[138] The Battle of Norse

Chapter 138: The Battle of Norse

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[Third Person Point of View]

The Norse Pantheon's initial plan was to simply send just Thor to Japan and deal with Aqua. They were confident that their God of Thunder alone would be enough for Aqua, or any ally he might have now that Quetzalcoatl was not there.

Later they realized they were mistaken.

The presence of a Divine Sun Goddess was blooming like a torch from the Hoshino Household, powerful enough to negate the upper hand they received after removing Quetzalcoatl from this war.

That's why there was a delay in sending Thor. Odin had to figure out a solution to this. Sitting on his throne in the Asgardian Castle while stroking his beard, Odin went over this decision of his. 

While he did so, a dark-skinned man stood under the staircase of his throne. It was Heimdal, the All-Seeing Eye of Norse, and the foggy hologram that floated in the air, a live stream of Midgard Japan presented on it, was only possible by his power.

It was not very clear, not capturing everything, but it was good enough. "I don't think this was a bad decision…"

Odin muttered out loud, and Loki, who was sitting on a chair nearby, scoffed hearing it. "It's fine. Aquamarine isn't our only target, no, he's rather a hassle—the main target of Yggdrasil was that actress. So if we sent Thor alone, he'd have to fetch her from the house after having dealt with Aqua. We can't be sure how injured he'll be by then so that Goddess hiding in the house might have defeated her."

"Mhm," Odin agreed. That's why he sent his other two sons, Thor's two brothers, Baldur and Vidar, to join in this conquest.

While there was a chance that Thor alone was enough to deal with both Aqua and this unknown Goddess, it didn't hurt to be careful. Besides, it's not as if the Norse lacked numbers.

While Thor will focus on the initial goal of subjugating Aqua, the other two would gang up on the Hoshino Household which the Divine Sun Goddess was protecting.

Her sun divinity was so intense that initially when they sensed her presence, they thought it was Amaterasu, and almost canceled the entire plan. But when they realized that it was an unaffiliated Goddess of unknown origin, who was camping inside the Hoshino Household for some reason, the decision was final and the three brothers were sent to Japan.

"...Heimdall, rewind a little," Odin ordered as the scene rewinded a bit. Just a minute ago, the scene he had been surprised by played again.

The gate of Bifrost opened, and the three sons of Odin were teleported by Heimdall. Rainbow beams rained on Tokyo, having been allowed access thanks to the help from Fallen Angel Kokabiel, as the three brothers appeared in the sky one after the other.

– Boom-!

Thor swung Mjolnir the second he appeared above the boy and the sound of bones crunching filled the area. The air exploded on the spot with a boom and the impact sent Aqua into the river below.

An Instant Dungeon was automatically opened by the usage of Bifrost, so the surge of water that rained upon the city from the impact didn't actually affect the real world. 

About ten seconds later, the sky reverberated and shimmered with light when Aqua leaped out of the water and an Icon manifested overhead. Odin found himself caught off guard once again, the sight of a 15-year-old human using Icons going beyond him.

'...Is it because of his lineage? Truly incredible.' Odin decided, till the scene sped up and shifted to the Hoshino Household. There, Baldur and Vidar floated overhead.

* * *

Around the same time,

"Finally home…" Ichigo stretched his arms as he stepped out of the car, yawning.

Despite all these new powers he now had, he was still working his job. 'Truly there is no stop to corporate slavery,' he shook his head.

He walked to the door and found it locked. He had the key, but he wondered why it was locked. It was nighttime already, Miyako and Tsubasa should be home by now. To check if they had been notified about some sudden tour, he took out his phone and checked the notifications. 

"Ah," Indeed, there was an occasion. There were messages from Ai, telling him to go to her house instead of his when he'll return. Miyako and Tsubasa were there already.

"I wonder what the occasion is," he rubbed the back of his head and began to walk to the Hoshino Household. It was right beside his house, just a few seconds of walking, but Ichigo had to pause for a moment when he thundered as if it was the call of the apocalypse.

At the same time, his innate instincts sensed a change in the energy around them—his eyes caught the spread of an aura around the world that separated this space from the normal world. The presence of normal humans that he felt a moment earlier vanished, leaving only him and those inside the Hoshino household in this space.

"Whoa, what is this now?" he shuddered a little as a few more explosions came from the distant sky, shaking his head and quickly walking over to the gate of Ai's house.

There, he was surprised once again, "Whoa," there was a double layer of barrier just outside the house, one green and the other blue, wrapped over one another.

He placed a hand at the barrier, and surprisingly it phased through, which meant he was allowed access.

"Ichigo-!" there was a call coming from the yard behind the gate, and his head snapped to look at the horrifying expression of Miyako. She was walking out of the house's door with Ai and the others beside her, all looking at him. "Behind you!"

Ichigo snapped his head backward, and a hand slapped the side of his face. He was sent flying backward, away from the barrier, while the women yelled from inside.

He slammed against a house, and it crumbled to dust.

* * *

Earlier,

When the girls returned home and told Ai about Aqua's instructions, she knew there was something wrong. He knew she wasn't used to these types of situations, nor did she ever use formations before. Yet he put this responsibility on her shoulders meant it was potentially an emergency.

She invited Ichigo and Miyako into her house, but while Miyako was already there, Ichigo was late due to some work. While waiting for him, Ai began to work on the formation and array. The girls were told to do their daily routine, and in the meantime, Ai finished taking care of the orders.

Then, she changed her outfit into that of the Light Goddess and sat down to sip tea. She had to be prepared for anything, even if she didn't know what to expect.

Hours passed, and she caught the aura of Aqua on the edge of her senses.

She activated her X-ray vision to look at him kilometers away from her, and a thin smile formed on her lips.

Thankfully, everything was alright.

He was just there, almost-

– Boom-!

A Warhammer swung into his face that he barely blocked with his arms. Even from this distance, due to her focus, Ai did not miss the sound of his bones crunching. The air exploded on the spot with a boom and the impact sent Aqua into the river below.

Ai shot up from her seat. "No…!"

Her shout caught the attention of all who were in the area. They looked at her with confused and startled eyes, and she ran out of the door instead of explaining.

"..." Ruby caught the morbid expression in Ai's and immediately realized this was related to Aqua. She ran behind Ai and the girls exchanged glances before following along.

Miyako followed them too, her eyes already changing shape into their new tech-like form.

When they stepped into the front yard of the house, everyone shivered in fear.

"Ichigo-!" Miyako yelled for Ichigo, who was about to step into the barrier when a large figure loomed behind him. "Behind you!"

A skinny hobo man, no, a Viking Deity, slammed Ichigo on the face with the back of his hand, as he was sent slamming into a building nearby. The building crumbled, and Tsubasa began to run out.

"Father!" she yelled and shot out, but Ai grabbed her.

"No! There are two of them!" Ai shouted, pointing to the other Viking in the sky.

A Viking Deity, bulky in opposition to the skinny one, as well as wielding a sword unlike the unwarmed one that attacked Ichigo, floated outside the double-layer barrier with an easy-going yet arrogant look on his face. 

He stood in the air silently, not attacking the barrier mindlessly unlike what a few of the girls expected, yet still, the sheer pressure from his floating presence caused some of the girls to faint.

Kana fell first, followed by Shoko, and at last Miyako. They slumped to the ground and the others gasped in worry.

The situation was looking bad.

Just then, a brilliant purple light shot from where Ichigo was sent flying, and hit the skinny God on his back. He slammed into the barrier and failed to phase in. Indeed, the barrier was working as intended.

That surprised the bulky god in the sky, while the skinny one turned around right after the beam ended. When he did, a stone-like humanoid was already in front of him. He grabbed the God by the throat, tossing him into the air and slamming his chin with a superheated, glowing fist. He didn't end it there, when the God stopped in the air, he raised a hand toward him and fired another purple, rainbow-colored beam.

– Zzzhinggg~!

The entire area hummed with the sound of superheated energy burning through the air, while the God blocked it with his arms crossed and groaned. The other god leaped down from the air to attack the crystalsapien, Ichigo, who quickly dodged by jumping into the barrier.

The god attacked the barrier with his sword, but it didn't have any effect. So he just grumbled and looked back at his brother in the air, "Are you alright, brother Baldur?"

"Ah, shit, this one's strong," Baldur chuckled as he uncrossed his arm, revealing a huge grin. He appeared slightly injured, but not bothered.

In the meantime, Ichigo crouched down to check on his wife on the ground who had lost consciousness earlier. "Hey, get a hold of yourself!" He tried to wake her but to no avail. 

In the end, Tsubasa made a quick decision to pick up her mother, as well as Kana and Shoko, and carried the three of them into the house. She returned soon, alone, and transformed into her yokai cat form.

Ai exchanged glances with Ichigo and then quickly formulated orders, "Yuzuru and Asia, go inside the house. Protect the unconscious."

"We're here, what's going on?!" Just then, Irina and Xenovia rushed into the front yard from the backyard, where they were training in the gym.

Asia and Yuzuru exchanged glances and ran inside. They wished they could help, but right now they knew they'd just be a big target and liability in this battle.

"Gghr, how dare enemies target the Lord's house?!" Four cubs joined behind Ai next, their small builds growing in size with each step, and Blue joined them to stand as five house-sized white tigers.

Everyone looked up at the Asgardian Gods with careful frowns. Ai Hoshino, as the Goddess of Light, stood at the front beside Ichiho, with Ruby, Tsubasa, and the tigers behind her. 

None of them attacked first, remaining inside the barrier was the better choice. The two Gods looked down at them with surprised yet amused looks etched upon their faces.

"This is interesting," The skinnier of the two Gods, Baldur, said, with his burn injury already healed. "I wasn't expecting so many of them, especially the two at the front. They're particularly strong. Who do you want to take on, Vidar?"

Vidar fiddled with his sword and looked at Ai, and then at Ichigo who had taken the form of a Crystalsapien. "Brother, as a God of Light yourself, the area will get too bright and flashy if you clash with that woman. Besides, my sword might not be a good weapon against that stone-like guy, your fists will be much better." The Nordic God of Vengeance finished as his eyes locked back with Ai.

Baldur shrugged, "Sure, I'll take care of the stone guy, he annoyed me anyway. You focus on the Goddess." 

"...This is not looking good," Ai scowled deeply, her heightened hearing picking up on their conversation, as well as their names.

The Gleaming God of Aesir, Baldur.

The Fenrir Eater of Aseir, Vidar.

"Alright, then," Baldur smirked and shrugged his shoulders, dusting off his palms. "First, let's take down the barrier. It looks strong."

He kicked the air, leaving an exploding trail of wind behind him, and drew a curled fist backward. His fist gleamed with the light of a star and he slammed it against the double-layer barrier wrapping around the house.

The air reverberated like the sound of a city-sized drum, the sound traveling for miles around. A small crack formed in the giant dome, but it didn't break right away. But who knew how many more it could endure?

Ai and Ichigo exchanged glances and then nodded. She looked back at her daughter, Tsubasa, and at the tiger cubs. "Stay back, inside the barrier."

Then, she and Ichigo leaped toward the Gods. Ichigo's fists crackled with electricity now, since heat and light-related attacks might not be the best choice against a God of Light, while Ai shone like the light of midday sun and drove head-first toward Vidar.

Baldur crackled and collided fists with Ichigo, sending booms through the air, while Ai parried Vidar's sword with a sword of light of her own.

The situation grew intense, the neighborhood turning to dust aside from the Hoshino Household, while in the distance Aqua and Thor collided against one another.

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