The Frozen Tundra of Tyrfing
The most civilizationally advanced nation on the present-day continent is the Ellemental Kingdom, but it has not always held that position. The point when magic—once the exclusive domain of mages—began to permeate the daily lives of non-ability users through the development of magic tools came only after the Majoan ascended to the seat of an Absolute Being and actively wielded his authority to spark a magical reformation. Before that, the country that had led the continent’s civilizational progress was Tyrfing, located in the far north. The nation of fire and iron, Tyrfing. A land where towering mountain ranges rose dramatically across its terrain. It was a kingdom of artisans who built their civilization by mining the various ores that emerged from those peaks.
The flames that never died for all 365 days of the year and the ringing sound of hammers striking iron had become the very symbols of Tyrfing. The weapons and armor left behind by its craftsmen were still beloved by the martial artists of the Fan Empire even now, long after their time. Their unparalleled and unique techniques could not be perfectly reproduced even by the crafting abilities of modern mages.
The reason the flames of that once most prosperous nation were extinguished was nothing complicated. It happened without any warning, suddenly one day. An unprecedented rampage by an Absolute-class Ebon user. An extreme cold wave that froze everything in its path swept across the entire country, and every living thing beneath the sky was rapidly encased in ice, preserved exactly as it had been in life—like statues.
The flowers and trees blanketing the mountain ranges. The rivers that flowed between the peaks. The flames rising from the center of the forge. The blacksmiths hammering metal. It was as if time itself across the entire nation had frozen; every single thing stood rigid like a statue, unable even to sense the approaching frost. Only an extremely small number of people survived across the whole country, and they felt a bone-deep terror at the sudden apocalypse and the emergence of the new Absolute Being who had caused it.
A drastic change that occurred in less than a second. A result left behind after skipping the entire process. And so the barren land where no life could grow anymore was born—the Frozen Tundra Tyrfing.
“This place is cold no matter when you come here.”
Greed shook his head with a fed-up expression as the chill pierced even a superhuman’s resistance. It was so cold that even the lit cigarette in his mouth couldn’t hold its temperature for a single drag before it went out.
“If Master hadn’t learned to control his Ebon back then, would he have ended up like this too?”
Even if one could say the Ice Queen’s Ebon had caused this because it was related to ice, he suddenly grew curious what would have happened to the Ellemental Kingdom if Master’s power had gone on a rampage.
‘Since it’s a power that deals with death, would everything in the world have lost its life and withered away?’
One thing was certain: if Master’s Ebon had run wild, an even more horrific hell on earth would have descended than this place. Well, since Master had complete control over his Ebon now, that would never happen in the future anyway.
“Living in a place like this… These people must all be out of their minds.”
When the Ice Queen’s ability first awakened, even the clouds floating in the sky had frozen solid and fallen to the ground as massive chunks of ice. The result was a sky so empty it felt hollow, where not even snow fell. The extremely low temperatures had halted the activity of plants, animals, and even viruses—including the common cold. Yet despite such an environment, a small number of humans continued to live here.
“Well, only crazy people like them could survive in a place like this.”
An extreme environment where merely staying alive was difficult completely stripped humans of weak emotions like compassion and affection. It was like passengers who had transferred to a lifeboat from a capsized ship kicking away others trying to climb aboard so they could survive themselves. Or like people suffering from severe famine trading and eating the corpses of starved children. A desperate lawless zone with a different meaning from the underworld, where people abandoned humanity without hesitation just to survive.
That was why the world called them the northern barbarians. The fact that they had now managed to form tribal societies and live with some semblance of humanity was entirely thanks to the help of the underworld.
“Ugh, I’m sleepy, cold, and hungry. I want to go back and rest already.”
Compared to its vast territory, Tyrfing’s population was pathetically small. On top of that, although it was a bit better now, just a few years ago the environment had been so harsh that even fairly skilled ability users would freeze solid if they couldn’t endure the cold. The time needed to search for survivors. The cost of hiring escorts strong enough to protect one’s body. The consumption of supplies required for an expedition all the way here. When everything was taken into account, the losses far outweighed any gains.
Naturally, no merchants came to Tyrfing. In that sense, one could say Greed had accurately targeted that niche market and broken through the trade network with Tyrfing. After all, by visiting in person at regular intervals, he had drastically reduced the expenditure on consumables.
It was a choice very much in character for Greed—willing to endure annoyance and hardship if it meant making money.
‘At the time, I was just doing it to earn money.’
As expected, one could never know how the world would turn. He had never imagined that the choice he made back then would prove this helpful one day.
“By the way, when the hell is he coming?”
But that was that, and this was this. Greed grumbled that these guys were always late as he waited for the other party, who was already long past the appointed time. Then, as if summoned by his words, a silhouette began to appear hazily in the distance.
The person who emerged, cutting through the bone-chilling cold wave, was a giant of a man so tall that even Greed had to look up at him. If one had to compare, he was about the same size as Wrath. Unlike Greed, who was bundled up tightly in thick padding, the man didn’t seem to feel the cold at all; his massive forearms were exposed beneath the animal furs wrapped around his body.
“Sorry I’m late.”
As he had said earlier, when considering only the natural environment, Tyrfing was an even harsher place for humans to survive than the underworld. It was an extreme world where the strong did not simply survive—the ones who survived had no choice but to become stronger. The weak were filtered out and culled, while only the strong remained. Proportionally, the ratio of powerful individuals in Tyrfing was overwhelmingly higher than in any other country.
And that applied to the man standing before Greed right now—the one speaking the ancient language of the fallen Tyrfing Kingdom.
“I was delayed carrying out the additional request you made, so I ask for your understanding.”
Murkan. He was the right-hand man of Campbell, the great chieftain who had unified most of the countless tribes born after Tyrfing froze over and now acted as a king in this land—second only to the Absolute Being, the Ice Queen. As an 8-star superhuman like Greed himself, Murkan offered his apology with a face that didn’t look sorry in the slightest.
‘It’s still amazing no matter how many times I see it.’
How could one superhuman willingly submit to another? Of course, in the underworld the Seven Deadly Sins sometimes followed Pride’s orders, but that was simply out of respect because he took the lead in many tasks for their Master. It wasn’t a clear hierarchical relationship like these two had. Usually, a superhuman’s towering pride made submitting to someone else no easy feat.
In this world where there were no designated kings or emperors like in other countries—only survival of the fittest—cases like this were rare. Even in the underworld, if they hadn’t had the Death King as a central figure, the Seven Deadly Sins would have been at each other’s throats and turned the place into a mess.
Anyway, the fact that they had sent an 8-star superhuman like this meant they were taking their dealings with the underworld quite seriously. Since they were showing respect, Greed nodded, deciding not to make things awkward by getting annoyed, and held out a spatial pouch.
“Here. Just like I said through the communication device, I increased the proportion of food this time.”
Murkan accepted the spatial pouch Greed offered and meticulously checked its contents.
“The contents are accurate this time as well.”
“Of course. Trust is the most important thing in trade.”
“A guy from the underworld is talking about trust?”
At Greed’s lame joke, Murkan let out an involuntary snort of laughter. He then reached inside his clothes, pulled out a spatial pouch of his own, and held it out to Greed.
“The yield of cold iron decreased this time, so I filled it with other minerals instead.”
“Tsk. That’s the most expensive one.”
“I’ll put in more than the regular amount next time to make up for it.”
Yes. This was exactly why Greed had gone through the hassle of breaking through the trade network all the way to Tyrfing. Countless mountain ranges soaring like snow-covered peaks across the entire frozen tundra. The countless minerals—including the iron and gemstones that had once made ancient Tyrfing the most prosperous nation on the continent—were still buried there intact. Above all, the cold iron ore that Greed had discovered here, created when the Ice Queen’s cold wave permeated the ground, boasted quite a high price due to its rarity and unique properties.
Greed clicked his tongue in disappointment and put the spatial pouch away.
‘If I could, I’d send in a workforce to mine it instead.’
Had they grown attached after struggling to survive on this damned land? Since they disliked outsiders entering their territory, it couldn’t be helped.
‘Besides, that’s not what’s important today.’
Normally the trade would have ended there, but Greed had come to Tyrfing today with one additional purpose. He stared intently at Murkan’s face as if waiting for an answer. Understanding what that look meant, Murkan spoke calmly.
“First, I have conveyed your intentions to the Ice Queen through the great chieftain.”
The reason Campbell had unified most of the tribes in Tyrfing and risen to the position of great chieftain was not only because trading with the underworld had given them an advantageous position for survival. It was also because he was the only person in this land who could speak to the Ice Queen, whom every living soul here feared.
‘I don’t know why that is, though.’
Greed had no need or reason to know that much. In any case, that was why he had asked them in advance. To arrange a meeting with the Ice Queen in the name of the underworld.
“Rejoice. The Ice Queen has granted your request.”
At those words, Greed let out a sigh of relief. To be honest, he had thought she would refuse. He had come while worrying about how to persuade her, but fortunately it seemed that worry had been unnecessary.
“However.”
But perhaps one should always listen to the end of what someone has to say. Before Greed could even feel happy, Murkan added,
“She has permitted a meeting with only one Death King.”
If you want to meet, I will allow it. But only if you, the Death King, come in person. That was what the Ice Queen’s words meant, and at Murkan’s statement, Greed’s face crumpled horribly.
“Does that even make sense?”
“I don’t know. I only delivered exactly what the Ice Queen said.”
“……Damn it.”
Yeah, of course. If it had been anyone else, he might have tried to negotiate, but he couldn’t do that with this guy. After all, there was no one in the northern part of this continent who could dare offer an opinion to the Ice Queen. The only thing Greed could ask of Murkan was to deliver their words to her. That was it.
‘And the Ice Queen has absolutely no reason to consider our circumstances.’
This was really troublesome. As expected, the situation wasn’t resolving easily. Greed scratched the back of his head with a frustrated look on his face.