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My P@treon
TioIroh99 (10 chapters ahead)
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"Talking"
'Thinking'
"Spells"
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Thor POV
'What the fuck is going on' I asked myself.
This... this simply cannot be described. The city, that most mythical city that my own father and Zeus built over centuries had simply... gone out.
The glow, the radiance, the majesty was gone at the hands of a madman. I knew Ares was a power-hungry jerk, but this... this was simply insanity on another level.
But I couldn't deny the reality my eyes were seeing. Even if I wanted to, I couldn't. Ares controlled Valhalla, turning this city into a war zone. And the gods who followed him, those proud gods who could even oppose their own pantheon leaders, were now at the mercy of Ares' commandos.
"Damn it!"
I had to put my thoughts aside, as I moved to dodge a slash that went straight for my neck. The cause of this cut was the axe of Perun, the Slovenian god of lightning, who had arrived at the speed of a bullet to meet me. His power was very similar to mine, and although he passed under the radar many times, he was by no means to be underestimated.
Perhaps I had more strength and, in terms of power, perhaps more raw power. But he had far more combat experience than I did, being almost a contemporary of my father.
If I could boast of numerous battles against titans and giants, his fight count was simply at a level that would take me a millennium longer to reach. That's how dangerous this god was.
But if you thought that would scare me or stop me from fighting, you were sorely mistaken. On the contrary, my blood was boiling with the excitement of this fight. I ducked, dodging three more slashes. His axe was powerful, of a similar material to my Mjölnir. However, that was enough for me to position myself.
On the fourth slash, I countered. I moved my hammer at full speed and power to intersect the battle axe. My veins bulged from the power I was exerting in the attack. In less than a second, our weapons clashed and
"PANG!"
A sound of thunder rumbled across the battlefield that made everyone stop dead in their tracks to see the cause of the noise. But then they went back to their fighting. However, I met my match when I saw Perun's arm ache as he tried with all his might to fend off the force of my attack.
Simply put, my strength was too much for him, not having expected the counterattack, to withstand.
"My turn" I muttered.
There I began my scuffle. First I threw my hammer, which he easily dodged, but that was a bluff, so I quickly crawled up and gave him a good blow in the ribs that left him slightly out of breath. Then, with the same momentum I got up and with my two arms I hit him hard in the chin, sending him flying.
He got up quickly. If looks could kill, I would have been buried 10 feet under by now because of the way he was looking at me. However, now I could get a good look at him. His pupils were gone. A black liquid now adorned his eyes.
'What the fuck did you do with them, Ares'
Mind control or something else, that no longer mattered. These gods were now mere puppets to Ares. Already the friendship, or respect I felt for this group of gods didn't matter. One slip up, and even I could die. This was war.
Perun came with a demonic momentum. His speed even surpassing mine by far. He quickly threw a punch at me, which I intercepted, but then, with the same momentum, he pulled me back and elbowed me, which made me let go as I stumbled two steps. A little blood was beginning to form in my mouth from the force of the blow.
If it were earlier, I would counterattack in the same way, bringing us to a near berserker bare-knuckle duel. But that's not what I was going to do. Because that would only tire me out and drain me of needed energy. Energy that I would surely require against the true villain of this war.
One thing I can boast about my very amazing combat ability is that I constantly learn from my battles. Even from those that were painful defeats. And one thing I learned from the recent fight with Diana, was that she exploited the weaknesses of the strongest. Simply put, you didn't need to be the strongest or the most powerful to win. A teaching I was about to implement right now.
Perun expected me to hit him back, but instead, I walked up to him and aimed a reverend stomp, where he couldn't help but cry out in pain. Then, I directed a kick to his ribs and finally, with a quick call, I summoned my hammer, launching it straight at his body, and sending him flying away. This time, he couldn't stop no matter how much he wanted to as the hammer only obeyed me.
'That'll hold him for a couple of minutes'
With the rest that my hammer gave me, I finally looked at the battlefield. At first, we were all shocked by the display of power of the unbridled gods. They had become a force of nature. But, to my pleasant surprise, the heroes quickly recovered and continued with the strategy we had already planned.
The fighting tactics. The knowledge of the gods. Every piece of valuable information we had rehearsed this week simply paid off.
"They're amazing" I couldn't help but marvel at the heroes.
They were not gods. They didn't have the power of one. And yet they were standing up to this group of godlike beings in their own home. Obviously their armor was very supportive of them, but, still, it was amazing and I couldn't help but express my amazement at Earth's new protectors.
"It is not time to wonder, Thor. It's time to prevent more destruction"
I focused on what was important. In the distance, I could see Ares grinning like a fool watching all the combat that was brewing. How I wish I could wipe that shit-eating grin off his face.
Oh, what a surprise, in fact, that's what I'm going to do.
My hammer was 'busy' entertaining Perun, so I couldn't use it. But it wasn't necessary for what I was going to do. On the contrary, it would only get in my way. Quickly, I summoned all my power into my hands and began to charge full force with my most powerful attack.
Many are mistaken to think that I need my hammer to use my power. That is a mistake. It is quite the opposite. I need the hammer to CONTROL my power. My power is so raw, that, if I did not use a catalyst, it could destroy everything in its path.
That is, if I used my attack at full power I could destroy part of the city in the aftermath. However, that didn't matter to me at the moment. I just wanted to see Ares dead. Even if I took part of my father's castle with me as a consequence.
'I'm sorry, father'
Ares belatedly realized my action when he felt the ripple of divine power I was summoning. The other gods did too, but they didn't reach to move to stop me as they were busy fighting further out on the battlefield. When I finally contracted and charged all my power, I attacked.
"Die!"
A bolt of lightning, raw, white and powerful, was launched from my hands heading for Ares. It was so powerful that it took houses in its path, but this did not stop its relentless path before Ares.
Ares looked on in amazement. The attack was simply something colossal. Something unheard of that only a god like Thor could launch. But he didn't look scared. And that is something I began to fear. Nor did I see him trying to avoid it. A feeling of apprehension began to form in my chest.
'Don't tell me that...'
The lightning came demonically to Ares, but when less than a meter away from touching him, an invisible barrier repelled the attack. The lightning started to run trying to find a hole in the barrier through which to pass, but it was impossible.
In the end, everyone could see how the transparent barrier began to visualize itself with lightning dancing all over the dome.
Ares, just smiled in amusement at this.
The attack was so powerful, that it was still redirected into the sky where it produced a loud thunder sound and a light show for the combatants. But the castle, and Ares, were intact.
I launched myself demonically, but when I reached the same meters, I was stopped in my tracks by the barrier. I hit and hit the barrier, but I didn't even make a glimpse of breaking it.
That's when I realized that Ares had full control of all Valhalla weaponry, as this barrier could only be erected by the regent of Valhalla. In his case, the last regent was Zeus. And I was sure that Ares was not.
How he had found the secret to be able to activate it, that was a mystery. But as if Ares could read my thoughts, he approached me, and with an evil grin, he said.
"Foolish Thor, you thought I wouldn't activate the protective defenses. How stupid you are. I command Valhalla now. And soon, I will command the world. Nothing can stop me from achieving my goal. Not you, not the foolish heroes" only the barrier separated us
"What is your goal, damn you?"
"To be the strongest, of course. And to consolidate my kingdom. A kingdom that since I was born, belonged to me"
"You won't make it, Ares. We'll stop you"
"Ha, destroy the barrier first, you idiot. Oh, yes, it's indestructible, hahahahahahahaha. But I won't give you a chance to try either. Oh, you remember the energy turrets they created to stop Valhalla's enemies.... Well, let's just say I just put your name on the list of enemies of this beloved city..."
'Shit'
I had to run, when at that, more than a dozen turrets attacked me. Their shots so powerful that they could go through my skin like butter. While I was running, I could see through my peripheral gaze Ares entering the castle. Whatever he's planning, it's no good. We have to stop him.
At that, a laser hit my leg, drawing blood. But I didn't stop. If just by touching me, it hurt me so much, if it hit me directly, it was my death...
'Shit'
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General POV
Ares walked into the castle. It was entertaining to watch the fighting, but it was time for more important things. Like gaining absolute power. The power to have it all.
He walked and entered the royal room. In that room was the throne of the king of Valhalla, a title he, unfortunately, did not possess.
And even if he wanted to, he could not sit in that chair. For it had a strong incantation that the unworthy would get a strong curse if they did. It simply wasn't worth doing so. Instead, he kept walking to the far wall.
On it, a painting of all the second-generation gods stood. Zeus, Odin, Izanagi, Shiva, and so on. All those who were the leaders of the pantheon of their respective mythologies. However, Ares did not stay to appreciate it. On the contrary, he quickly invoked his power and burned the painting.
As he did so, an older mural carved in stone was forming and revealing itself. This mural showed two people. A man in the sky. And a woman on earth. Uranus and Gaea.
"I found it. My destiny is near..."
Ares put his hand and summoned all his power. The whole wall shook, but did hold strong. However, Ares did not stop transmitting his power, but tried to transmit more. Each time, more and more power was exerted by Ares who was slowly running out of energy.
But before he ran out of energy, the wall gave way. It collapsed like clay. There a secret garden was revealed, with a glowing golden tree. Its leaves glistened with beauty and splendor.
"Yggdrasil…"
Ares approached the tree. When he did, he sat down and began to sing in the ancient language.
"World tree that protects reality and the multiverse. Let me connect to you and seek the source of origin"
"World tree that protects reality and the multiverse. Let me connect to you and seek the source of origin"
"World tree that protects reality and the multiverse. Let me connect to you and seek the source of origin"
"World tree that protects reality and the multiverse. Let me connect to you and seek the source of origin"
"World tree that protects reality and the multiverse. Let me connect to you and seek the source of origin"
The branches began to dance to the rhythm of the chant. Hundreds of branches emerged due to this chant and embedded themselves into the body of Ares, who seemed to be in a trance while transmitting this spell. Soon, a cocoon of salvo and branches formed.
Ares wanted to connect to his versions from another multiverse to draw power from them and become one. A feat the New Gods had accomplished millennia ago and for which they became so revered and powerful.
Practically, they had become a 4-dimensional being. That is, each individual version existed on a three-dimensional plane, while the ultimate version existed on a separate plane, giving them immortality and a collective consciousness.
It was hard to understand, but, in a nutshell, Ares would become much more powerful, and he would become immortal. Even if his body was destroyed, he would be able to return, as he would only die if all his versions throughout the multiverse were destroyed.
The way to do this was simple. Yggdrasil. A tree that exists in all realities and cannot be cut down. Each branch is connected to a multiversal stem originating from the source of origin.
The source of the origin is where the whole multiverse is said to derive from. Ares would not travel there, but his consciousness. Then he would connect one by one with each version until a higher consciousness was created.
It was not a short process, it was long and there were possibilities of failure. But as long as he was not interrupted, and the barrier was a sign that this would not happen, then Ares could make it.
His ascension was INEVITABLE.
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