Even far from the Frost Palace, the battles against the monsters continued.
In the Lake City.
In the Mining City.
In the Royal Capital.
And throughout the world, far beyond the borders of the Kingdom of Asgard.
When the sky was dyed in twilight, the Primordial Titan loosened his seal. The effects spread to dungeons across the world. Countless adventurers were fighting to survive the massive outbreaks of monsters.
One party was running through a dungeon. They cut down monsters as they went, racing alongside their companions so they wouldn’t be surrounded.
“This way!”
“They’re catching up!”
Just as they brought down yet another wolf-like monster—so many that they had long since lost count—a roar reverberated throughout the dungeon.
—WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
A great cry that seemed to rise from the very depths of the earth.
The adventurers trembled instinctively, their faces paling.
They didn’t know it, but around the same time, Rion and Ymir were fighting within the Ginnungagap. The roar Ymir had unleashed beyond the world itself traveled through magical power, echoing all the way into the dungeons.
The frightened adventurers ran straight into a horde of monsters. They didn’t panic only because a sound meant to encourage them drowned out the terror of the roar.
—A horn.
Across the dungeons of the world, the sound of the awakening horn, Gjallarhorn, rang out—strong, yet gentle. The threat of the monsters was no different outside the dungeons. In the royal capital of the Kingdom of Asgard, the battle to defend the city continued.
For a moment, it had seemed as though the monsters were losing momentum. But when Ymir’s roar thundered across the sky, they began fighting once more as though they had gone mad.
Here, too, the sound of the awakening horn, Gjallarhorn, rang out.
A young dwarf girl, the leader of the warrior corps, and the mother of the boy with the horn all looked up at the twilight sky.
“Rion.”
The dwarf girl, Safi, swung her golden hammer, carving the magical runes into the city walls once more.
“Rion-san.”
Princess Pauline used the skill Seal beneath the great tower, weakening the monsters even if only by a little.
“Rion…”
While tending to the wounded inside the cathedral, Rion’s mother looked up toward the window.
The sound of the horn was still ringing. Everyone felt as though the boy had given them a push from behind.
“We can win!”
Someone shouted.
“Let’s go!”
Voices answered in return.
The horn was a call to courage, encouraging everyone who continued to fight against the monsters.
—Win!
That was what everyone wished for, in every battle.
◆◆◆
The cheers of adventurers from all across the world reached even the celestial realm.
The old god Odin’s eyes widened.
When the sound of Gjallarhorn echoed through the royal capital and the dungeons, the wishes of people from every corner of the world were carried back to the distant Frost Palace as well. It was almost as though the entire world were encouraging one another.
The sound of the awakening horn, Gjallarhorn, spreading across the world was one thing. But the idea that the words of ordinary humans could travel across such vast distances was difficult to imagine.
Not unless a god lent them his power.
Odin turned around.
“N-Norn…?”
At some point, a goddess with black hair and dressed entirely in black had appeared behind the old god, standing there like a shadow.
The Goddess Norn lowered her chin in response to Odin’s question.
“I acted on my own authority and delivered the sound of the horn throughout the world.”
The goddess clad entirely in black almost resembled one of the ravens Odin used to send messages.
Her ability was to transmit statuses and messages to adventurers.
“I used a global message to let the people outside the dungeons hear the sound of the horn. Within the dungeons, I made use of the divine artifact for communication, the Water Mirror of the World Tree Yggdrasil.”
“That must have required a great deal of magical power.”
The Goddess Norn bowed.
“I have watched over the adventurers for a very long time. I suppose I have developed some small measure of affection for them.”
“…I see.”
As Odin stroked his beard, Norn lowered her head.
“My chief god. Will you punish me for transmitting that message to the adventurers without your permission?”
The content Norn transmitted was normally decided by Odin. Never before had the goddess chosen to convey something of her own accord.
Odin narrowed his eyes and shook his head.
“…At this point, everything happening here is their strength.”
The Water Mirror in the celestial realm displayed the scene unfolding at the Frost Palace.
A great number of adventurers had surrounded the Primordial titan.
Ymir had grown to a massive size, now towering over ten meters tall. Dark red flames burned around his neck, waist, and joints. Muscles that rippled like mountain ranges were illuminated pale white by the morning sun.
Voices from all across the world were being sent to the Frost Palace.
—Rion!
—Don’t lose!
—You’ve gotta win!
The boy straightened his chest as though taking those cheers into himself. His blue eyes remained fixed on Ymir, unwavering.
Odin spoke quietly.
“The Gentle Strongest, huh…”
Even he, who had once devised a scheme to abandon this world, was now trying to do something for their sake—for the humans who were determined to protect this world.
And for that very reason, the chief god still could not afford to exhaust his power.
There was only one thing he could say now.
“Win, boy.”
Rion stepped forward, charging toward the giant as he raised his fist.
◆◆◆
I had returned to the surface from the void.
The morning sun was blinding, but warm. Even my white breath seemed to sparkle faintly in the light.
On the grand staircase leading to the temple, we faced Ymir.
Solana and I stood in front of Lu, shielding her from the primordial titan.
The gods had all gathered as well—Thor, Loki, Uru, Sigris, and Heimdall.
Mia-san and Felix-san led several dozen members of the warrior corps, surrounding Ymir.
I raised my voice.
“Everyone!”
I blew into the awakening horn, Gjallarhorn.
The resounding horn stirred the gods and adventurers gathered on the grand staircase, filling them with courage.
| Skill『Alarm』was activated. 『Master of the Horn』… Fully draws out the power of the horn. |
The adventurers erupted into cheers. Multicolored lights began to burn within their chests. Perhaps the magical power they had received from the gods had been further strengthened by the horn.
Sigris, the God of Medicine, pulled out a large spoon and smiled at me.
“Rion-san!”
I nodded and activated my skill to get them back on their feet.
| Skill『Sun’s Divine Protection』was activated. 『Golden Flame』… Enhances physical abilities. Grants additional effects for a limited time. |
| Skill 『Divine Protection of the God of Medicine』was activated. 『Valkyrie’s Spoon』… Restores health. Consumes magical power to expand its area of effect. |
Sigris leapt high into the air, scooped up the Golden Flame with the enormous spoon held in both hands, and scattered it across the entire battlefield.
The Golden Flame enveloped the bodies of all the adventurers.
Ymir let out a roar.
—WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
The force of it nearly blew me off my feet.
Ymir had devoured the heart of frost and flame and regained his original power. His body had grown larger, and he was now nearly fifteen meters tall.
Most of the temple had already been swallowed by the rift, but the entrance still remained. Three massive pillars, each roughly three meters wide, stood at the enormous gate. Ymir’s face was around the boundary between those pillars and the ceiling.
“…Oniichan!”
“Lu, stay back!”
I stopped Lu.
I took a deep breath and looked around.
At the top of the grand staircase stood Ymir. There were still monsters on the snowfield, fighting the adventurers guarding the bottom of the stairs. Perhaps Ymir had opened another rift somewhere after returning and called more monsters to him.
It certainly felt like their numbers were gradually increasing. There was nowhere truly safe for me to protect my little sister.
Mia-san and Felix-san came running over.
“Hey, isn’t Ymir getting bigger!?”
“Yes! He’s beyond giant-sized now. It almost looks like he’s growing even larger…!”
As we watched, Ymir grew larger still, his body creaking and cracking as it expanded.
He placed a hand against the temple gate.
At last, his head rose above the height of the Grand Temple.
—WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
The air itself trembled violently.
Solana’s golden hair fluttered in the wind as she spoke.
“Ymir has taken the Heart.”
Mia-san groaned.
“Y-You’ve gotta be kidding me…!”
A booming laugh filled the sky.
The Thunder God Thor was raising his hammer, Mjölnir.
“Who cares!? What we gotta do hasn’t changed, has it!?”
Ymir’s enormous eyes rolled toward Thor, glaring at him.
He swung his right arm, and a massive boulder was hurled toward Thor.
He created it!
Thor dodged the rock and threw Mjölnir. But Mjölnir missed Ymir by a wide margin, disappearing behind the giant.
Ymir had already grown to twenty meters tall. With a low growl, he raised his fist like a hammer and swung it down at Thor.
“…You thought I missed?”
The Thunder God grinned.
—That’s right.
This god was a god of war, too. There was no way he would miss in battle.
“What I was aiming for was his footing.”
Mjölnir came arcing back and struck the ground beneath Ymir’s feet.
The edge of the grand staircase shattered. Ymir lost his balance and fell onto the snowfield. A body that was too large to begin with had one major disadvantage—he has trouble maintaining his footing.
The temple pillar Ymir had grabbed in his massive hand snapped miserably, and the remaining entrance to the temple began to collapse as well.
Lu screamed.
“Oniichan!”
“Wait here!”
I pulled Lu into a tight embrace. I entrusted my little sister to several members of the warrior corps.
“I’ll definitely come back. Okay?”
“…Yeah!”
I ran to the edge of the grand staircase and looked down at Ymir below. The titan was slowly getting back to his feet, his growls reverberating across the battlefield. Even if that giant stood upright on the staircase where we were, it would probably only reach his waist.
And this place was supposed to be about three stories up.
Heimdall shouted from above.
“Ymir has fallen! OOOOOOOOH!”
Felix-san answered his cry.
He raised his staff and shouted toward the adventurers.
“Right of the temple! OOOOOH! All adventurers, concentrate your forces on Ymir!!”
The adventurers cried out and began moving across the snowfield.
Red, blue, purple—colors matching the magical power of the gods streaked rapidly across the snow. Our forces consisted of the gods, bolstered by the horn, and roughly one hundred adventurers.
Against us were Ymir and the monsters he had newly summoned.
“Everyone, let’s go!”
We leapt from the grand staircase down onto the snowfield.
Ymir was rising to his feet.
| Skill 『Divine Protection of the God of Hunting 』was activated. 『Wild Heart』… Detection. With magical power consumption, effects can be further increased. |
A brilliant crimson light enveloped Ymir. The magical power it gave off was stronger than anything I had ever sensed before, sending a shiver down my spine.
But I noticed something strange. There were two magical power signatures. One was the overwhelming magical power radiating from Ymir’s enormous body as a whole. But there was another. At the center of his chest, there was an even more powerful light.
It pulsed dark red.
Thump. Thump.
“That’s… his heart.”
I swallowed hard.
Solana descended beside me, scattering golden radiance.
“I can sense powerful magical energy coming from his chest as well. That must be the core of the monster.”
A massive eyeball glared down at me. Dark red flames burned around Ymir’s neck, waist, and joints.
The adventurers and gods surrounded Ymir as he stood on the snowfield. It looked like the other monsters were following after him as well, but Thor and Uru were reducing their numbers from a distance.
Bathed in the morning sunlight, we faced Ymir. The giant’s eyes narrowed ever so slightly, as though probing us.
—What is the source of your strength?
I remembered the question he had asked us before.
“Ymir.”
I spoke.
“It’s true that you’re weak when you’re alone… but that’s exactly why we don’t fight alone.”
He was a terrifying monster. We had once wounded him to the brink of death. We had gathered all these gods and adventurers against him. And even so, we were still in danger.
But perhaps there had been signs of change within this monster, too. For example, he had witnessed human lives during the age of myths. Perhaps he had seen the bond between gods and their followers.
Perhaps—
He had seen an ordinary little girl stand against the Primordial Titan and witnessed the will that created that unyielding bracelet. There were kinds of strength that could not be obtained without someone else. Maybe that was why he had taken an interest in Lu’s bracelet.
Of course, some of this was only my imagination. But to this titan, this world had been born from his own power. If his desire to reclaim his body had become hunger, and that hunger had begun to cover up every other feeling.
If, to this titan, “understanding” meant “devouring”, then…
“—I’m going to defeat you, Ymir.”
I pointed my short sword at him.
“Because if I don’t, your loneliness will never end!”
The titan continued to grow, little by little.
I wondered how large his original body had been. Or perhaps there was no limit at all. Perhaps he would continue growing until he became infinitely enormous.
—WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
His voice was far too deep to be called a roar.
It was more like the howling of the wind. I felt a kind of awe that came not from facing a monster, but from standing before something like a storm or a volcano—Nature itself.
Ymir raised his fist.
The sun was blocked out, and an enormous shadow spread across us.
To us, it was like having a castle come crashing down. Even so, Solana and I stepped forward.
The fist and arm slammed into the snowfield. A violent cloud of snow robbed us of our vision. The impact itself was blocked by the goddess’s magical barrier.
“What incredible power…!”
My body actually bounced into the air for a moment. Even the shockwave alone was enough to make my bones tremble.
“Haa!”
I slashed at his mountain-like leg. Blood spilled from the wound for an instant, but it stopped almost immediately.
And then—
“Gigi…!”
“Gigii!”
Monsters began emerging from the ground where his fist had struck.
Goblins, kobolds, sahagins.
Mia-san and the others moved to deal with them, but the sheer, seemingly limitless magical power Ymir possessed—the power he could use to create monster after monster—sent a chill through me.
“Solana, he’s completely different from before!”
“The enemy consumed half of the magical power in the celestial realm that was meant for creation. Now that he has reclaimed his heart and destroyed the bracelet as well, he is transforming everything he has devoured into his own body.”
But Solana continued.
“Even so, he is still better than he would have been in the Void. That place was filled with cold magical power. Had he remained there, he would likely have gained strength without limit.”
A shiver ran through me. I was truly glad we had managed to escape.
“If Ymir continues converting his magical power into physical strength and grows powerful enough that we can no longer touch him, we lose.”
“Then… if we target his heart before that happens…”
“His growth will stop.”
“…So it’s a race.”
Ymir swung his arm. The blow came for me as I slipped beneath his feet, kicking up snow like a raging storm. A fragment of shattered rock grazed my temple, and blood began to trickle down. The impact threw off my sense of balance. With white spray filling the air, I could barely see a thing.
Then his enormous body lunged into view right in front of me.
“Whoa!”
Heimdall caught the arm with his sword. The god in red armor flashed a broad grin from atop his massive frame.
“How strange! Primordial Titan!”
His laughter rang out as the god of awakening swung his shining sword. Magical power surged through the blade, cleaving the cloud of snow apart.
My vision cleared.
Heimdall thrust his sword toward the sky, and the golden reliefs along its surface proudly caught the light.
“You know what? Compared to us, battered and half-dead as we are, you look like the weaker one right now!”
With his sword, he knocked Ymir’s fist back.
“Now go!”
Ymir’s furious assault turned toward Heimdall.
With every single blow, golden magical power scattered from the god’s body. A defense that was, quite literally, shaving away his life.
Even so, the god shouted toward me.
“You can see it, can’t you?! That titan’s weakness!”
The god of awakening was battered and sent flying. Yet he immediately rose again, charging forward through the swirling snow.
“The only ones who have the magical power to pierce that giant’s chest right now are you and Solana! Run, jump, and finish this, boy!”
“Yeahhh!”
The adventurers roared.
“You hear him?!”
“Keep Rion focused on Ymir!”
“The monsters on the outside are nothing special!”
“Anyone got their hands free?!”
The loudest voice of all came from an adventurer who had come from Flocia—Lloyd of the Stone Warhammer.
“Make an opening for Rion! We’re going in from behind Ymir!”
Deliberately raising their voices to draw his attention, a group of adventurers charged at Ymir from behind. The ground shook beneath their feet, snow exploding into the air.
Ymir turned.
He was enormous, yet the way he lowered his body and moved was almost beastlike. Just getting caught up in one of his movements could mean instant death.
Ymir broke away from Heimdall’s pursuit and closed the distance to Lloyd-san and the others in a single enormous stride.
Lloyd-san shouted.
“Scatter!”
Relying on the instincts of seasoned adventurers, they split apart at exactly the right moment.
Ymir’s massive foot came crashing down, but they dodged the stomp. But their opponent was the Primordial Titan. Flames began to gather in his mouth.
“No—!”
A sweeping torrent of fire erupted from his jaws.
Desperately chasing after Ymir, I couldn’t help but shout.
“Lloyd-san!”
Red-black flames spread across the snowfield, completely swallowing Lloyd-san and the others.
They’re done for.
That was what I thought. But when the flames finally died away, a wall of ice emerged.
Lloyd-san and the others were safe, protected on all sides by the ice. Then an exasperated voice drifted down from above.
“Humans really are reckless.”
Hovering overhead, shrugging his shoulders, was Loki in his black robes.
The moment he snapped his fingers, the mass of ice collapsed.
“With this much snow all around us, we can turn it into ice. Even against flames unleashed by a Primordial Titan, it’ll hold for a few seconds. You were saved by the environment, eh?”
Loki closed one of his languid eyes and casually said something terrifying.
Then Loki’s grin widened.
“Now then, it’s my turn! I think I’ll make use of all this snow packed with magical power that’s piled up around the Frost Palace!”
Snow began rising from the ground one after another. Curving into arches, the snow converged around Loki. Once it formed a mass roughly ten meters across, a flash of flame melted it into water—only for it to freeze solid again.
By the time I noticed, countless ice projectiles were already floating behind Loki.
“I hope you’ll like this sort of thing.”
Loki gave a slight bow.
The ice projectiles rained down.
Ymir caught them with a magical barrier. Even so, his advance came to a complete halt.
“I’ll join in, too.”
It was the whispering voice of Uru, the God of Hunting.
A multitude of shining arrows shot through gaps in the magical barrier and struck Ymir’s body. By now, the giant stood well over twenty meters tall. The arrows probably didn’t hurt any more than a thorn prick.
But the God of Hunting had certainly succeeded in drawing Ymir’s attention. His enormous golden eye followed the god’s movements.
As I ran, I shouted,
“Everyone’s creating openings for us…!”
Solana nodded.
“Yes! We’ll close in… and blast through the chest where his heart lies with our magical power.”
I tightened my grip around my short sword.
Heimdall, who had caught up with us, had resumed his attack as well. The god fired magical power from his sword, piercing Ymir’s shoulder.
We had already reached the giant’s feet.
Heimdall flashed me a grin.
“I’ll cover you!”
“Thank you!”
Solana, Heimdall, and I leaped into the air together.
Ymir had already grown to around thirty meters tall. His head was so high that I had to crane my neck just to see it.
—OOOOOOOOH!
Ymir roared.
Magical power surged through his bellow. We had already leaped as high as his chest, but the force blasted us away in an instant.
Solana caught me in midair.
Ymir stomped his foot.
The sheer intimidation drove back the adventurers who had been closing in. Then he clenched both fists in front of his chest. Flames gathered around his right hand. Frost enveloped his left.
“Ice… and fire…?”
My voice trembled as I stared down from the air.
Ymir brought his two fists together—ice and flame colliding. And from between them, darkness began to spill out in heavy, dripping masses. The black lumps fell onto the snowfield and, before my eyes, rapidly formed arms, legs, and heads.
I caught my breath.
Even the adventurers had fallen silent. What emerged were giants about eight meters tall, wreathed in fire. Just like the Flame Giants we had seen in Alvis.
Three of them. Smaller Giant Soldiers also emerged from the masses of darkness that had fallen across the snowfield.
A groan escaped me.
“He’s… creating giants!?”
Ymir’s body rippled, growing even larger.
Heimdall growled.
“This is bad. If he gets any bigger than this, we really won’t be able to stop him.”
Ymir swung his enormous body around.
It was like watching a tornado. The adventurers on the snowfield were sent flying by the sheer force of the movement.
His gaze locked onto us.
“Solana!”
“Right!”
Still holding me in her arms, Solana dropped lower.
We plunged almost straight downward, breaking out of Ymir’s line of sight as we fled.
A foot like a slab of rock rose into the air, nearly crushing us beneath it. On the ground, even more small monsters were being born alongside the giants. Centered around Ymir, a black wave of monsters spread outward in a widening circle.
“Oniichan!”
Lu was watching us from the grand staircase of the temple.
The thought that I couldn’t lose burned inside me once more.
“I’m fine!”
I dodged the palm rushing toward us, intent on crushing us, by shooting straight upward.
As if answering my words, blue armor flashed through the sky, passing us in midair.
“Everyone!”
Sigris landed on the ground.
She had brought another ten or so adventurers with her, appearing alongside Lloyd-san.
“Follow me. Forward!”
Led by the Valkyrie, the adventurers charged toward Ymir. The sight of them cutting through the black wave was like a shower of shooting stars.
Something flashed in the sky above.
A hammer. Wrapped in lightning, it came crashing down upon Ymir. Thunder boomed, and cracks spread across his magical barrier.
“Thor!”
The God of Thunder burst into laughter. His torn, bloodstained clothes made it clear that he, too, had been through a fierce battle.
“You’d better not forget about me!”
Solana called out.
“What about the monsters in the rear?!”
“I took ’em all down! Now there’s only Ymir left!”
Working in concert with Thor’s hammer, Uru’s arrows and Loki’s magic attacked from different directions.
Ymir, forced to maintain his magical barrier, could no longer move as he pleased.
On the ground, the adventurers and Sigris closed in on Ymir, while Heimdall cut down monsters one after another. The spreading black wave and everyone’s resistance were locked in a fierce struggle.
—OOOOOOOOOOOOH!
Ymir once again slammed his fists together—ice and flame.
From the masses of darkness that fell to the ground, even more giants emerged. From within the darkness, the enormous head of a serpent began to crawl out.
Then a wolf’s head followed.
Was he trying to create Jörmungandr, the World Serpent, and Fenrir all over again…?
Every instinct I had screamed that we were in danger.
If this continued, Ymir would truly create an army of monsters—the end of the world would begin again.
“Rion!”
“Yeah. We have to hurry!”
There’s no time!
We landed on the ground and ran. From the air, the magical barrier and Ymir’s enormous arms kept getting in our way. Our only option was to weave through the chaotic battle with the monsters on the ground and approach him from a blind spot.
The sound of chains rattled.
Mia-san and Felix-san came running toward us, and we joined up with them.
“Ymir’s feet, right?!”
“We’ll cover you!”
Felix-san drove the Giant Soldiers back with fire magic.
Using a Spirit Stone, he even unleashed a powerful gust of wind, creating a clear space around Ymir’s feet.
Mia-san shouted.
“This way!”
She hooked her chain axe around Ymir’s arm. Solana and I grabbed Mia-san’s left hand.
“Hold on tight!”
Ymir swung his massive arm upward. The momentum carried me, Solana, and Mia rapidly upward along the chain.
“Count on me!”
Mia-san let go and fell back toward the ground.
Solana and I used the momentum to soar even higher. We rose until we were right before Ymir’s eyes.
“Ymir…”
I stared at him.
His enormous eye, nearly as large as my entire body, glared down at me.
“Let’s end this.”
My voice carried through the sky.
—Rion!
—Please win!
—Come back safely…!
Safi, the princess, my mother.
Voices of people I knew.
Voices of people I didn’t.
The warmth in my chest became heat.
I glanced at the goddess and reached for the coin in my pocket. The gold coin I had received from the antique shopkeeper during that cold winter gleamed in the morning sunlight.
The goddess smiled.
“Shall we?”
Solana entered the gold coin.
With a clear, ringing chime, the coin attached itself to the hilt of my short sword.
Heat gathered in my hand. The gold coin began to shine brilliantly as it fused with the blue-crystal short sword.
In the blink of an eye, blades of light were born in both my hands.
| Skill『Sun’s Divine Protection』was activated. 『Sword of the Sun’s Daughter』… Imbues the Daughter of the Sun in a weapon. |
An enormous wave of heat surged from my chest, through my arms, and into the short sword. The overflowing golden light formed a gigantic blade, its length rivaling Ymir’s towering height.
My gaze met that of the Primordial Titan.
“It’s over, Primordial Titan.”
For just an instant, the anger and fighting spirit vanished from Ymir’s burning eyes. His gaze became puzzled, as though asking me a question, “Am I going to lose?”
I felt as though Ymir’s voice had echoed inside my head.
“Yes.”
I changed my stance.
“You have a strength that I can never reach.”
Not through hurting others.
Not through devouring them.
I held the golden blade straight.
My target is the center of Ymir’s chest.
—Is that something I cannot devour?
The calmness in Ymir’s eyes lasted only an instant.
His fighting spirit immediately flared back to life, and he reached out toward me. Our cries mingled, echoing through the space between us.
I thrust the blade of light forward and released the golden magical power toward his heart. A torrent of light pierced straight through Ymir’s body.
This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeneijiworks.com
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