"L Let me go!"

"..."

Thor let out a small grunt as Van suddenly decapitated Hermod out of nowhere. The battle was supposed to be between the two of them; but yet here was his opponent, with Hermod's head in his hand.

Although he was far from using his full strength, the force he used when he threw his hammer and its sheer size should have been enough to at least startle his small opponent; but not only did he save the students that were on the path of his hammer, he was also fast enough to get behind him.

It wasn't only Thor that was baffled about what happened. Considering the loud gasps that were echoing throughout the field, the students were too. After all, why wouldn't they if they just saw one of the major Aesir being decapitated in front of them?

Of course, the one that was probably most shocked of all was the one that got decapitated, again. He saw Van's shadow, of course; but once again, he was too slow to do anything. The next thing he knew was that his body once again fell to the ground, leaving his head floating in the air as Van grabbed his hair.

"How are you even able to speak?" Van then slightly moved Hermod's head away from him as it started moving and shaking erratically.

"You dare decapi--"

And before Hermod could even finish his words, Van suddenly dropped his head to the ground and squashed it; once again garnering the gasps of the students that were watching on the side. If Hermod wasn't dead before, then they were sure he was now.

Sigrid, who was also watching on the side, could not help but take in a long and deep breath. Although Hermod was her father, there really wasn't any familial connection between the two of them. Granted, she was excited when he suddenly visited the college.

She thought that he was really here to see her; maybe he heard about what had happened to her but no. It was as if she was only a pet that was quickly disregarded, and not even once throughout the whole exchange did she hear Hermod calling her his daughter.

But still, seeing him dying so casually just like that; by the hands of the man that saved her, her heart was conflicted. This was the first time in years that she had seen her father and now he was gone.

Her heart was conflicted, but her mind did know one thing-- she wanted Van to be safe from Thor's hammer.

"Why did you kill Hermod?"

A slight quake in the ground then reverberated in the air as Thor stretched his hand towards his hammer, which burrowed through the ground as he called it back towards him.

"I just finished what I started, and I also needed to recover some strength," Van shrugged as he quickly absorbed Hermod's soul, "Used most of it from earlier activities," he then said as he looked at Athena, who quickly cleared her throat as she realized Van was talking about what they did earlier.

"I see," Thor breathed out; the hint of carelessness in his voice that showed his nonchalance before was completely gone, "Then I suppose our battle now has a new purpose. I shall avenge the death of my friend."

"Your friend? It didn't seem that way."

"He is one of the children that my father had adopted, and I will avenge him," Thor repeated. But although his words may seem to be that of retaliation, in truth, he could care less of Hermod's death. He had rarely seen any of his so-called brothers and sisters, but for someone to disrespect him like this and actually kill one of them in his presence was not an action he would regard lightly.

And so, with his colossal hammer in his hand and with no more dallying, he rushed towards Van.

"..." Van turned his eyes towards the clouds, which darkened with each of Thor's steps. He then turned his attention towards Thor, whose beard flowed through the air as his feet left crevices the nearer he got to him.

For someone of his size, Thor truly did move fast; perhaps besides Charlotte and Hermod, he was one of the fastest people he had ever fought with-- but even then, Thor was too slow for him.

But if Thor truly was as strong as Charlotte, then this fight would not be as easy as he thought it would. And so, without letting his confidence flood his body, Van decided to put everything he could in this battle.

[Rage of Hercules, Activated!]

Streaks of crimson lightning emerged from his eyes as the veins on his body began to pop; his hair also waved through the air, pushing it back as the crimson lightning slowly filled his entire body.

"Let's do this," Van then whispered as he ran towards the rushing Thor. And instead of dodging or moving to the side, he clasped his shield on his hand and decided to face Thor's attack head on as a test of his own strength.

Minute snapping noises popped in the air as Van's muscles tightened. With Thor's hammer slamming down on his shield, Van could feel himself being burrowed through the ground like a nail.

It would seem that he was right in taking this more seriously than he should. He already had [Rage of Hercules] turned on, causing his STR to almost double; but even then, a single swing from Thor's hammer was enough to cramp all of his muscles.

If ever Thor's hammer manages to hit him without the safety of his shield, then a few broken bones were the least of Van's problems.

Well, that is if Thor could hit him in the first place.

"Hm?" Thor then grunted as he felt a slight resistance in his hammer. He had initially thought that his opponent only had speed to offer; but seeing as he was able to stop his hammer, then it was no wonder that Hermod was easily bested.

"It seems I should not keep on underestimating you, little man," Thor said as he finally used both his hands to hold on to his colossal hammer, using his whole weight to completely pin Van on the ground.

"Too late."

However, as soon as he did so, all of the resistance that he felt completely disappeared, causing him to slightly stumble onto his hammer; and before he could even recover, a trail of crimson lightning flashed beside him.

"!!!"

Thor slightly stepped back as Van suddenly rammed his shield straight to his head. One of his hands, however, was still tightly gripping on the handle of his hammer. And without any pause, swung it towards the crimson blur that was now moving towards his back.

But like a trail of smoke, the hammer just passed through the crimson blur without any resistance. And once again, Thor found himself being smacked on the head.

Thor was strong, insanely strong-- Van thought as he continued to smack him around. He could only wonder what would happen if he didn't receive Charlotte's soul before--

The ends of Van's hair suddenly stood up on its ends as his eyes instinctively looked towards the skies. And as soon as he did so, his vision was completely filled with a violent glow.

"Kh!" Van felt a small but excruciating pain traveling through his skin as a whistle pierced through his ears. It all happened in the course of a blink, but it was enough for Thor's hammer to completely ram itself towards Van's whole body.

Van could feel the surface of his bones cracking bit by bit, but before the fractures could become worse as the hammer threatened to devour him whole, he moved away. And although his vision has yet to recover, the vicious sound that Thor's hammer made was enough for him to know where it was coming from, allowing him to dodge.

"!!!"

But as soon as he did so, another pricking pain stabbed through his body. But this time, Van did not allow himself to panic as he quickly moved to the side, effectively blocking whatever Thor threw his way.

And with the looming thunder roaring around him, Van had finally realized what was hitting him even before his eyesight could fully recover-- lightning.

With Thor's hammer, which left craters in the ground with each swing, as well as the countless lightning being summoned from the sky; it would seem Thor was a trickier fight than he thought he would be.

"Many giants have fallen from my hammer, little man

...and worlds have been blown by the storm I bring. Be glad, you are one of the few who will be tasting both."

"Your hammer" Van then finally recovered his sight, glancing at the skies before turning his attention towards Thor, "...If I win, it's mine."

"Only those with the strength of a god can wield this hammer, little man."

"Well

...we'll see, won't we?"