Product of the Void (1)
Between hair as black as the depths of space, a pair of flying-squirrel ears poked out. Patches of void armor clung sparsely to his body. A pure white sword, shaped from teeth and claws. Red veins that looked like tattoos ran across his skin. Legion Commander Ratatoskr flashed a sly, mocking smile in my direction.
“Khuhuhu. Quite the sight. Yes, indeed.”
“Of what?”
“The pathetic whimpering after you lost the Holy Sword.”
He giggled, openly laughing at me. The bastard was laughing. At me! That motherfucking son of a bitch who acted like he had a mother was laughing at me!
Losing the Holy Sword and no longer being able to leech Odin’s buffs had left me with a mountain of complaints about this absolute shit situation. And this asshole decides to pick a fight? Are you a mage? The Saintess? Planning to fill in for them? No! So why the hell are you starting shit with me?!
I raised Nidhogg’s Fang toward him. The predatory Dragon Fear sank its teeth violently into my arm. It was stifling, but I had to endure it. This was what five stacks of sword energy felt like. It wasn’t past the point I could bear. I hid the pain and smirked.
At the sight, Ratatoskr’s gaze dropped to my blade. It wasn’t the Holy Sword. It was a magic sword forged from the poison dragon Nidhogg’s fang.
“You lost the Holy Sword and replaced it with a shard of Nidhogg? You truly believe that can pierce the void?”
“If it’s the same void, it’s different.”
“Khuhuhu. A futile effort.”
“Futile, my ass. You don’t know until you try. Right, Bete?”
I glanced at the jet-black double-edged axe gripped in Riana’s right hand. Thick void energy rippled from it like heat haze rising from roaring flames. The air around it was being sucked inward. Moths drawn to fire.
In answer to my question, Bete spoke.
It's not without possibility. In fact, I once blocked Nidhogg's breath.
“Bete? You said Bete? Wasn’t he dead?”
Ratatoskr looked momentarily flustered, then covered his mouth and began to chuckle. The chuckle grew into wild, manic laughter. The void-tainted Bete. Who was he? The king of the Betas, the monsters of Helheim, and a former legion commander. Of course, “Bete” wasn’t his personal name. It was a species title, like calling an orc an orc or a goblin a goblin. He had a real name. I just didn’t know it.
Anyway, he was a legion commander. The powerful bastard who had once ripped open my stomach and spilled my guts. The fact that someone like him was now Riana’s weapon was certainly worth laughing at. Especially since Ratatoskr himself used to be a legion commander. No matter how deeply he had immersed himself in the void, he couldn’t simply discard the fragments of his past.
While I was thinking that, Ratatoskr spoke again.
“What a sorry state you’re in, Bete. The Commander of Solitude looks absolutely pathetic.”
Even if I look like this, my mind has returned. I am no longer one of the undead.
“So what? In the end, you spent more time living as a legion commander.”
Damn. This kid really knows how to piss me off with every word. He wasn’t wrong, but every single sentence was a masterpiece of irritation. How does he never hold back even one?
Ragner? Fuck?
As if he felt the exact same way, Bete suddenly convulsed and trembled violently. The reaction was so intense that Riana had to grip the axe with both hands to keep hold of him.
Hero, that bastard is running his mouth. We need to rip his jaw apart right this second!
“Yeah, I know. I was planning to even if you didn’t say anything.”
The sky had fallen into a deep, ink-like purple. There was no sunlight at all, only thick, oppressive darkness. Amid the crashing thunder and lightning, a massive shadow loomed. The giant divine tree—Yggdrasil—was being devoured by disgusting void energy.
Seria slowly drew her sword. Riana whispered “Odin” in reverence to the chief god, while Tirgar lifted his enormous double-edged greatsword and stared the enemy down. As for the Saintess Fina, that bitch had fled to Alfheim with Lunaris. There was no way to restore Lunaris’s memories, so I could understand her heartbreak. Still, with the world literally ending, the Saintess decides to run away to save her own skin? Ptooey. I hope you step in dog shit on your way there.
“Khuhuhu. How long must I wait?”
“Why the hell are you waiting, you moron? When did I ever tell you to wait?”
“You really have a mouth on you!”
I ignored Ratatoskr’s words and focused on my blade. I accepted the void energy—this dogshit power. My head throbbed, but it was bearable. I wasn’t falling into corruption. I took a step forward. The first step was neither gentle nor light. It was violent. Lightning crackled around me as I recited the Swiftness rune and charged.
That first step marked the beginning of my first strike.
Kang!Kang! Two consecutive diagonal slashes. Both were blocked by his pure white sword. Sparks flew from the friction. Void energy eroded my blade, and his own void responded in kind. If I had been using Mistilteinn it would have sunk deeper, but I still hadn’t layered sword energy. If I added it now, the power would rival six stacks. The problem was that a guy like me couldn’t endure that kind of strain.
…Odin’s absence cut to the bone.
“Odin. Grant me valiant fighting spirit.”
I didn’t even need to say it out loud. Riana was already moving. The jet-black double-edged axe carved a diagonal arc downward. Ratatoskr flowed around the strike like water, twisting his center of gravity. Of course the squirrel bastard was agile as hell.
I didn’t miss a single movement and recited the Lightning and Spear runes.
Fusion
In an instant the raging lightning converged into a colossal spear. It looked exactly like Gungnir. The electric current made my skin prickle. Moments later the massive lightning lance crashed down on Ratatoskr.
Kurrrrung!Jijijijik!
The zigzagging bolt made him clasp his hands together in panic and leap aside. He looked exactly like a startled animal. Well, he was an animal. He only wore human skin. His true form was a giant flying squirrel.
The lightning spear that struck the earth left behind crackling residue. Jjik! He shook as if electrocuted. It must have felt exhilarating. Since the element was born from my own mana, I could manipulate it freely.
I slid across the electricity spread across the field as if it were an extension of my own body, riding it like a wave on a surfboard. Moving smoothly, I swung Nidhogg’s Fang. Black poisonous energy traced a lethal arc through the air.
“Keut!”
“Hey, dumbass. You talked a big game about your aura, but this is all you’ve got?”
Ratatoskr. This son of a bitch only had a strong mouth. He wasn’t stronger than Bete. Well, he was stronger, I could feel it through our clashing blades. But he lacked the heavy, crushing weight Bete had possessed. It felt like he was still hiding some of his strength, but why?
It didn’t seem like he would fall easily.
…But I had another plan. A plan only I knew about. I simply needed him to keep his eyes fixed on me.
Ratatoskr shouted, putting on a brave front.
“Khuhuhu. Who said it hurt?”
“Just look at your hair standing on end. You look exactly like a beast that got struck by lightning. Puhuhu.”
If you’re mad, come hit me. Don’t you know the saying that the first to strike wins? Simple logic: the one who hits first wins. Since he took my lightning, I had already won.
…I wished it were that easy.
When Riana slammed her axe into the ground, a fissure opened. It was like a small canyon had formed, crackling with electric current. Through that gap the damn flying squirrel leaped high into the air. Even in human form, some habits never changed.
But Seria and Tirgar weren’t about to miss the chance. The giant swung his massive double-edged sword downward while Seria’s blue mana blade moved in perfect sync. In the face of their X-shaped pincer attack, Ratatoskr whipped his tail. Space itself was sliced open. The sharp trajectory of his tail dragged the air into the void. A black hole—nothingness. A gravitational rift that swallowed everything flashed for a brief moment.
“Tirgar! Can’t you move any faster?!”
“Seria. I believe I am moving fast enough.”
“Stop arguing and keep attacking!”
Pointless chatter. Even while they bickered, the squirrel continued expanding the void. Black orbs orbited him, transforming into runic letters. Void runes. They began hammering themselves into the sword he had made from his own bones.
Kang! Kang! Kang! With every hammering impact the blade grew sharper, crueler.
I started applying my scroll as well. I wasn’t a blacksmith or a mage, so I had never practiced embedding runes. But if it was a scroll—if I could enchant the blade using the scroll—then it was possible.
He dodged Riana’s charge. Her panting, excited face was filled with pure madness. Even he seemed slightly unnerved by it. At the same time he charged straight at me, anger clear on his face.
“You cannot stop that person’s plan!”
“…If I kill every last one of you here, that blocks at least half of it.”
“You who only believe what is right in front of your eyes will lose. You need to learn to watch your blind spots.”
Pfft. Laughter slipped out before I could stop it. The idea of him telling me to watch my blind spots was hilarious. Who exactly was the one not watching his own blind spot?
“You aren’t watching yours either. Blind spot.”
“…What?”
“Why do you think I made you focus all your attention on me?”
The moment the words left my mouth, a violent gust of wind pressure slammed down. It swept across the ground and dragged the human-shaped Ratatoskr toward it. He flailed desperately to resist, looking exactly like an ant that had fallen into a puddle.
“I told you, didn’t I? That I’d rip your mouth apart.”
And at that exact moment—
“Kyiiiik!”
It was a short while ago. Before departing for Yggdrasil. I sought out the Nameless Eagle and formed a contract. If Odin wasn’t available, I simply needed to make a pact with someone else. The Nameless Eagle, which had been Nidhogg’s mortal enemy since ancient times, readily revealed itself to me.
Pure white feathers. A golden beak and blue eyes. The coloring and gaze somehow reminded me of Seria. The beautiful eagle looked down at me. It couldn’t be helped. It was simply too massive and radiant.
“Hero, I have heard your words. But how exactly do you plan to defeat them?”
The eagle had faced both Ratatoskr and Nidhogg alone. It had guarded Yggdrasil in solitude in places I knew nothing about. Even before Nidhogg’s corruption, it had fought to protect the roots. During that time Ratatoskr had constantly stirred up trouble. That conflict had continued all the way to the present, leaving the eagle to fight its lonely war.
But it no longer needed to be alone. Because I was here.
I answered the eagle’s question calmly. I didn’t know how it would turn out, but killing Ratatoskr and Nidhogg came first. So I could answer with certainty.
“I’ll make Ratatoskr focus entirely on me. Provoking people is one of my specialties, so that part’s easy.”
“What about Nidhogg?”
“…That one is the problem.”
It would probably follow the eagle into the air. If it joined the fight we would be killing two birds with one stone, but it would also increase the danger exponentially.
“But that’s the goal.”
“…That is the goal?”
“To lure them both in.”
Honestly, it was a reckless plan. I was throwing myself into the jaws of death. What kind of madman would try to draw in the two most powerful worshippers of the void at once? Yet that madman was me. Sometimes a reckless plan was exactly what was needed.
“Luring them in is the key. After that, Eagle, you take the lead.”
“Oh? I am the lead?”
“I made a contract with you because I believed Odin’s grace would be with us.”
“It still is.”
“Right. Anyway, your ability is ‘Levitation,’ correct?”
Then we had more than enough chance to fight. If we could fly through the sky, there were more than enough ways to avoid its breath. Having fought it once, I knew exactly how to kill it. If we cut off its wings and snout, it would be nothing more than a oversized lizard. Above all, as Riana had shown me, void was weak to void. The same power inflicted damage more easily.
Nidhogg’s Fang. With this sword I could provoke Nidhogg and slice its snout at the same time. Its scales could be crushed by its own fangs. The eagle that devours dragons soaring through the heavens. I would inherit the eagle’s power and slay both the dragon and the squirrel. It was simple. It was reckless. Yet it was a gamble worth taking.
I didn’t enjoy gambling, but I knew there were times when charging forward was better than a perfect plan. So I told the eagle:
“You who have fought those two your entire life should be able to pin them down, right?”
“…That depends on how I do it.”
“Then it’s settled. That’s enough.”
If we could just bind their feet—
“We can fight them properly.”
That was what the contract and this power were for. Yes. From now on, I—
—become the incarnation of the eagle that slays dragons.