The gods wouldn't comprehend the sight that they are beholding. Even the major gods try to understand what they witness. By the hand of humanity, the blood of divinity has flowed.

Erlang Shen carefully inspects his chest wounds. His armor is damaged, and blood is dripping from his cuts. The gods are worried that a mortal may kill one of their own.

"Is this a dream? Shen...injured by a mortal?! How can this be?" Nezha gasped in shock. Juling Shen still can't believe his comrade is hurting a mere man. Erlang Shen looks back at Lancelot and sees the knight smiles smugly and taunts the sage to fight.

Erlang scowls as he says, "I try to solve this peacefully, but if you insist on fighting, then I'll have to force you to give up!"

There was rough voice dismay over the match from the human audience.

"I hate this!" says a tall man with long salt and pepper hair tied in a ponytail, brown eyes, and wears iron armor with his arms exposed.

One of the Knights of the Round Table

Sir Percival

"Oi Percival, lay off the man. He is fighting for us after all," Sir Ector stated.

Percival scoffs, "Hah, Fighting for us?! Have you forgotten that he caused the demise of Camelot?"

"Hey! How about you leave my father be, Percival," said a younger version of Lancelot but with green eyes and short blonde wheat hair and in similar armor to his father with golden engravings.

Son of Lancelot

Sir Galahad

Gawain spat, "Your father is the reason my uncle died at Camlann!"

King Arthur rubs his eyes as the knights argue amongst themselves.

He says in a stern tone, "Enough. What happened in the past is irrelevant. What matters now is that he's fighting for humanity. While I disagree with the words he said, we must support our brother no matter what."

The knights subsided their argument to watch Lancelot's fight. As the battle rages on, Arthur couldn't help but think in his mind.

'My friend, do you still blame yourself over Camelot's destruction as well as my death?'

According to Arthurian Legend, Lancelot was the son of King Ban of Benwick. After his father's death, he was brought to Avalon to be raised by the Lady of the Lake. He trained in swordplay and battlefield awareness throughout his time in the realm. Lancelot was sent to the human world when he reached adulthood to aid King Arthur's court. Upon arriving in Camelot, his skills earned the respect of Arthur and part of the roundtable. Until that night...

12th Century Great Britain

In the castle's garden that night

Lancelot sits on the edge of the foundation of the expansive garden with the statue of King Arthur as a boy pulling his sword, Excalibur, out of the stone. The colorful flowers slumber under the moonlight in this expansive garden. He ponders about how he can explain to Guinevere that it's over.

'My queen, I love you with all of my heart but-'

'Gwen, I think we should-'

'I was thinking and we should...should-'

Lancelot rubs his forehead as he sighs, "Huh, what am I doing?"

Suddenly, he notices an angelic voice was speaking to him.

"Lancelot?"

As Lancelot looks up, he sees a beautiful woman wearing a long white nightgown with brown eyes and amber hair.

Queen of Camelot and Lancelot's Adulterer

Queen Guinevere

Even in the moonlight, the knight can't help but be enchanted by her beauty. Guinevere smells the scent of the tulip she picked from the path. She walks over to the knight and touches his cheek with her hand.

Guinevere smiles and asks, "Is there something you need, my love?"

She goes for a kiss, but Lancelot is reluctant and slowly removes her hand from his face.

The queen looks confused about her champion's action and says, "What's wrong?"

Lancelot signed, "Huh, Guinevere, w-we can't do this anymore."

Guinevere took a step back as she tried to understand what he meant.

She says with a hint of a quiver in her voice, "I-I don't understand."

Lancelot gets up from the fountain and explains, "Guinevere, you are a beautiful, intelligent, and dutiful queen. But you are Arthur's wife, and my loyalty is to him and Camelot. You need to understand that we have to stop this. I hope you know this, right?"

He looks at Guinevere, and he sees tears streaming from her eyes. He knew that she wasn't going to take it very well.

Guinevere whimpered as she says, "But...I love you."

Lancelot goes to Guinevere and wipes away her tears.

He then says, "I know, but I can't be your lover anymore."

Although it pains her, she realizes that Lancelot is telling the truth. She must be there for Arthur, even when her heart belongs to someone else. She nods in agreement with Lancelot. Seeing this, Lancelot felt relieved that he can put his affair with the queen to rest.

Suddenly, they hear laughing and the sound of hands clapping. Out from the shadows are knights in black, and among them is a large man with the same black armor, fade haircut, brown fur cape, and pale green eyes.

Treacherous Knight

Sir Agravain

The monster of a man chuckles in this little display.

"My, my, such a scandal. The Champion of Camelot and the queen under the moonlit night," Agravain says in a voice that's the equivalent of rocks smashing against each other.

Lancelot never liked Agravain. He knows this man is violent, treats people, especially women and squires, with disrespect, and enjoys harassing his enemies and allies alike.

Lancelot commanded, "Agravain, what is the meaning of this!"

Agravain only snickers as he replied, "Even surrounded by my men, you still think you control everything. Simply put, I'm here to kill you."

As Agravain says this, his knights unsheathe their swords and wait for the command to attack.

Guinevere reposed herself and spoke in a way befitting of a queen.

"Sir Agravain, as your queen, I order you and your men to stand down!"

The brute laughs, "You order me?! No, I don't take orders from you anymore. There's a new era upon us, and You, Lancelot, won't live to see it!"

Lancelot looks at his surroundings and notices there were twelve of the traitorous knights in the garden. What's worst is that he doesn't have his armor; instead has on a white doublet, brais, and black boots.

He looks at the queen and says, "Guinevere, you need to run. You need to get the king and of his men. I'll take care of this."

Queen Guinevere wanted to argue against it, but she knows it would be foolish to try.

She ran to get help while Lancelot prepared to fight against his would-be assassins. One of the dark knights lunges at Lancelot only to be sidestepped and elbowed in the back of the head by Lancelot. Then two came for their target, but Lancelot threw the unconscious knight into the assassins. Another attempt to stab him from behind. However, the champion caught the assassin and threw him over his shoulder before using the sword to stab him in the eye. Now armed with a sword, he dealt with the rest of Agravain's lackeys one by one.

After disposing of the attackers, Lancelot looks at Agravain and says to him, "It's over, traitor! Your assassination plot fails before you."

Agravain scowls as he unsheathes his greatsword and bellows, "You're so fucking arrogant that it makes me sick! I'll enjoy tearing you into pieces!"

Agravain charges at Lancelot with a powerful swing, which Lancelot deftly avoids. Agravain continues to attack, and every time Lancelot dodges. Lancelot recognizes Agravain's reliance on pure strength and knows how to take advantage of it. Lancelot rolled out of the path and grabbed another blade from the ground as Agravain prepared to make a horizontal strike. Lancelot ducks beneath Agravain's enormous blade as he swings it, slicing the traitor's arms off in one smooth motion.

As his arms flop to the ground, Agravain lets out a pained yell. He fumbles to the ground as Lancelot stands over triumphantly over him.

Lancelot says, pointing his sword at a defeated Agravain, "It seems you have failed. Now, once Guinevere brings Arthur here, you will be treated for your wounds and confess for crime and even potential conspirators."

Agravain only yelled, "Fuck you!"

Before he could demand Agravain's cooperation, Lancelot hears a smooth, charm-like voice in the garden.

"Huh, why is it all the same? The noble yet flawed warrior trying to do what's right yet swayed by the woos of a woman. Hoping to redeem himself, he defeats the villain and clears his name of wrongdoing. How boring."

A caucasian man with shoulder-length black hair and a black Balbo beard provides the voice. His pauldrons are spiked, and he wears golden armor with a blood-red cloak.

Knight of Treachery and Son of King Arthur

Sir Mordred

"Mordred? What are you doing here?" Lancelot demanded.

Mordred smirks and merely say, "Oh, just seeing how my plan is turning out."

As he says, a whimpering Agravain is begging for Mordred to help him.

"M-Mordred, help...me."

Mordred looks at his fallen conspirator with disgust and laughs, "Heh, I'm sorry, Agravain, but you serve your purpose."

Mordred then draws his sword from his waist sheath and slashes Agravain's throat. Agravain's body trembled a little as he choked on his blood, and then he became limp. Mordred pulls out a piece of cloth to wipe the blood off his blade.

As Lancelot sees this horrid display, he put two and two together and came to an epiphany.

"You...you're behind this?!"

Mordred looks at Lancelot and says in a calm tone, "Isn't it obvious, Sir Lancelot."

Lancelot felt enraged that all of this was Mordred's doing. Lancelot yelled, "WHY! Why try and kill me?!"

Mordred merely laughed he if Lancelot was joking with him. He mused, "Kill you? I only say it to that oaf so he wouldn't muck up my real plans."

Lancelot questions, "What plans?"

Mordred scoffs at the question and merely replies, "Nice try, but I'm too smart to tell you my secret. I will say that your sacrifice will ensure my ascension to the throne."

Before Lancelot could say or do anything, sounds of metal and footsteps are coming close to the garden.

Mordred knelt next to Agravain's body and screamed, "You are a monster! What on earth have you done?!"

King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table arrived in the royal garden. The devastation that is witnessed on this once beautiful night shocked everyone.

"My God," said Sir Ector.

"What happened here?" King Arthur exclaims as he watches with rage in his eyes.

Mordred feigned sorrow and fear as he says, "My king, me, Sir Agravain, and some of his men were patrolling near castle grounds. When we stopped by the gardens for rest then we sound of commotion. I look in one of the nearby bushes and was Queen Guinevere and Sir Lancelot. The queen said that she couldn't do this anymore and wanted to end the affair. However, Lancelot wouldn't see sense, and he...he..."

Arthur yelled, "HE WHAT?!"

Mordred whimpered, "He tried to defile her!"

Lancelot interrupted the lies Mordred was spewing.

"He lies, my king! One orchestrated the entire thing to frame me for his goals."

"Even soaked in the blood of our comrades, you still lie to the king?" Mordred asks Lancelot, angry.

Lancelot retorts, "Where is the queen? She will clear my name and-"

King Arthur glared at Lancelot with such hatred that the cool n

nightly air became colder. He pulls out Excalibur from his sheathe and slowly walks towards his once dear friend.

Lancelot sees this and tries to reason with him.

"My king... Arthur, please! I never meant for any of this to happen. So drop the sword, and we take about this."

Despite Lancelot's pleas, the king moved closer to his fallen champion.

Arthur then says, "I trusted you, and you betrayed me. How can I ever trust you again? I can say to you is...run!"

Lancelot fled for his life when he saw he was about to be encircled by the king and his old companions. He managed to escape the castle and continued on horseback into the night.

The wheels of Camelot's demise began to turn that night. Mordred was the son of King Arthur and the witch Morgan le Fey, as Lancelot soon discovered. He intended to thwart the traitor's scheme and save his once-loved companion. Unfortunately, Lancelot couldn't prevent Arthur's death at the Battle of Camlann. The despair he felt that day was unimaginable, and spending his last decades as a monk and died knowing his sins will never be forgiven.

Present Day

Erlang and Lancelot clash with their weapons which cause an impact around them.

Lancelot sneers, "What's wrong mighty hero? Too afraid of killing me, huh!"

Erlang was annoyed by the knight's remark retorts, "What's wrong with you! You disregard humanity's woes for your ego?!"

In the chief gods' imperial box, Zeus strokes his beard as he says, "How peculiar?"

Standing next to him, Hermes looks at Zeus and asks, "Is something troubling you, Lord Zeus?"

When Zeus didn't respond, Hermes yelled in his lord's ear, "Lord Zeus! Is there something that concerns you?!"

Zeus grunted, "No. Yet the more I think about it, the more it should be illogical."

Hermes continued to yell, "Are you wondering how some mortal was able to hold in own with a god?!"

In a rage, Zeus yelled back, "Will you be quiet! I may be old Hermes, but I haven't lost my hearing, you moronic buffoon!"

Zeus calmed himself and said, "If you have to know, then something did catch my curiosity. Shen's lance was forged from divine metals in heaven, so earth-made weapons should've shattered upon impact. It shouldn't be possible unless?"

Zeus then looked at the other side of the arena where Brunhilde, Goll, and his wife, Hera. While Goll looked scared and Hera look rather annoyed at her husband, Brunhilde let out a sinister smirk to confirm Zeus's suspicion.

Zeus chuckles, "Oh, so that's your plan? Well done, valkyrie."

Goll looks at Zeus with a worried expression and says to Brunhilde, "Why is Zeus looking over here chuckling?"

Brunhilde calmly stated, "It seems he notices my plan."

A day before Ragnarok

As Brunhilde and Hera select champions for battle, Goll enters the record room to talk about the tournament.

Goll asks, "Uh, sis can I talk to you about something?"

Hera, hearing Goll, says to the valkyrie, "What is it, girl? Can't you see me and your sister are busy?"

Goll responds timidly, "W-with all do respect, Lady Hera, I was talking to my...sister. ...he...he."

Brunhilde looks at Goll and says, "Is there something you need, Goll?"

Goll sighs, "Brunhilde, I know that you chose Lancelot because he's strong. However, do you think he can even defeat a god?"

Brunhilde stares at Goll and says bluntly, "Oh no, he doesn't have a chance at all."

Brunhilde's statement froze Hera's blood. She turned around to look at her, and she and Goll said in unison.

"What!"

Brunhilde shrugged and explained, "You see, the gods' greatest advantage is their divine weapons. Since these weapons come from heaven, earthly weapons are simply useless to the gods. In other words, human weapons are utter garbage."

Goll was panicking but then look at Hera for a solution.

Goll begged, "Lady Hera, please tell me you can get Lord Hephaestus to make divine weapons for the humans!"

Hera rubs her eyes as she replies, "No little valkyrie, my disappointment of a son is honing and enchanting the gods' weapons for Ragnarok tomorrow."

Goll deflated as she mutters, "So we're doomed."

Goll got on her knees and cried out, "Then what's the point of any of this?"

Brunhilde merely giggles at Goll and says, "You're right. Under normal circumstances, humanity wouldn't stand a chance against the gods. But what if we were to even the odds."

Goll looks at her sister and says, "Huh?"

Brunhilde continued, "I mean what if our vanguard were given divine weapons of their own and give those bastards a taste of their own medicine."

Teal-green lights suddenly flooded the room drawing Goll and Hera's attention. The lights came together to form a portal, which depicted eleven women in a chapel-like structure.

"Sister Brunhilde, we eleven valkyries have answered the call. What do you need of us?" the valkyries say in unison.

Goll was in awe as she spoke.

"Oh, our sisters. This is the first time we all gathered here in a very long time."

Brunhilde says sternly, "Greeting sisters. As you all may know, we will aid the humans against the gods in Ragnarok. So I Hrist to come forth."

"Very well then," says a sweet and mature voice as a tall woman steps out of the portal, and the portal disappears.

The woman has dark purple hair that is straight and long, with bangs that hide the right side of her green eyes and a long braid that runs from the left side of her head to her waist. She is dressed in a white garrison helmet, a white military jacket with a dark purple strapless corset that exposes her cleavage, and white jeans underneath. She also wears black fingerless gloves with detachable cufflinks and white high shaft boots with metal knee protection.

Second Oldest of the 13 Valkyries

Hrist (Norse)

Goll went up to Hrist and greeted her with a smile.

"It's good to see you again, Hrist!"

"It's nice to see you as well Goll, and to you Brunhilde," Hrist says to her sister as she massages Goll's head.

Hrist's smooth hand suddenly changed into a vice hold as Goll was getting her head rubbed.

Goll yelped in pain, "AWWWW! Hrist, y-you're hurting me!"

The young valkyrie jerked free and looked at her second older sister to see what got into her.

Goll saw Hrist's eyes turn from a calm green and blazing gold and a look of hellish rage plastered on old her sister's face.

Hrist roared, "Who let this pompous bitch in here?!"

Goll recognized who Hrist was referring to and turned to see Hera, who had her brows furrowed, her nose flared, and a sneer on her face.

Hera jeered, "Oh, I know this valkyrie isn't stupid enough to call me out. I mean those who do usually suffer my wrath."

The Two women walk towards each other and meet face to face with murderous intent in their eyes.

Hrist hissed, "I will rip your fucking heart out and force it down your damn throat, you ass sniffing bitch!"

Hera retorts with venom, "Oh really! I'll tear your damn bones from your body and make a vase out of them, you dirt-eating whore!"

As the two look to tear each other apart, Goll cowards behind Brunhilde and muttered, "Uh, sis. I think you need to intervene before they destroy each other or even Asgard."

Brunhilde, not wanting any unnecessary bloodshed, interrupts the staredown.

"Hera, Hrist, can you two not try and kill each other. We're allies here, so let's save the animosity for the arena tomorrow, okay?"

Hrist's eyes turn back to green, and she resumes the gentle demeanor.

Hrist uttered, "Yes, of course."

Hera huffed, "Fine."

Hrist ask Brunhilde, "May I ask Brunhilde? Who will I bond in the first round?"

Brunhilde answered, "It will be a knight named Sir Lancelot, and his opponent will most likely be...Erlang Shen."

Hrist looks a bit sad that Shen is fighting in the first round, but she knows it has to be done.

Goll looks confused about what's going on and asks, "Wait, but Brunhilde, how can Hrist and the other valkyries help?"

Brunhilde smirks and says confidently, "Simple Goll. We offered ourselves to our champions and grant them the power to slay the gods."

Goll questions, "Wait, you mean you by offer ourselves."

Present Day

Erlang Shen leaps to assault Lancelot in the arena, but the knight prevents him with his twin longswords. Suddenly, Lancelot's swords started to glow which caught the attention of everyone.

Heimdall yelled in the mic, "Folks, I don't know if I'm seeing things, but Lancelot's swords are glowing."

The gods' and mortals' audiences are both awestruck by the spectacle.

In the gods' viewpoint, Hachiman and Santa Muerte look on in bewilderment of Lancelot's weapon.

Santa Muerte questions, "¡Qué diablos!? What's going on?"

Hachiman answers, "I don't know, but I believe it's Brunhilde's doing."

In the chief gods' section, Zeus laughed in amazement at the display.

Amaterasu questions the phenomenon, "What is the meaning of this?"

Then the light from the dual swords becomes intense and starts to manifest in the form of a person.

Huitzilopochtli and Aphrodite stare at it with curiosity.

At the humans' viewpoint, Brunhilde thought proudly, 'That's right, witness o mighty gods. Witness the secret power of we valkyries possessed. Cheat for cheat!"

Within every valkyrie is a power that exists when forging a bond with their wielder, turning their bodies into divine weapons for mankind. This power is called...

VOLUND!

Lancelot and Erlang counter each other's assaults in the arena, but Lancelot's twin blades morph back into a greatsword in the middle of the fight and slash the sage's left shoulder.

Hrist: The second oldest of the Thirteen Valkyries whose name has two meanings. Her name means The One who Trembles in Fear and The One who Trembles in Rage.

Suddenly, Erlang sees the light manifestations of Hrist behind Lancelot as he holds his greatsword in his fighting stance.

The gentle version of Hrist says to Lancelot, "Please Lancelot, let's finish this fight quickly so Shen wouldn't suffer."

Lancelot snorts, "I don't care."

The enraged version of Hrist yelled, "Hey, asshole! It's bad enough we have to slay my brother. You could try to be fucking merciful."

Lancelot ignores Hrist's demand as he continues to attack Erlang Shen. Back in the chief gods' section, Hermes realizes what's going on.

"So that's the extent of her plan after all."

Zeus sees Hermes catching on and says, "So you notice?"

Hermes pulls out a female doll and explains, "You see the sworn duty of the valkyrie is that they are the guides of soul. They descend upon the earth and bring the finest warriors to Valhalla. It is believed that they brought them to form an army of the gods to defend heaven in case of an invasion."

Hermes then begins to twist and form the doll as he continues to speak.

"However, I heard an unsavory rumor in the last several millennia. The rumor is that those valkyries are not gathering an army for the gods. Instead, the warriors summon the Valhalla bond with the valkyries, and the valkyries transform themselves into weapons befitting of their wielders. For the power to kill a god, the champion must give their life hence the exchange known as Volund. So the souls gathered, and their weapon wielded, the vanguard can attack in essence Ragnarok."

Hermes finishes his explanation as he turned the doll into a dagger to demonstrate his point.

Zeus caused a small quake as he caught the other chief gods' attention.

"Now I understand. This isn't a challenge; it's a bold-faced uprising!"

Zeus then relaxed as he says, "To think that those girls would defy us gods. Ever since the Big Bang, this is...absolutely the unspeakable...overwhelming..."

Then Zeus's body bulges, and his eyes was filled with joy and a bit of lust.

Zeus laughed, "The most arousing thrill I felt in a long time! My body is on fire!"

The mighty god then looks to where Brunhilde and Hera are and make kissy faces at them. While Goll watch in fear and disgust, Brunhilde and Hera remain stoic thinking in a similar way.

'Quit staring you, fucking creepy bastard.'

'Stop gawking at us perverted old fuck.'

Suddenly, the three women notice something in the arena. Back at the fight, Erlang Shen grabbed Lancelot's sword with his bare hand. The humans were shocked that he was able to catch the heavy blade without losing his hand. Lancelot is baffled at his opponent's risky decision.

Lancelot scoffs, "That was reckless of you to-"

Before Lancelot could finish his comment, Erlang kicked the knight away from him. Lancelot plants his sabatons on the ground to keep his balance. Everyone was silent as if they sensed something dangerous was coming.

Erlang Shen stared daggers into Lancelot's eyes and yelled in anger, "Why can't you see I'm trying to help you?! Lancelot, don't you understand what you're doing! Humanity's life hangs in the balance, and I want to avoid their destruction! Don't you understand every man, woman, and child are scared for their lives! The roster for the gods has almost every one of us who wants to annihilate the human race! I didn't want to be on that list, but I thought I could sway you or whoever was in the first round on a mutual forfeit."

As he says this, he takes deep breathes to calm himself down.

Erlang Shen points to the human side of the arena and says to Lancelot, "This is what you're fighting for, Lancelot. Their hopes and dreams rest on your shoulder, and I don't want to destroy them. Whatever to you, they shouldn't suffer for it. Please, stop this madness."

The humans in the arena feel the genuine nature of the heroic god as well as some of the gods. Goll looks on knowing Erlang's pain.

Lancelot; on the other hand, was unconcerned, "Everything was taken away from me. You expect me to understand?! It's too late to save me so don't just finish me. Let's end this already."

Erlang sighs, knowing it's pointless and it now or never.

He takes his free land and slowly raises it towards his forehead.

Nezha gasped, knowing what his comrade was about to do.

"Oh, that human is in real trouble now."

Heimdall saw this as well and thought to himself, 'Wait, is he actually to activate it?'

As he placed the index and middle fingers on the center of the forehead, he whispered somberly, "Goll, Brunhilde, Hachiman, Santa Muerte, mother...I'm sorry."

"Third Eye: Illuminous State "

A massive flow of energy is sensed across the arena when he speaks this. The audience watches in awe as they see a golden eye shining on the sage's forehead.

Heimdall announces the certain changes of events, "It's incredible, folks! After trying to appeal to Lancelot's better nature. The knight has forced the humble sage to get serious. This fight could go either way, everyone."

Back in the humans' viewpoint, Goll looks on concerned, but then she hears the notification from Brunhilde's phone.

She sees the two pull their phones out to check the notification.

Goll argued, "Hey, you can't have your phone out during the match, Brunhilde! Put them away before we get into trouble!"

As Brunhilde checked it, she was overcome with shock.

Goll checks to see if her sister is okay.

Brunhilde sighs to calm and says, "So we now."

Hera looks at Brunhilde and says, "What do you mean?"

Brunhilde stated, "The challengers for Ragnarok were unknown until now. Here are the fighters on the official list."

Hera and Goll look at the list and were surprised.

Hera says in a curious tone, "So my husband looks to obliviate humanity, huh?"

Goll shudders as she says, "T-this is it! The final countdown to determine the fate of mankind. Humanity's vanguard, The Last 13!"

Heavens:

· Zeus

· Erlang Shen

· Athena

· Sun Wukong

· Amaterasu

· Huitzilopochtli

· Sekhmet

· Aphrodite

· Balor

· Hachiman

· The Morrigan

· Santa Muerte

· Torngarsuk

Humanity:

· Ada Lovelace

· William Adams

· Lancelot

· Hanzo Hattori

· Wyatt Earp

· Khutulun

· Flamma

· Yasuke

· Saint Germain

· Abigail Williams

· Gilgamesh

· Jeanne D'Arc

· Mata Hari

Brunhilde snickers, "Last? No Goll."

Brunhilde smiles proudly as she looks in the sky and exclaims, "One day, these heroes will be remembered as the 13 god slayers, The Einherjar!"

Heaven's Strongest Gods and Humanity's Mighty Einherjar will do battle this arena!