(Fight to dominate)
The three giant canines flew back for what felt like miles before they got their claws back on the ground, tearing deep gouges in the earth as they slid to a stop. Ichigo immediately appeared before them, glaring up to the three massive god slayers. Skoll and Hati growled viciously at the hybrid, bearing their fangs in ferocious snarls, but Fenrir remained rigid and composed as he met Ichigo's glare. The great wolf growled and made his children whimper before they stepped back.
"So what's the full story here Fenrir?" Ichigo asked, annoyed that Loki pulled something like this without filling him in before hand. Something he should've expected from the most infamous mythological trickster, and something that he's going to deck the Giant for when he gets the chance. Fenrir stepped closer to Ichigo and lowered his massive head, sticking out his tongue to reveal a stone with a set of runes on it. The Shinigami Commander took the stone and tapped it, getting a projection of the trickster himself.
"Hello Ichigo, sorry about springing this on you." The message started. "These are my grandsons, they chase the chariots of the Sun and Moon because Odin thought that the people he assigned needed motivation and I said they could eat them if they caught them. They've been getting a little too close and I don't want to try and fix needing a new Sun and Moon for the Norse realms so I gave them a new challenge; fighting you. Same rules apply as with Fenrir; Beat them and they're yours." The magic faded and the stone turned to dust. The three wolves moved to surround him while Ichigo cracked his neck and released six of his seals.
"Alright. Time for obedience school." He said as the three jumped at him all at once. Ichigo immediately flashed above them and formed a Reishi construct of his leg and stomped down, aiming to strike them all in the head. Fenrir learned from their first encounter and taught his sons because the wolves jumped back just enough to leap back in and snap their jaws around his spirit limb as it landed, creating a large dust cloud and making the ground tremble. Ichigo grunted in pain as he felt three sets of jaws tear into his flesh as he dispelled the Reishi leg, finding feeling blood pouring from his wound as his flesh knit itself back together. 'The fangs that can kill gods. How troublesome.' The hybrid thought to himself as he stood in the air and tapped his foot a few times against the Reishi under his feet, before Hati and Skoll jumped up to snatch him out of the air.
"All that time chasing the sun and moon," Ichigo started as they bit into him before that image of him faded, "and you're both so slow." He appeared by Hati's side and threw a Reishi fist half the size of the wolf's torso into his ribs, earning a pained yelp as he was sent flying before another Ichigo appeared above Skoll and threw a Reishi double hammer punch onto his head, getting similar results. He noted that he couldn't see Fenrir and released a quick Pesquisa to find him, discovering that he was already behind Ichigo and snapped his jaws around him but quickly stopped as he landed.
"Your breath stinks!" The hybrid complained, standing on the hilt of the Khyber half of Zangetsu while the Trench blade was in his hands. Fenrir shook his head furiously and Ichigo flew out of his mouth, the hybrid sticking out his hands and summoning Zangetsu back to him. 'That was close. He's much faster than I expected.' The Captain Commander thought as he righted himself, reflecting on what happened. Fenrir got out of his line of sight and then shot toward him like a bullet, faster than most of the Knight pieces among the Devils that he's seen. He avoided getting bitten again by stabbing the blades of Zangetsu into his jaws from the inside, remembering how vulnerable that part of the God Killing Wolf was from the stories. Not that he wanted to end up in that situation again, too much risk with those fangs.
"Now, let's try-" He started before his eyes widened in surprise, flashing back as Skoll pounced on his location and had to flash away again as Hati leaped after him the moment he appeared and Fenrir slashing at him as he landed and flashed away to land on top of Fenrir's snout. "Oh great." Ichigo groaned as he saw a familiar rune on the wolf's eye, his chest healing from the gashes the wolf made before he had to flash away again as Fenrir tried to snap him up in his jaws. "Loki you trouble making bastard!" He growled as he flashed high above the three. "Giving them precognition?! I thought we agreed on making this simple!" He let out a frustrated sigh before relaxing, the three mythic canines getting ready to fight again as Ichigo glared down at them.
"Okay. Time to learn the difference between fighting to subdue and to kill. Shinsoku." The three wolves' eyes widened in shock as they saw, just an instant before it happened, a dozen Ichigos appearing around them. They tensed but couldn't move, unable to tell which was real and which was an afterimage, just as they were attacked from all sides from blades and Reishi manifested limbs. Skoll and Hati were easily tossed around, letting out pained yelps as they suffered each blow before getting a large cut in their sides. The assault ended as the Ichigo copies fades, leaving one left that was glaring at Fenrir's side as his blade failed to pierce the great wolf's hide.
'I knew that fur was special.' He thought as Fenrir snarled at him and charged, snapping at where Ichigo was. 'Knew I should've focused more on him.' Ichigo concluded as he clutched his still bleeding stump of a right arm, growling as he forced more energy into his regeneration and restoring his arm while a spot on his chest glowed. "Time to fix that." Ichigo opened his hand and summoned his lost Zangetsu, the blade quickly tearing through the beast's jaw and returning to his hand. In his grasp, the blades glowed with Reishi as the energy vibrated along the edges. He then flashed in front of Fenrir, already throwing down an ax kick with a giant heel twice the size of the wolf's head. Fenrir was still reeling from Zangetsu ripping through his mouth and couldn't react before Ichigo's heel struck him like a meteor, cratering the ground beneath them.
"You just had," he growled as he dropped to the ground between his paws, "to make this difficult!" He drew on the ambient to form two large stakes that he immediately stabbed through Fenrir's front feet. "Instead of just simply accepting the deal!" He threw another kick with a Reishi construct, twice the size of the wolf and sent him flying. "Now I had to show you WHY!" He roared out, flashing to Fenrir and stomping on him with a Reishi projection. "THAT'S! A BAD! IDEA!" He brought a growing Reishi foot down with each word before it eclipsed Fenrir's body and buried him in the ground. He sensed Skoll and Hati behind him, furious and ready to avenge their father.
"Gentei Kaijo, ten through one." He said as he broke every last seal he was permitted to, each one giving a clearer form of his Reishi projection. "Well? Are we done yet?" Ichigo asked, growling as a towering giant in the form of his Hollow appeared. Hati and Skoll were still growling with their fangs bared in vicious snarls, but their eyes betrayed a sense of fear. That they were facing a far greater and far more hungry beast that just decided that it was done playing with its food. The two let out a whimper and finally said down in submission.
"Good." Ichigo said, immediately dispelling the projection before creating a hand big enough to cradle Fenrir. "Let's go to your new home." He then brought the two blades of Zangetsu together and dispelled his Shikai, forming a sheathed katana, that he stabbed into the air and turned it like a key. The act caused a massive Senkaimon gate to appear and open. "Come along boys. Let's get you patched up." He said as he walked through the portal with Fenrir in his massive Reishi hand, the two following after him. With his free hand he felt his chest where the Hogyoku resided, sensing the lingering influence of its power. 'Need to be more careful. Can't afford to get too strong too quickly. Don't want to attract the wrong attention.'
(Fight to train)
"So, the Heavenly Dragons are teaming up to fight me together? Wonderful. How wonderful!" Loki said in an excited and mocking tone as Issei and Vali flew to his level, Issei gathering his strength with his periodic boosts in the hopes of leveling the playing field between them. "I might be the first singular person in history to have this happen to them. SO EXCITING!" He yelled out in cheer. "The last time you two teamed up was because all three of the Biblical factions were interrupting your fight, but now you've teamed up to simply fight me! I don't know if this should be a compliment to me or an insult to the two of you that you're so weak that this is your hope to win!"
"He really likes to talk." Vali dryly said as the two settled into their respective fighting stances. "Listen Issei, focus on strengthening yourself and take advantage of whatever opening I can make." He quietly said to his rival and partner.
"Can't you weaken him with your Divide?" Issei asked as he formed a Magic Jump glyph at his feet.
"I don't know." Vali admitted. "Not with Loki himself, but I know enough Norse magic to cripple his attacks. Maybe." The Pawn grunted in acknowledgment as the pair shot toward the trickster, Vali making the first strike that Loki smoothly dodged. The Nordic deity laughed as he flowed around the White Dragon's attempted and continued laughing as Vali swung a wing in an attempt to cut the laughing Jotun only to get the same results, Loki dodging each attack like he was riding along the wind currents.
"Sorry, but I was always a slippery one." He said with a mocking grin before swerving to the right and smacking a passing Issei in the head as he flew by like a rocket while his 'Boosts' echoed out. "Too loud for a sneak attack Red Dragon!" He yelled out with a laugh. "Are you two really the legendary Heavenly Dragons possessors?"
"Damn it!" Issei cursed, turning as he got next to Vali. "Not fast eno-" He froze when he felt Vali grab the back of his head with Divide being called out, but he didn't feel his own energy depleting in any way. "What was-?" He asked before feeling something on the back of his head pop.
"That was close." Vali said, relief evident in his voice. "He placed an explosive spell on the back of your head."
"Thanks." The Red Dragon said as they faced the god again, finding Loki clapping his hands and forming a spear with green blade with a bundle of leaves at the base of the blade. "Should we go again?"
"Yeah. I should be able to figure out his... MOVE!" Vali calmly started before kicking Issei away the moment he saw Loki's hand glow, Nordic spell circles appearing around the Jotun. Magical blasts shot out and flew toward the two at incredible speeds, quite a few grazing the scale armor of the two as they weaved around the many attacks. 'What the hell is this?!' The White Dragon thought to himself while Issei's boosts seemed to finally give him a speed and endurance edge, the only problem was his lack of combat experience. Mostly he was dodging to what seemed like an instinctual level, as if he faced death nearly every day since the last time they met. However, it seemed to him like Loki was trying to lead them aro- his train of thought was interrupted by the god appearing in front and attacked with that spear. The sudden assault forced him to defend and no matter what he attempted, he didn't seem to gain any opening to counter.
"Dragon Shot!" They heard Issei call out, Loki disappearing from in front of Vali as the blast closed in on the White Dragon.
"Divide! Divide! Divide! Divide! Divide!" The Divine Dividing echoed as the magical attack slammed into Vali's hands before shrinking to nothing. "That HNG!" Vali started before feeling something pierce into his back while Issei was surrounded by magic glyphs just before he was engulfed in explosions. Vali looked behind him to see the smirking Jotun tear the spear out and kick him to Issei, causing him to slam into the Red Dragon.
"Hahaha! Come on! Can't you do better than this?!" Loki asked mockingly as the two recovered. "Come on, I can do this all day. Let my children have their fun devouring your friends!"
"That won't happen!" Issei roared out, getting ready to make another go at the god and even surrender to Juggernaut Drive if necessary.
"Issei, he can somehow see the future." Vali said quickly, getting his rival's attention. "He's been either directing our movements or just staying a step ahead of us and controlling this whole fight."
"Wait... did you see his eyes?" Hyodou asked, hearing this jogging a memory from a bad loss on his team's part. "In a Rating Game we had matches that gave us advantages and disadvantages, one of which was seeing into the future. It involved drawing a Rune over the eyes."
"Did it look like an upper case C?" Vali asked, getting a nod. "Anything else you can tell me?"
"It'll rely on his own magic supply." Issei said, knowing it was bad news and getting a groan from Vali. "Keep him occupied. I do have an idea." The Lucifer heir spared a glance to his partner and decided to trust him.
"Easy for you to ask, you don't have to fight a god that's predicting your every move." He groaned before flashing to Loki, throwing every attack he could to keep him occupied. Punches, kicks, wing slashes, magic attacks, the occasional attempt to Divide anything about Loki in the most random pattern he could think of and try in the hope that it could overcome the foresight that Loki was using. None of them worked as the Jotun pretty much danced around the Lucifer descendant, easily dodging most attacks and deflecting a few other by pushing aside wrists or ankles or the joints of the wings and placing runic bombs on the White Dragon. Vali knew that this was just another way Loki was mocking him, deliberately giving him enough time to Divide the power to be a nonexistent threat and getting a power boost that was still meaningless in the face of his foresight. Again, a trickster was dancing around him with laughable ease and it infuriated him. First Kyoraku and those kids games that changed on a dime, now this cretin that was playing 'keep away' while spamming precognition like a cheat code.
"Come on~!" Loki sang, sticking his tongue out. "How much stronger do I need to let you get before you can be a..." He trailed off, blinking in confusion and getting Vali's attention as well. The White Dragon saw Issei with an ethereal specter of Rias over him, his hands in the spirit's...chest. "Oppai-?" Loki started, turning to face the Gremory pawn as Issei was suddenly in front of the trickster.
"PU~NCH!!" He roared out as his fist buried itself in the god's gut, creating a shockwave that shook the air around them. The force carried through and blew out Loki's back, bones and viscera tearing away from him as Issei destroyed his body. Vali came to his senses as quickly as he could and brought out his wings to dice Loki into pieces before the two shot a ball of magic energy at where the god's body was and engulfed the remains in a concentrated explosion. Once it settled and the two could relax, Vali withdrew his face mask to look and Issei, whose hands were still covered in energy boobs, and ask the only thing he could.
"Oppai punch?" Issei retracted his face mask, made the spectral tits fade, and looked at Vali with a dead serious expression.
"After those humiliating defeats to precognition abilities, we all started researching any way to overcome it." The Crimson Dragon started explaining. "Rias and Kiba figured out that the best way to do this was to do something so ridiculous and unexpected that it'd throw the opponent off that you'd have a window of opportunity, even if they could see into the future." He finished with a confident expression.
"Oppai. Punch." Vali repeated, causing Issei to bury his face in his hands.
"I'M SORRY~!" He cried, tears spraying out of his eyes while even Ddraig was heard crying. "I KNOW IT'S STUPID AND I'M DOING MYSELF NO FAVORS BY DOING THAT BUT I NEEDED TO DO SOMETHING RIDICULOUS ENOUGH TO THROW HIM OFF LONG ENOUGH TO LAND ANY KIND OF ATTACK!" Vali finally cracked up, pointing and laughing before singing the Oppai Dragon theme song while Issei begged in vain for him to stop. All the while, the pair were unaware of the two standing high above them.
"Man, for something as idiotic as boob fists, it really did some damage." Loki said, rubbing his head. "I thought we would've died if we hadn't dodged just before it landed."
"Yeah. Dodged." Uryu groaned while rubbing his face with a handkerchief, the cloth absorbing all of the blood that was pouring out of his eyes. Loki played his part, taking the form of a necklace on Uryu's neck and used whatever magic seemed to be appropriate for the moment while Uryu played him for the fight. He knew of the application of the Perthro(ᛈ) Rune from the Sitri/Gremory Rating Game and offered to help, but Uryu declined and said he had something better. The secret power of the Almighty was something Soul Society refused to allow any of the other factions to know about, not that it seemed to be an issue now. 'So, this is the cost of spamming the Almighty without having sufficient power.' Uryu thought as his vision remained blurry. "Finish your part." The Quincy said as he sank into the shadows and returned to Shadow Karakura.
"Got it." Loki said as he coughed into his hand. "Well! That was an interesting move!" He shouted, interrupting the Heavenly Dragons as they looked up to him in shock. "But did you really think I'd actually put myself in any real danger? I figured I would-EHHH!?" He yelled out in surprise as a shining golden chain wrapped around him. "What!? Glepnir!?" They all turned to find Ichigo holding the chain.
"That's enough." He calmly stated before flashing to the god and whispering. "They're safe and acclimating." He then wrapped the chain around Loki's mouth. "Now stay quiet." Ichigo then turned to the Vali and Issei. "Good job you two. My only criticism is that you should never let down your guard when fighting technique and trickster types. But don't worry, we'll fix that in time." Issei bowed and proclaimed his thanks, Vali narrowed his eyes as he thought that something felt off.
(Actual Fight)
"Promotion: Queen!" Saji yelled out as he jumped to the center of the battlefield, immediately switching to the strongest state he could while activating his Balance Breaker. "Now Shadow Prison!" He punched the ground, lines of blackish purple flames snaked out in four lines going through the gaps between the four groups to beyond the Jormungandr clones before reaching out to form a large square around all of them. The flames rose high to beyond the heights of the Jormungandrs and boxed them in, all of the clones shying away from the fires and sensing the dangers of the black blazes with a few letting out angry hisses. 'Crap! I don't think I can keep this up forever.' Saji thought as the rest of his group burst into action, all of the primary attackers concentrating their efforts onto a single clones for their respective sides while their magic users stayed back to assist in whatever way they could.
First was the Gremory group; Kiba started things off by spawning as many Dragon slayer swords as he could for the others before joining as Rias led the rest of her team against the Jormungandr clones. Koneko was swinging a sword that was basically a large sharpen slab of metal, using it more like a club that was occasionally cutting the massive serpents, while Akeno made precise blasts with her lightning with a far greater potency to it than she once had. Rias was firing off blasts of her destruction magic, one managing to pierce through enough of one's skull to leave it paralyzed or dead, but mainly focused on tearing away enough scale and muscle so that Irina and Kiba could land more critical hits.
His own Sitri group split to two teams lead by Sona and Tsubaki, Sona led the attack with Xenovia, Tsubasa, and Tomoe while Tsubaki, Momo, and Reya did whatever they could with their spells and what Kido they learned. Saji looked back to Gasper, using his petrifying Sacred Gear to focus on one at a time. The strain seemed to be evident on the Dhampir as the powerful snakes proved to be more resistant than his usual victims. The stronger Sitri Pawn nodded as he got an idea and jumped into the air, punching out a fist and sending out an tube of his Absorption Line and stabbing itself into one of the more injured but still living Dragons. The effect was immediate as a line of red made it way rapidly to him.
"Gasper!" He called out as he landed next to the Gremory Bishop, Tsubasa and Tomoe were getting healed by Asia for bruises and broken bones from the swings that the Dragons make and it looked like Koneko was joining them. "Drink up." Saji said as he took off the tube from his wrist and gave it to the Dhampir, the Dragon blood about ten centimeters away from the end. Gasper seemed hesitant but took the tube and sucked as hard as he could, drinking as fast as possible. The gulping was audible as Saji fired more Absorption Lines to whatever Jormungandr clones he thought fitting in an attempt to restore his rapidly depleting mana, from the ones that were dying to help speed that process along to ones that were about to strike his precious allies from their blind spots.
"Attack! Gogz!" Le Fay called out when one serpent was about to snap Xenovia in it's jaws, a giant stone robot looking thing appeared from a large magic circle that the young witch created and struck the Dragon with a lariat. The massive snake buckled under the golem's arm before it was sent flying into the wall of fire, roars of agony that sent a slight shudder through anyone that heard it as they did their best to ignore their enemy's pain. The Soul Reaper and witch locked eyes for a moment before giving an acknowledging nod of thanks and welcome to the other before Xenovia continued her battles.
"Luce Solare! Cleave!" The young Shinigami called out as she swung her ax sideways across the gaping maw of another clone, a crescent of light striking the serpent's mouth and split the muscles and bones to leave the monster's jaw to hang uselessly. "Pierce!" Xenovia called out again as she flashed to the snake's open mouth, her ax changing form to that of a spear as she thrust it through the roof of the creature's mouth. The result was immediate as a spear of light shot through the Dragon clone's head. She rushed away from the falling corpse but didn't notice the other snake that rushed her until it caught her. "AH!" She cried out in pain as its teeth dug into her, but she manifested Durandal in her other hand and swung it at what part of the neck she could. The result was immediate as the clone was decapitated with her still in its jaws, falling to the ground.
"We've got you!" Kuroka called out as she flew up with Bikou to pry open the Jormungandr's jaws and free Xenovia, pulling her out as the Devil Nekoshou started using her Senjutsu to heal and extract what venom could've made its way into her veins. Saji drew his view back to Team Vali's side to find that it mainly the Pendragon siblings holding that front; Arthur cutting through the Dragons with the blade that was apparently Caliburn, the strongest Holy Sword, while Le Fay rode on the back of her massive golem that tore through the Jormungandrs with ease, fighting with lasers, bullets, and throwing the occasional rocket punch.
'At this point, I don't think I can be shocked anymore.' The Vlitra user thought as he drained the last of another dying clone's life force. He looked over to the side that was manned by Rossweisse and Baraqiel, finding the two shooting blasts of magic and lightning so powerful that the snakes were forced to take cover. 'This feels like we're fighting a battle of attrition.' Saji thought as he caught his breath. 'Shouldn't they have been harder to kill? Or have we gotten that strong?' He questioned again before Gasper called out.
"I'm ready!" He declared with conviction in his glowing red eyes before exploding into a swarm of bats. The results were immediate as the remaining ten serpents froze; three on the ORC side, two on the Student Council's, and the five that tried to hide among Rossweisse's and Baraqiel's side. Arthur and Le Fay's Gogmagog, he heard Bikou call it, tore through their side pretty easily.
"One moment, I'll smoke them out." Kuroka said as she walked to that side. "This won't be lethal, but this poison can still be irritating to these Dragons." She waved her hand and blew at a spell that appeared, causing a thick mist to form and flow over the battlefield and force the Dragons out in the open and falling prey to Gasper's Sacred Gear.
"Now, let's finish this." Rossweisse said as she brought out the Mjolnir replica they had. "This was a rush job, but the alterations we've made should allow you to swing this at least once." The hammer grew in her hands as she flew toward the closest snake to her. "Like SO!" She roared out as she slammed the head of the Jormungandr, smashing it to pulp in the grip of the petrification. "Next!" The Valkyrie called out as she seemed to drop from the exhaustion. Kiba and Tomoe flashed to the falling woman, Kiba catching her while Tomoe took her turn. She flashed to the next snake and repeated what Rossweisse demonstrated, Tsubasa catching her teammate while Koneko caught and threw the hammer to the next target. On and on that went with seamless cooperation as the copy Mjolnir changed hands with each person taking a single swing with it to ensure every last clone was dead. The last to catch this was Baraqiel, who had Akeno with him.
"Ready to finish this, my sweet daughter?" He asked with a smirk that could be considered fatherly.
"Ready papa!" Akeno answered as the two channeled as much lightning into the hammer as they could. The rest of the group made their way to above and behind the father/daughter duo, where it they could generate a barrier to protect them from the lightning.
"Now BEGONE!" The two called out as they dropped down, slamming the massive hammerhead into the ground and enveloping the area in a dome of lightning so potent that anything not attuned to the element would definitely have their hearts stop. As the electricity died down to just being the hammer, Baraqiel noticed that Akeno blacked out from the strain and caught her arm, with Issei catching the other one. The Fallen Angel looked around to find Vali with his team and Ichigo sheathing a sword as multiple fires blazed to life around them with a chained up Loki hanging from his hand.
"Good job everyone. We won." The Captain Commander said with genuine praise in his voice, getting some bashful smiles and proud smirks from the teens that were still conscious. The air was filled with sighs of relief before it turned into laughs and cheers of joy, of victory of overcoming their most dangerous trial yet. He took out his phone and checked the time, the minutes clicking closer to the projected end of the conference between Odin and Amaterasu. "Let's head back, get you all patched up, and then you can all get whatever vacation you want on me!" Ichigo announced as the group gathered around him with the young Devils letting out another cheer, this one about food and hotsprings. "And yes, you're invited as well Team Vali." He said, looking over to Arthur about to cut open a portal with Kuroka and Le Fay getting sparkling eyes.
"Seriously?" Vali asked, looking confused at the offer as the girls rushed over.
"Yeah. Maybe I'll give you that fight you've been wanting as well." Ichigo said, getting a shrug from Bikou and Arthur as they all headed to join the group. "Now let's head back. As soon as you're ready for that vacation, make your way to Karakura Town." The Hybrid then formed a cube of Reishi around them before clapping, casting a Kido to instantly teleport them back to the roof of the Gremory owned hotel. "Okay, there's one thing left for me and Rossweisse to handle, but the rest of you can call it a day." He said before putting his hand on the Valkyrie's shoulder and flashing away to a door that he opened to reveal Odin speaking with Amaterasu.
"-in agreement." Amaterasu nodded. "I'm permitting you to take four of our stronger members of the Gotei to fight under your command for one battle of your choosing. In exchange, you give us one of your most learned in the ways of Nordic magic to share with us."
"Among everything else we've discussed. But getting the Dwarves to cooperate will still take some doing." Odin said with a somewhat satisfied smirk. "And here's the one to talk to about the soldiers." The god stood in front of Soul Reaper and the Valkyrie. "Rossweisse, I'm sorry if this hurts you, but this is your last duty as a Valkyrie under my command; Stay here and share the secrets of our magic with the Gotei." Rossweisse gaped in shock at the command, but Odin returned his focus on Ichigo. "In exchange, I'm trusting you to supply me with four Captains at a time of my choosing." He said, holding out his hand.
"I can think of at least one that would be happy to help." The Captain Commander said as he took the god's hand. The moment they made contact the world went monochrome, Ichigo could see the rusted chains of Hell burst out of his arm and attached themselves to Odin.
"Tsumibito no Fuhai." Rensa Seigi's voice called out before everything went back to normal, the whole event taking place in a literal instant. Ichigo ripped his hand free and looked at his hand in horror, knowing he just inadvertently gave Odin his death sentence.