The God of War smiled grimly.
As expected of that b**ch, the Mother Goddess. What a pathetic lullaby—no, it's clearly a requiem! Sing it, and the soul falls into the endless abyss of despair.
It's really f*****g effective!
"My turn!"
The muscles on his body, like cast iron, bulged hideously.
He took a single step, shattering space itself, crossing the distance in an instant to appear before Russell. The Axe of Lies was raised high in his grip.
"You are the first Aesir who has forced the five of us this far!"
"Die with glory!"
As his words fell, the axe blazed with thunder and cleaved downward with infinite power.
The faces of the five shadow gods lit up with anticipation, their eyes burning with excitement.
This was the Axe of Lies—the weapon infused with the Power of Rules. Whoever it killed could never be resurrected.
Next would be a true feast.
In reality, Thor felt all of his strength drain away, his soul teetering on the brink of despair.
No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't think of any way to turn defeat into victory.
Defeat was inevitable.
All of Asgard, across every timeline, would be buried together.
But at that moment, a bell rang.
The sound wasn't violent, nor was it overwhelming.
It was soft—like the morning bells of a human church, ringing gently at dawn.
Slow and steady, like a breeze rippling across a lake, it echoed into the heart, bringing eternal tranquility.
The ferocious grin of the God of War froze. His expression softened, the hostility faded from his eyes, and the battle axe in his hand lost its strength.
The God of Deception narrowed his eyes, about to speak.
But before he could, a terrifying shock shook the battlefield.
The mirror dimension, once tightly linked to the Shadow Realm, suddenly cracked. Fractures spread like broken bricks, surging apart.
From the fissures, a soft white light burst forth.
It wasn't blinding. Through the widening gap, another world could be seen.
And there it was—the radiant Silver City.
At the very center of the square, atop a towering spire, stood a great clock tower.
Its face bore no numbers, only 3,600 glowing symbols.
The runes—the very ones Russell had not fully absorbed—were engraved upon it, as if by Odin himself.
At that moment, blue energy surged across every rune, erupting outward from the clock's hands, colliding with the ancient tower above and sending rippling waves across reality.
Russell's eyes snapped open, glowing bright.
The God of War froze under his gaze—then fury twisted his face.
With a roar, he gathered all his remaining power and swung the Axe of Lies downward once more.
But by then, the dimensional rift had completely opened.
A fragment of the Kingdom of the Heart had descended.
Invisible power spread across the battlefield.
The God of War's eyes widened in horror as he realized—the swing of his axe was slowing, dragging through the air as if caught in sticky glue.
At this moment, the man in front of him suddenly smiled:
"Thank you. If you hadn't forced me, I wouldn't have realized just how powerful I truly am."
Although the Kingdom of the Heart could only fully enter reality with the blessing of all the runes, that didn't stop Russell from becoming stronger.
It was like Mephisto in his own Hell dimension—when in his domain, his strength would undergo a qualitative leap.
Now, it was the same for Russell.
Even though the Kingdom of the Heart hadn't fully descended, he could already feel the surge of overwhelming power within him.
The spear wielded by the God of Storms shattered, struck apart by lightning that appeared from nowhere.
Around the God of Knowledge, countless snowflakes began to fall, and his thousands of eyes turned blue. Symbols of the winter solstice burned within them, and his boundless wisdom suddenly turned cloudy and obscure.
The God of Deception opened his mouth, unleashing the Word Spirit, but his lies were instantly shattered by blazing light.
The Mother Goddess tore open her breastplate, making a gesture of embrace once more.
But this time, the chilling power of fear took form, twisting into a dark green python that coiled tightly around her body—muzzling even her voice.
The next second, Russell condensed the Vulcan Arm Armor on his arm, drove his fist straight through the chest of the God of War, and burned his body to ashes.
Still, the plundering system gave no feedback.
That alone proved this wasn't resurrection or rebirth.
But Russell didn't care—he had already seen the truth.
He reached out, caught the Axe of Lies, and smiled grimly into the shadows.
The darkness thickened—and the God of War returned once more!
Furious at his repeated failures, he roared:
"So what if you've taken our weapons? You can never kill us!"
Russell's eyes burned like torches, flames surging across his body and spreading onto the Axe of Lies.
He grinned, hideous and sharp:
"Forever?"
"I've already seen through your secret."
The pupils of the God of Storms contracted, but he sneered defiantly:
"This is power, not some secret. And you'll pay the price for your ignorance! Come on—keep killing us! Let's see how many times you can do it!"
Russell chuckled darkly. "Kill you? Hah. What a pathetic provocation. From the very beginning, you've tried to mislead me—tricking me into thinking I needed to kill you over and over. But that was the wrong approach."
The God of Deception replied calmly, "Are you stalling for time to recover your strength? It doesn't matter—we'll give you that chance."
But Russell only shook his head. "It's far too late to try and distract me now. I should have realized it sooner. The puzzle itself was always the answer.
The Shadow Gods… naturally come from the shadow."
"You used your puppet, Surtur, to burn the World Tree's projections across all timelines. But you didn't destroy the true World Tree—the one I was hung upon. That's why I obtained the Rune of Runes."
Russell's gaze shifted to the God of War, whose expression had already stiffened. His grin widened.
"At first, I thought maybe you simply didn't have the power. But when you stepped forward, shattering space to attack me—I understood.
It's not that you couldn't. It's that you wouldn't."
"There's more proof. When you tried to kill me, you deliberately shifted the World Tree away, afraid of damaging it."
"FFLX…"
The power of space exploded, and Russell appeared instantly before the hidden World Tree.
"FFLX!"
"The puzzle is the answer. You are nothing but termites clinging to the shadows of the World Tree… feeding on it to gain the power of revival!"
At that, the God of Storms' face collapsed into panic, his pupils shrinking to pinpoints as he prepared to unleash all his strength.
The God of War howled in rage, desperate to stop what was about to happen.
But it was already too late.
Russell raised the blazing Axe of Lies, turned to the World Tree, and spoke with solemn reverence:
"Destruction only brings rebirth. Do not fear."
The World Tree trembled softly, and a single leaf, lined with countless glowing veins, drifted down before him.
As if to say: Do it.
Russell nodded.
And then—
The flame-wreathed Axe of Lies cleaved into the World Tree's trunk!
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