"Did everyone understand?"
"Yes!"
"Very good, then we'll move on to the drawing," said Nicolo.
He and the gods waiting for Tachi's return were gathered in the training room, both to prepare before the battle and simply to pass the time.
Nicolo held out his hand to Magnus. Several crumpled pieces of paper were inside it. "Draw two papers please."
Magnus picked two papers and read them one by one. "The first duo is… Sigurd and—"
He opened the second paper. "Akyo!"
The two men looked at each other. Sigurd smiled at Akyo. "This will be easy," he said with a chuckle.
Nicolo gestured for Magnus to draw new papers.
"Skadi and Njor—"
"NO!!" Sōsuke shouted. "I'm not fighting??" He grabbed his head and lay down on the floor, kicking his feet in frustration.
"Get up. I'm not going to fight, take my place," said Skadi.
"What?" said Njord. He leaned toward his wife and whispered, "Please, don't leave me with the dwarf…"
She stepped away. "It's already decided. I don't like holding back when I fight."
Sōsuke got back up and cracked his hands. "I'll show you I deserve your powers!"
"Please not this again…" Njord muttered.
Nicolo clapped his hands. "Alright. So we'll go with Akyo and Sigurd versus Sōsuke and Njord. Each duo go to one side, discuss your strategy quickly, and I'll give the signal. Remember: Akyo and Sōsuke, you go all out. Njord and Sigurd will hold back."
"Okay!"
The two duos moved to opposite sides of the room.
Skadi turned to Nicolo. "Are you sure you're going to be okay?"
Nicolo gave a thumbs up. 'I'll just go behind her if there's any problem.'
—
"Okay Akyo, are you afraid of falling?" Sigurd asked.
"No."
"Good. You're pretty agile, so this should be perfect."
"Why?" Akyo asked.
"Since I can't use my power fully, I'll focus on movement. I'll make you move through the shadows sometimes. Don't stop moving, I'll make sure you land your hits," he explained.
They turned toward their enemies. Hodr pulled a band from his jacket and tied it around his eyes. "I'll feel things better with this."
Akyo bounced lightly on his feet, warming up while staring at his opponents. "You think they'll have a tactic?"
Sigurd laughed. "Ain't no way. Sōsuke isn't a strategist, but he's smart during a fight. I think it's more instinct than battle IQ. And Njord wasn't originally a fighter. He learned to use his strength because Skadi is a hell of a fighter. She trained him, so I don't know what to expect."
—
"Listen kid, don't forget one thing. We're here to fight, but more importantly we're here to prepare, you kno—"
"LET'S DO THIIIIIS!" Sōsuke shouted while pounding his chest like an idiot.
Njord stared at him, confused. 'He has a serious problem,' he thought.
Sōsuke cracked his fingers. "Can I use my sword?"
"You want to kill someone?"
"Not really, but my movements are better with it." He placed his hand on the ground, summoning his weapon. "I'll strike with the flat of the blade."
"Whatever," Njord muttered, placing his hand on a flask hanging from his belt.
—
Njord and Sigurd raised their hands on each side.
"Seems like they're ready," said Nicolo. He raised his arm and suddenly dropped it while shouting, "GO!"
Sōsuke immediately launched himself toward his opponents. Njord followed him. "There's no point rushing like that!"
Sigurd and Akyo had stayed in the same place. "How do we win again?" Akyo asked.
Sigurd thought for a few seconds. "Now that you say that… I don't think he told us."
Akyo sighed, annoyed. "I guess it's time to start." He rushed toward his two opponents. Sōsuke was the closest. 'When he fought Soren he relied almost entirely on brute strength. He'll want to start with power, he thought.'
Sōsuke grabbed his sword with both hands and pushed off the ground to launch himself at Akyo. 'Bingo,' Akyo thought.
The demon swung his sword from right to left, trying to sweep Akyo away. Akyo jumped to pass above the blade, way too high. 'I need to get used to my strength,'
He glanced into the distance and saw Njord standing still, one hand behind his back. 'The two big heads don't want to try too hard yet. So it's between me and Sōsuke for now.'
He looked down at Sōsuke, who was struggling to regain control of his sword after such a powerful strike. Akyo shouted at him, "Are you trying to cut me in half during training?"
Sōsuke looked up at him with a grin. "I promised I wouldn't slice!"
Akyo was beginning to fall, but he remained calm. 'Even without cutting, his sword combined with his strength is a huge advantage. But if I get close to him, it becomes useless.'
The two opponents were getting closer. Sōsuke had regained his balance. "I won't give you time to land!"
He tried to launch himself toward Akyo, who was about three meters above the ground.But when he tried to push off the ground, it was as if he had disappeared.
He began to sink into darkness, he quickly glanced behind him. Sigurd was slowly walking toward him. 'Damn… right, it's two versus two,' he thought before disappearing completely.
Akyo landed. "Thanks," he said to Sigurd. Then he turned toward Njord.
Sōsuke emerged from the shadow behind the sea god, complaining. "Do I even have a teammate?!"
"Shut up Sōsuke, you rushed in."
"Fair enough."
Njord opened the flask attached to his belt. "Listen, they'll have a slight advantage in terms of movement. Sigurd is a genius at that. But for him to absorb us into the shadows, he needs us to touch the ground." A small amount of water floated out of the flask.
Sōsuke stared at it, not understanding where he was going with this.
The water slid beneath Njord and Sōsuke's feet. They didn't feel any difference.
"This thin layer of water will prevent you from being in direct contact with the ground. Normally, Sigurd won't be able to pull you down," Njord explained.
Sōsuke hopped quickly. "Won't that limit our movements?"
"No. You can fight as usual. And this time, I'll be with you."
They turned toward Akyo and Sigurd.
"Uh… Njord?" said Sōsuke.
"Yes?"
"They're gone."
"…damn it." Njord grabbed Sōsuke's arm and threw him into the air before turning toward his own shadow.
Two hands came out of it. Then four. His two opponents burst out of the darkness at full speed, fists forward, ready to strike.
'This is going to be complicated!' Njord leaned backward to dodge their attacks. The two gods flew over him. He gritted his teeth and grabbed one ankle from each of them.
Akyo and Sigurd exchanged a quick glance. 'Alright… this is going to hurt,' the Greek god thought.
Njord stood up while holding the two of them, one in each hand. He began spinning on himself to gain speed, It kept increasing.
Sōsuke, still in the air, watched his teammate's maneuver with admiration. 'How is he turning that fast?!'
Then Njord released them, launching both opponents straight toward a wall. Sigurd was heading straight for the wall at full speed. Akyo followed close behind, bracing for impact.
Sigurd stretched one arm toward the wall and the other toward Akyo. When they hit it, they didn't stop. Instead, they sank into its shadow.
Akyo couldn't see anything anymore and couldn't breathe. Suddenly he saw a light, which he moved toward.
Sigurd made them emerge from Sōsuke's shadow while he was still in the air, avoiding another counterattack from Njord.
They moved away from the demon's landing point to take a short break, while Sōsuke rejoined Njord.
Akyo exhaled. "That was close."
"Yes. Njord knows me. It'll be difficult to catch him like that."
—
"That started strong," said Nicolo. "How did Njord anticipate that?"
"He didn't anticipate it," Skadi said. "He reacted quickly, that's all. Then he used the water under his feet to spin as fast as possible."
'The water under his feet?' Nicolo thought.
'When gods fight, the possibilities of actions are extremely vast.' Magnus watched the battle carefully, silently analyzing every movement and questioning his own abilities. 'Will I ever become a fighter like them?'