207 Gods And Monsters (5): Mercy No More

Deafening lightning fell from the stormy skies, and the winds howled with rage, yet the Thunder God's declaration still reached his adversary's ears. Precisely because of that, Seth's mood got even worse.

Although he was aware of his battle-crazy nature; having to face it now that it was not some spar, but a true battle to the death was what annoyed him. There was simply no way Thor would listen to reason. He would prefer dying before backing off. 'In the end... I am just delaying the inevitable, huh?'

Seth sighed in his mind with despondency. All of this made him feel so helpless and so... angry. If he could not avoid killing his friend once again, then he at least would send him off properly, something he couldn't do in the other world.

Smoke came out of his mouth as he released a regurgitating growl. His shining eyes looked straight at the redhead, who seemed to be impatiently waiting for him to come over his position and fight him to the death.

Seth seemed to take up on the unspoken offer when he planted his free hand on the ground as if he was ready to pounce on his enemy.

Thor saw that and assumed a defensive stance in preparation for the incoming charge. However, contrary to his expectations, the black-haired man didn't dash at him. Instead, he expelled Mana from his hand straight into the earth below. Then, all of a sudden, as if numerous landmines had been stepped on, multiple explosions began to go off near Thor.

Caught off guard, the Thunder God could only widen his eyes as the eruptions filled his vision.

Not happy with just that, Seth got up, twirled his spear, and slashed at the air repeatedly, sending several wind blades at the location where he perceived Thor was. Once he did that, he took advantage of the tempest to rain down lightning on his position. He might be the God of Thunder and in consequence almost immune to it, but the Divinity infused should still be able to deal some damage. Lastly, he took hold of Poseidon's Trident to form gigantic water whips that struck the disaster zone with fury.

In just a few seconds, the city of Rhodes had become an inferno where destruction abounded. To the person that had caused it, though, it looked like nothing impressive. The reason was simple, people like them should be at least at this level, even the weakest of them were capable of doing this much.

Just by going a little seriously, both of them could sink continents with ease. At their full power, they could destroy the planet. Even if they weren't currently in the best of conditions, their strength was undeniable. Which was why...

'This is still not nearly enough to put him down.' True to his thoughts, a shadow launched itself from the devastated ruins of the city directly at him.

Not wanting to lose momentum, Seth also charged at Thor with incredible speed. Their collision took place almost instantly—a resounding sonic boom soon following the impact, causing even more destruction with the ensuing shockwave.

Once they were face to face, the Æsir God was able to see not only the sudden transformation that had occurred with his opponent but also the new weapon he was wielding. "You bastard... Not only you are using Typhon's prison as armor, but you also have Poseidon's signature weapon? If this is the case, you also have 'that', don't you?"

It was more of a statement than a question; the grin he portrayed only cemented that fact. The two separated and fell to the ground below. Though it had seen better days, it was still capable of providing a footing for the two Gods.

With nothing to keep an eye out on, for the time being, Seth finally took the time to notice his handiwork. While it was true that the Thunder God escaped safely from his initial onslaught, he didn't do it unscathed. His left arm was clearly more red than usual, which possibly meant that Mjölnir had not been enough to block those attacks. For now, that ordinary 'wound' would not be hindering him, but as the fight progressed, it would only get worse since Thor was incapable of regeneration.

'Although I am not one to talk. That lightning strike got me good. Despite transforming into a thunder beast on time, it seems to not have been enough. I can feel my whole body twitching from time to time.' He would have to be careful about the thunderbolts overhead while he was attacking. Getting hit by one of those would be no joke since, leaving the potential harm they could cause aside, the potential period to recover was enough to give a tremendous advantage to his foe. He naturally could disperse the storm and make them go away, but Thor was capable of producing lightning even without it, so in the end, it would be like giving something away for nothing in return.

"Transform." Thor's words brought him out of his reverie. His face could no longer show expressions, but if it could, he would have shown puzzlement. The Norse warrior must have noticed this as he spoke further.

"You are said to possess three—no; four ultimate transformations if we count how you can turn into Typhon now. The rabid dog that makes the waters turn to fire; an unknown beast of enormous height that preludes the ends of days, and finally, the form you obtained after slaying the serpent Apep. No matter which one you choose, transform. If I am going to kill you, I want to do it when you are at your strongest."

...

Thor received no answer, but the surrounding temperatures definitely got hotter. Almost on instinct, he rose his hammer to his chest just in time to block a spinning spear that was headed straight to his heart with pinpoint accuracy.

It didn't stop there. The polearm kept twisting and turning, soon bathing on fire, breathing gales, and showering on lightning. Thor's feet began to slide back, creating marks on the ground as he was being pushed. However, the way his eyes shone spoke wonders of how much he was enjoying this.

Eventually, the redhead put pressure on his arm muscles and lifted his hammer up, and in doing so, sent the spear up in the air powerlessly. However, he didn't get much time to relax as the monster of magma was already in front of him, throwing a thrust with his Trident aimed at the openings left behind by his previous action.

Unfortunately for him, Thor was not a warrior for nothing. His reaction capacity was in no way lacking. Taking advantage of the momentum that was carrying him upward, he let himself fall only for him to deliver a powerful kick at the incoming weapon, altering its trajectory thanks to that.

The Thunder God was quick to recover. As if the weight of his hammer was a trivial thing, he swiftly brought it from his back all the way to his front just as Seth was approaching him.

A Mjölnir infused with lightning found its way onto the black-haired man's head with decisive speed, creating a sound similar to an explosion and sinking the Kingslayer into the ground in the process. Even so, the hammer still continued its path, plunging his intended target more and more into the earth.

The attack was not over, though. There was no way he would let an opportunity like this one pass since he was someone that didn't do things halfway. Once he made sure his opponent was stunned from the previous hit, he lifted Mjölnir and brought it back down with the same intensity as before. The sequence didn't take more than a second, but even so, the strength was nothing to scoff at.

'Devastating' would fall short to describe the aftermath of the impact. It was not only the power of the blow but also the lightning coursing through the weapon that caused havoc on the Kingslayer's body and the surrounding terrain.

The assault wouldn't stop at just that, though. Thor lifted his hammer one more time with the same swiftness and once again made it descend with terrifying might.

However, on this occasion, the outcome was different. Instead of caving in both the Storm God and the ground like he did the previous two times, now he was met with resistance in the form of a Trident held by two rocky hands.

Noticing this, Thor applied more pressure on his weapon, causing the ground beneath them to crack even further. And yet, despite his effort, he didn't seem to have gained any advantage. In fact, it looked as if he was being pushed back instead.

'This crazy guy... What's with this strength?!' While he had not hit him with everything he had, it was still a blow capable of sinking this island if it had impacted directly. Not to mention, the previous two attacks should have left him disoriented enough to not be able to employ all his forces all of a sudden.

What 'this' Thor didn't know, though, was that Seth was someone who mainly specialized in physical aspects. His enormous reserves of Magical Energy as well as most of his Authorities were dedicated to keeping sustaining and empowering his melee combat ability respectively.

For someone whose output of power surpassed their control, that was the only method available for him to be able to fight. Considering it was either that or destroying the Earth if he were to fully let loose, the options were clear.

That was why he was kind of thankful for having lost his powers in this new world. It allowed his control to go on par with his abilities. To tell the truth, he had started on the wrong foot from the moment of his birth. Devouring all those Divine creatures right after being born to become complete had given him more strength than he could handle.

But it didn't matter now. Even if most of his powers were temporarily lost, his core—his physical strength was not something to be looked down upon. If the boost from Typhon's armor was taken into account as well, then it was understandable that he could push the Æsir God away.

However, it wouldn't end at just that. Once Seth forcefully made some distance between the two, he lifted his free arm just in time to catch his falling spear. Immediately after doing so, he dashed without hesitation at his enemy.

Thor managed to stabilize himself at the critical moment to see the black-haired man charging at him, which made the redhead go for a counter as he did previously. Unfortunately for him, things were going to be different on this occasion.

Just as he was about to intercept the incoming attack, Seth lowered his trident and swiped upward, creating a sort of formless water shield; one that Thor struck with no remorse whatsoever. To his surprise, though, after dispersing what he thought was a pathetic attempt at defense, he noticed his foe was not in front of him anymore.

Only by instinct was he able to quickly turn his head to the side in the very nick of time to avoid getting his head impaled by a spear from behind.

The Thunder God swiftly turned around together his hammer, ready to send his opponent to kingdom come. The speed of his spin was accompanied by the strength of several lightning bolts that surrounded him like a shield with spikes.

Unfortunately for him, even that was met with resistance. Seth used his Trident like someone would a sword by moving it in a downward motion and clashing with Mjölnir.

The effect was instantaneous. Not only did the ground below them cave in even more, but the ensuing shockwave also acted as a sort of wind blade that severed whatever was in its path. It did not matter if they were parts of nature or man-made constructions.

Even so, the one who felt it the most was Thor. Since Seth was floating some centimeters above his level, that meant the force exerted on him from the downward swing was greater. So much so that with a further push from The Kingslayer, the redhead was forced down to kneel.

That status was not maintained for long, though. For it was only after making use of a good portion of his strength that he was able to disengage. However, that didn't mean Seth was going to let up. On the contrary, he would go on the offensive even more.

In a breath, he was already onto him again. The Egyptian God did numerous thrusts with his spear in quick succession that made Thor have no other option than to block or evade them. Yet that wasn't going to last for much longer as the black-haired man quickly switched tactics and began to use his Trident as well in a surprising display of agility.

If Thor had to describe how he felt regarding the barrage of attacks then he would use words like "wild" and "relentless". Not only he didn't seem to have a pattern, but he also didn't remain static. He spun, jumped, ducked, and attacked from different angles. He even used a slashing motion with his Trident as a distraction while he placed his other arm holding the spear behind his back and went for a lethal stab to the heart.

It was absolutely...

Truly...

"The best!" His glee-filled voice was accompanied by a hard swing of his hammer that made the Storm God skid on the rugged terrain, allowing Thor to gain some respite. Numerous yet light wounds filled his body, but instead of making him upset, they only made him feel more alive.

"Ehehe...Hahahahaha! What? Do you dislike those forms that much? Or is it that you feel pity for the ones you killed? Whichever it is, keep getting angrier! Show me your power!" His declaration was accompanied by a powerful thunderbolt that headed straight to Seth with unrelenting might.

The Egyptian God meanwhile threw both weapons into the air and punched at the incoming electric discharge. His fist got coated in lava, transforming into a fiery spiral that collided with Thor's lightning that transformed their surroundings into a shower of red and blue.

There was a moment when the two attacks seemed to nullify each other in an instant of stillness. However, the winner became apparent after the thunderbolt got backup in the form of a thrown Mjölnir. The force behind it was powerful enough to send the black-haired man flying.

This time it was Seth the one that got to taste the salty waters of Rhodes all the while Thor laughed as he called back his hammer.

The redhead watched with interest how the ocean started vaporizing after entering contact with the Gods' armor, mentally preparing to defend himself in case his foe decided to use it as a cover to launch an attack.

Unexpectedly, that didn't come to pass. Instead, Seth got out from the waters with heavy steps but with a noticeable difference compared to before. The arm he had used to attack now lacked the rocky surface. Yet, something within him warned that the situation had not improved. On the contrary, it had gotten worse.

A looming shadow returned him back to reality. His gaze went up just in time to see a giant Trident descending upon him. Naturally, he did the most sensible thing and jumped back to avoid the falling weapon.

As if expecting that, though, multiple rays of light began to persecute him from the skies. A quick glance revealed them to be copies of his opponent's spear crashing like shooting stars wherever he went. Nevertheless, that didn't make things any less exhilarating.

Zigzagging amidst the assault, Thor couldn't help but think that he made the right choice in coming for this Wild Hunt, even if the calling was made through means he frowned upon.

Only after detecting no more attacks coming his way did he stop and turn around, not at all surprised at not finding Seth in the same place he was before. Still, the possibility of an ambush was quickly ruled out; the reason being the man in question hovering in plain sight in the skies above, enclosed by the lightning rain.

"You wanted me to be angry...?" Seth's raspy and unnatural voice traveled through the stormy winds to get to Thor with surprising clarity. His volcano-like eyes seemed to shine brightly in this dark world. His now-normal arm reached to the sky as a ball of lava formed on his hand—one that he didn't waste time in throwing into the lightning-filled clouds.

The outcome wasted no time in showing itself.

The clouds, which until that point had only gained a blue hue due to the thunderbolts dancing around them, suddenly got painted a deep red.

Then, as if a giant dragon was passing down judgment upon Earth from far above the planet, numerous rocks surrounded by fire began to fall like meteorites, unleashing a rain of hellfire onto the island.

"In that case, witness my anger..."

That was the signal heralding the catastrophe.