Chapter 140
Chapter 140
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 140
Chapter Title: Bergelmir's Seal
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The cutscene started up while he was climbing the stairs.
Viola, locked away in prison.
Vigo, facing her through the iron bars.
It was a scene that brought back memories of the 5th floor trial. Viola had already been betrayed once by Belheim, her fellow Valkyrie companion in that trial.
But whether fortunate or not...
This time, it wasn't a betrayal.
"Lady Viola is the sacrifice."
"Sacrifice? For what?"
"Didn't you hear the objective before coming here?"
Helpfully, those words played back right next to Vigo.
A kind-looking man with green eyes.
He appeared hazily like a mirage, gazing at Rasderih as he spoke.
"So I've made up my mind. I'll cross over there my own way."
Watching the scene, Soo-hyuk clicked his tongue.
"That guy's a total villain at first glance."
In response, Viola stated firmly.
"Impossible."
There was no need to hear the rest.
Soo-hyuk had a vague idea of what Valhalla was like. It wasn't a place the inhabitants of Midgard could dare aspire to.
But...
"That's why we need a Valkyrie, Captain."
As expected, the trial wasn't proceeding smoothly.
"...Of course it wouldn't."
Just fight and win to enter Valhalla? No way the 6th floor trial would be that straightforward.
Something more was left. And this cutscene was the starting point for it.
"For what?"
"To awaken Bergelmir."
Bergelmir.
No clue what that was.
But judging from Viola's reaction that followed, the green-eyed man's words didn't seem like empty delusions.
In the continuing cutscene, the green-eyed man appeared.
The man named Balder slit Vigo's throat and mocked Viola and Vigo from beyond the prison bars.
"Isn't it ridiculous? As if handing over this scrap of info changes anything."
But to his words...
"No. It changes everything."
Viola said with conviction.
Clutching the communication kit meant for him.
Swoosh-.
The cutscene faded slowly.
But even after it ended, Viola's voice continued.
"It will change. It definitely will."
The voice came from the communication kit tucked in his pocket.
A message meant for him.
And at that moment...
[Stage ? - Shall we begin 'Bergelmir'?]
⏰ Note: Starting a new stage will reset the Valhalla trial.
A sudden stage marked with a question mark popped up.
Soo-hyuk wore a puzzled expression at its contents.
'First time seeing one like this.'
Not revealing which stage number it was. Made it impossible to gauge the difficulty.
Especially since this was an optional stage.
Push through the Valhalla trial safely to reach Valhalla as is.
Or rescue Viola and stop the revival of this Bergelmir thing.
And trials like this usually had high difficulty ratings.
To the newly appeared message, Soo-hyuk asked.
"Should we head back?"
As if he actually had a choice...
The viewers' mood was savage.
This was no real choice.
Half the audience watching Soo-hyuk's stream were Viola fans, after all.
A couple of hours had passed since Vigo's death.
Balder, who had called men to remove Vigo's body, returned to the prison where Viola was held.
"Time's up."
Viola, slumped on the floor, lifted her head.
Seeing the hope still lingering in her eyes, Balder asked.
"May I ask why you're looking at me like that?"
"You're going to fail, Balder."
"You still think you can survive."
Viola shook her head at Balder's misunderstanding.
"It's not about me living or dying. What matters is that your goal will fail."
"Is your confidence in that human who came with you?"
To Balder's question, Viola chose silence over an answer.
She believed. Her message must have gotten through.
But Balder thought differently.
"He won't come back."
He was certain.
"Didn't I tell you? Those filthy gods have no intention of accepting us."
"How would you know?"
"Because I challenged Valhalla myself."
A sneer curled Balder's lips.
"And so did my wife."
"Your wife?"
She vaguely remembered hearing from Vigo long ago. That Captain Balder had lost his wife early on.
Clank-.
Balder opened the door to Viola's prison cell.
At that moment.
"Unlike me, my wife never returned alive. Do you know why?"
Shwick-.
Viola lunged at Balder, ripping out her own fingernail to stab at his throat.
"Because she never gave up."
Thud-!
Bam-!
Balder's hand seized Viola's throat and slammed her against the wall.
"Guhk-."
Her mind reeled from the impact against her back.
Clinging to her fading consciousness, Viola stared into Balder's eyes.
"So abandon any hope of that human returning. It's all because of those worthless rules you lot created."
Swish-.
Thud-.
As Balder released his grip, his soldiers poured into the cell as if waiting.
"And even if he does come back, he won't make it this far."
Watching Viola dragged away in chains, Balder crushed her last hope.
"This is Midgard's command headquarters, after all."
Midgard soldiers stood guard around the towering spire.
Dreary weather. In the dry, biting cold, the soldiers shivered.
"Damn, it's freezing. Something big must be going down."
"If it's 'something,' it already happened. You know a Valkyrie's been captured here, right?"
A mix of anxiety and anticipation in their chatter.
One soldier looked up at the sky while talking.
"Is it really starting?"
"Now that it's here, I'm nervous."
"Any regrets?"
"Regrets? Better to go out swinging than spend life scrubbing gods' floors."
Midgard belonged to Asgard.
But their dreams were always of Valhalla.
Asgard's paradise. Beautiful landscapes, sweet rivers flowing, eternal perfect seasons without heat or cold.
No Midgard resident hadn't dreamed of Valhalla.
"Let's trust the commander."
"If we fail—"
"Too many of us to worry about that."
The soldier spotted Rasderih in the distance.
The boundary between Midgard and Valhalla. Tearing it down to collapse the gods' world—that was the core of this plan.
"And the heavens are on our side, right? Lucky us, a Valkyrie just fell into our lap."
"True enough."
"Yeah. Our job's simple: hold this place."
No sooner had the words left his mouth...
Step-.
A stranger walked toward the command headquarters' entrance the soldiers were guarding.
"Halt."
Clack-.
The entrance guards thrust out a hand, while others from all sides leveled weapons in alert.
Dozens of weapons trained on him. Enough to scare anyone, but he just looked up at the command spire's peak.
"Excuse me, directions?"
He gave off a dangerous vibe.
"Is this Midgard's command headquarters?"
"State your business."
"So it is?"
Slice-.
Soo-hyuk nodded at the soldier's reply.
"Good, right place then."
"What are you—"
Whoosh-.
Boom-!
The moment he thought a fist was swinging out, yellow lightning engulfed the soldier.
"Where's she at in here?"
"Intruder!"
"Who the hell is this guy!"
"How many?"
Chaos erupted at the headquarters entrance, drawing soldiers from everywhere.
Standing at the center, Soo-hyuk grinned under his mask.
"100 points per kill."
A mission notice popped in just in time.
The swarming soldiers looked like tasty points now.
"Mission accepted."
Stealth infiltration? Not even considered.
Time was critical this time. With Viola chosen as the sacrifice to awaken Bergelmir, no detours.
Boom-!
Lightning blasted wide, filling his vision. With so many foes, he had no choice but to expand his skill's range to handle them all.
Whoosh-.
One soldier pierced the lightning with a spear thrust.
The spear grazed his cheek instead of piercing his head, while Soo-hyuk's blade sliced upward through the soldier's groin.
Crack-.
Bone and armor split together as the soldier's breath cut off. Looking around again, even more soldiers had gathered.
Right. This was Midgard.
A world of humans and gods mingled—demigods.
Every soldier here was on Vigo's level.
'This'll take time.'
He wanted to blast through with lightning spam.
Even Master of Lightning would make it easier.
But that'd be a mistake.
'Balder, was it?'
The green-eyed man from the cutscene.
The enemy commander holding Viola in this headquarters.
Probably this trial's boss.
'Gotta take him down eventually.'
For that, he needed to conserve some stamina. Which meant going slower.
But...
No more taking it slow. He didn't know the situation over there, and if the seal fully released, it'd be over.
Obvious, right?
Bergelmir was their trump card against the gods. The being meant to shatter Rasderih, the world's boundary.
'Need to change plans.'
Energy surged to his head, not his body.
Grip-.
He clenched his fist in the Thunderclap gauntlet.
Plodding through these soldiers wasn't the play. But he couldn't ignore stamina either, so another way.
Crackle-.
For the first time, Soo-hyuk stepped back as he advanced.
Soldiers encircled the now-stationary Soo-hyuk.
"Giving up?"
"Surrender quietly! We might show mercy!"
They apparently thought he'd surrendered seeing him stop.
The viewers seemed to think the same.
Backing up and standing still in this urgent situation? Bound to look that way.
But if he were the type to quit here, he never would've turned back.
"Gonna try something."
Soo-hyuk's gaze shifted to the command spire's peak.
"If I can make it up there."