Chapter 22

## Chapter Chronology

**Heracles' Choice** is the 22nd chapter of the "*Shuumatsu no Valkyrie: Record of Ragnarok*" manga series.

## Summary

Heimdall declares that the personification of Humanity's 7,000,000-year-long malice has pierced history's greatest hero. Repeating how Jack the Ripper was described as the personification of malice, Heracles pulls out all the knives in his body and crushes them, stating that if this is the extent of Jack's malice, then he'll simply crush it all. In the Greek Gods' stand, Loki appears and tells Hermes and Ares that Heracles looks like he's in trouble, despite them talking a big game about getting revenge. Ares tells Loki to be silent and reveals he trusts in Heracles wholeheartedly.

Reaching into his pouches, Jack brings out a number of knives and begins throwing them at Heracles. Heracles responds by batting each and every one down but Jack begins throwing the knives in a way that they bend in an arc, getting around Heracles' defenses and piercing him.

As Jack continues throwing knives, Heimdall says that Heracles has been forced on the defensive. In Humanity's crowd, a bunch of criminals cheer on Jack, telling him to kill another God for them. They mock Heracles by saying he's too scared to move but Ares scoffs and tells them to look closer. Heimdall then realizes that, while Jack has been throwing the knives, Heracles has been advancing at the same time, taking the attacks head-on.

As Loki looks on with mild surprise, Ares states that Heracles' true power lies in his will, which even the Gods couldn't break. In the ancient city of Thebes, Greece, around 2000BC, a duo of bullies kick around Castor, demanding he give them the baby cow he has. Castor begs them not to take it since he needs to trade the baby cow for his mother's medicine but the bullies don't care. At that moment, a scrawny Alcides (later known as Heracles) tells them to knock it off. Later on, it's shown that they easily beat up Alcides too and took the baby cow. Castor asks Alcides why he keeps getting into fights despite being so weak.

Alcides asserts it's because they were in the wrong and Castor comments on how he doesn't know whether to think Alcides is really nice or stupid. Not caring how Castor sees it, Alcides declares he always wants to be on the side of justice. He then tells Castor to follow him as they're gonna get that baby cow back for his mother. The boy who was weaker than any other, also possessed a heart more righteous than any other. Whenever there was conflict or a hunt, Alcides would fearlessly charge at them, acting as a vanguard for the righteous. As the people of Thebes roast their hunting spoils and thank Zeus at the temple, Alcides practices doing push-ups near a tree, east of the temple.

Castor shows up with pieces of meat and tells Alcides to eat. Alcides insists he doesn't deserve to eat as he needs to get stronger to protect everyone but Castor points out he can't get stronger if he doesn't eat. As Alcides takes the meat, the bullies appear. They overheard and recommend to Alcides that if he wants to get stronger, he should drink from the cup of Ambrosia that is situated on Zeus' statue at the temple. Ambrosia is the blood of Zeus.

Legend says that if it is consumed by a true hero, it would grant them an eternal body. Should anyone else drink it, it would result in instant death. It was said that the hero, Achilles, gained his strength from the Ambrosia. The bullies then leave, mocking Alcides by saying he'd die if he drank it. Castor tells Alcides not to mind since the Ambrosia is nothing but a tale. Biting into the meat, Alcides notes that there's no point in trying to get stronger from the Ambrosia if he'll just die in the process. Whenever given the choice between two paths, Alcides would always choose the toughest path to protect the just until one day, there were no longer any who would belittle him.

However, the year 2000BC had arrived and the Council of Valhalla held a conference about mankind's survival, which resulted in 74% being in favor of letting mankind live for the next 1000 years. Zeus says that, despite the results, he would like to know the Gods' thoughts on the matter. Aphrodite observes how the Humans are culling the animals around them and always wage war with each other. Thus, she believes they should be scolded a bit, especially the city of Thebes. Loki proposes that they do the same thing they did to those of the Tower of Babel: kill them all.

As Thor, Odin and Poseidon stay silent, Shiva tells Loki he always takes it too far and offers to go to Thebes himself. However, Ares volunteers to go instead, since Thebes is his jurisdiction. Back when God and man held a close relationship, whenever the Gods determined Humanity progressed too far, they would come down and destroy key parts of their civilization. One night in Thebes, the people look out the city walls in shock and horror. As a light comes out of the dark sky, one man exclaims about how they invoked the wrath of the Gods. With an army behind him and riding a Pegasus, Ares tells the people of Thebes to surrender themselves to the Gods' justice.

## Characters in Order of Appearance

* Jack the Ripper
* Heracles
* Heimdall
* Hermes
* Ares
* Loki
* Castor (Flashback)
* Zeus (Flashback)
* Aphrodite (Flashback)
* Odin (Flashback, No lines)
* Huginn & Muninn (Flashback, No lines)
* Thor (Flashback, No lines)
* Poseidon (Flashback, No lines)
* Shiva (Flashback)