"So, what do we do now?" Akyo asked.
"I'm hungry. We'll need to finish this quickly." Answered Sigurd.
Akyo sighed. 'Then we might as well go all out.' He inhaled deeply and suddenly released all of his energy. The ground cracked, rebuilt itself, then shattered again in an endless cycle. The energy outburst created a storm on its own.
Sigurd watched him. Even though he technically couldn't see anything, he stood there with his arms crossed. 'That's good,' he thought.
Then he turned his head toward his student. 'Now show me what you've got, Sōsuke.'
—------------------
"Finally, it's time!" Sōsuke closed his eyes and focused on his breathing.
Njord watched him, waiting to see what he was capable of.
He held his sword tightly, and his heart began to beat more slowly, until one beat struck so powerfully it echoed through his entire body.
His energy burst out briefly for the first time, but it stopped. 'Damn it…' He refocused and exhaled. 'I just need to focus.'
Then the cycle began again. He breathed slower and slower to lower his heart rate, until the beat that marked the beginning of his success.
His energy emerged again. Then a second surge followed, and it grew stronger. Then came the third, and it exploded completely.
He opened his eyes. "Nice!" he shouted with a grin.
Njord's hair was flying wildly because of the energy wave. "That's not bad," he muttered. "I see you're ready. So, shall we?"
"Yes!"
Sigurd smiled proudly as he felt his student's energy. 'It's not as impressive as Akyo's, but he's not a god, and he's a newbie.' He uncrossed his arms.
"Let's go, Akyo." The two of them launched toward their targets.
"Do you have a plan?" Akyo asked.
"Just fight normally," Sigurd replied.
—------------------
"Njord, I have an idea," Sōsuke said.
The sea god didn't even have time to ask what he meant before Sōsuke placed his hand on the ground.
"I can only do this for now, but with your water it should give us an advantage."
The room's floor became covered in a thin layer of ice, making the ground slippery around them. "I've been training this without telling Sigurd. I can only do it on flat surfaces, but may—"
Njord started laughing,
Sōsuke looked at him, confused.
Njord announced, "You look like nothing's going on in your brain, but sometimes it actually works! Don't worry. Move as fast as you wan, they'll slip, but not you!"
Sōsuke smiled, the two of them charged toward their opponents.
Now that Akyo and Sōsuke had released their divine strength, the size of the room seemed altered. They were far faster than before, yet the distance between them suddenly felt much longer, as if the very concept of space was trying to prevent their collision.
Nicolo felt something had changed and rushed behind Skadi. 'I've rarely experienced this, but I hate this feeling.'
Skadi, however, didn't move an inch, as if she were anchored to the ground.
Nicolo clung to her leg and turned his head toward Magnus. 'Wait… was he that far away?'
Magnus was sitting cross-legged, extremely focused, so focused that he didn't even notice he was sliding across the frozen floor as the ice spread through the room.
"Come back here!" shouted Nicolo while grabbing him.
—------------------
The ice reached Sigurd's feet. 'He learned to use more than my shadows? Didn't know that was possible,' he thought.
He turned toward Akyo, who was sliding. "Hold your breath!"
Akyo didn't even have time to respond, he was already falling into the darkness.
'As good as it is, your ability to use my winter aspect is just a buff for me,' Hodr thought.
He shot forward at phenomenal speed, gliding effortlessly until he reached Sōsuke and Njord.
The sea giant lunged at Sigurd, trying to strike him.
But Sigurd dropped to the ground and slid between his legs thanks to the speed he had built up.
Sōsuke arrived at the same moment and swung the flat of his blade at Sigurd. "You won't be able to dodge this!" he said proudly.
In an instant, Sigurd drove the fingers of his left hand into the ground and raised his right arm in front of the sword.
He blocked the blow without his arm giving way, even as the floor shattered beneath the force of the strike.
During the brief moment where Sōsuke was fully focused on overpowering Sigurd, he forgot one thing.
His opponent wasn't alone.
Akyo burst from Sōsuke's shadow.
'Shit, I messed up!' Sōsuke thought.
He released his sword before Akyo's arms could reach him and spun around quickly, attempting to drive an elbow into the Greek god.
But Akyo deflected the strike and grabbed the arm. 'Now I just need the second one.'
'Damn it!' Sōsuke thought.
He stretched his arm toward his sword to call it back to him, but nothing came.
He turned his head, worried. Where it should have been with the blind god, nothing. 'Damn it. Sigurd took it with him into his shadows…'
Still he chose to not give up. "But I'm not going down like this!" he shouted, trying to punch Akyo with all his strength.
Yet without even seeming to make an effort, Akyo dodged the punch aimed at his head, the demon's fist only brushing a strand of his hair.
'I… missed?'
Akyo didn't waste time, he grabbed Sōsuke's second arm firmly. With phenomenal skill he changed his grip, completely locking his opponent's movements, and slammed him violently into the ground.
Sōsuke sank deep into the floor.
He spat blood. 'I haven't landed a single hit…'
Njord had tried to help earlier, but Sigurd's disappearance had forced him to stay on guard. His intuition was confirmed when he felt something emerging behind him.
"I knew it, Sigurd!" He prepared to take a hit, but it wasn't Sigurd who came out first.
It was Sōsuke's sword.
"What?!" Njord stepped aside. The blade brushed past his face, cutting his cheek.
Hodr held the tip of the sword and was carried away by its momentum for about ten meters.
Akyo watched the scene nervously. "Didn't he go a little too far?" he muttered.
Hodr stood up and dropped Sōsuke's sword. "This sword really is heavy…"
"You tried to kill me, Sigurd?!" Njord shouted.
"No. I knew you'd dodge it." He pointed at Sōsuke, who was pinned to the ground by Akyo.
"Your teammate has lost. Now it's just you and me. You wanna go all out?"
Njord laughed. "Why wouldn't we?"
They smiled at each other, and the next instant both of them released their energy. It was enormous, far greater than Akyo's or Sōsuke's.
Nicolo struggled not to be blown away while trying to hold onto Magnus and Skadi.
The two fighters calmed their energy slightly to better control their strength. Then they exchanged one last smile and charged at each other.
They ran until they collided, arm against arm.
The impact produced a terrifying sound and a shockwave that shattered the white walls before they rebuilt themselves instantly.
They stared directly into each other's eyes.
"First one to break?" Sigurd said.
"You know I have more strength than you," Njord sneered.
"Usually yes. But I'm anchored in my shadows. You don't have enough water to counter an element that's always with me!"
Neither of them yielded.
They pushed harder and harder, probably not realizing the chaos they were starting to cause.
As the duel continued, the room grew colder and colder, so cold that the water at Njord's feet froze.
'That won't stop me.'
Suddenly Skadi shouted, "Stop!"
The ground began to rumble. Outside the base, the ocean was raging along with its master.
Akyo released Sōsuke. "Get away!" he shouted.
The two of them moved as far away as possible.
"Come on! Give me everything you've got!" Njord shouted.
The waves crashing against the cliffs could be heard even inside the room, while the light began to be swallowed by Hodr's darkness.
Nicolo shouted, "Have they lost their minds?! The room is made to contain gods but they're going to kill me!"
Just as the clash was about to reach its climax, Skadi intervened. She stepped between them, grabbed both their arms, and twisted them.
"Ow ow ow stop! Sorry!" Njord shouted.
The tension vanished. Light returned to the room, and the ocean calmed.
They looked around and saw the mess they had caused.
Sigurd sighed, "Well… I might've gone too far, sorry fo—"
"WOOOOOO THAT WAS SO COOL!!" Sōsuke shouted.
Skadi pulled Njord aside, and Sigurd watched as she scolded him. He laughed.
Akyo walked over to Nicolo. "You good?"
"Yeah… I guess," he replied.
Suddenly the entrance door of the training room opened. Ana stepped inside, everyone turned toward her.
Without even greeting them, she announced:
"Tachi is back!"