Because of this story's growing popularity, I decided to prioritize working on it.
Still in absolute disbelief at what she's seeing, Goll looks at Brunhilde.
"Sis! What is it with that human!? I've never heard of anybody who could use magic like that!"
Brunhilde smiles at Goll. "You see here… Maya is something… special. The world we pulled her out of… isn't really the same world she's originally from."
"Wait a second." Goll blinks twice. Slowly beginning to understand what Brunhilde meant. "Are you… saying…"
"Exactly." Said Brunhilde. "Over the past one hundred years, I've documented a noticeable uptick in humans getting transported or even reincarnated into other worlds."
She looks down at Maya. "It varies for each person, but the result is usually the same. In the new world these people end up in, they end up possessing a special set of skills that are flat out unattainable from the world they're originally from. The source of their new powers remain largely unknown, but I do have a good feeling about my personal theory."
Now it's Saitama's turn to speak. "Well I'll be damned… Isekai anime is real."
Maya then sees Poseidon make the same face he has made at the start of the fight. Something's telling her that she's not out of the woods yet.
That won't stop her, however, from taunting him. "What's the matter, Poseidon!? You wanna win this fight, don't you? Well, I suggest you get started then! I don't mind waiting for you to make the first move!"
What Poseidon did next came as a surprise to everybody; including Maya. He began to whistle.
"Eh? Whistling?" Maya thought. "He can't possibly be serious."
Armed with nothing but his bare hands, Poseidon leapt forward and punched Maya in the stomach, causing her to stumble backwards and grip the trident with both hands.
Heimdall announces. "Poseidon is now on the offensive, folks! Even without his divine trident, he proves himself to be the mightiest of fighters!"
The gods cheer on Poseidon as he continues wailing on Maya. Bruises began appearing on the exposed parts of her body while her arms and legs remained poorly guarded by her attire.
But still, even afer everything, Maya still held onto the trident. She saw Poseidon smirk at her.
"This is nothing." Maya took a deep breath. "Kilmaria put up more of a fight than you."
Poseidon stops smirking. "I don't know who that is, but it looks like you're not going to be able to take much more from me. Now before I kill you, human, there's one thing I should let you have the privilege to know."
He points at the trident. "That weapon you carelessly stole from me is the exact same one that I used to kill my brother…
I know every potential move you could make… with… that."
He stops talking. His opponent's expression just got a lot darker. What exactly did he say that set her off? That he killed his brother? Why should she care?
Suddenly, Maya raises Poseidon's trident in the air… before breaking it in half with her knee.
"Un… Unbelievable, folks!" Heimdall yells. "With just one move, Maya Ikusaba just broke a divine weapon! This time… uh… using her knee instead of… you know… punching it."
Poseidon was at a loss for words. "I… I… can't… believe." "URUSAI!"
Maya threw the broken weapon into the water behind her before cracking her knuckles. "You killed your brother! Your own family! You're worse than trash and I'll make sure you won't leave this arena alive!"
Goll took a step back, more frightened than ever by Maya. "Wha… What's going on? Sis, do you… know anything about why she's acting this way?"
Brunhilde sighs. Now is the time for the full explanation. "Maya's ability to use magic… was only half the reason why I recruited her… The other half… was because of her brother complex."
Goll's fearful expression turned into a flat one. That was definitely something she never thought she would hear her say. "Brother… complex?"
Saitama, listening in, couldn't help but feel curious. Even though he's still trying to grasp the fact that Poseidon has a brother he's not aware of. He obviously couldn't have been talking about Hades.
Brunhilde continues. "Maya's power comes from an overwhelming desire to protect her younger brother from the dangers of the world they ended up in. Now imagine for a moment that she got into a fight with somebody who doesn't care about family.
Brother lover… against brother killer… Who will come out on top? I sure would like to know."
Poseidon takes a fighting stance. He knows he needs to end this as soon as possible, otherwise he'll end up dead. Whatever Maya is capable of, he doesn't want to know.
At the same time, both of them shout out at the top of their lungs. Going all in with their attack that will either win the fight… or have them killed.
"MEDUSA! ALOPE! DEMETER!"
"ONEE! MEGAFLASH! TEMPEST!"
It was then that everyone at the arena heard a loud bang. Which they instantly recognized as the sound of thunder. Even Zeus, who at this point is resting in the infirmary, heard it.
Softly, he spoke to himself. "That was no small lightning bolt. I need to completely reevaluate how we're going to approach these… otherworldly fighters. Hmm."
He has one potential solution. Even though it may be a bit controversial, he must do whatever it takes to win Ragnarok.
"I just can't let more gods die."
As strong as Poseidon was, he was no match for Maya. The last time he's been shocked this badly was when Zeus, the younger brother that he was, played a prank on him.
It wasn't a very kind hearted prank.
"Poseidon is down!" Announces Heimdall. "And Maya looks like she has more to give him!"
He could barely move. Every single part of his body is in pain. He looks up at Maya and scowls at her. "What are you waiting for!? Finish me off!"
Maya continues looking down at Poseidon. Still having a cold expression on her face. "There are a hundred ways that I can kill you right now. Each one more tortuous than the last… But because you can only die once… I'll give you some… undeserved mercy."
She extends her hands towards him. "This is goodbye… Onee Forever."
Poseidon then finds himself in a vast orange valley. All the pain he had felt only a moment ago has faded away.
"Where the hell am I?"
As he stood up, he could feel warmth caressing his body. As comforting as it was, he needs to find his way home. Away from this place.
He took only a few steps before noticing a familiar figure in the distance. A woman who doesn't look a day over the age of 19. She has long orange hair and is dressed almost entirely in red. As she looked at Poseidon, he could see that her face had a countless number of freckles.
He could hardly believe it, but there she was. It's been so long since he last saw her and now there she is. Looking every bit as beautiful as the day she left Olympus… and didn't come back.
Everybody who has ever lived on Earth loves her. Gods and humans alike. She's the best of all the gods. There is absolutely nothing that anybody can do to deserve someone as good as her in their lives.
She is peace. She is warmth. She is home.
That's where Poseidon is now, too. Home. It feels nice. For the first time in thousands of years, he finally feels complete now that he's with her again. And this time, he'll do anything he can to not be separated from her again. Pride doesn't matter anymore. Status doesn't matter anymore either. He has her again and that's enough.
He began running towards her. Tears ran down his face as happiness began to fill his every thought. The god he once was is now behind him.
He then shouts out her name. The name of the greatest goddess to ever exist.
"HESTIA!"
In reality, Maya's ultimate spell is proven to be fatal as it crushes Poseidon's brain. Providing him with the happiest thoughts before he fades away.
The humans began cheering as Heimdall spoke again. "And that concludes Round 3 of Ragnarok! Humanity has a lead over the gods again! All thanks to the winner… MAYA IKUSABA!"
Maya lets out a sigh. "Who would have thought that the god of the sea would die by drowning in bliss? You never stood a chance." She shook her head before walking away. "Sleep well."
Poseidon vs Maya Ikusaba
Match Length: 4 minutes 7 seconds.
Deciding Move: Onee Forever
Winner: Maya Ikusaba
Looking down, Hermes shook his head. "I can't believe Poseidon's last word… was Hestia."
Ares looks at Hermes. "Hestia… It's been so long since we last saw her… I wonder what she's thinking of right now."
"She's probably displeased at all of us. Wherever she may be." Hermes sniffs before wiping a tear from his eye. He then shouts, catching Ares off guard. "I miss my aunt!"
Now underneath the arena, Maya spoke to Randgriz. "I need a potion."
Randgriz complied. Giving her the potion she brought from the world that she left to come here. The one where her brother is waiting for her. It's still pretty early in the tournament, so she has quite a bit of time to wait before she can see him again.
As she drank the last of the potion, she could see a bald man walking up to her. She's seen him before. Only for a brief amount of time before she went off to fight.
"Hey, great job beating Poseidon." Saitama greets her. "I'm… Saitama. I came here before you did."
"Hajimemashite… Saitama." Maya said in a professional tone. "I've heard that you were the one who won the first match… good for you."
Saitama scratches the back of his head. "Yeah, well… I didn't want the humanity of this world to die… and I had nothing better to do… So I agreed to fight."
"I agreed to fight only because my brother wanted me to." Said Maya. "There's nothing that I wouldn't do for Asahi… Do you have any brothers or sisters?"
"Nah. I'm an only child." Said Saitama. "Although taking care of a younger sibling can be kinda nice."
It was then that Maya noticed somebody approaching them fast. "Look out. Someone's coming."
Saitama looks at the man approaching them and gives him a smile.
"Hello there, kind stranger."
"Well well…" The large man, who looks to be of Chinese descent and has long dark hair, doesn't take his eyes off Saitama.
"You know… I would have had Thor if you hadn't shown your face… But then I guess that means I would be facing a stronger god later… So count yourself lucky… That I don't have the urge to beat you to a pulp."
"Yeah… I don't think that's gonna happen." Saitama looks at the stranger. He's seen more intimidating people back in his world. "So… what's your name?"
It was then that Brunhilde entered the room. Goll is close to her side.
"That is Lu Bu. And he's on your team. As if you couldn't tell already, he loves fighting."
Saitama crosses his arms. "I hope you know what you're doing, Lu Bu. Because Adam's death… is still fresh in my mind."
"Yeah, mine too." Lu Bu nodded in agreement. "It only excites me even more." He then looks at Brunhilde. "Promise me, Valkyrie! Don't win this tournament until I get a turn to fight! My patience is already running thin!"
"You'll need to be patient for just a little while longer." Said Brunhilde. "The fourth round is about to start soon."
"Oh, that reminds me." Saitama looks at Maya. "Did you get a chance to see another guy from a different universe?"
"I… did." Maya scratches her chin. "I don't know anything about him, though. They didn't tell me anything. If I'm being honest… he's kinda weird."
"It's time for Round Four of Ragnarok!" Announces Heimdall. "The gods have one win… and humanity has two. Let us see if the gods can catch up!
For the fighter representing humanity… He is born talentless in a world where magic is widespread…"
A human, with their upper body restrained in cloth, is seen pulling a large box made of steel that's piled high with large rocks. Despite not being able to see and having his arms completely restrained, he's showing no difficulty moving forward as he continues to yank the chains with his back.
Goll comments. "He's gotta be pulling like… a thousand pounds?"
Brunhilde corrects her. "Two thousand." "What!?"
Heimdall continues. "After many years of nonstop training, there exists no witch or wizard that can hope to beat him in a fight!"
Making his way to the center of the arena. The man releases himself from his restraints.
"He is, without question, the strongest man in the history of his world…
He is… MASH BURNEDEAD!"
"So this is where I'll be fighting." Said Mash as he listens to the crowd cheer him on. "Hmm… I wonder if any of these gods know about my world."
"And now…" Heimdall continues. "Taking on the difficult task of redeeming the gods' humiliating loss to humanity! By providing an overwhelming victory…
Is none other than…
The man who defeated the Nemean Lion and Cerberus, Watchdog of the Underworld… just with his bare hands!
The man who overcame the 12 Labors to ascend to demigod-hood!"
A chariot being pulled by two mighty horses moves to the center of the arena. Right in front of Mash, who at this point, is staring in amazement. He doesn't know anything about any of these gods or their stories, so this is definitely going to be interesting for him. It's why he agreed to fight in the first place.
"The messenger of justice! Bringer of all-revealing light! To both the Earth and the Heavens!
A man of unparalleled bravery… HERACLES!"
Looking at the muscular demigod for the first time, Mash brung himself to say a single word.
"Okay."
Heracles VS Mash Burnedead
Coming soon!
