NOVEL NEXT Chapter 19: Battle 1 begins
As the monumental clash between Lü Bu and Thor approached, the weight of anticipation pressed heavily upon Lucius. The revelations of the primordial war and the stakes of Ragnarök had intensified his resolve, yet also amplified his anxiety. Seeking solace and a momentary escape from the mounting pressures, he found comfort in the company of Brunhilde. Together, they shared an intimate interlude, a brief respite that rekindled their spirits and fortified their determination for the trials ahead.
Their moment of solace was fleeting, as the resonant blast of Heimdall's horn echoed through the halls, signaling the onset of Ragnarök. Lucius and Brunhilde swiftly composed themselves, their personal connection now a source of mutual strength. They made their way to the grand arena, where deities and mortals alike had gathered to witness the inaugural battle that would determine humanity's fate.
The atmosphere was electric, charged with the collective breaths of countless spectators. In the center of the arena stood Thor, the Norse God of Thunder, his presence exuding an aura of unparalleled might. Opposite him was Lü Bu, humanity's chosen champion, renowned as the mightiest warrior of the Three Kingdoms era. His formidable reputation as a peerless combatant had earned him the honor of representing mankind in this pivotal confrontation.
As the combat commenced, the clash between god and mortal surpassed all expectations. Thor, wielding his legendary hammer Mjölnir, unleashed devastating attacks imbued with divine lightning. Lü Bu, undeterred, met each onslaught with his formidable halberd, the Sky Piercer, showcasing martial prowess that bordered on the supernatural.
The arena trembled under the force of their blows, each strike a testament to their unparalleled strength and skill. Spectators watched in awe as Lü Bu managed to push Thor to unprecedented limits, a feat no god had anticipated from a human. The battle raged on, a symphony of power and will, until the fateful moment when Thor's awakened Mjölnir delivered a decisive blow, culminating in Lü Bu's valiant demise.
From their vantage point, Lucius and Brunhilde observed the battle's conclusion with a mix of solemnity and resolve. Lü Bu's performance had demonstrated humanity's potential to challenge the divine, fueling their determination to strategize for the battles yet to come. The path ahead was fraught with peril, but fortified by their shared purpose and the lessons gleaned from this initial clash, they steeled themselves for the trials that awaited in the relentless march of Ragnarök.
The arena was a maelstrom of roars and thunder, the ground fracturing under the weight of unimaginable power. The clash between Lü Bu, humanity's mightiest warrior, and Thor, the Norse God of Thunder, had transcended battle—it was destruction made art. The gods and humans alike watched in bated awe, their voices lost beneath the earth-shattering collision of halberd and hammer.
Lü Bu's body glowed with the bond of his Völundr, forged with the Valkyrie Randgriz, his halberd Fang Tian Hua Ji no longer mere steel but a divine extension of his very soul. His every swing screamed with the essence of war—raw, primal, and unstoppable.
His feet shattered the earth beneath him as he charged, his Exploding Heart Release Fist empowering each strike with seismic force. "Hahaha! A god, you say?! SHOW ME YOUR LIMITS!" he bellowed, his battlelust boiling over into madness.
Opposite him stood Thor, eyes blazing with electric fire. His hammer, Mjölnir, pulsated with life, its cracks writhing with lightning—more a living beast than a weapon. His hands were shielded by the Gleipnir gloves, forged from the same unbreakable binding that once shackled the wolf Fenrir. Only with them could he wield Mjölnir without being crushed by its destructive hunger.
His voice rolled like a tempest. "Lü Bu… You are worthy of this hammer's true might!"
The earth ruptured as they clashed.
Lü Bu spun his halberd, splitting the air with arcs of destruction. His strikes came faster than thought, each one a mountain-toppling blow.Thor met them with Mjölnir's crushing might, lightning screaming through the battlefield, turning stone to glass and air to fire.
Blow for blow. Roar for roar. God and mortal blurred into one violent tempest.
Suddenly, the sky turned dark, and Thor's form surged with primordial power. Mjölnir's surface glowed as if breathing, cracks expanding and veins of electric fury crawling like serpents across its form.
"Awaken, Mjölnir…." Thor's voice boomed. "Let the heavens witness your hunger!"
The hammer's mass multiplied instantly. The ground beneath Thor's feet collapsed entirely, cratering from the sheer gravity of his weapon. His blows became cataclysmic, cratering the arena with every strike.
But Lü Bu laughed, his eyes bloodshot with frenzy. "So the hammer awakens—" He stabbed his halberd into the ground and pulled back his fist, his body vibrating with Exploding Heart Release Fist.
"Then—" He launched forward with an earth-splitting stomp— "EAT THIS!"
Sky-Eater Strike—White Tiger Crescent Moon!
His halberd flashed in an arc—a slash meant to tear the sky itself asunder.
The impact was cataclysmic. Thor's body buckled, Mjölnir barely blocking the strike—only for Lü Bu to pivot, smashing Thor's side with a bone-shattering kick.
Thor was sent hurtling—slamming into the arena walls, his godly ichor painting the ruins. But Mjölnir, hungry, returned to Thor's hand instantly, lightning knitting his broken ribs in an instant.
Both warriors, battered and drenched in blood, knew the end approached.
Thor raised Mjölnir high. "You… have earned my final blow."
Lü Bu grinned through cracked teeth. "AND YOU, MINE!"
Thor swung—an arc of lightning, raw and absolute.
Lü Bu lunged, halberd and fist united—power compressed to a singularity of destruction.
The collision—
The sky split.The earth ruptured.The arena disintegrated into dust.
In that flash—Lü Bu's halberd carved through Thor's arm, then his leg, and finally—his chest. The God of Thunder crumbled, impaled by Fang Tian Hua Ji.
But Mjölnir found its mark, crashing into Lü Bu's heart, shattering his ribs and spine in a blast of divine death.
Both warriors, kneeling—bleeding—facing each other.
Lü Bu, barely alive, grinned. "Heh… Even a god… can bleed."
Thor, his arm and leg gone, smirked back. "You… are the finest foe… I have ever known."
And then—they crumbled. Two titans—reduced to green particles.
Before their souls could fade into the void—a voice rang through the deathless silence:
"Arise."
The air froze, darkness pooling beneath their particles. Black tendrils seized the fragments of their dying essence.
From the void stepped Lucius Aelion Varro, his eyes—Shadow Monarch's Abyss—glowing with unholy command. His hands pulsed with the authority of the dead, the power stolen from Antares and Jin-Woo's legacy.
"They said only the victors write history…" His voice was a whisper and a promise. "But why choose?"
💀 Shadow Extraction: Lü Bu, the Warborn.
The black mist swirled—then Lü Bu's form rose from the abyss, clad in obsidian armor, his halberd dripping with void. His eyes—endless black. Yet, the grin of a warrior remained.
"Ha… HAHAHA! So I get to fight FOREVER?!" Lü Bu's laughter boomed. "YOU ARE MAD, AND I LOVE IT!"
⚡ Shadow Extraction: Thor, the Storm's Echo.
Then the storm crackled—and Thor rose too, his form wreathed in shadows, but Mjölnir remained, forged anew in black lightning. His eyes, cold but filled with endless battle spirit.
"To fight again… as your shadow…" His lips curled in a half-smirk. "So be it."
Lucius stood between his two new generals, his voice low and commanding. "Lü Bu. Thor. With me, your battles never end." His eyes burned, the true abyss made manifest.
"For humanity, and beyond—" he declared, the shadows swirling around him, "—we will overturn the heavens themselves."
The arena was gone. The crowd—silent, broken, awestruck.
The gods watched, horrified. Brunhilde… smiled.
⚫👑 The Real Ragnarok Has Just Begun. 👑⚫
The air crackled with tension as the aftermath of the first round settled. Lü Bu and Thor—both warriors of legend—were gone, their clash ending in a draw that rattled the very foundation of the arena. Yet, unknown to all but Lucius, their souls had been claimed, reborn in shadow to serve him in the battles to come.
In the grand halls of Valhalla, where the gods and warriors prepared for the next bout, Zeus's voice boomed:
"Due to the double death, this round shall be declared void! The score remains even. Round Two… will be announced shortly!"
The gods murmured among themselves, some intrigued, others irritated. But in the private chambers assigned to Humanity's representatives, the mood was far more… personal.
Lucius, his sharp mind always spinning through possibilities and countermeasures, was briefly distracted—Aphrodite, with her usual flirtatious nature, had decided that now was the perfect time to express her admiration. With a teasing smile, she leaned in and stole a deep, slow kiss. Lucius felt his face heat, but before he could even process it—
"Ahem." A cool, slightly irritated voice broke through the tension. Brunhilde, ever composed but with a sharp glint in her eye, crossed her arms. "Aphrodite. Hands. Off."
The goddess of love chuckled, "Jealous, are we?"
Brunhilde, cheeks faintly flushed, simply marched over and claimed her own kiss from Lucius—short, firm, and absolutely a statement. She pulled back, straightening her collar, "There. Now, focus. We have a tournament to win."
Lucius, thoroughly flustered but amused, chuckled. "Well, at least I know I'm loved…"
With that brief chaos resolved, he slid a thick folder across the table to one of his Valkyries—Regenleif, a warrior of unshakable resolve.
"Here are the candidates and my plan for Round Two," he said, his voice returning to its usual sharp confidence. "We're sending in him."
Regenleif opened the folder and smirked, eyes flashing with excitement. "Hah! With him, they won't know what hit them. I'll be his Volundr. We'll make the gods regret stepping into that arena, even be it Zeus, we shall strike him down together." (AN: if only she knew...)
The folder's page revealed the name:
The room grew still for a moment. Brunhilde's lips curled into a knowing smile. "Perfect. The father of humanity himself. And against any god they throw at us… he'll show them why humanity deserves to live."
The arena would soon roar again. But this time, it would witness not just a battle of strength—but of heart, soul, and the sheer defiance that defined humanity itself.
And from the shadows, Lü Bu and Thor, reborn in black armor and glowing eyes under Lucius's command, awaited their turn to unleash chaos once more.
AN: Yo, so how did ya like this? comment down below please.