Chapter 11

Hell Raising Stakes

"INCREDIBLE!" Heimdall screeched as 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 this is my Divine Weapons! 'THE HEROES' LIGHT!' EACH piece granting me a particular strength or skill of a god from the 12 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. "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 could 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 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 with an interested look on his face.

"Very interesting choice you have sent out Prometheus," 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 think?"

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 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?"

"You oaf!" 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."

Ares blushed, embarrassed at his own naivety, Zeus whose focus was now back on the fight, spoke once more, "Although… The MORE important question here, 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.

Back in the battlefield, Jason watched as the Queen of Helheim got back up on her two feet, whilst both sides of the audience cheered them 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 take 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…"

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 mocking applause, "Not bad at all, Queen of Helheim. Guess some gods DO use their brains after all."

Hel shrugged modestly,"Just because I do not possess experience like the other older Chief Gods, doesn't mean I am incapable in the field of battle and strategizing"

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, though 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!"

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."

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 now," 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 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, 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. And 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. Wasting his boon, and buying Hel a few precious moments to execute her plan.

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, "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 tantrum, understood?"

"I-I'm sorry Lord Ra, I forgot myself for a moment, p-please forgive my rudeness. But still, 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, 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, " 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 addressed as kids.

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, "Always putting so much stock in strength, when will you learn that there is more to a Chief God that power?"

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.

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, 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 gaped at Hel's new form "Whoa what IS that form?" Huitzilopochtli asked," How 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 once harbored a deep resentment towards a particular god as well for what he did to her and her family."

"What do you mean by that mother?" Amaterasu questioned. Izanami sighed," Let me tell you two children the Queen of Helheim's story, and how," gesturing towards the Queen of Helheim's new form, "she obtained this strange power."