Reiði
The seats at the arena were being filled up as Kratos vs Asura was about to begin. Expectations were not commonly shared as Kratos behaviour in the Colosseum has changed drastically between 2015 and 2018. Those who were there before his major departure remember him as the wrathful deity who was quick to anger and difficult to subdue. Those who came after heard only stories of his rage and wanted to either see that rage in action or are glad they came at a time when he mellowed out. As a result, some combatants are expecting this fight to bring out the old God of War while others are curious as to how this new God of War will approach a battle to the death.
Goku: Even though he’s calmed down, that doesn’t mean he’s lost his touch. I’m sure Kratos will still put up a great fight!
Superman: nods his head in agreement What I’m curious about is how his Spartan Rage will come into play. You think it’s still going to be as violent as it was back then?
Goku: Not sure. Honestly, I hope he saves it till the end for a grand last stand to show everyone how much of a fierce warrior he once was.
Superman: Didn’t you just say he’s still a capable fighter?
Goku: Huh? Well yeah, I mean the attitude difference. This is a Kratos who is less mad so obviously the only times he would get violent is through the Spartan Rage right?
Superman: It’s a valid theory. Though, he’s never used it here ever since his fight with Darth Vader.
—
Sun Wukong: Wait, did he ever follow up on that promise he made to you about testing your strength?
Heracles: Nope. Not yet.
Sun Wukong: Damn, same here. I guess this will be our first introduction to his strength.
Heracles: I am starting to have doubts though.
Sun Wukong: Hmmm? Why’s that?
Heracles: They say he holds back a lot to not hurt those here. But when is he holding back and when is he actually struggling? He barely could get the upperhand in that scuffle he had with Starscream last year. So I'm not sure how godly Kratos’ strength really is.
Sun Wukong: Hmmm.
Heracles: By the way, did you know we have a god named Cratus. Pronounced the exact same way as Kratos’ name.
Sun Wukong: Oh really? But that’s not your god of war.
Heracles: Indeed, he is our god of strength.
—
Michelangelo: I wanna see him use Posidon’s Trident and the Claws of Hades and the Head of Helios and the Head of Medusa- OH! And the Nemean Cestus too, those are so cool! What do you wanna see in this fight?
Raphael: I wanna see him get mad.
—
Raiden (MK): While he is only a demigod his power rivals that of true gods.
Beerus: Tell me about it. If only he would show it to us.
Raiden (MK): I’m sure we will see it in this fight soon.
Beerus: Hopefully, everyone who's been here for more than 10 years keeps saying how impressive of a warrior he is but he doesn’t want to show it to us.
Raiden (MK): He is a god who has learned humility. A lesson you can perhaps learn from him.
Beerus: yawn whatever chews on popcorn
—
Goku Black: I don’t get what the fuss is all about.
Vegeta: Underestimating him will be your last mistake.
Goku Black: Heh, when I finally get to act on my killer instincts we’ll see whose head will be dislodged from their body.
Thor: Why do you have to be such a pessimist Black? You make Batman look like a positive guy.
Goku Black: crosses arms and looks awayThe pride of the gods has suffered enough. How can there be mere mortals who can match us in power? And how can there be so many? This Asura, the one that Akuma has been touting as being a demigod worthy of being a god. We’ve had one-sided fights before, maybe this is one of them. Maybe one of them is a fraud. Maybe Kratos’ strength is not what everyone says it is.
The lights in the arena go dark and the screen begins to power up.
[Now playing: Reiði]
Kratos’ house fades into existence. For he had seldom invited anyone into his room; no one knew how his living conditions changed after his journey from the Greek world to the Norse world. The crude, rural cabin, lit by candle and fire light and withered as if the logs and planks themselves were tired, was an abode that one could describe as the last thing a god would live in. Not a throne nor chair sat in front of the fireplace for Kratos to rest on, having settled contently on the floor instead. The common fighters who had seen their fellow godly combatants as divine beings above them were confused on how a god would confine himself to such lowly living space.
Bowser: Hrmph, what is this place? It's not even fit for a trooper.
Deku: Huh? This isn’t very… godly? Is this really his house?
Naruto: Not what I was expecting.
Rick: That’s it? Even after 2022 you didn’t at least give it a second room?
The fighters who were friends of gods in their own worlds were a mixed bag. For those who had gods who were proud and boastful, seeing one so humble and low was a refreshing site, while those who had gods that knew their limits were shocked at how low this one was willing to put himself.
Goku: That’s his house? I was expecting a bit more.
Superman: Quite a cozy looking cabin.
Spider Man: Oh man, didn’t think a god would struggle to pay rent.
Johnny Cage: Oh I think that may be a bit too humble Raiden.
For fellow gods the bag was even more mixed.
Thor: Huh When you said you were at a low point I didn’t think you meant this low.
Heracles: So much for being a god in the first place. Where’s your godly pride?
Goku Black: Pathetic…
Raiden (MK): It seems Kratos’ struggles were greater than he let on.
And for those who remember him as the angry god back since Season 1 there was a mix of reminiscence and sympathy.
Spawn: You've lost a lot of your spunk since the last time you fought here. But the attitude is only half the equation. Let’s see if your weapons can still do the talking.
The screen displayed more and more of Kratos’ house before finally reaching the Ghost of Sparta himself, sitting on the floor in front of a fire, the Blades of Chaos surrounding him and his Leviathan Axe to his right. His name is displayed for all to see.
Kratos The God Of War
As Kratos’ face was being shown it became clear, from the shaking of his hand, that he felt troubled. However, the combatants could only guess as to what was causing the trouble as the source of it could only be heard by Kratos himself.
“Kratos, my son. Kratos… Kratos, you bring nothing but suffering. Look around at what you have done! -Kratos- Taking pity on you has been my greatest mistake. -Kratos- Just as taking pity on this thing -Kratos- will prove to be your greatest mistake. -it was you!- Your affection -hurry- for Pandora is just one more failure -hurry Kratos!- in a miserable lifetime of failures. -AAAHHHHH- Your pathetic attempt for atonement from the family you slaughtered -ARRGGHH!- has caused nothing but havoc on Olympus. -ARRRGGGHHH!- Once in your pathetic life, don’t fail. Don’t fail her -RRRAAAAAAAAAA- like you failed your family… Kratos. -AAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!”
The simulation that emulates the fights must create scenarios in which the combatants would naturally feel inclined to battle to the death. Unfortunately, this has resulted in hiccups in the past regarding its influence over the combatants. You could say what is happening now is one such instance. The Ghost of Sparta, despite having been a god of war, avoids conflict as much as possible unless necessary. The same could be said for his opponent. In an attempt to refuel that anger he had quelled the machine saw it fit to reignite the memories of rage and suffering that had brought him on this journey. But the Ghost of Sparta subconsciously fought back. Even if he wasn’t meant to know he was in a world where he was forced to fight he fought back against the machine’s influences on his mind. Fine then… time for plan B.
The door to his cabin opens to reveal Asura’s figure, cloaked and bathed in fire. Kratos gets up to face the intruder only for him to seemingly disappear amongst the snowy drift. A golden light begins to glow beneath Kratos and before he can react it engulfs him. He opens his eyes to find himself standing in a temple. No longer in the Norse lands he finds himself on Gaea. Feeling weight on his body he notices he is now wearing his gear, the Blades of Chaos, the Leviathan Axe, the Draupnir Spear and the Guardian Shield.
He turns around and finds himself face to face with a little girl dressed in ceremonial attire. Before he can say anything he hears a noise behind him and turns to see a group of soldiers from the Shinkoku Army. Identifying him as an intruder they attack. The screen cuts to show a figure running toward the temple. The figure is revealed to be Asura when he arrives at the temple, just in time to see Kratos standing amongst the bodies of the soldiers with his axe embedded in one of them.
Asura: It’s true then, the God of War is on Gaea. But… not for long.
Wrathful Deity Asura
The markings on Asura’s body glow with Mantra as he clenches his fist. Kratos, sensing a fight that could potentially be resolved through calmer and more reasonable methods, summons the Leviathan Axe back to his hand before responding.
Kratos: You do not want this fight.
Asura yells and charges at Kratos with a punch, to which the Spartan blocks with his shield.
Fight
Asura: Run!
Superman: Why does there need to be another kid?
At the command of her father Mithra flees the temple. Kratos swings at Asura twice but Asura dodges. Kratos then throws his axe at Asura who leaps over it. Asura flies down toward Kratos with another punch but Kratos blocks it with his shield. Kratos counters with an uppercut and then a downward shield bash. He attempts an overhead strike but Asura retaliates quicker with two strikes to the chest. He follows up with 2 more strikes before Kratos catches the third. Kratos locks both of Asura’s hands above both of them before directing both of them down to disorient Asura before kicking him away on the chest.
Asura skids along the temple floor and stops right next to the Leviathan Axe. The axe glows as Kratos calls it back to him and seeing this Asura goes Unlimited Mode and races the axe to Kratos. Asura beats the axe and delivers a devastating blow to Kratos’ face, sending him to the other side of the temple. Kratos stops himself and is forced to block a flurry of blows from the enraged Demigod. With a wish to match his rage with his own Kratos unleashes his Spartan Rage, the aura alone being enough to knock Asura away. The two race toward each other and clash at the center of the temple, engaging in a clinch hold that tears the ground apart. As the two struggle the screen focuses on Kratos’ face, consumed with anger but not at the intensity it once was many years ago.
Suddenly, a button prompt appears right on Kratos’ face.
BURST
And he is sent flying back from a blow by the additional arms of Asura’s new form.
Six Armed Vajra Asura
Michalengelo: Oh ho, cool! It’s like in his games! The quick time event buttons.
Kratos impacts a pillar, causing it to fall over. As the Six-Armed Deity charges at him again the Ghost of Sparta grabs the marble structure and swings it at Asura like a bat and knocks the Demigod into the ceiling of the temple. Asura quickly recovers and appears to fly toward Kratos before disappearing. A confused Kratos is caught off guard when Asura reappears behind him and delivers him a three-armed uppercut, sending him into the sky. The flying Demigod unleashes a flying combo on the Kratos, flying and knocking him around the clouds without respite. Eventually, Kratos predicts Asura’s pattern and manages to punch him back down to the temple. Asura retaliates from the ground with a barrage of energy blasts, which Kratos blocks with his shield as he falls back down. But the shield only protected him from the initial impact as the force of the blasts sent him flying down into the temple walls. As he fell, the wall fell around him.
From underneath the rubble Kratos spoke.
Kratos: You let your wrath consume you. I have been down that road before.
What the screen shows and what Kratos sees was entirely different. The combatants saw an older Kratos standing amidst a ruined Greece. Rain poured down from the dark sky above and the only light came from the lightning and sun which struggled to spill its light through the clouds. Behind him was a younger Kratos, one that the earlier combatants recognise without fault. He turns to look back at his older self and while his face may not show it his eyes contained that raw anger and hate that young Kratos was well known for. Asura had said something in response. It was short and dismissive but not overly hostile. Of course, a demigod from Gaea hearing only about the deeds of the Ghost of Sparta from word of mouth would not have the best picture of him in mind. Perhaps it was a part of the spider’s plan all along. Afterall, while the two were experienced with controlling their anger it didn’t take much effort to enrage them all the same. Stuck under the rubble while he monologues, Kratos could barely hear Asura’s response. Only catching the words-
Asura: Shut up!
Resigning himself fully to combat, Kratos responds.
Kratos: Very well.
The Blades of Chaos shoot out from the rubble and into Asura’s chest. Kratos leaps out and pulls Asura around, dragging his body along the temple walls before slamming him down on the ground across the chasm they made. Kratos tries to pull the blades back but is halted as Asura grabs the chains and pulls back. They engage in a tug of war which rocks the ruined temple and destroys whatever resemblance of a building left of it. Using his remaining arms Asura fires more energy blasts at Kratos, who strikes a burning attack to travel along the chains before reaching the Blades of Chaos. The force knocks Asura off the blades allowing Kratos to retrieve them and use them to fling the dead bodies of the soldiers he fought earlier at Asura. Asura rushes at the Spartan Captain, batting each body away, before slamming Kratos’ head into the ground and flinging him across the floor.
Kratos quickly recovers and summons the Draupnir Spear to knock Asura away. He keeps the Ex-General back by swinging multiple blasts in his direction. Asura fires another volley of energy at Kratos, who absorbs it through the Draupnir’s Gale Force and flings it back at Asura. Asura flies up into the air and sprouts more arms from his body. And then more arms. Totalling around a thousand arms.
Sun Wukong: Woah! Normally they stop at six arms. There’s gotta be a thousand of them there.
Spider Man: Doc Ock’s gonna be given a run for his money.
Machamp: nods in approval Machamp!
Goro: awkwardly rubs his own arms
The Thousand-Armed Deity now fires a relentless volley of energy at the God of War. The volley was so overwhelming that Kratos was forced to drop Draupnir and block the attack. The energy did not relent but neither did Kratos as his rage came through again, allowing him to fight through the pain and launch several copies of Draupnir at the Thousand-Arm Deity. With each spear in place Kratos slams the original Draupnir Spear on the ground, detonating all copies and siphoning Asura of his Mantra. The now Armless Deity falls down on the floor and grabs one of the soldier’s swords with his mouth in an attempt to continue fighting but Kratos quickly disarms him with the Leviathan Axe and strikes at the floor to enlarge the chasm they created with their initial clash to make Asura fall into it. The music quiets down with his supposed demise but the fight is far from over. As Asura falls he catches a glimpse of his daughter watching from above. She reaches out and cries for him in agony, tears falling down her face. Asura’s eyes light up and as Kratos approaches the edge of the chasm he is met with a blinding light from below. The rays of light burst out of the chasm and cause an explosion as a golden light races into the sky.
Berserker Asura, now holding Kratos, yells at him while charging up an energy blast right on his face.
Asura: YOU MADE HER CRY!
He unleashes a blast onto Kratos and the resulting explosion rips a hole in space-time. The two fall onto an asteroid in a void and Kratos is the first to recover. He strains himself to stand, after having to receive a blast like that at point-blank range. Behind him he hears Asura land, now in his Wrath form. Kratos quickly takes out the Leviathan Axe and freezes Wrath Asura in his place. However, the fiery Wrathful Deity breaks out of his icey prison and charges at Kratos. Wishing to end the fight Kratos wills forth his Spartan Rage and lets out a roar before delivering a punch to Wrath Asura’s face, sending him flying off the asteroid. Off-screen a powerful blinding light emits from Asura’s location and the Demigod makes his last stand.
Asura: THIS IS NOT MY END!!!
The light is so strong that not only is Kratos forced to shield his eyes but the combatants watching are forced to avert their eyes from the fight too. When the light dissipates, Kratos looks up in shock to see Asura’s final form. A planet-sized being, next to him the asteroid he stood on was a mere ant.
Asura The Destructor
Kaiju battles aren’t the most common in Death Battle and those who like them take whatever they can get from brief moments of gigantism (like with the Nine Tails or Way Big) but this was beyond Kaiju proportions. It left all the combatants in awe. From the viewing space above Galactus’ attempted to gain a closer look to better admire the Destructor’s full scale and behind him the robotic planet Unicron, chained and restrained through a combination of Marvel and Whoniverse technology, kept his eyes focused on Asura.
Not giving him time to react, Asura the Destructor rears back one of his moon-sized fists and launches it at Kratos (no don’t think of that Wyzen scene, think of this one https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gyfy2mtMeYo&t=5m15s ). His fist impacts the asteroid with magnificent force and the shockwaves could be felt throughout the void. Even the seats at the Colosseum shook from the blow. But the asteroid remained undamaged. Kratos holds up the fist with all his might, his arms struggling to hold the weight of the Destructor. Suddenly, the weight is relieved and Kratos looks up to see Asura rearing up for another blow. He punches at the asteroid again, and again, and again, and again. The Planet-sized Deity’s six arms punch down at Kratos over and over and each blow Kratos is forced to hold it back. With each blow he is forced on his knees. With each blow he feels himself getting angrier and angrier. Finally, he snaps. His Spartan Rage is unleashed one last time and he stands up to catch one of Asura’s fists before reeling back his own fist and punches back. For as miniscule as he is in comparison to the giant, Kratos' godly might still pulls through and Asura the Destructor is knocked back.
Goku: Woah. So cool!
Thor: That’s more like it!
Beerus: Huh, okay then…
Heracles: Now that’s a god of strength if I ever saw one.
Sun Wukong: You have.
Heracles: Shush, primate!
Spawn: So you haven’t completely lost touch. Not bad.
Kratos: Death has not earned me yet, titan!
Summoning back the Draupnir Spear he spins it around for a bit before planting a foot on the ground, with enough force to crack it, before hurling it at supersonic speeds at the Asura. The spear impales Asura in the chest, almost knocking him over, while above him Kratos casts the largest Artillery of the Ancients spell he ever cast in his life. Raining down enough spears to turn the Planet-sized Deity into a porcupine. Kratos brings out the Blades of Chaos once more.
Kratos: But you deserve a worthy end!
And throws them into two off-screen asteroids, using them to fling himself over to another asteroid. He leaps onto another rock in the void before leaping between giant Draupnir Spears as a bolt of lightning before stopping at a small asteroid just above Asura’s face. Next to him, in his hands, the Blade of Olympus makes its appearance. While Reiði is still playing the combatants who’ve known him for a long time now thought they could discern the faint melody of Rage of Sparta. Kratos leaps off the asteroid and plunges the Blade of Olympus deep into Asura’s forehead. The divine blade begins sapping whatever bit of Mantra is left inside of him after the spears have their work and the Wrathful Deity screams in pain as the screen goes white.
The camera goes back to the temple and a white light is seen falling from the rift in the sky down to the ground. The screen then shows Kratos kneeling next to an armless Asura and holding the Blade of Olympus, lodged in Asura’s chest.
Kratos: You… are a monster no longer.
Kratos lets go of his grip on the blade as Asura opens his eyes one last time and glances over at Kratos.
Asura: I never was…
With that Asura's Mantra dissipates as his orange markings dim, and his eyes close. Kratos silently mourns Asura's death before standing up with an expression of indifference on his face. Walking away, Kratos looks back one more time and sees Mithra mourning for her father. While the scene may not mean anything to the combatants, other than another Death Battle that ends on a sorrowful note, the scene reminds Kratos of the mural he saw, depicting his own son cradling his dead body. The Spartan pauses for a moment to reflect on the memory before finally leaving, leaving the girl alone.
[Music stops]
KO
A victory card of Kratos is displayed, showing a time not from his journey through the Greek world but from his journey through the Norse. The crowd cheers and those who underestimated him felt a sudden wave of relief that they’ve never made Kratos angry at them.
Nolan: Atta boy!
Bardock: Haha, told you there was nothing to worry about.
Darth Vader: claps in silence
Michelangelo: Awww, what happened to his other weapons!
Raphael: He didn’t get nearly as mad as I wanted him to.
Heracles: Now I must press him to have us test our strength.
Goku Black: Unbelievable! Both of them are god killers.
Thor: You may have lost your rage Kratos but you haven’t lost your strength.
Spawn: Not bad, not bad.
The exit doors below the screen materialise and the two demigods walk out. Kratos looks around at the pleased crowd but he himself doesn’t feel satisfied. He hopes that Death Battle is now done with him and that he does not need to participate in any more fruitless fights. Next to him Asura looks around with caution. His face wore his iconic angry eyebrows but he was not angry, rather he was on edge for seeing so many new and unfamiliar people. All of which are capable fighters in their own right. Some he could beat, some he couldn’t and it would only take one wrong move to get on their bad sides. Kratos looked at Asura unsure what to say. It’s been too long since he first arrived at the Colosseum that he had no idea how to ease someone in. Luckily for him, Superman and Goku were already making their way to meet Asura. Asura is taken aback by Goku’s instant transmission directly in front of him and he even takes a fighting stance but the Saiyan is quick to calm him down.
Goku: Hi there! My name is Goku. And you must be Asura. It’s so nice to be able to meet more strong folks.
The Saiyan extends a hand and the Demigod hesitantly shakes it. Superman flies down next to them.
Superman: We’ll make sure you’ll be comfortable here. In a while we’ll give you a tour but for now let's head back to the seats. Oh, I’m Superman but call me Kal-El. C’mon, let’s go.
Superman shakes hands with Asura as well before gesturing to both him and Kratos to return. When everyone has settled the screen begins to announce the next fight.
Next time on Death Battle
Fire, chains and undead beings are flashed on the screen but it doesn’t take long though for the fiery skull of Zarathos’ slave and the green aura of Malebogia’s bitch to come on screen.
Ghost Rider from Marvel vs Spawn from Image.
Spawn turns to Kratos’ direction.
Spawn: Looks I’ve taken your title for the longest wait for a return fight.
Across the seats a pillar of flame bursts into the ceiling, scarring many combatants away from it as it is no normal fire but hellfire. The pillar dissipates and in its place, where Johnny Blaze once sat, now stood the Ghost Rider.
Ghost Rider: I’ve wanted to test you against your sins for a long time Al Simmons.
Spawn: I look forward to it skull fuck.
—
It’s 6pm, and a bell rang across the Colosseum to signal that it was dinner time. Asura walked out of his room thinking to himself. Like all new combatants he was unsure what to think of the place. He had been told about the situation regarding dead combatants by Superman and how things will be if he goes back to his world. He looks at his arms, knowing they came from a time he had to fight his former allies. But if he went back he knew he would be someone else. Reincarnated as someone who knew nothing about the war against the Gohma or his beloved wife and daughter. As he contemplated this he sensed a familiar presence at the entrance to the stairs, it was Kratos.
Asura: The hell do you want?
Kratos: I… wanted to invite you to sit with us for dinner.
Asura cocked an eyebrow up in confusion.
Asura: I don’t need your pity. You won, I lost. It's as simple as that.
Kratos: That’s not why I’m here. I believe there’s been a misunderstanding.
Asura: How so?
Kratos: When I mentioned my past it was only because you reminded me of a time when I was more angry and reckless. But upon reflection it appears I may have misjudged you. You were saying something but I couldn’t properly hear it. The others have said that I was rather rude with my response so I want to hear it again from you.
Asura: Tch, all I said was that a bastard with sins like yours shouldn’t lecture me about my sins and that you should shut up. I may be wrathful but I am no perpetrator of genocide.
Kratos: Hmmm, I’m sorry for the misunderstanding.
Asura waves Kratos off.
Asura: Whatever, I’m hungry. You were offering a seat?
Kratos: nods
Asura: Alright, let’s go. You can talk more later if you want.