Chapter 11
Hell Raising Stakes
" INCREDIBLE ! " Heimdall screeched into his Gjallarhorn , the humans in the audience cheered in amazement . " Jason just TANKED the tsunami of ice spikes Hel sent his way , without even the TINIEST trace of damage being left on his skin ! WHAT'S GOING ON FOLKS ? "
Hel raised a confused eyebrow at Jason's completely undamaged body , she knew her attack wouldn't have ended the fight then and there , but she at least expected it to inflict substantial wounds on the fallen hero . And certainly did not expect to see him standing upright with a sadistic grin , completely unhurt .
" Quite an impressive move you have got there . " She said to Jason , " Completely untouched by my ice spikes , I suppose that breastplate is your divine weapon then ? "
Jason grinned maniacally from ear to ear , " Oh no , it's not JUST the breastplate , " With his arms still outstretched , he gave a small slow twirl , showing off all of the armor he wore . " ALL of the gold bling you see me wearing right now . ARE my Divine Weapons ! ' THE HEROES' LIGHT ! ' EACH piece gives me access to a particular strength or skill of a god from the 12 mighty Olympians . Pretty ironic don't you think ? " He finished with a grin .
Hel shrugged , " I suppose , " she replied as she held her halberd now with both hands and with the blade above her left shoulder , " Well then , if you're done showing off to the audience , can we continue our battle ? "
Jason gave a cackle , hopping on the balls of his feet , before settling on a stance that reminded Hel of a predatory animal about to pounce on its prey . " Ready when YOU are , Queen of Helheim . " He replied with a cruel smirk .
" And our two fighters are facing off ONCE AGAIN for round 2 of the match ! What other crazy powers does the God Butcher have in his arsenal ? and HOW will the Queen of Helheim respond to each of them ? " Heimdall announced , as the audience stared intensely at the two combatants , waiting to see who would make the first move .
The answer to that question was Hel , bringing down her raised halberd in a swift motion . The intense cold emanating from the icy blade of her weapon froze the surrounding air molecules closest to her , forming multiple sharp icicles that floated in the air . Then , with a simple wave of her hand , Hel sent all of those frozen projectiles hurtling towards Jason .
" BLIZZARD BARRAGE ! "
" Hel had made her move , sending COUNTLESS deadly icicles flying Jason's way ! HOW will the God Butcher react ? Will he use his Divine Weapon to endure the Queen of Helheim's attack once again ? "
As if to answer Heimdall's commentary , the golden greaves Jason wore around his shin began to glow with the same light that outlined his breastplate before , and behind him this time appeared the golden silhouette of the Greek God of Messengers Hermes .
" BOON FROM OLYMPUS : SPEED OF HERMES ! "
" Try and have your eyes keep up with THIS , your highness . " He smirked , facing the Queen of Helheim and the numerous icicles between them . And just like that the God Butcher dashed straight towards the incoming projectiles at dizzying speed , expertly weaving in and out each individual ice shard , dodging , ducking and jumping over all of them . Before making one final vault over the last few icicles and landing right behind the Queen of Helheim .
Hel, who had trouble keeping up with Jason's speedy attack , realized her opponent was right behind her . Quickly , she did a full 180 degree turn around , again trying to use her weapon to counter an attack he might inflict on her whilst her back was turned . However this time , she was too slow . As soon as she turned around to face her foe , Jason's knee smashed straight into her face with a great , " BLAM ! " Sending the Queen of Helheim flying across the arena and landing on a patch of snow with a loud " THUD ! " As the crowds of humans cheered at their fighter's successful counterattack .
" HOLY MOLY ! " Heimdall exclaimed as the gods groaned at their fighter's injuries , " Jason the God Butcher has just managed to dodge EVERY last one of Hel's attacks with the godly speed of Hermes , and send the Queen of Helheim FLYING with a swift knee to the face ! This human is REALLY something else ! "
In the god's VIP section , Huitzilopochtli and Amaterasu stared slack jawed at the battle below , " I DON'T BELIEVE IT ! , " Amaterasu yelled , trembling with rage , " How the FUCK ! Did another human manage to send one of our fighters flying with an attack to the face again ?! This is RIDICULOUS ! "
" Chill out Amy , " Huitzilopochtli said , trying to soothe his angry colleague , " I'm pretty sure Hel still can go on , she's the Queen of Helheim for crying out loud ! NO fucking way a knee to the face will be the end of her . You gotta have more faith in Lord Ra's fighters . " This last sentence he said with a nervous glance at his boss , hoping that Amaterasu's outburst hadn't managed to finally tip the Chairman over the edge .
Ra however , didn't seem to care about the Shinto Goddess questioning his chosen fighter's strength , instead the Sun God leaned forward , observing the triumphant Jason . Who was waving his hands towards his fellow humans to get them even more excited than they already were , with an interested look on his face .
" Very interesting choice you have sent out Hera , " Ra murmured under his breath , " I can't WAIT to see how this fight plays out . "
VIP ward , Valhalla Hospital
While all this was happening , a trio of gods were watching the match unfold on a television screen in a hospital ward . They were Zeus , former Chairman of the Council of Valhalla and main resident of the ward , who was recovering with all four of his broken limbs in casts , which he got after Ra had flung him at top speed into the side of a wall . The other two with him were his sons and attendants , Ares Greek God of War , and Hermes Greek God of Messengers .
" URGH ! " Ares grunted , " I REALLY don't know who I'm supposed to be cheering for this match ! On one hand , Hel is the representative of us gods in the second round , but it WAS that tyrant Ra who sent her ! On the other hand , Jason MAY have been chosen by mother to fight for humanity and get revenge on Ra for crippling father . But there's NO changing the fact that he brutally murdered six of our fellow gods ! " The War God finished in a frustrated voice .
By his side was Hermes who as usual , was more calm and composed as compared to his sibling . " True enough brother Ares . Although I must admit , " He paused , " It is quite flattering that one of the infamous God Butcher's moves borrows MY strength and skill . " The Messenger God replied with a smirk .
Just then they were interrupted by the laughter of Zeus , who had been watching the match unfold with rapt attention . " OH HO HO ! Never would I have expected my dear Hera to unleash a murderous criminal from Tartarus JUST to avenge me ! Seems like I really don't appreciate her enough ! I suppose I will forever be in her debt should that bastard win . Don't you two think so ? "
Ares gave a happy smile , it had been so long since he last heard either of his parents speak so affectionately about the other ! " Indeed , father ! I think mother really has gone above and beyond just to ensure that Ra pays for injuring you and insulting our pantheon's pride ! Although , I must ask , father , why didn't either side just send out the winners of the last Ragnarok ? It would have saved both sides plenty of time when choosing the fighters wouldn't it ? "
" FOOLISH BOY ! Do you ever stop to think before you speak ? " The King of Olympus croaked angrily to Ares , " Do you really think the rules of Ragnarok would be THAT simple ? "
Hermes chuckled lightly at his brother's foolishness , " Oh dear brother , " he said to Ares , " If it really were THAT easy , don't you think it would have been done ? After the last Ragnarok concluded , the rules regarding it were updated as the gods began taking it more seriously . One such change is that any participants of previous Ragnaroks are no longer allowed to participate in future ones . Hence new fighters need to be chosen of course . "
Ares blushed , embarrassed at his own naivety , Zeus whose focus was now back on the fight , spoke once more , " Although … The MORE important question I feel we should all be asking , is why the Divine Weapon of an individual whose hatred of us gods is stronger than acid , relies on borrowing the strength and skills of us Olympians . I think that there is MORE to Jason's Divine Weapon than we have seen so far . " He smirked, stroking his beard thoughtfully , his interest like Ra's at an all time high .
Back in the arena , Göll and Pandora cheered at their fighter's amazing show of strength and speed . " THIS IS GREAT ! With Jason's might and tenacity even a CHIEF GOD is knocked to the ground ! " Pandora cheered excitedly
Prometheus chuckled at his companions infectious excitement , " I suppose you're right , " He said turning to Hera , " Quite a mighty fighter you chose Lady Hera , With his intense hate of the gods as well as his mighty Divine Weapon , we may have good chance of winning . "
Hera gave a cocky smile , " OF COURSE Prometheus ! When I want to make certain bastard tyrants pay for their transgressions , I will pull out ALL the stops to make sure they receive PUNISHMENT ! " She replied , glancing up towards the VIP section where Ra was seated .
Prometheus' face reverted to a serious expression , " But my point still remains , we shouldn't celebrate prematurely , I'm sure Hel has some other deadly tricks up her sleeve beside mere cryomancy . Jason mustn't underestimate his foe the slightest , lest it be his downfall . "
Back in the battlefield , Jason's attention was turned back to his opponent from the cheering crowd , as he heard determined pants coming from where Hel had landed . Sure enough , the Queen of Helheim had gotten back up on her two feet . As the god's cheered their fighter on .
Cackling , the God Butcher took a few steps forward , " WELL ! What do you think ? Pretty great shit I was given from that Pandora girl's jar eh ? Sent you flying like the weak pathetic rag doll you gods REALLY ARE ! "
Hel coughed , rubbing the bruised right side of her face . " I suppose so , a Divine Weapon that augments the endurance , speed and so on of its fighter . Quite the weapon you've got there … Although "
Jason smirked , " Although WHAT ? Queen of Helheim , what delusional lie has your godly brain come up with in a desperate attempt to salvage your pride ? "
" Well , I can't imagine why you would choose to rush at my attack head on rather than tank it like before , obviously you wanted to get in close for a counterattack , and you had the Speed of Hermes backing you up . But WHY risk getting injured ? Why not shrug off the damage with the Endurance of Hercules and then make your move ? UNLESS …. "
Jason grinned at this , " Unless WHAT ? Go on with your so-called hypothesis , your majesty . But remember , it's JUST a theory ! " He said mockingly
Hel raised her head wearing a smile , " Unless each of these little boosts granted by your Divine Weapon requires TIME to recharge after being used ? That's why you chose to risk injury RATHER than wait for an opening isn't it ? "
Jason looked slightly stunned at Hel's revelation for a few seconds , before suddenly bursting into cruel laughter , " HAHAHAHAHA ! WELL , WELL , WELL ! It seems like not ALL you gods are pampered arrogant idiots who can't think for SHIT ! CONGRATULATIONS ! your little theory is CORRECT ! Indeed , each of my Boons of Olympus requires time to recharge before I use them again ! Which is why it's so important I have more than one piece of armor on me ! "
Hel shrugged modestly , " Just because I do not possess experience like other older Chief Gods , doesn't mean I can't properly analyze my opponents . So don't go underestimating me , God Butcher ! "
Jason scoffed , getting back into his offensive position , " It doesn't matter if you know JACKSHIT about my Divine Weapon , you'll still die ALL the same ! " And with that , he charged towards Hel once more .
Although he now no longer possessed the agility of the Messenger God , due to Hel being disoriented from his previous attack , Jason was able to close the distance between them with his normal speed . And resume his flurry of strikes on the Queen of Helheim .
Using her Halberd once more , Hel countered as many of his strikes as she could , but with her still feeling dizzy from the God Butcher's strike to her face , more of Jason's attacks connected this time , forcing her to retreat back more and more .
" And the fight resumes ! Even WITHOUT his Divine Weapon's boost , the God Butcher is MORE than capable of putting Hel on the defensive once more ! She has YET to properly injure Jason as well , and with his furious offensive , things don't look good for the Queen of Helheim ! " Heimdall yelled , as the god's in the audience cheered for their fighter , trying to encourage her to keep on holding out .
The Boreads looked at Jason's aggressive nature worriedly , " Even when he was fighting monsters on our voyage , Jason never showed such cockiness and aggression . " Calais whispered .
" Indeed Calais , " Athena said in agreement , " As the saying goes ' Pride comes before the fall ' If Jason keeps underestimating Hel , I'm sure he will come to sorely regret it . And that's not even talking about the blatant hypocrisy on display right now . "
Zetes looked at the Goddess of Wisdom , " Are you talking about Jason's Divine Weapon , Lady Athena ? "
Athena nodded , " He claims to hate us gods with a burning passion , yet in a death match against one , he relies on a Divine Weapon produced by the jar of my niece , who was created by us Olympians , to harm his godly opponent . And said weapon also draws its strength from my brethren in the Greek Pantheon . Quite hypocritical don't you two agree ? "
The Boreads nodded their own heads in agreement with Athena's evaluation , before all three turned back to the ongoing match , Where Jason still was forcing Hel to go on the defensive .
Hel swung her halberd , trying to force Jason back or injure him at least . But the God Butcher dodged or blocked her attacks , and retaliated with even more force . Bringing his fist down heavily on her head , only to be blocked by her Halberd's pole . Swinging his legs viciously , trying to injure her side with his savage kicks , with Hel just barely managing to jump out of the way before his leg made contact . However , with every step she took backwards , the Queen of Helheim found herself closely being forced into a corner . Which would surely put her at an even greater disadvantage .
" I suppose there's only one thing I can do , " She said , parrying another blow from Jason .
" YOU BETCHA ! And that is to give up and let me break your head OPEN ! So hurry up and FUCKING DIE ! " Jason snarled in reply .
Hel smirked , " Nope , THIS is what I can do . "
Clenching her weapon tightly , Hel channeled her strength into it , and with an icy blue glow , the blade of her halberd seemed to grow as more and more ice began to form on top of each layer . Till the blade was bigger than Hel herself . At the sight of these , Jason cursed , " Oh fucking HELL no ! " Jumping backwards as Hel brought the full weight of her massive icy blade down with a heavy " SMASH ! " Finally giving the Queen of Helheim some breathing room .
" And Hel had FINALLY created much needed distance between her and her vicious opponent ! " Heimdall said , as the gods in the audience cheered enthusiastically . " But she can't rest easy JUST yet ! It seems like Jason is planning to jump straight BACK in to keep the pressure going ! "
Indeed , the God Butcher was charging back into the fray , knowing even though Hel's larger weapon now meant that dashing in close would be extremely risky , once he had closed the distance again , the Queen of Helheim would find it even more difficult to counter his strikes with her gigantic weapon limiting her movement .
Even though she seemed to be at a greater disadvantage , Hel gave a small smile , hidden from her opponent and the audience , " Good , get even closer O' mighty God Butcher . " She whispered quietly to herself .
When Jason was just a few feet away from her , Hel suddenly tapped the end of her weapon against the floor once more . Assuming she was about to use a surprise ice spike trick again . Jason activated his Herculean Endurance once more , now more certain that ever that the fight was over .
However , instead of an ice spike appearing from the ground , the God Butcher found himself skidding to a halt as a gigantic sheet of ice erupted from the ground , blocking him from his prey , and buying Hel a few precious moments to execute her plan , as well as wasting one of Jason's Boons from Olympus .
In the VIP section , Amaterasu was beside herself with rage once again , fuming at Hel's seemingly cowardly moves , relying on retreating and sneak attacks rather than directly confronting her foe , " THAT BITCH ! " She growled angrily , " LORD RA ! She's making us god's look bad in front of the humans ! Running away like a coward and hiding behind walls ! How is it that SHE won the Tournament of Helheim ? "
Ra sighed as Huitzilopochtli frantically tried to calm the Shinto Chief Goddess down , fearing for his colleagues' safety . " Amaterasu my dear , " Ra said in a calm but dangerous tone , " I would like to remind you that I am your superior , and I will NOT tolerate anymore of your disrespect , understood ? "
Amaterasu wisely decided to follow his instructions , " I-I'm sorry Lord Ra , I forgot myself for a moment , p-please forgive my rudeness . But still respectfully asking , how did Hel manage to achieve the position of Chief God through such tactics ? "
Ra opened his mouth to answer , when another voice interrupted him , " Dear daughter , you must learn to control that nasty temper of yours , interrupting your superiors , I thought your father taught you better than that ? "
All heads turned to see a goddess leaning against the doorway , obviously watching their every move . She was a beautiful woman who looked as young as Amaterasu , but Ra and Amaterasu knew that was not the case . She had long dark purple hair , dressed in an open kimono that hung from her shoulders , with red sleeves decorated in flowery patterns with yellow accents , and a large yellow ribbon tied around her midsection . The bottom part of her kimono was purple and cut short , showing off her knee high black leggings and red sandals . Under her kimono she wore a black top and skirt with white accents that showed off her shoulders and some of her cleavage . Atop her head , she wore a white mask with the terrifying visage of an oni with golden horns , in her hands she held a red bamboo umbrella with the same flowery patterns , and tailing behind her was an eerie rice paper lamp that glowed an ominous purple .
Immediately Amaterasu jumped up to greet this newcomer , with even Ra giving a slight nod of respect to her . With only Huitzilopochtli looking confused about the identity of this goddess , " Uhmmm , Amy , who is this ? " He asked the standing Shinto Goddess .
Amaterasu stared at him open-mouthed , " Seriously ? Are you THAT daft Huitzy ? That's my mother, one of the oldest goddesses in existence and one of the most powerful Lords of the Underworld ! Izanami ! " She said, giving her mother an apologetic smile .
Huitzilopochtli gulped , before shooting to his feet as well , " Apologies Lady Izanami , I didn't recognise you at all ! "
Izanami gave a little giggle , before replying in her motherly voice , " It's quite alright , why don't you two kids sit back down ? Greetings by the way Lord Ra . " She said , shocking the two Chief Gods at how casually she spoke to the Egyptian God , as well as leaving them slightly embarrassed at being called kids by the Underworld Lord .
Ra nodded in reply , " A pleasure to see you again Izanami , why have you chosen to grace us with your presence for this round of Ragnarok ? " He spoke to the Underworld Lord in a slightly more respectful tone than his usual condescending one .
Izanami shrugged , taking a seat , " It IS Hel , Queen of Helheim who is fighting , so as her subordinate and advisor , it is only natural I show up to cheer her on . "
Ra smirked , " Oh yes , she managed to beat you in the final round of the Helheim Tournament , right ? Quite the impressive feat indeed , but it appears your daughter feels that this victory was a mere stroke of luck . "
Izanami sighed , turning to her daughter , who was trying to unsuccessfully hide herself behind Huitzilopochtli , " Oh you silly child , " She said , " Me and my father keep telling you to not write off others as weaklings so easily , there's MORE to other's strength than meets the eye at the first glance you know . "
Amaterasu could only manage a disgruntled , " Yes mother . " As she looked like she could nearly die from embarrassment , first she got slobbered all over the face by a hellhound , and now her mother was talking to her as though she was a child in front of her colleague and boss . Huitzilopochtli would never let her live this down . While she was quietly fuming , the other three gods in the room turned back to the battlefield below .
Jason scowled angrily at Hel's massive ice barrier , " You can't keep running and hiding you little BITCH ! " He yelled , " But I suppose I shouldn't be surprised , gods are known to be a cowardly bunch unwilling to fight their own battles ! " He said mockingly much to the anger of many gods in the audience who booed at Jason's words .
Suddenly , Jason's patience came to an end , " ALRIGHT YOU SHITTY GOD ! " He yelled , " I'm DONE playing your stupid games ! This battle ends HERE and NOW ! "
And with that , it was his warskirt that began to glow this time , as the silhouette of Ares appeared behind him .
" BOON FROM OLYMPUS : STRENGTH OF ARES ! "
With that , Jason threw back a single fist and sent it flying straight into the giant wall of ice . " BOOM ! " As soon as his punch made contact , a spider web of cracks started appearing all over the glacier , before the whole thing came crashing down .
" UH OH FOLKS ! With just ONE strong punch , Jason has managed to take down Hel's gigantic icy shield ! What DEVASTATING power ! Is this match already concluded with victory for mankind ? " Heimdall shouted from the sidelines , shielding his eyes from the cloudy ice particles that formed from the wall collapsing .
Jason growled , trying to find his opponent from within the fog , carelessly taking one step into it , thinking that he already had Hel on the ropes . However , that proved to be a colossal mistake on his part .
From the mist , a long green object came hurtling out , wrapping itself around Jason's body , holding his arms down and preventing him from moving , save for his struggling , kicking legs . The crowd gasped , what was that green thing ? Did Sobek rejoin the fray or something ?
As the fog finally cleared , they all realized that the long green thing wasn't the Crocodile God or course , or any other god for that fact . Rather it was the long coiling tail of a snake ! But as they got a closer look , the audience was left speechless . For this snake tail had no head , instead the long winding green coils were connected to the left shoulder of Hel ! She had emerged from her hiding spot , and her appearance looked radically different from her previous look .
Instead of the moldering gray corpse that made up the left side of her face and arm , she now possessed the snake tail that held Jason in its coils instead of an arm . The left side of her face was covered in shiny green scales as well , her left eye now yellow and reptilian , she also possessed shiny white fangs , and a long black forked tongue that slid in and out of her mouth .
With a cruel reptilian smile , she responded to the squirming , cursing God Butcher trapped in her coils , " Quite right Jason , the battle DOES end here and now , for YOU AT LEAST ! "
With that , she began to use her new arm to smash Jason on the floor of the arena and drag him viciously across its wall . All while Jason screamed in agony and let out a barrage of colorful curses of both the English and Greek variety
A proud looking Izanami gestured down towards the scene unfolding below to Amaterasu , " See daughter ? I told you there was more than meets the eye when it comes to Hel ! Now bear witness to the TRUE power of the Queen of Helheim ! Why I remember when she used that power on ME in our bout ! Fun times indeed . " She giggled .
Huitzilopochtli and Amaterasu looked at Hel's new form in shock and awe , " What the HELL is that form ?" Huitzilopochtli asked loudly , " Why did Hel's left arm become a freaking snake tail ? "
Izanami smiled , " I find it quite ironic that the god hating Jason is to be Hel's opponent in this match , " She said , seemingly ignoring Huitzilopochtli's question , " After all , the Queen of Helheim HERSELF harbors a deep resentment to a particular group of gods as well for what they did to her and her family . "
At this revelation , the two Sun God's attention quickly snapped back to Izanami , " What do you mean by that mother ? " Amaterasu questioned , to which Izanami sighed , " Let me tell you two children the tragic tale of Hel , and how , " She said this while gesturing to the Queen of Helheim's new form , " She obtained this strange power . "
Alright ! I'm quite proud of this battle scene between the two contestants , next chapter will cover Hel's backstory . Can't wait to share it with you all . Meanwhile , Jason probably has one of the more innovative weapons on my part that I could think up , theres gonna be some big changes to it in the battle in later chapters . Also if anyone wants , you can try guessing which of the 12 Olympian's power his gauntlets will grant him in the reviews . Until the next chapter !