The Rise Of A Porter

"You never told me how he killed you? I mean I get, I\'m a demigod for all intents and purposes so a mortal could have killed me. It\'s a long shot but possible. You, on the other hand, are an Asgardian that make even Odin sweat a bit before getting defeated." Hercules asked Heimdall.

The path to the kingdom they were attempting to reach was long. They had been walking for hours and they were yet to arrive at the location Nilerea had told them about. As a way to cure the boredom, Hercules started a conversation with the only one he knew about, while Alice and the frost giant, Ogur trudged behind them wordlessly. 

They were all equals now being Arnold\'s loyal summons, but still, Alice was fascinated and wanted to know more about the gods and the lives they spent before becoming Arnold\'s summon. After all, who wouldn\'t be? They were gods! And even if Arnold treated them like dogs, they were still majestic beings that she could never have imagined walking alongside. That was the reason she was listening to them so intently. 

"You really are not going to let it go, are you?" Heimdall sighed and kept walking, "It\'s fine, it isn\'t that we have another task we need to accomplish so I\'ll tell you about it. You know your father and Loki, the two of them together are the most cunning and destructive force in the universe... but let\'s just say, our master is even better or shall I say worse than the two of them combined."

He continued, "Yes, they did manage to outsmart him, but that was the wrong deed. It was thanks to their greed that master ended up awakening the power only the Immortal one had and now our master possibly has the power to erase the entire universe and rewrite it in an instant. At it was all thanks to the two of them... and me."

"You were working with them?" Hercules said with a smirk on his face, "The great Heimdall, went against Odin\'s trusted friend?"

"Loki has a way to mess with anyone\'s head whether god or not, and you know it very well," Heimdall stated matter-of-factly.

"That\' I am aware of... so, didn\'t my father try to stop him before Arnold gained the Third eye?"

Alice had not heard about what had happened during the war of the worlds, as Talos and Tiamut were so distraught with everything else going on there. So this was the first time she was hearing about it in such detail and the more she listened to them, the more she realised why Arnold was so infuriated. 

"I am sure he would have tried to if he had been there." Heimdall shook his head, "I had him banned from the arena."

"What? Why?"

Thus Heimdall began narrating what happened in the arena and the more he told about what happened there, the more Hercules was in awe of Arnold\'s power. He had only heard of Shiva behaving arrogantly in front of Zeus, but now he was seeing Arnold in the same light. 

"He took the thunderbolt head-on!!!?" Hercules was so shocked he stopped walking. 

"Not only took it head-on... he destroyed it. Something no one ever has ever done before. Not even Shiva." 

"... how did he do that?" 

"It might sound unbelievable but all it took was a touch."

"A touch?"

"He grabbed the thunderbolt and it disintegrated into dust."

"Ah... so he killed you like that too? In a flash?"

Heimdall got silent as soon as he heard the question. He knew he wouldn\'t ever be forced to experience what he did in that dark room, but just thinking about it made his spine shiver. The endless torture and pain... enough to make a god beg for their life. 

"I wish it was done in a flash... no, I already begged for that but that man... he isn\'t someone anyone should even think about going up against. And the way things are proceeding I can only wish his pain is taken away as soon as possible, or else it wouldn\'t be good for anyone in the universe."

"What about your connection with Asgard? Is it still active? If it is, I bet you can persuade them to aid Arnold in his battle. That way, Asgard would remain safe from-"

"The moment I was resurrected, I was no longer an Asgardian." Heimdall smiled wanly, "Odin changed the law under which even the dead were treated as Asgardians after Loki\'s betrayal. That\'s the reason that Loki couldn\'t step a foot in Asgard without receiving divine punishment from the All-Father."

As they were all listening to Heimdall, suddenly a ball of fire hit Ogur right in his face. However, the attack wasn\'t enough to give him a grievous wound. Instead, all it did was to alert them of the presence of the enemy. 

Heimdall drew his greatsword, while Hercules brought out the gauntlets Arnold had, had designed exclusively for him. Both of these weapons were made of Celestial Gold and Silver alloy. Hence they were more than effective to wipe out even godly opponents. 

However, they wouldn\'t get the chance to test it out this time. For their enemies weren\'t gods, but their followers. It looked like the Kingdom they were heading to had the same idea as them: An impromptu ambush. 

Thousands upon thousands of elves could be seen charging towards them with a variety of weapons and troops. It was a full-fledged army. One intended to make Arnold and his summons fall on their knees. 

"These morons never learn..." Hercules snarled before smashing his gauntlets together, "It\'s been a long time since I have crushed someone\'s skull!"

"Hercules, although I admire your confidence, you do remember what happened the last time you tried to crack someone\'s skull. Don\'t you?" Heimdall smirked while readying himself for the clash. 

"Hah! Don\'t even think about comparing these fools to someone as strong as Arnold. Dear mage, would you be kind enough to give us an agility boost?"

"R-Right!" Alice stuttered momentarily after seeing Hercules be so gentlemanly and got to work as well.