184 CLXXXIV. The Dead End Stree

"If I try to escape, that beast would reach me in a moment and alone I have no hope of killing them all... I have a few arrows left" he thought, regretting that he had followed the man and had strayed so far from that crowded square.

"My Captain will take your lives. Sooner or later, he and his allies will reach you and kill you one by one, mercilessly. I'm just sorry I can't enjoy that moment" he said, smiling with his eyes closed and clutching the Failnaught in his hands.

At those words, the reptilian began to emit a sound similar to a growl, putting himself on all fours, ready to charge Reidar.

The other two hooded enemies were still standing.

"Your Captain? Hahaha! Don't make me laugh! You're a fool if you think that..."

*splat*

While the man sitting on the bench was responding to Reidar's taunt, he had managed to load an arrow and hit him in the head, killing him instantly.

"Grr?"

Even the reptilian was astonished by that blow, so fast and accurate.

"Then? Your boss wants my head, right? Come and get it!" continued Reidar as he charged yet another arrow, ready to sacrifice himself for the cause.

"Roooar!" the reptilian yelled, as he began to run towards him, on all fours, similar to a huge monitor lizard.

Behind him, the other hooded man also charged towards Reidar, drawing a sword.

Reidar dodged the beast's claws and fired an arrow at the other man, which deflected its trajectory with the blade of his weapon.

In less than a second, the reptile grabbed Reidar's quiver, detaching it from his shoulders and dropping the few remaining arrows to the ground.

He turned to the beast, striking him with the bow cue, but did not cause harm.

Soon after, the reptilian hit him with the back of his huge hand, knocking him towards the wall of a nearby house.

Reidar crashed into the wall and then slipped to the ground, with his back sore, unable to move.

"Fuck... is that how I'm going to die? I thought I deserved a more dignified end" he said with a thread of voice, looking skyward, turning his last thoughts to Thor and the other Gods, who would wait for him in Valhalla.

"I don't understand what my Masters find so dangerous in you... the Hammers Of Thor don't seem as powerful to me!" said the hooded man next to the reptile, as the beast prepared to inflict the coup de grace on Reidar, who was slumped to the ground with the back against the wall and his eyes half-closed.

"Grrr... aaagh!" yelled the reptilian, trying to strike his dying enemy with his claws.

But just before the monster could hit him, they heard a kind of hiss coming from the bridge on their right.

The reptile man turned in that direction, blocking the blow: his head was pierced by a sword, which lodged in his mouth coming out the other side of his skull and spraying rivers of blood at his ally, who to avoid being crushed by the body of the reptilian, fell backwards, losing his hood and discovering his face.

With blood-soaked eyes, he continued to retreat, barely distinguishing a figure in front of him, who deftly jumped on the body of the beast, violently pulling the sword out of his jaws.

Gridd had managed to throw one of his two swords from a considerable distance, hitting the enemy with a clean shot and sprinting towards him, trying to save Reidar.

Behind her, Dag, Karl, Agnes, and Taya were reaching them.

"Well... it seems like my moment hasn't come yet" thought Reidar, who could barely breathe because of the blood in his lungs.

"Fangs Of Jormungandr... in my city?!" shouted Gridd, descending from the corpse of the reptile and walking towards the other enemy, who managed to get up and run near his last remaining ally.

"Reidar! Are you all right? Karl, come here, now! He needs treatment!" said Dag, who as soon as he arrived at the scene, headed to Reidar, checking that he was still alive.

"They were spying on us... I couldn't understand why, but... they don't seem to like our new alliance, Captain..." whispered Reidar, talking with clenched teeth, trying to bear the pain.

"I got it. Try not to exert yourself, brother. Karl will help you out. These assholes will now answer to me" Dag continued, standing up to make room for Karl, who had promptly opened his healer box.

"Then... have you decided to haunt me, sons of bitches? I'd like not to see your ugly faces anyplace" he replied, pulling out both weapons and walking menacingly toward them, who had their backs to the wall.

Gridd stopped his advance, resting her hand on his chest.

"Leave them to me. I'm tired of watching without a fight" she said, in a confident tone.

"We should throw this trash out of Hevnen, their presence here disgusts me" added Taya, who positioned next to Dag's sister, ready to drive the invaders away.

At these words, the two enemies positioned themselves to fight: the expression on the hoodless man's face showed the fear he was feeling at the time.

Before he could say even a word, Gridd snapped at them, crossing the blades of the two swords, which began to shine with a heavenly light.

The hooded man moved quickly to avoid the blow, while the other parried it with the sword, but ended up against the back wall.

Taya followed Gridd's action, waiting a few seconds before attacking the enemy who had dodged her charge.

She raised her spear and after loading the blow, threw it violently at him, as if it was a javelin, but the enemy dodged the second shot too.

"The hooded one is much more skilled than his allies... You can see it from how it moves" thought Dag, who was enjoying the battle, confident of the success of the two Masters of the Sons Of Freya.