In its clash with the Eternal Spear, the war god's shield was nearly destroyed. A hole had been partially punched through its center. Even if it could be repaired later, more than half of its integrity was already gone.
The Eternal Spear truly deserved its title as the mightiest weapon of Norse artifacts. Not only did it possess broken attributes, its own structure was incredibly durable. The war god's shield, while not ranked among the top armaments of Olympus nor widely renowned, was still undeniably a divine tool—an artifact that had accompanied Ares through countless battles without ever being damaged. Its hardness and defensive power might fall short of Athena's shield, but it remained an excellent defensive artifact.
Yet even such a shield was almost destroyed in the very first round of full contact. If Meruem had not used "Hard" at the last moment, the war god's shield might not have survived even that first exchange.
By contrast, the tip of Loki's Eternal Spear did not show a single mark. That alone made clear just how terrifying this artifact was. If divine tools were to be divided into grades, the war god's shield could be called a high-grade artifact, while the Eternal Spear would easily qualify as a supreme artifact.
A terrifying, never-miss property, nearly unbreakable durability, immense divine power, and the ability to return automatically to its wielder—no wonder Loki dared boast that with the Eternal Spear, he could rule the earth.
Caught off guard and without prior knowledge, even powerful gods could be taken down by this spear. "What a pity. A weapon this powerful fell into the hands of such a weakling of a god." Meruem eyed the almost-ruined war god's shield in his hand, then fixed a burning gaze on the Eternal Spear.
No one could blame him for the naked greed in his eyes. Collecting every powerful item he laid eyes on had become one of his less admirable habits.
After all, he had already taken not only the war god's shield and spear, but also Poseidon's trident and Aphrodite's holy branch.
And seeing the Eternal Spear—a peerless weapon—wielded by a god as unimpressive as Loki grated on him.
The Saint world was fundamentally built around the Greek pantheon. Other mythic systems existed, but their gods were, by default, pushed to the margins in terms of power. Even within Norse myth, Loki was not a god famed for overwhelming strength.
"Foolish human! You dare mock this god's weakness? You're just a mere mortal, yet you presume to judge a god?" Loki's anger spiked like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.
Meruem's words had hit a sore spot. If Loki were truly strong, he would not have needed to plot and wait so long for an opportunity. If his divine power were great, he would not have clung so desperately to the Eternal Spear. Compared to his brainless brother, the thunder god Thor, his strength was indeed far inferior.
The way these gods spoke to and treated humans really was all the same, Athena aside. That towering sense of superiority, no matter how they tried to hide it, always leaked through.
Nobles by birth—that notion was carved into the bones of every god.
"I've heard that speech more times than I can count, and none of you have ever really been able to do anything to me. As for that spear in your hand—I've already called dibs on it." Meruem tossed the nearly shattered war god's shield behind him, then charged Loki with the war god's spear in hand.
Spear clashed with spear, metal shrieking as sparks flew. Shockwaves of Cosmo exploded across the sky.
"If not for the Cosmo built into the Eternal Spear itself, I'd have finished you off already, 'evil god.'" After forcing Loki back with a thrust, Meruem kept taunting. "Compared to other gods, you're pathetically weak. Even that airheaded beauty-chaser Aphrodite has more than twice your divine power."
"Even I, a non-god mortal, completely outclass you in Cosmo."
"I'll kill you!" Loki raised the spear high, trying to unleash the same world-destroying attack as before—but Meruem had no intention of giving him the chance. A few sweeps of the war god's spear broke Loki's charge every time.
A pity. If someone else were wielding the Eternal Spear, Meruem might have hesitated. But its wielder was Loki, a god whose power was nothing special, and Meruem had no real fear.
Without a proper charge, Loki's divine power simply could not bear the cost of the spear's highest-level techniques. The stronger the weapon, the greater the price to wield it.
As for a contest of raw divine power, Meruem was unconcerned. Even at one-tenth of his true strength, this avatar still had more energy than Loki. In a battle of attrition, Meruem did not lose out.
"Blinding Spear Holder, Modified!" With the war god's spear in hand, Meruem shamelessly borrowed one of the Sea Prince's moves.
Loki was indeed a god, but his specialty lay more in schemes and trickery than in direct combat. On a battlefield like this, he was at a clear disadvantage.
Unable to fully unleash the Eternal Spear's might, Loki could only defend against Meruem's relentless attacks.
"Hey, Deathmask! I'll show you a move I just learned from your senior not too long ago." Even while forcing Loki to fight flat-out, Meruem still had the leisure to chat with the Gold Saints below.
"My… senior?" Deathmask scratched his cheek in confusion. That could not be right. When had he ever had a "senior"? Sekishiki Meikaiha was self‑taught, thank you very much.
"Loki, your sins against the people of the north are unforgivable. Today, I'll show you the power of those 'mere mortals' you look down on. Rise!"
Meruem shifted the spear to his left hand and raised the index finger of his right at Loki.
In the still night sky, countless lights began to drift out from within the World Tree, gathering toward Loki above.
"These are… souls? Foolish mortal. Even without the Eternal Spear, you couldn't harm me with a handful of human souls. Ridiculous."
"Oh? Is that so? Then savor this—human wrath!"
"Sekishiki Konshinpō!"
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