{Chapter: 347 Furious Battle}
"Ha... ha..." The Mangog's guttural roar echoed across the battlefield, shaking the very foundations of the energy dome. Golden flames burst from his titanic form, cascading over his expanding muscles like molten sunlight. His sinews bulged grotesquely as if divine wrath was tearing his very body apart in order to rebuild it stronger, more terrible.
Tear. Tear.
The golden armor encasing the giant began to splinter and peel, shards flying in all directions under the pressure of raw power. Each piece shattered with a thunderous crack, as if the very heavens rejected their attempt to contain his fury.
William narrowed his eyes. Moments ago, his blade had barely scratched that armor—yet now, Mangog's own strength shattered it. That fact alone spoke volumes.
In the corner of the shattered arena, William stood silently and without panic. With a calm breath.
"It's time," he whispered.
With a thunderous flash, the Mangog blinked across the arena, appearing before William in a blur of heat and rage. He brought his axe down with the fury of a dying star.
Bang!
William's body was launched like a ragdoll, soaring across the battlefield for thousands of meters before slamming into the energy barrier with bone-rattling force. A tremor rippled through the dome before vanishing.
Now unarmored, the Mangog stood tall, every muscle fiber gleaming with divine power. His golden skin rippled like magma cooled into obsidian, each step grinding the scorched ground beneath him into powder.
"ROOOAR!" Mangog bellowed, voice layered with thousands of vengeful spirits. "The honor of Asgard will not be tainted. We do not bow. Those who defy us will be eradicated."
Outside the barrier, Jane's breath caught. Her hands trembled as she screamed, "William!" Her voice cracked with emotion. "No—NO! Damn you all—let him go!" She ran at Odin, fury in her eyes and love in her voice, only to be restrained by guards. "Please—he's not your enemy! He only ever tried to protect me… to protect us!"
Tears streamed down her face. Odin remained unmoved, his one good eye cold and unmoved by her pain.
Fandral shook his head, uneasy. "Why doesn't he transform? I've seen him do it before. His power… this isn't all of it."
"Perhaps he's frozen in fear," Volstagg chuckled grimly. "Even the fiercest dog tucks its tail between its legs before the storm."
"No," Thor said, voice low. His fists clenched. "William is never afraid. He's waiting."
Sif scowled, arms folded. Her sharp gaze was locked on William, watching every movement with an emotion even she didn't want to admit. "He's always been manipulative," she muttered, more to herself than to anyone else. "But… he doesn't give up. No matter how much I wish he would."
There was bitterness in her voice. But beneath it—buried deep—was something else. A flicker of admiration. Regret. Something unspoken that curdled into resentment.
Inside the dome, William pressed his palms to the cracked earth and groaned, blood trailing from his mouth. His eyes glowed faintly green… then shifted—splitting into three rotating, golden wind blades within each iris.
He stood.
"Had fun?" he asked, voice hoarse but defiant.
The Mangog snarled. "You should be dust. The next blow will finish it."
William showed a hint of cruelty, "I'm afraid you can't do it. In return, I will tear you into pieces."
"At this time, you still dare to talk big." The giant spirit roared.
William licked blood from his lip and grinned, dark and vicious. "Maybe. Or maybe this time... you'll be the one who breaks."
"You arrogant insect!" the Mangog bellowed, lifting his axe for the final strike.
But William's voice rang out, clear and commanding:
"Transformers Shine—QUADRUPLE!"
A brilliant cascade of golden flames surged from his body, igniting the battlefield in radiance. His body cracked with power. Then came the Transformium—billions of nanite-like golden particles, erupting from his body.
A blue light flashed, and a huge number of Transformium element particles were released. These silver-white transformation element particles were changed by the golden flames emitted by William, from silver-white to gold.
A golden particle storm appeared, spinning and rising wildly towards the sky. Powerful lightning flashed on the particle storm, making crackling sounds.
The storm began.
Particles spun into a spiraling vortex that surged skyward. The storm roared like a living beast—torrents of gold, arcs of electricity snapping violently between them.
The sky darkened. Then came the lights.
Blue. Crimson. Aquamarine. Yellow. And finally—pure white.
The five-color storm reached into the skies like a divine pillar. As it spun, it radiated waves of force so intense that the very air screamed. Lightning flashed through the vortex, dancing across the barrier dome with crackling menace.
The spectators winced and covered their eyes.
Only a few remained watching—Odin, unmoved; Thor, resolute; Sif, her expression unreadable. Jane, though… Jane stared through the cracks of her fingers, wide-eyed, breathless.
Her heart raced. William's power was dazzling—but that wasn't what made her love him.
It was the way he always fought. Not for glory. Not for conquest.
But for her.
"I believe in you," she whispered, her heart swelling with emotion. "I love you, William. Please… come back to me."
Inside the arena the five-colored light began to shift, transforming as the heavens trembled. Light blue deepened into a shimmering aquamarine. Crimson turned into burning red-gold. Aquamarine shimmered further into aqua-gold. The dusty hue of loess morphed into solid earth-gold. The pure snow-white took on a divine brilliance, becoming radiant platinum.
"AHHHHHHHH—!"
The roar that followed shattered the clouds and thundered across realms, a sound born of power ancient and unstoppable.
The storm of golden particles spiraled tighter, compressing toward a single point with violent force. Energy howled as it collapsed into form, the skies above warping as if reality itself bent around the phenomenon.
"Transformers Shining Quadruplet... descend!!"
William's voice echoed like a divine decree.
The storm erupted outward—and there he stood.
A titan.
A behemoth one hundred meters tall, a blazing colossus of golden energy. Every inch of him radiated power—his head was aquamarine, gleaming like the surface of a sacred ocean. His right arm shone with molten red-gold, the left with crystalline aqua-gold. His right leg pulsed with earth-gold, grounded and resolute, while the left blazed with platinum, divine and blinding. The rest of his form was enveloped in dazzling, radiant gold.
The Asgardians who had once faced this monstrous form trembled.
"He's back... the golden demon..." someone whispered.
"Wasn't he sealed? How is he alive again?" another stammered.
Panic spread like wildfire.
Jane's breath caught. Her lips parted slightly, her heart pounding. She pressed her fingers softly to her lips, tears forming in her eyes. "William..."
Inside the energy barrier, she reached for him with trembling hands that couldn't touch him, her voice breaking with awe and relief. "You came back to me... I knew you wouldn't fall. I knew it."
Outside the ring, Sif turned her head sharply. Her fists clenched at her sides until her knuckles turned white. Her lips tightened—but her eyes, her eyes betrayed something else. Pain. Confusion. And beneath it all... longing. "Why… why do you still protect him?" she muttered under her breath.
Memories flashed behind her cold, battle-hardened eyes.
Thor glanced sideways at her. "You alright?"
"I'm fine," she said curtly, jaw tight. "I just want to see him fall."
Yet her heart whispered otherwise.
"It's him… it's really him…"
The crowd erupted into chaos. Citizens screamed and scrambled to flee the stands.
"Don't let him near the city!"
"He'll destroy everything!"
Odin's voice thundered like divine steel. "People of Asgard!" He raised Gungnir high. "You do not need to panic! Have faith. Our Mangog is the might of Asgard made manifest! He will crush this abomination. I swear it as All-Father and protector of the Realms!"
The crowd hesitated, then stilled. Slowly, fear gave way to grim determination.
Inside the arena, William raised his sword that morphed into a golden machete. Lightning danced across his colossal form, surging with relentless power. His presence was divine, and his stance radiated total confidence.
"William!" Jane called again, tears falling freely now. "Don't give up... for us... for what we promised..."
William turned his head slightly toward her, just enough for her to see his glowing eyes soften. Even in this monstrous form, something in his gaze was unmistakably human. Hers.
A faint smile crossed his lips. "I told you before, I'm not going anywhere!.."
Then his gaze hardened as he turned back to the enemy. The giant spirit Mangog—towering just as tall now, golden flames roaring from his muscular form—let out a savage growl.
"You finally revealed your full strength," Mangog said, golden axe resting on his shoulder. "But it changes nothing, William. Your fate is sealed. I will drag your corpse before the gates of Valhalla and feed your bones to the ravens."
William's voice was cold, his tone sharp as blades. "You're welcome to try, beast."
Mangog roared and lunged forward, axe swinging with terrifying speed.
William answered in kind, golden machete slicing through the air like a comet.
BOOM!
The impact shattered the air. A shockwave burst from the point of collision, golden light crashing outward in violent waves. The very sky cracked. The ground beneath their feet exploded into dust and fragments.
The collision ruptured the space around them. Golden arcs of energy cracked the earth. The arena's floor disintegrated into floating slabs. Even the air trembled with the weight of their clash.
The energy wave slammed into the outer barrier and made it hum and ripple. The barrier, formed from the sacred power of the World Tree, held—but even it screamed under the force.
Both giants stumbled back, each step pulverizing stone beneath their feet into powder. The sound of their movement was like thunder rolling across the heavens.
Mangog snarled. "You'll fall soon. You're overusing your core. That body of yours won't hold."
William smirked, golden lightning still dancing across his arms. "That's the difference between us. Mangog, I want you to understand that this is just the beginning. Maybe you can have the upper hand for a while, but the victory will only belong to me." William pointed his machete at the Mangog..
Jane clutched her chest. "Yes, I believe you will be victorious."
Odin's gaze remained steady. "This won't last. The body he's created is powerful, but flawed. He's reaching his limit. He's burning too fast just like last time."
Sif exhaled sharply, torn between admiration and resentment. "But what if... what if he doesn't fall?"
Thor looked toward the arena, silent for once. A storm was brewing in his own heart, but his brother's words haunted him: William is not a man who dies easily.
Back in the arena, Mangog charged with renewed fury. "Then die with your delusions!!"
William met his charge head-on. "Then let's see whose will is stronger!"
They clashed again, brighter and louder than before.
The heavens split.
The gods watched.