Even from deep underground, he could feel the battle begin.
Beneath the Grand Tower of the Temple of Odis lay a circular underground complex. At its center was the chamber housing the Frost Orb. Corridors branching around the outer ring connected to countless small rooms. In one such forgotten chamber stood a cage. Inside it lay a single rat.
It was Ratbone Rata, one of the monsters. Ordinarily, he would have been a major combatant on the battlefield above, fighting against the humans. But since he was captured during the battle of Flocia, he was confined instead.
Sensing the stir of magic in the air, Rata slowly opened his eyes.
“…So it has begun.”
The fur that had once covered his body in gray had lost all color, turning pure white. The underground levels of the Grand Tower were close to the Frost Orb. The chilling power of the seal constantly seeped through the area, weakening the rat’s body day by day. There was no pain. Even so, Rata could feel his life gradually slipping away.
“Hmph… If I can live long enough to witness the outcome, then perhaps surviving this long will have been worth it.”
His whiskers twitched as he muttered the words.
Rion and the others could have killed Rata before the final battle began. The boy before might have hesitated to kill a creature capable of speech. But after the Battle of Flocia—especially after driving back Freyr—that kind of naïveté had vanished. Even when Rata had disguised himself as the boy’s younger sister, Rion hadn’t been fooled. He had attacked without hesitation. That was why Rata now found himself imprisoned here.
The gods had likely spared his life in part because they knew he was no longer a threat. It was also true that he had revealed certain pieces of information regarding Ymir. His master would never forgive such a betrayal. There was no place left for him to return to.
“…Ymir.”
Rata ground his teeth together.
He was curious about the outcome of the war, and for that reason he had never begged for a quick death. If possible, he wanted to witness one of two sights: either the gods’ defeat, or the downfall of that titan. Either outcome would bring him a measure of satisfaction.
Rata snorted.
Magical energy was flowing in through the gaps around the sealed door. That was probably what had awakened him. It was an immense power of abundance—so vast that even his weakened body began to recover the moment it touched him. Then he caught a scent he recognized.
His golden eyes flew wide open.
“Why, this is… this is perfect!”
It was a scent he knew all too well from his days as a slave trader. The smell of human sweat born from doubt and distrust. The previous apocalypse had ended in a sealing precisely because such distrust had proven fatal.
As the magical energy continued to swell, Rata let out a low, rumbling chuckle. The image of the young girl he had once impersonated drifted through his mind.
“…The more she worries for her family, the more desperately she seeks power. Without even realizing it, she’s drawing out even more strength from the Freyja dwelling within her.”
Even Luisia’s transformation was probably part of the Chief God’s design.
For now, all Rata could do was listen and wait. The growls of monsters still echoed in the distance. And mixed among them were the screams of the living.
◆◆◆
“Eeeeeek!”
Atop one of the towers along the city wall, the dwarf Safi let out a shrill scream.
“W-why are they charging in all of a sudden?!”
Even though everyone had expected the attack, the battle had erupted into chaos all at once. Monsters such as Fenrir, Wolfbone Hati, and Jormungandr the Bone Serpent tore through the defensive lines the humans had painstakingly assembled as though they were nothing.
Near the walls, Rion and the others had already shifted to the desperate task of holding Fenrir back.
Operating a massive ballista mounted atop the battlements, Safi loosed another bolt into the distant hordes. Behind endless ranks of goblins and kobolds waited towering giant soldiers, humanoid monsters standing well over three meters tall.
She stole a glance to the south.
There, beneath thunderclouds swirling overhead, Thor and Jormungandr were locked in a violent struggle. Lightning and the colossal serpent’s tail crashed against one another again and again, gouging great scars across the rolling hills.
“…Everyone’s fighting.”
She swallowed hard.
Then a deafening roar erupted directly ahead of her. A clash between overwhelming magical powers. The shockwave alone was enough to send both monsters and humans flying.
At the center of it all stood the combatants responsible—The Primordial Titan Ymir, and the god Heimdall.
Ymir calmly caught the sword Heimdall brought crashing down with a magical barrier.
Human soldiers maintained a defensive perimeter around the battle from a distance, but the monsters—rallied and emboldened by Ymir’s presence—were slowly forcing them back.
“Safi-dono!”
One of the dwarves pointed down toward the base of the wall. A head of golden hair raced across the battlefield. Sunlight flashed off a gleaming sword.
“—Lord Freyr!”
As if in response, a piercing gaze locked onto Safi.
Seeking his sister—Goddess Freyja—Freyr charged toward the city wall, intent on climbing it. Their eyes met. Safi caught her breath.
At that very moment, a rain of arrows fell directly in front of her.
“Whoa there. That’s as far as you go.”
It was Uru’s bow.
Uru’s arrows blocked Freyr’s advance. Having been spotted by the gods, Freyr quickly retreated, putting distance between himself and the wall as he blended back into the ranks of the monster army to avoid attacks from above.
A triumphant cheer rose from the northeast.
The humans, inspired by the battle maiden Sigris, had driven back another wave of monsters.
Nearby, a formation of mages led by Loki unleashed spell after spell, blasting down the flying monsters attempting to descend from the sky.
“So this is Ragnarok….”
Bathed in the crimson light of the sun, humans and monsters alike fought with everything they had.
Praying for the safety of her comrades, Safi activated another golem and hurled it down from the wall into the battlefield below.
◆◆◆
Thor rested the great hammer Mjölnir across his shoulder, which was as broad and solid as a mountainside.
“Haven’t we had enough of looking at each other’s faces by now?”
The God of Thunder flashed a fearless grin as he looked up at Jormungandr, the World Serpent. Its head towered more than ten meters above the ground. The enormous golden eye fixed upon him was enough to drive an ordinary person into panic simply by standing beneath it.
The serpent was even larger than when they had met in the mining city of Alvis.
Thor tilted his chin upward.
“Let’s make this the last time.”
At some point during their countless exchanges, Thor had been knocked to the ground. His opponent hadn’t escaped unscathed, however. Smoke rose from numerous wounds scattered across the black scales where they had collided with Mjölnir.
“Hah!”
Thor hurled Mjölnir. Wrapped in lightning, the golden hammer slammed into the serpent’s flank before arcing back into Thor’s waiting hand.
The air itself trembled as Jormungandr’s voice rumbled down from above.
“…You’re as troublesome as ever.”
Blood dripped from the corner of the serpent’s mouth as it glared at him.
“During Ragnarok, in that mine, and even a thousand years ago! You always stand in my way…!”
“Hah! If you stopped coming after us, I wouldn’t have to.”
“That is impossible. Because we—because monsters—were created to be this way!”
The great serpent opened its jaws.
A cloud of dark, murky miasma burst forth from between its saliva-slick fangs. Where the poisonous haze passed, the grass withered and died instantly. Had any ordinary humans been nearby, they would have been wiped out with a single breath.
“Poison…?!”
Thor dodged the initial blast, but moments later his vision blurred, and he dropped to one knee.
“Throughout our battle, little by little, I’ve been mixing poison into my breath and spreading it through the air. After coming so close to death, I learned a few new tricks.”
Its crimson tongue flicked in and out, tasting the air.
“Things seem to be turning in our favor over there as well.”
The World Serpent’s gaze shifted toward another battlefield—
The clash between Heimdall and Ymir.
◆◆◆
Ymir’s fist came crashing down.
Heimdall caught it with his sword.
The impact tore through both of them.
Heimdall’s black hair and Ymir’s golden locks whipped wildly amidst the howling winds and billowing clouds of dust.
“Ghh…!”
The one taking the greater damage was Heimdall.
He had never faced blows this heavy—strikes like massive war hammers. Even with all his strength, his feet were driven into the earth, and the shock rattled him to his very core.
As the dust slowly settled, Ymir’s figure emerged.
His fine garments remained almost completely untouched, not even bearing any noticeable damage. In contrast, Heimdall’s crimson armor was dented and warped in numerous places.
Ymir strode forward with unhurried confidence.
“You have done well.”
Time and again, Heimdall had brought his blade down upon Ymir’s magical barrier.
Yet its impregnable defense refused to break.
The monsters’ advance was equally overwhelming. As though their master’s fury had spread to every one of them, they surged toward the walls with heightened ferocity.
At one point, Sigris had joined the battle near Heimdall’s position, rallying the human defenders.
Even so, the monsters’ morale remained superior. Goblins, orcs, kobolds, and giant soldiers. Even kelpies and hellhounds of flame raced across the battlefield. With bloodshot eyes, they charged forward like a living tidal wave. To make matters worse, the rift Ymir had torn open in the sky had yet to close. From that gap in space, monsters continued to pour forth endlessly. As if the supply would never run dry.
The time when the solar eclipse should have ended naturally had long since passed. Yet the sun remained obscured. There was no hope of winning simply by holding out until the eclipse ended. The only path left was to defeat the monsters head-on.
Ymir spoke.
“I will devour everything. Step aside.”
Heimdall narrowed his cool, composed eyes.
Raising his sword, he laughed.
“Hah hah! We’re only just getting started over here!”
He would not give up.
The inspiration granted by the horn’s call still burned within his chest.
As the God of Awakening, he was accustomed to inspiring others.
Being inspired himself, however, was a rare experience.
Who would have thought that a young boy’s courage could set his heart ablaze to such a degree?
Heimdall raised his sword to shoulder height and leveled its tip at Ymir.
“Haaah!”
His thrust shot forward like lightning.
Ymir met it by raising a magical barrier with his left hand.
A bracelet glimmered around his wrist. The metal flashed briefly as it caught the light.
“…Ymir. It seems you still haven’t managed to break that ice shackle.”
The restraint was still fastened around his left arm. It was the very shackle Luisia had created in Flocia and placed upon him.
“Interesting, isn’t it? Humans possess powers that even we gods do not fully understand.”
The moment Heimdall spoke those words, a disturbance arose in the rear lines.
For the first time, Ymir’s eyes widened ever so slightly.
The rear guard—which should have been vastly outnumbered—had begun pushing back the enemy. The monster commanders, including the Bone Wolves, were being driven back.
This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeneijiworks.com
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