Chapter 32: "Gods and Monsters"
"The agreements of lesser beings mean nothing to me," Azazel said, his voice calm despite the tension crackling through the air.
"Your father understood that. Perhaps you need a reminder of the true hierarchy of power."
Thor's eyes narrowed as lightning crackled around his form. "My father may be gone in his Odinsleep. But the agreements remain."
"Indeed," Azazel replied, his yellow eyes beginning to glow with inner fire. "Your father is gone. And soon, mine will return."
The storm outside intensified suddenly, lightning striking much closer to the building. Rain lashed against the windows with unnatural force as Thor raised Mjolnir, the hammer crackling with 'divine' electricity.
"You have violated the ancient pacts," Thor declared, his voice resonating with power. "The balance between our worlds must be maintained."
Azazel turned fully to face him now, setting down his untouched bourbon. "Balance?" He laughed softly. "Such a limited perspective. There is no balance - only power and those too weak to seek it."
"Then you leave me no choice." Thor's expression hardened with determination. "By my oath as Protector of Midgard, this ends tonight."
Lightning struck the building directly, shattering even more of the massive windows - this time, the ones behind Thor. Glass exploded inward in a deadly shower of crystalline daggers.
Azazel didn't flinch. With a casual gesture, he arrested the glass mid-flight, thousands of shards hovering in the air like a frozen waterfall.
"Dramatic," Azazel commented, yellow eyes gleaming with amusement. "But ultimately pointless."
With another subtle movement, he redirected the glass outward, sending it harmlessly into the storm. Rain and wind whipped into the office, but neither being seemed to care.
"Last chance," Thor warned, hammer raised. "Cease your interference with humanity."
"Or what?" Azazel's smile was cold. "You'll hit me with your little hammer?"
Thor's response came not in words but action. Mjolnir left his hand fast, crossing the space between them in a blur. The hammer's trajectory was perfect, aimed directly at Azazel's chest.
It never reached its target.
Mjolnir stopped mid-flight, suspended in air mere inches from Azazel's face. The Prince of Hell hadn't moved a muscle, his telekinetic grip invisible but unbreakable.
"Interesting enchantment," Azazel observed, studying the hammer with academic curiosity. "The worthiness clause is particularly elegant. Human belief has shaped it beyond its original Norse magic."
Thor's eyes widened slightly - the first sign of uncertainty crossing his features. He extended his hand, calling Mjolnir back to him.
The hammer trembled, caught between two opposing forces. For a moment, it remained suspended, then suddenly broke free from Azazel's hold and returned to Thor's waiting palm.
"You are stronger than I expected," Thor acknowledged, electricity dancing across his knuckles. "But I have faced demons before."
"Demons?" Azazel chuckled. "Oh, you misunderstand. I am not merely a demon." He took a step forward, the air around him distorting slightly. "I am a Prince of Hell, shaped by Lucifer himself from the Mark of Darkness."
Thor's expression remained resolute. "Your titles mean nothing. Your kind has always hidden behind grand names while cowering in shadows."
Azazel's amusement vanished, replaced by something colder. "Allow me to educate you on the difference."
Without warning, the floor beneath Thor buckled upward, concrete and steel twisting like living things to ensnare the Thunder God's legs.
Simultaneously, the remaining window frames contorted, metal spears launching toward him from all sides.
Thor reacted fast, swinging Mjolnir in a perfect arc. The resulting shockwave pulverized the attacking floor and deflected the metal projectiles.
He followed immediately with a devastating lightning strike, channeled directly through the hammer.
The bolt should have vaporized anything it touched. Instead, it froze mid-air, splitting into dozens of smaller arcs that redirected throughout the room, creating a cage of electricity around Thor himself.
"Controlling lightning against the God of Thunder?" Thor laughed, a booming sound that shook the remaining windows of the building. "Foolish."
He spread his arms wide, absorbing the electricity back into his body. His eyes glowed with power as the energy suffused him, enhancing his already formidable strength.
"Not controlling," Azazel corrected. "Redirecting. There's a difference."
Thor charged, closing the distance between them. Mjolnir swung - aimed at Azazel's head. The Prince of Hell sidestepped with casual grace, the hammer passing through empty air.
"Too slow," Azazel taunted.
Thor pivoted instantly, reversing his momentum for a backhand strike. Again, Azazel avoided it with minimal movement, each dodge precise.
"I've existed since before your grandfather's grandfather was conceived in the first human who thought of your kind's mind," Azazel said, still not bothering to counterattack. "Did you really think speed would be your advantage?"
Thor's response was to summon a massive lightning bolt through the broken ceiling, striking himself directly. His body absorbed the electricity until he glowed with power, moving faster.
This time, his attacks came so quickly they left afterimages in the air. Mjolnir became a blur, striking from multiple angles in rapid succession.
Azazel's expression changed from amusement to concentration as he was forced to actively defend himself, invisible telekinetic barriers deflecting the hammer's impacts.
"Better," Azazel acknowledged, finally launching a counterattack.
The entire office environment became a weapon under his telekinetic control. Floor tiles ripped free, forming a swarm of razor-sharp projectiles.
Metal fixtures twisted into spears. Glass fragments from the broken windows formed a glittering vortex around Thor.
All these projectiles enhanced by Azazel with his own demonic magic.
Thor responded by spinning Mjolnir rapidly, creating a shield of motion that deflected the smaller projectiles. For the larger ones, he batted them aside with hammer strikes, each impact releasing a thunderclap of sound.
"You fight well for a shadow of belief," Azazel commented. "The humans have certainly invested you with considerable power."
"You underestimate the strength of human faith," Thor replied, smashing through a telekinetically launched desk. "It has sustained me for millennia."
"Faith," Azazel scoffed. "Such a limited resource. My power comes from the primordial darkness itself - the very essence of evil sealed within the Mark. Tell me, God of Thunder, do you think the finite belief of mortals can rival the endless wellspring of darkness that existed before this universe?"
Thor's hammer struck the floor, sending a shockwave of concussive force across the office. "I've found that those who boast of their power often overestimate it."
The building trembled beneath them as their clash intensified. Azazel's telekinesis gripped the structural supports of the floor, causing targeted collapses in an attempt to trap Thor.
Concrete and steel beams crashed down, but Thor smashed through them with Mjolnir, debris flying in all directions.
"You're holding back," Azazel observed, floating now as the floor beneath him gave way. "Afraid of damaging this fragile world?"
Thor launched himself upward, hammer extended. "Unlike you, I care for the mortals who dwell here."
"Care?" Azazel laughed, telekinetically gripping Thor mid-flight and hurling him through several walls. "Is that why you've been absent for millennia while they suffered? Some protector you are."
Thor crashed through concrete and steel, leaving a Thor-shaped hole through six office walls before regaining control.
He spun Mjolnir rapidly, creating a localized tornado within the building. Office furniture, computers, and debris were caught in the vortex, spinning faster until they - also enhanced by Thor's magic, particularly his lightning - became deadly projectiles all aimed at Azazel.
The Prince of Hell responded by removing all oxygen from the area around him, creating a vacuum that disrupted the tornado's formation. The projectiles lost speed, dropping harmlessly to the floor.
"Interesting approach," Azazel commented. "But flawed."
Thor realized immediately the danger to any humans still in the building. Without oxygen, they would suffocate within minutes.
"Release them," Thor demanded, lightning crackling around his form.
"Collateral damage is inevitable in conflicts between beings like us," Azazel replied with a shrug. "Besides, I thought you wanted me to stop holding back?"
Thor's expression darkened. "Your quarrel is with me, demon. Leave the mortals out of it."
"Their lives mean nothing in the grand scheme," Azazel said, intensifying the vacuum effect. "Millions die every day. Why concern yourself with these few?"
Thor's response was to summon rain through the broken ceiling, the water instantly turning to steam as it hit the vacuum boundary, creating a pressure that pushed back against Azazel's effect.
"Every life has meaning," Thor declared, his voice carrying the authority of millennia. "That is something your kind will never understand."
"Understanding isn't the issue," Azazel countered, telekinetically extracting all water from a section of air, creating a local desert situation. "It's perspective. From where I stand, humans are mayflies - momentary flashes of existence, gone before they've truly begun."
The desiccating effect began to spread, pulling moisture from everything it touched. Plants withered, wood cracked, and the few remaining humans in the building began to gasp as the water was drawn from their bodies.
Thor, recognizing the danger, changed tactics. He summoned a deluge, rain pouring through the broken ceiling in sheets. The water nullified Azazel's desiccation, saving the humans but giving the Prince of Hell an opening.
Azazel seized the opportunity, launching a brutal telekinetic blast that sent Thor crashing through the floor.
The Thunder God plummeted, smashing through level after level of the skyscraper. Each impact would have killed a lesser being, but Thor merely grimaced, using Mjolnir to control his descent.
Azazel followed, floating down the Thor-shaped hole with casual elegance. "Your compassion is a weakness, Asgardian. One I do not share."
Thor landed heavily in what appeared to be an underground parking garage. Concrete dust filled the air as he rose to his feet, rolling his shoulders.
"Compassion is not weakness," he countered, spitting blood. "It gives purpose to power."
"Purpose?" Azazel landed softly across from him. "My purpose has remained unchanged for millennia - to free my father from his cage, to restore the rightful hierarchy of creation."
"Your father?" Thor questioned, spinning Mjolnir to build momentum. "You mean Lucifer, the Fallen One."
"The Lightbringer," Azazel corrected, his yellow eyes flaring. "The most beautiful and beloved of God's angels, cast out for speaking truth."
Thor launched himself forward, Mjolnir leading the charge. "I've heard this tale before, demon. It does not end well for your kind."
Their clash shattered concrete pillars, the parking garage groaning around them. Thor's strength met Azazel's power, each impact sending shockwaves through the structure.
Cars were crushed like tin cans, support beams twisted like paper, and the entire foundation of the building began to shift.
"We should take this somewhere more appropriate," Azazel suggested, gesturing upward. "Before we bring the entire building down on those humans you're so concerned about."
With that, he telekinetically gripped Thor and hurled him upward with such force that the Thunder God crashed through every remaining floor of the skyscraper, finally bursting through the roof into open air.
Thor stabilized himself mid-air, using Mjolnir to hover above the damaged building. Rain pelted his face as the storm he'd summoned continued to rage. Lightning flashed around him, illuminating the Chicago skyline.
Azazel appeared opposite him, levitating through telekinesis, completely dry despite the downpour.
"Much better," the Prince of Hell said, spreading his arms. "Now we can stop holding back."
Thor's response was to summon the largest lightning bolt yet, a massive spear of electricity that split the sky. It struck Azazel directly, the force of it momentarily illuminating the entire city.
When the light faded, Azazel remained unharmed, the electricity dispersed harmlessly around him.
"Impressive light show," he commented. "Is that really the best the mighty Thor can offer?"
Thor gripped Mjolnir tighter. "I'm just getting started."
The storm intensified, clouds swirling into a vortex centered above them. Lightning struck in continuous streams, no longer just targeting Azazel but creating a web of electricity that surrounded the demon from all angles.
Simultaneously, Thor manipulated the wind, creating crosscurrents that would make Azazel's floating more difficult.
Azazel responded by altering the molecular structure of the air around him, transforming sections into solid barriers, liquid suspensions, and gaseous toxins.
The lightning struck these, creating explosive chain reactions that illuminated the sky with fireworks.
"Now we're getting somewhere," Azazel said, genuine enjoyment in his voice. "It's been centuries since I've had a proper fight."
He began manipulating gravity in localized fields, creating zones where Thor's movements would be either impossibly heavy or dangerously light.
The Thunder God adapted quickly, using Mjolnir's momentum to navigate the changing conditions.
"You've improved with age," Thor acknowledged, hurling Mjolnir through a particularly dense gravity field. "The stories of your power weren't exaggerated."
"If anything, they understated it," Azazel replied, dodging the hammer. "Most beings who've witnessed my true capabilities didn't survive to spread the tale."
Thor recalled Mjolnir, which curved through the air to return to his hand. "Yet here I stand."
"For now," Azazel agreed, his tone darkening. "But I grow tired of this game."
The air around Thor suddenly compressed, an invisible grip catching him from all sides. The pressure was immense, like being caught in the deepest ocean trench. Even hisbody strained against the crushing force.
Thor channeled lightning through his entire body, the electricity creating a growing field that disrupted Azazel's telekinetic hold. Free again, he launched a counterattack, hurling Mjolnir.
Azazel didn't bother dodging this time. Instead, he caught the hammer telekinetically, completely halting its momentum.
"Interesting weapon," he commented, studying it as it hung suspended between them. "The worthiness enchantment is particularly fascinating. Only those deemed worthy may wield the power of Thor."
Thor extended his hand, calling Mjolnir back. The hammer trembled but remained caught in Azazel's telekinetic grip.
"Worthiness is subjective," Azazel continued, turning the hammer slowly in the air. "In my father's eyes, I am the most worthy being in creation."
With a gesture, he sent Mjolnir hurtling back toward Thor with far greater speed than it had been thrown. The Thunder God caught it, the impact driving him backward through the air.
"Your father's perspective is somewhat biased," Thor countered, recovering his position. "As is yours."
"Perhaps," Azazel acknowledged. "But bias doesn't negate truth. And the truth, Asgardian, is that you are hopelessly outmatched."
To demonstrate his point, Azazel began an assault unlike anything Thor had experienced before.
The attack came on multiple fronts simultaneously:
First, telekinetically targeting the places on his body where one would feel the most pain-
Second, creating microscopic telekinetic cuts throughout his nervous system
Third, crushing force applied to every joint in his body
Fourth, Telekinetic grip on his lungs,
Fifth, pressure against his eyes, ears, and other senses.
Thor roared in pain, lightning exploding outward from his body in all directions. The discharge temporarily disrupted Azazel's concentration, breaking the telekinetic hold.
"You fight well," Thor gasped, blood trickling from his nose and ears. "But I am not so easily defeated."
He raised Mjolnir high, channeling the full power of the storm into the hammer. The weapon began to glow with ancient runes, empowered by both traditional Norse magic and modern belief.
Marvel had quite a hand in strengthening Thor with their stories.
"I will show you what the combined faith of millions can accomplish," Thor declared.
Azazel watched with genuine curiosity as Thor's power built. The storm above Chicago had become massive, lightning striking continuously around them - visible for hundreds of miles.
"Faith," Azazel mused. "Truly, such a curious concept. Tell me, God of Thunder, do you truly believe human belief - the fragments of their soul's strengths bestowed upon you, feeding you, alone can stand against the darkness?"
"It already has," Thor answered, his voice resonating with power. "For millennia."
With that, he launched himself at Azazel, Mjolnir leading the charge. The hammer had become a comet of pure energy, trailing lightning as Thor crossed the distance between them.
Azazel raised a hand, creating layered barriers between them. Thor crashed through the first barrier, then the second, each impact slowing him but not stopping his advance.
By the seventh barrier, his momentum had decreased significantly. At the tenth, he finally stopped, mere feet from Azazel.
"Impressive," the Prince of Hell acknowledged. "Truly. But ultimately futile."
Azazel began attacking Thor on a molecular level - disrupting the connections between atoms, interfering with neural pathways, creating micro-fractures throughout his form.
Thor struggled against this invisible assault, his body convulsing in mid-air. "What... sorcery... is this?"
"Not sorcery," Azazel corrected. "Simply a more sophisticated application of power than you're accustomed to."
Thor, in desperation, summoned one final massive lightning bolt, directing it at himself. The electricity coursed through his body, once more temporarily disrupting Azazel's telekinetic grip on his body structure.
With renewed strength, Thor made one last charge, Mjolnir extended before him like a battering ram.
This time, Azazel didn't bother with barriers. He simply caught Thor telekinetically, halting him mid-flight. Mjolnir stopped inches from his face, vibrating with frustrated power.
"You know what your fundamental mistake was?" Azazel asked conversationally, as if they weren't suspended hundreds of feet above Chicago in the middle of a supernatural storm. "You held back."
Thor strained against the invisible hold, muscles bulging with effort. "As-" he clenched his teeth and hold harder, "-Did you."
"True," Azazel conceded. "But for different reasons. You held back out of fear for this world and its inhabitants. I held back because... well, it wasn't necessary to use my full strength against you."
With a casual gesture, he telekinetically separated Thor from Mjolnir. The hammer fell, plummeting toward the streets below before Thor mentally recalled it. It struggled against Azazel's telekinesis, hovering uncertainly between them.
"Let me explain something about Earth," Azazel continued, floating closer to the immobilized Thunder God. "This planet is special - protected by Raphael's most recent design. Powers that could tear apart even galaxies are contained here, limited to small areas."
"He couldn't after all have the grand stage be destroyed before the final battle now, because of a pissing match of demons and gods, now could he?"
Thor's eyes widened slightly in realization.
"Yes, now you understand," Azazel nodded. "You've been absent too long, spending your time in Asgard while I've walked this world for millennia, having observed the hidden workings of the wisest of Heaven after Lucifer. You - and the other gods - normally fear destroying the planet with your power, but this time that was never a risk."
He gestured expansively at the city below them. "Only the apocalypse itself - the final battle between Michael and Lucifer - can overcome this protection. Their conflict alone has the power to destroy half the world."
Thor struggled against the telekinetic hold. "If what you say is true, then on Asgard-"
"On Asgard, you would have been far more formidable," Azazel confirmed. "Your unfamiliarity with Earth's unique properties put you at a disadvantage from the start."
The Prince of Hell floated closer, yellow eyes studying Thor with clinical detachment. "It's almost tragic. The mighty Thor, brought low not by superior power, but by simple ignorance."
"If you're going to kill me," Thor growled, "do it without the lecture."
Azazel smiled, the expression never reaching his eyes. "Eager for the end? Very well."
He extended a hand toward Thor's chest. "You should know, I don't do this out of malice. You're simply an obstacle that needs removing."
"My death won't be permanent," Thor warned, defiant even in defeat. "As long as humans believe, I will return."
"I'm counting on it," Azazel replied. "By the time you reconstitute yourself, everything will have changed. The old agreements you sought to enforce will be meaningless."
Thor's expression hardened. "When I return, I will rally every remaining god against you. You may find us more resilient than you expect."
"I look forward to the challenge," Azazel said, sounding genuinely amused. "It's been too long since I've faced worthy opposition."
Azazel pierced Thor's chest with his hand and gripped Thor's heart - and brain with his telekineses, and crushed both.
Thor's body began to dissolve into blue light, his physical manifestation returning to the collective belief that had created it.
His essence, not truly dead but temporarily dispersed, delivered a final warning:
"I... will... come...back..."
Azazel watched impassively, swinging his hand aside, and flinging the blood away, as Thor's form completely disappeared, leaving only Mjolnir behind.
The hammer plummeted toward the streets below before suddenly stopping, hovering in mid-air.
Curious, Azazel attempted to move it telekinetically. To his surprise, the hammer resisted completely - anchored to reality itself by the belief that only the worthy could move it.
"Fascinating," he murmured, studying it with academic interest. "The enchantment persists even without its master."
After a moment's consideration, he decided to leave the hammer where it was - a reminder of the old order's passing and the changes to come.
Who knows, maybe something interesting will happen and someone will pick it up.
He may then be able to have a pawn with the power of the mighty Thor.
Would be quite fun he reckons.
Azazel smiled at the thought.
The storm Thor had summoned began to dissipate without his will maintaining it. Rain lessened to a drizzle, then stopped entirely. Clouds thinned and dispersed, revealing a night sky remarkably clear for Chicago.
Azazel surveyed the damage below. The skyscraper had suffered significant structural damage, though it remained standing.
Windows throughout downtown had shattered from the thunder and pressure waves. Power outages darkened sections of the grid.
With telekineses, he began making adjustments - reinforcing damaged support beams, clearing dangerous debris, arranging evidence to suggest a gas explosion rather than something unexplainable.
"Can't have the humans asking too many questions," he murmured to himself. "Not yet, anyway."
As he worked, Azazel reflected on the battle. Thor had been stronger than expected - the belief of millions had indeed granted him considerable power. If the other old gods united against him, they might prove troublesome.
"Perhaps it's time to accelerate certain aspects of the plan," he decided, floating back toward the damaged office building.
"I believe it is high time for Sammy to leave the nest."
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(Author note: Hello everyone! I hope you all enjoyed the fight between Azazel and Thor.
Do tell me how you found it.
I hope it was enjoyable - took me a couple hours to write and get right.
Well, I hope to see you all later,
Bye!)