Into the Lair of the Commander of Solitude
I tore through the massive labyrinth and pushed deeper into the abyss. It was literally an abyss—a world where nothing could be seen, where only pitch blackness existed. That son of a bitch Bete and his rotten personality. I couldn’t see a damn thing and it was frustrating enough to make me want to die, yet he’d planted traps all over the place. Of course, I wasn’t stupid enough to fall for them. My presence detection wasn’t that pathetic. I was waiting for the moment this golem bastard’s face would finally show itself. The bastard hiding his body in the darkness was avoiding my gaze. The second he appeared again, I’d rip his entire body to shreds—just like he’d torn apart the hearts of those warriors.
Red eyes glowed within the darkness. Crash! The undead holding a sword and shield radiated purple void energy. It charged straight forward. Its sword came crashing down toward my head while the shield slammed toward my abdomen. I stepped back and deflected its sword strike, then released a blast of frost from the Shield of Frost.
"...Is that you, Sleem?"
“Yeah, it’s your old friend, you son of a bitch. How does it feel seeing a shield made from your friend’s skull?”
“He was not my friend. I never had friends. Even now… I am lonely.”
Good grief, what a pathetic loser. I genuinely thought so. If he could openly admit he had no friends, then what else could he be but a loser?
“…And yet you shouted it right in front of us.”
Like this. Pitifully. Dying alone. Unlike monsters—you called yourselves victors!
“…And you mocked me. Your warriors died? What do you want me to do about it? You were the one who provoked me first.”
“Fuck your mother. What kind of nonsense is this golem bastard spouting?”
“…How unbecoming of a hero. That vulgar mouth of yours is no different from the filthy dick of that barbarian who called himself a hero.”
The bastard had crossed the line. My noble mouth? How dare he compare it to something as disgusting as Ragner’s filthy dickhead. I’d been holding back because the coward kept hiding his body, but now he’d finally gone too far.
“You son of a bitch. What the hell did your parents teach you for shit like that to come out of your mouth?”
“…I will kill you. You will not be able to live a solitary life alongside us.”
“I wouldn’t live a life like that anyway, and I sure as hell won’t be joining you.”
More than anything—
“What kind of situation is it when someone who isn’t lonely claims to be lonely?”
To be honest, I thought they were all frauds. Think about it. Dozens, hundreds, thousands of them living huddled together, yet they claim to be lonely. Oh my god, fuck off. Who the hell do they think they’re kidding?
“I hate you guys. If you’re lonely, just stay lonely. But no, you always have to drag others in with you.”
How many people had they corrupted by doing that? Too many to count. Great warriors who could never reach the place they were meant to go, trapped forever in Helheim. Did they even understand those warriors’ wishes? They were people who had sworn to fight their entire lives. People who had promised to meet a noble death on the battlefield someday, to feast with the gods and enjoy endless battles.
They had turned them into berserkers. Into harlots. You people are truly vile. You only see your own circumstances and act like everyone else’s misfortune has nothing to do with you. No—you in particular…!
“I fucking hate you.”
“…The feeling is mutual.”
“You know that thing I heard until I was sick of it for two whole years.”
Collective responsibility.
“All of you need to be punished.”
Someday. A god would descend and punish you. The warriors who entered Valhalla would become Einherjar and tear you apart. Giants would gather in Jotunheim, and every Einherjar in Valhalla would be summoned. Yes, someday you would receive your punishment. When gods and giants swung their fists and lightning spears, when Jormungandr and the hammer of thunder rampaged. Loki’s children would be defeated.
Those were the words Fina had whispered in her sleep long ago. As the Saintess, she kept reciting someone’s prophecy, and it was the prophecy of Ragnarok.
“You will lose.”
“…That tongue of yours is long.”
“If you’re upset, try cutting it off.”
I leveled Mistilteinn at him. A smirk formed on my lips, looking down on him. Silence fell. He simply glared at me. I kept provoking him, waiting for him to come closer.
“…I will kill you.”
Nice. The idiot actually took the bait?
The sound of rumbling thunder rolled out as his thorn-covered sword collided with my Mistilteinn amid red lightning.
As he spread his arms, a legion burst out from within his cloak of void. Emaciated to the point of grotesqueness—undead that were the upper-rank monsters of Helheim. Bete.
See? He’s calling his friends to gang up on me. This bastard isn’t lonely at all, is he? That whole “dying alone” thing was a lie, wasn’t it?
“Odin’s grace shall be with me!”
I swung my sword in a continuous barrage of strikes. Blood sprayed everywhere. The runes on Mistilteinn reacted. The clash between the thorn sword and the holy sword began to shatter his lair. Wherever the blades bounced off, small black spots appeared, growing larger and evoking the primordial void of Ginnungagap.
It exploded.
The shockwave sent us both flying. We stabbed our swords into the ground and held on tight, bracing ourselves so we wouldn’t be blown away. It allowed us to clash on equal footing. He moved without the slightest hesitation. I was slightly impressed by his clean, unadorned sword dance.
What exactly was Bete? Weren’t they cultists who spouted bullshit logic and dragged people in as undead? I thought he was all talk, but his skills were actually pretty decent. Was he a warrior in life? That bastard’s using cheats. This is basically his second playthrough.
Still, that was all he had. His power was no different from the other legion commanders. Dangerous enough, but I could hold my own. In the end, if either of us got our core pierced, we’d die. He started using tricks, sending his legion forward in an unfair way that prevented me from closing in.
“Kieeeeeeek!”
The undead’s screams rang in my ears. There were easily a hundred of them. The number of times they rushed me with their claws outstretched was a hundred. The number of times I tore their necks apart in irritation was also a hundred. Pure white flashes shattered their heads.
Odin’s divine punishment. In game terms, it was like a passive with a cooldown. Lightning personally delivered by the divine entity known as Odin. It reminded me of Gungnir. The lightning spear shot forth, and I dashed through the gap.
Crunch!Crackle! I pierced through its head and high-density electricity electrocuted its entire body. They couldn’t regain their senses. There was no way they could. For lowly monsters to withstand a god’s divine punishment was practically an insult to the gods themselves.
“Let me see that face again, you son of a bitch.”
“…I am lonely. I am alone. And you mocked us for it.”
The undead revealed the body it had hidden in the darkness. The void energy sank heavily. Ominous, ice-cold purple energy enveloped both the thorn sword and the bastard himself.
Crunch. Crunch! It swallowed him whole like teeth. The void energy that had devoured his withered torso. What the hell was this situation? By the time I rubbed my eyes and opened them again—
“…Die.”
The void energy had become Bete’s bones and flesh. Purple armor turned the withered undead into a death knight. A literal knight of death. He displayed the dignity of a legion commander who served the Demon King Hel.
“Oh my god, fuck. You even transform?”
This wasn’t Lineage. Didn’t he know NCSoft’s stock had plummeted lately? Transformations were taboo now.
The void Bete glared at me. It had been a while since I’d felt such blatant killing intent and rage directed at me. The feeling was mutual. This bastard deserved to die. For the sake of soothing the hearts of those great warriors, he had to die.
Gulp. I swallowed involuntarily. The spirit I felt from him was overwhelming. The heavy solitude pressing down on my shoulders screamed at me.
—You will be lonely. Someday you will be left all alone.
“Bullshit.”
I wouldn’t be left alone. I had already promised two women that I would share my future with them. I knew his whispers were nonsense. I knew. I knew… and yet the future he showed me dug deep into my heart.
It was despair. A future I didn’t want, a future that would never happen. The two women leaving, me returning to Earth alone. The ending where Ragnarok occurred and everyone died. The ending where I failed to protect my comrades and survived alone. Wouldn’t I someday become that person, tormented by the fear that it might happen?
The me from that time had been so… lonely.
“So what?”
“…What?”
“I wondered what you were going to show me, but it was all just illusions.”
Am I lonely right now? Is Ragnarok going to happen? Are my comrades going to die?
“You dumbass. The comrades you showed me—”
Ragner, Fina, Lunaris.
“—are none of my business.”
It actually felt refreshing. Thanks to that, my muddled mind cleared up. Ragner screaming, Fina begging for forgiveness, Lunaris weeping bitterly and bowing her head to the god she never believed in.
“Puhuhuhuhu.”
Thanks to that, I felt energized enough to swing my sword again. After transforming, all he could do was shake my emotions? If that was the case, he needed to step down from his position as legion commander.
“Sleem wasn’t as cowardly as you.”
The material for the Shield of Frost. Sleem’s skull. The head of the Commander of the Frozen Legion.
“See this?”
I pounded the shield with my fist. The sound rang out. It was a Viking-like gesture, the trace of a warrior. It was a tribute to the great warriors watching from Valhalla.
“This is your future, you idiot.”
I raised my middle finger and taunted him. And then—
“…You will die by my hand!”
“Fucking bullshit.”
The void Bete had fallen for the provocation.
A flash of light slammed down. A thick roar of light reminiscent of Mjolnir. The heavy, powerful strike crushed the thick fog of void. Thud! The holy sword of light pierced through his core. The straight beam of light tore through his five viscera and six entrails.
“…Cough!”
“Huff, huff. The son of a bitch is finally dying.”
The void Bete, who had charged at me like a zombie even after having his body torn apart, had been incredibly strong. Honestly, I regretted running my mouth so much. Once provoked, he had swung his thorn sword without mercy. The aftermath left me with more wounds, severed veins, and spilled organs. I had to cauterize the torn flesh with fire. It was a miracle I was still alive. This too must have been fate. Odin must have decided it wasn’t yet time for me to die. So this is how religions are born. Realizing and believing in the existence of a god filled me with strength.
“Cough…”
Walking hurt. It hurt like hell. It felt like my entire body was pierced with thorns.
I shouldn’t have run my mouth.
My honest impression. Still, if I hadn’t done that, the bastard would never have come out of the shadows. I knelt down with difficulty and grabbed the holy sword.
“Odin, your warriors await the opening of the gates of heaven.”
I whispered to Mistilteinn, which was covered in sticky black blood. It felt disgustingly viscous. The undead glared at me until the very end and shed tears of blood.
“…Am I to face death alone once again?”
Was I not even in his eyes? Even an enemy was still company, so he wasn’t truly alone. The solitary death he spoke of was, after all… dying together. When my holy sword grazed his neck and his thorn sword pierced my organs, I saw the void Bete’s face. A faint smile lingered there. What a bastard until the very end. If he wasn’t a psychopath, I didn’t know what he was.
…At the very least, he was stronger than Sleem and far more cruel than the other legion commanders. His unfocused eyes still trembled. I dragged my battered body through the darkness, illuminating the black space and grabbing his head.
“Even if you’re going, you should at least give me something before you leave.”
“…What do you want? I need no mercy. If you truly need a companion—”
“Companion suicide? Sit down and shut up.”
More importantly, why was this dying bastard talking so much? Void energy swirled around the gasping undead. I slapped his cheek and said,
“Hey! Snap out of it.”
I still had questions.
“Cough! You… trash…”
“Shut up. Answer only what I ask.”
“…Kuh.”
I grabbed his purple core with one hand and squeezed. A threat. No matter if he was a legion commander, a monster was still a monster. If the vessel holding his soul broke, he would die.
“Why do you bastards spread void energy in Midgard?”
Since I couldn’t find the investigation logs of the warrior corps, this was the most certain method. Threatening the person in question with their own heart in my hand. If he didn’t tell me, he would die. The bastard, now a tattered rag, showed fear in his eyes. I could tell by looking. They say the human eye is the mirror of the soul. Since he had been human in life, that hadn’t changed.
“Speak.”
“…Hero, what did you just say?”
“I asked why you’re spreading void energy in Midgard.”
“What is that—”
“Are you trying to cause the Void Festival?”
His body trembled. Then he clutched his forehead, chuckled, and—
“Kuhahahahahahaha!!”
He burst into mad laughter.
“What the hell? Is he crazy? What’s wrong with him?!”
“Heh heh, I see. So that’s how it is.”
He rose to his feet. My hand still held his core. The void Bete, who did not fear death, opened his mouth toward me.
“We did not spread the void.”
“What?”
He reached toward me and crushed his own core. Cough! Black blood poured from his throat. He had chosen death himself. He must have realized there was no hope left.
“One piece of advice. Beware the dragon that devours roots.”
Crunch. Crunch. He shattered the core.
[KYAAAAAAAAAAAK!]
The souls of the undead swirled, mourning their lord.
“Hey, explain properly before you go! What the hell is this—!”
“Hero. Struggle with all your might until the end. In the end, what will swallow the world is ‘void.’”
“Stop spouting incomprehensible bullshit and explain properly!”
I grabbed his collapsing body and shouted. I wanted to slap his cheek, but that would destroy the mouth he needed to speak. I never expected him to use this kind of method.
“…This is all I can tell you. If you wish to stop it, head to the heart of the World Tree.”
The World Tree Yggdrasil. Something lay beneath it. That was what Bete was telling me.
“I will watch from the end of the void. The future where you become lonely…!”
“That loser bastard! Hey! Where are you going?! Hey!”
Thud, thud, thud! The body of the void Bete withered and twisted. Losing its center, it fell and turned to ash.
“…Damn it.”
I wanted to hear the story until the end, but—
“Cough!”
I hadn’t died, but the wounds were too deep. Even shouting had been too much. My head spun wildly and throbbed. It felt like a giant was stomping on my brain.
“…Ha, fuck.”
I won, but nothing went right.