Chapter 267: Reversing Time, Returning to Before the Battle?
The world of Helheim was now collapsing.
But this collapse was different from the destruction of the previous arena.
The previous space was relatively independent, with the entire realm completely annihilated, turning into nothingness.
This time, however, it was more like the destruction of a world within a world.
Perhaps this analogy would be more fitting: Helheim was like one floor of a building.
Now, that floor was collapsing!
The ground, serving as the floor, had already lost more than half of its structure, with the remainder still crumbling and falling to the level below.
The world below seemed similar to this one—shrouded in mist, covered in frost, with frozen land visible everywhere.
This world—was named Niflheim.
The falling fragments of Helheim were causing this land to scream in agony.
Mountains were flattened, the earth seemed to split apart, and the entire terrain of Niflheim was being rendered unrecognizable.
Among it all, a seemingly frozen spring, due to the cataclysmic collision, broke free from its icy prison and gushed forth.
In an instant, the surroundings were enveloped in what looked like a boiling sea.
As Helheim continued to collapse, it became clear that Helheim was not located directly above Niflheim but rather existed as a realm within a realm, like a country within a country.
In other words, Helheim was actually enveloped by Niflheim.
Therefore, this kind of collapse, which did not result in complete annihilation into nothingness, was unlikely to lead to a double knockout and a draw.
Sure enough, the camera soon captured a figure, one that resembled a Golden Saint.
Not a single injury could be seen on him, and he appeared completely at ease, as if he hadn't expended any energy at all.
Observing the collapsing Helheim, the distortions and collapses of space were like metal fragments violently scraping against each other, sparking fiercely—but here, what erupted were terrifying thunderstorms and black lightning.
These were destructive bolts of lightning that could kill even an ordinary god with a single strike.
Yet, when such lightning struck Quirinus, it had no effect whatsoever.
This indicated that he was still in the state Odin had described—transcending multiple timelines.
Thus, it seemed clear that humanity had won this confrontation.
The final battle between humanity and the gods—Ragnarök—was finally drawing to a close.
The ultimate victors—humanity!.
"Lost just like that?"
"H-how could this be?"
"Wait, Akasha shows that Lord Odin is still alive!!!"
This sudden, sharp cry reignited hope among the gods who heard it.
Where was Odin then?
One by one, they stared intently at the crumbling scene, trying to locate Odin.
Suddenly, the camera seemed to find him, zooming in on a specific spot.
In the blink of an eye, Odin was indeed discovered, but the gods fell silent. Some swayed on their feet before collapsing to the ground like paralyzed beings.
In the footage, Odin's body had mostly vanished, leaving behind little more than his head—and even the two sides of his head were half gone.
"Sis-sister, we—we won!!!"
Göll frantically tugged at her sister's clothes in excitement.
An unprecedented thrill!
This victory wasn't just about winning this single match—it represented humanity's complete triumph in the battles of Ragnarök.
The final conflict between humans and gods had finally concluded in the eighth round, with humanity securing victory in six matches.
The gods had lost!
Humanity had won!
"Is it over?"
"There won't be another match, right?"
Irina and Le Fay, visitors from another world, murmured dazedly, unable to help but sigh in relief.
With this, the gods should now have to deal with the Primordial Gods.
"Wait!"
"It's not over yet!!!"
Rossweisse and Serafall spoke up one after another.
They noticed something unusual happening to Quirinus—he was disappearing.
But his disappearance was different from Odin's.
Quirinus was becoming transparent, as if fading from existence, while Odin's soul was shattering, dissipating into light.
Quirinus seemed to understand what was happening. After a brief moment of surprise, he smiled.
"Wh-what's going on?"
"Quirinus's body is turning transparent?"
"Is he disappearing too?"
"A draw?"
The divine spectators who noticed this scene felt hope rekindle within them.
"Something's not right."
Buddha furrowed his brow—Quirinus's disappearance was highly unusual.
"This is—!!!"
Suddenly, he slapped his own head, feeling as though something in his memories was fading away.
"What's happening?"
Buddha then stared in astonishment, unable to believe what he was witnessing.
The entire world seemed to freeze, as if someone had pressed a pause button.
In the next moment, like a film rewinding, the collapsing Helheim began to restore itself.
What in the world was happening?
As the reversal continued, Buddha felt something in his memories fading even faster.
What exactly was disappearing?
Just when he felt he was about to grasp it, another layer of mist obscured his understanding.
What was it?
His gaze inadvertently fell upon Quirinus, whose form was growing increasingly faint, and Buddha froze as if struck by lightning.
He finally understood what was vanishing from his memories.
So that's it.
Odin's final strike with the Spear of Destiny had succeeded after all—was this the result?
"Unable to remember? How irritating~"
With those words, Buddha's consciousness seemed to freeze as well.
"Seven matches of the final battle between humans and gods, Ragnarök, have already concluded. With the eighth match approaching, there aren't many rounds left. Yet, up to this point, the gods haven't managed to win a single match."
Huh? Serafall's mind went blank for a moment as she looked around in confusion.
"Not a single victory!"
That was the voice of the announcer, Heimdall. His seemingly mocking tone angered the divine spectators.
"So, if the gods lose this next match, then [Ragnarök] will come to an end—it will be the defeat of the gods."
These provocative words made Serafall abruptly stand up.
This was the second time she had heard this!
"D-Did we go back in time?"
"Or is this a replay of the footage?"
Rossweisse murmured in equal astonishment.
But even as she said this, she leaned more toward one possibility—an almost unbelievable possibility.
That possibility was exactly what Serafall had just said—had they returned to the past?
Correction, it wasn't just them returning to the past.
Time itself had reversed, and everything had returned to the moment just before the eighth round was about to begin.