Chapter 8 Heroic Ascension pt3

*Narration*

Man and beast meet in the middle, their attack sending shockwaves, Ottar with his massive amount of strength slashed endlessly at the Mythical Lion.

The beast, receiving the attack head on wasn't fazed by the adventurer's strength as it dished out slashes of its own.

Ottar is being smart though, using the blindspot provided by Rajesh, he riddled the lion with blows powerful enough to decimate a man to mush. He knows that his attack isn't doing nothing but it was the only opening he could exploit.

Finn watches the fight, he knows the lion's weakness thanks to the sacrifice of his friend, as he watches, his mind race, calculating, formulating a plan to kill the beast with what little they have left.

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°Heaven°

The Gods are watching the battle down below, cheering and making bets, they find the situation amusing as the mortals fight for their life.

"That mortal sure can fight." a god spoke, amused by the grit and determination of the mortal.

"That's one of Freya's children right? she sure is lucky in finding that type of talent." another god made his opinion known.

"seeing this makes me want to descend down. it looks like fun."

"By the way, isn't that the Nemean Lion? well that mortal's dead. Hahaha I wonder what Freya's gonna do? It would be funny seeing her face after two of her strongest children die."

As the gods continue to talk among themselves, one god in particular looks at the scene curiously. his eyes are not drawn at the beast and the man, fighting to the death. He already killed that cat long before, and he had done it with his bare hands. so seeing the fight doesn't really peak his interest.

But the boy, the boy has fire in his eyes, and he knows that fire, a desire for strength, for power, to stand above everyone.

And the spear in his hands is radiating the same quality that the boy has.

"Hey Heracles, you fought the cat before, when you are of mortal flesh, do you think that man has a shot." A god asks Heracles, but no answer came back. he took a look, and saw that he was looking at an entirely different scene than the fight. "Hey where are you looking?"

"Someone interesting."

The god looked at were he was looking and spot the boy, he saw him looking at the fight, his eyes glued to every moment of it, his hand griping a spear with a sense of hunger. "oh... poor kid, after the lion is done with that man it'll slaughter everyone there. to see a kid with that amount of passion die is such a waste."

"Hmmm..."

"anyway, back to my question, do you think that Freya's child has a chance?"

Heracles looked at the fight momentarily, it was intense and wild but it just didn't spark anything inside him. "He can, but his being stupid."

"Stupid how?"

"no weapon in the lower world can hurt that cat, and no mortal magic is strong enough to damage it decisively. Knowing that he is still stubbornly using his weapon. he is just wasting his strength on a useless venture."

"Ohh... so how did you beat it when you were mortal?"

"I used my strength wisely, his skin may be impenetrable but his inside is still that of an animal. I used my hands to pry open its jaw and broke it."

"Hahahaha! That's a really direct way of doing things." The god amused by the former mortal slapped him at the back while laughing hard as he looked at the God formerly known as the strongest hero of humanity.

Heracles ignored him and moved his eyes back at the boy.

"You're really interested in that boy huh?"

"Hmmm."

"So what are you gonna do about it?"

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°Back on the fight°

Ottar is a bloody mess, multiple wounds in his body from the beast claw, the only reason he is still standing is because of his skill. Stortus Ottar.

As the fight continues the skill allows him to use the Healing Power and Spirit Healing development abilities, and strengthens all of his development abilities. The condition for the skill is in proportion to his status, combine it together with his beastification, Vana Arganture, then Ottar becomes an unstoppable force pushing his prowess equal to that of a level seven.

But there's a catch, with great power comes great drawbacks, the skill drains his stamina heavily, and corrupts his mind. The longer he uses his skill, Ottar becomes more of a savage beast.

But this is his last hurrah, and he's gonna prove that he is king, he is the strongest, all for his goddess.

"HILDIS VINI!!!" he cast the strongest spell in his arsenal, a super strengthening magic which covers his weapon in a golden light. The aura of the king burst forth.

The Lion didn't wait for him, it made the first move, dashing towards its challenger, preparing to tear him limb from limb with its mighty claws.

Finn seeing this rushed to intercept the beast. He resolved himself, he will put his body on the line to buy Ottar time for him to charge up his attack.

"HELL FINEGAS!!!" He unleashed his magic, Hell Finegas massively strengthens all of Finn's abilities at the cost of proper judgment due to a heavy increase in the desire to battle. As a high Level 5, the magic boost was powerful enough to grant him the power of a Level 6.

He didn't use this skill earlier because of its drawback, what they needed was a strategist and the drawback of the skill will mess with his mind. But not now, They need additional fire power, and he will provide it. It was a gamble, both he and Ottar might lose their reasoning after this.

So what?!

They will kill this overgrown cat no matter what it takes.

And now he'll use his final gamble, looking at the beast eye he took a deep breath in.

"TIR NA NOG!!!" Finn used his ultimate move, Tir na Nog, a throwing magic. It adds Finn's levels and all ability totals to his magic power during use. It can only be used once every 24 hours.

He aimed it at the Lion's one good eye, his muscles aching at the force that was expanding, pushing himself towards his very limit. He knows that after this attack his body will shut down, he will go in mind zero.

But he doesn't care, he'll kill it, even if it's the last thing that he'll do.

"DIE YOU FILTHY ANIMAL!!!" borrowing the words of his friend Rajesh he throws his spear, its aim true, it flies straight at the eye of the Lion.

*BOOM!!!*

The impact was so strong that it sent everyone flying back, Finn slowly lost his consciousness as the impact of his attack sent him tumbling down, his body entering the state of mind down, his eyes looked at the man who he bet everything to.

Ottar gave him a nod, as he turned his eyes back towards the beast, it was reeling in pain as the spear penetrated its eyes.

Everyone's hope was in Ottar's hands, everyone knows that his attack would decide their fates, as everyone is either hurt, or killed at this point. only the king remained standing as it faces the beast.

August gripped his weapon, his eyes glued at the king, his heart pounding, he can't explain it, he feels a deep longing, for his strength, for his power. The fire deep inside the boy rose to new hights as he looked in awe at Ottar. a question popped into his mind. 'Will I be able to kill every monster with that strength?' his goal is still the same, revenge for his family, and he knows that for him to succeed he needs that type of strength.

Ottar charged at the blinded lion, his weapon radiating a golden glow, he might not be able to cut it with its impenetrable skin, but with the strength he has right now he can break every bone in its body to pieces. after all, it is still an animal no matter how strong it is.

But even a cornered rat would bite back.

As his weapon came crashing down, the lion with its last ditch effort for survival extended its claw towards the magic that it felt coming towards it

*Schlap*

*BOOM!!!*

The blow made the very ground tremble, as dust, stones, and debris fly off towards every direction, some even hitting adventurers and rendering them unconscious. The shockwave was the strongest one yet, as it literally lift the very ground up in the air.

The people took cover and the mages who are still functioning at this point hastily set up barriers to block the incoming debris.

Some rushed towards their unconscious comrades as they guard them from the projectiles.

The dust settles, the adventurers stared at the aftermath of the attack, a huge crater was formed, deep and large enough to be confused as a dried off lake.

Standing at the middle is the victor of the clash.

With his body battered and beaten, The king stands proud as he slayed the mighty beast. its inside crushed to a pulp.

"H-- he did it..."

Realisation slowly hit them, they survived, they won, the mythical beast has been slained.

"HE DID IT!!!!" cheers and crying can be heard as they celebrate their second lease in life, some mourn for the death of their comrades, especially thsoe who are in Ganesha familia.

They have lost their precious captain, and for them the victory was a bittersweet one. But he didn't die in vain, he had given them hope,.a chance, and with his sacrifice they've killed the Nemean Lion.

Rajesh Kumar was a hero, his sacrifice cemented that fact as he died in honor and battle.

as the people felt relief, Ottar fell on his knees, his hand clutching his side, a huge chunk of his flesh missing from his body, as blood continues to fall. He is getting dizzy as his body slowly goes out of battle mode, his beastly form returning back to normal, He wad moments away from Mind zero.

The people saw their hero fall, they ran towards him, rushing to aid the man who took down the beast, some of them helped the others who were wounded, and others looked for their friends, praying to the gods, hoping for them to be alive.

For the adventurers, the event was a moment in history, it was a moment they saw their fellow adventurers, Rajesh, Finn, and Ottar, immortalized and ascended into heroes.

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°Heaven°

"Ohhh... they won." A god said, a bored expression on his face as he rested his head on his hand. "Bummer I lost 4 golden Apples."

"Hahaha I won big time, I should reward that mortal..."

the gods chatter as the thrilling death match ended, some collected their winnings as the gods bet on the mortals down below.

"high nose bastards." A certain god whispers as his face was filled with disgust at the gods who treated the mortals as entertainment. "Don't you think so Heracles."

"Leave them be, what they do have no effect on us." he answered back, as he looked down on the adventurer licking their wounds.

"It's annoying, they think we're above them just because they're gods."

"But Buddha, you're no longer mortal, you are a god now, or did you forget?" Heracles chuckled as he looked at his friend. Like him Buddha was also a mortal who ascended towards godhood, so he felt a connection and mutual understanding towards his friend.

"It just grinds my gears. Seeing them all high and mighty."

"Hahaha let it go my friend, the mortals won, they'll sur--" Heracles stopped, his hands crushed the table where the magical mirror which allowed them to see the events of the lower earth is placed. His Arcanum runs wild.

"What is it?" Buddha, shocked by his friend's action looked at the magic mirror, to see what Heracles saw. "Fuck me."

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°Lower world°

*August PoV*

My heart is racing after witnessing the battle, it was awesome to say the very least. Mister Finn and mister Ottar showed strength that I wish I had, then maybe I could've protected my family.

I shook my head, taking the thoughts of the past out of my mind, I looked around to see what I could do to help, as the adventurers tended to the wounded, others collecting mementoes from their friends to give back to the families. Out of the thirty adventurers, only fourteen remained as over half the people died at the beast.

As my eyes roamed, I saw miss Shakti, wounded, shaken up, and in pain, both physically and emotionally, most of Ganesha's familia felt like they lost something within them. Mister Rajesh was along the sixteen that were killed.

Miss Mia was wrapped tight with bandages as the healers did their best to tend to her.

miss Riveria who had just woken up from being hit by the lion is running around in a circle, tending to everyone as she cast healing spells non stop.

Even mister Finn and mister Ottar are out of commission, they're currently suffering from mind zero as they placed them down and wrapped them up.

Even now I feel useless.

*Thump*

My heart suddenly beat fast, the spear Beowulf vibrating non stop on my back, I can feel its bloodlust. what the hell is happening.

"Kekekekekeke." I heard a laugh inside the forest, it is a laugh that I heard even in my dreams.

the others stopped what they were doing, panic entering their faces as they recognized that awful laugh.

"You gotta be shitting me." Mister Gareth spoke, as he tried to stand up, but his legs failed him. Even so his hands are in no condition to fight.

"Really? fucking hell!" Mister Allen limped badly, he held his spear and took a stance, his legs shaking and bleeding as the wounds opened from his forced movements. "Arghhh!" he howled in pain but still stands strong.

"Just when I was about to run out of mana." Miss Riveria said, eyes staring at the forest ahead.

"....." miss Shakti was still silent, but she still stood up preparing to fight, a look of anger on her face as she took out her daggers, her spear broke earlier so a dagger was her only weapon.

And there they are, appearing in bunches, the monsters returns, after the death of the beast, they are here to take advantage of the damages that we have suffered. Laughing and cackling they mock us as they slowly move in for the kill.

Out of the fourteen who survived, only a handful can still fight, and looking at the numbers of the monsters, we are just doomed to die.

The monster took their time, slowly moving, their laughter echoing, like a countdown for our deaths, my hand grips the spear, I might die now, but I will die fighting.

I looked at the faces of the adventurers, Mister Allen gave me a nod of acknowledgement, my fellow survivors also took up arms as they intended to die swinging.

Then suddenly a light descended from the heaven.

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Done with chapter 8, now I'm gonna say this now, I won't be updating on sunday, as it is a tradition in our household to spend the day with family.

updates will resume on Monday, thank you in advance for understanding.

thanks for picking up this fanfic and giving it a chance.

good day, love y'all.