Chapter 198
Chapter 198
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 198
Chapter Title: Burning Yggdrasil (2)
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Loft grinned nonstop. Or at least, it looked that way. Abel couldn't read his expression.
Instead of eyes, there was a glowing gaze shining from beneath empty sockets. His lower jaw, more than half exposed without lips, could pass for either a smile or a snarl. And then there were the ornate engraved tattoos densely carved into his protruding bones.
Because of all that, Abel found him unsettling. At least, the Loft she remembered hadn't been like this. For someone who had ties to the Northern Pantheon, it wasn't easy to get used to his changes.
"Finally, we've made it here."
Loft said as he led the hawk onto one of Yggdrasil's massive branches. The hawk circled widely through the air before landing at the end of the branch. Thor rolled onto the branch with a somewhat pale face.
"Oh, was the flight a bit rough, friend?"
[I'll kill you. Kill you dead.]
"Sadly, I'm already dead!"
Loft chuckled and patted Thor's back. He soon turned his head to look down below the branch. Asgard, with the entire earth shattered and demons scattered in between... it was horrific.
It looked like a section of hell had been cut out and placed over it. Loft clicked his tongue cheerfully.
"There were a few sacrifices, but hey!"
"...A few?"
"Don't worry too much! Everything will proceed as it should."
"I'm just here to check on Karadphelin's well-being and then head straight back. I have things more important to me than Asgard's future."
"Haha, don't be so impatient! Love, it's love, my friend. I once had someone I loved too."
Loft's gaze gleamed as he suddenly burst into roaring laughter.
"When we walked together, time stood still, and when we lay together, it felt like the world was in my arms! This cold, dead heart once raced back then... But my friend, it was all an illusion. Just emotions destined to fade someday, time that would eventually wither."
"To hear a Jotun say that."
Abel glared at Loft with cold eyes. She leaped lightly from the hawk onto the branch.
"Jotun, Aesir, Vanir. Dragons and elves. Giants and gods. No matter what we are. We are long-lived races. Our time flows slowly, and light lingers in our hearts. A fragment of memory, a fragment of hope... We are beings who can endure the loneliness of our remaining years by forever savoring that one piece throughout our long lives."
"Touching. I mean it."
Loft shook his head as he said that.
"That must be why you've become so docile. Herald of Flame?"
"Isn't that an old nickname? If you're trying to embarrass me, mission accomplished."
"Well, you're right. We endure the rest of our time by savoring that one fragment of memory. For you, it was probably something soft and sweet, a cute little emotion... But not for me."
Loft cackled and turned his back. Abel could see the tattoos densely covering his broad back. Tattoos depicting all sorts of sinister spells. And beneath those tattoos... deep scars were visible.
Scars from whip lashes, burns from branding irons, mangled and crushed skin patches, and occasionally exposed bone. The tattoos also served to cover his scars.
Abel knew his true identity. She had once mingled with the Aesir. The clown and jester, the Jotun dropped into the heart of the Aesir. She knew of the countless abuses inflicted on the young hostage from an enemy nation.
Thus, his cheerfulness felt somehow twisted. Not the kind of humor that viewed life itself lightly, but something closer to a form of detachment.
"Stop eavesdropping and come out already. Heimdall. My friend."
"It took you long enough. Loki. Longer than your promised time."
"Yeah, yeah. Long time no see. Good to see you too."
-Swish.
From between Yggdrasil's lush leaves, a man slowly emerged. The man in heavy armor stood before Loki, staring at him silently. Fierce eyes gleamed from beneath his helmet's visor.
"I've seen your approach already. Loki, and the last moments of my brothers and father too."
"Everything will proceed according to Odin's plan."
"...And according to your plan as well, I suppose. I hope it proves beneficial for us all."
Heimdall gazed at Loki for a moment before nodding heavily. Soon, massive leaves and branches twisted on their own to form an arched gateway. They stepped inside.
* * *
"Kirhas, she's yours!"
"Yes, Silver Lord!"
The shortest distance, in the shortest time. It wasn't a mission with a strict time limit, but the longer it dragged on, the exponentially more disadvantageous the battlefield became.
The success of this operation hinged on Loft and Fernandez. They had to reach Yggdrasil before he opened all the gates of Bifrost and armies from each realm poured in.
The distance from Odin's court to Yggdrasil wasn't far. But demon encampments dotted the way in between, and slipping through the vast plains without engaging would be nearly impossible—not to mention a waste of time.
Thus, Fernandez and Kirhas chose to charge straight ahead. Directly toward Yggdrasil in a straight line!
-Xhiii-!
A scale-covered demon spotted them and shrieked. Soon, a small group that appeared to be scouts emerged. Each one was an elite, and by those standards, they were no less than the demons summoned by the Demdrizad Cult—but
'This isn't the Kirhas from back then.'
Time flows equally for everyone, but some spend it more 'equally' than others. The year a hero who dominates their generation spends growing isn't the same concept of time as an ordinary year.
In that sense, Kirhas's growth was not just dazzling but legendary. A year and a half ago, when she was rescued from the slave market, she was merely a beastkin with quick reflexes and sharp senses.
But now, she was the great chieftain of the Tiger Clan Union that dominated the Great Wilderness, a warrior without peer among her contemporaries.
Her innate talent and potential, superior training system, countless real battles, future combat experience and knowledge, and instincts awakened by her tribal god's choice!
"Kneel!!"
Kirhas leaped ahead of Fernandez, lowering her stance. Her turquoise eyes gleamed coldly yet fiercely, like a winter night's storm, as her hand softly gripped the sword hilt!
"The Lord's procession!"
'Ah, I never taught her that one.'
-Not just me feeling embarrassed, right?
Kirhas's black hair flowed like rapids. Her movements were lightning-fast, as if painting the wind with color. As she brushed past the demons, lightning seemed to flicker suddenly, and their heads flew through the air.
Blood sprayed, and the headless bodies staggered before collapsing. By then, Kirhas was already beyond them.
"Silver Lord!!"
"Yeah... well done."
She perked up her ears as if asking for praise, so he gave her a word. Fernandez chuckled and stepped over the demon corpses. To preserve his combat strength, he had left all engagements during the march to Kirhas.
And every time they encountered demons.
"Kneel!! Kneel!!"
Kirhas shouted excitedly. She looked like a hunting dog dropping prey on the ground and wagging its tail, so Fernandez couldn't bring himself to stop her.
'Well, relieving stress is important too.'
-What about our stress?
'Mine doesn't drop in performance just because it's building up.'
-Damn Demonicas.
Feizashi grumbled.
* * *
As they walked through the gates of Bifrost, Heimdall suddenly nodded. He looked at Loft and murmured lowly.
"The mortals you brought. Impressive."
"Oh, checked already?"
"No way to miss them coming in so noisily. Every demon on those plains has their eyes turned that way now."
"Not dangerous?"
When Abel asked worriedly, Heimdall chuckled.
"Dangerous? Doubt it. That woman with Fenrir. That mortal's quite the piece of work."
"Our Kirhas is capable, after all."
Abel smiled softly and nodded. As long as Fernandez and Kirhas were both safe, that was a relief at least.
After some time, a gateway emitting pure white light appeared before them. As they stared at it, Thor—who had been walking silently—shuddered.
[Karadphelin's sanctuary... It's been a while.]
"You should've visited more often."
A deep baritone voice echoed from beyond the gate.
"Come in. Sorry I can't greet you properly."
The gateway's light slowly faded, revealing what lay beyond. Green fields and clear skies, a silver river flowing smoothly like mercury. A massive lake where the waters gathered, and atop it, a pristine white altar.
They passed through the gate and headed toward the voice. A long white wooden bridge adorned with beautiful reliefs stretched across the lake, leading to the altar floating leisurely on the mercury surface.
The chirping of birds and the gentle wind rustling leaves felt unreal. Completely different from Asgard beyond the gate... like a true paradise.
A strange mana infused with divinity flowed through the air. The fatigue from their journey melted away languidly, and the tension around the group began to ease.
"Come here. I'd like to offer you something to drink... but all I have is mercury. Don't drink it; it's not good for you."
"You've gotten funnier since I last saw you, Karadphelin?"
"All I can do now is crack jokes."
As the group reached the middle of the bridge, the interior of the altar came into view. A man knelt there, bathed in sunlight shattering into pure white. Long golden hair, blindingly radiant, draped over his face.
No, he wasn't kneeling. The man was half-buried in the white wooden altar. Abel hurried toward him in alarm.
"What is this...? Karadphelin!"
"Oh, Abelsas. Good to see you alive, my sister."
"What happened?"
As she strode toward him, he waved her back.
"Don't come closer. It could be dangerous."
"...You sealed yourself?"
"I couldn't hold back anymore."
-Swish.
He lifted his head, his hair parting to reveal his face. Abel gasped sharply and stepped back.
"Y-Your face...!"
"I know. Not a pretty sight, huh?"
In contrast to his gem-like sparkling white skin, dark red scales mottled his face like tumors. His right eye was sky-blue like Abel's, but the other burned with sticky red-black flames like smoldering embers.
With pupils slit long like a reptile's, he looked up at Abel with a sad smile.
"The seal weakened recently. Loki, seems the promised time has come."
"...Friend. Can you forgive me?"
"Is there anything to forgive? Fate cannot be defied."
Karadphelin smiled softly. Loft approached him slowly, his gaze flickering.
"Fate... No, I was the one who corrupted Sadarkelia, and you were merely caught in it, a victim."
"That was fate too. You corrupting her, this once-beautiful land being defiled."
"Thanks for the comfort."
Loft slowly reached into his bosom. A dagger emerged in his hand. Seeing this, Heimdall said in confusion.
"Wait, what are you doing? Weren't you here to reinforce the seal?"
"We came to avert Ragnarok."
"Right! That was Father's plan! Killing that dragon now stops Ragnarok? If that dragon dies...!"
"I know. Jormungandr awakens. That serpent's seal is in this friend's heart."
Loft aimed the dagger at Karadphelin's throat.
"And to avert Ragnarok... Ragnarok must first occur. Friend."
With that declaration, Loft swung the dagger. No sound of flesh tearing, no death rattle from a pierced throat. Just the whistle of air.
"Don't forgive me, friend. You've suffered these past thousand years."
-Rumble!!
With those words, vibrations began shaking the altar on the lake.