"Get out of here now!"

  "Eek!"

  The sweat on Headmistress Hilda's face started to fill collars of her uniform, a circumstance that hasn't happened for more than hundreds of years now. Her life in the Academy had been peaceful; too peaceful in fact that she had already forgotten even the whispers of the battlefield.

  She did not expect, however, that once the songs of battle once again sang to her ears, it would be a battle of utter ruin—— co-headed by one of the most destructive Aesir that has ever walked the 9 Realms.

  It would have been alright if the battle only lasted a minute… but no. Whatever kind of battle was happening in front of her right now, it was a battle of equals. A storm pushing each other out, leaving only devastation in their wake.

  Headmistress Hilda would have been more than excited witnessing a battle so glorious; but not now, not here. If the two were to continue their battle, then it was only a matter of time when the Academy she had built from the ground up ceased to exist.

  But that was not even what she was worried about the most, no. The college could be rebuilt at any time, its prestige would still remain even if only a single remains from its buildings. The students, however, could not.

  They were literally in the eye of a storm, just waiting for it to pass them their judgment. She was not the only one protecting the students anymore; most of the guards and some of the instructors were now carefully blocking whatever debris or violent dust came their way until the students reached safety.

  As for Athena, her eyes were completely locked on the battle raging in the center of the training field; which was now unrecognizable from what it was just minutes ago. There were now craters, as deep as the buildings of the college itself, burrowing even deeper with each of Thor's swings… as well as the lightning that ceaselessly rained down from the sky.

  Van had been able to dodge whatever was coming his way, but still, Athena's focus was at its peak. Overconfidence was the main source of defeat for even the greatest of warriors; one wrong step, one wrong breath… just one mistake, and it was possible for Van to perish here and now. And so, Athena's eyes continued to follow the traces of battle, her spear ready to fly as soon as Van makes even the tiniest bit of mistake.

  "Tch."

  And as for Van himself, he was slowly starting to lose patience. Most of his battles always end quickly; decided in the blink of an eye; but right now, it had probably already been a quarter of a minute since his first exchange of attacks with Thor—— and he has not even stopped to rest for even a single breath.

  Van had leveled up quite a bit from absorbing Hermod's soul and had been contemplating on where to put the Status Points he received, but now, he chugged it all up to INT to further increase his SP. He wasn't worried that it was going to run out, of course; but it was better to be safe since Thor seemed to have an unlimited amount of stamina.

  "You really are faster than Hermod!"

  "……" Van was no longer entertaining any of Thor's ramblings as he centered all of his focus in avoiding the lightning that rained down upon him. He could easily dodge the hammer, evident as he did just so even with his thoughts occupied.

  But as for the lightning, it was somewhat tricky.

  Van's eyes were turned to the skies, slightly squinting as a violent glow of white suddenly slammed down, with him as the target. However, it would have been easy if the lightning moved just like that; in a straight line… but no.

  As it starts to trail down, the streaks of lightning begin to sunder, splitting erratically as it seemed resolute in trying to chase its target—— sometimes even predicting where Van would be running to.

  He had even lured Thor to create this deep pit they now found themselves fighting in, in order to lessen the strikes of thunderbolts that came his way. But alas, it was to no avail. Even as he himself dug a cave to hide in, the bolts find their way inside like they had a life of their own.

  "Fuck this," Van then muttered as he raised his shield to the sky before running towards Thor, whose hammer was already threatening to send Van into oblivion.

  50 lightning bolts.

  50 lightning bolts fell not even halfway through the hammer's swing—— and Van avoided them all. From the outside, it almost looked as if his image was being left behind from every flash of light that flickered through the air.

  And each of the images, growing farther and farther apart from where the lightning strikes. Van was using more and more of his speed, trying his best to avoid whatever comes his way; However, no matter how fast he goes, the number of lightning raining down upon him seems to also multiply in numbers—— and even then, the accuracy and strength of Thor's hammer didn't seem to waver.

  Seeing as bolts could predict where he was running to, could they really have a life on their own? That was the only reason Van could think of how Thor was still able to fight the way he was. But if that was the case… then he should just focus all of his effort on going on the offensive.

  And as soon as he thought of that, he immediately threw his shield to the air above him, letting it absorb most of the energy emitted by the bolt as his jagged path became straight.

  With his path now going directly towards Thor, Thor was finally able to see him clearly. And without even a slight hesitation, his hammer swiftly changed direction midway, and due to the force of doing so, the ground beneath him rippled; not even offering even the slightest resistance as it rippled like water.

  Another lightning threatened to fall down on Van's path; Van, however, already summoned the shield back on his side as he once again immediately used it to block the violent lightning before him.

  Those who still remained watching from above could only see sparks exploding endlessly from the pit, filling their eyes with flashes of light.

  "You're mine now, little man!" Thor then roared as the crimson blur got nearer and nearer to him. He wasn't showing signs of annoyance or frustration, but in truth, just like Van, he was starting to grow tired of this battle.

  He had already acknowledged Van's strength during the earliest part of their exchange, causing his desire and itch for battle to grow exponentially… but all he has ever been doing since earlier was swing his hammer and hope that it would hit his opponent.

  This was one of the many reasons why he did not like fighting with opponents that specialized in their speed; it usually only leads to this. He had a deterrent to this, of course; the lightning bolts. And once they start to rain down from above, his swift opponents usually no longer offer much of a fight… but not his current opponent—— he was fast enough to even dodge the almost endless barrage he was giving him.

  But now that Van finally decided to take him head-on, the feeling of excitement once again tingled inside of him. Finally, he thought—— it was time for a legendary battle that would be sung by the bards for eternity.

  Thor's hammer began to whistle as the etched markings that adorned it split the air it traveled in; even almost overwhelming the thunders that endlessly erupted everywhere. But above all of those noises, was Thor's laugh.

  Air, dust, dirt.

  The hammer almost served as a vacuum; absorbing air, dust, and dirt as it continued to swing.

  Air, dust, dirt… and finally, a streak of crimson followed beneath it.

  Van was currently crouching on the ground like a rat, using Thor's hammer as a shield from the endless barrage of lightning that truly seemed adamant in killing him. His cheek, almost scratching at the etchings of the hammer with the slight turn of his head.

  And soon, the hammer reached its full rotation, the moment it was nearest to Thor. And without even letting out his breath, Van turned his eyes towards Thor's leg.

  "Hh!?"

  Thor immediately raised his hammer in the air as he felt a crunching pain stinging around his ankles; he then quickly looked towards the ground, only to see his small opponent chomping on the back of his knee.

  And perhaps due to the suddenness, and not to mention the randomness of the attack, the thunderbolts that endlessly fell from the sky ceased. Thor then violently waved his foot, followed by a loud snap in the air as Van was thrown a couple of meters in the air.

  Unfortunately for Thor, the loud snapping sound that thundered in the air was not from Van… but from his leg; which was now hanging by its skin in his opponent's mouth.

  "Kh…"

  Thor had no choice but to place his hammer on the ground, using it as a stand as he stared Van straight in the eyes.

  Van let out a small smirk as he grabbed Thor's foot from his mouth, tearing some of its flesh in the process and revealing more of its silver-like bones.

  "You fight like a beast, little man."

  "Well……" He then said before spitting out whatever was left in his mouth and pointing Thor's own leg towards him,

  "……A beast with a weapon."