The moment Thor's aura erupted, the battlefield changed.
The shockwave generated by his breakthrough swept across the area, blowing away dust, debris, and shattered stone.
Golden lightning danced around his body.
Stormbreaker rested firmly in his hand.
Thor slowly raised his head and looked toward Ares.
Across from him, Ares' expression had become increasingly unpleasant.
Watching Thor break through during battle and directly enter the Skyfather tier filled him with frustration.
It made him feel as though he existed solely to sharpen Thor's strength.
He was Ares.
The Olympian God of War.
Not some stepping stone for another god's growth.
...
Boom!
Thor transformed into a streak of golden lightning.
He shot toward Ares.
Ares immediately responded.
Dark crimson divine power erupted around his body as he charged forward as well.
The two collided instantly.
Boom!
Stormbreaker and the flaming spear clashed once more.
This time, however, the situation was completely different.
Thor had already completed his breakthrough.
Their strength now stood on equal footing.
Massive waves of energy exploded outward from the battlefield.
Space itself trembled.
Fortunately, Karl and Zeus casually neutralized the aftershocks before they could spread further.
...
This time, Thor completely seized the initiative.
Stormbreaker moved continuously.
Slash.
Hack.
Cleave.
Sweep.
Every strike carried the power of golden lightning.
Ares found himself gradually pushed backward.
For the first time since the battle began, he was forced onto the defensive.
His spear continuously intercepted Stormbreaker's attacks.
Even so, every collision caused lightning to travel through the weapon and into his body.
Because the spear conducted energy extremely well, Thor's divine lightning became increasingly troublesome.
Soon, Ares could feel numbness spreading through his arms.
His grip weakened slightly.
The disadvantage became obvious.
...
Whoosh!
Ares suddenly thrust his spear forward.
At the same time, he began gathering enormous amounts of divine power.
The energy around him rapidly condensed.
Thor immediately noticed.
Yet he showed no intention of interrupting.
Instead, he did exactly the same thing.
If Ares wanted a direct clash—
Then Thor would give him one.
...
Golden energy began gathering around Thor.
Even Asgard itself seemed to respond.
Streams of divine power rose from the land.
The realm recognized its king.
Asgard's energy naturally gravitated toward Thor.
Meanwhile, Ares faced a disadvantage.
The nature of his power was rooted in slaughter, war, bloodshed, and destruction.
Such energy was difficult to replenish externally.
Unlike Thor, who could draw upon both himself and Asgard, Ares relied primarily upon his own reserves.
...
Soon, a gigantic phantom appeared behind Ares.
The spectral image resembled an enormous war god.
Its presence towered over the battlefield.
A second flaming spear formed within the phantom's hand.
The next moment—
The giant spear was thrown.
It shot toward Thor like a crimson comet.
...
Above Thor, dark clouds gathered.
Golden lightning flashed continuously.
The God of Thunder stepped back with his right foot.
Then—
He threw Stormbreaker.
Boom!
The axe spun through the air.
Golden lightning wrapped around its blade.
The weapon became a storm of destruction.
The two attacks collided.
For a brief moment, the battlefield seemed frozen.
Then Ares' attack shattered.
Stormbreaker tore straight through it.
The spinning axe continued toward the giant phantom.
...
However—
Ares was already moving.
The instant Thor threw Stormbreaker, Ares abandoned his previous position.
His true objective had never been the ranged attack.
He wanted to exploit the moment Thor lost his primary weapon.
The God of War shot forward.
Flaming spear aimed directly at Thor's chest.
...
Bang!
Ares suddenly realized something.
A terrible mistake.
Thor possessed two divine weapons.
Not one.
...
Mjolnir instantly flew into Thor's hand.
Without hesitation, Thor swung.
The hammer struck the side of the flaming spear.
The angle changed.
The trajectory shifted.
And the spear—
Pierced directly into Ares himself.
...
Silence.
For a brief moment, everyone froze.
Even Ares seemed unable to process what had happened.
Then pain exploded throughout his body.
...
Thor wasted no time.
Stormbreaker immediately returned to his hand.
At the same time, Mjolnir became a streak of lightning.
Boom!
The enchanted hammer smashed into the flaming spear again.
The weapon shifted.
And stabbed Ares a second time.
...
The battlefield fell silent.
Then laughter erupted.
Karl laughed.
Tony laughed.
Loki laughed the loudest.
Even several Asgardian soldiers struggled to keep straight faces.
The most noticeable sound, however, came from above.
Ruby Crystal's childish laughter echoed through the sky.
Beside her, Morgan clapped excitedly.
The innocent laughter carried surprisingly far.
To everyone else, it was amusing.
To Ares—
It was torture.
...
The furious God of War immediately looked upward.
His eyes locked onto Ruby Crystal.
The next instant—
A terrifying pressure descended.
Boom!
Ares was slammed directly into the ground.
The pressure disappeared almost immediately.
Yet everyone understood what had happened.
Karl had acted.
Not enough to break the rules.
Just enough to issue a warning.
...
Zeus silently sighed.
His expression became even more bitter.
The gap between the two sides was becoming increasingly obvious.
...
Ares slowly climbed back to his feet.
Dark red blood covered his body.
His appearance was miserable.
Yet he no longer dared look toward Karl.
The brief pressure had allowed him to experience death itself.
He understood perfectly.
Offending Karl was not an option.
Therefore, all his hatred shifted toward Thor.
...
Dark crimson divine power erupted around him once more.
This time, the energy became increasingly unstable.
It swirled around his body like a vortex.
The storm grew larger.
And larger.
Soon it reached nearly ten meters in height.
The battlefield began trembling.
...
Then the transformation occurred.
A gigantic crimson-skinned monster emerged from the vortex.
Its body radiated infernal energy.
The smell of sulfur and hellfire spread through the battlefield.
Karl immediately recognized the source.
Mephisto.
Or more accurately—
Power originating from one of Mephisto's infernal dimensions.
Apparently, Ares had once entered into some sort of bargain.
...
The monster roared.
The moment it appeared, it opened its mouth and unleashed a massive blast of crimson energy toward Thor.
The attack looked impressive.
Extremely impressive.
But Karl's expression became strange.
Because he had already noticed the problem.
The transformed Ares possessed very little remaining energy.
The attack consumed almost everything.
It looked terrifying.
Yet it lacked sustainability.
In Karl's eyes, it was little more than a desperate final move.
...
Sure enough.
The moment the blast ended—
The transformation collapsed.
The gigantic monster vanished.
Ares immediately returned to his original form.
His aura weakened noticeably.
...
Karl couldn't help laughing.
Over the years, he had encountered countless individuals connected to Mephisto.
And without exception—
Every single one of them had suffered losses.
Making deals with Mephisto was practically synonymous with being exploited.
...
Meanwhile, Thor had no intention of wasting such a perfect opportunity.
The moment Ares reverted to normal, Stormbreaker left his hand once again.
The divine axe spun through the air.
Heading straight toward Ares.
...
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