The remaining eight gods charged as one.
There was no coordination born of practice, no strategy refined through teamwork. Just desperate, primal understanding that if they didn't kill Edward together, they would die one by one like the five corpses dissolving around them.
Shiva's four arms blurred into motion, cosmic fire blazing around each limb. His body flickered, existing in multiple positions at once as he approached from three different angles. Each version of him was equally real, equally deadly, reality bending to accommodate the paradox of his existence.
Poseidon's trident thrust forward, and the arena floor cracked as water erupted from nowhere. Massive waves materialized behind the Sea God, towering walls of divine water that could drown continents. His face was set with cold determination, arrogance giving way to lethal focus.
Apollo fired arrows of condensed sunlight, each one moving at speeds that left trails of fire in the air. Three, then five, then a dozen. The Sun God was pouring everything he had left into a barrage that could burn holes through mountains. His hands moved so fast they blurred, his quiver never emptying.
Set swung his scepter, chaos energy crackling along its length. Sand exploded from the ground with each swing, each grain glowing with entropy. The Egyptian god's animal face was twisted with concentration, channeling the underworld's hunger for life itself.
Perun brought lightning down from the sky. Not just a single bolt, but a continuous column of electrical fury that connected heaven to earth. The Slavic god's massive frame glowed with power, his axe blazing like a second sun as he swung it toward Edward's position.
Nezha's young form multiplied his divine aspect, eight arms manifesting with eight different weapons. The Fire-tipped Spear thrust from one direction, the Universe Ring spun from another, the Huntian Ling ribbon wrapped from a third. Each weapon moved independently, creating a web of attacks that left no opening to escape.
Chernobog's shadow-form expanded, darkness spreading across half the arena floor. The primordial void reached out with tendrils of un-being, each one capable of erasing whatever it touched. Making it so the target had never existed.
And Balor, the Celtic demon god lifted his metal eye-plate slowly. Just enough. The Evil Eye beneath glowed with sickly green light, death itself made visible.
Eight gods. Eight simultaneous attacks from eight different directions. No escape. No defense. Just overwhelming force designed to bury Edward under sheer volume of divine power.
Edward met them all without fear or hesitation.
His blades became a whirlwind of crimson flames, moving so fast they created afterimages in the air.
Right blade catching Shiva's first strike, redirecting it into the second, using the cosmic god's own force against him.
Left blade's chain shot out to wrap around Poseidon's trident, yanking it off-course so the thrust meant for his heart instead carved inches away from his ribs. Despite the violence, there was a certain grace to it.
Edward twisted slightly, Apollo's arrows passing so close they burned his skin.
One arrow caught his shoulder, but he kept moving despite that. The Blade of Olympus manifested in his other hand, parrying Set's chaos-staff. The impact sent shockwaves through the arena, stone cracking beneath their feet.
Perun's lightning struck down. Edward's chains whipped up, wrapping around the electrical column and grounding it through the links. The Chains of Atlas, designed to hold the world, easily bore the weight of a storm god's fury.
Nezha came at him low while Shiva pressed high. Edward kicked the young god back, his boot connecting with Nezha's chest and sending him flying. Then he ducked under Shiva's cosmic-fire strike, feeling the heat sear across his scalp.
Chernobog's darkness reached for him, tendrils of void trying to wrap around his legs. The Claws of Hades materialized on his hands, death-energy meeting primordial nothing. They cancelled each other, death and void, two concepts too fundamental to coexist peacefully.
And when Balor's Evil Eye opened that crack, when that sickly green light began to sweep toward him, Edward's blade shot forward like a striking snake.
The weapon plunged through the small gap between eye-plate and face, stabbing directly into Balor's eye.
"ARGHHHH!" Balor's roar was agonized, primal. His massive hands flew to his face, trying to pull the blade out. "YOU BASTARD! MY EYE! YOU STABBED MY EYE!"
"Seems foolish to cover your greatest weapon when you need it the most," Edward remarked casually, twisting the blade before yanking it free.
Black blood poured from Balor's ruined eye. The demon god staggered back, one hand clutching his face, the other reaching blindly. The Evil Eye, the weapon that had killed with a glance for millennia, was nearly destroyed.
In the Celtic section of the divine audience, gods rose to their feet in shock.
"Balor's eye is damaged!"
"How is that possible? The Evil Eye cannot be—"
"He stabbed it! Through the plate! While it was opening!"
An older Celtic goddess grabbed the railing. "If the eye is destroyed, Balor cannot regenerate it. It's tied to his very essence!"
The remaining seven gods pressed harder, desperation giving them focus they'd lacked before. They weren't trying to defeat him with dignity or honor. Just trying to kill him, or failing that, to hurt him enough that he'd bleed out.
Shiva's cosmic fire intensified, his four arms moving in patterns that made reality shudder. One hand caught Edward's blade, divine flesh hardening to match steel. Another thrust toward Edward's throat. A third toward his heart. The fourth channeling cosmic energy for a point-blank blast.
Edward's forehead slammed into Shiva's face. The Destroyer's nose shattered, cosmic fire flickering. Edward's other blade came around and punched through Shiva's chest, piercing the cosmic god's heart.
Shiva looked down at the weapon, golden ichor leaking around the blade. Then he looked up at Edward, and despite the pain, despite the death spreading through his divine form, his expression was one of cold fury.
"You dance well, godslayer," Shiva whispered, his voice carrying reluctance. "Cherish your victory for now, you'll die soon…"
The light faded from his eyes. His body began to dissolve into cosmic particles, returning to the fundamental forces that had created him.
The Hindu section erupted into chaos.
"LORD SHIVA!"
"The Destroyer has fallen!"
"This cannot be! He was the strongest of us!"
Parvati collapsed in her seat, hands covering her tear stricken face. "No... Husband... You can't die! "
Ganesh and Kartikeya, her two were enraged.
"I'll kill that bastard! "
"We must avenge father!"
But Parvati stopped them. "Don't... Don't go! He killed your father, and he was stronger than any of us! What makes you think he'll spare you!"
"What does this mean for the cosmic balance? Shiva maintained the cycle of destruction and creation!" Brahma muttered softly.
Indra, who sat among the Hindu gods, stood with his fists clenched. "I should have volunteered instead. I should have been there!"
"You would have died too," an elder god said quietly. "We all see that now."
Apollo screamed—a sound of pure grief and rage. The Sun God abandoned his bow, drawing a golden sword from nothing and charging. His perfect face was twisted with emotion, tears of liquid gold streaming down his cheeks.
"Your heretic bastard!" Apollo's voice cracked. "YOU'VE KILLED THEM ALL! I'LL—"
Their blades met Three times in rapid succession, divine metal ringing against god-forged steel. Apollo was fast, his technique perfect, each strike aimed at vital points with surgical precision.
But Edward was faster. More experienced. And utterly merciless.
On the third exchange, Edward's second blade came around low, taking Apollo's legs out from under him.
The Sun God fell to his knees, and Edward's blade came down, separating Apollo's head from his body in one clean stroke.
The head hit the ground and rolled, golden eyes still wide with shock. The body collapsed forward, light fading from golden skin.
The Greek section descended into pandemonium.
"APOLLO! NO!"
"Not the Sun God! Not him too!"
Artemis, Apollo's twin sister, screamed from her seat. "BROTHER!" She tried to vault over the railing, to reach the arena, but other gods held her back. "LET ME GO! I'LL KILL HIM! I'LL—"
"You'll die," Athena said coldly, though her own face was pale. "Just like he did. Just like they all are."
A minor Greek deity turned to Zeus's box. "My lord! Your son! Apollo was your son! Will you do nothing?!"
Zeus didn't speak. But the aura of rage expanded around him. Making the entire box shake and crack. He got up and started walking away. Odin who saw this also got up. The other gods looked in confusion, thinking they were about to intervene. But they didn't walk towards the arena.
Set lunged with his chaos-staff, animal face twisted with fury. "FOR THE GODS! FOR EGYPT! FOR—"
Edward caught the staff mid-swing. His hands closed around the ancient wood, and with a sharp twist, he snapped it in half. The chaos energy dissipated with a sound like breaking glass.
"You talk too much."
Set stared at his broken weapon in disbelief. "No. That staff has existed since—"
Edward drove the broken end through Set's throat.
The Egyptian god's eyes bulged. He clawed at the wood embedded in his windpipe, trying to pull it free, trying to speak. Only gurgling sounds emerged, golden ichor bubbling around the improvised stake.
He gurgled out." I...I'm... The god.."
Then Before he could blink, Edward swung his sword, slashing through him.
Splurt!
Set's upper body slowly separated from his lower body, which still stood there, twitching.
Set's body convulsed as both parts landed on the ground. Then he began to dissolve. not into light but into sand, his chaos nature returning him to the desert that had birthed him.
Within seconds, only sand remained, blowing away in the arena's wind.
"Now you are dust in the wind." Edward shrugged off the sand.
The Egyptian section was quieter, more controlled, but tension ran through every god present.
"Even Set has fallen," Anubis observed, his jackal face impassive but his voice tight.
"The god of chaos, ended," another whispered. "If chaos itself can be killed…"
Ra, the sun god, leaned forward in his seat. "Set was always unstable. But he was powerful. He killed him with Set's own weapon."
Horus spoke quietly: "I trained under that man once. I knew he was strong. But this…" He gestured at the arena. "This is beyond what I imagined."
Nezha came at Edward with desperate fury, all eight divine weapons spinning in complex patterns. The young god's face was set with grim determination, fire wheels blazing at his feet, ribbons trailing like living serpents.
"I won't die like them!" Nezha shouted, his young voice cracking with strain. "I'm the Third Lotus Prince! I've defeated Dragon Kings! You'll fall like them!"
Edward's chains shot out, wrapping around multiple arms simultaneously. The divine weapons tangled in the links, their coordinated assault broken. Edward yanked, pulling Nezha forward off-balance.
The young god's eyes widened as he realized his mistake. He tried to pull back, to break free, but the chains held firm.
Edward's blade punched through Nezha's chest, piercing his heart.
Nezha gasped, looking down at the weapon protruding from his torso. His eight arms went limp, weapons clattering to the ground. He looked up at Edward, and for a moment he looked not a god, not a legendary warrior, just a boy who'd been thrown into a battle he couldn't win.
"I… Don't believe…" Nezha whispered.
His eyes closed. His body began dissolving into lotus petals mixed with golden light, the young god returning to the celestial realm that had birthed him.
Edward sighed softly. "There is no room for mercy in war, boy. "
The Chinese section erupted in grief.
"The Third Prince!"
"No! He was so young!"
"He volunteered to protect humanity! This is how he's repaid?!"
The Jade Emperor himself stood uo, his ancient face twisted with sorrow and rage. "Nezha was a protector of humanity. He fought for them countless times. And they send this… this butcher to kill him?"
"He fought well," another god said quietly. "He died as a warrior should. There is honor in that."
"There is no honor in this slaughter!" someone shouted back.
Sun Wukong scoffed from the side. " You sent him to a battlefield to kill or be killed. I said before not to test that man. I know him better than any of you. He's even more rebellious than I am. "
Perun roared and brought his axe down with all his remaining strength. Lightning exploded from the weapon, a column of electrical fury that could have split continents. The massive Slavic god channeled everything he had into this final strike.
Edward caught the axe.
The Nemean Cestus, gauntlets that could not be pierced or destroyed—closed around the axe blade. The lightning coursed through Edward's body, burning, searing, making his muscles spasm. But he held on.
Perun's eyes widened. "Impossible. No one catches my strike like this!"
Edward's other blade came around, taking Perun's head off at the neck.
The storm god's body stood for a moment, still gripping his axe, lightning dissipating from his form. Then it fell backward with a thunderous crash that cracked the arena floor.
Thunder rumbled once,a final echo of the god's power, then faded to silence.
Edward shook his head. "What a fool."
The Slavic section sat in grim silence. Several gods stood in respect, fists to chests.
"Perun died as he lived," an old goddess said. "Fighting with everything he had."
"He was our strongest," another added. "If Perun could not win…"
"Then none of us can," someone finished.
Chernobog tried to envelop Edward completely, his shadow-form expanding to fill the space around the godslayer. The primordial darkness pressed in from all sides, trying to erase him, to make it so he'd never existed.
But Edward's Claws of Hades tore through the shadow-form like it was cloth. The weapons designed to harm concepts, to kill abstracts, gripped in Chernobog's essence.
Edward's hands plunged into the darkness, fingers closing around something that shouldn't be tangible.
And pulled.
Chernobog screamed,a sound of existential horror that made every being in the arena cover their ears. The primordial darkness was being torn apart, ripped from itself, unmade by weapons that could kill even concepts.
"NO! I AM ETERNAL! I AM THE VOID! I CANNOT—"
Edward kept pulling. Kept tearing. Pieces of Chernobog came away in his hands, dissipating into less than nothing. The void that had existed before creation was being destroyed by mortal hands wielding divine weapons.
Within seconds, nothing remained. Not even darkness. Just absence, and then not even that.
Edward shook his hand is disgust. " It's filthy. And he's supposed to be a god. How absurd."
The Slavic section was shaken to its core.
"Chernobog is gone. Actually gone."
"The primordial darkness… unmade."
"How? How can you kill void itself?"
An ancient goddess spoke, her voice hollow: "Those weapons he wield. They were designed to harm concepts, to kill things that shouldn't be killable. Even the void is not safe."
Balor, still clutching his ruined eye, roared with desperate fury. "IF I'M DYING, YOU'RE COMING WITH ME!"
The demon god ripped the metal plate completely off, revealing the Evil Eye in its full, terrible glory.
Even damaged, even bleeding, it still held the power to kill with a glance. Balor opened the eye fully, not holding back, no restraint, and the death-gaze swept toward Edward.
Everything in its path died. Stone crumbled to dust. Metal aged to rust. The very air seemed to decay. The attack that could end armies, that could kill gods, focused entirely on Edward.
Edward stared back it boredom.
His God-Slayer Authority activated, divine power flowing through him. The Noble Phantasm that gave him the right to judge gods, to strip them of their privileges, to reject their absolute authorities.
Two concepts clashed in the space between them. Death incarnate, the inevitable end, the unavoidable conclusion. Versus the absolute refusal to die, the will that had killed Olympus, that had survived cosmic beings, that simply rejected the idea of inevitability.
For three heartbeats, they were locked. Death pressing forward, will pushing back.
Then Edward won.
Balor was stunned. " How? I...am death itself!"
Edward crossed the distance in a single step, moving faster than Balor's failing eye could track. His hand shot out, grabbed Balor's massive head, fingers digging into the demon god's skull.
"Your eye ends everything it sees," Edward said coldly. "So stop seeing."
He then whispered, " And keep my wife's name out of your damn mouth," and squeezed.
Balor's skull began to crack, fissures spreading across divine bone. The Evil Eye bulged, tried to retreat into the socket, but there was nowhere to go. Edward's fingers pressed harder, bone splintering under the pressure.
The Evil Eye burst like an overripe fruit, green ichor spraying across Edward's hand. Balor's skull shattered completely, brain matter and divine essence exploding between Edward's fingers.
The Celtic demon god's body convulsed once before collapsing, his terrible power finally extinguished.
The Celtic section sat in shocked silence.
"The Evil Eye is destroyed."
"Balor the Demon God has fallen."
"He used the eye at full power and still lost."
An elder druid stood, his voice shaking: "For three thousand years, Balor's eye has been our greatest weapon and our greatest fear. Now it's gone. Just… gone."
Silence fell across the arena.
Only one remained.
Poseidon stood alone, trident raised, surrounded by the dissolving corpses of his fellow gods. The Sea God's face was composed, showing no fear despite the carnage.
His cold eyes surveyed the battlefield, taking in the lakes of golden blood, the scattered weapons, the fading light of twelve extinguished divines.
He looked at Edward, and something like acceptance flickered across his features.
"You've won," Poseidon said quietly. His voice carried clearly despite its softness. "Humanity survives." His grip on his trident tightened. "But I am Poseidon. I do not beg. I do not surrender. So come, let's finish this."
Edward paused, his crimson eyes studying the Sea God. Then he spoke, his voice soft but carrying through the silent arena with perfect clarity:
"You know, if the other gods should curse anyone for all this, it should be you."
Poseidon's eyes narrowed. "What?"
"You are the reason they're dying today," Edward continued, his voice hardening. "All of this started because you killed my friend Pham. Your son."
Poseidon's face twisted with contempt. "Don't lie! He was just a Cyclops, a monster to humans! You killed us because you're greedy for our powers, like everyone else who seeks to become a god!"
Edward shook his head slowly. "You wouldn't understand. But this...." he raised his blades, "this is for Polyphemus. The gentle cyclops who became my first real friend.
Who just wanted to see the world outside his island. Who you killed for the crime of being born different and disobeying your stupid order."
His voice dropped to something colder, more final: "I hope your death provides some comfort to his soul."
Poseidon's face flushed with rage. "A CYCLOPS?! YOU'RE DOING THIS FOR A CYCLOPS?! THEY'RE MONSTERS! ABOMINATIONS! YOU'RE INSANE!"
"No," Edward replied calmly. "Just someone who learned that the real monsters don't dwell in hell, they come from the heavens. And I'm the one who will send them to hell."
In the Greek section, gods exchanged uncomfortable glances.
"He's fighting us all for a mere Cyclops?"
"Polyphemus… I remember that one. Poseidon killed him long ago for some minor offense."
"A minor offense that led to all this," Athena said coldly.
Brunhilde asked Hera with curiousity. "He killed gods because of one cyclops?"
Hera smiled sadly in the box. " Don't say that in front of him. To my husband, Polyphemus was not a monster or abomination. He was just his friend.
I remember him often going away to visit the ship that carried his body. Blessed by the sea and wind, to travel the world forever, fulfilling his last wish."
Brunhilde sighed. "He's a good man who values bonds."
Hera nodded. " His friends can be counted in one hand. He doesn't easily form friendships. But his friends... Are rather unique." She chuckled and didn't explain further.
Poseidon roared and lunged, all composure shattering. His trident thrust forward with all his divine strength, the weapon moving fast enough to create sonic booms, water forming spears behind each prong.
Edward's blade met the strike, deflected it upward. His second blade came around in a vicious arc.
Poseidon's left arm separated from his body at the shoulder.
The Sea God's eyes widened in shock and pain. Golden ichor sprayed from the stump, and the severed arm—still gripping empty air—hit the ground with a wet thud.
"MY ARM!" Poseidon's voice cracked. "YOU CUT MY ARM!"
He grabbed the trident with his remaining right hand, swinging it wildly. The weapon carved through the air, desperation replacing technique.
Edward avoided the strike calmly, almost casually. Then his blade flashed again.
Poseidon's right hand fell away, still gripping the trident. Both crashed to the arena floor.
The Sea God stared at his armless stumps, golden blood pouring from both. His face showed absolute disbelief. "This can't… I'm Poseidon… I'm…"
He fell to his knees, the strength leaving his legs. But even armless, even bleeding out, the god wasn't done. Desperation gave him strength.
He lunged forward, mouth opening, trying to grab the trident's head with his teeth.
Edward's hand shot out, catching Poseidon by the throat. The Sea God gasped, the trident falling from his mouth and clattering away.
"You wanted to erase humanity," Edward said quietly. "You voted for extinction. You sat in judgment and decided billions of lives weren't worth your time."
He squeezed. Poseidon choked, unable to breathe, unable to speak.
"This is what extinction feels like, you little fish."
Then Edward's fist began to deliver his judgment.
The first punch shattered Poseidon's perfect nose, golden blood spraying. The Sea God's head snapped back.
The second punch broke his cheekbone, the divine bone cracking audibly.
The third caved in his eye socket, the perfect eye bursting under the pressure.
Fourth punch. Fifth. Sixth. Each impact breaking bones, pulverizing divine flesh that had never known such violence. Poseidon's face became unrecognizable—a mass of broken features and golden blood.
The god's body twitched, trying to heal, but Edward's God-Slayer Authority prevented it. The divine essence couldn't reform. Could only break further with each strike.
Finally, Edward's fist punched completely through. Poseidon's skull shattered, and Edward's hand emerged from the back of the god's head, brain matter and ichor dripping from his knuckles.
Poseidon's body went limp. Edward released the corpse, and it collapsed to the ground, face completely destroyed, unrecognizable as the perfect god it had been moments before.
The body began to dissolve, not into light but into sea foam and water, the ocean reclaiming what had been its lord. Within seconds, only a puddle remained, quickly evaporating.
The Greek section was in absolute chaos now.
"POSEIDON!"
"The Earthshaker is dead!"
"All of them! Heracles, Ares, Apollo, Poseidon—all of Olympus's finest! DEAD!"
Amphitrite, Poseidon's wife, stood with tears streaming down her face. But her expression was complex, grief mixed with something that might have been relief.
Athena's face was pale but controlled. "The Olympian pantheon has been decimated. Four of our strongest, gone in minutes."
"What do we do?" a minor god asked desperately. "Zeus! You must act! Your brothers, your sons—"
But Zeus remained seated, his face unreadable, his hands gripping the railing until the metal bent.
Edward stood alone in the center of the arena, surrounded by dissolving corpses and lakes of golden blood. His body was regenerating from the wounds he suffered.
But his eyes were clear as the Spartan Rage faded. The crimson bled away, leaving his natural color. His breathing was heavy but steady.
He looked up at the audience. At the divine sections sitting in absolute horrified silence. At the human sections that were too stunned to make sound.
Then he deactivated his Noble Phantasm. The divine weapons around him faded, returning to wherever they resided when not manifested.
Only the Blades of Chaos remained, and even their flames dimmed. Edward put them on his back.
For three heartbeats, the entire arena was silent.
Then the humans found their voices.
The sound that erupted was beyond description. Not just cheering, something more jubilant.
The sound of a species that had accepted extinction suddenly realizing they would live. Relief and joy and disbelief and overwhelming emotion all mixed into raw noise.
"Kratos.....HE DID IT!"
"HE ACTUALLY WON!"
"KRATOS KILLED ALL THIRTEEN GODS!"
"WE'RE SAVED! WE'RE ACTUALLY SAVED!"
People collapsed in their seats, sobbing. Others jumped and screamed and grabbed strangers to embrace them. Parents held children, all of them crying. Old people who'd lived full lives wept at seeing their species survive. Young people who'd thought they had no future suddenly did.
"ALL THIRTEEN! HE KILLED ALL THIRTEEN GODS!"
"GODS CAN DIE! THEY CAN ACTUALLY DIE!"
"WE'RE GOING TO LIVE! OUR CHILDREN ARE GOING TO LIVE!"
Heimdall stood at his position, his usually confident demeanor shattered. The Norse god's hands trembled as he raised the Gjallarhorn to his lips. His voice, when it came, shook with disbelief:
"Un-Unbelievable! The Ragnarok is over! The battle to decide humanity's future has ended with victory…" He paused, having to force the words out.
"Victory for humanity's champion, Kratos! He… he has slain all thirteen gods by himself and he is still standing! The Ghost of Sparta has created a miracle!"
The human section erupted again, the noise somehow getting even louder. People who'd been holding themselves together broke completely, crying and laughing simultaneously.
Edward looked at the celebrating humans and raised his arm, not in triumph, just acknowledgment. A gesture that said: You're safe now. You can live freely.
The humans roared their approval, the sound shaking the arena. They raised their hands in sync.
It was a beautiful moment. Humanity celebrating as one, forgetting their disputes, united in survival, in defiance of divine judgment.
For the first time in their existence, they'd stood up to gods and won.
Then everything went wrong.
An explosion tore through the private boxes above the audience. Not on the arena floor, the viewing areas where the gods and special guests sat. Stone and divine metal exploded outward, and through the debris came the flash of combat.
Edward's head snapped up, divine senses screaming warnings. He tried to move toward the explosion, tried to leap the distance.
But the barrier stopped him cold. He slammed into it with enough force to crack his ribs, but the divine construct held firm. His fists pounded against it, and the barrier rippled but didn't break.
The barrier absorbed his strikes, reinforced by the combined power of thousands of gods in the audience.
But it held. He was trapped inside the arena, and Hera was outside it.
Edward growled "So it has come to this!" He closed his eyes as hisKratos form started to shimmer and change.
The humans felt the shift immediately. The celebration died as confusion spread through the crowd.
"What's happening?"
"Why is he trying to break out?"
"Something's wrong up there, look!"
In the Valkyrie's private box, now exposed by the explosion that had blown away one wall—stood three divine figures that hadn't been there moments before.
Zeus, King of Olympus, his body radiating power and barely contained fury. Odin, Allfather of Asgard, his remaining eye cold as ice. And Hermes, the messenger god, positioned to block any escape route.
Facing them stood Hera, Brunhilde, and the thirteen legendary warriors.
The warriors had already activated their Völundr. Each Valkyrie sister transformed into a divine weapon in their partner's hands.
Lü Bu's halberd blazed with power. Adam's knuckles glowed. Sasaki's sword hummed with lethal promise. Beowulf's sword Hrunting showed foreign colors.
Only Siegfried stood apart, wielding his own weapon. Gram, the demonic sword that had slain Fafnir, pulsing with dark power in his grip. Brunhilde stood beside him, coldly looking at the gods. "Of course. They were never going to keep their promise."
Zeus spoke, his voice carrying across the room through divine power. Everyone present could hear him clearly:
"Come with us, Hera. Convince that bastard to lay down his weapons and end himself. Do that, and I might spare these humans. Refuse…" His smile was cold, cruel. "And I'll start by killing these guys. Then every human in this arena. Then every human on this world."
Odin's voice was equally cold, equally merciless: "Blood can only be repaid with blood. Thirteen gods are dead. Thirteen gods who were our friends, our family, our brothers and sisters. That debt must be paid."
He looked at Hera with his single eye. " Help us kill that monster, and we might overlook your sins. You could even return to your position as Queen of Olympus. We'll forget this… indiscretion."
Hera laughed.
The sound was unexpected, cutting through the tension like a blade. She actually laughed, throwing her head back, genuine amusement in her voice.
"You have no idea, do you?" Hera said, still smiling. "No idea what my beloved husband truly is?"
Hermes sighed, his handsome face showing exasperation. "He might be strong, but he's stuck down there in the arena. The barrier is powered by thousands of gods.
Even he can't break through it. And even if he could, by the time he managed it, we'd have you in our grasp."
His eyes swept across the thirteen warriors. "Or do you think these humans can actually protect you from us?"
Lü Bu laughed. a harsh, sharp sound. The Chinese warlord raised his halberd, divine power crackling along its length. "Why don't you find out for yourself, messenger boy?"
Adam stepped forward, his ancient eyes meeting Zeus's without fear. "This is disgraceful, even for gods. That man won fairly despite impossible odds. You should honor your promise and let humanity live."
Zeus's smile widened, becoming something vicious. "Honor? Promises?" He laughed.
"We are gods. We are the law. We decide what's right and wrong. We decide what promises mean. And we've decided that humanity dies anyway."
"The tournament was just to give them hope before we crushed it," Odin added. "Make the despair sweeter. Make them understand that even when they do everything right, even when they achieve the impossible, they still lose. Because we're gods, and gods don't lose to mortals."
Siegfried clenched Gram, the demon blade responding to his rising anger. "I owe that man my life. My freedom. It's about time I returned the favor."
"You'll die, Dragonslayer." Hermes said flatly.
"Then I'll die trying," Siegfried replied.
The thirteen warriors moved into formation, each one ready to fight despite knowing they faced three of the most powerful gods in existence.
They'd been chosen as humanity's champions for a reason. They were the finest warriors their species had ever produced. They wouldn't back down now.
Zeus raised his hand, lightning crackling between his fingers. "So be it. We'll kill you first, then we'll seal that bastard with all our might. Then we'll see....."
A deafening crack sounded from the arena.
Everyone's heads snapped toward the sound. A burst of white light erupted from where Edward stood, so bright it should have been blinding.
But the light wasn't destructive. It was warm. Comforting. It spread through the arena like a gentle wave, touching everyone, and those it touched felt something they couldn't describe.
A feeling of absolute safety, of unconditional protection, of hope that couldn't be extinguished.
Destiny who is always watching, closed his book. "And the end begins."
Zeus and Odin immediately went on guard, divine power flaring around them. Both gods' faces showed alarm for the first time.
"What's going on down there?" Odin demanded, his remaining eye trying to pierce the light.
Hera's smile widened, pride evident on her face. "Gods may be strong. Gods may be immortal. But Hope…" She looked at the spreading light, at her husband standing at its center proudly. "Hope is eternal."