{Chapter: 244 The Power of Odin}
"That human is finished. No one can survive the wrath of a Berserker," one of the Asgardian warriors declared, eyes gleaming with pride. "Their strength is legendary—one strike from that axe can split a mountain in half."
Around him, others nodded and cheered, convinced that William's fate had been sealed. The massive Berserker descended from the sky, his great axe crackling with raw energy, aimed directly at William's skull.
The moment seemed frozen in time as the weapon closed in—but just before impact, William raised a single hand.
With incredible timing and force, he caught the axe mid-swing. The colossal blade met his palm with a loud clang, and although the pressure was immense, he held it still. His arm quivered from the overwhelming power traveling through the weapon, yet he remained standing.
William's hand unclenched, letting go of the axe as he stepped back. Cracks spread out beneath his feet, spiderwebbing across the solid ground.
"That was impressive," William said, flexing his fingers. "My arm went numb for a second. I'll admit—you did well. You deserve some praise."
A wave of silence washed over the crowd. Eyes widened in disbelief. Even the seasoned warriors of Asgard, who had seen countless battles, were stunned. The Berserker's full-force strike hadn't even brought William to his knees. For most, that axe meant instant death—yet here stood a mere human, smiling.
The Berserker roared in frustration, his fury ignited. With renewed ferocity, he lifted the weapon and lunged again. But before the axe could reach its target, William's eyes flared with golden light.
An invisible extremely sharp compressed airflow passed through the Berserker's body.
In an instant, the Berserker's massive form halted mid-charge. A chilling pause fell over the scene. Then, with a grotesque snick, the Berserker's body split in half at the waist, his torso sliding from his legs before collapsing to the ground. His massive battle axe had also been severed in two, falling uselessly to either side. Blood sprayed into the air in a crimson arc as gasps and screams echoed across the battlefield.
Even for the warriors of Asgard, this was an unimaginable sight.
Odin finally stepped forward, his expression no longer calm. He studied William with eyes sharp as blades. "William, you are no longer just a man. You've transcended your kind. You possess the strength of a god now. But why waste such divine power on destruction? I, Odin, the All-Father, offer you a final chance—surrender and serve me."
William chuckled, shaking his head slowly. "Surrender?" he repeated, his voice laced with disdain. "There is no such word in my dictionary. I either win... or I die trying. That's who I am."
Odin's gaze turned steely. "Then I, Odin, ruler of Asgard and protector of the Nine Realms, declare your death. Take pride in this moment, human—it will be the first time in over a thousand years that I have personally taken to the battlefield."
With a gleam of divine light, Odin summoned his weapon. The Eternal Spear appeared in his hand—a weapon of unimaginable power forged in the earliest days of Asgard's rise. Every warrior in the realm knew its legend.
William raised an eyebrow. "Then I suppose I should feel honored."
"Indeed, it is over," Odin declared, lifting the spear and channeling a devastating wave of energy.
He thrust the weapon forward. A blinding beam of godly force shot forth, tearing through the space between them like a comet.
But in the blink of an eye, William vanished from view.
Odin's eyes narrowed. He looked up just in time to see William reappear—midair, above the blast. Yet even as he tried to maneuver away, the energy beam changed its course struck him head-on.
"Ahh!" William let out a guttural cry of pain, his body thrown backward like a broken doll. He slammed into the ground with thunderous force, carving a deep crater in the earth as debris flew in all directions.
As the dust settled, William lay motionless, a gaping hole torn through his chest. Blood poured freely, soaking the cracked soil beneath him.
But the onlookers weren't ready for what came next.
Golden, deformed T-cells—shimmering with supernatural vitality—began flooding from the wound. Like a living swarm, they surged to the injury and began repairing it at an astonishing speed, rebuilding flesh, muscle, and bone.
Gasps of awe and horror rippled through the crowd as William stirred once more. Slowly, painfully, he rose from the pit, blood still dripping, his shirt tattered—but alive.
He looked straight at Odin, defiant. "So this… this is the power of the great All-Father," he said, voice steady. "I have to admit—it's strong. Painful, too. But I'm still standing."
A ripple passed through the ranks of Asgard's warriors. None of them had ever witnessed anyone survive a direct hit from the Eternal Spear. Even the mightiest of gods would have perished. Yet William lived.
Odin narrowed his eyes. "You've survived a strike from the Gungnir… That alone earns you my respect. But don't think for a second that it makes you my equal."
The God-King began walking forward, his footsteps echoing like thunder across the battlefield.
"Asgardians!" a captain shouted. "Shall we aid the All-Father?"
"We'll fight at your side!" several warriors cried, raising their weapons.
But Odin raised one hand to silence them. "Stand down. None of you are his match. I'll handle this myself."
His voice rang with unshakable authority, and the warriors fell silent. The final clash between gods and men was about to begin.
Many warriors of Asgard stood in stunned silence, their heads bowed low. They felt the weight of shame pressing on their pride—defeated or rendered useless against a single human. A mere man had outclassed the elite of the gods. It was unthinkable, a dishonor not easily forgotten.
Odin's steps echoed like thunder across the shattered battlefield. With every stride, golden divine energy radiated from his form. Then, without warning, he vanished in a blink—reappearing directly in front of William like a flash of judgment.
"Ha!" William's fist lashed out in defiance, his body roaring with bloodlust.
Odin blocked the punch effortlessly, catching the blow with his forearm. Then, channeling his godly might into his fist, Odin slammed it into William's shoulder with enough force to shatter a mountain.
"Graaah!" William cried out as he was launched into the air like a broken comet. His body collided with a massive golden pillar, warping the solid structure and sending cracks rippling through its base. The sound of crunching metal and grinding stone echoed ominously.
Coughing blood, William forced himself to stand. Blood soaked through his clothes, dripping from his lips and down his side, but his grin remained unbroken.
"In this form… I can't even block your punch... Damn, that feels good. It's exhilarating! It's fucking thrilling!" William laughed, the madness in his eyes burning brighter than ever.
Volstagg, Sif, and the others stood atop a tall platform watching the battle unfold in disbelief. Volstagg muttered, shaking his head, "After taking a beating like that, he's still grinning? Is he some kind of masochist?"
"You talk too much," Fandral replied, his voice quieter, more serious. "That man… William—he's stronger than any of us. It's a damn shame his power isn't on the side of justice."
Sif's gaze was cold, unrelenting. "There's no shame. There's no tragedy. That man deserves death."
Hogun glanced at her, concern in his eyes. "Sif, you've been different ever since the victory banquet. Worried. Uneasy. What is it?"
"I'm fine," Sif said stiffly, forcing a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "Don't concern yourself."
Down below, Odin gazed at William, his face carved from solemnity and wisdom. "William, if you chose the righteous path, you could bring peace to countless realms. You could inspire hope, be remembered for eternity. You could have earned glory and reverence across the Nine Realms."
William spat a wad of blood onto the cracked floor and sneered. "Glory? What a joke. Only someone like you could say that with a straight face. I don't give a damn about glory. I only care about doing what I want—about standing above all."
The Gungnir, Odin's Eternal Spear, slammed against the ground with a resonating boom. Golden divine light surged from the point of impact, sending cracks racing across the floor like spiderwebs. The air turned heavy, trembling with the weight of Odin's wrath.
"You broke into Asgard," Odin's voice boomed with divine authority, shaking the very heavens. "You murdered my people. You stole our sacred relics. You devoured our elixirs like a beast. You spat on my mercy. As King of Asgard and Father of the Gods—I will judge you with finality."
William stood firm, eyes defiant. "And there it is. The righteous mask cracks. All that flowery talk is just you justifying murder. If you want to kill me, then stop pretending it's about justice. You self-righteous gods are all the same—drowning in hypocrisy."
Odin raised both arms, and golden energy surged around him in tidal waves. A dome of divine force formed, surrounding William from all sides—solidifying into walls of golden light that sealed off escape in every direction. The air within the prison crackled with suppressed power.
"I, Odin, end you now!" he declared, as a radiant sphere of celestial energy formed above his palm and shot forward.
William gritted his teeth, unable to dodge. The energy sphere tore through the air like a falling star. In a flash of blue light, a shield appeared in William's hand—ancient, scarred from past battles.
BOOOOM!
The collision shook all of Asgard. The blast thundered through the skies like a divine cannon, deafening every ear and shattering the clouds above. A blinding shockwave exploded outward, vaporizing anything in its immediate path. Warriors cried out, shielding themselves from the force, their bodies thrown back like leaves in a storm.
Volstagg was forced to one knee, screaming over the noise, "Everyone, take cover! It's like Ragnarok!"
Odin reacted instantly, conjuring an enormous spherical barrier of divine magic to contain the blast and protect the surviving warriors. The barrier absorbed the rolling energy, but even then, the air trembled violently.
When the smoke cleared, all that remained was silence. A vast crater now scarred the battlefield, wide and deep enough to swallow a palace.
Dust floated in the air like ash after a funeral pyre.
Every gaze turned to the pit—was William truly dead? Had he been obliterated into nothing but atoms?
The smoke stirred.
A hand emerged.
Then another.
Bloodied, scorched, and barely breathing—William rose from the heart of destruction.
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