Hard to believe that I am approaching the conclusions of both this fic and my PS-P. It almost feels like a dream! And then once I'm done with this fic, onto checking the poll results to see what you voters chose and go from there. As for my PS-P, once it's all done, time to check it all out before seeing about actually getting it published. It's going to be a long and most likely tedious process… but I look forward to it.
Now with that said, onto the chapter!
Chapter 35
Although the battle had 'officially' begun, neither Katsumi or Odin made a move. They remained exactly where they were, sizing one another up, looking for openings in one another's stances. And as they did this, even in spite of the situation, they felt a sense of nostalgia washing over them; they used to spar like this quite often back during the old days.
"But now things are far different," Katsumi thought solemnly. This was not going to be some friendly spar, but instead a brutal fight to the death.
How long exactly did they remain as they were? Honestly, neither of them knew, but they did remain unmoving for quite a while.
Ultimately, both of them made their first move at the exact same time.
Odin lashed out with a fierce palm strike. Katsumi retaliated with an elbow blow. Their initial attacks clashed against one another violently and with far more physical power than any of the other participants had ever shown. Not Naruto, not even Miki… the sheer force of their attacks colliding was such that the very fabric of Valhalla itself shook from the sheer force of it.
By all rights, their blows should have utterly destroyed any poor soul caught on the receiving end of them. But against one another, both were evenly matched, deadlocked.
"No, not quite," Katsumi found herself thinking, her elbow being pushed back a bit. Odin was stronger than her by a fair bit, a fact made all the more impressive by the fact she was using her dominant arm while he wasn't. Indeed, it'd seem his 'powerful' body was enhanced greatly upon having awakened as a magus all those many years ago. And it was clear by his posture that he hadn't neglected his training over these past two centuries.
She pulled back, pivoted on the spot, ending up behind Odin and lashing out not just with one attack, but with multiple attacks of great power and speed. The blows rained upon Odin at speeds that actually exceeded the speed of light itself. But as Katsumi had expected, her old friend-turned-enemy was not subjected to the pain. Odin turned only slightly, his arms nothing more than a blur even to Katsumi's eyes as he masterfully parried each and every one of her attacks, launching his own back at her. His fists came in a number of forms: palm strikes, jabs, knife strikes, and so much more, each blow launched with frightening precision.
Katsumi showed off her own masterful fighting by reeling back from each attack, only moving enough to avoid it without leaving herself open.
And then suddenly, she rushed forward and slid, attempting to knock her old friend off his face. Odin kicked her legs aside as she approached, but she simply slammed her hands onto the ground with strength that she spun upwards, her legs now aiming directly for Odin's head. The man grabbed her by the legs and picked her up, spinning several times before launching her.
Off into the distance Katsumi flew, crossing many miles worth of space at speeds nearing light itself. She remained completely unaffected by this and simply redirected the force of the throw by positioning her body differently, causing her to now head downwards.
As soon as she landed on her feet, she looked up in time to see Odin already about to attack her, the 'ultimate magus's' left fist just about to make contact with her solar plexus. Katsumi immediately brought up her knee, smashing it into the bottom of Odin's arm and forcing his fist upwards, missing her by a millimeter or so. Even as the blow grazed her, she showed no sign of pain or discomfort in general and shoved Odin back. Due to his solid stance, he only went skidding back a mere several feet rather than the many miles he would've been knocked back otherwise.
As he came to a stop, he adjusted his somewhat broken stance and peered into Katsumi's eyes just as she did the same. Once again, they remained unmoving, the two old magi assessing one another.
And then exactly a nanosecond later, they moved.
Valhalla is a unique place. As a sort of 'pocket dimension' meant to serve as a training ground for the magi of the current combatants' generation, it could 'withstand' tremendous force before any kind of attack could so much as do the impossible and make it shudder.
But that wasn't the case today anymore.
Both Odin and Katsumi were incredibly powerful magi, even by the standards of magi back in their time and especially by the standards of today. Both seemed to be locked in a sort of 'dance,' the two of them demonstrating the full extent of their combat skills at speeds transcending even the speed of Thor's Hammer Full Access. The very space around them heaved and strained to remain intact, but it was simply wasn't meant to withstand the kind of speed both were exhibiting with each and every move they made, no matter how minute.
This wasn't helped either by the sheer strength of their blows, which was great enough to shatter mountains and completely level entire islands.
"Ha!" This was the sole battle cry Katsumi let out as she peppered – or at least attempted to pepper – Odin with one attack after another. She rained down upon him all sorts of attacks, punches and kicks of varying forms and speeds and levels of strength all in an attempt to throw him off, to give him a hard time at truly adjusting to the current flow of battle.
And yet.
Odin wasn't affected by any of this. He was just as masterful a taijutsu fighter as Katsumi was, perhaps even more so. For every jab Katsumi threw at him, he blocked with the dead center of his palms. For every haymaker that came his way, he ducked under using only the least amount of energy and movement required to get the job done. For every kick that attempted to sweep him off his legs or otherwise do him harm, he countered with his own kicks.
And he wasn't simply on the defensive either; he made sure to mix in some offense too.
Katsumi found her senses strained as much as they could be strained as she had to keep focused not just on attacking the 'ultimate magus,' but also on avoiding his powerful fists, which blurred in and out of her line of sight with startling speed. She simply considered it her good fortune that Odin wasn't trying – so far – to attack her from behind otherwise she might not be able to avoid his attacks.
As if reading her very thoughts, Odin suddenly called off his own attack and suddenly stepped to the right, letting Katsumi's own attacks carry her forward before launching a sudden and powerful punch at her side. It was only thanks to her reflexes that she managed to spin even as she partially lost her footing that she was able to avoid Odin's blow. Tumbling forward, she placed her hands on the ground so that it now looked as if she was doing a handstand and then spun on her hands with her legs outstretched. Being in a battle kimono, this move flashed more than just a little skin, but she knew that Odin was hardly the kind of man to be affected by the sight of a woman's flesh even back before the Fimbulvinter War ever started. All that mattered now was simply landing the first blow on him.
She wasn't exactly lucky in that regard. Odin had been in range when she first performed this attack, but not anymore, the man simply taking a half-step back and rearing his head back an inch to avoid the tip of her sandals. Undeterred, she simply pushed herself off the ground and towards Odin, spinning in the air as she then brought down both of her legs in a double axe-kick. This time around, Odin wasn't fast enough to actually dodge, but he did manage to block, raising his left arm in time to keep both legs from hitting him. Even then, there was enough strength in the attack to make Odin 'sink' into the ground up to his waist, leaving him stuck.
Katsumi, seeing this, didn't waste this opportunity. She backed off and then rushed forward, intent of striking Odin right in the chest with a good kick. She didn't expect Odin to still be capable of kicking, his right leg breaking right through the ground as if it wasn't even there.
Their attacks connected at the very same time, Katsumi's kick striking Odin hard enough to blast him out of the ground while Odin's strike knocked her back several dozen meters. She'd have been sent flying further if she hadn't braced herself.
"You still pack quite the kick," Odin then commented as he dusted off his clothes, not looking even the slightest bit fazed by Katsumi's kick.
"I could say the same to you," Katsumi commented dryly as she did the same, straightening out her battle kimono. Inwardly, she was worried though. "He's always been tough, but back in the day, he'd at least flinch whenever we sparred and I struck him. But now…" She couldn't help but feel just a tad bit unnerved by how nonchalant Odin was about all of this. He might as well have never even been struck. Such was the toughness of his body, it'd seem.
"Now then," Odin spoke, rousing her from her increasingly deep thoughts. "Are we done warming up?"
Katsumi couldn't help but smile confidently. "I was waiting for you to just say that."
With that, both of them took up their respective fighting stances. However, where it looked as if Odin wished to continue this straight up taijutsu battle, Katsumi was having different thoughts. "I think it's about time I start to use my magical weapon," she thought with all seriousness. As it stood right now, it was a bit odd that Odin wasn't utilizing his own magical weapon, but that only meant that now was all the better a time to strike with her own before he could use his to possibly counter her. This was simply an opportunity that she shouldn't squander.
Subtly shifting her position so that her hand remained hidden, she called forth her magical weapon, which she had dismissed upon entering this dimension. As it instantly appeared in response to her wordless summon of it, she allowed herself a bit of a smile. "You're in for a surprise," she thought.
It was at the same moment she summoned her magical weapon that Odin made his move, immediately crossing the distance between them instantly with his great speed and proceeded to deliver a mighty chop to her neck with enough force to split an island clean in two.
Only for his attack to miss her. "What?" he remarked in a flat voice. There had been very little movement on Katsumi's part, too little for his attack to have missed in such a manner. Almost immediately, he caught onto why. But by then, it was too late; Katsumi was already lashing out with a kick to his stomach. He reeled back, enough for his midsection to avoid being struck. Only for the seemingly impossible to happen yet again and Katsumi's foot connected with just enough strength to send him skidding back.
Seemingly as unaffected by the kick as he was by Katsumi's earlier one, Odin eyed her with an almost exasperated look. "Your magical weapon," he muttered.
Katsumi now raised her hand to reveal the magical weapon: Miracle Bringer. The jewel that was at the center of the glove-like magical weapon shined brightly as Odin looked upon it. "As expected, you figured that out pretty fast."
"Did you really expect me not to? Your magical weapon can be remarkably obvious," Odin retorted calmly.
"So then you still very much remember what it can do, huh?" Katsumi muttered.
"But of course," Odin replied, nodding. "After all, having sparred so often together and fought alongside one another in the Fimbulvinter War… how could I not know?"
Miracle Bringer, like a handful of the other magical weapons involved in Ragnarok, didn't necessarily have a number of actual named 'techniques' or 'abilities.' That being said, it still had its functions. Namely, its ability to manipulate to probability. Another word for probability being 'chance.' The ability to manipulate probability or 'chance' is rather self-explanatory: with her magical weapon, Katsumi could, with just a thought, mentally 'skew' reality itself so that unlikely things could happen whereas likely things couldn't happen. For example, Odin's failed attack just now. By all rights, she should've been hit by it; after all, she didn't even attempt to dodge or block it. However, by increasing the probability of the attack missing, she was able to avoid being struck. Not only could it be utilized to make Odin's strikes more likely to miss, she could naturally use it to make her strikes that much more likely to strike him and with more force than before.
And this was only scratching at the surface of it. For as long as the possibility of something happening or not happening wasn't 0%, Katsumi could use Miracle Bringer to make what she wanted to happen actually happen and what she didn't want to happen not happen at all. But there were some limitations on this ability of hers. For one thing, she couldn't raise the probability of an attack landing all the way up to 100% nor could she drop it all the way down to 0%. She could raise as high as 99.9% or as low as 0.1%, but that was it, meaning that – however minute and simply impossible it may be – there was still an incredibly small chance where it will fail her.
What's more, while Miracle Bringer was virtually infallible when used upon more abstract things like winning a lottery or making it rain or winning at a game, it began to lose its infallibility when used upon sentient life. When used on animals, civilians and shinobi, it was still very powerful, but such sentient life was more 'resilient' to her ability than non-life objects and the likes. And against magi, who utilized mana just like she naturally does, they have that much more of a 'resistance' to it than other life forms. It was only due to Katsumi being such a powerful magus that, to a superficial perspective, it would seem as if there is no real difference between 'alive' targets and 'non-alive' targets. But against Odin, whose mana was of a much greater quantity and quality than her own, Katsumi couldn't be so sure.
And this was something both she and Odin knew. "You know very well that your magical weapon will only help so much against me," Odin commented as he now began to calmly walk towards her.
"Maybe… but I can't let that stop me." Katsumi raised her magical weapon-covered hand and pointed up at the 'sky.' Their earlier clash had been most violent and had left very miniscule 'cracks' in Valhalla itself. There was a very small chance that it could 'cave in' so to speak.
And with just a wave of her hand, that probability jumped from somewhere less than 3% to 99%.
There was no visible 'change' to anything and yet Odin still sensed this, having detected Katsumi used her mana to fuel her magical weapon. But before he could genuinely move, Katsumi had already crossed the distance between them and threw a powerful punch at him. He blocked the sudden attack with little difficulty. And this was exactly what Katsumi had wanted, the sheer strength of her strike being stopped making for a shockwave that 'shook' the sky and made it 'break.'
'Pieces' of the dimension itself fell blindingly fast down… directly upon Odin. The man could only blink in mild surprise at this turn of events even as Katsumi leapt back to avoid being caught up in the 'debris.'
She had hoped that this would be enough to land more than just a small nick on Odin, but her hopes were dashed by what she then saw. With an ease that was simply contemptible, Odin weaved all around the falling 'pieces' of Valhalla's 'sky,' before lashing out with his fist at one particular 'piece,' shattering it into nothingness.
And then he moved yet again, going from being under the now gaping hole in Valhalla to being directly in front of Katsumi. Without any forewarning, he went on the attack, heaping all manner of blows upon Katsumi. His assault was blinding. It was powerful. It was relentless and executed with great precision. There was simply no way that his old friend would be able to block or dodge all of them, let alone emerge at the end of it completely unscathed. But Miracle Bringer changed that. Channeling mana into the magical weapon, it was child's play for Katsumi to alter the probability of the blows landing and her chances of successfully dodging, making it almost diabolically easy for her to smack aside each and every single one of Odin's attacks before responding with her own.
Odin took two small steps back, widening his stance and all but literally forming a barrier with his arms, moving them about at rapid-fire speed as Katsumi now retaliated with her own offensive, shaking the entirety of Valhalla. Thanks to Miracle Bringer, Odin was only successful in blocking a scant few attacks whereas the rest struck home, pounding away at his body all over. Some attacks struck his shins. Others, his knees. Some hammered away at his gut and chest while many other blows aimed for his face and limbs in some sort of attempt to either cripple him or impair his vision, even if only for a brief time.
But as this occurred, even as she now clearly seemed to be holding the advantage as her assault forced Odin back foot by foot, Katsumi couldn't help but feel unnerved and frustrated. No matter how many blows she rained down upon him now, she couldn't even see a single bruise or cut or any other kind of injury forming anywhere on Odin. And as if to add insult to figurative injury, the man wasn't even giving her the small pleasure of seeing him at least grunt in pain. But what truly got to her was that even now the man seemed to not be using his magical weapon at all. And this worried her.
"Just what is he planning?" she thought as she, with a hint of frantic anger, continued on with her assault.
Eventually though, her probability manipulation partially failed her enough for Odin to blow her back with a sudden palm thrust to the solar plexus and then jumped back. Katsumi managed to roll to a stop and stand immediately, but she still looked worried as this happened, as she had expected him to do something.
But instead, while she simply stood there looking worried in a battle stance, Odin had taken to calmly stand with his hands in his pockets, looking as if this wasn't a life-or-death battle. "Hmm…." He seemed to be almost admiring how things were going so far.
"…What?" Katsumi eventually asked after half a minute of silence and no fighting.
"Merely taking this time to assess things," Odin truthfully replied. He then looked up to the 'broken sky' of Valhalla. "I must say, I hadn't quite been expecting that of all things. Still, I suppose I should be impressed; never before had anyone tried to use my own dimension against me in such a manner."
"If you thought that was good, just wait until you see what I have planned next," Katsumi boasted, though it was more for her own sake rather than to try and futilely intimidate Odin.
Much to her surprise, the man actually chuckled, seemingly amused. "Perhaps…" He closed his eyes for a moment, thinking deeply. "But no matter what you do, Katsumi… it is pointless. You cannot possibly kill me, no matter how hard you try or what methods you use."
At that, Katsumi… bristled. Normally, such a statement wouldn't have gotten her so riled up like this, but there was just something about what he said that set alarm bells off in her head. What he was saying didn't have the same feeling as that of a boast or overconfidence; it felt more as if Odin was stating a fact.
But then, Katsumi allowed herself a confident smirk. "Then let's test that, shall we?" She raised her magical weapon. In response, Odin took up his usual fighting stance.
However, what Katsumi did next was something he had not been expecting at all. Her magical was capable of doing exactly two things. The first thing it can do was manipulate probability and it was an ability that Odin was well acquainted with. However, Miracle Bringer's second ability was one that Katsumi very rarely, if ever, even used and thus was something that Odin, in all his experience, was unable to prepare for.
"Try this!" Katsumi yelled as she then waved her hand at him. The jewel of her magical weapon glowed fiercely, her mana manifesting in the form of an ominous purple light.
"…Ah?!" Odin, for the first time in a very long time, sounded startled. And then, his entire being seemed to shudder…
And ceased to be.
There was no warning for this, no sign whatsoever. One instant, the 'ultimate magus' had stood there, ready for battle and then simply wasn't there an instant later. And this was thanks to Katsumi's ultimate ability.
Casualty Inversion. Much like probability manipulation, it was a form of conceptual magic, making Katsumi's magical weapon unbelievably powerful. However, it was just that: inversion, not genuine manipulation of casualty itself. If Katsumi truly were capable of such a thing, then she'd be able to achieve virtually anything she wanted with any action she undertook. For example, if she snapped her fingers, rather than the 'snapping' sound being produced, something entirely different would occur such as an earthquake or even the sun exploding. But alas, this wasn't possible for she couldn't actually manipulate casualty the same way she could manipulate probability.
However, even then, the ability to invert things was truly a powerful ability; with Miracle Bringer's second ability, she could invert her target's very existence, sending them off into non-existence. It'd be as if the target never even existed. In this respect, she was essentially weaponizing the most deadly 'rule' of Ragnarok itself.
And in this case, she made it a point to invert not just Odin himself, but also his magical weapon – she was most certain his magical weapon was that ring he wore upon his finger – just to be on the safe side.
"It's over, Tatsuya…" she muttered quietly. Her Casualty Inversion ability was, in her eyes, the most powerful and deadly form of conceptual magic around, more so than Miki's own conceptual magical weapon by far.
And now with Odin/Tatsuya gone, Valhalla will be left like this: empty and abandoned. Now all that was left to do is leave and send that slip of paper she gave Naruto the signal that she won. "Ragnarok… has come to an end," she said, sounding sad and elated at the same time.
"Hardly."
"…A-A-Ah?!" This single gasp was the only response Katsumi could muster. For she was witnessing an impossible sight.
Almost immediately appearing from 'nothingness' itself was none other than Odin!
"That said, it was truly a splendid attack," Odin commented, not even looking remotely rankled by what had just happened to him. "To think you have kept such an ability secret even from me… truly, I'm impressed."
It was roughly at around this time that Katsumi managed to make her mouth work. "Impossible!" she shouted. "I inverted your very existence along with that of your magical weapon! You… you should've been returned to complete nothingness! Non-existence itself!" She had completely lost her calm. And could one blame her for doing so when faced with such an impossible feat?
"That's most certainly true," Odin freely admitted, placing his hands behind his back in an almost lecturing pose. "You did erase me from existence, completely and utterly, for a moment… but only for a moment." Then he actually smirked, almost looking amused. "Das Rheingold. It is a, for lack of a better word, passive ability of my awakening as a magus all those years ago, a permanent effect of my magical weapon. Thanks to this passive ability, both my body and existence have become 'Eternal.' In other words… complete immortality. No matter how many times you 'kill' me, even with that Casualty Inversion of yours, I will be restored to how I am now throughout all eternity. And the effect of Das Rheingold extends to my magical weapon, the Ring of Nibelung, as well."
After that, he stopped and waited to see what Katsumi's reaction would be to his explanation. He wasn't disappointed; Katsumi could only stand where she was, stupefied. And then, the female magus began to laugh almost wildly. "To think there existed something that could trump Casualty Inversion…" she muttered bitterly.
She could only grit her teeth in response. Das Rheingold was a truly overwhelming ability, one that simply couldn't be overcome. If what Odin just told her was true – and he had no reason whatsoever to lie – then this entire battle was a fruitless gesture on her part; her loss would be inevitable. Nothing she was capable of would be enough to kill Odin, let alone defeat him. All she could do was hope to wear him down and even that now seemed like an impossible task as he now stood before her looking as unfazed by everything as he did when this battle first started.
"'Ultimate magus' indeed…" she thought bitterly. Truly, if there ever was one ability, magical or otherwise, that could be considered 'god-like,' then Das Rheingold took the cake and then some. But she wasn't going to let this stop her. "Still, if that's really all you've got then you have another thing co-."
"Katsumi," Odin interrupted, his eyes closed. "You seemed to have misunderstood me. Das Rheingold… is merely the overture. It isn't my 'true' ability."
At that, Katsumi felt her breath being robbed from her, her limbs going cold down to the bone. "What… do you mean…?" she asked slowly, already dreading the answer.
"Just as you revealed your magical weapon's might to me, allow me to do the same." The 'ultimate magus' paused momentarily, shifting position. "Gungnir. This is the name of my true ability. It lets me 'create,' more specifically create the four absolutes that govern existence itself. And as I'm sure you'd expect, nothing can go against such an ability."
Katsumi now let out an indignant 'tsk!' and took up her fighting stance. "Maybe! But how about you save such boastful words for after this battle? And as for your 'immortality?' I'll try and find a way around it!"
And with those words spoken, she once again cast Casualty Inversion. Not just on Odin and his magical weapon, but on the very area around him too, sending miles worth of Valhalla off into nothingness with him.
Now she knew that Odin wasn't lying to her about Das Rheingold. She knew that he wasn't exaggerating it either. He was completely immortal, in every sense of that term. But that didn't mean she could try and seal his movements. After all, she'd imagine it'd be hard to do much moving when there was no ground for him to travel upon.
Just as she thought over this, Odin came into existence once more, 'fading' into existence if one were to try and describe his reappearance. "My codename," he started. He sounded insulted. "is Odin, the chief of the gods of legend from which we magi appear to originate from. Do you think a 'god' would ever be inconvenienced by something as trivial as gravity?" And then to prove his point, he walked upon the empty space all around him as if the ground was still there.
Katsumi grit her teeth yet again, this time out of growing concern. Odin was walking directly towards her now and given how he was now showing off his magical weapon, this was now turning out to be far more than she could handle. A strategic retreat was required.
However, before her body could act on that thought, Odin spoke yet again, saying something that made her stay rooted to the spot. "You and the others have surely questioned just how I created this Ai Space, yes? Along with forming Valhalla again."
Then he spoke just two more words and with it the impossible happened again. "Die Walkure." Instantly, the very 'space' that Katsumi had returned to nothingness with Casualty Inversion reappeared as if nothing had even happened. Even the 'hole' in the 'sky' of Valhalla had restored itself, now leaving the dimension as whole as it was when she had first entered it. "Do you see now? Form. Space. These are two of the four absolutes with which I can create."
"So then two more…" Katsumi thought, her sense of despair growing in scale. She had walked into this battle as confident as can be. But once he started to use his magical weapon in response to her first use of Casualty Inversion, things were clearly on a downwards spiral. And to think he's only revealed two of the absolutes he can create. Already, she dreaded to see the remaining two. "But still… this doesn't explain the 'rules' of Ragnarok. The original Ai Space was just that: space. It didn't have the 'rules' that this ritual has forced upon the participants…"
She shook her head. She could worry about this later. Right now, Odin was all but striding towards her undefended. Now was the chance to attack before he could continue to unveil his abilities. Without a single word spoken, she called forth the nodachi that she had crafted by Miki's father and rushed forward with it, channeling as much mana as it could 'hold' within the blade.
Odin blinked in mild surprise as Katsumi crossed the distance between them, swinging the blade down as she did so and unleashing all of the mana pent up within it, sending it forth like some kind of literal blast wave. It was such a powerful attack that Odin's body was rent in two, the cut so perfect that no blood spewed out.
Not wanting to give up the advantage she had gained, Katsumi swung the blade a dozen more times, using Miracle Bringer to ensure that the probability of her attacks landing would be successful every time. She severed his limbs, cut off the finger that wore the Ring of Nibelung, and made short work of Odin's head before finally unleashing another wave of mana from the nodachi that obliterated Odin entirely, reducing him to atoms.
But just like before, the 'ultimate magus' was restored in an instant, only looking mildly annoyed. "A nodachi? That's new…"
He was kept from speaking any further when Katsumi started swinging away at him again. Although none of her attacks posed any danger to him, this time around the magus opted to dodge each strike, sometimes even smacking the blade aside with the back of his hand.
Katsumi was by no means a kenjutsu master like Miki, but she was still more skilled than someone starting out with a blade and it showed as her ferocious assault forced Odin back. In addition to this, her strikes were being made with the entirety of her brute strength, which exceeded that of any other participant in Ragnarok barring her current opponent and this also showed in how the very air was rendered asunder with every move she made.
However, this impressive display was brought to a sudden halt by Odin, who simply utilized his magical weapon yet again. "Siegfried," he spoke, stating the name of his third absolute. "'Blades cannot be swung within Valhalla.'"
As soon as these words left his mouth, Katsumi could only barely bring a stop to her own momentum as suddenly it felt as if her nodachi weighed as much as the continent. It was all she could do to stand upright as the blade fell to the ground like a dead weight. And no matter how much or hard she tugged on it, it refused to budge a millimeter.
Seeing this as a lost cause, she let go of the nodachi and took several steps away from it and Odin by extension. As soon as she did this, Odin walked forward and then lashed out with a sudden kick to the blade, shattering it effortlessly.
"That ability just now… rule creation?!" Katsumi muttered.
"Correct." Odin then cracked his knuckles, ready to attack. This in turn, prompted Katsumi to take up a defensive stance. "Siegfried is the third ability Gungnir has gifted me with, allowing me to create rules for the spaces that I create. And as I'm sure you know, this is truly 'absolute;' only a conceptual magical weapon of a higher level can overwrite my 'rules.'"
"So that's why this ritual has such demented rules!" Katsumi snarled. She had a feeling it'd be something like that, but even… for 'rules' such as a defeated magus' mana going to the victor or that a magus' magical weapon could only be destroyed in Ai Space to be so perfectly forced upon magi themselves… truly, Odin's magical weapon was of an unmatched level.
"That's right," Odin stated. Although he had just cracked his knuckles, he made no outwards notion of wanting to attack Katsumi. Nonetheless, his old friend kept her guard up, watching him. "…I shall say this again: will you back down?"
"Never," Katsumi replied without hesitation. "Like I told you back then at the store… I can understand your loss of Kiyomi… she was my best friend, after all. But this is too much! And just how would you even bring her back to-!"
She was silenced as a cold and unsettling feeling washed over her. Odin, for the time thus far, was actively glaring at her, the god-like magus unleashing more of his mana, a brilliant sky blue aura radiating all around him. "How, you ask? It's simple enough." Odin paused. "Remember the very first absolute I demonstrated to you?"
Katsumi's eyes widened. "Form…." She could now see where this was going. "You plan to recreate her body with Das Rheingold."
"Exactly right," Odin responded, curtly nodding. "However, while I can create her body as it was, it will remain 'empty.' After all, even though I can create bodies if I so desired… I cannot actually create 'life.' And that's where Ragnarok comes into play."
"…What do you mean?" Katsumi could only look at him now, her guard dropped marginally.
"For the past few decades," Odin began. "I've come to theorize that there is one other absolute aside from the four that I can create: 'life.' If I felt like it, I can create an entire planet, much like this one… but devoid of life. So if that's the case, then surely 'life' is an absolute as well, yes? This is the simple conclusion I've come to. And it is for this reason that Ragnarok is needed. By forcing magi of considerable power and with a varied skillset to do battle and then absorbing all of their mana, I should be able to undergo something that you could call a '2nd awakening' of sorts. And if I can undergo something like that…"
"Then you just might gain the ability to create 'life,'" Katsumi then finished.
"It would seem so. And it would be the most likely scenario in such a case; my magical weapon does let me create four absolutes. So once it is 'upgraded,' then surely… surely, I can bring Kiyomi back to life." Odin's voice wasn't calm like before. Now it sounded cold and firm, simply radiating determination. "And while I have no doubt she'd be horrified by what I've had to do to bring her back… at least she would be alive."
Yes. From the moment he had lost her to Rogue Flame all those centuries ago, he had only sought to have her back. Living a long life without her was an unbearable thing as it is, but with Das Rheingold making him truly immortal, his eternal existence would've been nothing more than an eternal hell, devoid of the love he had had during his time with Kiyomi.
Somehow, Katsumi was able to sense this about Odin, somehow able to detect under his current façade just how filled with grief and self-loathing he was. And she found herself sympathizing with him… but not too much. After all, as much as she missed her dearly departed friend, all of Odin's actions couldn't simply be excused by this. "Odin… no, Tatsuya…" Katsumi spoke softly. "I'll admit this much: I can understand your grief. I'd love to see Kiyomi again too. But this isn't the way to go about it. Not one bit. She may have died at the hands of Rogue Flame, but now… I'm sure she's resting peacefully in whatever afterlife was lucky enough to have her. So just leave her be."
It was very brief, almost painfully so… but for an instant, the old magus could've sworn she saw past Odin's façade for real and saw what remained of her old friend Tatsuya. But then that instant passed and that was that. "No…" Odin spoke, an air of finality about him.
In response to that, all Katsumi could do was sigh. "…Very well then. Looks like… there really is no choice now… but to end this." She spoke this softly at first, but then her voice hardened near the end as she regained her resolve. She fixed her guard, readying herself to attack yet again.
As for Odin, the man nodded. "I couldn't agree more."
And to signal his agreement, he finally took up a stance. Only this stance was a little different from his usual fighting stance. Spreading his legs apart to establish a firm 'grounding,' he raised his left arm and stretched it outwards as if to reach out to Katsumi. As for his right arm, he reeled it back, as it to throw something.
Katsumi could only look at this in slight confusion. Until she then began to feel mana being channeled through Odin's body. "Allow me to show you the final absolute that I can create: power."
It happened with terrifying speed. One instant, he had simply been standing there in his new stance and an instant later, his right fist all but pulsed with sky blue colored mana. Katsumi couldn't help but shiver as she gazed upon his fist; the sheer amount of mana being channeled into this strange attack was far greater than anything she's ever encountered before.
She was then roused from her fear when Odin spoke just one word. "Goetterdaemmerung," he muttered. It was the name of his final absolute.
His right fist, which had remained perfectly still thus far, was now thrust forward as he made a spear-launching motion. "Gungnir!" he proclaimed as he then unleashed his attack.
The mana gathered into his fist shot out with a speed that surpassed Thor's Hammer Full Access and with power several times greater than Thor's Hammer as well. It blasted its way across Valhalla, heading directly for Katsumi.
"A-Ah…" This was the only verbal word that the woman had for the attack coming. The spear – a burning white in color, due to its sheer intensity and concentration of mana – was death itself. Instinctively, she came to understand in a fraction of a nanosecond just what exactly Goetterdammerung truly meant.
Power. Not simply in the sense that it was simply a 'powerful' attack, but power in the sense that absolutely nothing could ever hope to stand before the attack coming her way. It didn't matter if it were an army of shinobi or of magi or of both that tried to oppose it. It didn't matter if one tried to counter it with a direct move like Thor's Hammer or Laeveteinn or if non-physical means were used like Casualty Inversion itself. The spear of god-like power heading straight for her will simply blow past it all without even slowing down, not leaving a single trace of anything behind.
It was completely useless.
And in spite of this…
"Casualty Inversion!" Katsumi cried out, using this ability of hers directly on the spear of mana that was just about to hit her. She poured as much of her mana as she could into her attack…
…Only for the blast to remain completely unchanged. The amount of mana Odin had used to form the blast exceeded her own considerably large reserves – second only to Naruto – and thus her Casualty Inversion was unable to do anything to the blast.
The blast struck Katsumi head on with terrifying force, unleashing a shockwave powerful enough to start ripping apart Valhalla with great ease, even generating quakes all across the real world.
Odin walked forward, unaffected by this. He didn't come to a stop until he stood no more than seven feet away from where Katsumi had stood.
And Katsumi was still very much whole, simply sitting exhaustedly on the ground. "…My body is still… intact?" As tired as she now was from expending so much mana so fast, she was still conscious enough to observe the situation.
"My Gungnir wasn't meant to destroy your body. Simply your soul," Odin said, his calm voice tinted with a bittersweet quality. "Your magical weapon was also destroyed since you had it raised in front of yourself. Your body… will soon perish."
Katsumi looked up at Odin with emotionless eyes. And then to her own surprise, she smiled. "I see." A pause. "Seems like you're just as big a softie as you used to be. In a way, I guess."
"I didn't want to see you off as a pile of ash," Odin replied. "Consider it a sign of respect for the friendship we once had."
"Allowing me to still keep my consciousness like this… you really are determined to see this through to the very end," Katsumi muttered in an almost broken tone of voice. She allowed herself a laugh. "You're as stubborn as you've always been. And considering how Naru-chan is like… seems like your stubbornness is genetic too…"
"…I'm sorry that it had to end this, Katsumi," Odin… no, Tatsuya… spoke softly. "But for Kiyomi's sake… for the sake of my wish… I will take on the hatred of the entire world if I must."
This got yet another laugh out of Katsumi. "Like I just said… you're really stubborn. Geez… I guess you and Naru-chan are related, if you're both this stubborn about what you want."
Tatsuya turned his head, not wishing to look upon his friend's now disappearing form. Although the 'rules' of Ai Space didn't apply to Valhalla, she was still a part of Ragnarok. She'd soon fade from existence itself and her mana would go to either Naruto or Miki. "If it were possible… I'd have preferred it if you had taken me up on my offer to leave Ragnarok." As determined as he was to see his wish granted by his two hands, he'd really have let Katsumi leave his ritual if she had taken him up on that offer.
Katsumi gave him this knowing look. "You should know me, Tatsuya… I've always been one to try to defend the innocent. And while that term is debatable in regards to a number of people… if your 13 hour time limit had been reached, the world at large would've been consumed by Ai Space. I… couldn't allow that. Especially when, after all these years, I had found things worth living for."
Tatsuya turned his gaze back onto his fading friend, looking her in the eyes as he did so. He didn't speak a single word in response to what his old friend had just said. For what could he say? Katsumi spoke the truth. That's just how she was, as much of a tease and mild troublemaker she could be.
Now Katsumi looked upwards. "Sorry… Naruto… Miki," she spoke, calling out to them without the suffixes she so endearingly referred to them with. "Sorry… everyone… I couldn't… do right by you…" Thinking, not entirely bittersweetly, on how she had failed to get justice for everyone involved in Ragnarok, Katsumi now fully faded away from existence.
Tatsuya remained rooted to his current spot, observing where Katsumi had disappeared. Though his expression remained unreadable, a whirlwind of emotion tore away at his heart. But he eventually shrugged this all off a second later, leaving behind his unbreakable will.
Allowing Valhalla to fade away so that he now stood in the real world, Tatsuya let out a little message for a loved one. "Almost there, Kiyomi…."
Staring up at the sky for a moment, Tatsuya then took his leave.
Back at the Namikaze household, both Naruto and Miki sat next to one another at the kitchen table. Hanako was still recuperating within her own room and Reiko had left earlier to meet up with her team. Both of the Namikaze parents were still busy at work and most likely wouldn't be back until later tonight.
The two remaining members of team magi sat in complete silence, the slip of paper that Katsumi had given them lying on the table between them.
But the silence was broken when Miki suddenly gasped, the teenaged girl feeling a large influx of mana enter her.
At the same time this happened, the paper turned into ash.
Both magi looked at what remained of the paper, their expressions stricken.
Katsumi… had lost.
"N-Naruto…" Miki mutter mournfully.
"I know…" Naruto bowed his head in mourning for Katsumi. He and Miki may not have known her for all that long, but she will be missed greatly. "So it's down to just us…"
"And Odin," Miki finished.
Naruto could only nod at a snail's pace, grudgingly acknowledging that fact. Him, Miki, and Odin… they were the only ones left now.
"What do we do?" Miki slowly asked, her head bowed out of mourning as well.
"…For now, let's just put that aside," Naruto replied, motioning to the ashes upon the table. "Let's just focus on something else for now…"
"…Alright." Miki's reply was quiet, yet firm.
Naruto closed his eyes as his heart was caught up in a tidal wave of emotion. He wasn't entirely sure on what to feel anymore about all of this.
But one thing was certain.
Takehiko had labeled him Fenrir during the invasion of Konoha. And now it was about time he tried to live up to that codename of his.
It was time he became the god slaying wolf.
And bam! While this battle was shorter than the previous one, I hope you found it just as entertaining, everyone.
I'm sure you've all noticed how Odin wasn't the one to receive all of Katsumi's mana despite being the one who killed her and there is a reason for that. I do hope you will look forward to that particular twist once I unveil it along with even more action at the time.
That said, there's really not much more to add, so until then, everyone! Take care.