Solitary Sword Sovereign Part 2

Valhalla Array Returns

Will wanted to surprise his arrogant and seemingly unaware opponent. He didn't want her to have a chance to breathe, and he had less than a minute to finish the match.

'45 seconds until I get my first kiss!'

This was all Will could think about as the thrust the mighty Gungnir forward.

'A mage that can't think is a mage that can't fight.'

This was a truth Will had only come to understand after traversing the mage's path. He now understood the disadvantage of a mage, the strict requirements in one's state of mind and control of conscious thought. Will refused to give an opponent that could attack at light speed the chance to think, if he did, the match would be last. Hence, he had a plan.

The Medici matrix had helped him simulate multiple outcomes, including how to defeat a mage that was faster and had better attributes. He had simulated how to battle Mercedes multiple times but he had failed almost every time, unless he had access to higher powers or his warrior skills. Now he had access to his most crucial higher power, Intent!

It was at this moment that the value of divinity showed itself. Aphrodite's Phantom let out a blood-curdling scream. The scream carried a wave of killing intent suffused with divine power, capable of shaking even the sturdiest of minds. Will could not help but pause his movements for a moment, reeling from the attack.

Mercedes gracefully accepted this pause and released a burst of mana, shifting her trajectory slightly. Her face narrowly missed the spear, which moved parallel to her face. The fact that she could not see her reflection in the murky black darkness caused by Hela's Dominion caused her discomfort because her narcissism had reached a point where the mere sight of herself could give her strength.

Many a cultivator had joked saying that Narcissus would have been better suited for her than Aphrodite. Alas, Aphrodite had discovered her first.

Will now felt what he had given Mercedes, a rebound from invasion by intent. But unlike his opponent, Will had experience in adjusting to the unexpected. Mercedes had just passed the shaft of the spear and was about to reach Will's eye level when the latter's head came crashing toward her.

'He wouldn't dare!'

Will's forehead crashed into hers with a loud thud, stunning the crowd. No one here had ever expected to see a head-butt in a battle between mages.

The hooded man stood in a panic and balled his fists, his emotional state unknown to the observers. Mercedes felt an intent so sharp she felt as if her brain had been split into hemispheres. It was virtually impossible for her to complete a single coherent thought. In all her years of battle, no had had ever done such a thing to her, so it wasn't even in her expected list of attacks to defend against. Intent and a ruffian's method of unorthodox combat, it was a combination of skills she had not met before, and Will intended to exploit every second of it.

'This is for insulting my teacher.'

The surge of intent was not the only attack Will intended to unleash. Just after impact, a rush of mana concentrated at the point of contact emanating from Will. A flood of concussive force was generated and ruthlessly smashed into the princess's forehead. Hydrolytic Fission!

Will had ignited the Frozen Asgard Mask beneath the Hela's Dominion and it had resulted in a concussive force that burst forth with merciless intention. Odin's Crown boosted Will's Mental capabilities and allowed the force to move through unhindered to its target. Mercedes was caught unprepared and was struck square on the forehead with a concussive force and intent so strong it made her forget her own name.

She flew back like a speeding bullet, headed straight for the wall. But Will did not give her time to rest.

'If it was that easy to harm her, she wouldn't be everlasting Willow's inheritor.'

Will had barely felt any damage done by the concussive force, a strange force had manifested itself on her forehead, so most of the damage had still been done by Will's intent.

A strange sigil written in Celtic script had manifested itself on Will's forehead and resulted in her keeping her mind intact.

'It makes sense that Photos would leave her with some defensive measures, but I'm not done.'

Mercedes did not have a chance to even slam into the walls of the arena as Will used Valhalla Path to create a trail of ice and appeared behind her.

'If at first, you fail, try and try again.'

This time, Will manifested a concentrated burst of water on his spear and swung with all the strength his body could muster while using mana. His killing intent was thoroughly infused with the water and struck the Princess once more on the same spot, ruthlessly slamming her upwards.

'Rinse and repeat.'

To the horror of the observers, Will repeated this action of using Valhalla path and targeting the princess with Hydrolytic Fission from Gungnir.

'He couldn't possibly be...'

The hooded figure felt an odd sense of déjà vu as he saw her figure being ruthlessly slammed about while rails of shimmering ice were left behind.

'The Valhalla Array!'

Within ten seconds, the princess had already been blasted away dozens of times. Runes and matrices manifested on the Vallhala Paths Will left behind, interlocking and fusing.

The world energy in the environment started to thrum with excitement as the cold environment became even colder. Aphrodite's phantom watched on helplessly as Mercedes was being flung about. The phantom wanted to interfere, but its spiritual attacks were now useless. The dragon had firmly locked it down the space with a seal of intent, preventing it from releasing another burst of intent. The cage of intent was laced with the darkness attribute, which was best known for its devouring and sealing aspects.

The dragon was not idle as well. It prepared to release a concentrated burst of Dragon's Breath at the phantom. The phantom found this a bit odd as that wouldn't affect it much but it did not think much about the situation as there was a crisis.

The Valhalla Path had reached the peak of its momentum as its array reached completion. The centre of the array was empty and was the spot which Will had blasted the princess to last.

'This is it, this is what I have been waiting for.'

In the centre of the array, Will blasted the princess vertically upwards into the sky. This time he did not follow. This time, he started to chant.

"All Father, hear my call!"

He held Gungnir in a throwing stance and aimed straight at the princess. The weapon in his hands was no longer a hybrid of a staff and a spear, it was now purely a weapon. The spear gathered a horrifying amount of World Energy as its tip started to coalesce different attributes.

'Frost, yin, darkness, metal and water. There is no doubt about it, this is Gungnir's Throw.'

The same spell that Francis van der Merwe had tried to use on Will was now being used by Will to attack Mercedes. Except he wasn't summoning a spear, he already had one. Instead, Will's chant was modifying the spear he held to suit the attack.

'He is using the Valhalla Array to magnify Gungnir's Throw!' This was the thought everyone in the stadium had as Will locked his killing intent onto the unconscious Princess. His last blow did not have much force. Its main purpose was to align her vertically upwards with him so he could aim. When her body lost its kinetic energy and entered freefall, a flood of light sigils gathered around her body.

A mystic armour of light coalesced and formed around her. It was infused with a powerful divine energy that could obliterate most defences.

'As expected of one favoured by two deities from birth. No human under level one hundred can pierce that armour in one blow.'

The hooded man and many observers watching sighed in relief when they saw Mercedes manifesting the armour around her body.