Chapter 10
Unleashed From Hell
The Valhalla arena was once again filled with the sound of excited chattering , as gods and humans filled up the seats once more in anticipation of the second round of Ragnarok , as well as marveling at the new layout of the arena .
The battleground in front of them was much larger in area than before , the floor covered in snow and ice , with tall craggy ice spikes towering over them . And finally on the far right of the arena , was the behemoth ribcage of some deceased monster of sorts , sending a chill down the spectator's spines as they laid their eyes upon it . The arena was beautiful and majestic , yet had a slightly ominous and imposing atmosphere to it .
Heimdall made his way to the center once more to begin the match , this time dressed in a thick winter fur coat , wooly mittens and spiked shoes to ensure he didn't slip and fall on the many ice patches that littered the arena .
" ALRIGHT LADIES AND GENTLEMAN ! After a SPECTACULAR clash in round 1 between Sobek and Lenin , I'm sure that everyone here is RARING for round 2 to commence as well ! So without FURTHER ADO , let's meet our two combatants for the second round of Ragnarok No.2 ! " Heimdall's announcement was met with thunderous cheering and applause from both sides , eager to see who would be representing each side .
" Released straight from the gates of Tartarus to represent humanity , IS THIS MAN ! Heimdall said , whilst pointing towards the entryway that humanity's representatives would emerge from , which were now redesigned to look like bars of a prison cell .
The bars of the entryway began to slowly raise , as the curious audience all turned their heads to see who would emerge from the dark hallway within .
" It is a known truth , that the life of a Greek hero more often than not , ends in tragedy . THESEUS ! slayer of the minotaur , lost his kingdom and was thrown off a cliff to his death , BELLEROPHON ! The man who tamed the first winged horse Pegasus , was flung from the back of his steed when he pridefully tried to fly to the top of Mount Olympus to join the gods . And ATLANTA ! The mighty huntress who took down the Calydonian Boar , who was turned into a lioness alongside her husband as punishment for their lustful display in the temple of Zeus . However it can be argued that THIS HERO had the most brutal fall of them ALL ! "
As Heimdall spoke , footsteps echoed down the hallway leading to the arena like in the previous round before . But unlike Lenin's slow and dignified approach . These footsteps were loud and boisterous , as if the owner had no regard for looking presentable .
" Tasked by the Queen of Olympus Hera herself , this man showed great promise in becoming one of the GREATEST heroes to have lived , with his voyage on the Argo as leader of the Argonauts to retrieve the mythical Golden Fleece in exchange of reclaiming his birthright as king of Iolcos becoming nothing short of LEGENDARY ! "
Many humans and gods began to whisper excitedly as they listened to Heimdall's introduction , they knew immediately who he was obviously talking about , the legendary Greek hero , Jason !
" No way ! You mean our next representative is ' that ' Jason from the myths ? With such a mighty hero on our team there's no way we're losing this round . "
" Damn , the Saviors of Humanity are sending out a Greek hero to fight our representative ? Oh ho , we might be in trouble for this one ! "
" However , Heimdall's enthusiastic voice now changed to a more serious one . " During the voyage to and back , the Argonauts encountered many misfortunes , and though they succeeded in their quest . NUMEROUS horrible incidents eventually lead to him being rejected and forgotten by the Olympians who had supported him for so long , and CAST OUT by the people of his promised kingdom , leading to him spending the last few years of his life wandering the earth alone and unhappy before his end . "
Heimdall's shift in tone unsettled the excited crowd , who now grew uncomfortable as they felt the tension in the air increase . Rejected and forgotten by the gods ? Cast out from his promised birthright as king ? Dying alone and unhappy ? These sounded more like the makings of a vengeful villain , not the story of a legendary hero .
" AND SO ! When he made his way to Valhalla after his death , THIS MAN , with his hatred of the gods at an all time HIGH , swore VENGEANCE on all gods for abandoning him in his time of need , making the TERRIFYING vow to murder EVERY god in all the realms . In turn , he gained infamy in the heavens , NOT for his heroic deeds on earth . " Heimdall's tone now darkened to something more sinister , much to the fear of the audience , " But for the SIX gods he MURDERED in cold blood before the gods were finally able to lock him away in Tartarus , earning himself the horrific title of ' THE GOD BUTCHER ' ! "
Jason finally emerged from the entryway , his face now clean shaven and his hair cut short and neat , revealing all of the handsome features on his face , his striking blue eyes , chiseled jawline and radiant skin . His outfit had changed as well , now consisting of an intricate breastplate , with the visage of a ram's head on the front , two gauntlets that covered his arms and fist , that had the design of two ram horns on the top , curving downwards to make two sharp tips on top of his knuckles . A Greek patterned war skirt that reached his knees , and finally , greaves and sandals covered his legs and feet , all of this in the beautiful color of pearl gold .
" But now he is BACK from his prison in the underworld ! To show the high and mighty gods who locked him away that his prowess in battle has NEVER faltered ! And that his thirst for revenge is STRONGER than ever before ! WOE betide the god who shall face him today ! FOR I GIVE YOU ALL …. "
" JASON ! "
Representative of Humanity for Round 2
Jason ( Greek )
As humanity began to inspect their fighter for round 2 , they found that themselves quite impressed by him . Men whistled appreciatively at his robust shape and his impressive set of armor , clearly he hadn't let prison life cost him his strength and muscles . Meanwhile the women were more focused on his body and face , swooning over his good looks and his well toned body which was neither too muscular nor too skinny .
The gods on the other hand were more skeptical , most of them had never heard of this so-called ' God Butcher ' , and did Heimdall say that he had killed 6 gods ? That didn't make sense , everyone knew that the first time a human had ever slain a god was when Kojiro Sasaki killed Poseidon in the third round of the first Ragnarok , so what the hell was going on ?
Continuing on with the introductions , Heimdall turned to the god's side of the arena , there in front of the entryway stood an haunting archway made entirely out of human skulls and bones , both sides immediately recognized it to be the same one that Hades had entered through during his round against Qin Shi Huang in the first Ragnarok . It seemed that the fighter for the god's in round 2 would also be a denizen of Helheim as well .
" And the god who will ANSWER the challenge of the God Butcher ? Well folks , we are all in for a REAL TREAT so EARLY on in the second Ragnarok ! For representing the gods in round 2 is NONE OTHER than the successor of Lord Hades , and the NEW RULER OF HELHEIM ! "
The gods gasped upon hearing this , they knew exactly who Heimdall was talking about , but surely Ra would save a Chief God for a later match rather than so early on ? Did he want to keep up the pressure on humanity or something ? "
" After Lord Hades' untimely demise in the first Ragnarok , the realm of Helheim was thrown into DISREPAIR ! DEMONS ! HELLBORN ! GODS ! ALL of them fighting one another in the power vacuum caused by his death in a bid to claim the throne ! In the end , they all came to a truce and agreed to a tournament open to all that would decide which amongst them was most worthy to inherit the position .
Inside the hallway , Hel breathed in and out slowly one last time , trying to calm herself before her big match. " Ok , come on Hel , you can do this , you're prepared for this , it's time to prove that you're worthy of this title . " Finishing her motivational talk to herself , Hel steeled her resolve and began advancing towards the light at the end of the hallway that would lead her to the battlefield .
" Everyone expected the MOST powerful , MOST popular Lords of the underworld to be the victor , IZANAMI of the Shinto Pantheon ! OSIRIS of the Egyptian Pantheon ! MICTLANTECUHTLI of the Aztec Pantheon and so on ! But did ANYONE of these gods emerge victorious in the epic tournament that followed ? NAY ! NAY ! And NAY ! INSTEAD , the winner of this tournament that would later come to be known as the Tournament of Helheim , WAS THIS GOD ! The underdog of the tournament who NO ONE had even expected to come out on top ! "
As Hel entered the arena , she straightened her posture and held her halbert firmly in her hand , now wearing a more battle ready outfit , consisting of bracers , greaves , chainmail and a war skirt . Staring at the huge crowd gathered made her a bit nervous once more , but she quickly reminded herself that this was a deathmatch , she couldn't afford to show weakness to her opponent , she was here to win .
" This god defeated ALL of those mighty Lords of the Underworld , and claimed the throne of Helheim by right of combat , but for all those who are foolish enough to doubt her prowess , I'd advise against underestimating her victory as a fluke if I were you . For she is also ONE of the three children of the Jotun Angrboda , alongside the mighty wolf FENRIR and the Midgard Serpent JORMUNGANDR . All of whom were prophesied to MENACE Asgard and its inhabitants with their SHEER might and power alone ! And so here she is here to prove herself ONCE and for ALL to those who might oppose her rule , and bring VICTORY to the gods once more ! GIVE IT UP FOR THE NORSE GODDESS OF DEATH … "
" HEL ! "
Representative of the Gods for Round 2
Hel ( Norse )
Hel gave Heimdall a small smile , " Thanks for hyping me up before the match starts Heimdall , it gave me a real confidence boost ! "
Heimdall chuckled , " I'm just doing my job Lady Hel , no need to thank me ! All the best to the both of you before the match starts . "
Hel gave a nod before raising her head to face Jason who wore a sinister grin on his face as he examined his opponent from head to toe , no doubt trying to draw out a plan to eliminate her in the most gruesome way possible .
As the two fighters stared each other down , loud voices could be heard calling out to Jason from the god's side of the arena of all things . Indeed the owners of these voices , were two men with ice white hair , and light blue Greek Togas . They could have passed off as humans , were it not for the pair of snowy white wings they kept folded behind their backs . They waved their arms in the air trying to get Jason's attention as they called for him .
These two were the Boreads , Zetes and Calais , the Greek demigod sons of the North Wind Boreas , and members of the Argonaut that Jason had led so long ago .
" Yo ! Jason ! It's me Calais , remember ? Me and my brother Zetes sailed with you on the Argos to help you retrieve the Golden Fleece ! Even though me and him are on the god's side we're wishing you all the best for your match mate ! "
However , instead of thanking or at least acknowledging his former crewmates call , Jason simply stared at them with a deadpan look , before rudely scoffing and looking away .
Seeing their former captains rude response , the Boreads sat back dejected , what had happened to the passionate and lively captain who led them to glory all those years ago ? It almost seemed like a completely different person had stepped into Jason's skin and was using it like some sort of twisted mask .
Just then , a beautiful and regal goddess sat down next to the two demigods , she had pink hair that flow down her back until her waist , a Greek helmet with a bright red plume on top , purple pauldrons with gold accents on each shoulder , on her body she wore a breastplate of the same color schemes that showed off her midriff , along with a golden belt and white skirt . But the most distinguishing thing about her was the golden shield she carried by her side , which she was careful not to have it facing anyone , for the slightest look at the horrifying visage of the gorgon Medusa imprinted upon it would frighten even the most courageous gods there were in the Heavens . The gods surrounding her immediately bowed in respect , for she was one of the 12 major gods who resided on top Mount Olympus , Athena , Greek Goddess of Wisdom and Warcraft .
" L-LADY ATHENA ! " Zetes stammered , " We are honoured by your presence amongst us , pray tell , why have you chosen to watch this round of the second Ragnarok in particular , seeing as you didn't choose to spectate any of the others in the first one ? "
Athena smiled , nodding her head in acknowledgement of her surrounding peers' show of respect , before answering Zetes question , " Greetings as well , son of Boreas , to answer your question , I chose not to support the first Ragnarok due to the senseless violence that it brought . However , when I heard that the infamous Jason would be humanity's representative , I knew that as the Patron Goddess of heroes , I would have to come here to spectate his match . "
The Boreads nodded their heads , " But Lady Athena , it troubles me greatly by how our former captain is acting , as well as Heimdall's introduction for him , they say he killed six gods before being sent to Tartarus ? Yet why hasn't most of us in Valhalla ever heard of such a tale ? It doesn't SEEM like something Jason would do at all ! " Calais said .
Athena sighed , " Indeed Calais , it just goes to show how FAR the poisons of hatred and bitterness can warp a man's mind and soul till he becomes something even a GOD cannot conjure out of their darkest imaginations . And regarding the rumours surrounding him ... While it isn't confirmed for sure , the fact that the six gods who are claimed to have been murdered by Jason are NOT amongst us in the present day , shows that the rumours surrounding the God Butcher MIGHT holds some truth . "
The Boreads shivered nervously at the thought that their former leader could ever be so cruel and bloodthirsty , hoping that the words said by the Goddess of Wisdom were more speculation than fact .
While these three gods were focused on the fighter of humanity , others in the audience cheered wildly . The Ruler of Helheim was fighting for them in the second round ! There was no way the humans would be beating them in this round , even if this so-called ' God Butcher ' was representing them , Hel would send him back to the dark abyss from whence he came from !
Up from where they stood watching the match , Göll and Pandora gulped nervously , " Ra's sending out Hel , the new Ruler of Helheim in the SECOND round ? She must be really strong and powerful ! This doesn't look good for Jason ! " Pandora cried out .
Hera , who was observing the match with the group smirked , " Calm yourself Granddaughter , that is not necessarily the case , Hel may be quite formidable considering she won the Tournament of Helheim , but she still is quite inexperienced compared to other Chief Gods , Jason down there is MORE than capable of winning this match against her ! "
Prometheus shrugged , " True enough Lady Hera , but it's best not to underestimate Ra or any of his fighters . We cannot allow ourselves to become complacent , counting our eggs before they've hatched is the most sure-fire way for us to lose . "
Meanwhile in the god's VIP section , Amaterasu and Ra observed the two fighters below with great interest .
" So that is the infamous God Butcher of Tartarus , I never would have imagined him to be so ... attractive . " Amaterasu commented .
Ra on the other hand , focused his attention on Prometheus and company , upon seeing Hera standing next to them , he flashed an intrigued smirk . " Well , well , well , I never would have guessed that those three would enlist the help of Hera for Ragnarok , the Greek pantheon will pay VERY dearly for their betrayal after Hel obliterates this disrespectful murderer . "
Seeing her bosses frightening aura , the Sun Goddess gulped nervously , even though she knew that she was not the subject of his wrath .
Just then , a flustered Huitzilopochtli ran into the room , sweaty and out of breath , obviously having just raced back just in time to arrive for the start of the second round .
" Sorry I'm late , " He panted , " I got sidetracked a bit and lost my sense of time , I made my way back as FAST as I could . "
Ra sighed , clearly annoyed by the Aztec God's tardiness , " You are VERY nearly late Huitzilopochtli . Nevertheless you are here , so go ahead and take a seat , the match is about to begin . "
Huitzilopochtli bowed in thanks to the Sun God , taking his seat next to Amaterasu , " As tardy as every Huitzy , " The Shinto Goddess teased , " You would expect a God of the Sun to be at least somewhat decent at telling the time . But alas , I guess there are exceptions to the rule . "
The Aztec God growled at Amaterasu's nickname for him , before putting on a mischievous grin , " BIG talk coming from the goddess who got tackled to the ground by a puppy dog before getting slobbered ALL over her face by it ! How was the face wash ? I hear dog drool is VERY invigorating for the skin ! "
Amaterasu's face turned red with embarrassment and anger as she heard this , " HOW THE HELL DO YOU KNOW THIS ! Which BASTARD told you these filthy lies ! I'll have them skinned ALIVE ! " She screeched . Unfortunately , her outburst only served to prove to Huitzilopochtli that the story he was told was true , and boy did he find it incredibly funny .
Huitzilopochtli began laughing hard at the Sun Goddess reaction , so hard in fact , that he thought he might just split his sides open , " HAHAHAHAHAHA ! OH MAN ! You should see the look on your face Amy ! PRICELESS ! Ah , I would pay BIG bucks for that ! "
At this , the Shinto Goddess angrily blurted out , " FAT chance Huitzy , you know that your pantheon's measly treasury couldn't AFFORD me even if you saved up for a century ! "
At this remark , Huitzilopochtli and even Ra turned towards Amaterasu with a quizzical look on their faces , processing what the Sun Goddess had just said , " Uh Amy ... I meant that I would pay money to see the DOG jumping on top of you and licking your face again . What did you THINK I meant ? " The Aztec God said with a confused voice .
The Chief God of the Shinto Pantheon slowly processed what she had just said , her face growing redder and redder by the minute , " Uh , ah , I didn't mean ... SHIT ! SHIT ! SHIT ! I didn't mean it like THAT ! FUCK ! I , uh , uhmmm ... " The flustered goddess stuttered like crazy , as she desperately tried to explain herself and failing spectacularly at it .
Ra sighed , fed up with his subordinate's antics , massaging the temples of his forehead , and looking down at Heimdall , who thankfully was finally getting around to starting the second match .
Standing in between the two fighters , Heimdall raised his hand , " ALRIGHT ! Now that both our fighters have been introduced , I hereby announce that the second match for Ragnarok No.2 has officially … " He called before bringing his hand down , " BEGUN ! "
As soon as Heimdall said this , he immediately jumped back to give the fighters room to battle , and it was a good thing he did too , for as soon as he had started the match , Jason charged straight towards Hel , his right fist clenched and raised , before throwing a right hook straight at the Goddess' face .
" CLANG ! "
However , Jason's fist did not quite find its target , rather quickly responding to her opponent's attack , Hel had raised her halberd and blocked the fallen hero's attack with it . Barely breaking a sweat as she pushed Jason back , all of which she had done with just one hand .
" CHEAP SHOT ! you won't beat me like THAT God Butcher ! "
Jason gracefully landed on his feet , before raising his face wearing a creepy leer , " Oh , but I thought you gods would know EVERYTHING about cheap shots , considering that's how YOU all operate ! " And with a yell he resumed his attack .
Now grabbing her halberd with both hands instead of one , Hel answered Jason's many jabs and kicks , blocking as many attacks as she could , and countering with her own . But with how powerful and continuous his blows were , one or two eventually managed to land on her body , injuring her and forcing her to retreat .
" And as expected of one with the title of God Butcher , Jason has unleashed a FLURRY of savage strikes on Hel ! FORCING the Queen of Helheim to go on the defensive ! " Heimdall yelled , as humanity cheered wildly as their fighter had managed to take the edge in the first part of the battle .
Jason grinned eagerly , " UH OH ! Are my attacks TOO much to handle , Queen of Helheim ? AW ! Maybe you should just give up now and let me KILL YOU ! "
With that he managed to land a powerful blow on Hel's right shoulder , the two pointed tips at the end of his gauntlet leaving wounds on her as she barely managed to block a second strike from the God Butcher with her weapon . Hel gave a yell of pain as she was struck , momentarily weakening her guard .
Jason gave an evil cackle , using this to his advantage , grabbing Hel's weapon with his two hands and forcing the Queen of Helheim on to one knee , trying to force her into the ground with all of his might . The audience gasped , this guy had managed to push a Chief God down on one knee ! Mankind seemed to have a good chance of winning this round !
Jason gave a toothy grin at Hel's face whilst she shrugged to break free of his grip , " What's the matter , Queen of Helheim ? Am I TOO close for comfort ? " He taunted , putting more force into his grip , forcing her to move back a few steps .
Hel grunted with effort , seemingly about to fall , before straightening and giving Jason a confident smile , " Actually , you're RIGHT where I wanted you to be ! "
As she said that , Hel tapped the end of her weapon onto the ground , causing an ice spike to form right where the ground was touched , before it shot up from the ground at Jason's chest at blinding speed , and since both his hands were holding onto Hel's Halberd , he had no way of blocking her sneak attack !
" SPEAR OF THE FROST JOTNAR ! "
A loud " CLANG ! " was heard as the ice spike made contact with Jason's chest , were it not for his breastplate , the ice spike would have surely pierced his chest and heart , ending the battle nearly as soon as it started . Instead , Jason was flung back by the impact , falling onto his back with a " THUD ! " . The audience gasped at Hel's trickery , clearly Heimdall wasn't bluffing when he said not to underestimate her .
Pushing her advantage , Hel swung her weapon in a sweeping arc upwards , and from the ground , a wave of ice spikes emerged , rushing straight towards her fallen opponent . " Nice try , God Butcher . But I'm afraid THIS is where you meet your end ! "
" FROZEN TSUNAMI ! "
" WHAT A TWIST ! Hel sneak attack had COMPLETELY turned the tables on Jason ! And now the God Butcher is on the ground on his back , whilst a wave of ice spikes rushes STRAIGHT towards him , ready to SKEWER him like a shish kebab ! Is this IT for the fallen hero ! " shouted Heimdall as the ice spikes came closer and closer towards Jason .
Fortunately for Jason , he had already gotten back up on his feet , but that still did not change the fact that the ice spikes were now precariously close to him , and he did not have enough time to dodge the attack .
However , Jason made no attempt to move , instead the God Butcher held his chest out , eyes closed and clenching his fist tightly , seemingly about to take the attack head on . The ice spikes were now right in front of him , coming at him from various angles , threatening to skewer his chest , throat , face and stomach . However, just when they would have made contact with him , a glowing golden outline covered his breastplate , behind him materialized the golden silhouette of what appeared to be the Greek God of Fortitude Heracles himself . As Jason opened his eyes , he called out .
" BOON FROM OLYMPUS : HERCULEAN ENDURANCE ! "
As he said this , the ice spikes that had finally hit him immediately shattered upon impact , exploding into millions of tiny fragments , leaving absolutely no traces of damage on Jason's body . Much to the shock of both Hel and the audience
Jason cackled as he raised his arms , showing that Hel's attack had not even dented his armor nor skin in the slightest bit , " Meet my end ? OH NO NO NO NO Lady Hel ! I don't INTEND on leaving this realm of existence without taking ONE FINAL GOD DOWN ! Such a pity that Helheim will have to find itself a new ruler for the SECOND time when i'm done MANGLING YOU CORPSE ! " He said , staring down at his opponent with a manic grin , and a murderous fire igniting in his eyes .
Quick side note , I know that Heracles was one of the Argonauts that were led by Jason on the quest for the Golden Fleece , but since Heracles story is so radically different from the original myth , I don't really know how to fit him in . Mainly because the Olympian gods weren't known for physically helping Greek heroes out on their quest . So unfortunately while I hate to disappoint anyone looking foward to seeing something like that , I don't think I will be able to include him in the Jason's backstory , but he still will sort of part of the story as the name of one of Jason's moves .
Also please be brutally honest about this , but are there times in the story where you feel that it could be better arranged and more fluid of sorts ? I feel like there are times where I jump from one scene to another and don't really know how to properly separate each scene to prevent it from seeming like one giant clumped up mess . Mainly the times during the battle where the focus jumps from Ra and his subordinates , to Prometheus and company giving their commentary on the battle .