Author: Yume Neiji

Mia tightened her grip on the chain, glaring at the enemy forces from the center of the adventurers’ formation. Two creatures in particular towered above the others. One was the massive wolf Fenrir, standing nearly five meters tall. Its pale blue fur shimmered through the snow that had begun to fall. Its red eyes shifted slowly as it surveyed the adventurers’ battle line.

The other was an enormous serpent. The World Serpent, Jörmungandr, had raised its head to roughly the same height as Fenrir. Its coiled body was several times longer than it was tall, though it was nowhere near as enormous as when it had appeared in the Royal Capital.

The World Serpent had been weakened as well. It had likely lost a great deal of its magical power. Before the two giants stood rows of monsters—goblins, kobolds, orcs, the flame hound Garm, giant soldiers, and more.

Two armies faced each other in a tense standoff.

The roughly one hundred adventurers had one objective: break through the monster army, reach the temple beyond, and support the boy with the horn. The monsters outnumbered them by roughly three to one, and their purpose was to prevent the adventurers from breaking through.

Between the two battle lines stretched a gap of about fifty meters. Slowly, the killing intent filling that space grew heavier.

“Well, then.”

Mia exhaled and tightened her grip on her chain axe. In the freezing air, her breath instantly turned white. The power of Thor, the God of Thunder, coursed through the blade, scattering pale blue sparks of lightning.

The great serpent noticed Mia and curled its lips into a sinister grin.

“They’re coming.”

The great serpent roared. Fenrir answered with a howl. Then the monsters surged forward like a black tidal wave.

Felix, leading the Raven Warrior Corps, gave the order, and the adventurers charged forward as one. Mia swung her axe back and hurled it.

“Heavy Strike…!”

The axe left a trail of lightning across the dim sky before slamming into the World Serpent Jörmungandr’s flank. The enormous serpent twisted in midair before crashing down with a thunderous boom. Snow exploded outward, filling the battlefield and obscuring the view ahead.

It was the same strategy they’d used during the defense of the royal capital—the two strongest monsters would surge forward first and try to decide the battle before the rest of the forces could even engage.

A shout came from one of the adventurers.

“Mia! That giant wolf is heading your way!”

Fenrir leaped over the wave of monsters and landed in the center of the adventurers’ formation.

Its enormous jaws opened wide. The foul stench of its breath washed over Mia.

“Oh, crap—”

Her chain axe was still fully extended.

Felix shouted.

“Mia! Jump!”

Felix swung his staff, launching a barrage of fireballs. Each one homed in on the giant wolf. Several exploded right in front of Fenrir’s snout. Fenrir zigzagged away, putting distance between itself and the adventurers. Then it vanished into the cloud of snow kicked up by the World Serpent.

“The monsters are here!”

“Form ranks!”

A few moments later, monsters such as orcs and giant soldiers reached the adventurers’ battle line.

The numbers were heavily against them. One hundred adventurers faced an enemy force roughly three times their size. The adventurers were individually stronger, but they were overwhelmingly outnumbered.

As they’d planned beforehand, they immediately shifted formations. Instead of a straight line, they formed a square formation. As the monsters closed in from every direction, the adventurers countered from within the formation with magic and arrows, while the shield-bearers formed the outer wall.

“We’re fine over here!”

“Focus on the big ones!”

“Garm! Garm’s coming!”

“Anyone without a spare weapon, fall back!”

Battle cries and monster roars blended into one deafening cacophony.

Mia had been occupied keeping Jörmungandr and the other major monsters at bay, so she’d fallen behind when the square formation was established. The formation was moving toward the left side of the grand staircase, taking the monsters’ charge at an angle. Whether they intended to break apart the monster ranks from the left or simply withstand the assault, it was still better than standing still and allowing themselves to be surrounded.

“…Well, looks like I got left behind.”

Mia gave a wry smile as a chill ran down her spine. Then a reassuring voice called out from behind her.

“Mia!”

It was Felix.

To hide the relief she felt, Mia raised an eyebrow while cutting down an approaching orc.

“Oh? Aren’t you supposed to be commanding?”

“I’ve already handed that responsibility over. More importantly, we have—”

Felix’s gaze settled on two figures emerging from the clearing snow. The World Serpent, Jörmungandr, and Fenrir were staring intently toward Mia and Felix.

“Yeah. We can’t let the big ones run wild.”

“Exactly. We need a separate mobile unit apart from the main formation.”

Even as she spoke, Mia already understood what that role required. It should be handled by adventurers who had fought the monsters of the Age of Myth many times before.

“So it’s you and me.”

Felix nodded.

“Mia. How about you take the serpent, and I’ll take the wolf?”

“Mm. Can’t be helped.”

Thor’s face flashed through Mia’s mind.

“—Looks like I’m stealing the glory from you, God.”

She hoisted her chain axe onto her shoulder.

Felix fired a burst of flame into the dawn sky.

From within the square formation, Lloyd of the Stone Hammer raised his booming voice.

“Make way for the reinforcements!”

“Mia takes the World Serpent Jörmungandr! Felix takes the wolf!”

Three adventurers joined Mia, and three more joined Felix. They were members of the Raven Warrior Corps. After all the battles they’d fought together, the six of them had become familiar faces.

Together, Mia and Felix moved to intercept their respective monsters.

The plan was simple. While they kept the two powerful beasts occupied, the main formation would wipe out the rest of the monsters. Once that was done, everyone could concentrate on the remaining giants.

And if Mia and Felix managed to defeat Fenrir or Jörmungandr themselves, even better. The tide of battle would swing decisively in the adventurers’ favor.

A dry laugh escaped Mia.

“Yeah… If everything goes according to plan, that is.”

The World Serpent Jörmungandr moved.

It reared up toward the sky.

Then, in the next instant, it plunged headfirst into the snowy plain.

The ground shook.

Mia shouted.

“Go, Felix!”

“But—”

“Your opponent’s the wolf!”

The tremors drew closer and closer to Mia.

“H-hey, now…”

The snow beneath her feet had been accumulating for a thousand years.

And something enormous was burrowing through it.

“—!”

Mia leaped on instinct.

The snow exploded where she’d been standing. The great serpent burst through the surface. Its body stretched for dozens of meters before the enormous creature finally emerged fully in front of her.

A monstrous being that had once been destined to battle the gods.

The greatest among them—World Serpent Jörmungandr.

It raised its colossal body and looked down at Mia. Its dark scales seemed to have fallen straight out of the dawn sky. Its head towered more than eight meters above the ground. And its golden eyes were each large enough to stand as tall as a small child.

—The red-haired axe wielder.

—You borrowed Thor’s power, didn’t you?

The World Serpent Jörmungandr rumbled deep in its throat. The sound was like an earthquake.

—I wonder which will last longer. You…

—Or the black-haired mage over there. He seems to have received Loki’s magic.

Mia swung her axe and shouted back.

“Shut up! If we don’t prove that we can win even without the gods, those gods of ours will never get a chance to rest!”

From the distant battlefield came the howl of a wolf.

“…Don’t you dare die, Felix.”

As if he’d heard her, Felix raised his staff in the distance.

Somehow, the two of them had fallen perfectly into sync.

Warmth spread through Mia’s chest. She quickly wiped at the corner of her mouth.

“Heh. Let’s do this…!”

A red light glowed within Mia’s chest.

Looking around, she saw the same phenomenon in Felix’s chest—and in the chests of every adventurer fighting within the main formation. Each carried a color belonging to one of the gods.

Thor, the God of Thunder—red.

Sigris, the God of Medicine—blue.

Loki, the God of Mischief —purple.

Uru, the God of Hunting—brown.

Heimdall, the Guardian God—gold.

“Look forward to it, Gods!”

The adventurers will be the ones to settle this.

Mia’s heart, too, burned with passion for the real adventure that began with their encounter in the royal capital.

This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeneijiworks.com

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Shing.

Clang. Clang.

Every time our blades met on the staircase, sparks and golden magic scattered between Freyr and me. I was wreathed in the Golden Flame, while Freyr radiated the light of the Awakening skill.

My short sword and Freyr’s sword struck against each other again and again.

His blue eyes pierced straight through me.

“Storm Whirlwind.”

A technique of the Swordsman skill.

Freyr came at me without being hindered in the slightest by the uneven steps. His blade swept around in a low, spinning arc that followed the slope of the staircase.

I jumped backward down the stairs to evade it.

Rolling downhill would let me put more distance between us.

“Twin Scatter Strike.”

Two slashes came at me from opposite directions.

I knocked aside the first strike from the right, then slipped low across the stairs to evade the follow-up from the left.

Then I charged in.

I reversed my grip on the short sword and thrust upward.

Freyr caught the blade with his sword.

“You’ve grown.”

He smiled through the shower of sparks and pushed harder.

The Golden Flame surged through me, filling me with strength.

“Haa!”

I forced my short sword through his guard and slashed his arm. Freyr immediately retreated.

Wind swept between us, kicking up snow from the stairs.

I carefully measured the distance between us.

He still had the higher ground.

“…I thought it was strange.”

I steadied my breathing before speaking.

“That you were the one guiding me. Ymir intended to attack us from the very beginning.”

I used the time I’d bought to study my opponent and search for a more advantageous position. That was another lesson I’d learned about playing the game. Freyr raised an eyebrow, clearly offended by the accusation. His golden hair fluttered in the wind.

“This was not Ymir’s order.”

He tightened his grip on his sword.

“This was my decision.”

Freyr held his sword at mid-guard, his stance completely without openings. And yet, I felt the faintest sense that something was off. Neither Freyr nor I were the same as before. Not like we had been back in Flocia.

“If I obtain the heart, I’ll have a much stronger bargaining position with Ymir when it comes to Freyja.”

His beautiful smile only made him more frightening. It was as though he cared about nothing but his own interests.

“…What are you planning to do with Lu?”

“It’s the same as what happened to the body I currently inhabit. If her skills are devoured, the owner of the body will suffer severe mental damage and become little more than an empty shell. If Ymir devours Luisia’s Miko skill, Luisia’s mind will be lost… and Freyja will survive by taking over that girl’s body instead.”

When you’re truly angry, sometimes your mind becomes strangely calm. I could feel the expression draining from my face. This man saw my own sister—Luisia—as nothing more than a vessel.

Freyr twisted the corner of his mouth and pulled the necklace from inside his clothes.

Brísingamen…

He held the divine artifact up for me to see.

“—How dare you.”

“Then you should defeat me.”

Freyr shook his sword provocatively.

“Protect the heart, and take the divine artifact Brísingamen from me.”

Freyr changed his stance.

From mid-guard to high guard.

The moment one changes stance is a moment of vulnerability.

I could sense that he was deliberately inviting me in.

But this time—

I had to take the bait.

“Freyr!”

As I called his name, I activated a skill through the crystal embedded in my short sword.

“Wake up!”

From the step directly beneath Freyr, I awakened the wind spirit Sylph. Green light scattered from my dagger. A violent gust swept up the snow and hurled it straight at Freyr.

“Tch.”

Freyr leaped to the side.

I pursued him.

With the Golden Flame driving me forward, I refused to give him any room to dictate the distance between us.

“Why are you going to kill Lu?”

“What?”

“There might be a way to save both Freyja and Lu.”

Freyr gave a derisive laugh.

“I told you before. In order to obtain one thing, you must push the other aside.”

He had said the same thing back in Flocia.

If you wanted to gain something, there were always sacrifices to make—and the resolve to accept them.

“Frost Fang.”

The slash that came flying toward me was accompanied by countless icy fangs.

I twisted my body aside.

A razor-thin shard of cold sliced across my cheek.

“Rion. You must have been forced to choose as well—whether to flee to another world, or to stay here and fight. The choice you made is what brought you to where you are now.”

“That’s true.”

I took a breath.

“But… I’m selfish.”

The moment the wind swept past, I concealed my presence and closed the distance.

Freyr’s sword intercepted my slash from the side.

A sharp metallic clang rang out across the staircase.

“I’ll take Lu back.”

I tightened my grip.

“And I’ll take back the world, too.”

A roar erupted behind me.

The adventurers had collided with the monster army. The battle had begun at the foot of the stairs as well. The silent snowfield was gradually filling with the sounds of the decisive battle.

Freyr narrowed his eyes slightly as he looked down at me.

Then I noticed it. His shoulders were rising and falling with every breath.

“…Freyja wants you to come back alive, too.”

Just as Ymir and the monsters had been seriously wounded, there was no way this man had emerged unscathed.

At first, Freyr had seemed almost as strong as he had been back in Flocia. But the more our blades clashed, the more clearly I could sense the damage that had been carved into this god.

And then I realized—

My level had risen. Level 35.

The strength I had gained. The wounds Freyr was carrying. Those were the decisive differences between this battle and the one in Flocia.

“…Do you understand?”

Freyr’s eyes darkened as he let his sword hang loosely at his side.

The air changed.

“My sister and I have been together as gods for thousands of years. A weak brother who cannot protect his sister is no brother at all.”

The instant he seemed to sway—

He lunged.

I knocked his attack aside with my dagger, but I immediately understood what he was aiming for. He had drawn my attention to his upper body. But what actually moved was his leg—

“A leg sweep…!?”

It was a rough, down-and-dirty fighting style. The kind of technique an adventurer would use. Nils-san’s style.

I twisted my body to avoid it, but that threw off my balance. I went tumbling down the stairs.

Freyr closed in on me.

“Wake up!”

I summoned the fire spirit Salamander from my gauntlet and hurled an explosion of flame at him. But Freyr ducked beneath it. As he rose, he swung his sword upward.

“Dragon-Splitting Strike!”

It was a brute-force blow, as though he were striking me with raw magical power itself. Fragments of shattered stone slammed into my body. I somehow managed to get back on my feet, but blood burst from my right temple.

“Guh…”

As I got back to my feet, something flashed across the corner of my eye.

A golden glimmer. My gaze instinctively followed it. Because it was something I absolutely needed if I was going to save Lu.

The divine artifact—

Brísingamen. The Golden Flame enveloping my body flickered, almost as if it were shouting at me: “Notice it.”

“—!”

I raised my short sword on instinct.

Freyr lunged with a thrust. I deflected the blade away from my chest, guiding it toward my shoulder instead.

A searing pain tore through me. I swallowed the cry that rose in my throat and glared at him.

“Freyr…!”

Our sword and short sword collided, locking together in a struggle of strength.

—Take it back!

I could feel that message in his eyes as he stared at me.

His strength grew stronger. The god’s will grew stronger.

—Take it back!

The Golden Flame roared higher.

I absolutely could not lose. Back in the Blood-Red Sunset Dungeon, Freyr had said it, “I can’t forgive them.”

Now, with his eyes only inches from mine, I could see flames burning within them. It wasn’t simply anger. Or sadness. It was a fire made from all of those emotions, twisted together into something far more intense.

His fury toward Odin for using Freyja.

His fury toward the monsters that had attacked the gods.

And his fury toward Freyja for accepting her own death.

His love for his family had been transformed into an endless rage, burning within him.

“Ugh…!”

I planted my feet firmly on the stairs, shoulder-width apart.

The basics. The foundation I had built through countless hours of training supported my back and held my stance steady. Little by little, my short sword began to overpower Freyr’s sword.

“Guh…”

Freyr staggered and stepped backward.

Strength surged up from deep within my body.

The goddess’s flames.

The voices of my companions fighting on the snowy plain.

They kept the heat burning in my chest. The Golden Flame would never go out.

Freyr retreated another step. His sword began to tremble.

“I will never… again…!”

Freyr growled.

“I won’t… lose them again!!”

I could feel his magical power rising.

A chill ran down my spine.

I remembered how the monsters in the battle at the royal capital had fought with everything they had, burning through their very lives. Perhaps Freyr was doing the same. Perhaps he was prepared to sacrifice his own life, pouring every last drop of his magic into this battle.

“Why… why go this far?!”

Freyr answered.

“Because I’m just like you.”

His eyes burned.

“The kindest strongest one.”

Our blades screamed against each other.

I swung my short sword with all my strength.

The two weapons knocked each other away, forcing us apart.

Freyr shouted and charged. He stepped forward and swung his sword. I met him head-on, bringing my short sword across.

A faint groan escaped him. His body crumpled. He didn’t get back up.

Clatter… clatter…

His sword bounced and rolled down the grand staircase, the sound echoing through the silence. I activated the blessing of the God of the Hunting and searched for him.

No magical presence. Not even the faintest breath. Nothing.

Freyr lay on his side, eyes wide open.

He is dead.

He had probably suffered severe injuries in the Celestial Realm. Even if his physical wounds could be healed, the magic he had lost could never return. Just like Solana and the other gods in the Celestial Realm. And then, in his desperate attempt to reclaim the heart—or perhaps simply to defeat me—he had poured out every last bit of magical power he possessed.

“…You went that far…”

The words slipped from my lips.

In the snow, Brísingamen glimmered faintly. I picked it up and held it out near Freyr.

“You have to take good care of it…”

This man had sought strength. But when Freyja entrusted this divine artifact to him, perhaps it had carried the same wish she’d once made to Odin. A wish for him to change. Maybe that’s why Freyr awakened sooner than the other gods.

But Freyr…

Perhaps he simply couldn’t bear it. Just as I once had, he sought strength. Because without something to cling to, perhaps the weight of what he’d lost would have crushed him completely.

Freyr no longer moved. He had been like a blaze. A man who burned so fiercely that, in the end, he consumed even himself.

My eyes began to sting with tears.

“I’ll go now.”

On that cold day in the royal capital,

If Lu hadn’t been there…

Or if I had never met Solana…

Perhaps I would have ended up feeling the same way Freyr had. Hating weakness and yearning for strength were two sides of the same coin.

The Golden Flame surrounding my body flickered.

I wondered if the gods could feel Freyr’s death, too.

“I won’t forget you.”

There was danger in what I was about to do. But somehow, I felt it was the right thing.

I placed Brísingamen into Freyr’s hand and let him hold it for a moment. Then I gently closed his eyes, which had remained wide open.

I turned my back on Freyr. I started climbing the snow-shrouded staircase once more.

This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeneijiworks.com

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