my voice a lot steadier now that I had a good standing. "Your father better consider this as the last warning to stay away from me."
As the [Storm Icon] flared alongside my [Tiger Icon], the very atmosphere became a battleground, charged with energy that reshaped the landscape beneath us. Each blow was at the level of divine and godhood. The sky itself seemed to split, torn asunder by the raw power unleashed, the realm cracking like glass about to shatter. I felt the will of the world working actively to keep this contained.
At one point, I collected soulfire, willpower, and a crackling snowstorm in my fists, charged with the combined might of the [Storm Icon] and [Tiger Icon]. The Thunder God was too shaken to block the attack as it hit him in the chest in a convergence of force that resonated through the heavens. The impact was an explosion, a shockwave of energy that sent Thor hurtling back to Earth, his form trailing through the sky like a shooting star bound for the ground.
He slammed into the ground, and the city thumbed like a drum.
The storm calmed down slightly as Thor's [Storm Icon] vanished. I descended to where Thor lay, defeated and dishonored. Mjölnir, the Weapon of God, lay discarded at his side. He didn't have the strength to wield it anymore.
"I... underestimated you," Thor managed, his voice a hoarse whisper against the silence that enveloped us. "Your strength… Indeed, even if Yggdrasil used a mortal body, you're still the son of Nine Realms."
"It's not about that, big guy," I said, standing over him as I wiped blood from my nose before walking away to the side. "I'll kill the embodiment of Nine Realms too, tell him to watch out."
The [Tiger Icon] and [Storm Icon] still loomed overhead, its power reverberated through me. I gazed upward, then down at the ground where the legendary hammer Mjölnir rested. Approaching the legendary hammer, I felt its power thrumming in the air. I reached out a hand and grabbed the hilt.
"...What are you doing?" Thor looked at me and then broke out chuckling. "It won't accept those who are unworthy, those without pure hearts."
"Surely," I picked up the hammer in my grasp, both as a trophy and as a weapon. I looked at Thor who had paused.
What he said wasn't untrue, I was unsuitable for this weapon. But I was a hero once, I was born to pick up weapons that are unliftable. Mjnolnir felt a little confused in my grasp, due to my evil nature beside the little good, but the Storm Icon in the sky made it accept me.
As Thor lay on the ground, struggling to comprehend the turn of events, I turned towards him, Mjölnir firmly in my grasp. The god of thunder's laughter had faded, replaced by a dawning realization of what was to come.
His eyes were wide with a mix of defiance and resignation, as they followed my every step as I approached. He struggled to stand back up, with my willpower pressing him down. He didn't have enough power to fight back against it.
With the legendary hammer in hand, I stood over Thor, the weight of his own weapon feeling firm and appropriate in my grasp. It increased in size when I put my Qi into it, turning it into a proper large Warhammer.
Thor, battered and beaten, could only watch as I raised his hammer high.
"I… see," the Odinson whispered, a painful acknowledgment in his voice. "Do what you must. A god… accepts his fate." At least he wasn't a coward in the end.
Without a word, I brought Mjölnir down, its head aimed with deadly precision. The impact was thunderous, a physical manifestation of the storm that had preceded it. Thor's body jerked with the force of the blow, each strike filled with the power of natural destruction. The ground around us cracked, bearing witness to the ferocity of my assault.
Again and again, I brought the hammer down, each hit echoing like the thrum of a bell, as I poured my rage into it. How dare a stupid fucking God ambush me? How dare his pantheon target my family? How dare these ants breathe the same air as me?
The sky suddenly lit up, rainbow light beginning to pour down.
Bifrost.
Odin was trying to rescue his son.
I didn't bother to look up, my lips letting out a soft mutter, "Close."
The portal of light vanished right away.
The air was charged with power and gore as Thor's once-mighty form was battered further and further, his divine essence pushed to the brink. Mjölnir, the weapon that had once protected him, and fought with him, was now the instrument of his demise.
His skull shattered open, brain matter splattering all over, as I kept slamming it down on him over and over again.
– Bam!!!
With one final, crushing blow, I ceased my assault, standing back to survey the scene. Thor's body lay still, his breathing gone, his head flattened and splattered like a watermelon, his body a map of bruises and wounds.
The god of thunder, who had once roared with the storm, was now silent, his fate sealed by the very power he had commanded.
I stood silent for a bit and then raised the bloody Mjölnir to the heavens. I affirmed my victory not with words, but with action.
The heavens responded, not with thunder, but with a quiet affirmation of the shift in power. Thunder clouds vanished as I turned to look at the clear night sky that lit up every few seconds toward the direction of my house.
Right, I have other fools to take care of.
Putting Thor's body into my Void Storage, as I required it for a future plan, I leaped into the sky to take the life of two other Nordic Gods.
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