Prologue: For Valhalla!
“For Valhalla!”
The battle cry echoed across the land.
“Glory to mighty Asgard!”
Hundreds of thousands of armored warriors thrust their weapons skyward. And that was not all. At their flanks—
Kieeeek!
—wights crawled forth from the depths of hell.
『Kuuoooooh!』
The giants charged. In the twilight of the setting sun, one figure gazed upon his vast army.
Clad in jet-black armor, a fur-lined cape billowing behind him, he gripped a golden spear. The ram-skulled helmet concealed his face, but crimson eyes gleamed from within.
How many years has it been since I came to this world?
He had endured countless trials. Awakening alone on a remote island as the final boss monster from his own game. Knights and mages had come against him, driven by their petty interests.
But behold! Their bodies lay buried in the earth, proof that their so-called courage was mere folly and arrogance!
Yet still, more gathered to challenge him. He looked ahead.
Across the vast plain, a radiant light blazed. Armies of light, assembled to slay him and invade his domain.
“Fools!”
No kingdom, no empire could stand against his forces. Any who blocked his path would find only ruin before them!
“Brave ones—”
He slammed his spear down, and black miasma writhed from his armor like living smoke.
“Show them the fury of the twilight of the gods—”
The miasma twisted into serpents and wolves, howling in rage.
“Make them see!”
Warriors, wights, and giants alike looked up to their supreme lord.
“I am Loki.”
In response to his call, they raised their weapons and roared.
“The Constellation of the End, harbinger of Ragnarok!”
Chapter 1
Hah… hah…!
A girl ran breathlessly through the woods, gasping for air.
Of the Nod tribe, a people who sustained themselves through raids. The Raguna Tribe was one such clan.
This girl from the Raguna Tribe fled through the forest, her mind racing. How did it come to this?
The village burned. Its people slaughtered by armored raiders. Voices rang out, laced with the sorrow of the weak and the glee of the strong.
Her fifteenth-birthday coming-of-age festival had turned to hell in an instant.
And now, she had no choice but to run toward the place she had always avoided.
The devil lives there!
An ancient tale passed down among the Nod.
He is the moon and the darkness, the constellation who rules death and sin!
Kankun’s heart pounded as if it might burst. She ran on.
If you offer your soul to him, he will grant any wish!
Shaman’s words on her fifteenth birthday flashed through her mind.
How long had she run? Up ahead, an elderly man who looked over seventy appeared—an influential elder from the village.
“Ka… Kankun!”
His eyes widened at the sight of her.
“There you are! Kudan’s brought in outsiders!”
Kankun stared at him, her face frozen.
“U-Uncle?”
A bear of a man, but with a soft heart. The one who always smiled at her like his own daughter.
Kudan Raguna. Her uncle.
And now…
“It’s a rebellion!”
“……!”
“Kudan—that bastard Kudan—he’s started a revolt! He brought mercenaries from outside and attacked the village—!”
“What are you talking about? Why would Uncle bring mercenaries…?”
“Your father’s dead too. W-We’re all going to die now!”
“N-No way… Why would Uncle—!”
“Because of you!”
Kankun’s face hardened.
The elder seized her shoulders.
“Ugh—!”
His grip was so tight it felt like her shoulders might tear.
“It’s because you refused to be the sacrificial offering as Shaman’s oracle decreed! That’s why the village is like this!”
“……”
“You brought this disaster on us!”
Kankun fell silent.
A child who will bring calamity!
She recalled the priest’s words at her coming-of-age rite.
Kankun, you will become the shrine maiden to serve him. So offer yourself and summon him!
The elder drew a dagger from his robes.
“Shaman was right!”
“W-Wait a second…”
Kankun backed away, but the elder’s right hand clamped her shoulder, holding her fast. Her face drained of color.
“You have to die for this disaster to end—!”
Then—
Pfook!
A massive arrow pierced the elder’s chest, stopping just before Kankun’s nose.
“Guh… ack—!”
Blood spewed from his mouth as he turned, eyes bulging.
“Ku… Kudan…!”
With those final words, he collapsed.
Kankun stared past the fallen body to the towering man standing there.
“……!”
Bear-like bulk, muscles like steel. Bushy beard, a massive axe slung across his back. In his hands, the greatbow that had just slain the elder.
She knew who he was.
Un… cle…?
Kudan Raguna. The rebel who had killed her father, massacred the elders—her own uncle.
Behind him stood the mercenaries who had slain her tribesmen.
Kankun paled, backing away before turning to flee.
“Kankun—!”
Her uncle’s furious voice boomed from behind. Not the kind, gentle tone she knew—but excited, enraged.
“Chase her down—!”
His men pursued.
Dashing through the woods, Kankun looked up.
Her destination—
Offer yourself as sacrifice to appease the devil’s wrath!
The temple. Where she had held her coming-of-age rite. Home to the Constellation of Sin, called a devil.
She stepped inside.
Passing the open gates, she raced down the long corridor lined with red carpet.
At its end stood a figure. An old man in ragged black robes.
The priest, Shaman.
Kankun pleaded with him. To drive back the disaster.
But Shaman only cackled, offering no real answer.
“She’s hiding here!”
“Find her!”
The raiders’ voices echoed from behind.
In the end, Kankun fled toward the devil.
The grand throne room, steeped in majesty. A colossal throne of bone, crowned with a spiraling ram skull. The devil, shrouded in black armor, a sword plunged into his heart.
Kankun cried out to him.
“Please… Constellation of Sin! Take my soul if you must—I beg you. Save our village people…!”
She offered her soul to stop her uncle, to end this horrific slaughter.
Bam!
The doors burst open. Her uncle’s raiders stormed the audience chamber.
“There she is!”
“Kudan’s orders. Seize the girl!”
They advanced on Kankun. As they closed in, she retreated toward the sealed “devil” on the cursed throne.
Shaman, who had followed, merely stepped aside, offering no interference.
Terrified, Kankun screamed at the devil.
“Please, I beg you…! Save us…!”
But the devil did not answer. Even clutching his leg in desperation, he remained still as a corpse.
She realized it then. This thing before her was merely a statue…
“Enough of this, Kankun.”
The mastermind of this atrocity entered the temple.
Kankun’s uncle, Kudan Raguna.
He strode boldly into the chamber and bellowed at his men.
“What are you waiting for? Drag her out! We’re leaving with Kankun!”
“……!”
Kankun’s face went ashen.
Weapons—she needed a weapon! She strained to pull the sword from the devil.
“Trying to wake the devil? Haha! Give it up. It’s just superstition!”
Kudan’s men laughed at her.
Kankun ignored them. Gods and devils meant nothing now. Better to fight her uncle and die honorably than be dragged off in shame!
But the sword wouldn’t budge.
The raiders seized her from behind, binding her.
She was overpowered, body pinned.
Despair consumed her.
“Shaman, forgive the disturbance. We meant no disrespect to the temple—have mercy.”
The traitor Kudan Raguna sought Shaman’s permission.
Even rebels dared not offend a Nod priest.
“Do as you will. As long as you don’t defile the temple, I won’t interfere with you.”
At Shaman’s approval, the raiders dragged Kankun away.
She couldn’t avenge her father or save the villagers.
“No… please….”
The Nod warriors gripped her body, pulling her from the throne. She clung desperately to the sword’s hilt, resisting to the end.
Frustration and despair gnawed at her heart.
“P-Please….”
A plea. To anyone. Save me…!
Tears of despair streamed down Kankun’s face.
Help me!
Then, the sword came free.
“……!”
The Nod warriors froze in shock.
“N-No—!”
Shaman clutched his head and screamed.
“The devil… the Constellation of Sin awakens—!”
“……!”
A hush of terror blanketed the cursed temple.
All eyes turned to the devil on the throne…
But nothing changed.
The Nod warriors sweated in relief.
“Ha, haha! You got scared, huh?”
“D-Don’t mess with me. Who’d be scared of some stupid superstition….”
The “devil sealed for judging the gods” was just a legend, after all.
Enraged at their own fear, they took it out on Kankun.
The warriors pinned her and slammed her to the floor. Arms, legs, head—all held fast.
Help… me.
Tears traced down her cheeks.
In her blurred vision, the devil reflected.
“P-Please… help us!”
Her despairing cry rang through the chamber.
Within the helmet’s deep shadows, from the abyss…
Crimson eyes slowly ignited.
…Awakened.
Someone murmured.
Kieeeek!
Crack! Creak!
Ghastly wails of specters filled the temple.
The devil, dormant for centuries, stirred with the grotesque sound of bones grinding into place. It raised its head, twisting its stiffened body to loosen it.
Not only the devil awoke.
The cursed temple quaked.
Kieeeek!
Black miasma suddenly filled the air, coiling around the devil on the throne, taking the form of serpents and wolves.
Bony wraiths clawed up from the floor like demons from hell.
“What the…?!”
“U-Undead!”
“Battle stations—!”
The Nod warriors bellowed, scrambling in panic to arm themselves.
Kankun looked up at the devil.
It moved, joints cracking. Crimson flames—souls burning—flickered from its eyes and mouth.
Grrr…!
Ominous black miasma shaped like wolves and serpents clung to its armor as one. They snarled at the intruders, as if with wills of their own.
The devil—their master—raised its shrunken head, crimson eyes flashing.
It surveyed everyone in the chamber.
And spoke words to freeze the blood.
“Who… are you?”
In that moment, Kankun’s despair turned to hope.