Chapter 20

The one god that I didn't want to meet, didn't want to fight didn't want to be on opposite sides was the same god who pointed her knife at me and boldly declared she would kill me with a swipe at her throat. Unable to take it any longer, I dashed out and continue running with no clear destination in my mind. All I wanted to do was run from her, them and all my problems. I knew it was undignified to run like a scared child, but that was all I was, a frightened child. I couldn't come to fathom how I could defeat a goddess such as herself.

I had been preparing for this moment for so long, but the gods I had always thought I would face had never scared me like she did that moment. And also I knew that when push came to shove, Arthy would be in my corner, telling me to stand back again and try my hardest to win. To never give up, he would have been my source of strength but now… When his sister was my target, his sister whom he had rekindled with, the sister who I saw and probably heard trying to get him to kill me quickly, so she didn't have too. Yeah, my odds were beyond scary, and I didn't have a clue as to what I truly wanted.

Could I win? Maybe when pigs learned to build a road and houses in the sky. Would she kill me? Definitely, have you seen the power in that body, she would even if she didn't need to try. In terms of strength, gods and goddesses are infinitely times stronger, more powerful and overall better in combat, survival and hunting. Just now, she showed a great understanding of everything. I was doomed.

Maybe it is not too late to turn in the towel. I didn't want to die, but I knew that the gods wouldn't let me stay with them and neither would the humans want me back if there was no assurance that if the gods wouldn't be friends with them, then they wouldn't set out to kill them. Panting, I stopped at the same cliff I was thinking just a few days ago.

'You know that if you get tired from just that run, you wouldn't be able to outlive my sister, right?' Arthy had been following me, I knew it. He could never hide his presence from me even when he was cloaking himself. He slid on the ground, his back to the tree and we continued to watch the sunset just as we used too back in the day. We were quiet as we overlooked everything in front of us, this was one of the reasons I enjoyed spending time with him. There was never a reason to fill our silence with words.

'You don't want to fight her, do you? I could tell by how quickly you took off away from everyone. You know, Belle was extremely confused when you ran. You should have seen her face with the blood, and everything been confused about the situation. It was adorable and funny. You know, it's been so long since I spent time with Belle. There was already a lack of family time way before you came. After finding out that I was siding with you and everything, it became tougher for us to have a good and excellent relationship.

Then we had one, and it made me happy, you allowing her into our pseudo home and leaving whenever we got talking made me happy. Mostly, I've never been this happy in such a long time, and I have you to thank for that. And now that I have finished thanking you let me warn you as a courtesy of the time we spent together. You can't win, it is practically impossible, three gods tried, and you know what happened to them. And even if you do try, just know I would kill you myself is what I'd like to tell you. But I know its impossible for you to kill her. So, my time here is well spent. Let me leave you to your final thoughts.

Make sure you enjoy the sunset, it is the last you would ever see', Arthy chuckled and walked away.

Was I shocked at what he said? No.

Did I expect something like that? Yes.

Was I crying a bit even though I knew it was coming? Yes.

So, do I go out and lose without trying or do I go and lose after trying my utmost best? Guess ill find out when tomorrow comes.

I didn't go to the waterfall to sleep last night. I had slept under the stars, in the dirt with the flying insects and everything as a last-ditch attempt to be one with nature. And what did that get me? Absolutely no decent sleep. By what I had calculated to be 4 in the morning, I was up and exercising, visiting the field and trying my hardest to get a feel of it before the match started. And it was during this that I made a startling discovery, but I'll tell you about it later.

The town crier went around, banging his gong, shouting at the top of his voice, calling their attention. All gods and goddesses were expected to be in attendance, absolutely none of them should be found still in their domains. I had waited till Arthy and his sister left before I went back to get my attire. It was a simple skintight suit, black with a few stripes of red forming the letter 'X' in front. Unlike others, it was easy to put on and was not as bulky as the ones Arthy had tried to get me to wear. A gift from Zadra's minions which had been made for me. I made a paste from the sand near the water and put three stripes on either side of my face. With a smile, shaky obviously, I made my way to hopefully not my death but the beginning of my happiness.

'Dum dee dum. Dum, dee dum. Dum, dee dum dee dum dee dum…' shouts of excitement, the beating of drums, colours flying in the air, it was truthfully strange. The feelings in the wind hit me so strongly that I almost lost my balance even though I wasn't that

# close to them. A few gods and goddesses were dressed in their most beautiful outfits, full-on regal mode and the others too were dressed to impress. They all seemed to rally around someone in the middle, and the moment they let me see her, I was wowed.

Unlike the other matches, Belle honestly looked like who she was, a warrior goddess. She was dressed to the part, a sword that seemed impossible to move hanging from the rope on her pants. Her hair had been painted with the dye made from red berries and sea salt to give her a look as if she soaked in blood. Honestly, between the two of us, she looked almost ready for war while I looked like a young recruit who was starting her first day in training.

'WELCOME ONE, WELCOME ALL…TO THE MATCH WE HAVE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR. WE HAVE BEEN THROUGH A LOT; OUR FOUNDATIONS HAVE BEEN SHAKEN MORE THAN THEY EVER HAD SINCE WE WERE FORMED. TODAY, EVERYTHING COMES TO AN END. WHO IS READY!!! I SAID, WHO IS READY!!! LADIES TO YOUR SIDES. NOW I DON'T WANT TO SEE A CLEAN FIGHT. I WANT DIRTY, GRABBY, EVERYTHING. ISN'T THAT WHAT YOU WANT?' A scream of yes's in response. And it began.

Just like before, I knew to try and put distance between both of us, but before I was able to move backwards, she had reached into my personal space and delivered a gut punch. For the next three seconds, I was doubled in pain, unexplainable, but that didn't stop her from using her elbow to hit me in the back. All too soon, I was brought to my knees, and before she could deliver the final strike, I threw sand in her face and distanced myself.

'Argh, I'll get you for that, you puny human, once I can see again.' Coughing and laughing at the same time, I used her seconds of lack of vision to rest and think of another plan. She was powerful, I'll give her that, I was still feeling the effects of her beatings, but I knew I was going to win. Everything was in motion. Just needed a few more seconds for it all to be ready.

This time, I went on the offensive. Throwing some kicks and punches while evading Belle's mad shots in the dark was challenging. Still, the few groans I heard whenever my punch connected with her body gave me a crazy amount of adrenaline. The noises in the background, their screams and shouts of praises had become so muted, I was sure I was going deaf in both ears. But that didn't matter, none of them mattered. All I could concern myself with was the goddess before me that looked ravenous and out of the blood.

She spat on the ground, rubbed her hand on her face and grinned. Her smile was ferocious, but it was nothing compared to the blade in her hands. I had heard of the blade, the tales of its deeds preceded what might have looked like an ordinary sword. Matula, the one and only blade she ever uses to seriously fight. A blade so dedicated to its master absolutely no one could wield it. Of a strange shape and whereabouts, no one but her knew. It was said, that to see Matula was a great thing because it meant you were worthy of your soul being trapped in its blade.

Mine, on the other hand, was simple, forged by Oirliot, the master forger. Nothing was special about it, but it was all I had to defend myself, and I would use it till my dying breath. With our swords pulled in front of us, we shot from our spots and clashed. With lightning reflexes, our swords became blurs as they often collided and clanged against each other.

And with every clang, I could feel the power behind both Belle and Matula. She moved like it was an extension of her hand rather than an object. She was able to duck, perform complicated flips and look presentable all while trashing me on the floor.

And with a forceful motion, my sword went flying from my hand unto the ground far away. By this time, nobody was screaming, maybe they were biting their tongues with anticipation, I couldn't tell. My focus was on the woman slowly approaching me, and it was then I decided to put my plan in motion. Without any preamble, I dashed from her, ran all the way to the sword and while running, I scrapped the shiny and sharp part against the ground for about sixty meters before I stopped.

Before she could make a move, I bunched my suit and squeezed until my sweat dropped on the floor and created a line of fire all the way to her body. It was satisfying watching her burn, but it wasn't enough, she was still moving. To not burn with her, from my position, I lunged knives and the swords at her. I also made sure to activate all the traps I saw her lying in the ground.

Remember the startling discovery I spoke about? Yes, it was Belle laying traps and burying them under the sand for me. After she left, I got the idea to do what I just did, which was why I rearranged them and now she was a victim to her own plan. And by the time the fire had died, Belle was just a husk of herself, standing by sheer will before falling on the ground. And to not take any chances, I tried to lift her sword, which while difficult I was able to do and slash her head off her body.

Before I could, she smiled all hauntingly and told me 'Arthy would kill you!' and then I killed her.

The gods were surprised, they couldn't say a word for so long that I thought they weren't there anymore. Their eyes darting from her body to the head in my hands as well as the sword in it. As I walked back to them, Arthy came before me and silently but violently took his sister's head from me. I couldn't meet his eyes, and he didn't want to see me either.

'Just as our agreement states, when all ten gods are dead, peace everlasting peace would be brought back to the human realm. No god or goddess should be seen wreaking havoc in my land. Previously, we had said that all gods would go back to serving the humans and continuing the previous relationship, but I have decided on something new. Any god who doesn't want to help humans who would rather stay here and live out their days doing whatsoever can visit. I wouldn't force any of you to do what you don't want.

I want peace, that is all I have ever wanted. If the friendship could have been gotten without all of this, then I would have gone for that option. But as it stands, you all needed to witness the power of humans, of my people and I.' I bellowed at the top of my voice so they would all hear me.

'So, does that make you our leader? What are you now for us?' Nertpaq asked. The goddess of night and sweet dreams, she was usually quiet, but the few times that she spoke, her words were generally of value. I thought hard and long about what I was to say.

'I can't be your leader simply because I am not a god. I don't think you need a leader. All of you are your own different people. All I would be to you is a communicator between humans and gods. That's all you and they need.' 'Thank you so much for taking care of me, for being part of this and for accepting today's match results. I am grateful and can only hope that tomorrow and the days after bring better things for us.'