{Chapter: 353 The Death of the Mangog}
Boom boom boom...
The dark warships hovered above the golden skies of Asgard like a swarm of locusts, casting long shadows over the shimmering city. Without warning, they unleashed a torrent of energy bombardment. Explosions lit up the skyline like an angry storm, sending towers collapsing and statues of ancient heroes crumbling into dust. The proud realm of the gods shook under the onslaught.
Screams pierced the air as citizens scattered in panic, and the heavens turned red with fire.
But Asgard was no stranger to war.
Within moments, the city's ancient defense systems roared to life. Towering turrets and anti-aircraft energy cannons emerged from hidden compartments. The ground trembled as they opened fire, spitting back blue bolts of energy that streaked toward the black warships in a radiant storm of retaliation.
The sky lit up with a dazzling ballet of explosions. Warship hulls cracked, flaming debris rained down, and still more ships filled the sky like an endless tide.
Inside the fighting arena, Odin stood tall amidst the chaos. His one eye burned with fury and age-hardened wisdom. He gritted his teeth, watching the devastation unfold beyond the arena's protective barriers. The crown of Asgard weighed heavier now than ever.
He had underestimated William. Gravely.
This was no longer just a battle of pride or punishment—it was a full-scale disaster.
With grim determination, Odin narrowed his eye. "William... though I may not be able to destroy you today," he growled, his voice thick with command, "I will make certain you never leave this place."
Before William could react, Odin flashed forward, moving with high speeds, appearing beside the monster that had been thrown behind him in the arena—Mangog.
"Come with me," Odin barked, and with a surge of godly power, both he and the hulking creature vanished in a burst of golden light.
Outside the arena, the energy shield that encased them flickered and opened a brief gap. But it was a trick—an opening meant only for Odin's escape.
William's eyes narrowed as he watched the sudden rift. "You think you can run from me?" he muttered. Without hesitation, he vanished from the spot, surging through the air after them like a storm given flesh.
In the skies above Asgard, a monstrous scream tore through the clouds. The Mangog reappeared first, flung from the sky like a broken comet. The beast spiraled down, crashing into the earth with enough force to send a shockwave rippling across the ground.
William landed moments later, his body still glowing with the immense power he now wielded. His footsteps cracked the stone beneath him. He looked around but found no trace of Odin.
"Smart old man," William muttered. "Used that thing as a meat shield just to slip away. Fine. Go hide in your golden halls. I'll deal with your pet first."
From the crater, Mangog slowly rose, dust and blood caking its once-mighty form. The creature's eyes burned with rage, and its voice was like grinding stone. "WILLIAM!"
William cracked his knuckles and grinned, his tone mocking. "Yeah? Your worst nightmare just clocked in."
With a burst of speed, he appeared right in front of the giant beast and drove his fist into its jaw with the force of a meteor. The impact exploded outward in a thunderous shockwave, rippling the very air.
"Haaargh!" Mangog roared and swung its own massive fist to retaliate.
BOOM!
The two fists collided in midair, creating a violent pulse of pressure that knocked over nearby buildings. The ground beneath them shattered like glass. But it was Mangog who screamed again, his monstrous form sent flying backwards, crashing into the remnants of a stone tower.
As Mangog tumbled, his right arm began to split apart—starting at the knuckles, then peeling back like wet paper. Flesh tore. Muscle unraveled. Blood sprayed in gruesome fountains.
The beast hit the ground hard and writhed in agony, its entire arm reduced to a gory stump.
William appeared again, standing over him. His expression was savage and unrelenting.
"What happened to all that rage?" he said coldly. "Didn't you say you had the power of tens of thousands Asgardian warriors? Now look at you—wailing like a wounded dog."
Mangog screamed through clenched, bloody teeth. "You… can't kill me. I am eternal… I am the wrath of the gods!"
William snorted. "Then consider this divine retribution."
With a roar of his own, he launched a savage kick into Mangog's chest, the force so brutal that the creature skidded backwards across the ground for hundreds of meters, carving a trench of broken earth in his wake.
CRACK!
A deafening explosion burst from Mangog's chest. A geyser of blood and bone erupted into the air as a massive hole tore through the beast's torso.
William chuckled darkly as he walked slowly, methodically toward the writhing form. "Even I'm starting to scare myself," he muttered. "This new power is ridiculous. It's like every blow… detonates the soul."
He flexed his hands, still crackling with raw energy. "The X-Explosion Form… a beautiful name for something this terrifying."
From the shattered crater, Mangog stirred once more. "You… can't… end me…"
Golden light began to shimmer around the beast, and the air shifted.
All the gore and blood scattered around began to tremble, then glow. The chunks of flesh and fragments of his shattered arm rose from the ground, pulled together by an invisible force. They surged into Mangog's broken body like homing missiles.
The sky lit up with an eerie flash. The wounds sealed. The arm regrew. The massive hole in Mangog's chest filled with radiant golden muscle and sinew.
The beast stood tall once more, breathing hard, steam rolling off its body. "I. Will. Not. Fall."
"Ahhh…"
His twisted form reassembled fully. Panting heavily, the Mangog lifted his head toward the floating figure above him.
"You… cannot… kill me!" he bellowed, defiance blazing in his molten eyes.
William hovered in mid-air like a god above wrath. His lips curled into a sneer, voice cold and thunderous. "Hahaha… Unkillable? You look more like a sad repair project every time I land a hit. You've already lost half your strength, Mangog. If this is immortality, I'd rather die proud than live like you—patched together and whining."
With a loud roar, William surged forward, rage aura flaring violently. With a blue light In his hand appeared a radiant machete, edged with emerald flame and laced in gold—a blade that sang with destruction.
"Let's test that immortality, shall we?" he snarled. "I'll cut you to pieces until you beg me to end it."
"You can't kill me!" Mangog growled, then vanished in a flash of light.
But William didn't flinch. His voice rang out like thunder, amused and merciless. "You idiot. I already told you… instant movement is useless against me."
He vanished just as swiftly.
"AHHH!" A blood-curdling scream pierced the sky. A massive severed arm, the Mangog's left, fell from above like a meteor and slammed into the ground.
In the air, the Mangog reappeared, clutching the bleeding stump of his shoulder. "Damn you!" he shouted, "You can't kill me!"
But William was already laughing—a deep, cold laugh that promised no mercy.
"Oh, I'm not in a rush to kill you. If anything, this is fun. Watching you regenerate just so I can rip you apart again and again… that's my kind of entertainment!"
He blurred out of sight again, and pain followed in his wake.
"AAHH! AHHH!!" the Mangog's agonized screams echoed like dying thunder across the fractured battlefield. Blades of cold light cut across his body in rapid succession.
William reappeared behind the crippled Mangog, expression savage and triumphant.
"Split it!"
With one brutal swing, the blade carved through the Mangog's remaining right arm. Another flash—then his left and right legs dropped away, leaving a dismembered, screaming stump of a creature behind.
"AHHH! William!" the Mangog screamed, writhing on the ground like a worm without a spine.
William walked slowly to him, the machete dripping with divine blood. He grinned, eyes sharp as razors. "Weren't you the one roaring earlier? All bark, no body now."
Without hesitation, he lifted the machete and swung it in a perfect arc.
"How does this feel?" he whispered coldly.
The Mangog's eyes widened in horror. "Wi—!"
SHRRKK!
His head flew from his shoulders, spinning in the air before smashing into the ground with a wet crunch. Blood poured like a fountain from the neck stump. Mangog's head trembled, his lips twitching with the last scraps of consciousness.
"I… am… immortal… I am… immortal…"
Then crack!
A heavy boot landed on the back of the severed head, pressing it into the dirt. William leaned forward, his voice dripping contempt.
"Still clinging to that fantasy?" he whispered. "Do you really believe you're immortal, just because you can come back? In front of me… you're just an undying punching bag."
"Remove your foot, you lowly insect! You dare… step on the head of a god?!" Mangog howled.
William pressed harder, the head cracking slightly beneath the pressure.
"You're no god. You're a joke."
"Damn you! DAMN YOU!" the Mangog bellowed. His body, severed into six pieces, began to glow once more. Arms, legs, torso, and head erupted with golden light, transforming into orbs that floated into the sky.
With a soft hum, the orbs converged in the air and exploded in a brilliant flare—then reformed.
The Mangog stood once again, panting, trembling, his knees buckling. He gasped, collapsed onto all fours, barely able to remain upright.
"Ugh… huff… huff…"
William hovered above him, calm and menacing. "Back again? You're more stubborn than a cockroach." He raised his fist slowly, energy crackling around it in a cyclone of green and gold. "But even cockroaches get squashed eventually."
The Mangog's eyes lifted in horror.
"No… wait—"
"Explode."
BANG!
William's glowing fist smashed down on Mangog's skull like a divine hammer. The impact thundered across arena, causing the very ground to quake. Half of the Mangog's body was driven into the earth, crushed beneath the god-killing blow.
William flipped backward from the recoil, landing gracefully.
The Mangog's body twitched violently. He was half-buried, gasping, his entire form trembling in shock.
"H-How… how is this possible…?" he whimpered. "I am… supposed to be…"
William raised his hand slowly, fingers poised.
Snap.
BOOM. BOOM. BOOM…
The Mangog's body began to detonate in rapid succession—from head to heart, chest to limbs—flesh and muscle exploding into crimson mist.
All that remained was a sky full of blood.