Chapter 360
C360
"...!"
Athena staggered before the golden crack forming in Aegis.
A brief hesitation.
But in an instant, she seemed to strengthen her grip on Aegis even more, as if telling herself it was okay.
Craaack, crackle-!
She didn't back down in the face of the sword crashing into Aegis.
Crash, Bang-.
The golden crack on Aegis kept growing.
It almost seemed like the shield would break at any moment, and the Bolt would seep inside.
However...
Chiiik-.
She unsheathed a sword she carried at her waist without hesitation.
A short-length weapon complementing the shield.
Looking through the golden cracks forming in Aegis, Athena aimed the tip of the sword.
"My most powerful weapon isn't just a simple item."
Aegis was only an item representing her to a certain extent.
Athena gritted her teeth and put strength into the hand holding the sword.
Chak-.
The ground vibrated.
Fragments of Aegis came loose and fell to the ground.
'Now.'
In that instant, Athena tried to stab through the opening with her sword.
"Wow, I see we were thinking the same thing."
"…!"
The sword's tip slid through Aegis's opening.
Swuaak-.
['Aegis Shield' has been destroyed]
['Aegis Guardian' has been nullified]
['Medusa's Eye' has been evaded]
The skills manifested through Aegis shattered and lost their strength. Athena's fingertips trembled on the tip of the sword that halted before her eyes.
"The counterattack was too hasty. With the attack in mind, defense is bound to collapse."
Gently, YuWon withdrew his sword.
Athena's thoughts deepened as she heard his words.
'If I had strengthened my defense more...'
Athena was the Shield of Olympus.
When she only focused on defense, not offense, she relied on being able to withstand an hour even against Hades or Poseidon.
As strong as YuWon was, this fight shouldn't have ended so easily.
'He was thinking the same...'
Athena recalled what YuWon had said a moment ago.
"Were you planning to pierce Aegis from the beginning?"
She observed the damaged area of Aegis.
The traces of the rupture were clean. The cracks and broken fragments were only a small part of the center.
In reality, YuWon had planned to break Aegis from the beginning and insert his sword inside.
From the start, he already had this planned.
"What are you thinking so hard for?"
Crackle-!
While Athena reviewed the previous situation in her mind, she saw YuWon still holding his sword beyond Aegis.
"I still need to warm up."
Hearing those words was reassuring.
Athena's eyes shone again.
----
Kwang-!
YuWon's fist extended forward.
Athena's body, holding Aegis firmly, staggered. The broken fragments of Aegis fell to the ground, and finally, her leg buckled.
Craack, crackle-.
YuWon, with his fist extended over Aegis, paused for a moment.
An unsteady posture.
"It seems like that's enough around here."
With those words from YuWon, Athena raised her sword upwards.
"All troops, prepare for the attack."
Chok, chok-.
Athena gave the order, and the Rankers scattered around the edge of the battlefield took their positions.
It was what YuWon had requested.
"When Aegis breaks, use those guys."
At first, Athena had refused.
She didn't want others to interfere in her fight.
However...
Once again, after the battle against YuWon ended quickly, Athena couldn't help but change her mind.
"Isn't so bad, is it?"
YuWon, on his knees again, looked at the Rankers who showed enthusiasm towards him.
"This might be an opportunity to teach them how to fight against a High-Ranker like me."
Athena had to admit it. Her ability alone wouldn't be enough to face YuWon.
Furthermore...
YuWon's skill was much greater than she had anticipated.
"Attack!"
Craaackle-!
The Lightning Bolt surged from YuWon's hand again.
YuWon swung the Lightning Bolt freely without Urano's assistance. Many Rankers were swept away by the Lightning's waves, and among them, Athena's sword made its way.
The second round of the fight began.
As the arena floor started to dangerously shake, another guest entered this place.
Ziiii...
"Wow, this is chaos! It's real chaos."
Psshh...
Hargan jumped back in shock from the sudden attack that reached the arena's entrance.
Inside the battlefield was absolute chaos.
Thud...
Whish, thud, thump...
A Ranker in armor flew and rolled under Hargan's feet. Looking at the fallen Ranker with blank eyes, Hargan shook his head.
"All day with this ruckus..."
"You've come?"
"Oh, big brother."
Hargan belatedly noticed Hercules amidst the commotion and quickly bowed to greet him. (Note: It's funny how Greek people bow like Asians when they greet)
"No need to be so formal. You don't have to bow like that every time you see me. It's the same for me."
"Understood!"
Hargan showed excessive respect to Hercules compared to others.
For a long time, Hercules had been his idol, and his long-term goal was to become someone like him. It was natural for him to feel tense when meeting his idol face to face.
"But what's up?"
"I have something to say to that guy."
"That guy?"
It was YuWon, who was fighting against other Rankers, including Athena.
It seemed that for a few hours now, they had been fighting, recovering their energy, and fighting again.
"A while ago, I've been wondering why he wasn't responding to my messages, and it turns out he's been busy here."
"Is it something urgent?"
"I'm not sure, but it seems important."
"What do you mean?"
"A guest has come from Asgard."
"Asgard?"
Hercules turned his head.
YuWon was creating Lightning Bolts in his hand. The Rankers spread to the sides to avoid his power, and Athena stepped forward, holding her shield firmly.
At that moment, when the Lightning Bolt was about to be fired...
"Stop!"
Hercules' roar echoed in the arena.
Clank, clank...
The Lightning Bolt that YuWon had been holding trembled dangerously. Athena, who had her shield firmly grasped, lost strength, and all eyes in the arena turned to Hercules.
YuWon looked at him as if asking what was happening, and that's when he noticed Hargan there too.
Hercules responded to that look by saying:
"A guest has arrived."
"Guest?"
"Let's go first. It seems to be something important."
Thump...
Hercules turned around and headed towards the door, which Hargan had swung open wide, followed by YuWon, who scratched his head, confused.
"Thank you for your hard work!"
"Thank you for your hard work!"
The Rankers who had been fighting YuWon in the training ground saluted one by one and collapsed to the ground. None of them had any remaining energy to continue fighting.
And that included Athena, who was still standing alone.
Crack...
The golden crack in Athena's Aegis gradually expanded. It was at that moment when she lowered the seemingly indestructible shield and let it fall to the ground.
CRACK...
The shield made of Adamantium, Mithril, and the head of Medusa, along with various other materials and Hephaestus' touch, shattered into pieces and fell to the ground.
But Athena wasn't worried or showed any signs of discontent.
In fact, she seemed more relieved than ever.
"At least he didn't die accidentally."
Looking at the broken handle of Aegis, Athena muttered.
"Ares."
-------------------------
"Thor?"
YuWon looked puzzled as he asked Hargan.
What was Thor doing here as a guest from Asgard?
He was the undisputed second-in-command of Asgard, the one who received the power of Odin.
"Why is he here?"
YuWon had seen his face on a couple of occasions.
Once was when he mobilized to capture Poseidon during the Battle of Olympus, and the other during the Ragnarok.
However, YuWon didn't have any particular friendship with Thor or anything of the sort.
"Well, I don't know."
Hargan shrugged and hurried his steps towards the Royal Castle.
Beyond his two-digit ranking, Thor was the Prince of Asgard destined to lead Asgard someday.
The relationship with him was crucial even for Olympus. After all, the highest-ranking Rankers of Olympus, including Hargan, had no choice but to treat Thor with utmost respect.
Of course, that had nothing to do with YuWon.
A slight sigh escaped from YuWon's lips as he followed Hargan at a slow pace, adjusting his torn clothes from the fight with Athena.
The reason why Thor came looking for him, YuWon was trying to anticipate it.
"Does he want something from me? Something important that Asgard can't handle, even with Odin's help?"
Nothing in particular came to his mind.
The Ragnarok had ended. After the battle with Muspelheim, there probably weren't any formidable enemies left to consider a threat to Asgard.
Furthermore, Asgard had Odin.
The best fighter in the Tower.
He excelled in both combat and magic more than anyone.
Why would someone meddle with someone from Asgard where Odin was present? It didn't make sense.
Moreover, Odin's personality wasn't that of someone who would easily ask for help or interfere in others' affairs.
"Anyway, how do they know I'm here?"
It wasn't exactly a secret, but there weren't many people who knew that YuWon was in Olympus right now.
Especially in Asgard, it was quite unexpected that someone knew YuWon was here at this moment.
It was an unusual visit.
"We're here."
Hargan stopped by a small pavilion in the Royal Castle's garden.
The small pavilion was adorned with beautiful flowers and stood in the center of the garden.
Hargan and Hercules stopped near the place.
"He said he wanted to meet you alone."
"Well then, I'll come up to here."
Swish~
Hercules grabbed the Club at his waist with his hand.
After briefly seeing Hercules' action, YuWon started to move.
Tak.
The creaking sound of the unmaintained door revealed that this place had been abandoned for a long time. It seemed to be a small annex that the servants who attended the Royal Castle in the past used.
There was a small bed and a table inside the room.
Thor was standing inside, his back to the door, waiting for YuWon.
"Is this to avoid people? You've picked a strange place."
Upon entering the room, the floor creaked slightly under his feet.
Thor didn't immediately turn around.
Toc.
YuWon closed the door behind him.
At the same time, he felt a faint magical barrier spreading around the pavilion. It seemed like it was trying to prevent sound from leaking outside.
YuWon didn't get closer and looked at Thor's back.
"You're not Thor."
YuWon knew Thor well.
He was so neat that YuWon wondered if he had mysophobia, except when he fought using Mjolnir.
Which meant, unlike his disheveled appearance, he looked completely different.
Toc.
With absolute conviction in his voice, YuWon took a step toward Thor.
And then...
The person who was waiting for YuWon turned around.
"Mimir?"
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