Helheim (1)
I really am trash. I openly declared that I was going to have my cake and eat it too. What a crazy bastard. And I said it right in front of the duke who had proposed an engagement! That I would take both his daughter and her maid as my wives. Even though it wouldn’t be right now, I declared that once everything was over, I would do exactly that. And right now…
“Aaaaaaaaagh!”
I was having another seizure today. Honestly, I think it was a brilliant idea. It was the only way for everyone to be happy without anyone getting hurt. I hadn’t shown it on the outside, but I had thought about it over and over again. Then when Kandel demanded a clear answer, I just blurted it out. The fact that I acted that way showed just how much those two meant to me.
If Kandel hadn’t pushed for confirmation, I probably would have kept our relationship vague and left. Only a goodbye that left no one happy. I hated that. Marriage didn’t have to happen right now. Even though that damn old fart Kandel mocked me for being a virgin wizard, there were still too many things I had to do. Still, one thing was certain—I had accepted their feelings.
“...Huh?”
It felt like a suppressor had been released. Why did my heart feel so light? It was comparable to the feeling I had when I ran away from the hero’s party. Like a baby bird that had finally succeeded in flapping its wings for the first time. When I thought back to how I had shaken off Seria’s seduction last time, I really did think I might be a eunuch. Was there really an idiot who would throw away an opportunity even when it was handed to him? Who the hell was that? What a fucking loser.
“Wait… that’s me.”
Fuck.
*
It was early morning. Birds were chirping and the sun was just beginning to rise. I let out a big yawn, unable to hide my exhaustion. We grabbed the horses’ reins and slowly led them out of the stable.
“...My lady, please be careful. Stay close to the hero at all times. The duke does not wish to see you get hurt.”
“Don’t worry. It’s not like I’m going once or twice.”
When Seria asked back, “You’re not worried about me?” Isabel waved her hands frantically. She repeated herself in a tone full of concern.
“But… this is Helheim we’re talking about.”
Helheim. A place humans called a demonic realm. To the Vikings, it was one of two possible afterlives. They believed it was where warriors who didn’t die in battle and those who had lost their honor went. And that was true. The deepest abyss of Helheim was filled with Chaos Berserkers—souls of Vikings corrupted by the void.
Riana naturally grabbed the horse’s reins and mounted up. She stretched, loosening her stiff body. It was still early morning. The time when bodies were at their stiffest and most tired. Kandel was probably still asleep. No father would stay calm knowing his precious daughter was heading into a demonic realm. That was why Seria had suggested we leave early.
The reason we were heading to Helheim was simple. It was because the king had personally ordered an investigation into the source of the void energy. Whatever the higher-ups told you to do, you had to do it. That was the same whether on Earth or in this other world. If they said jump, you jumped. If they had told me there was no way to return home, I would have quit being a hero and gone on a nice trip instead. But since they said they would grant my wish, I had to work. Unpaid labor. It’s not like heroes are volunteer workers.
“What exactly did the king say?”
“Just to find out where the void energy that’s spreading its roots is coming from.”
“Hmm… What about the warrior corps or the knight order?”
“They’ve already been dispatched, so we’ll probably run into them when we arrive?”
I should pray they haven’t been wiped out. If they’ve been torn apart by the hands of the dead, all I can do is offer my condolences. I hope they’re opening the gates of Valhalla, sharing drinks with the gods.
I sheathed the Holy Sword after finishing its maintenance and climbed into the carriage. Personally, I was curious whether the Void Festival would begin, but… well, I’d find out once I beat up the Legion Commanders. Even without Ragner, Fina, and Lunaris helping me, I was the one who had beaten Legion Commanders before. Of course, I nearly died doing it.
The last Legion Commander we had discovered. At the same time, the one that the party members without me had failed to defeat. Its name was the Commander of Solitude, ‘Void Bete.’ A nasty bastard who, grieving his own solitude, dragged others into loneliness with him. In other words, a zombie-like virus spreader. The method of transmission was auditory. It was in the creature’s voice.
That was why I had asked that old fart Rynor if he had any sound-related scrolls… Fuck. Five hundred shillings? What the hell? That deaf bastard Kanf was charging an arm and a leg. The scroll I bought was two hundred shillings. That was enough money to live on for two months.
“My stomach’s full. Very…”
I’ll remember this. Ptui!
With that, I attached the Shield of Frost to the horse’s barding. When I turned around, my eyes met Isabel’s, who had approached without me noticing. Eyes the same soft pink as her hair. They were staring straight into mine.
“...Ah.”
“Haha…”
A silence fell between us. The sound of our pounding hearts felt louder than anything else. Isabel, meeting my gaze, gently stroked her ring finger with a faint smile. She hid her embarrassment while wearing an expression of pure happiness.
“The meaning of this ring has come true.”
“...Not yet, though.”
“But once everything is over, it will truly have meaning, right?”
“That’s right.”
Just thinking about it made me feel good. Isabel smiled softly. She was so honest—it was adorable.
“...B-be careful out there.”
“Of course.”
As expected, this change in attitude was because of yesterday’s declaration. It was clearly because of my decision. To be honest, Seria had cheered, while an awkwardness lingered between Isabel and me. Seria had always been the type to do anything for me, so that was fine. Isabel was a woman who had been forbidden from showing her emotions. I had told her not to hide them in front of me, but it seemed that wasn’t easy. Still, this much was already a huge improvement. At least we both agreed that we cared about each other.
Honestly, I felt like I had made up my mind a bit too quickly, but… well, what can you do? A person’s heart is like a reed. What? You’re asking if a woman’s heart isn’t the same? Isn’t that just song lyrics? Let’s just move on.
Seeing Isabel like this made my heart feel warm from the morning. I felt energized. For someone who used to be called a morning zombie, this was an excessively good start to the day.
“Then I’ll be going now.”
“Be careful! You too, my lady.”
“I told you not to worry so much.”
“...Hehe.”
Had our relationship improved compared to before? At least it felt like we had returned to the time when we got along well, which put my mind at ease. My declaration yesterday must have played a huge part.
“It’s still dawn, so it’s cold. Let’s go back inside now.”
“Y-you’re worrying too much.”
“You complain even when I worry about you…”
“...Hmph.”
Even as she said that, Isabel smiled while gently stroking my finger. Seria, who had approached at some point, wore a displeased expression.
“Haha…”
I slowly stroked her pure white hair. She subtly leaned into me like a cat.
“Let’s get going, hero.”
“Yeah, we should. Oh, Riana. Take this.”
I tossed a silver ore to Riana. As she reached out to catch the arcing stone—
“Hwaaang…!”
“You fucking idiot. You deliberately twisted your hand just now, didn’t you?”
“T-to be insulted with a stone and curses… Hero! This is the best…!”
When I ignored her completely, she got excited and cried, “N-neglect play…♥” Just as expected. I let out a sigh toward Riana.
“Haa…”
“Stop it. Just stop.”
She picked up the ore with trembling hands. The shaking finally stopped. She even frowned, seemingly startled.
“A rune?”
Her eyes sparkled as she murmured in a slightly higher voice. The stone was engraved with the rune for Sharpness. It was what people commonly called a crafting stone. The price was fifty shillings—a rather expensive stone—but it was worth every penny. Riana’s axe blade was quite worn down. Rather than getting a new weapon, it was better to make do with simple engraving for now. We could make a new weapon later using monster remains from the demonic realm.
The place we were going wasn’t somewhere ordinary warriors or adventurers could venture. It was the inner depths of a true hell, where extreme terror reigned.
“Engrave it on the axe. You know how to do simple engraving, right?”
“Hmph, I’m not an idiot like that honorless Ragner.”
“Then that’s good.”
Riana’s smug expression just made her look like a total fool. The fact that she was smarter than Ragner was honestly more surprising.
“I heard it was expensive. Thank you, hero.”
“It’s nothing. I’m investing because I believe you’ll earn your keep.”
“Whatever the reason, thanks are thanks.”
Riana immediately applied the crafting stone to her massive axe. You might think “applying a stone” sounds ridiculous, but it really did slide on smoothly. Like brushing oil onto roasted seaweed. She pushed it gently across the surface. Then the engraved rune transferred onto the axe.
Srrrrng—
It glowed. The Sharpness rune began to change the axe’s form. This was the product of the wisdom Odin had realized.
“Then I shall pray for your safe return.”
Isabel waved her hand. We smiled back in response to her farewell.
We passed the rotten roots of Yggdrasil, crossed Ludrick Kingdom, and traversed the grasslands. We went through Jotunheim and pierced through the darkness of Niflheim. In the distance, we could hear the cries of Nidhogg wailing from Niflheim’s ‘Hvergelmir (the spring of origin).’ Our party held our breath and rode hard. We shook the horses’ reins. That giant dragon’s fangs were venomous, so we had to be careful. The reason Yggdrasil’s roots were rotting was because that thing fed on them.
A day passed like that, and we finally set foot into the demonic realm. Not the entrance that many adventurers visited, but a deeper gate to hell. The gatekeeper of Helheim was waiting for us.
Rumble—
I pushed open the massive gate with familiarity.
“[Kieeeeeeeeeek!]”
“Prepare for battle.”
The screams of the dead rang sharply in our ears. A purple world filled our vision. It was nauseating.
“Hold on!”
Riana’s shout snapped Seria back to her senses. She braced herself so she wouldn’t become a burden. No matter how strong she was, Kandel would never have allowed her to come to a place like this.
“[Kieeeeeeeeeek!]”
“[Hu...man. Hu...man!]”
Bete. These were monsters born from the vengeful spirits of pitiful beings who died in solitude and fell into Helheim. Yes, they tempted people’s hearts. They were creatures full of the desire to show others the same loneliness and turn them into their own kind. It was also Seria’s weakness. But right now, that didn’t matter. Because we had the best tanker to handle them.
“Go, Rianamon!”
“Come at me! Everyone, come to this lewd Valkyrie!”
Riana charged forward and took them all on by herself. Seeing that, I unleashed the Holy Sword’s radiance and ran. Seria drew her sword beside me with lightning speed. With a straight-line slash, she severed their necks. Five consecutive strikes—Stardust. In an instant, she drew a constellation of stars and slaughtered them, then pierced their hearts to extract magic stones.
“...That’s brutal.”
I’d better watch my words around her.
“[Hea...lthy.]”
“[You too... together. Fri...end.]”
“Ugh, their breath smells like ass. Don’t these bastards brush their teeth?”
Are they shitting out of their mouths? The stench is fucking awful.
Riana also seemed to be struggling to hold them back and started smashing their skulls. Their dried-up bodies made it hard to land solid punches. Instead, Riana slashed them with the axe she had applied the Sharpness rune to.
Splat—
From their slightly severed necks, black blood spurted out. The creatures began to panic. They scattered in all directions.
“You scared?”
“[...Friend...you...same kind...]”
“[...Become?]”
I had no idea what they were babbling about, but this kind of intense welcome was actually a little welcome. This was how a demonic realm should be. Where the dead swarmed the living, and a Legion Commander’s power reigned supreme. A filthy, ugly place.
As expected, they didn’t even give us time to get into position before charging.
“Tsk! So rude!”
That was a perfect report. They looked exactly like Yorick’s ghouls from League of Legends. I gave them a little attention and now they’re crawling all over me. They were just a numbers-based mob anyway. No different from the Zerg in Starcraft. Still, there were quite a lot of them, huh?
“Don’t worry! I’m here!”
“So reliable, Riana!”
“Hehe, this much… is nothing!”
She held firm against the combined weight of the swarm. Her solid muscles were clearly visible. And now was the moment! I had been waiting for this perfect timing. Ever since I was seven years old, my dream was to become a Pokémon Master. And during high school, I was the Gym Leader of my neighborhood in Pokémon GO! Don’t underestimate me!
“Now’s the time, Rianamon! Ultimate Body Slam!”