Archrival is the 3rd chapter of the "Shuumatsu no Valkyrie: Record of Ragnarok" manga series.
Summary[]
Lü Bu smiles at having finally found a worthy opponent
As Thor touches his wound, the Gods express their disbelief that Thor was hurt by a Human. At that moment, the same thought had crossed the minds of both Thor and Lü Bu. Had they been born at the same time and place, had they even been born of the same race, they would've become rivals. As they both smile, Lü Bu calls Thor "pretty good" while Thor says that kind of strength is wasted on a Human like Lü Bu.
In the past, a child Lü Bu sat atop a horse, holding a bloody knife in his hand. The adults around him were all in shock that Lü Bu killed a wolf by himself. According to the records of the Three Kingdoms, Lü Bu was born in a Mongolian tribe, though it has yet to be confirmed if this is true.
One thing known for sure, is that from the time he became aware of his surroundings, Lü Bu had set off on his journey to become the strongest. He travelled the vast continent of Eurasia, in search of opponents stronger than him. At one point, Lü Bu even killed a bear with his bare hands as whatever stood in his way, was simply annihilated.
He continued this cycle for many years but one day, in the midst of his travels, the name "Lü Bu" had become heard of, throughout the entire Middle Kingdom. At another point in time, Lü Bu killed many soldiers with ease. Eventually, the time came where nothing stood before Lü Bu and in exchange, the number of those who rallied behind him grew.
Bored Lü Bu asks Cao Cao to proceed with the execution
After 30 years, Lü Bu had ended his journey as he came to realize that, under all the heavens, there was no-one stronger than him. The records go on to state, that after a fierce battle with Cao Cao, Lü Bu was defeated and taken prisoner. The records claim that, just before his execution, Lü Bu hysterically cried, begging Cao Cao to let him live and lead one of his squadrons. However, the truth is quite different. Lü Bu was indeed captured and he did indeed cry. But he wasn't crying to beg for his life. He cried because he was yawning of boredom. At the moment of his execution, Lü Bu asked them to just kill him already, since he was getting bored to death. In the present, Lü Bu recognizes Thor as the one person worthy to be his opponent. Chen Gong begins crying as he has never seen Lü Bu look so happy before now. Watching the match, Zeus says something's off.
Tenth of the Twelve Gods of Olympus, Hermes, loudly shouts into Zeus' ear, asking if something is interesting him. Zeus mutters something impossible is happening and Hermes shouts again, asking if Zeus is wondering how a Human can trade equal blows with a God. Zeus yells that he can hear just fine before admitting he is wondering about that. But he is mainly questioning how Lü Bu can clash against Thor's Mjölnir with a man-made weapon. He says that man-made weapons can never hold a candle to Divine Weapons, only to then notice Brunhilde smirking. At that moment, Zeus understands what is going on. When Göll sees Zeus smiling at them, Brunhilde realizes he's noticed. Before the start of Ragnarok, Brunhilde showed Göll that she had decided on Lü Bu to be Humanity's vanguard. Göll called him too dangerous as he took many lives and called it boring. She questioned if Lü Bu even stood any kind of chance against Thor in the first place. Brunhilde bluntly stated he stood no chance and explained how the Gods had a cheat up their sleeve: the ability to forge their own Divine Weapons. Against Divine Weapons, man-made weapons were useless, meaning Humans couldn't beat Gods equipped with Divine Weapons. Just as Göll began despairing, Brunhilde said all they needed to fight against Divine Weapons, were Divine Weapons.
All eleven Valkyries answer Brunhilde's call for Ragnarok
Suddenly, the other eleven Valkyrie sisters appeared, at Brunhilde's request. Göll exclaimed that this was the first time that all thirteen of them had gathered before questioning why. Brunhilde told Randgriz to come forward. Fourth of the thirteen Valkyries, Randgriz, obeyed and Brunhilde asked if she knew about Thor's Divine Weapons. Randgriz said she did and identified both Mjölnir and Járngreipr, the gloves Thor wears that can block any attack. Brunhilde called them two of Heaven's strongest, shittiest, cheats but if they were going to fight Thor, they had to overcome them. Brunhilde asked if Randgriz would pledge her body to her and Randgriz said she would, much to Göll's confusion as to what that meant. In the present, Lü Bu's Fang Tian Ji begins shining and Randgriz's image appears from the halberd.
It's revealed that this is the secret power of the Valkyries: a Valkyrie's body can become a Divine Weapon, allowing Humans to obtain their own Divine Weapons. This power is called Völundr. Lü Bu says he has an unbreakable weapon and is fighting against an immortal opponent. He claims this setting is just the best and pins down Mjölnir before hitting his Fang Tian Ji against Thor's right glove. When a Valkyrie becomes a Divine Weapon, the Divine Weapon takes on the Valkyrie's traits. The fourth Valkyrie is Randgriz and her name means Shield Destroyer. As a result, Thor's right glove shatters and Brunhilde says "It's party time."
Characters in Order of Appearance[]
[]
| Chapters & Volumes | |
|---|---|
| Volume 1 | 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 |
| Volume 2 | 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 |
| Volume 3 | 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 |
| Volume 4 | 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 |
| Volume 5 | 19 • 20 • 21 |
| Volume 6 | 22 • 23 • 24 • 25 |
| Volume 7 | 26 • 27 • 28 • 29 |
| Volume 8 | 30 • 31 • 32 • 33 |
| Volume 9 | 34 • 35 • 36 • 37 |
| Volume 10 | 38 • 39 • 40 • 41 |
| Volume 11 | 42 • 43 • 44 • 45 |
| Volume 12 | 46 • 47 • 48 • 49 |
| Volume 13 | 50 • 51 • 52 • 53 |
| Volume 14 | 54 • 55 • 56 • 57 |
| Volume 15 | 58 • 59 • 60 • 61 • B1 |
| Volume 16 | 62 • 63 • 64 • 65 • 66 |
| Volume 17 | 67 • 68 • 69 • 70 • B2 |
| Volume 18 | 71 • 72 • 73 • 74 • B3 |
| Volume 19 | 75 • 76 • 77 • 78 |
| Volume 20 | 79 • 80 • 81 • 82 |
| Volume 21 | 83 • 84 • 85 • 86 |
| Volume 22 | 87 • 88 • 89 • 90 • B4 |
| Volume 23 | 91 • 92 • 93 • 94 • B5 |
| Volume 24 | 95 • 96 • 97 • 98 • B6 |
| Volume 25 | 99 • 100 • 101 • 102 • 103 |
| Volume 26 | 104 • 105 • 106 • 107 • 108 • 109 |
| Volume 27 | 110 • 111 • 112 • 113 • 114 |
| Not Compiled in a Volume | E1 |
| List of Rounds (Manga) | |
|---|---|
| 1. Lü Bu vs. Thor | 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 |
| 2. Adam vs. Zeus | 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 |
| 3. Kojiro Sasaki vs. Poseidon | 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 • 20 |
| 4. Jack the Ripper vs. Heracles | 20 • 21 • 22 • 23 • 24 • 25 • 26 • 27 • 28 • 29 • 30 |
| 5. Raiden Tameemon vs. Shiva | 31 • 32 • 33 • 34 • 35 • 36 • 37 • 38 • 39 • 40 • 41 • 42 |
| 6. Buddha vs. Bishamonten/Zerofuku/Hajun | 43 • 44 • 45 • 46 • 47 • 48 • 49 • 50 • 51 • 52 • 53 • 54 |
| 7. Qin Shi Huang vs. Hades | 55 • 56 • 57 • 58 • 59 • 60 • 61 • 62 • 63 • 64 • 65 |
| 8. Nikola Tesla vs. Beelzebub | 66 • 67 • 68 • 69 • 70 • 71 • 72 • 73 • 74 • 75 • 76 • 77 |
| 9. Leonidas vs. Apollo | 78 • 79 • 80 • 81 • 82 • 83 • 84 |
| 10. Soji Okita vs. Susano'o no Mikoto | 84 • 86 • 87 • 88 • 89 • 90 • 91 • 92 • 93 • 94 • 95 • 96 |
| 11. Simo Häyhä vs. Loki | 98 • 99 • 100 • 101 • 102 • 103 • 104 • 105 • 106 |
| 12. Sakata Kintoki vs. Odin | 107 • 108 • 109 • 110 • 111 • 112 • 113 • 114 • 115 |