Boooooooom!!
An impact and roar as if a meteor had crashed down thundered across the arena, shaking the entire colosseum. The barrier flickered violently, and screams erupted from the spectators.
"What monstrous power..."
"I haven't seen it in a long while myself, but its force is as devastating as ever."
"More importantly, what about Kazuki-san!?"
While even Artoria—witnessing the Thor Hammer's might firsthand—and Hogun—who knew its power all too well—stood in shock, Rossweisse's only concern was for Kazuki's safety.
"He's fine, Rossweisse. Look—"
Following Artoria's pointing finger, Rossweisse strained her eyes as the thick, swirling blast-smoke began to clear.
There, a colossal crater roughly fifty meters in diameter had been gouged into the ground, and at its center, Thor stood with a grim expression, glaring in one particular direction.
And in that direction stood Guyver Gigantic, shielded behind its barrier.
"Too fucking close... If I'd deployed that barrier a split second later, I'd have been reduced to ash."
Deactivating the barrier, Kazuki let out a breath of relief.
"To think you'd block Thor's Hammer... You're one hell of a bastard, aren't you? Then!"
Thor readied Mjölnir and charged, and Kazuki likewise raised his High-Frequency Sword, bracing for the interception.
Mjölnir and the High-Frequency Sword collided head-on. But—
Shing—shatter!!
With a sharp, crystalline sound, the High-Frequency Sword shattered, its blade spinning through the air.
"Tch!!"
"Gahahahahaha! You think a flimsy little blade like that can stop Mjölnir!?"
Thor brought Mjölnir crashing down toward Kazuki. It wasn't on par with Thor's Hammer, but wreathed in lightning, it still carried devastating force. Kazuki evaded it and launched a right high-kick. Thor blocked with his left arm—but ate a left high-kick delivered almost simultaneously, sending him hurtling backward.
As Thor shook his head and rose, Kazuki unleashed a follow-up left high-kick. Thor guarded with Mjölnir while keeping his right arm up to protect his head, wary of another kick. But the left high-kick Kazuki had launched transformed mid-trajectory and drove brutally into Thor's wide-open solar plexus.
"Gehah!?"
Thor's body folded into a V-shape, and he desperately fought to keep himself from collapsing.
'At this range, he can't fire the Hammer! I'll end this in one go!!'
Just as Kazuki moved to strike Thor's completely exposed head, lightning erupted from Thor's body. Unwilling to take a point-blank lightning blast, Kazuki leaped far backward.
"Tch! It's pathetic how you've completely stolen the advantage in close-distance combat! Martial arts are a pain in the ass. But, Guyver—you think just because you're dominating up close, I can't launch the Hammer?"
"What?"
At Kazuki's reaction, Thor grinned and twisted Mjölnir's handle, pulling it apart to reveal roughly forty centimeters of chain from within. Gripping the handle, Thor swung it like a flail, and Mjölnir once again began crackling with lightning.
"Hate to break it to you, but there are two types of my Hammer. One is the direct-attack type I just showed you. And the other is this—the long-range type!!"
The lightning radiating from Mjölnir intensified, blazing with blinding brilliance. And then—
"Take this! Soaring Thunder God's Hammer!!"
Thor hurled Mjölnir like a hammer throw.
"!!!"
Kazuki narrowly evaded the lightning-wreathed Mjölnir as it came hurtling at him at high speed. But before he could even feel relief, his Head Sensor detected a high-velocity projectile closing in fast from behind.
'Damn! Make it in time—!!'
The Soaring Hammer slammed into the barrier Kazuki had thrown up on reflex.
But…
"Guuh!?"
After a momentary stalemate, Guyver's barrier shattered into pieces. Mjölnir grazed the armor of his left shoulder before returning to Thor's hand.
"Well dodged. But can you survive the next one!?"
Taking Mjölnir in hand, Thor used the centrifugal force to spin himself around and hurled it once more.
Kazuki deployed his barrier again—but just as before, it was smashed apart, dealing a painful blow.
'If I dodge, it chases me. My barrier gets destroyed. Then what I have to do is—intercept it head-on!!'
Making an instantaneous judgment, Kazuki tore open his own chest armor with his own hands. It was almost simultaneous with Thor launching Mjölnir.
"Giga-Smasheeeeer!!"
Guyver Gigantic's certain-kill Giga-Smasher collided with Thor's Hammer. The clash of colossal energies engulfed their surroundings in white light, and in the next instant, a catastrophic roar and shockwave hammered into both of them.
Craaash—shatter!!
"Kyaaaaaaaah!!"
The collision of the Hammer and the Giga-Smasher obliterated the arena's robust barrier, plunging much of the audience into chaos.
Yet even amidst that pandemonium, a small few still kept their heated gazes locked upon the arena.
"No way... Odin-sama's barrier."
"Was a clash of absolutely fucking absurd firepower. Even that barrier had its limit, I'd guess."
"More importantly—Kazuki... There!!"
At Artoria's voice, Rossweisse and Hogun looked toward the arena. Beyond the thick, swirling dust cloud, the figures of Kazuki and Thor lay collapsed on their faces.
"Thor!!"
"Kazuki-san!!"
As if reacting to the voices of their comrades, Kazuki's and Thor's fingers twitched.
"Guh, ugh... Shit... a mutual knockout, huh..."
"Nrgh... To think you'd actually intercept Mjölnir..."
The two men rose to their feet almost simultaneously. Both were unsteady on their feet, their damage clearly severe.
Thor scanned the surroundings, searching for Mjölnir. It lay roughly between them, charred black, and even when he reached out toward it, it gave no response.
'It's either completely fried or simply asleep... Either way, it's useless for the rest of this match.'
If Mjölnir couldn't be used, then it couldn't be fired either. As bitter as that fact was, Thor found himself smiling at the reality that there was a man who had driven him this far.
"Hey, Guyver. It was Brynhildr who sicced you on me, wasn't it? Show your strength, get me in the mood—that kind of thing."
"Well, that's pretty much it."
'Though it was actually Brynhildr and Sera-nee both.'
Kazuki muttered inwardly.
"Hmph. Figures. That damn fox of a woman... Fine. I'll take you up on that."
"Really!?"
"Yeah... I only formed the Neutral Faction in the first place because I was caught between my sworn brother Loki and the old man Odin and couldn't side with either. Most of the Neutral Faction are just guys who flocked to my name. If I say it's good, they'll fall in line."
Kazuki felt relief—he'd have good news to report to Serafall—and at the same time, just a faint pang of regret that this was the end.
"Still... Don't you think, as men, we ought to settle this decisively?"
For an instant, Kazuki blinked dumbly. But the moment he grasped the meaning of Thor's words, he couldn't suppress the elated grin bubbling up inside him.
"Heh heh... Yeah. That's right. We've gotta see this through to the end!"
Kazuki clenched his fist tight.
"Right. Though, we've barely got anything left in the tank, either of us. How about it? We bet everything on the next, final strike."
"I'm in!!"
Thor stripped off his battered, tattered armor and gathered every last drop of his remaining power into his left hand. In response, Kazuki too deactivated his armor, focusing all his remaining fighting spirit into his right fist.
Thor's left fist wreathed itself in lightning, sparking violently; the crimson aura enveloping Kazuki's right fist blazed up like roaring flames.
The two men charged simultaneously.
"Lightning Bolt!!"
"Burn Knuckle!!"
And unleashed their final blows at the same instant.
After the clash, the one left standing was…
"Goddammit... If it'd been my dominant arm, I would've won..."
"Maybe. ...But this time—it's my victory!!"
Without watching Thor slowly collapse, Kazuki raised his fist high into the air.