Chapter 30 – Battle between Gods! (Part 2)

Here's the new chapter!

Thanks for waiting!

*Any images in this chapter do not belong to me! It belongs to their respective artists/creators!

*Name Caption (You can adopt {ð = d} and {Þ = Th} to make it easier):

Balðr = Baldur/Balder (first son of Odin and Frigg).

Höðr = Höder (second son of Odin and Frigg).

Ahvenanmaa (Finnish) = Aland.

Heimdallr = Heimdall.

Gullinbursti = Frey's Boar.

Sumarbrandr = Sword of Frey.

Skidblaðnir = Skidbladnir (Frey's flying boat).

Attention: Remember, the *Auxiliary chapter* is reserved for the design characters chosen by ME. But if you don't like it, feel free to choose the design you like for the characters.

Without further ado, enjoy the chapter!

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- Location: Archipelago located at the entrance to the Gulf of Bothnia [future Ahvenanmaa Islands (Aland)] / Baltic Sea / Valhalla Arena.

Pov. Third-person.

During the first fight between the gods of each pantheon, the audience cheered for everything that happened.

However, Slavic fans mostly questioned whether it was a fair match, as they felt Prince Frey's weapons capabilities gave him a ridiculous advantage and viewed Prince Vanir's behavior of letting his weapons fight for him as dishonorable.

While the arena audience cheered for their respective champion, the Norse Gods 'VIP area' was utterly silent.

The reason was simple... Frey's 'fusion' with Gullinbursti.

"Njord... I didn't know your son could do that... Who knew he would have that power" said Loki, commenting on the turn of events in the match.

At the start of the match, the Nordic pantheon agreed on only one thing.

Frey's performance in the match was...

Mediocre.

Everyone thought that Frey would, without a doubt, lose the match.

Well... At least until Frey merged with Gullinbursti.

"…Any comments, Njord? Or are you going to say you didn't know about that?" asked Loki, more insistently.

The one who answered the question was not Njord, but Skadi.

"... We knew about that, but... We never thought Frey would use it," Skadi replied.

It was then that Njord spoke.

"We, the Vanir gods, are associated with nature, and we don't have much raw power difference between us, however... That doesn't work with Frey because of his weapons. When Frey uses his weapons to the fullest, especially the Gullinbursti, he becomes without a doubt the strongest Vanir god," Njord explained.

That seemed to have interested Loki.

"Oh?... I don't see anything else besides some new tattoos on your son... Could you explain further?" asked Loki.

It was then that Njord spoke.

"The tattoos ARE Gullinbursti... Basically, Frey now has the same abilities and capabilities as Gullinbursti, but..." Njord trailed off.

"... But what?" asked Loki.

The one who answered was Njord's wife.

"But the price is an insane pain on his body... If the fight goes on too long, Frey will have his body so 'destroyed' that he won't be able to lift his arm..." said Skadi.

During this conversation, Odin remained absolutely silent... But in his mind, he was cursing fate.

Odin still remembers a part of a prophecy that haunted his dreams... The part?

And Beli's bright bane against Surtr.

Beli was a young Jotun that Frey accidentally killed when he was trying to tame Gullinbursti in Midgard; this, of course, was one of many events that added more 'firewood' to the 'fire', resulting in Útgard's attempt to rebel...

The Jotun, Beli, was just four years old when he was killed by an angry Gullinbursti.

He was young... He was too young.

Gymir, Beli's father, was very angry... And this accident was never forgiven by the Jotun tribe of Gymir.

When Odin saw Frey's new 'tattoo', he only thought of one word...

Bright.

The tattoo glowed like it was alive, it was bright like the sun.

Odin, as paranoid as he was, believed that Frey would use that 'form' to fight against Surtr, and die during the fight.

Meanwhile, Nanna chose that moment to ask Balðr.

"Do you think Thor knew about this, and that's why he sent Frey against Dažbog? After all, Dažbog does not possess any divine weapons. If Frey 'merged' with Gullinbursti, and got his abilities, then Dažbog can only use his fists" said Nanna.

However, Balðr didn't even need to think long to answer Nanna's question.

"The way I know my brother... So no, he probably didn't know Frey can do that... But maybe there's a reason he sent Frey first," said Balðr.

When Balðr answered the question, he was looking at the Asgardian crowd, or more specifically, the group of Vanir gods who were cheering more vigorously than the others...

Meanwhile, back in the mirror dimension...

The fighters, Dažbog and Frey, remained silent as they faced each other... Even Frey darted towards Dažbog.

The Slavic god, surprised by the Norse god's sudden increase in speed, stood up and crossed his arms intending to block Frey's punch.

But then he noticed that there was a glint in Frey's right hand, and his instincts were screaming for him to dodge rather than block, so Dažbog chose to dodge, however... Dažbog had taken too long.

*Slash*

Dažbog pulled away in time to save most of himself and looked at the object being held in Frey's right hand, shining like the summer sun.

It was Sumarbrandr.

It was then that Dažbog remembered that when Gullinbursti was 'merging' with Frey, the sword was still stabbed into the boar's eye.

Dažbog then looked at his left arm and grimaced.

There was no more left arm.

All that remained was a stump.

Dažbog then covered his right hand with magic to cauterize the wound, but Frey did not allow Dažbog to stanch the blood.

After all... He didn't have much time.

As soon as Dažbog noticed Frey's sudden movement, he put his wound aside and concentrated on the fight.

The next few minutes consisted of Frey swinging his sword, Sumarbrandr, while Dažbog did his best to dodge.

It was then that Dažbog kicked Frey in the stomach at the first opportunity so that there was a distance between the gods.

Dažbog... was tired.

The Slavic god was recognized by his people in combat for his strength and power, as well as his high pain tolerance. However, in this specific situation, Dažbog had been injured earlier by stupidity.

He's been stabbed in the chest by Sumarbrandr before because he made the mistake of not fighting seriously.

Dažbog may have cauterized the wound, but that didn't mean there would be no consequences...

Dažbog knew it wouldn't last long, mainly because he was still fighting, his physical condition was slowly dropping. However... He noticed that Frey's strength and speed were also decreasing.

"I think this fight lasted long enough, don't you think Prince Frey?" asked Dažbog, with a smile.

Frey didn't answer and ran towards Dažbog. However, Dažbog chose to summon his divine power and created a storm of flames.

A tornado made of giant scarlet flames made the sky red once more, however...

*Slash*

The tornado had been stopped as it was cut by Frey's sword, the Sumarbrandr.

However, it was never Dažbog's intention to harm Frey with magic, as he knew it would be useless.

*BAM*

Dažbog had conjured the tornado to distract Prince Vanir, then took the opportunity to punch Frey in the back of the neck. But, while Frey was sent flying away due to the force of the blow, Frey seemed to be perfectly fine.

Frey then darted towards Dažbog and hurled Sumarbrandr.

Dažbog, realizing that the Sumarbrandr had lost its luster, coated his body to prevent the blade from piercing him once more. But Sumarbrandr wasn't looking to stab Dažbog.

"... What the –?!" said Dažbog, surprised.

Sumarbrandr was blocking Dažbog's view with its blade. And Frey took advantage of Dažbog's lack of vision and punched the Slavic god in the chest.

*BAM*

"ACK!" said Dažbog.

As soon as Dažbog received the blow, he was sent away... But Frey's attack didn't stop there.

While Dažbog was flying away, Sumarbrand had dashed towards the Slavic god's chest area, where his heart was.

But when the blade struck, it failed to stab Dažbog, who had conjured up his divine aura to protect himself from the sword.

However... As soon as Dažbog reached the mountain, Frey appeared in front of Dažbog with his right hand extended towards Sumarbrandr.

*Slash*

As Frey grabbed the sword's hilt, Sumarbrandr glowed once more and pierced the Slavic god's heart.

"*Coff* Well... You don't seem very talkative now... *Coff*... It was a good fight Vanir, maybe I'll ask for a rematch in the future *Coff*... And I won't make the same mistake of not fighting against you seriously" said Dažbog, with a small smile.

Frey didn't respond and just turned and shoved the Sumarbrandr deeper into Dažbog's chest.

"*Pant* It's over... Argh!" said Frey.

As soon as Frey said these words, his right arm, which was holding the Sumarbrandr sword, began to leak blood in places.

The reason was clear, some veins in Frey's right arm had burst from the pressure Frey's body was feeling at the moment. The combination of Frey and his boar, the Gullinbursti, gave the god Vanir a new power, but the pressure it put on his body, in the long run, was insane.

Making a comparison, it would be like... A crocodile's bite on every part of a mortal's body.

Basically, what Frey's body was going through was simple... His bones were cracking and his muscles were tearing.

Frey knew he couldn't delay, he then looked at Dažbog and noticed that the Slavic god's body began to glow, it only meant one thing...

Frey... had won.

But it was not the time to celebrate.

"Skíðblaðnir!" said Frey.

Frey's flying ship appeared in the sky again and began to descend towards the god Vanir. But once Frey takes the first step...

*crack*

"Argh!" Frey cursed falling to the floor.

Frey then looked at the cause of his fall, which turned out to be his left leg, which was now leaking blood, as well as being broken, just like his right arm.

Frey then got up and started to limp towards the Skíðblaðnir.

"I don't have time for this… I need to get in the healing chamber before –" said Frey, until he was interrupted by a sound.

A sound Frey knew all too well...

It was the sound of Gjallarhorn.

The new game had begun.

It was then that Frey heard something else just after the sound of Heimdallr's trumpet.

*BOOM*

It was a shock wave.

Frey then looked up to the sky and saw something he would never forget.

It looked like a small meteor... And it was heading towards Skiðblaðnir.

*BAM*

When the 'meteor' hit Skiðblaðnir, it pushed the flying ship downwards... Making Skiðblaðnir fall from the sky by the force of the hit.

As soon as the Skiðblaðnir hit the ground, there was an explosion that pushed Frey and made him fall to the ground.

When Frey tried to get up, he only saw a figure emerging from the wreckage of Skiðblaðnir.

It was Perun.

"Well, I have to congratulate you Vanir... After all, just a few beings can make Dažbog fight seriously, besides beating him... But I wonder if the result would have been different if Dažbog hadn't been injured by your sword before starting to take the fight more seriously... Hmm... I suppose we'll never know, at least not now. By the way, I'm different from Dažbog... When I fight, I fight to kill" said Perun.

It was then that Perun charged at Frey who had not yet left the ground.

"Sumarbrandr!" shouted Frey.

The summer sword then lunged at Perun, who just smiled and raised his battle-ax.

Perun then proceeded to defend against Sumarbrandr with his battle-ax.

The Slavic god, one of the three 'members' of the Triglav, knew that, unlike Dažbog, Sumarbrandr's blade could burn him much more easily, so he couldn't just grab Sumarbrandr's blade, just like Dažbog did, without suffering burns.

However, Perun also knew that Sumarbranr was one of Frey's main weapons... And with the Skíðblaðnir destroyed, Frey was now reduced to just two powerful weapons.

For someone who is very reliant on his weapons, this is a huge detriment to Frey.

If Frey loses Sumarbrandr, then only the golden boar, the Gullinbursti, remains.

Perun just smiled as he blocked Sumarbrandr's blade a few more times until he applied pressure and pushed the summer sword away, and then the Slavic god did something that surprised both Frey and the Norse audience.

The battle-ax glowed yellow and began to 'change'... When the glow stopped Perun was no longer wielding an ax...

Perun was now wielding a bow.

This confused some of the Norse audience because the Slavic god didn't have any arrow quivers or anything like that.

It was then that Perun pulled the string of the bow and then an arrow made of a golden-colored lightning bolt appeared.

When Perun released the arrow, he did not aim at Frey, but at Sumarbrandr... The arrow made of pure lightning then began to 'split' in midair.

Now, instead of one arrow, at least a hundred arrows were heading towards Sumarbrandr. However, the arrows did not hit the Sumarbrandr; in fact, the arrows began to form a kind of cage, which trapped Sumarbrandr.

Perun, seeing the result, smiled.

"I knew your sword would be a bit of a nuisance… But it seems it can't 'cut' magic easily without your help. Now, where were we?... Oh yeah," said Perun, after thinking for a while.

Perun then started walking towards Frey, who was on the ground still struggling to get up.

Frey couldn't get up anymore, because now not only was his left leg broken... His right leg was broken right after the impact that Skiðblaðnir caused when he fell to the ground.

When Perun got close enough to Prince Vanir, he then placed his left foot on Frey's chest and began to apply pressure.

"Argh! *Coff* Ugh!" said Frey, cursing his bruised body.

Perun, seeing Prince Vanir's plight, smiled in response.

"Oh?… I didn't apply much force… Maybe your body wants to give up? Well, if that's the case, just say you give up, Frey. I won't judge you, after all, Dažbog is one of the strongest beings in my pantheon... But then again, if you don't say you give up I will apply pressure to your chest until your ribs puncture your lung and you start breathing blood " said Perun.

When Perun didn't get an answer from Frey, he just shrugged.

"Well, if that's what you want, so be it," said Perun.

It was then that Perun started stomping harder on Frey's chest, who didn't say anything... Until a sound resounded in the air.

*crack*

"Argh!" Frey cursed.

Frey's ribcage, already crippled from his fight with Dažbog, finished giving in due to Perun's strength.

Some ribs had punctured the lungs of the god Vanir, who began coughing up blood in response.

"Oh?... I see you're already at your limit... Do you want to give up now?" asked Perun, unchanged.

For Perun, what Frey was doing was something the Slavic god could respect... A god's pride can be easily hurt, so a strong god should never ask for mercy.

It was then that Perun realized that Frey had responded weakly, it was then that Perun stopped applying pressure.

"What did you say?" Perun asked, with a look of disappointment.

Frey then coughed up some blood and... He smiled.

"I said... you talk too much!" said Frey.

Frey then used his left hand to grab Perun's foot.

"Gullinbursti!" shouted Frey.

Frey's tattoos 'responded' to Frey's call and began to transform into pure energy and then 'left' Frey's body, settling at some distance from the two gods, but there was something different about the boar... He was brighter than usual.

Just a few seconds later, Frey's boar charged Perun with unprecedented speed.

"Well…that was a stupid decision on your part," said Perun.

Perun then applied even more pressure to his foot and stomped harder on Frey's chest.

The noises of bones breaking could be heard.

But Frey didn't flinch and kept his smile as he held Perun's foot as best he could.

What Frey was doing was simple… He knew he couldn't go up against Perun in a fight, so his weapons were more important at this time.

The Gullinbursti, however slow it was, had the highest attack power at the moment. It was then that Frey made a decision... He must hold Perun in order for Gullinbursti to succeed in his attack.

Frey didn't know if Perun was physically stronger than Dažbog, but Frey didn't think he had many attack options...

With his body practically destroying itself with the slightest movement, and Sumarbrnadr trapped in a 'cage' made of lightning, Frey felt that Gullinbursti's blow would be his best chance to, somehow, hurt the Slavic god.

So Frey used most of his godly power and transferred it to Gullinbursti, so that not only did he increase his attack power, but his speed as well.

Don't get wrong, Frey knew he couldn't win against Perun... What Frey was doing at the moment was harming his opponent as much as he could, so that Thor would get the upper hand in their fight.

But then something happened...

The bow that Perun was wielding began to glow again and turned into a golden shield with some silver accents.

Perun then raised his shield just as Gullinbursti was about to hit him.

The collision looked like a new earthquake that caused a giant dust cloud and shook the earth, creating cracks in the ground and nearby mountains.

Several minutes passed before the dust settled so that the arena audience could see the result.

The result was... A heavy hit to the Norse pantheon.

Perun remained unperturbed in his position as he stomped on Frey's chest and his shield effortlessly blocked Gullinbursti.

All this time Perun was looking at Frey's eyes.

"... As I said before, it was a stupid decision... You failed," Perun said with a smile as he lifted his foot from Frey's chest.

But as soon as Perun lifted his foot, yellow lightning flashed across his raised leg. Gullinbursti, realizing what the Slavic god was about to do to his master, roared in response as he tried to push harder in an attempt to stop or at least get Perun's attention.

But Gullinbursti's attempt was unsuccessful... Perun just ignored the boar.

Perun seemed to find Gullinbursti just a nuisance.

Frey, who had let go of Perun's foot due to the loss of his strength, only said one thing.

"... My bad... Thor" said, Frey.

Perun then stomped on Frey again... But the Slavic god didn't aim at his chest.

The Slavic god aimed for the head of the god Vanir.

As soon as Perun's foot collided with Frey's head, the ground shook once more with an earthquake... Shortly after, Frey's body began to glow.

Frey... was defeated.

Gullinbursti, Sumarbrandr, and the rest of the Skíðblaðnir wreckage began to glow as well.

And so, it was the Asgardian defeat.

Perun then looked towards the sky and waited...

The sound of Heimdallr's trumpet once again resounded through the mirror dimension.

Meaning the start of the third and final fight.

Perun... was excited to fight.

The Slavic god then shouted towards the sky, his voice roaring like thunder.

"Come to me son of Odin! May our battle resound through the sky! Hahahahahaha!" laughed Perun.

Perun's shield then glowed and turned into his battle-ax.

The representative god of the Slavic pantheon then raised his ax and shot a lightning bolt imbued with spellcasting magic towards the sky.

What was Perun conjuring up?... A storm.

A storm that was slowly covering the world.

Due to Perun's spellcasting magic, charged clouds began to form in the sky, and lightning struck the land, as well as creating tornadoes across the planet.

But then another voice that, like Perun, resounded like thunder, was heard by Perun and the arena audience.

"Your ax may even create storms in the sky... But my Mjolnir is the sky DEVOURER!" roared the voice.

It was then that Perun, as well as the audience in the arena, was surprised by something.

*Whoosh*

Some force had split the sky 'in half'.

It was then that a figure, wielding a hammer in its right hand, could be seen slowly approaching Perun.

Who was the figure?...

It was Thor.

"... Weren't you laughing a little while ago?... Why are you looking so serious now?" asked Thor, as he looked into Perun's face.

Perun wasn't laughing or smiling anymore... He was shaking.

The Slavic god at that moment, after this display of the son of Odin, knew that he must put forth effort in his fight against this man.

If Perun was shaking... So he was scared?...

Not exactly.

Perun wasn't feeling afraid... Quite the opposite.

His instincts screamed at that moment.

Perun had found a new worthy opponent in addition to his rival Veles.

Perun's body was shaking, not with fear…but with joy.

"... May our battle be considered legendary even by the deities!" roared Perun.

As soon as Perun finished that sentence… He charged at Thor with a new smile plastered on his face.

A smile of happiness.

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Well... That's it, folks!

Writing fights is harder than I thought... That's why I was a little late in the update.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter!

Until next time, don't forget to leave a comment!

*The next chapter will likely be published on Monday or Tuesday.

Title of the next chapter:

Chapter 31 – Battle between Gods! (Final)