31 Chapter 31 – Battle between Gods! (Final)

Here's the new chapter!

Thanks for the wait!

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

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 / Mirror Dimension.

Pov. Third-person.

When Perun got close to Thor, he raised his ax and swung it in a single motion that sliced through the air, aiming his powerful blow at the Norse god's neck with the intent of decapitating him.

However, just as the Slavic god's ax was ready to strike Thor, the Norse god raised his Mjolnir to block Perun's blow.

When Mjolnir blocked Perun's ax blow, a shock wave followed, cracking the ground in the process and causing an earthquake.

During this entire moment, Perun had a happy smile on his face.

Why was Perun happy?... He believed he had found another opponent worthy to fight besides Veles.

However, Thor was not smiling.

Right after Thor blocked Perun's attack, the Norse god applied pressure and pushed the Slavic god with his Mjolnir.

Perun was surprised by the force exerted by the Norse god, and he just grinned even bigger.

"Finally! Someone besides Veles who can be my rival!" said Perun, with an excited smile.

Thor, hearing what Perun had said was… confused.

"...rival?" asked Thor.

Thor didn't understand Perun's statement for a simple reason, Thor didn't see Perun as a rival.

For the Norse god, his training served to put him on a different level of power from other gods, the main reason for this was because, over the years, Thor acquired knowledge about gods that were much more powerful than other gods.

A good example?... The Hindu pantheon.

Only three gods from this pantheon caught Thor's attention, these three gods made up the Trimurti, the famous Hindu trinity.

But these three gods were on a completely different level from the rest of their pantheon.

When Thor discovered such gods and some of their capabilities, he became more increasingly focused on his training.

However, Thor hadn't fought any gods seriously until now.

The reason was very simple...

No god that Thor had ever encountered had been able to get Thor's attention.

Thor's biggest 'challenge' so far was his fight in Útgard's castle.

And even during the confrontation at the castle of Útgard, Thor had not, at any time, removed his restraints.

His gauntlets, called Járngreipr, absorbed most of the weight of his blow.

And his belt, called Megingjord, served as an enhanced gravity belt, where only Thor would feel the weight difference and nothing but Thor's body would be affected by the weight change. Basically, Thor could 'feel' to weigh the same as a mountain and sit in a wooden chair, and the chair wouldn't break because the chair would only be supporting Thor's weight without his belt.

Also... Mjolnir had not awakened during their fight in Útgard's castle.

In fact, Mjolnir has been sleeping since Thor started to wield it.

Mjolnir was a sleepyhead.

Thor's confusion was that Perun called him a rival… But Perun hadn't made Thor remove his restraints.

Basically, Perun claimed to be Thor's rival, unaware of the Norse god's power.

Well, at least Thor couldn't question Perun's self-confidence in his power.

However, Thor was also somewhat annoyed by Perun's fight against Frey.

Perun had made Frey suffer and only then submitted him.

It was time for retribution.

Thor then activated his lightning armor and ran towards Perun.

The Slavic god's instincts screamed as the son of Odin disappeared from his sight in a burst of speed, Perun then turned his ax into a shield and raised it to protect him.

Perun's battle instincts had saved him.

*BOOM*

A shock wave resounded through the skies and cracked the earth.

As Thor's hammer hit Perun's shield, the earth shook with the blow.

Thor, impressed by the shield's strength, couldn't help but comment.

"...Interesting weapon... But if that's all you've got, it won't do you much good," said Thor.

Thor had in mind that his lightning-natured divine power wouldn't be very effective, because he was facing another deity with his lightning association.

The most efficient attack turned out to be the more traditional form...

Pure brute force.

Thor then distanced himself from the Slavic god and then did something that surprised the Slavic god as well as the Valhalla arena audience.

Thor... placed the Mjolnir on the ground.

The Norse god didn't 'drop' his weapon, he carefully placed it on the ground... as if Mjolnir was made of a fragile material.

The truth was the opposite.

It wasn't Mjolnir that was fragile... but the ground.

It was then that Thor chose to comment.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Come on," said Thor.

Perun was irritated.

"You drop your weapon and want to keep fighting?! Do you dishonor me in such a way son of Odin?!" asked Perun, shouting.

Perun was angry because his opponent had willingly given up using his weapon and wanted to fight unarmed against him, who was wielding his weapon.

That was an insult.

Because now it looked like Thor didn't need a weapon to fight Perun.

"Well, make me regret my decision then," said Thor, shrugging.

This seemed to hit the nerve of Perun, because the Slavic god turned his shield into his ax again, and hurled it at the Norse god.

Thor remained unaffected as he dodged the ax, letting it pass harmlessly.

Perun just watched the Norse god with a knowing gaze.

Only a few seconds passed and then Thor heard a sound coming towards his back, it sounded like something approaching at high speed.

As soon as the sound got louder Thor extended his hand and Mjolnir flew off the ground and went towards his hand.

Thor then swung Mjolnir as he turned towards the approaching thing.

The thing was Perun's ax.

It was then that Thor slammed Mjolnir into the ax, creating a new shock wave.

*BAM*

Perun's ax hit the ground and raised a giant dust cloud that blocked the view of the Slavic god and the Valhalla arena audience.

It was then that Perun reached out his hand and tried to 'call' his weapon back into his hands.

But nothing happened.

Perun felt that his weapon was somehow not 'responding'.

It was then that the cloud of dust dissipated and Perun saw what had happened.

His ax was on the ground... And on top of it was Mjolnir.

Mjolnir was preventing his weapon from returning to his hands.

"Well, now that we're unarmed... Do you still consider it an insult?" asked Thor, who was beside Mjolnir.

Perun saw red.

Whether or not Thor noticed Perun's rising anger, he didn't show it and just placed his hands on his hips with his elbows bent and remained standing in place.

As if inviting Perun to attack.

With a war cry, the Slavic god then ran towards Thor.

*BAM* *BAM* *BAM* *BAM* *BAM* *BAM* *BAM* *BAM* *BAM*.

Perun had landed a string of consecutive blows on Thor, with each blow that struck the Norse god an earthquake was created.

The Slavic god continued punching Thor with a speed and power well known to many pantheons.

Each blow from Perun seemed to create an earthquake.

This was the result of the fearsome rage of the Slavic god.

Perun continued to punch even as Thor's coat was turned into mere rags.

After several minutes Perun stopped punching as his anger wore off, and then he realized the Norse god's state.

Thor had blood all over his face and chest, his white coat had turned to rags.

The Norse god now had a smile on his face.

"Oh? Why did you stop? Did you finally notice the state of your hands?" asked Thor.

Perun, who had calmed down, noticed a pain in his hands and when he looked he was startled by the result.

Perun's hands... They were badly injured.

Some of his fingers were broken and there were cuts along his wrists.

"Well... I guess it's my turn now," said Thor.

As soon as Perun heard Thor, he took his attention from his hands and looked toward the Norse god.

Thor had both of his arms raised to his sides, his hands open.

It was then that Thor simultaneously attacked Perun's ears with a quick, powerful slap.

*BAM*

The force of the blow was so great that it cracked the ground around Thor and Perun, causing the earth to shake.

As soon as Thor hit Perun, the Slavic god's ears spurted blood and Perun's eyes seemed to have lost focus.

Perun's body then fell backward, as if the Slavic god had lost his sense of balance.

When the Slavic god fell to the ground Thor waited for an answer.

For a long time, Thor remained looking at the body of the Slavic god, until the son of Odin finally commented.

"*Sigh* Hey! Heimdallr! The match is over! He won't get up!" said Thor looking at the sky.

It was then that a voice came from the heavens.

"While I understand your claim, Prince Thor... I'm afraid it's not possible because the Valhalla arena will only recognize victory with the death of the fighter" said the voice.

The voice was Heimdallr, who had used his trumpet, the Gjallarhorn, to transmit his voice into the mirror dimension.

Thor could only frown.

"How troublesome..." said Thor.

The Norse god then walked towards Perun, who was still lying on the ground and looked into the Slavic god's eyes.

Thor, realizing that the Slavic god was conscious only commented.

"Well, I won't deny it, you're a tough guy, it's a shame you can't fight properly at the moment. I think I overdid it again, you probably can't lift any fingers right now… In fact, I don't think you can even hear me now *sigh*" said Thor.

Thor then lifted his foot.

Thor will finish Perun the same way the Slavic god finished Prince Frey.

"I'd like to say it was an exciting fight…but I'd be lying," said Thor.

Thor then lowered his foot and stomped on Perun's head.

As soon as Thor's foot hit the Slavic god the earth shook one last time.

It was then that the sound of Gjallarhorn resounded across the sky once more.

But this time, Heimdallr's magical artifact wasn't heralding the start of another match...

Gjallarhorn announced the end of the combat and the victory of the pantheon that still had some 'living' representative.

The victory went to the Nordic pantheon, and the prize was the archipelago.

At that moment Thor, as much as he won, didn't seem to be satisfied with the result.

Thor looked…disappointed.

"*sigh* Well, it's time to go home..." said Thor, when he noticed that him, as well as Perun's body, began to glow.

When Thor returned to the Valhalla arena rune, Frey's body lay beside him lying on the floor unconscious, the pair of Norse's gods was greeted by vigorous cheers from the Nordic crowd and respectful applause from the Slavic crowd.

But when Thor looked toward the audience, he noticed that most of the applause was accompanied by fearful looks in his direction.

There were only a few in the audience who didn't show fear when they looked at Thor... Who were some of these people? Well...

"WOOHOO!!! Did you see that, shitheads?! That guy was my student!" shouted Idhuna, the half-dwarf who taught Thor how to forge, to the rest of the Norse crowd.

"Idhuna! Be more honorable, besides that, Prince Frey also deserves credit for his performance and determination in battle!" said Rhagnar, husband of Idhuna.

Idhuna seemed to have the decency to be a little embarrassed, but then she replied.

"Yes, yes, the Vanir did a good job too... But it was MY STUDENT who asserted dominance! Hahahahahaha!" shouted Idhuna, raising her arms and laughing in victory.

"*sigh* I can only be glad that our daughter is not a copy of you…" Rhagnar said, sighing in defeat.

"I always knew you got this, big guy! WOOHOO!!!" screamed Sif.

Idhuna then looked at her husband with a knowing smile.

"What were you saying?" asked Idhuna in an innocent tone.

"...at least she's not ALWAYS like you," Rhagnar said.

This seemed to have angered Idhuna.

"Want to sleep on the floor today?!" asked Idhuna.

Rhagnar looked unperturbed.

"If you kick me out... I'll get rid of our bed so you can sleep with me on the cold floor... maybe we even have to 'warm up' to sleep since the floor is cold. How does that sound to you?" Rhagnar said with a small smile to his wife.

Idhuna looked irritated but had a small smile.

"...Sounds good," said Idhuna, her face a little flushed.

Sif, who had overheard her parents' shameless flirtation, looked at the couple a little enviously. Sif, deep down, wants to have a happy marriage, just like her parents' marriage.

Sif then looked at her parents and then looked at Thor again in the arena, who could be seen carrying Frey on his shoulder towards the gate on the Nordic side.

"Maybe... Maybe someday?" asked Sif, in a hopeful tone, to herself.

Six months had passed after the confrontation with the Slavic pantheon, Thor was currently in his home in Midgard, reflecting on what he could do.

Don't get me wrong, Thor liked a little peace... But the more years passed, the more the boredom was noticeable.

Thor only had a few things that kept him busy… training and forging.

The commemorative dates, as well as his 'Christmas', were also good distractions, however... They didn't take up much of his time, as they were just a few dates throughout the year.

"*sigh* What to do?" asked Thor.

It was then that someone caught Thor's attention.

"Cousin! The thing you called 'jacuzzi' is amazing! I never knew that – Ah? Something wrong?" asked Hel.

The 'Queen of the Norse Underworld' came to visit her favorite cousin today and was invited to be the first person to enjoy a new object that Thor built in his spare time.

A jacuzzi.

Thor seeing the concern in Hel's eyes, just smiled.

"It's nothing cousin, I'm just thinking about a few things... It's nothing major, so don't worry," said Thor.

Hel didn't seem to truly believe her cousin, so she decided to do her best to distract Thor.

"Let's go then! You built it, so you should use that 'jacuzzi' too! Maybe we can play that game you taught me while we chill, what was the name again? Hmm... Ah! Chess! Let's go cousin!" said Hel, as she grabbed Thor's hand and pulled him to the place where the 'jacuzzi' was.

Thor seemed to be amused by his cousin's insistence, but inside his mind, the question still lingered.

What to do now to assuage your boredom?

At the moment Thor didn't know, but he had a feeling he would soon find his answer.

- Location: Asgard / Healing Chamber.

Within one wing of the main Asgardian castle, there was an area reserved for healing and recovery from injuries.

The 'beds' appeared to be made of iron and had runes that glowed a steady green as long as someone was lying on them.

This was the case with Prince Frey.

Prince Vanir had been lying in the healing chamber for six months with no sign of awakening.

The person who stood by Prince Vanir's side was his sister Freyja. Princess Freyja hadn't stopped visiting her brother since he was hospitalized after fighting the Slavic pantheon.

Other people also visited, and one of them was Thor, who at least once every three days visited his knocked-out friend.

While Thor would have liked to help, he knew what Frey was going through was just mental stress after the fight.

In short, Frey just needed a long rest to mentally recover and only then wake up.

And after six months, the day finally arrived.

Freyja was sitting reading a parchment and particular in extreme concentration when something caught her eye.

"...Ugh," said a voice.

Freyja looked towards the voice and noticed its source.

Frey had awakened.

"Brother!" said Freyja, in a happy tone.

Freyja then immediately dropped the parchment on the floor and hugged her brother who was getting up from the 'bed'.

The parchment Freyja was reading could only be readable by the title.

What was the title? Well...

'He didn't look at me with lust? How?; Written by Inanna, Sumerian goddess of love, eroticism, fecundity, and fertility'.

It was then that Frey, noticing his sister's hug, returned the hug with a tired smile.

"Oh? If I am receiving a warm hug from my beloved sister then I have done something extraordinary!" said Frey with a smile.

Freyja then separated from Frey, with a smile on her face.

"And you made Frey… Our people now trust you. You showed them your determination and strength to win, I know you went into this fight just to preserve my freedom over love, I thank you for that, but during the fight, I know you were fighting not just for me.. ." said Freyja, looking at her brother.

Frey looked embarrassed.

"I think Thor opened my eyes... I think I needed to hear what my friend had to say," Frey said.

As soon as Frey made that comment, he noticed a change in his sister's face.

"Yes… Thor… By the way, how long have you been friends with Thor? Are you very close?" Freyja asked, her tone carefree.

These two questions rang like warning bells in Frey's mind.

"Freyja... Did something go wrong between you and Thor while I was knocked out?" asked Frey suspiciously.

Freyja looked away from Frey and then spoke.

"No, nothing wrong happened, I'm just… Interested?" Freyja replied uncertainly.

However, one word Freyja spoke turned the 'warning bells' in Frey's mind into 'warning ALARMS' that sounded like Gjallarhorn again.

The word that made Frey alert?

Interested.

INTERESTED!

It was then that Frey spoke.

"...Freyja...Could you tell me EXACTLY what you want to know about Thor?" asked Frey.

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Well... That's it, folks!

Hope you enjoyed the chapter!

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

*The next chapter will likely be published on Thursday or Friday.

Title of the next chapter:

Chapter 32 – Decisions!