Chapter 193
Chapter 193
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 193
Chapter Title: Midgardsormr (2)
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“More importantly, Fernandez. Just how do you plan to get all the way over there?”
Abel jerked her chin toward Yggdrasil as she spoke. She was right. No matter what Sadarkelia’s schemes or plans were, they had to head to her domain if they wanted to confront her.
But they were quite a distance away—on an island floating in the sky, no less. Even if they found a safe way to land on the ground, charging straight through the demons swarming the surface below was nothing short of delusional.
“Lindwurm. Are you saying a dragon fears the open sky right now?”
“Don’t try to goad her, Loft.”
Fernandez scowled as Loft smirked. Gliding on dragon wings could cover that distance in a couple of hours... but if the cost was her life, it had to be a last resort.
Abel bit her lip at Loft’s words. For a moment, she gazed at Kirhas, whose hair was still matted with crusted blood.
“Fine. If this child doesn’t spare her own life, how could I? Very well.”
“Your resolve is admirable, but finding another way comes first.”
“Is there another way? It seems impossible just to get down to the ground right now.”
“No. There is definitely a way.”
Fernandez shot Loft a cold glance. Loft had been grinning ear to ear, listening to the exchange between Abel and Fernandez.
“Oh? And that way lies with me?”
“I intended to pass through the gate alone from the start, Loft.”
“That’s right, that’s right. So, what then?”
“You opened the gate, and your goal is Sadarkelia’s death.”
“Death? Oh, no. Eternal rest... downfall... Ah, don’t get mad, friend. Just a joke. You’re right. So?”
Fernandez gripped his sword hilt as Loft tried to deflect. Loft flinched at the intensity and waved his hands dramatically.
“You must have ensured I could challenge Sadarkelia’s domain alone—or at least reach it safely.”
“Isn’t that just speculation? What if I spotted that dragon of yours approaching and hastily revised my plans?”
“In a moment when every bit of strength counts, you’d waste a dragon’s power on mere flight... That’s a convincing excuse.”
“Haha, hahaha! Excellent. Very good, friend. This is why clever friends are...”
Loft burst into booming laughter and clapped his hands. He then let out a long whistle toward the sky. A clear, sharp sound whistled through his exposed front teeth. Kirhas, with her sensitive hearing, grimaced and lightly covered her ears.
*Flutter flutter.*
Faintly, like flags flapping in the wind. Fernandez noticed the sound first. He turned his gaze in the direction Loft was whistling toward, extending the note endlessly.
*Flutter!*
Soon, a small falcon let out a shrill screech and perched on Loft’s forearm. Loft stroked its head with a finger.
“Friend, it’s been a while. Were you upset I left without you last time?”
*Screech.*
“Don’t be too hard on me, Bedr. I’ll stick around longer this time. Come on, let me introduce my new friends.”
The falcon cocked its head, scanning Fernandez and the others. It promptly pecked Loft’s finger with a *tap*. Loft roared with laughter. Kirhas watched coolly and remarked,
“What a fine mount.”
“Oh, you’ve got an eye for birds?”
“...That was sarcasm.”
“Same here!”
Loft shouted cheerfully and flicked his arm, sending the falcon flying. A rough gust scattered his shaggy hair. He spread his arms wide like an actor on stage. The wind grew fiercer, and the flapping sound filled the sky.
*Flutter!*
“Come on, follow me, friends!”
He dove off the cliff’s edge, arms outstretched. Kirhas yelped in alarm. As she rushed to the edge to check on Loft, Fernandez quickly grabbed her arm.
“Eek?”
“Wait.”
*Flutter flutter!!!*
The flapping grew louder and louder—not flags, but wings. Fernandez shielded Kirhas from the blasting wind with his cloak.
He narrowed his eyes against it. Soon, a long shadow stretched, darkening the sky.
“Dramatic entrance.”
“I’m not the god of theater or anything, friend.”
*Flutter!*
Fernandez smiled at the shadow rising from below the cliff. Loft sat atop it. Backlit, yellow eyes gleamed between the shadows.
A massive falcon, the size of a house, peered down at them, head cocked. Loft sat on its head, stroking its nape furiously and laughing heartily.
“Your stiff faces are a sight! Hop on quick! Don’t we need a ride to Yggdrasil?”
“It, it won’t attack, right?”
“This one wants to stop Ragnarok more than anyone. No need to worry. Allow me to introduce—the King of Winds, Lord of Blizzards, God of the Skies. My friend... Hresvelgr!”
*Flutter!*
At Loft’s words, the giant falcon proudly lifted its head and spread its wings wide. Feizashi snarked at the sight.
*-I see why you call it a friend.*
*‘Agreed.’*
* * *
Despite its enormous bulk and boastful gestures, the glide was smooth. Fernandez sat on the falcon’s back, gripping feathers as he watched the burning red sunset—and beyond it, Yggdrasil, still a mere backdrop.
“Doesn’t it remind you of a year ago?”
Abel leaned slightly against his back and whispered. Her voice was so soft, barely audible over the rushing wind unless one listened closely.
“When we smashed Gaimearn’s fleet at Infermur. It feels like ancient history already.”
“A lot has happened.”
“Yes. A lot. At first, I had no real ambitions.”
Abel whispered in a nostalgic tone.
“The sun rises, the sun sets. Stars rise, stars set... Of all the shining things in my life, the most beautiful were flowers, soap bubbles, flames—things that fade in an instant. When I awoke in that port’s underbelly, I thought my life was beautiful precisely because it was finite. No regrets.”
“And now?”
“I want to live a long time.”
Abel gazed at Asgard’s sky. The red sunset painted it brilliantly. The repulsive hell mana aura was swept away beneath the falcon’s wings, vanishing without a trace. They simply rode a refreshing evening breeze.
“A very long time. But not excessively so... Yes, like your human lifespans. Burning bright like a flame, blooming like a flower, bursting like a soap bubble.”
Abel’s body was close. But Fernandez focused not on her warmth or scent, but on the divinity and mana remnants in her body. A hundred years? Assuming she didn’t revert to dragon form. She had a human lifespan.
Whether she’d age with time was uncertain. Her human shape was merely for conserving power. But her lifespan wouldn’t match a dragon’s.
“The sunset is beautiful.”
“The sun isn’t setting.”
“...What did you say?”
“It was twilight when we first crossed the gate. It’s still twilight after we took to the skies, and even now, over two hours later.”
A Demonica’s senses could measure time down to the second if desired. Even non-Demonicas could do it with training to constantly track time.
Alchemy’s foundation was precise measurement of compounds and timing. Fernandez, in his past life, had mastered basic alchemy before thirty. He could gauge time to the second.
“Not a very romantic answer.”
“Romance can wait. Mana is surging. Beneath those clouds.”
Fernandez pointed to the low red clouds beneath the falcon’s wings. Heat and corruption from the ground rose like steam, spreading vast as plains.
At the spot he indicated, faint but swirling oddly like a vortex. Abel narrowed her eyes at it.
“Isn’t the unfamiliar landscape and weather here perfectly natural?”
“If it were just a natural phenomenon, we could chalk it up to dimensional differences. But it doesn’t seem so. Loft!”
Loft, sitting cross-legged on the falcon’s head enjoying the wind, turned. He nodded readily at what Fernandez pointed out. The roaring wind forced them to shout.
“You saw it! That’s our destination!”
“Weren’t we going straight to Sadarkelia?!”
“Haha, everything has its order. Ragnarok is a very specifically prophesied apocalypse! If it were that easy, we wouldn’t be suffering like this!”
Loft shouted and patted the falcon’s nape. It banked sharply, plunging straight into the swirling clouds.
“Hold on tight! We’re off to find the weapon to slay Jörmungandr!”
*Flutter!*
His last words were lost in the wingbeats. The clouds blended red sunset and deep darkness in strange hues, lightning flashing at the vortex’s heart.
The clouds parted slowly with the wind. There was a reason Loft called this falcon the King of Winds. Fernandez watched the clouds tear and freeze with each flap.
The sunset had vanished behind them. Electricity arced through the thick clouds, grazing past.
*Boom!*
The falcon braked hard. At the clouds’ edge, lightning illuminated a small island. Storm clouds swirled around its perimeter, outlining it sharply. Barren rock pillars jutted from the isle.
*Flap!*
The falcon gripped the island’s edge and halted. Loft whispered to it and hopped down from its nape. He sauntered to the central pillar amid flashing lightning and extended his hand.
“How’ve you been, brother! Came to check on you—glad to see you’re still kicking!”
[LOKIiiii—!!]
*Rumble!*
A massive roar erupted from behind the pillar, followed by a lightning bolt crashing right before his eyes. Rock cratered, mana from the bolt scattering. Fernandez, dismounting, squinted at the scene. The bolt’s power was no joke.
“Ahaha, brother. Still a rough greeter!”
[You dare! You dare! You filthy Jotun! You dare call me brother?!]
“Such discriminatory words. Careful, brother!”
[You traitor. Get lost before I kill you!]
“Did you just miss on purpose? Huh? You need me, I need you. No point in getting emotional.”
[It missed!]
*Rumble!*
The man behind the pillar gnashed his teeth audibly. Lightning soon clawed around Loft.
“Let’s talk it out instead! Brother, let me introduce my friends!”
[Friends...? Puppets, more like!]
*Thud!*
The pillar shattered, revealing a fist the size of a man’s head. It withdrew. Debris cleared, unveiling a giant’s silhouette—at least twice a normal man’s size.
*Rumble!*
Lightning wrapped the silhouette, igniting it. A shabby, oversized robe clad the man. Beneath the hood, blue-glowing eyes burned.
“Hey, brother. I get you’re mad... but how about we aim for nobler goals? Like killing Jörmungandr and stopping Ragnarok.”
[Jörmungandr! You filthy frost giant! You dare speak that name before me?!]
The man shoved aside rock pillars and eyed the group behind Loft. He scanned them, then looked down at Fernandez with interest.
[You didn’t bring total nobodies.]
“Right? I’ve got a good eye for people.”
[Mortals. I’ll tell you how to reach your world—now leave. No need to heed this mongrel giant.]
Ignoring Loft completely, the man addressed Fernandez. Fernandez stepped forward, meeting the glowing eyes.
“Where to? Even if this world falls, will others be safe? You’re saying just dig graves and await the fated end?”
[You, little human. You speak like an Einherjar. I like it.]
The man chuckled darkly under his hood.
[So here’s my advice. Don’t trust that giant.]
“Never have.”
“That hurts, friend.”
[What lies did that traitor whisper to lure you? Power? Cause? Justice? Whatever it was, that mongrel can’t claim it. This mess is all his doing.]
“...What?”
The man gauged Fernandez’s reaction, then spoke slowly.
[Ragnarok, my father’s fall. Einherjar’s ruin, Asgard’s collapse. Even Jörmungandr’s birth... All orchestrated by that damned traitor. Little human, if you want Midgard’s salvation, save it from Midgard. The Aesir Pantheon fell to that Jotun. Find other gods to pray to.]
What was this? Fernandez eyed Loft, who shrugged playfully.
“Uh... well. Ragnarok was going to happen anyway, right, brother?”
[Shut up.]
“If it’s inevitable, better to control the variables—makes stopping it easier, no?”
[I said shut up.]
Loft snorted and turned to Fernandez.
“Well, friend. Ragnarok is a very specifically prophesied... predestined apocalypse.”
“So?”
“With everyone doomed by prophecy laid out plain, don’t we have to stop it? Like sacrificing the North for the Einherjar. Focus on surviving somehow.”
“...And?”
“So. An uncertain future doom is harder to fight than one certain, specific, and right in front of us... I’ve thought.”
Abel gasped behind him, staring at Loft in shock.
“No way... Sadarkelia... Her sudden plunge into hell mana...”
“Yeah. I corrupted her. Two thousand years ago. I needed Jörmungandr; she needed power. Mutual agreement—so don’t look at me like that. Problem was, that bitch got too strong, beyond my expectations...!!”
*Boom!*
A sudden fist sent Loft flying. The man dusted his knuckles, groaning as he clutched his forehead.
“So that’s it. He lured us to clean up his own mess. And you?”
[Exactly. That bastard’s as twisted as ever. He left for Midgard promising to return before the end, vanished for nearly a millennium, then showed up. And right before he did, the end truly began. Coincidence?]
The man ruffled his hair under the hood, groaning, then thrust out a hand. Fernandez instinctively grabbed it.
[Really won’t turn back, little human? The end’s no light matter. Odds of survival... zero. All I could do was hide here.]
“There are things more important than mere survival.”
[Good. That’s what you want, right? Jotun?]
Loft, perched unscathed on shattered pillar, grinned and nodded.
“Looks perfect. Aesir, human, Jotun, dragon, beastkin, falcon... Enough to hunt Jörmungandr, no? Friends?”
Loft cackled.