Chapter 194
Chapter 194
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 194
Chapter Title: Midgardorm (3)
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[Why the hell do I have to go through this?!]
A booming voice echoed from beneath the wings. Even amid the raging winds, the man's shout rang out clear and loud. Hearing it, Loft burst into laughter.
"Brother! Maybe you should've lost some weight over the past millennium! Isn't it because you're too damn big to ride on Hresvelgr's back!"
[It's not fat, it's muscle. Shut your trap!]
"Wow, telling me to shut up the moment I speak—can't even get a word in!"
Loft chuckled as he patted the eagle's neck. The eagle let out a sharp *screech* and veered sharply, shaking its body.
[I'm gonna puke!!]
"An Aesir like you, seasick! Want me to brew some water hemlock root tea? Huh?"
A low rumble answered Loft's words. A bolt of lightning shot down from between the clouds, striking Loft square in the back. Loft yelped in panic.
"Brother! If Hresvelgr drops you, you're dead!"
[Then I'll take this damn beast down with me!]
Their banter had been like this the entire flight. Fernandez shook his head with a sigh. The eagle was plenty big, but Loft insisted there was no room on its back for a giant, forcing the man to dangle from the eagle's talons.
The man flew along like that, swinging helplessly, bellowing every time Loft or the eagle shook playfully.
Kirhas let out a low chuckle as she listened to their exchange. That was a relief. It meant her soul hadn't been corrupted by hell's mana.
"Kirhas, you alright?"
"Yes, this is nothing."
A tough one. Fernandez started to stroke her hair but pulled his hand back. It wouldn't be appropriate, and knowing her feelings, it might even exploit her.
-Foolish sentimentality.
'Isn't it the age for such things?'
Feizashi cackled. Soon, the eagle soared above the clouds. Thick clouds spread out below like a vast plain or sea baked under the red sunset.
Mid-flight, Loft shouted.
"Get ready!"
"We're still far off."
"Monsters fly around near Yggdrasil—air's dangerous! Hresvelgr or I might survive, but you lot can't fly!"
Loft patted the eagle's neck as he spoke. The eagle gave a long cry and began descending below the clouds.
The sheer speed made his head spin. Fernandez wiped the mist clinging to his cheeks and hair, glaring ahead. Rain poured below the clouds.
-Rumble!
Lightning scattered everywhere as storm winds howled. Darkness blanketed the area below the clouds—not just night, but the shadow cast by Yggdrasil's massive branches, now much closer.
And far below, a shattered plain with flowing lava came into view, dotted with countless tents.
Lava flowed like torches, tents clustered around the glow. Not a style common in the material world. But Fernandez recognized it.
Demidraco battle tents. Their war camp stretched out beneath them. The demons' legions were preparing for war.
'A gateway.'
-Not to the material world.
'Probably... a gate leading to other demons' territories.'
Loft had said the Bifrost gate crossed dimensions. Not a one-way door to a specific realm, but something that pierced dimensional walls, creating fixed rifts.
If not limited to the material world, Bifrost gates could be the primary means for warring with other demons' domains.
And greater demons were never allies. Hell divided into four major factions in endless war—a constant conflict even during the apocalypse when demons overran the material world.
Wars called the Blood Wars raged eternally across Hell since creation. Eternal strife between demon factions.
Here in Asgard, it served as Sadarkelia's forward base.
'How the hell is Karadphelin still sealing Sadarkelia?'
-Sadarkelia's seal was made by the Holy Pantheon of Good Gods. Not something puny lesser demons could break.
'The moment Sadarkelia broke her seal in my past life...'
-Only when Karadphelin died. Yeah, probably the heavenly dragon's life was the seal's condition.
The eagle flew lower, stirring commotion on the ground. Even flying through thick shadows, they couldn't evade demon eyes. Horns and trumpets began blaring in pursuit.
"Isn't this too noisy?"
"Bofn's palace is close! We'll get spotted anyway—break through as fast as possible!"
The eagle picked up speed. Spears and arrows from below bounced off wingbeats or sailed into the night sky.
-Screeech!
The eagle screeched sharply. Fierce flaps shattered clouds, revealing the sunset. A beam of light stretched across the dark plain like a long road carved through or a meteor skimming low.
Far ahead loomed a massive fortress. Built of stone and steel near Yggdrasil's roots, it towered. Not too close yet, but at this speed, arrival seemed imminent.
"Hresvelgr! Above!"
-Screeech!!
Suddenly, the eagle cried out. Clouds tore open directly ahead, a scaled foot lunging down. As the eagle twisted to evade, the foot from the clouds seized its neck.
"Nidhogg!! Why at this altitude!"
-Boom!
The abrupt halt nearly flung them off. Fernandez gripped the eagle's feathers with one hand, yanking Abel behind him with the other and glancing back. Darkness, rain, and chaos shook his vision.
'Damn it.'
Hard to grasp the situation fully. The eagle thrashed to free its neck; from the riders' perch in mid-air, orientation was impossible.
[Aaaargh!!]
The man in the talons roared. Fernandez held Abel tight, bracing his legs.
"Abel, trust me?"
"O-Of course!"
"Stay still!"
No time for more. He hoisted Abel into the air with one hand. Kirhas clung desperately to her back, panting. Rain-slick feathers slipped from her grasp.
"Grab on!"
"I-I can't let go!"
-Screeech!
Eagle cries, fierce flaps, incoming spears and arrows, vision lurching like nausea... Fernandez gritted his teeth and swung his arm hard.
"Eek!"
He slammed Abel back onto the eagle, using the momentum to leap into the air. As he released her to grab Kirhas—
"Eeeeek!"
The eagle twisted wildly, flinging Kirhas skyward. Time seemed to freeze, everything slowing. Her fingertips grazed his just before slipping past.
Her terrified eyes and desperate hands flashed by. Fernandez eyed his grasping hand and the distance to the ground.
A fatal height. Could he? No time to think. He couldn't lose Kirhas here.
-No.
'I have to save Kirhas.'
-That woman's a tool. Risking your life for a tool is idiot behavior. We needed her only as a shield against Karadskar's northern advance. That's no reason to die.
Reasons matter more than goals. Words he'd told her back when he first saved her, in last year's underground aqueduct. But then's Fernandez and Kirhas were different from now's.
In the sluggishly flowing time, Fernandez sighed shortly. He whispered to Abel.
"See you below. Land safely."
"...F-Fernandez? Fernandez!!"
He kicked off the eagle's side, diving toward the ground. Idiot. Dullard. Blind fool. Feizashi grumbled endlessly. But no time to argue—or words to.
"Kirhas!!"
He shouted for her to look. Survival instincts screamed as the ground neared, goosebumps rising. Kirhas plummeted, screaming.
Fool. At least brace for landing properly. Not that it'd help much.
"Grab—on—!"
"My lord!!"
Her eyes widened at his call. No time to think. Grab her hand, yank her up with all strength!
"My lord! Why!"
"Didn't I say use me as a tool!"
"Y-Yes?"
Ground rushed up. Fernandez cradled Kirhas with one arm, twisting his body. Blood surged through muscles, survival instincts pounding his heart, spiking blood pressure. Adrenaline pumped; time slowed further, intensely.
Could he? No—must. Minimize sacrifice, maximize purpose. That was his mage's creed, accepting necessary losses without hesitation.
"Trading a useless tool for a more vital one!"
Not to Kirhas—to Feizashi. Who grumbled lowly.
-I'm you, Fernandez. So it's just self-justification.
He clutched Kirhas tight, twisting with all might. Powerful core, solid muscles, blood flow surging. Perfect momentum and timing! His right arm loaded the strike of a lifetime—
-Boom!
He smashed the ground! Earth cratered, body rebounding. Dispersing impact maximally, he crashed hard. Amid it, Kirhas slipped from his left hand, tumbling across the dirt.
Briefly, shock scrambled nerves, blurring vision. Guts ruptured, blood surged up his throat. No feeling in his right arm. A glance: utterly shattered.
Couldn't rise. Fall's shock ravaged him; surviving limbs twitched sporadically.
'Fucking hurts.'
He flexed fingers joint by joint, slowly reviving sensation. Good—they moved. Minimal damage for a bare fall from that height. Demonica strength impressed; he'd absorbed the impact with one fist.
Thus, his right arm... ceased function. Fernandez decided that. All tools had utility limits; his arm had reached it.
Far off, Kirhas staggered over. Seeing him limp and bleeding, she started sobbing.
"My lord, why. Why..."
Her trembling hands stroked his slumped shoulder and mangled arm. Fernandez smiled faintly at the sight.
"My sword."
"Y-Yes?"
"Bring my sword. Kirhas. We're in the heart of enemy territory."
He propped up his torso with effort. Muscles failed normally; body powerless. Ruptured organs leaked blood, breathing labored.
But he couldn't stop. He'd never stagnated in life. Fernandez smiled at Kirhas's distraught face.
"Now you'll replace my right arm."
"Gladly. Yes, gladly..."
Kirhas nodded through tears, gathering his scattered gear. Her self-blaming face so pitiful, his hand rose instinctively.
As she equipped his armor piece by piece, he nearly stroked her hair—but stopped. Was this leaving 'room'? Exploiting her love?
Then, cool slender fingers covered his. Kirhas gazed at him, expression unreadable—smile or sob? She placed his hand on her hair herself, guiding it to stroke.
"Throwing yourself to save me, then acting like this now... it's cowardly, my lord."
"Kirhas."
"I've become your arm. I'll live and die by your side, same day, same place. Get up. I'll be with you."
Kirhas gripped his hand, helping him rise. Bofn's fortress loomed nearby.