Threads of the Soul

Chapter 426 - 426: Thunder

The black ferro-liquid sphere slowly dissolved and melted to the ground, revealing Corvus' cocoon of threads unravelling itself underneath.The Trio of Corvus, Astra and Woe were fine despite the devastation that surrounded them, marking their bubbled portion as the only spot of ground that was still in the same pristine condition as before.

Corvus had his arms wrapped around Astra, who in turn had Woe clutched tight in her arms and pressed against her body like a mother protecting her baby. It was only when Woe started to wriggle that Astra finally released him, letting him stagger away with his face completely flushed red in embarrassment.

He glanced nervously at Corvus, seemingly more concerned with the consequences of having his face buried in Astra's chest - even if it was against his own will - than he was about the destruction that surrounded them. But the man in question was too busy staring at the hammer that was standing tall in the pit that used to be the arena.

It was easy to see, as the reinforced walls of the pit had completely exploded and collapsed inwards, creating a slope of tumbling rocks that offered the perfect view of the origin of the destruction.

The ground exploded a few metres away from him, followed by a thunderous roar as the Lion-Centaur burst out from beneath the rubble, sending boulders and chunks of destroyed chairs flying across the room.

A few others were quick to follow, mainly the Celestials who threw rubble off of them like it was nothing more than cardboard. But plenty of the lower levelled leaders survived too, although they weren't nearly in as good of a state.

They dragged themselves from the rubble, coughing and wheezing as blood trickled from their wounds. Arms hung limply, swinging uselessly in the air and a few were limping on useless legs.

However it seemed some of them must have taken Astra's warning to heart, and done so very quickly, as a few leaders were largely unharmed alongside their companions.

Lastly, the demon made pulled herself from the rubble, her eyes darting around in a mixture of anger and confusion, before they landed on the hammer resting in the pit. As soon as she saw that, Corvus quickly learned what a pale demon looked like, as she stared at it with a singular emotion in her trembling eyes. Absolute terror.

"W-what... what hit us?"

It wasn't clear who's weak and wheezing voice asked that particular question, but it was the one on everyone's mind. The answer didn't come from the maid, who clearly knew something about this meteoric weapon, but in the form of a pair of heavy boots slamming into the ground beside the hammer.

Snow swirled around the boots of a giant man. At his full height, he easily stood at just over 9 foot tall, with a bulging pot belly that usually came from drinking far too much beer. It wasn't just fat though, it reminded Corvus of a true strongman.

Someone built for raw, unbridled power, rather than the showy muscles of a body builder that people commonly associated with strength. Compared to those dehydrated show ponies, this man might look unhealthy, but his tree trunk arms still had bulging biceps packed with so much raw power that it was literally crackling off of him.

Sparks of electricity danced across the man's body, crackling with anticipation. A bushy ginger beard hung down over his chest and behind which his mouth was twisted into a snarl of disdain and contempt.

His eyes, glowing with the same crackling power that coursed through his body, was hidden behind shaggy red hair as he scanned the room without a care.

The detail that caught Corvus' eye the most was that despite having just attacked a room full of Celestials, this man wore very little armour. Just a few leather greaves to cover his arm, as well as a more fancy metal gauntlet on his right hand.

Not to mention, draped across his back and covering one of his shoulders, was a black cloak. A cloak seemingly made from black, leathery skin and black scales for extra protection.

It was a cloak of dragon skin.

The red headed giant scoffed at what he saw before bending down and plucking the hammer from the ground. He tossed it up, twirling it in the air before catching it again.

"This is the lizards little rebellion? This?" He spoke in a low voice. It rumbled with every syllable like a distant storm rumbling as it crept across the horizon.

The snow swirling around him picked up more as Frosty started to reform, however before the snow man could even form his head, the giant snatched a particular snowflake from the air.

It was a snowflake that sparkled slightly in the light, seemingly made of crystal instead of snow. But the giant took no time to admire it before crushing it between two fingers. He rubbed his fingers together, letting the crystal dust fall to the ground alongside the snow, which had lost all of its momentum the moment the crystal snowflake was crushed.

"This will take me no time at all. It will hardly be a warm up... How disappointing."

Rubble shifted beside him, rocks tumbling softly, before the pure white serpent lunged out of thin air. It's scaled shimmering, changing from the brown of the rubble to its natural white state, as it's camouflage dropped.

It let out a horrifying hiss as it bared its fangs, ready to sink into the throat of the giant. However a second later its lunge stopped in mid-air and its horrifying hiss became strained and choked.

The Giant glanced at the snake he held by the throat, his face scrunching in disgust.

"This isn't one of your spawn, is it?" The Giant muttered to the air, gazing lazily at the snake that was flailing desperately in his grasp. A few of the leaders frowned in confusion, wondering who he was talking to.

Before they could answer, another figure shimmered into existence beside him.

A man that was much shorter in stature, only 6 foot tall, with a slim frame like a strong wind could knock him over. To compensate for his height, a pair of golden horns sprouted from his forehead and curved into a perfect semi circle, giving him an extra foot of height.

This figure, who appeared like an illusion, had pale blue skin and cold eyes. Blonde hair was slicked back and blended perfectly with his golden horns, while his lips were twisted into mischievous and wicked smile.

"No, Definitely not one of mine. It could never compare to my child. A pale imitation." The skinny man cackled at his own dreadful joke, which caused the Giant to groan and roll his eyes.

"Cease your jokes trickster. We are here for business." The Giant grumbled, before turning his attention back to the serpent.

He considered it for a second, then suddenly slammed his forehead into it. The impact shook the ai and cut off the snakes hissing, but the Giant was far from done. Over and over he headbutted the snake, pummelling his head into its until its perfect white scales turned a deep scarlet.

When he had left a deep dent in the snakes skull, he dropped it to the ground like trash. It let out a weak hiss as it tried to raise its head from its place at his feet, but before it could move the Giant simply held his other hand out.

The hammer dropped from his grip, slamming down onto the dent in the serpents head and splattered it like a blood filled water balloon. The impact of the hammer on the ground shook the earth beneath them, as if it struggled to bear its weight, and the sound of it slamming filled the air like a crack of thunder.

No one moved to help the snake in its attack, nor save it from its execution. The two remaining beasts were frozen in fear and confusion at this sudden enemy. The humans present shared the same emotions, amplified tenfold and mixed with the awe that came with the knowledge of their identities.

Standing before them were a pair of the old Gods, those that they had heard about less than an hour ago. They did not need to introduce themselves, they're presence itself was identity enough to know that standing before them was the Trickster Loki, and the Lord of Thunder, Thor.

It was one thing to hear that they existed, it was another to have them burst into your meeting and overwhelm you with their horrifying aura built over hundreds of years of legends. As if to make matters worse, Thor's rumbling voice sounded again as he regarded the human leaders with disdain.

"You have two choices. You will kneel before your Gods, just like you were born to, or you will be slaughtered one by one until you make the correct decision.

So... Who dies first?"