Chapter 110: All-Out from the First Moment!
The thick stench of blood had already permeated the entire arena.
Some gods who sensed something was amiss paled further.
"Sister, is he the Old Man of the Mountain?"
The petite girl in a beautiful dress—Valkyrie Hlökk, the eleventh sister—let out a trembling whisper from her cherry-blossom lips.
This had to be a summoning mistake. It had to be.
The sheer volume of blood soaking the arena floor—how many lives had to be taken to produce that much?
And within that blood lingered divine power—this was the blood of gods.
Then there was the skeletal knight bathed in divine blood, exuding a dark aura, his hollow eyes glowing ominously. There was no way this could be human.
He looked every bit a terrifying death god.
Ah—Hlökk suddenly thought of a possibility.
Hadn't the previous match destroyed the Demon's Eye of Venus? It had released many super-dangerous entities sealed in the past.
Could this skeletal knight be one of them?
"Most likely."
"Huh?"
Hlökk stared blankly at her sister. What did she mean, "most likely"?
Her sister simply showed her the screen of her small terminal device—the scan of the skeletal knight on the arena identified him as the Old Man of the Mountain.
"No way. The Old Man of the Mountain and this demonic skeletal knight—they don't match at all!"
"But the scan says so. And the rules of Ragnarök aren't reacting to him either."
No reaction was the best reaction, confirming that this seemingly dangerous figure was indeed Hassan-i-Sabbah, codenamed the "Old Man of the Mountain"—he was human.
Now forcibly summoned to the arena, the bloody scene that unfolded even made Brunhilde break out in a cold sweat.
Had this guy gone somewhere in the divine realm and committed mass slaughter against the gods?
"Sister, this is really bad..."
The gods were already murmuring about how Sister Brunhilde had once again summoned some problematic, dangerous figure—hopefully not another disaster like the previous match.
"What? Are the mighty gods starting to fear humans now? Have you lost your nerve?"
Brunhilde responded with an unladylike, vulgar retort, casting a contemptuous glance their way.
Her demeanor was just like that day during the divine assembly when she had mercilessly mocked the gods.
So after her words, a brief silence fell over the divine side—
"Who the hell is afraid of humans?!"
"You damned woman, what the hell did you summon this time?"
"Can we just have a proper fight?"
"Afraid of humans? Is that even a human on the stage?"
The gods roared in fury. Not only was Göll terrified, but even Hlökk and the others were stunned by their sister's full-throttle provocation, leaving them flustered in the face of divine wrath.
The next second, all the clamor instantly vanished—as if a recorder had been abruptly switched off.
The truth was that a terrifying killing intent had swept through the entire arena, freezing everyone in place and rendering them speechless.
And the one releasing this killing intent was not the black skeletal knight—but Hades, the King of the Underworld.
"If anyone keeps making noise, I won't mind killing them first."
After Hades indifferently uttered these words from the arena, countless humans and gods alike clenched their jaws even tighter.
Because it was clear he wasn't joking.
"Who art thou?"
Hades pointed his bident at the man across from him.
"Where is this place?"
The other man ignored his question and instead posed one of his own.
Having been summoned on the spot, he understood nothing of the situation.
"Heimdall, explain it to him. Make him understand in five seconds."
"Huh?"
Still sitting in the pool of blood, Heimdall hadn't even processed the command yet.
By the time he did, two seconds had already passed—leaving only three. Explaining everything clearly in that time was nearly impossible.
But no matter how difficult, he had to try his damnedest.
"This is the final battle arena between humans and gods—thirteen rounds in total. The first side to win seven victories determines the outcome. If humanity wins, they will survive for another thousand years. If—Guh!"
Before he could finish, Hades swung his weapon, the resulting shockwave blasting Heimdall right off the stage.
"I see. Understood."
The man's reply was just as calm as before.
"However, the fate of humanity should be decided by humanity itself. For you to presume to dictate it—such wickedness makes thee mine enemy. Thou shalt fall beneath my blade!"
Though his voice remained composed, an astonishing, chilling aura radiated from him.
Especially among the divine spectators—many shuddered as if they had just witnessed their own beheading, jolting back to reality with their backs drenched in cold sweat.
Some even instinctively touched their necks, checking to make sure they were still intact.
"Hahaha, indeed. I, Hades, King of the Underworld and God of Death, am evil in your human eyes. But slaying a god—can you even do it?"
Hades unleashed the most overwhelming battle aura he had ever mustered.
The person before him was undoubtedly the most formidable adversary he had ever faced, one that demanded his full power—no, even more than that. Merely giving a hundred percent wouldn't suffice; he needed to surpass his limits.
And so, Hades did something that left everyone stunned.
He took the sharp edge of his weapon and slashed it across his own chest, drenching the entire spear in a torrent of his own blood.
"What is Lord Hades doing?!"
"Why is he hurting himself?"
"I don't understand."
Nearly all the gods were baffled, and the humans were equally confused.
Even the Valkyries couldn't comprehend it.
"This is—!"
Zeus, the only one who understood, immediately stood up, his expression turning unusually grave.
From the very start, Hades was going all out.
This meant Hades sensed an overwhelming threat from his opponent.
If he didn't give his all from the beginning, the battle could end in an instant with a single misstep.
But this didn't imply a vast disparity in strength—rather, some fighters unleash their full power from the outset, refusing to reveal their cards gradually.
Heh heh heh, Brunhilde truly was impressive. Once again, she hadn't disappointed him, finding yet another extraordinary human!