Eternal Saṃsāra: The Wanderer of Worlds

[139] Storm vs Storm, God vs Demi-God

Chapter 139: Storm vs Storm, God vs Demi-God

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My body was shaken from the abrupt slam from Mjölnir, but I was used to fighting in such states. I steadied myself in mid-air, speeding like a bullet toward the Norse god flying backward from my earlier punch, my gaze fixed on his figure as he shook off the surprise of my resilience.

The [Tiger Icon] above me throbbed with the energy of a primal beast, pouring me with power as I threw another fist at Thor. The Thunder God blocked it with his trusty hammer, and my punch failed to even make him budge.

'So his hammer can act as a great shield,' I realized. It's powerful if it could block the same punch that sent its owner flying a moment earlier. I exchanged seven more blows with Thor, and while he blocked two with his hammer, dodging one, he had to use his hammer to slam back at me for the other attacks.

Surprisingly, he wasn't taking an offensive stance. Curious, I slowed down and gave him a stare of defiance. "Too weak to fight back?" I taunted him.

"Why do you bear an Icon, mortal?" Thor's voice thundered across the expanse, I noted a mix of intrigue and caution laced in his tone. His interest, however, earned no favor from me.

'So that's why he's not fighting? Because he is curious about my Icon?' Sadly, this was not a Q&A forum; this was a battleground, where the only truths acknowledged were those forged in the heat of conflict, I did not want to share a talk.

"I have no words for you, coward," I countered sharply, smirking tauntingly in the vortex of power swirling about us.

Thor's expression soured, a scowl marring his features as he dismissed my reticence with a snort. "Coward? I? How blasphemous."

"Are you not? You attacked a 'mortal' out of nowhere with no time to fight back," I taunted. I didn't actually consider that cowardice, that was fast work instead. But my words were working to piss off this Thunder God.

"You require a display of bravery," he announced, and with a motion that spoke of centuries of dominion over the lightning and thunder, his willpower bloomed in the sky in the form of a hexagon-shaped Icon. The sky roared, growing stormier, as the heavens scowled down at the both of us.

I blinked, looking at the Icon. That was the [Storm Icon], the physical manifestation of the tempest that bellowed with the fury of the heavens. It's not surprising that he'll have such an Icon, it suited him well.

"I hear you use thunder as well?" he kicked the air and blitzed above me, his hammer swinging backward. "Allow me to test your meager dominion over the storm."

The air between us crackled with the imminent promise of destruction. His hammer once again rushed to meet my face, and my fist cut through the air to intercept it. Our weapons of choice met in a cataclysmic sound of explosion, and the Instant Dungeon found itself cracking out of sheer pressure.

As thick and ancient as the world's oldest oaks, bolts of lightning danced a deadly ballet around us. Each one, imbued with Thor's indomitable will of the storm, met the wild, untamed essence of my [Tiger Icon] head-on. I refused to use my own power of lightning here, it'd be of no help.

However, my Tiger Icon birthed a storm of its own. Raindrops froze and turned into snowfall, and the weight of snowstorms, and avalanches was carried by my fists. My initial punches that failed to budge Mjölnir now send it and its owner backward. The impact would be far greater if I managed a direct hit to his body.

Our raw display of nature's unfettered wrath clashing with primal savagery, seemed to command the attention of the very heavens, casting the battleground in a surreal light that bore witness to our deadlock. I knew who they were; the Shinto Gods could not interfere here, but they didn't want to miss out on this incredible sight.