The Great Madness (5) — Blood Brothers?
I frowned at Adelaide's words. When it came to Odin's sworn brothers, the ones I knew were Thor and Loki. In the Marvel movies—which served as Korea's unofficial bible for Norse mythology—they were portrayed as Odin's sons, but in this world, those three were the very definition of sworn brothers. They were basically this world's version of Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei.
Was it because I had spoken the names of the gods too casually? Adelaide's usually calm face flickered with surprise for a moment—the same face that had remained composed even when her curse was lifted.
So the blood oath between Odin and his two brothers came before the founding of the group known as the Nine Gods.
In other words, Odin and the other two were like the sworn brotherhood of Yu-Guan-Zhang, while the Nine Gods of Germania were more like a lineage-based blood alliance. That was probably the right way to look at it. Whether it was true or not, there were also legends that Loki had betrayed the other gods and triggered Ragnarok. The fact that their blood alliance had been shattered by personal grudges made the Nine Gods feel more like they were bound by mutual interests than true loyalty.
It's strange that the Bicorns, Loki's descendants, aren't particularly persecuted, but hey—it's a good thing for me.
If Veronica had been the target of the classic fantasy trope of "discriminated-against race," our relationship probably wouldn't have formed so easily.
That was Adelaide's explanation. But who the hell was the God of Ten Thousand Words? As if sensing my confusion, Veronica added,
Ah, got it! Lodur! Yeah, yeah, I know that one!
Anyway, I was the type to just nod along whenever unfamiliar proper nouns or divine titles came up. If I stopped to ask about every single one, the conversation would never end, Nord.
"From the way you speak, the humans of other continents were created differently?"
So the humans of this world were racially completely separate species? No, since people from different countries could still have children, the underlying principle was probably the same. Creation myths differing by continent wasn't anything new—whether in this world or back on Earth.
Of course, when it came to the creation of the world itself, things were different. In almost every country and religion across this world, the birth of the world was described in nearly identical ways. In archaeological circles, the synthesized version of that was treated as the official "otherworld Big Bang theory."
"……Hmm."
Adelaide seemed to be deliberately emphasizing Hoenir's achievements as the main point of the story. But that wasn't what caught my attention. Whether that bastard had watched humanity run wild with the wisdom he had granted them, and how he felt about it, was completely outside my sphere of interest.
……The ability to speak and hear.
The power that Lodur, the God of Ten Thousand Words, had given to humanity. Was it just my imagination, or did that feel suspiciously connected to some translation cheat belonging to a certain basement-dwelling incel?
With the world's history now eradicated, there was no way to know for sure. But if the essence of that power had been preserved—and if it was some kind of arrangement left behind by a god named Lodur for future generations…?
……Speculation without evidence is nothing but delusion.
I mentally filed it away and refocused on the conversation.
"Emotion and wisdom, huh. But how did Hoenir survive Ragnarok? Was he simply that powerful of a god?"
Adelaide denied my question, saying that the stronger a god was, the less they could escape their fate. I decided to voice my own theory.
"I heard that Hoenir was killed by the sea god Njord. That's why only his head remained, and Odin kept it alive. In my opinion, that might be the reason he survived Ragnarok."
Adelaide lowered her gaze, her eyes darkening.
"……That's quite significant. If we consider it the actions of a god who called himself the most foolish, perhaps even that death was a stepping stone for the future."
Even as I said it, it didn't seem like getting his head cleanly chopped off by Njord had been Hoenir's intention. The Hoenir I had seen in my dreams had been regretting his past.
"……You've also heard about the Humanum Dei, right? When Hoenir was still a god, did he possess any prophetic abilities?"
When I asked, Adelaide nodded with a grave expression.
It made sense. Among Odin's many titles was the God of Wisdom. A sharp-eyed German lady who never lost in terms of intellect wouldn't have kept a powerless sworn brother around without good reason.
I crossed my arms and muttered.
"If he could see the future, Hoenir would have designed his own future within the framework of fate. Ironically, that very fate was ultimately thwarted by human hands."
"Once all the prophecies had gone awry, the powerless Hoenir must have realized that peering into fate after the age of humans had arrived was meaningless. So he had no choice but to continue watching over humanity."
Her title as the previous generation's Prophet wasn't just for show. Talking with Adelaide made the conversation flow incredibly smoothly. She answered my thoughts and questions directly without needing to be prompted. The experience she had accumulated—enough to be considered an elder even among the long-lived Bicorns—wasn't wasted after all.
I met Adelaide's eyes.
"In that case, the immediate goal Hoenir is trying to achieve by commanding his subordinates would be the restoration of his divinity…… his power. I think I have an idea of what method he'll use."
Having seen through each other's thoughts completely, we spoke at the same time.
The mass of divine power left behind when a god dies—its very symbol! Securing another god's Divine Throne and having the divinity-stripped Hoenir inherit that power was likely one of Yerna's organization's goals.
What happens if Hoenir regains his power?
A true god would be given the power of a god. Even if the living Hoenir hadn't been particularly skilled in combat, he probably wouldn't end up flailing around like Enlir, unable to properly use his own strength before getting killed.
I sighed and pressed a hand to my forehead.
"Miss Adelaide. Are you thinking the same thing I am right now?"
"There's no need to be ashamed. You have no reason to apologize."
The other party members were looking around in confusion because the conversation had progressed too quickly for them to follow, but the explanation would have to wait.
……If Hoenir regains his power, humanity is fucked.
It was like handing a nuclear bomb to bastards who had been camping for an insanely long time with the goal of human extinction. Honestly, it was the same as those "What if Hitler had nuclear weapons?" alternate history stories. If it were me, I would've sent the author about three 5,700-character messages.
But that's the reality of this modern otherworld.
This wasn't some TV surprise show. A world where Hitler didn't die and became Neo-Hitler, leading a Neo-Nazi elf legion? It was basically the Third World War of this otherworld. Just hearing the concept made me want to vomit.
If it weren't for my own involvement, it would've been insanely interesting to watch.
Well, even if Hoenir revives, humanity might not actually go extinct.
Still, it would add yet another missing link to the repeated rise and fall of human civilization across the divine, ancient, and modern eras. There was a limit to how many times humanity could decline. Three consecutive collapses? That was just ridiculous.
With those thoughts, I let out a sigh and muttered.
"If the Divine Throne cannot be allowed to fall into Hoenir's hands──"
……Yeah. Fuck. As shitty as it was, that was exactly how the story went.