Tetsuya started to pant as Heracles' arm fell to the arm. Heracles stared at his arm with indifference before the crowd widened their eyes.
In the spectator's stands.
The boy with red eyes widened his eyes before grinning and laughing.
"Geez, what's going on with this match? It's getting more interesting than I thought. I like it, what about you, puffy hair?" The boy with puffy hair stayed silent before staring at the screen again.
"But it seems like the crowd... really likes our Heracles." The boy with eyes just kept on grinning before the crowd started to cry about Heracles' arm.
"How unimpressive... what has these people devolved to? This is a fight to the death, and they're cheering for the people trying to end us? I can't ever understand them." The boy with puffy hair just rested his chin on his palm.
In the arena
"U-Unbelievable! Tetsuya, with a random piece of wood that he grabbed from a house... has c-c-c-chopped off Heracles' left arm!!!" The announcer yelled into the microphone before Tetsuya stared at Heracles gently and with total calmness.
"Something's off..." Tetsuya thought in his brain before Heracles' body became transparent to him. "Now that I think about it... this isn't the god that would do such things to Ai, Ruby and Aqua... this god is someone who stays true to his nature... and can never be tainted or manipulated. Someone with a pure and untainted heart... that's who this man is..." Tetsuya's sights were locked on Heracles, who just stared at his arm.
Currently, humanity and even the gods... froze at the sight... of a human wounding a god without the use of a divine item. The first one to understand...
"I see... that... is your divine item!" Heracles pointed at the gloves that Tetsuya were fiddling with.
It was none other than Heracles himself.
"So... you figured it out... congrats... sorry, I couldn't beat you in a straight-on fight, so I cheated a little." Tetsuya adjusted his gloves more before placing his hand towards the hilt of his wooden sword.
In the spectator stands
The boy with puffy hair slowly gave off a grin before his eyes gleamed.
"Ahh... I see... he got us good. The whole thing about Tetsuya's katana being his divine weapon was a lie. The real divine item isn't his katana or that wooden blade, it's... his gloves. Whatever gloves he touches will become a divine item. He used breathing techniques and made Heracles focus on his katana more. He wanted us to believe that it was just his sword. So he kept attacking with his breathing styles, more and more, so that he could pull off an attack that could deal massive damage to Heracles. In other words, since Tetsuya knew that he couldn't beat Heracles, he had been bluffing and buying his time." The guy with puffy hair leaned back into the sofa before yawning.
The boy with the puffy hair grinned at the scene before the boy with red eyes kept playing with his strings.
"I get it... so is it... all going according to your plan, Tetsuya? Seriously, Heracles was too nice to be manipulated like this. Seems like whoever gave Tetsuya his divine item already knew that Heracles would fall for it. They knew that this would happen. How deceitful... and how... malicious." The red-eyed boy smirked before elbowing the boy with puffy hair's side.
Prior to the match, Valhalla Arena Dressing Room No. II
Brunhilde stood against a wall as a girl with a youthful face and large reddish eyes, slightly protruding incisors and thin eyebrows and eyelashes. Her blonde hair is neck length, and her bangs are fashioned into a fringe, but devolve into a wild mass of blades of hair as she brushes her hair.
"You're up next, Hlökk." Brunhilde addressed the girl, brushing her hair as she turned towards Brunhilde with wide eyes.
"Are you crazy? Why do I have to Volund... with the guy who let Muzan Kibutsuji turn his brother into a demon? I don't care if it's you asking, Brunhilde, I! Won't! Do it! For a human and Valkyrie to Volund... we have to become one, don't we? There's no way I'm becoming one with some demon, no way! I'm sorry, but find someone else." Hlökk turned away as Brunhilde crossed her arms.
"No, I decided that it has to be you who will be that man's partner." Brunhilde stared at Hlökk, who looked away from her and crossed her arms.
"I don't like your tone! Now I'm definitely not going to-" Hlökk started before an ominous presence appeared behind her, it was like a tree looking down at her, no killing intent, no battle will, nothing. Hlökk suddenly tensed up and slowly turned around to reveal Tetsuya standing there, katana on his waist, before letting down his white hair.
"So, you're my partner, I'll be in your care for this fight." Tetsuya slowly spoke, his voice solemn as Hlökk started to shake at his presence.
"What the... when did he...? Is he even human?" Hlökk slowly backed away from Tetsuya before Tetsuya held out his hand.
"Huh? I-I'm not shaking hands with a demon like-" Hlökk began before Tetsuya suddenly grabbed her neck and glaring at her.
"There's no need to worry, you can just trust me... I have no wish or thought of losing my life in this fight... put your faith in me..." Tetsuya choked her harder before her eyes widened.
"S-Stop... Brun... H-Help..." Hlökk reached her hand out to Brunhilde before her body became transparent to Tetsuya.
"Volund." Hlökk let out a scream of despair before she turned into a pair of gloves for Tetsuya, who adjusted them.
"Hmmm... I don't dislike the colour, I'll definitely... take my revenge on that god." Tetsuya glared at the pair of gloves before placing one of his hands on the sheath of his katana.
In the spectator stands
The boy with red eyes crossed his legs again before grinning like a madman.
"Geez, Tetsuya sure is rough. I didn't know that it was even possible to force a Volund to happen. But, without her, Tetsuya would've definitely lost this fight. If I have to guess myth-wise, Hlökk, the eleventh-born sister, the unsettled one... is quite strong, do you not think so?" The boy with red eyes giggled before creating a structure with his strings.
"The power that dwells in her runic is quite strong. Tetsuya is only able to take advantage of it more than likely because he knew that just a katana wouldn't be strong enough to take down his opponent; that's why the Valkyrie girl was given to him. To make his breathing techniques viable even without a katana." The boy with puffy hair fiddled with his dagger again before staring at the screen.
In the arena
"Gloves should always be custom-made, don't you think so? They just fit so much better... and..." Tetsuya slowly bent down to pick up a piece of rubble before flicking it and sending it crashing into a house. The house immediately came crashing down before Tetsuya placed a hand on his wooden blade.
"A simple pebble, even without breathing techniques, becomes powerful enough to bring down houses. A makeshift wooden katana... becomes a weapon that is capable of killing a god." Tetsuya kept his voice quiet and steady as Heracles glared at him.
"You're a wise god, right, Heracles? You do understand what this means, right? Anything... I touch." Heracles squinted his eyes at Tetsuya, who just stood there emotionlessly like a tree.
"Something's off... whenever I see this man, nothing but kindness and warmth radiates off of him. A man like this... couldn't have committed the atrocities that day..." Tetsuya stared at Heracles, who was standing there with his arm bleeding.
"C-Can this be true? Anything he touches? The entire district of Shibuya... can be turned into a weapon for Tetsuya's use?!" The announcer yelled into the microphone.
Tetsuya adjusted his gloves again before licking his lips.
"I hear... a requiem for a god that is about to be struck down by a mortal. Now... time for the finale, dumbass." Tetsuya drew out his blade again.
"Who... could believe this?! Everything that Tetsuya touches... can be a weapon that is pointed at Heracles!!! It's not the demon of the Sengoku Era whose back is against the wall! It's the indomitable god, Heracles!" The announcer kept on yelling as Heracles wrapped a leather belt around his arm while Tetsuya glanced at his wound.
"Don't push yourself so hard. Your last attack... left quite a strain on your body, no?" Heracles' tattoos started to spread throughout his body before smoke appeared out of his body.
"You needn't worry about me," Heracles stated.
"Idiot, who would be worrying about you?" Tetsuya drew out his wooden blade from the sheath before aiming it at Heracles.
"Unbelievable... this overflowing pride... and quiet rage... not even an ounce of fear, despite being backed into a corner. He's everything the myth says he is; there's no way... he'd kill people so easily. His body structure, his muscles, his organs... they're all very well maintained." Tetsuya just stared at Heracles before Heracles pointed his club at Tetsuya.
"With those eyes of yours, you can see people as if they are transparent, right?" Tetsuya just stared at the floor before adjusting his katana.
"Yes, people say that I am like a child gifted with god's powers. With this mark, and with these eyes, I can kill... demons to protect my family." Tetsuya rubbed the mark on the side of his head before sighing.
"And why... did you let your brother turn into a demon?" Heracles sternly questioned.
"You wouldn't understand... I couldn't even control it... I never realised... the pain that my brother was suffering through when I was alive... I copied his moon breathing... so that I can fight alongside him one day... but... that was never going to come true..." Tetsuya stared at the floor again before placing his hands to the side.
"I see... you... suffered a great loss... was it what happened to your family to drive you to hate gods? Or was it the betrayal from your brother so painful that it feels like it cut you into pieces? Actually... I don't care what it is... your current self... is lost to despair. You fought just to get revenge on me. You surrendered to your impulses." Tetsuya's eyes widened as he took a step back.
"No... no way... there's no way... someone... as kind as him... can kill my family..." Tetsuya thought as he gripped his hand onto the blade's handle.
"I was a human, then ascended into the heavens as a god, which makes me a demigod. Human and god... I see through the eyes of both! So I'm going to say this... humans... are foolish. Envious, hateful, prejudiced, I understand why the gods would want to wipe them out." Heracles stated as Tetsuya gripped his blade harder.
"Of course... he's the same... as everyone else... why'd I doubt-" Tetsuya started to think to himself before Heracles continued.
"But.. despite all of that... I love... humanity!" Many people widened their eyes at Heracles' words before Tetsuya's eyes.
"No way... he loves humanity... even though everyone else is trying to wipe them out...? No way... right? The god I saw that night... was selfish... garbage... and absolute trash... how can someone... be like this? Was I... incorrect all along? Who... was I supposed to be taking revenge against?" Tetsuya took a step back before Heracles pointed his club at him.
"Tetsuya Akio! I... will save you... from your suffering!!!" Heracles yelled out as Tetsuya could feel his eyes widening at his words.