[139] Storm vs Storm, God vs Demi-God

[139] Storm vs Storm, God vs Demi-God

Chapter 139: Storm vs Storm, God vs Demi-God

—

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.

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.

**

**

**

Read the next chapter right away, along with an entire month's worth, ahead in my Patreon.

Link: /Master4thWall