Goll searched the arena hallway for Brunhilde and Hera. After a short while, she found the planning room for the human fighters. Her sister and the Queen of Olympus were at a table when she forced open the door.

Goll yelled, "Brunhilde, Hera, this needs to stop! Call off this stupid challenge already!"

She is only met with silence.

Goll yelled again as tears formed in her eyes, "Answer me! I don't want to see my sisters die anymore. Just give up, please!"

Suddenly, a young yet firm feminine voice is heard behind Goll.

"Goll, calm down."

Goll turns to see who it is. Standing there was a young woman. Her clothes resemble that of a medieval scholar with a white dress with a white and blue cape and hat. She wears rectangular white glasses over her green eyes and has black bob-cut hair.

Seventh of the Thirteen Valkyries

Reginleif (Norse)

"Reginleif," Goll muttered.

"But you saw the last match, right? Even not being unharmed, Skuld still died! I can't bear it anymore," Goll cried as she hugged Reginleif for comfort.

Reginleif softly strokes Goll's head, "Don't cry, Goll. Skuld and Hrist were prepared to lay down their lives. Every valkyrie lives by that creed. So wept not for fought honorably to the end."

Goll sniffed, " I...I know."

Reginleif sighed but then held Goll's shoulders and said with confidence, "Don't worry. I will avenge our sisters and gives the gods a rude awakening they'll never forget!"

Goll was amazed by Leif's spirit, then noticed a loud smacking sound from the table. Reginleif and Goll witness Brunhilde chowing down on some sort of pie. Accompanying Brunhilde's chewing is Hera chugging down bottle upon bottle of Greek wine.

Goll exclaimed fearfully, "Oh boy, sis is eating those disgusting salty licorice pies, and Hera is going through one of her legendary benders again! This is bad."

As Hera finishes another bottle of her wine, she drunkenly rants.

"Stuupid fucking denon and jis stupid fuckung eye! Also, my shitty cheatinf vastard of a husband!"

Brunhilde also does a rant of her own, "I can't believe we lost round two! Fuck those damn gods!"

She then calmed down and assessed the situation.

'Huh, okay, we have two losses. Losing the third round would give them a three-win advantage over us. This is a must-win for us!"

Suddenly, Hera receives a notification from her device. She opened it to see the message, and her back went pale with fear.

Seeing Hera's reaction, Goll asks the goddess, "Eh? Hera? Are you okay?"

Hera sighs sadly, "...It's over. Hehehe, it's over! ARE YOU HAPPY, ZEUS?!"

Brunhilde groans in frustration, "What are you talking about?"

Hera shows the valkyries the gods' next champion for the third round.

They all exclaimed in shock, "Athena?!"

"I see. So, the gods wish to demoralize us even further," Reginleif stated.

Goll began to panic.

"Oh jeez, they're sending out Athena? As in the goddess of wisdom and defensive warfare?! One of Heaven's greatest spear wielders, Heaven's renowned strategist, undefeated in the art of war, and Zeus's daughter! Why are they sending the heavy artillery now? I just don't..."

Then Brunhilde presses her finger on Goll's lips to quiet her.

"Goll, please shut your pretty mouth, hmm. If you don't, I'll rip your little throat out, okay," Brunhilde threaten in an innocent tone.

Goll was terrified of her eldest sister's threat.

'While she acts kind, her words are disturbing!'

Brunhilde then brings out the Akashic Records and projects all of the files of human fighters. She scrolls hastily to see who is worthy to face Athena.

'Come on, come on! There has to be someone who can contend with Athena. But who? Who can challenge the goddess who earns the moniker The Unwavering One?'

While Brunhilde was scrolling, the Akashic records stopped despite her trying to scroll through them.

"What's going on?" She questioned.

Then a picture enlarges in front of Brunhilde, Goll, and Hera. The woman shows a woman in her mid-30s with loop-sided braids hair and a bun.

Name

Ada Lovelace/ United Kingdom

"Wait, Lovelace?" Hera yelled.

"That's my name, don't wear it out. Teehee," A young female voice stated.

Standing in the room is a young twenty years old woman. She has long brown hair tied in pigtails, sapphire blue eyes, and metal square-rimmed glasses over her forehead. She wears a light blue Victorian blouse, a long white shirt, a sunny yellow ascot around her neck, and a lab coat.

The Mother of Technology

Ada Lovelace (United Kingdom)

"Wait a minute? You're Ada Lovelace?!" Goll questions.

Ada answers with a smile, "Indeed I am! Salutations!"

Hera opens another bottle of wine and scoffs, "Oh, Greht! Another dumb human who wants to die. YAY!"

Goll then realizes something.

"Wait, I don't understand. Why do you want to go next? No offense, but you're not really a fighter."

"Good question. Why are you fighting next, Mrs. Lovelace?" Brunhilde questions.

Ada smiled and showed off a remote-like device in her hand.

"Well, because someone has to defend humanity's honor. My ideas, creativity, and machinations were extraordinary when I was young! Not only that, but the words from Saint Germain touched my heart. His sacrifice will not go in vain. Therefore..."

Suddenly, Ada hops onto the table and does a dramatic pose from the women.

"I will bring my ingenuity into battle!"

Brunhilde beamed at Ada's confidence, and she thought to herself.

'She's perfect!"

Brunhilde relaxed and said, "Very well, Ada. You'll get to fight Athena. If you're okay with that, Lady Hera."

Hera finishes another bottle of wine and hick-up.

"Sure, whatever. We might as well give my hubby a good laugh!"

Brunhilde shakes her head disapprovingly at Hera's drunken state.

The eldest valkyrie looks at Reginleif and says, "Reginleif, are you ready to offer yourself?"

Reginleif nodded in agreement, "Yes, sister."

As the sun shines brightly over the arena, a spotlight is cast on Heimdall as he prepares for match three of Ragnarok.

"So, welcome back! The final battle between humanity and the gods, Ragnarok, continues! With the gods in the lead with two victories over the humans, can humanity rise above the occasion? Time to find out in match three!"

The audience roared in anticipation for the next matchup. The light showed the arena, and the battleground had changed into an oval-like structure. The arena grounds are now made of polish and pure marble, and the walls align with art dating back to ancient Greece.

Everyone in the arena was amazed by the new layout. The gods, in particular, were in awe of the stadium.

"Wow, this arena looks wonderful," One god said.

"Agreed, and the Greek art is quite fetching," Another replied.

Then the two gods realize something.

"Wait, does that mean?!"

"I-it has to be!"

Heimdall points to the west gate to announce the gods' next champion.

"Now, representing the gods in round three! She is the most revered goddess in Greece so show her respect!"

Within the arena, galloping sounds are heard as the west gates open.

"Philosophy, culture, strategy, and the arts, all things that made humanity up as a whole. Many gods beshow these to mankind but one goddess refined them to perfection!"

Entering from the gods' side of the arena is a great, golden chariot being pulled by six strong white pegasi. Reigning them is a guardian angel in sleek silver armor. Standing behind the angel in the chariot is a tall, statuesque woman.

Her shapely armor features golden engravings, a red sash diagonally across it, silver-scaled leather pteruges, golden bracers, and calf-length laced buskin boots. She also dawns on a gold helmet with a blue crest and marble wings on the sides. Her long white hair was tied in a braided ponytail.

"She was the first goddess to founded a kingdom in her name! Has been heralded by many champions of their time! Helped the Greeks win the Trojan Wars! She is the beloved daughter of the mighty Zeus! Everyone, bow in honor to the Goddess of Wisdom!"

As the chariot made it stop, the wise goddess got off the chariot and stood in all of her glory as the chariot leaves. All the gods, except the chief gods, bowed in honor of their champion. Then she removed the helmet, which revealed a beautiful maiden with black scleras and cyan blue irises.

"Athena!"

The Gods' Third Representative

Athena (Greece)

The gods cheered to the point that it almost became deafening. Among them is a young woman with short yellow hair, grey eyes, and short white wings, who wears a sports top and toga skirt.

"AWWW, YEEEEAH! Come on, Athena! These worthless humans are nothing to you!"

Goddess of Victory

Nike (Greece)

Standing next to Nike was a strapping young man with sleek back blond hair, olive green eyes, and wearing a royal blue half toga.

"Lady Athena, we wish you well for your victory."

Slayer of Medusa

Perseus (Greece)

While wearing a blue number 1 foam hand and shirt with the words "She's my Baby Princess," Zeus enthusiastically cheered on his daughter.

"OHOHOHO, come on, sweetie! Win this one for daddy, my little general!"

Huitzilopochtli rolled his eyes at Zeus's embarrassing cheering.

'Geez, old man. I know she's your daughter, but this is ridiculous," The sun god thought.

In contrast, Aphrodite's blood-red and spiteful eyes stared at Athena with disdain.

Meanwhile, Athena watches the humans in the arena, particularly the Athenians who prayed for mercy.

She sneered in disgust.

"Pitiful troglodytes. They fail to realize their ignorance brought them to this place. These humans are valueless. Their existence is a blight on my reputation. Wouldn't you agree, Heimdall?"

She looks at the dwarf with her cold blue eyes. Knowing she wants the answer she'll like, Heimdall said nervously.

"O-of course, Lady Athena! These humans are quite foolish, hehehe."

Athena smirks, "Good. Now bring out their fool. I wish to get this farce over with."

Heimdall sighed in relief, then raised the horn to his mouth to announce Athena's opponent.

"So who will be the human daring or stupid enough to challenge the majestic Goddess of Wisdom? Well, this one has something to say about it!"

The eastern gates open on humanity's side, and then holographic screens of binary coding suddenly align beside the gates.

"Throughout history, humankind has advanced creation to one day surpass the gods. From Leonardo da Vinci, who laid the groundwork for modern weaponry, to Nikola Tesla, who channeled lightning to bring electricity to the world. But one woman pushed technology to the digital age!"

Ada enters the arena while calculating on a small holographic screen in front of her.

"Born with wonder in her eyes and the heart of creativity. This woman's mastery of mathematics has created the Bernoulli numbers, which lay the foundation of computer programming!"

While Ada calculated the variables of winning against her opponent, she saw Athena standing there with disinterest on her face. Ada smirked after gathering all of the data she needed.

"She created the Analytical Engine with Charles Babbage. However, her life was cut short before she could accomplish more. Now, she's ready to show the gods the power of ingenuity as humanity's first programmer and the Mother of Technology!"

All the screens disappeared as Ada reached the center of the arena. She deactivates her screen and stands with a confident smile while sporting silver and blue goggles.

"Ada Lovelace!"

Humanity's Third Representative

Ada Lovelace (U.K.)

Rather than cheering her on, her fellow humans stared confusedly at her.

"Wait! That's our next champion?"

"The hell! What does some programmer have a chance against Athena?"

"Please tell me this is some kind of joke, right?"

Watching above the stands, Goll worries that humanity isn't fond of Ada representing them.

"Uhh, sis. I think the humans are getting restless. Can Ada even win against Athena?"

Brunhilde reassures Goll.

"We just have to believe in her and hope she thought of everything to defeat Athena."

In the arena, Ada walks up to Athena and smiles at her.

"So, you're Athena, hmm. I heard the myths, but to meet you in the flesh. It's quite an honor."

Athena scoffs at the human's remark.

"I don't need your praise. Your species is a mistake that I'm happy to erase."

Ada nodded in understanding.

"I see. Well, that's not going to happen. For you see..."

Ada then pulled down her goggles to her eyes.

"I have technology on my side!"

Suddenly, large pieces of metal burst down humanity's gates and flew towards Ada. A mechanized power suit was then formed around her body. The armor is made of iron with black and blue designs and is complete with robotic wings. Her helmet has a dark blue T-shaped visor.

Heimdall gasped at the armament, "What a turn of events! It seems Ada Lovelace's Volund is a power suit!"

All of humanity was in awe new Ada's new suit. Goll was especially star-struck by it.

"Ooooh! She looks like a superhero!"

Ada briefly moved her body in her suit and was impressed with the result.

"I must say, Reginleif. This suit is everything that I could ever hope for."

Suddenly, an AI version of Reginleif materializes on the visor.

"Thank you, Ada. Your battery is at 100%, weapon systems are online, and homing and tracking systems operational. I must warn you, Ada. Athena has more combat experience, so I highly recommend we analyze her strengths and weaknesses."

Ada nodded and looked at her opponent.

"What do you think, Athena? I call this beauty..."

God Breaker MARK XX

The Goddess of Wisdom scoffs at the so-called opponent's remarks.

"Oh, please. A worthless mortal and a traitorous valkyrie mean nothing to an Olympian."

A bolt of lightning struck the ground near Athena out of nowhere. After the smoke from the lightning strike cleared, a tall spear and a round, large shield called Aegis were revealed. She had a six-foot spear with a thunderbolt-shaped blade. The Aegis was black and bronze with the symbol of the head of Medusa.

Athena puts back on the helmet, wields her Aegis in her left hand, and wields her spear in her right.

As the watcher saw both women prepared for battle, he was ready to begin.

"Ragnarok: Round 3 commences! Representing humanity, Ada Lovelace! Representing the gods, Athena! Are you ready? ...FIGHT!"

Next Time

One in a Million Chance