Bloodlines of the Ancient Pantheons

The Xis snapped sideways and turned on himself, summoning in less than a second a giant blade made of the purple dark matter directly on his arm.

At the end of the rotation, the Frostsinner attempted to hit Dag with a vertical slash, but he dodged the shot by rolling to the ground and moving several meters away using the two dark spines that from behind his back, which hooked to the soil alternately, guaranteeing him an incredible movement speed.

The trajectory of Dag's movement, despite being a sudden reflection due to the dodge, was not accidental: in a few seconds, the young Master reached the position of Magni's hammer and picked it up from the ground, now clutching it in his left hand, despite being accustomed to holding it with the right one, being that weapon heavier and less manageable than the Giantbane, which this time had a decisive role.

After grasping his primary weapon, with which he had fought all the most important battles of his life, Dag felt even greater responsibility for beating his opponent, while the faces of Stein, Magni, and all those who believed in him and supported him appeared in quick succession in his mind.

Simultaneously, the Xis created a second blade to show Dag that he could defeat him by fighting with two weapons, just like him.

"A blow! I only need one shot to kill him! Focus, Dag!" Dag thought, ready to dodge the second attack and counterattack, using the technique he could manage best, the one his sister Gridd and Taya, his first Master, taught him.

The Xis, predictably, snapped again towards Dag, this time flying at great speed a few inches from the ground, but the young warrior dodged the first slit and then also the second, rotating on himself and trying to hit the Frostsinner with one of the dark stinger coming out of his back.

A second before the stinger could hit its target, a bundle of dark matter came out of the Xis' chest and blocked the attack.

When the two dark powers of Dag and the Xis collided, they provoked a strong shockwave, which unleashed considerable energy.

Odin remained impassive, with his thoughtful gaze focused on the clash and his spear held firmly in his right hand, while a few yards from him, Freydis was there, still and upset.

Despite the Frostsinner's parry, Dag turned around once again, striking him with his second stinger, but once again, a dark arm was summoned by the Xis, who seemed to be able to summon dark matter without limits.

Surprisingly, however, a third strand of liquid that came out of Dag's shoulders hardened and during the rotation hit the Frostsinner's side, who retreated injured.

A deep cut at the rib quickly started to close, repairing the damaged fabrics, except those of the black jacket, which was now completely destroyed.

The warriors who were witnessing the fight, when they saw that Dag had just managed to hit the Xis for the first time, began shouting his name again, trying to foment him and knowing that Odin's eyes were also pointed on the young Master.

The third small spine on his back grew even more, reaching the length and size of the other two.

With his three dark arms and body entirely shrouded in darkness because of the demonic form, Dag began to feel his last energies dry up quickly in a way inversely proportional to his power, which instead grew more and more.

"He's strong and incredibly fast... but his body is human, I can predict his attacks!" Dag thought again, who this time used the enemy's wait to launch the first attack.

The Xis, who was stationary and waiting for the deep cut to close completely, dematerialized one of the two dark blades and pointed a hand at Dag, activating his psychic powers to block his advance.

However, to Dag's surprise, the purple aura that was supposed to block him in mid-air failed and his charge continued.

"What?!" the Xis exclaimed with a visibly frightened expression, which helped increase Dag's fury.

"Aaaaargh!" the young Master yelled, as his body was wrapped in flames to the right side and in lightning to the left side: as had already happened the last time he fought using the power of the Primal Thunder, the Giantbane fire was partially absorbed by one of his dark arms and the lightning bolts of Magni's hammer were absorbed by the other.

As if the three dark arms were demonic wings imbued with the two elements that Dag could dominate, they moved forward and simultaneously pierced the enemy's chest, lifting him from the ground.

The violent impact destabilized the Xis, who could not resist all the power unleashed by Dag's elemental attack and lay his hands against the dark stingers that were pierced his chest.

Dag raised the enemy's body and without giving up his grip, violently slammed him to the ground, continuing to press on his chest with the dark arms and screaming in anger.

The Xis' arms released more grayish gas, and a small amount of his dark matter tried to envelop Dag's spines: at the same time, the Giantbane's fire coming from the fiery arm burned it instantly. 

"That's not possible! This can't happen, you can't hurt me!" the Frostsinner replied, before spitting vivid magenta blood out of his mouth.

When the Xis began to bleed, Dag realized that he had the victory in his hand and at the sight of magenta blood, hundreds of memories came to his mind.

He remembered all the times he had been forced to drink that substance to increase the concentration of dark power in his body and the time one of his best friends, Karl, injected it inside his arm.

All those events had inextricably taken away some of his humanity, making him seem more and more to be disgusting in front of him.

Continuing to push with elemental arms on the Xis' chest, Dag dragged his body for a few meters and then the stingers began to penetrate the ground, widening the hole in the chest of the alien more and more, who was visibly suffering.