Godsforsaken

Chapter 36: Clash Of The Great Heroes

I got back into a fighting stance, my sword held high in my right and my left hand empty and ready for anything.

This time he was the one charging at me, not quite in a full sprint but as fast as his battered body would carry him, and this time he was holding his giant sword in both hands, the tip dragging along the ground behind him as he went.

He was far more than a breath slower than before and his swings, even two-handed, no longer had such devastating power as to cause gale-force winds. And so, instead of dodging I used the extra time his injuries gave me to charge up a Qi Burst, meeting his blade head-on. Albrecht had a cocky grin on his face right before our blades met, apparently expecting to blow me away.

The moment our blades struck each other, four things happened in quick succession.

The first was a look of sheer horror creeping up on Albrecht's face as his blade not only failed to send me sprawling but actually bounced off.

The second was a clanging sound of metal on metal so high and loud that it rang across the entire coliseum. Alisha would tell me later that the sound, amplified by the coliseum's shape, had rung across the entirety of the Elysian Fields.

The third thing that happened was a plume of fire that came out of Helios Edge and washed over Albrecht's weapon, unable to find purchase on the blade and therefore disappearing without causing him any actual harm, though I did smell his arm hair burning.

The fourth thing that happened, slightly after the first three, was a collective gasp by all the Heroes of Elysium who had come to watch our match, so loud that it reached both of our ears.

Evidently Albrecht was not in the habit of having his attacks stopped cold.

“Gods above,” Albrecht whispered in the deafening silence that followed our clash. “How can a little slip of a man stop me cold like that?”

I was gritting my teeth, trying not to let it show that it hadn't been as effortless as I'd been making it look. Blocking that swing had jarred my bones and, I suspected, had torn my muscles up a bit.

Also, just for the record, being called a 'little slip of a man' stung. I mean, it was true enough when comparing myself to a walking mountainside like Albrecht, but goddamn.

I started directing Qi at my damaged muscles and then said: “I told you, didn't I? I'm full of surprises.”

Something about my tone made him perk up again. “Let's see how many more surprises I'll have to knock out of you, then.”

And then he came at me again, swinging that enormous sword once more. This time I didn't try to stop it cold, though. I still blocked, but at an angle, letting the blade glance off rather than bouncing it off entirely. It was much less spectacular but also much easier on my body, letting me take blow after blow and only backing away a few inches at a time.

One of the traveling masters I had trained under had taught me that it took a third of the power to block a blow that it took to strike the blow. As such, I knew that I would exhaust him eventually if I kept it up. But that was not my plan.

I wasn't backing away randomly. Instead I was slowly but inexorably leading Albrecht towards the thing I had dropped onto the ground earlier. I wouldn't beat him in a contest of pure strength, sure, but I didn't have to. All I had to do was outsmart him.

Qi Burst after Qi Burst rushed out of me as I kept parrying his blows, my breathing slowly growing more and more labored. Albrecht was breathing like a bellows, rivulets of sweat running off him, gathering in his magnificent beard and darkening the ground on which we fought.

“That white haze...” he gasped out, “That's the secret... isn't it? I deplete that... and you're done.”

“Good luck with that,” I told him. We were only three steps away from my trump card.

Our blades clashed again. Two steps.

And again. One step.

Albrecht raised his sword for a massive overhead swing and I drew power into myself for a Qi Dash, intending to shoot over my little surprise and let him walk right into it. But as his sword descended and I dashed away a wave of purple magic washed over me and I watched in horror as my trump card was pushed backward, right towards the spot I'd been about to dash to.

I aborted the Qi technique and instead rolled to the side, only just avoiding his massive sword cleaving downward.

“Did you really think that'd work?” he asked, sounding almost offended. “I admit I'm a dumbass but even I'm not stupid enough to walk into an armed ice trap.”

“I guess I'm too used to fighting things that don't recognize the danger these pose,” I said, trying to think of what to do next. If I couldn't lure him into the trap that would severely limit my options.

“Enya was the one who invented these things,” he said. “Otherwise I might not have known about them, either.”

“I'll need to thank your wife later then,” I said. “These things have saved my ass before.”

“But they're not going to help you beat me,” he said and came after me again.

Shit. I had to do something. He was clearly weakened but I wasn't sure I could keep exhausting him. I needed something more. The ice trap wouldn't help. Most of my other traps would take too long to set up. Given his control of gravity I was sure he'd be able to detect me even if I donned my cloak of invisibility.

Hold on.

Ever since he'd gotten out of that pile of rubble I'd only seen him cast magic once and it had been to shove my ice trap out of the way, which was a relatively minor use compared to sending a dozen boulders at me.

I blocked another strike of his with a Qi Burst and studied him. Sure enough, somewhere along the way he'd lost his necklace. I would have felt bad about this if I hadn't been reassured that items lost inside this dome would be returned the same as our bodies but right now I was elated. If he wasn't wearing the necklace anymore then that meant he would only be able to cast spells using his apparently low Intelligence stat. That meant his magic should be far weaker now.

I smirked and disengaged. I'd been hesitant about keeping my distance, knowing that he could just chuck boulders at me if I tried to stay at range, but now that was no longer a concern. Sure he would eventually recover if I stayed away for too long but it did mean that if I needed the time to use a Qi technique I could back off to get it.

The moment I had some room to breathe I charged up a Qi Burst, far stronger than any I'd used before, and when he came hacking at me again I swung diagonally, batting his sword away. More importantly, though, was that I'd swung it hard enough for the fire enchantment to do more than just heat up the blade. When parrying his blows I'd been using short, weak Qi Bursts, enough to deflect his blows, enough to heat up Helios Edge to the point where it exacerbated the way both of us were sweating like horses, but not enough to send out plumes of flame.

This Qi Burst was more than powerful enough to manage it, however, and a swathe of fire washed over Albrecht. Before, his sword had taken the brunt of the swathe of fire but I'd since started deflecting his blows at an angle, which made his sword bounce off and unbalance him. And so when the fire came at him he was wide open, his sword at his side.

He wasn't a Great Hero for nothing, though. Instead of holding onto an obvious liability he dropped the weapon and crossed his forearms in front of him, blocking the fire as best he could.

Before he could even recover I backed off again and charged up a Qi Burst on top of a Qi Dash.

He had only just grabbed his weapon again when I came at him, my momentum increased by an order of magnitude from the Qi Dash and even more of my life force amplifying the thrusting attack.

He had no time whatsoever to parry my attack and he was too battered and bruised to attempt to dodge so he held the massive slab of metal he called a sword in front of himself like a shield and I hurtled towards it undeterred.

With all the force and momentum behind it, Helios Edge's fire enchantment turned the entire blade white-hot and it bored into Albrecht's blade as easily as a knife carves through butter. He'd been smart enough to hold the blade far enough in front of him that even after sinking through the blade to the hilt Helios Edge only managed to pierce a couple of inches into his sternum, but then the fire lance shot forward and carved a hole the width of my fist through his body.

His eyes went wide and he threw up a mass of blood as he slumped forward, leaning heavily against me.

Surely this was it, right? I had hit this man with several rocks as fast as musket shots, buried him under an avalanche, burned him and run him through with a lance of white-hot fire. He had a fist-sized hole going through his chest, for Zeus' sake. There was no way he would still be able to fight, right?

His hands reached out, quite gently, to grasp the sides of my head. I was about to close my eyes and accept his defeat when he leaned his head back, then brought it forward violently, slamming his forehead into me. While I was still reeling he grabbed his sword with both hands and shoved, pushing his sword away and thereby ripping mine out of his chest.

He was bloody and singed and I could see all the way through him. The only reason he could still stand was that the hole I'd poked into him had been slightly off-center and his spine was still intact, though I was certain I had punctured one of his lungs, judging by the disgusting squelching sounds he made with every breath.

He didn't even bother picking up his sword anymore. He just raised his fists like this was a bar brawl.

“Gods above, Albrecht, let's end this already,” I whispered.

He smiled at me. His beard was burnt off and blood was leaking freely from his mouth. I could even see that somewhere during the fight he must have clenched his jaw so hard he'd broken some of his own teeth because his mouth was a bloody ruin. “Giving up already?” he rasped out.

“Fine,” I said, raising my own fists. “Have it your way.”

Despite how much I'd weakened him I knew getting hit by those meaty fists would be dangerous so when he went for a massive haymaker I didn't try to block it. Instead I ducked under it, then went for an uppercut that took him right in the jaw. A disgustingly fleshy grinding sound let me know I'd just ruined some more of his teeth.

Before I could properly recover one of his massive fists took me in the side, driving the air from my lungs and almost making me want to throw up. Instead I pressed my lips together. If he wanted to turn this into a boxing match then my best course of action would be to change the rules of engagement. So I decided to use a trick Yume had showed me.

I backed off once more and let him swing at me. He was slowing down with every moment but if he wanted to end this in a proper fight I wouldn't do him the dishonor of just letting him expire.

So I kept weaving around his next few strikes until he went for another flashy haymaker. This time, though, I didn't merely duck and punish with an uppercut. Instead I grabbed his wrist as his fist whistled past me and twisted into him, my shoulder digging into his armpit, and used his own weight and momentum to throw him over me and onto his back.

The impact caused a geyser of blood to spew from his mouth and I decided that this had gone on for long enough. I reached into my bag of holding and withdrew a misericorde, a long, flat knife used to end the suffering of knights in heavy armor too injured to save and, more morbidly, a knife worn by most female adventurers in case they ever got taken alive by goblins.

I raised the knife, reminded myself that I wasn't actually killing the Great Hero Albrecht, and then brought it down.

**

The moment I stepped out of the coliseum to deafening cheers a tidal wave of magic crashed into me, restoring all of me and all the gear I'd used back to before I'd entered the arena. When the wave of magic ebbed away Albrecht's body vanished and then he appeared outside the dome as well, hale and healthy and grinning from ear to ear.

“Great show,” he told me as he gave me another one of those bone-rattling back claps. “That was unbelievable.”

“You're not upset?” I asked him. I had well and truly fucked this guy up not five minutes ago and here he was, smiling at me.

“What would I be upset about?” he asked. “The last fight that pushed me to my limits like this was the one that earned me my title.”

“So, does that mean I proved my mettle?” I asked.

“And then some,” Atalanta said as she came to join us. “Both of you were brilliant. It's been a long time since I've seen Albrecht go all out against someone other than the two of us.”

“Even rarer to see him actually lose when he does,” Odysseus said as he joined us.

“So does that mean I managed to prove myself?” I asked.

“Let's wait until we are in a more public setting to answer this,” he said.

And then he turned and left. Atalanta turned to watch him go, shrugged, then followed after him.

“Going to join them?” I asked Albrecht.

“Why bother?” he asked. “Best if we get back to the amphitheater together, anyway. Some Heroes get terribly upset about losing and I want to make sure I show them that I'm not one of them.”

“You really aren't upset?”

“I have four wives,” he told me. “But I still just had the time of my afterlife. And even if this hadn't been fun, if you'd used a dozen dirty tricks to ruin me, I would still be content. Because if there are people as strong as you taking care of the world of the living, I get to relax a lot more.”

I snorted.

**

A few minutes later Albrecht and I found ourselves in the center of the amphitheater. Alisha, Selene, Yume, Annabella, Athena and Melinoe were sitting on the lowest level, right next to the stage, and the looks on their faces amazed me as much as winning that fight had.

Alisha gave me a look of utter adoration, as if she wanted to rip her clothes off, kneel beside me and wrap her arm around my leg. Selene looked amazed, her eyes sparkling and her cheeks flushed. Yume gave me a look of pride, the kind a teacher might have in their disciple, though the labored breathing told me that wasn't the only thing she was thinking. Annabella looked relieved, as if she'd been worried about me. And Melinoe looked impressed, as if me winning this fight had been the last thing she'd been expecting. But it was Athena's expression that gave me pause.

I had expected her to look relieved or at least satisfied that I had held up my end of the bargain. Instead she was flushed a deep crimson and her breathing was labored. Apparently the pervert goddess was looking forward to a little private victory celebration later. I smiled at her, though I was hoping she'd tone it down a little. For a goddess so publicly disgusted by nasty organic processes she sure looked like she was interested in them right then.

“Heroes of Elysium!” Albrecht boomed. “This man came to us, calling himself a Great Hero! What say you? Did he prove himself worthy of that title?!”

The cheer that answered him was deafening.

“Atalanta! Odysseus! What about you?” Albrecht demanded once the other Heroes had calmed down.

“The boy has fire,” Atalanta said, her voice carrying well from the stands. “His cause is worthy and his strength demands respect.”

Odysseus was still frowning, the way I was coming to think of as his default expression, and he regarded me for several moments. Finally he asked: “Tell me, Felix. You said that the gods spurned you. And yet here you are, willing to save Olympus. Don't you think that's incongruous?”

I considered my answer for a moment. “If Olympus had been overrun by the followers of another pantheon or by the Titans for that matter, I wouldn't lift a finger to help. But there is one exception we all make. One exception that makes even Chosen Ones and Dark Lords put aside their differences. And that difference is the taint from Outside. And that is the foe we are facing. A woman so vile she can anoint men as Dark Lords of the Black Goat.”

That made even Odysseus sit up a little straighter. I continued:

“I have little love left for the Olympians, or for most of them at any rate. But that is nothing compared to the burning hatred I feel towards the vile filth that seeks to destroy our world. So if destroying them means helping the Olympians, so be it. If destroying them means having to work alongside the Olympians, so be it. If anything, I'm looking forward to rubbing it in Zeus' and Poseidon's faces that some impudent mortal had to come save their asses.”

That, finally, made Odysseus' face break out into a smile. It was wolfish, but genuine. “Well, now you have my attention. The idea of Poseidon of all people owing me a debt of gratitude for killing Outsider filth does sound too good to pass up.”

I smiled at him. Yeah. I'd known him and I would get along famously if we ever got time to talk.

“Now then,” Albrecht boomed out. “Heroes of Elysium. You all know that no man nor god holds sway over us. We've served in life but in death we are free. So, we cannot force anyone to join us in this fight. But I can tell you that I want in on this! Who will join us?!”

“Count me in!”, Atalanta called out and jumped into the center of the amphitheater.

Odysseus slowly, deliberately, walked down the stairs until he had joined us on the stage. “The Outsiders overreached this time and I will relish putting them back in their place.” His voice rose as he asked: “So, who else wants the chance to cleanse these beasts and humiliate the Olympians in the process?!”

I noticed idly that not all the Heroes of Elysium joined in the cheer this time. Some of them stayed quiet, some of them even went so far as to leave the amphitheater. And yet despite that the cheer that arose this time was even louder than before.

**

The Heroes of Elysium ended up throwing an impromptu feast to celebrate the alliance we had forged. I hadn't been sure what to expect. The Heroes were dead, after all. They had no need for sustenance. And yet their food seemed perfectly normal. Well, not normal. It was too good to be considered 'normal'. The dishes they served up were simple but made with high quality ingredients. I also noted idly that many of the dishes were centuries old recipes, ones that had fallen out of favor in the world of the living long ago for one reason or another but down here the traditions were clearly being kept alive. One of the dishes that stood out was pork stewed with apples. It was so good Alisha ended up pestering the chef for the recipe.

Over the food and drink it was easy to forget that the Heroes of Elysium were dead legends and instead we simply treated them as adventurers, trading stories of our exploits the way we would have at any tavern. Even Athena had managed to loosen up a little, clearly relieved that her plan had worked out so far. But even so, clearly none of the Heroes had forgotten who she was because precious few of them were willing to simply sit and chat with her. I might have managed to thaw her frozen heart but centuries of acting aloof and arrogant had clearly left a bad impression on these Heroes.

And so she ended up gravitating towards Alisha, Selene, Yume and Anna. She even kept her distance from Melinoe, though in that case I was pretty sure it was because she was terrified the demigoddess might notice that something was different about her if they spent too much time together.

But I couldn't spare her too much of my attention as I was drinking with Odysseus. As it turned out we truly had simply gotten off on the wrong foot and we did indeed have a lot in common when it came to how we thought of the gods and the world. I instinctively liked Albrecht's boisterous demeanor more but in Odysseus I saw a lot of myself.

He ended up regaling me with the tale of how he'd met the sirens out on the ocean and comparing the truth of it with the fictitious story people were telling about the event nowadays had all present howling with laughter.

As I kept shooting the shit with Odysseus and some of the other Heroes I caught sight of Athena standing in a dark alleyway, beckoning me over.