Those time travelers that year

"This old man doesn't believe he'll lose to a junior! Hahahaha!" Mekal laughed, a storm of divine power surging into his body. His form began to grow larger and larger, transforming into a giant as tall as a mountain. "Then let this old man test the mettle of this monster—even the Steel Hero found it troublesome—after the Age of Myths!" With that, he gripped his equally enlarged club and slammed it down towards the Hydra. The Hydra, the nine-headed serpent, roared, dripping with deadly venom, its nine heads lunging at Mekal.

For a moment, the giant and the monster were locked in a fierce battle. The Hydra's serpent heads were repeatedly smashed by Mekal, but each time a head was smashed, it would soon grow back. Conversely, although the Hydra's venom could not cause fatal damage to Mekal, it still posed a threat to him.

Athena, standing atop the Hydra, had a swirling galaxy faintly visible in her bright purple pupils. Mekal had not yet healed the wounds inflicted by Veleslana; the injury that severed her divine essence was not so easily recovered from.

Of course, relying solely on her Triune divine status, Athena's victory against Mekal, with its inherent advantage, would be far from easy. But now! That's a different story. Neither Mekal nor Veleslana saw the swirling galaxy in Athena's eyes—a power system from another world, even if it differed from her original world and its rules… Yet, the scales of victory had tipped in Athena's favor from the very beginning. If Veleslana were still here, he could naturally inflict a fatal blow on Athena with his golden sword, capable of severing divine status, but unfortunately, he wasn't.

Moreover, Vereslana's situation is far more difficult than Mekkar's.

After being transported to another dimension by Ciel, both sides possessed weapons designed to counter gods. However, it was clear that the golden sword, capable of severing divine power, was ineffective against Ciel. Conversely, the flaming sword proved extremely effective against Veleslana.

After all, this Persian war god possessed divine attributes representing the sun, light, and victory. Coincidentally, in Norse mythology, it was the death of Baldr, the god of light, that ushered in Ragnarok, and the flaming sword symbolized the end of the gods. Even on the final battlefield, Frey, the god of victory, perished under the flaming sword.

Veleslana, who shares a similar divine status with Frey, is at a significant disadvantage when facing the Blazing Sword...

507. The Golden Sword That Severed Godhood

However, even facing the counter of the flaming sword, Veleslana, wielding the golden sword, showed no anxiety whatsoever. Instead, he laughed heartily, throwing himself wholeheartedly into this battle that was disadvantageous to him. Blade against blade, the flaming sword and the golden sword clashed repeatedly, shooting out countless sparks of fire.

Time and distance were completely irrelevant to Charles and Vereslana. In their eyes, every second could be easily divided into a minute. It could be said that their duel was not a contest of who had the better swordsmanship, but a contest of who could gain more 'time'.

After all, no matter how exquisite the skill, it is full of flaws and meaningless in the face of speed and strength ten times that of you.

"This arrival is wonderful! Hahahaha!" Veleslana laughed, the golden sword in his hand emitting a dazzling light, instantly generating dozens of light and shadow beams that enveloped Charles.

Similarly, Charles, wielding the Flaming Sword, continuously parried the various attacks from the Golden Sword. Slashes, cuts, thrusts, parries... all sorts of moves were unleashed from Vereslana's hands, but for Charles, as long as the attack was clearly visible, he could withstand it.

A simple, ordinary attack would be completely ineffective for either side.

Even though the flaming sword was designed to counter Veleslana, it never truly struck Veleslana from the start of the fight. Just as he could block Veleslana's sword, Veleslana could also parry the flaming sword's edge.

“Actually, if you calm down and we talk things over,” Charles said, “I won’t kill you.”

“That won’t do! I am the God of War – Veleslana!” Faced with Charles’s suggestion, Veleslana showed no interest whatsoever. “...Besides, this body is, after all, a body of non-compliance. If it is non-compliance, then what reason is there to reason with it?!”

"In other words, you insist that I send you back to mythology, right!?"

"Otherwise what? I came here to have a good fight, to enjoy killing, to enjoy victory, and to enjoy defeat as well!"

"...Fine! If you're going to be unreasonable, then I won't hold back!"

"Come on! Cthulhu..." The golden sword blocked the slash of the flaming sword, and Veleslana shouted, "Slay this disobedient me, and bring me defeat—if you can do it!"

With a teleportation, he created distance between himself and Veleslana, then hurled a lightning spear at Veleslana. Facing the incoming lightning spear, Veleslana fearlessly raised his golden sword and shattered the spear in two.

"It is impolite not to reciprocate!" Veleslana laughed loudly, and with a wave of his hand, thick dark clouds appeared above this strange space. Then, the phantom of a goat suddenly appeared in the air, and huge bolts of lightning shot out from the dark clouds, striking down towards Xia Er.

A dazzling light rose from below, and Charles, wielding the Flaming Sword, slashed upwards. The flames of the Flaming Sword soared into the sky, transforming into a brilliant rainbow that shattered the descending lightning along with the thunderclouds summoned by Veleslana.

"It seems that sword poses a considerable threat to me!" Despite his attack being thwarted by Charles, Veleslana showed no sign of panic. He raised his golden sword, aiming it at Charles. With his movement, countless golden sword shadows appeared densely in the sky within an alternate dimension.

"Laevatein, the Blazing Sword, this sword is both the sword of creation and the sword of destruction," Veleslana proclaimed. "It is the embodiment of steel, but not the godhood of steel. Rather, it is the godhood of the end of the old world and the beginning of the new world!" As Veleslana spoke, the sword shadows floating in the air materialized one by one. In an instant, thousands upon thousands of golden swords appeared in the air, falling towards Charles as if ten thousand swords were unleashed simultaneously.

"Tch!" Charles heard Veleslana's words clearly. As he began to recount the origin of the Flaming Sword, the sword shadows that had transformed from illusions into reality began to generate a strange power capable of targeting and weakening the Flaming Sword. Although it was insignificant, the sheer number of them—thousands upon thousands of golden swords capable of weakening the Flaming Sword's power—made it a considerable problem for Charles.

With a swing of his sword, he shattered all the incoming golden swords. In a flash, he dodged most of the sword shadows and then charged towards Veleslana, slashing at her with his sword.

Veleslana laughed heartily, swinging his golden sword to meet the attack, once again clashing with Charles. As their blades clashed, he continued, "Because of this... Laevatein also has two different forms..."

"In the hands of the Lord of Victory and Abundance, this sword was the sword of righteous victory... However, the Lord of Victory and Abundance has lost this divine sword."

"And so the divine sword disappeared into mythology, and in its place belonged to the demonic sword of Surt, the lord of the Fire Kingdom of Muspar Sea, the destined destroyer of the world."

"Stained with the blood of the gods, burning the World Tree, ending the calamities of the old era, and ushering in a new cycle of reincarnation."

"Cthulhu, what you hold in your hand is the very branch of destruction, the blazing demon sword, the staff of calamity, destined to burn the World Tree!"

Suddenly, the golden sword in Vereslana's hand emitted a dazzling golden light. The war god laughed wildly and raised the sword to slash at Charles. The flaming sword parried, but as it once again blocked the golden sword's attack, Charles was stunned. Vereslana had actually begun to overpower him in terms of strength.

No, or rather, the golden sword in Veleslana's hand began to undergo an inexplicable change, a change that was producing a sealing effect on the flaming sword in his hand.

The effect of this seal is so great that it has begun to affect the Flame Sword. As Veleslana slashes seemingly without any strategy, a repulsive force gradually emanates from the Flame Sword.

"The gods will perish, the war is destined to fail, this is the end of Asgard, the end of the nine worlds..." At this moment, Veleslana continued to say, "All the gods and all the demons are losers in the final war, without exception they will all die on the battlefield of the final battle - only one thing will not fail, and that is Laevatein."

“So… Laevatein is the key, the key to unlocking reincarnation. It symbolizes victory and invincibility, as well as end and rebirth. This is the essence of the demonic sword in your hand.” The golden sword in Veleslana’s hand shone brightly. At this moment, the flaming sword in Charles’s hand transmitted an even stronger repulsive force, which finally made it impossible for Charles to hold onto the flaming sword.

Even though Charles tried to hold on tighter, it was to no avail. Soon, the repulsive force of the Flaming Sword reached its peak, and it slipped from Charles's hand, only to be knocked away by Veleslana's sword.

This is to make up for yesterday's mistake.

508. Fortune changes every day.

"Looks like I'm still the better player!" Veleslana laughed, deflecting the Flaming Sword with a single strike. The Flaming Sword was embedded in the ground a short distance away, and dozens of golden sword shadows materialized, layer upon layer, sealing off the Flaming Sword. Now, with his sword blade gone, Charles was about to face Veleslana's blade directly. "—Cthulhu, this round, I'll take it first!"

The golden sword in Vereslana's hand, after knocking away the flaming sword, went straight for Charles's neck. Vereslana showed no mercy and ruthlessly slashed at Charles's neck, intending to decapitate him with one blow.

"...Just a Laevatein." Seeing the golden sword slashing down, Charles showed no panic whatsoever, even though the Laevatein had been knocked away and sealed by Veleslana. But this didn't mean Charles was at a disadvantage; in fact, it was Veleslana who was truly at a disadvantage.

The golden sword that can sever a god's essence is indeed a threat, but it has one prerequisite: the user must understand the target. Moreover, it can only sever one god's essence at a time.

This thing is a deadly threat to gods; having a part of their divine essence severed is equivalent to suffering a major injury. But for Ciel, it means absolutely nothing. The golden sword that can sever the divine essence of a god cannot possibly cut him, as Cthulhu.

This can be understood as follows: any Cthulhu represents the source of all great power. Regardless of their abilities or what they represent, these are all essentially part of themselves. In this context, the golden sword that severs divine status could not possibly threaten a Cthulhu like Ciel.

Unless Vereslana is able to analyze and understand Cthulhu.

However, in that case, he wouldn't be a god trapped in this world.

He was able to cut down Ciel's flaming sword Laevatein only because this Laevatein wasn't the one Ciel's original sword. The Laevatein used by this clone was formed from the essence of something obtained from Surtr. It was still Laevatein, but the Laevatein from Norse mythology in this world.

That's why Vereslana was able to strike.

He also paid a price, as Laevatein ultimately restrained him. Veleslana would also need to expend a great deal of divine power to seal the flaming sword Laevatein.

As the golden sword was about to strike him, Charles remained motionless, watching the blade approach, as if he had completely given up the ability to resist. This made Veleslana's expression tighten; he didn't believe that Charles would completely give up the ability to resist just because the flaming sword Laevatein had been knocked away.

Sure enough, right in front of the golden sword, a dark shadow attacked. The immense force not only blocked the golden sword that Vereslana was about to strike, but also sent him flying.

Having been blasted away, Veleslana quickly used his control over the wind to hover in mid-air. At that moment, he saw what had sent him flying. It was a black dragon with outstretched wings and strange crystals covering its body. The black dragon roared at Veleslana, spewing dragon breath flames.

Veleslana, who was flying in the air, quickly dodged away. This was a flame that could burn the soul, and even he, the God of War, was unwilling to be tainted by it.

"A winged serpent?!" Vereslana shouted. "Is this your trump card?"

“No, this is just my pet!” Charles replied with a smile, his figure obscured by the black dragon’s massive body, making it impossible for Veleslana to see where Charles was. However, that didn’t matter. What mattered was that after the black dragon’s breath missed Veleslana, it roared and flew up from the ground, pouncing towards Veleslana.

“Since it’s a pet, then I won’t be polite either!” Veleslana waved his hand, and divine power surged forth. A huge wild boar appeared in the air, carrying a savage aura, and crashed down towards the black dragon.

With a deafening crash, the wild boar and the black dragon slammed to the ground simultaneously. The two enormous creatures immediately began to fight. The wild boar charged, its tusks piercing the black dragon's body. However, the dragon's scales blocked the tusks, preventing them from piercing the dragon. Similarly, the black dragon opened its sharp teeth and bit down on the wild boar, but because the wild boar's hide was thick and its flesh tough, it was impossible to kill it quickly.

And so, the two monsters became entangled, and it was impossible to determine a winner for the time being.

At that moment, Veleslana spotted Charles and then vanished from the sky as if by teleportation, instantly appearing beside Charles at incredible speed, raising his sword to slash at Charles once more.

"This sword is really annoying..."

With a clang, Vereslana's golden sword was blocked, firmly held by a long spear.

"This is!" Veleslana's pupils contracted; he recognized the origin of the spear. Like Laevatein, which he had previously shot down and sealed, it was a divine artifact from Norse mythology. This was the weapon of the great god Odin, the Spear of the Meteor, which bound oaths and destiny.

"Recognize me?!" Charles chuckled, flicking his wrist as his spear flashed, sending dozens of sparks flying as it thrust towards Veleslana. Veleslana quickly pushed aside, parrying the spear's attack with his sword. But unexpectedly, Charles's move was merely a feint; he didn't actually attack Veleslana with the spear, but instead, in a flash, he created distance between himself and Veleslana.

"Not good!" With a change in expression, this confident war god showed anxiety for the first time. Then, without reservation, he poured his divine power into the golden sword in his hand, intending to continue using the golden sword's ability to sever divine power and knock down and seal away the spear that Charles was currently holding.

This time, however, Ciel will not give Vereslana the chance to use his Word of Power.

After creating some distance, Charles gripped his spear in reverse and aimed it at Vereslana.

"Pierce it through—Gungnir!!!"

The power of the divine declaration erupted from Gungnir once more. A streak of light appeared on Gungnir's body, and the next moment, Charles, holding the Meteor Spear Gungnir, hurled it towards Veleslana.

Gungnir, the meteor spear that flew from his hand, vanished in a flash like a meteor; it was a weapon of causality, guaranteed to hit its target. Veleslana had no time to utter any incantations, and could only hold his golden sword before him, attempting to block the bombardment of Gungnir.

However, his expression immediately changed.

The Gungnir was not aimed at him at all. When the Gungnir was close to him, Veleslana realized that the Gungnir was not aimed at Veleslana himself, but at the golden sword in his hand that was severing the divine power.

However, Veleslana reacted too late; the Gungnir, the Meteor Spear, struck the golden sword in his hand, sending it flying. While in mid-air, the power of the Gungnir erupted, completely shattering the golden sword that had severed the god's essence.

What goes around comes around, and this time, it was Vereslana's turn to lose his weapon.

509. End

"Damn it!" Veleslana's expression changed. The Meteor Spear shattered the golden sword in his hand, which was nothing unusual; the golden sword was merely a manifestation of Veleslana's authority over war. He could simply wait a little longer and summon a new golden sword. What truly alarmed him was that the shattering of his golden sword meant that its effects of severing and sealing divine power had vanished.

The next moment, a beam of fire shot into the sky, reflected in Veleslana's eyes. The flaming sword Laevatein, which had been sealed by countless golden swords, suddenly erupted into a pillar of fire after the golden sword in Veleslana's hand, capable of severing divine essence, was shattered by the meteor spear. The destructive flames spread, instantly incinerating the golden swords that had been sealing it with their extreme heat.

Then, amidst the raging flames, Laevatein sprang to life and flew back into Ciel's hand.

"A storm!?" Veleslana's pupils contracted. Seeing Charles regain control of Laevatein, a deadly sense of unease washed over him. He hastily activated his authority, unleashing a cataclysmic tornado. A towering column of tornadoes connected the sky and the earth, its swirling vortexes like the sharpest cutter, relentlessly shredding everything in its path—a power capable of crushing even an aircraft carrier into scrap.

Unfortunately, this level of power was insufficient for effective defense. The next moment, Laevatein's destructive flames erupted. A flash of fire tore the entire tornado apart; with a single strike, and without the Golden Sword, the calamity summoned by Veleslana through other authorities was utterly crushed by the flaming sword.

Phoenix

Seeing the flaming sword Laevatein, its blade burning with the destructive fire meant for the gods, tearing through the tornado and about to fall upon him, Veleslana chose to retreat. Now, his only chance of victory was to buy time, to stall until he could summon the golden sword again.

He wasn't without the authority to attack; Veleslana still possessed his most powerful move, [White Horse], which could summon a shower of solar fire. However, this might not hit Sharl, especially since the Doomsday Sword, stained with divine blood, was already within reach.

So Veleslana decisively activated his Divine Speed, attempting to create distance between them. However, the power of Divine Speed ​​was not invincible. When Veleslana activated [Phoenix] and gained super speed, he was surprised to find that in this world where Divine Speed ​​should have frozen in his vision, Laevatein, wielding the flaming sword, was following closely as if nothing had happened.

'He's incredibly fast too!?'

'No, this isn't!' Seemingly noticing Veleslana's astonishment, Charles's mental consciousness resonated directly within this world of incredible speed. 'This is just—The World [Time Stop]'

The divine speed came to a halt in an instant, and the look of surprise on Vereslana's face froze in the solidified world. Just as Charles had said, this wasn't divine speed, nor did he possess such a skill; rather, he had a 'sense of time' that could stretch time.

Even without divine speed, it didn't matter; with his 'sense of time,' Ciel was still able to keep up with divine speed's reactions. Just as Veleslana was trying to widen the distance between them with divine speed, Ciel, with the extension of his 'sense of time,' accurately kept up with Veleslana's divine speed, and even acted faster than him.

Then, just a fraction of a second faster than Veleslana, Sharl unleashed The World spell [Time Stop], abruptly halting the flow of time in the surrounding area. Even the gods, caught completely off guard by Veleslana, were instantly affected. Of course, this wouldn't last long, as gods are beings in a higher dimension than mortals who cannot perceive time.

The world where time stops cannot completely trap Veleslana; this is not a Marvel world where time can truly stop without any cost.

It would only take a moment for Veleslana to break free. Unfortunately, he no longer had the chance; even a second would have been more than enough for Charles.

Just as Veleslana broke free on his own, he felt a sharp pain in his chest as Charles, wielding the flaming sword Laevatein, pierced him through.

The blade of the flaming sword Laevatein, which had entered his body, began to spread the cursed power that was specifically designed to kill gods, and the flames of destruction also flowed into his body along the blade.

Even with the power of rebirth [the Ram], the fatal damage inflicted by the flaming sword Laevatein was beyond the control of Vereslana's authority. Moreover…