Chapter 145
Chapter 145
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 145
Chapter Title: Tyr's Debt
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Soo-hyuk tended to Viola while gazing out the window.
Snow was still falling outside. By the looks of it, it had piled up so high that even grown men would sink halfway into it.
Viola had fallen into a deep sleep. She had lost a lot of blood, so it was no wonder she was exhausted.
As he changed the wet cloth on her forehead, Soo-hyuk recalled her words.
'That old man...'
Tyr.
The god of Asgard who had severed Bergelmir's arm in a single stroke.
The god of swords and war, law and duels.
Asgard's order was maintained by his hand. He was a god of immense power and status in this place, one of the few who could count on one hand.
'No wonder he looked so aged.'
Humans believed gods were immortal, and indeed, they were granted lifespans that seemed eternal by human standards. Over those vast ages, they aged very little.
Even Viola, over a thousand years old, remained wrinkle-free and beautiful, didn't she?
Yet Tyr appeared so aged. Just how old was he?
"I thought he was just a grumpy old god-."
Soo-hyuk turned his mic away so as not to wake Viola from her sleep.
"Turns out he's a big shot old man."
While bantering with viewers for a moment, footsteps approached from outside the door.
There was only one person who would come here. Mindful of Viola, he waited outside without entering.
Soo-hyuk carefully stood and went out to where Tyr waited by the door. His face was still full of dissatisfaction.
"You came out quick."
"What's wrong with being a little slow sometimes? I can be fast other times."
Tyr was at a loss for words at Soo-hyuk's subtle jab. When it came to speed or delay, he had no ground to stand on, even if he had ten mouths.
"Follow me. I have something to say."
Thud-.
Soo-hyuk watched Tyr's back as he walked off without waiting for a reply.
He didn't want to deal with the crabby old man's personality anymore, but he had no choice.
'The trial isn't over yet.'
He had prevented Bergelmir's seal from breaking, but the trial wasn't complete.
If it were, a message would have appeared. But it remained silent.
There were two possibilities.
Either there was more to resolve, or the reward settlement was delayed.
And Soo-hyuk's gut told him it was the latter.
'That old man holds the key.'
Thud-.
Soo-hyuk followed Tyr.
"Didn't you call me out here to talk?"
Tyr had been silent for a long time, so Soo-hyuk prodded. He had clearly called for a reason but hesitated to speak.
"Baldur was the greatest in Midgard."
His eventual words were somewhat out of left field.
"If he had been a Valkyrie, Brunhilde's position would be his now."
"Is that all it takes to lead the Valkyries?"
The Brunhilde Soo-hyuk met was already a master of martial arts long ago.
Baldur might have more mana or physical prowess, but his swordsmanship was far below hers.
"Don't get cocky. It doesn't mean Baldur is stronger than Brunhilde. Just that if he weren't half-breed, he would be."
Apparently, Baldur was well-regarded even among Valhalla's gods.
For Tyr, who had roamed battlefields with Odin to found Asgard, to compare him to the Valkyrie leader said it all.
"What's the difference between them?"
"Birth."
"As expected, because he's not a full god?"
Tyr nodded as he walked with hands behind his back. It was an obvious question with an expected answer, but it still irked Soo-hyuk a bit.
In the end, this mess stemmed from the gods' unreasonable, stubborn attitudes.
"What happened between you two?"
It was still vivid. Baldur's cry wailing Tyr's name.
His howl was as desperate and frantic as a beast robbed of its young.
"And what about humans and gods?"
"Too many questions."
"Dodging again?"
"No."
Tyr turned around.
"I owe you answers this time."
"...For real?"
"I haven't warmed to you, but I owe you a debt."
Tyr remembered his promise to Soo-hyuk. And with this incident, he had incurred a debt, deciding to answer his questions.
Though Soo-hyuk hadn't expected this stubborn old man to admit it so readily.
"Thanks. For protecting Midgard. I had to say it."
"You're welcome. Even though you hated me that much."
"I hate humans. You're one of them."
Tyr's gaze flicked to Soo-hyuk's hand and back.
"Well, you're especially hateful..."
"So you still hate me?"
"You don't know what you've done."
Soo-hyuk reviewed his actions.
He meant stopping Bergelmir's seal from breaking, the purpose of this trial. He had succeeded and awaited his reward.
And this meeting with Tyr was likely that reward.
"Midgard has 600 million residents. Bergelmir had the power to destroy it."
"600 million?"
Even so, that many?
"How many could survive hearts freezing in this cold? Midgard's half-breeds would freeze standing before fighting."
Bergelmir, progenitor of the frost giants, had brought winter to Midgard even while sealed.
If freed, Tyr's words might have come true.
Soo-hyuk's mind reeled as he listened.
The viewers listening alongside felt the same.
It was true.
No matter how he thought about it, this wasn't something a few words could settle.
By this logic, Soo-hyuk was Asgard's savior.
Even a stubborn god like Tyr couldn't deny that.
"We'll settle that later."
And naturally, Soo-hyuk had no intention of letting it go with mere words.
"Let's start with Baldur first."
"I brought news of his wife's death."
Tyr continued.
It was a tale from over a thousand years ago.
Back when Baldur was Asgard's guard captain.
His wife, with whom he had shared half his life, returned as a cold corpse.
Baldur and his wife had challenged Valhalla once. To enter together and live happily, as promised.
But they met Heimdall in Valhalla's trial and failed to overcome him.
Baldur gave up and accepted it. Only chosen-born gods could enter Valhalla.
His wife, however...
Baldur's wife didn't give up.
She challenged Valhalla again, holding onto her dream of entering someday.
"So you comforted the man who lost his wife?"
"I gave him words."
"What did you say?"
Clench-.
Soo-hyuk clenched his fist, tempted to punch him.
"Why go that far?"
Building the wall of Lasderich, drawing lines between gods and others.
Baldur and his wife were rejected by the gods solely for their human blood.
He couldn't understand.
Why did they hate humans so much?
"This ties into your second question."
Soo-hyuk's question.
It was about Tyr's missing arm.
He had only asked due to a mission back then.
"Humans made this arm like this."
That was the answer.
'Humans?'
It was hard to believe.
Before seeing Tyr's power, maybe. But he was no match for humans.
His strength had split Midgard's winter in one stroke.
"Satisfied?"
"Not enough."
Soo-hyuk shook his head.
He had an answer, but it didn't explain everything.
"That's your reason to hate humans. It can't be Asgard's."
Not all Asgard gods were one-armed like Tyr. His reason was personal, not collective.
"Hear that from them."
"From them?"
"A gift."
Tyr pulled a stiff feather and a broken blade shard from his robes.
"Feather of the gold-laying owl. Valhalla pass. Say I gave it."
"And the other?"
"Take it. If asked, say I gave it."
Soo-hyuk eyed the gifts.
As expected, this meeting settled the reward. But it differed from expectations.
'Entry to Valhalla was given... the shard is extra.'
A mysterious blade shard.
Hard to judge if the reward was good or bad.
Likely tied to the next linked trial.
'Have to see it through.'
Still, Valhalla entry succeeded. The main goal achieved.
Soo-hyuk's aim: meet Valhalla gods, claim the remaining half thunder heart.
As he received Tyr's gifts...
"Curious if gods with scars like mine will accept you."
Tyr's meaningful words.
As Soo-hyuk opened his mouth to ask about "scars like mine"-
Soo-hyuk's sixth trial ended.