Category: Hazure Skill “Alarm”, jitsuwa fūin kaijo no nōryoku deshita. Ochikobore no shōnen wa, nemuri kara sameta megami-tachi to yasashī saikyō o mezasu

Memories of Freyja resurfaced in Lu’s heart.

Luisia sat upon the cold chair, one hand outstretched before her.

Before her lay an impossibly vast, tranquil expanse of water. Perhaps because of the mana filling the air—or perhaps simply because it was so far away—the opposite shore was veiled in haze.

Everything around her was eerily silent.

The blue sky, the green earth, and the towering castle were all still there, and yet it felt as though she alone had been severed from everything else.

Mana flowed from her palm into the Mirror.

“Oniichan…”

The meaningless murmur slipped from her lips as Luisia closed her eyes.

She had already made her choice. Pouring her magic into the Mirror, she awakened the key that lay within her.

“Authority—Creation…!”

Thump.

A pulse, like the beating of a heart, echoed out, and a brilliant light pressed against her closed eyelids.

She slowly opened her eyes.

Without a sound, a pure white radiance began to rise from the depths of the Mirror. It seemed to be a sphere. Like the morning sun climbing into the sky, it continued to ascend.

She was left speechless.

The thing before her contained an immeasurable amount of mana. Compared to this, the power Freyja had left within her vessel amounted to no more than a fraction of the orb’s brilliance.

Now that it was taking shape through Creation, such a thing was impossible. But if this much power could somehow be turned into an attack, even the mightiest of monsters would not escape unscathed.

Then, memories belonging to Freyja surfaced within her mind.

“So this is… the world that was once left unfinished?”

Long ago, Odin had bestowed the Power of Creation upon Freyja and ordered her to create a new world. In her dazed, half-conscious state, Freyja had tried to obey. But at the very last moment, she came to her senses. She fled, taking the Power of Creation and a portion of its mana with her.

And thus, the history that Luisia and the others knew had begun.

The reason Odin had continued to grant skills to humanity…

The reason he had remained enthroned as the kingdom’s Chief God…

It was all to buy time while he searched for Freyja.

Among millions upon millions of humans, only one could become Freyja’s vessel. Even for the Chief God, it had taken nearly eight hundred years to find her. During all that time, the seal that bound the monsters had been slowly weakening. To maintain it, adventurers had to keep hunting monsters without end.

Freyja had hoped for something else. She had hoped that, while searching for the Power of Creation, Odin would come to know humanity more deeply. That he would witness the lives people lived. That he would realize humans possessed not only wickedness, but goodness as well.

But Odin never changed his mind.

And now…

Luisia had reached the same conclusion.

Though her reasons were entirely personal.

—To protect the people she most cared about, she would create another world and escape there.

“…Yeah.”

Luisia lowered her chin. Now, she felt she could wield the “Power of Creation” even more strongly than before. Because she had come to know the terrifying monster known as Ymir—and because there was a family she desperately wanted to survive. To live once more with her family, in peace and quiet. That wish gave form to her thoughts.

Imagination itself gave rise to creation, and the act of genesis that had been interrupted eight hundred years ago resumed once more. Her magical power is drawn into a gigantic sphere of light. The sphere seemed to rotate slowly. The green mana flowing from her palm is pulled into the vast white orb, winding around it and becoming part of it.

Luisia recalled how she used to build snowmen with her older brother when she was little. The process of gradually wrapping magic around the sphere to make it grow was like building a snowman. She felt as though someone gently tapped her shoulder.

— I’m counting on you.

Faintly visible behind her was an elderly man wearing a hood. He leaned on a spear like it was a staff, smiling gently at Luisia. But it may have been nothing more than an illusion. The old man—Odin—vanished almost immediately. Even so, the exhausted look in his eyes lingered in her memory.

Luisia thought to herself.

Perhaps the chief god could no longer imagine anything. If imagination had faded, then creation might have become impossible. And perhaps that was why Freyja—or Luisia herself, or someone else—was needed.

She shook her head.

But it no longer mattered.

Luisia would continue the act of creation.

So that she would never lose her family again.

“…Oniichan, you can’t, okay?”

She didn’t want him to die. She didn’t want him to face danger. He didn’t have to be a hero—she just wanted him to come home and say, “I’m back.”

Luisia’s vision blurred. She lowered her eyes, and the scattered tears glistened.

Then she heard a sound like ice shattering somewhere. Someone is running towards her, accompanied by a familiar magical energy.

“Lu!”

◆◆◆

I caught Lu in my arms as she reached out toward the water mirror.

My little sister had vacant, emerald-colored eyes. Her gaze had been fixed on the sphere of light, but slowly, she turned her eyes toward me.

“…Oniichan?”

“Yeah.”

I met her eyes.

Her eyes were wet, on the verge of tears, and it hurt to look at her.

There were things I had forgotten, things I had failed to notice—things I needed to bring to light and confront first.

“Sorry, Lu.”

That was all I managed to say at first.

“I… I almost made you go through something sad again.”

Odin had forced me to confront something I could no longer ignore.

Losing family is unbearably painful. I had thought that if I became stronger—if I became the strongest of all—then no one would ever be able to hurt my little sister again. But I had forgotten about Lu’s own feelings.

My sister looked at me with her green eyes.

“Oniichan, at least—think about yourself…!”

She glared at me through tears. Her words spilled out along with them.

“Ever since I got sick before, you’ve been pushing yourself so hard… you’ve been falling apart…!”

Her confession—something I was hearing from her for the first time—tightened my chest painfully.

“It hurt. I kept thinking I was just a useless sister holding you back… and yet…!”

Lu looked straight at me.

“Even in front of Ymir… that close… you were still trying to fight!”

“…Yeah.”

If I had unleashed the Sword of the Sun’s Daughter right then and there, I would have been killed by Ymir. That was how perfect the killing range had been.

I had been ready to trade blows—to die along with it if necessary.

I had been so focused on defeating the enemy in order to protect my sister. But that wasn’t any different. It would only make Lu carry the same pain of separation I once felt when I lost my father.

“Don’t go doing reckless things for me…!”

That kind of method… wasn’t kindness. The strength I was striving for… wasn’t that.

“Sorry, Lu.”

Apologize again and again. Because that’s all I can do.

Lu pulled away and said.

“…Okay, Oniichan.”

With green eyes, he smiles secretly.

“It’s over. Go to the next world…to the world I will create, with mother, Solana-sama, and everyone else.”

“Lu…”

“Ymir is strong. Much more than Oniichan and the Gods think…!”

Because of my own weakness, someone important to me gets hurt.

That’s the regret I felt.

I just let my sister carry that on her back. I was so absorbed in things like running around for medicine and defeating monsters that I wondered if I was paying close attention to Lu.

I don’t want to lose anyone anymore. My sister’s will is extremely strong.

Odin’s voice came from behind.

“That’s right!”

The chief god Odin leaped into the air. He raised his spear like a staff and swung it. The water’s surface shone brightly.

“Look, at the ground now.”

Lu and I gasped simultaneously.

“This…!”

The gold coin in my pocket trembled slightly. Even the goddess is frightened. The scene of the ground was reflected in the water. Everyone was being ravaged by monsters.

――Don’t give up!

Heimdall was desperately swinging his sword as he was attacked by a horde of giant soldiers.

――Damn it! They’re doing it…!

Thor was swinging his hammer Mjolnir with a pale face. The World Serpent’s venom might be taking effect.

――Mia!

――I know, Felix. He’s not dead yet.

Mia-san and Felix-san fought back-to-back. Safi seemed to have run out of golem cores, and while protected by the two, she still managed to survive by throwing hammers and tools.

Ymir roared, as if mocking their desperate struggle for survival.

Ripples formed on the water’s surface, and the giant orb of light wavered.

A bright red light lit up in the monsters’ eyes.

“Do you now understand? The tide is turning in the monsters’ favor.”

Odin spoke from above.

“Ymir is consuming skills even in the midst of the battle, increasing his power. The Frost Orb in the capital is the largest on earth. Has it finally consumed its magic, or even a powerful adventurer?”

Certainly, it had been a stalemate until now. But that was under the assumption that the enemy’s power remained constant.

“The Frost Orb is weakening. The seal is loosening further, and more monsters are heading towards the temple from the dungeon on the capital’s side. Whether you were there or not… the combined power of Ymir and the monsters is now threatening to overwhelm the combined strength of the gods, humans, and dwarves.”

The capital’s defenses were already at their limit. If more monsters awaken—that excess power will attack the temple.

The only time we could defeat Ymir was when we launched a desperate attack on the temple. That’s why Odin and Lu abandoned us—because we couldn’t protect Lu there.

Lu screamed.

“No…!”

uu lowered her eyes.

“I don’t want to see! Oniichan, leave it to me!”

My sister pushed me away and slumped onto a stone chair. She was holding her head in her hands.

“…Even in the age of myths, Ymir revived after the gods thought he had been defeated. And even now, he’s gathering even more monsters from the dungeons throughout the capital. He’s been eating the skills of those around him at the last moment, increasing his power.”

I swallowed hard.

Ymir’s power is unfathomable. And because it’s unfathomable, I don’t know if we can win. Because we are not sure, no matter how hard we fight—our valiant efforts might end in vain. Our enemy is truly extraordinary, the first creature of its kind in the world.

“Is that really okay with you, Lu?”

I asked my sister.

I smiled at Lu, who was looking at me with wide eyes. It was a pathetic smile, almost like crying.

“…I’m sorry, Lu.”

“Oniichan?”

“Even so, I want to go to the surface and fight.”

I looked straight into my sister’s eyes.

“Dad tried to protect them, left behind the horn, and passed it on to me. I think—maybe—Dad inherited something similar from his comrades, or his own father, or many other people.”

I paused and looked at her intently.

Then I continued.

“That’s why, I want to fight on the ground. You see, if only me, you, and our comrades survive, Dad’s spirit will die in return.”

“But…”

“Yes. I understand how Lu feels. But if I die instead, Lu will be sad… it’ll be the same as what happened with Dad.”

I shook my head and looked at my sister.

The gold coin in my pocket felt warm, encouraging me.

I can’t be a sacrifice. There are people who love me very much.

“I’ll come back.”

I told her directly.

“When I say, ‘I’m leaving,’ I’ll come back and say ‘I’m home.’ Just like the usual wake-up call, we’ll all eat together again when I’m done.”

At that house where I spent so much time with Lu and Mom. Next time, we could even bring the Gods, Felix-san, and Solana. Oh and Mia-san had been here once before, hadn’t she?

“I swear. I’ll definitely come back. I won’t treat myself carelessly either.”

It’s not just about the strength to defeat enemies.

The strongest I aim for, the gentle strongest, is the strength to protect someone. If I can’t even cherish myself, how can I possibly protect anyone?

“That’s why…”

I smiled.

“Please forgive my selfishness, and believe me. I won’t leave you behind, Lu.”

I held my head high.

“I’m different from Dad. I’ll surpass Dad and come back to you.”

Large tears welled up in Lu’s eyes. Her shoulders trembled. Stifling her sobs, my sister clung to me and cried.

“…You’re such a fool, Oniichan.”

“I’m sorry.”

“If you say it like that…! How far will you go…?!”

“…I’m sorry.”

She pressed her large tears against my shoulder and wiped them away. Lu rubbed her eyes with the sleeve of her priest’s robe and looked at me.

“I told you so.”

She sighed.

“…I’ll become strong too. So that you can rest assured, Oniichan.”

Her eyes were red from crying, but it was the same slightly assertive, reliable little sister’s face as always.

“I believe you.”

But the next smile she wore was different from the usual Lu. It was a more mature smile.

“Instead of worrying about each other, I wish we could learn to trust each other.”

“I believe you’ll come back.”

The green magic faded from my sister’s eyes. It was probably because she no longer needed to force herself to exert Freyja’s magic out of fear.

A thumping sound, like a heartbeat, could be heard, gradually weakening.

Thinking about it, whenever the ‘Power of Creation’ appeared and disappeared, there was always this heartbeat-like sound.

The orb of light is still slowly rotating on the water’s surface.

However, the flow of magic being drawn into it had stopped.

I murmured.

“…Is creation… over?”

“Yes. It’s strange, but… I can hear Freyja-sama’s voice clearly now. The goddess is also at ease. I feel like I can use my magic and abilities—more than before.”

That’s good.

She won’t have to create the world or be at the mercy of the gods’ power anymore. It seems Lu has gotten used to the current situation too.

My sister said.

“—Have a safe trip.”

I gazed at the water mirror reflecting the fierce battle.

“I’m going.”

The battle continued on the surface.

I looked up at Odin and raised my voice.

“Odin, I’m going to the surface!”

Lu no longer conjured up magic. The sphere of light had stopped growing. Odin lowered his eyes deeply and shook his head. His eyes were dark, as if he had aged thousands of years in an instant.

“…Norn. Lower the Rainbow Bridge Bifrost to the Earth.”

Odin added.

“But it’s too late now…”

“Huh…?”

In that instant, Ymir’s roar echoed from the water mirror.

In the reflected scene, the primordial giant was gnawing towards the air. Its enormous, bulging eyes pierced me and Lu through the water mirror.

“Ymir can tear through worlds and travel anywhere. This land, connected by the Rainbow Bridge Bifrost and containing his heart, has already been captured.”

Several dozen meters to the left of us, at the location of a giant ash tree.

The space cracked. Frost spread through the blowing cold air.

The primordial giant, Ymir, had stepped into the heavens of the gods.

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

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A white light filled my vision. I thought I heard a gentle voice say, “Rion.”

Solana was gone before I realized it. What I saw was a scene of family togetherness.

—Rion!

My young father was holding a toy sword to me, and I, about five years old, was swinging it around. Lu was still a baby, held on my mother’s lap. My father and mother were originally adventurers, and after getting married, they bought a small house in the Royal Capital to raise us.

The time of family togetherness continued.

I turned seven, then ten.

The scene of my father, mother, Lu, and me all laughing together lasted until I was twelve. At some point, I started wielding a wooden practice sword instead of a toy sword. Lu was already a responsible child back then, helping my mother and going out to learn sewing.

“I’m going now.”

Dad raised one hand and went outside. Lu, Mom, and I watched him go.

Dad never came back after that adventure.

A cold wind brushed against my cheek.

I snapped back to reality.

“W-what was that just now?”

Above me, Odin looked down.

My head is still spinning. It had probably been an illusion he had shown me.

Odin spoke.

“In the past, you lost your family to monsters.”

I remained silent and listened.

“Luisia is trying to ensure that such a tragedy never happens again. She wishes to flee to another world with her family, her precious companions, and her friends. A world where there is no fear of monsters… where the happy family life you longed for—the warmth you still regret losing—can continue forever, without anyone ever being taken away.”

A sharp pain tightened in my chest.

The days when our whole family had been together…

We had never been wealthy. But looking back now, those days had been happy. Truly happy.

“And now, that happiness is about to be lost once more.”

Odin’s voice was calm.

“Isn’t that so?”

Odin whispered.

He is forcing me to face whether I wanted to or not, exactly what I stood to lose by continuing this fight.

“You, your mother, and your sister have all been targeted by monsters. If they wished to reclaim the happiness they once had in another world, what could possibly be strange about that?”

Before the water mirror, its far edges fading like the horizon of a lake, Lu slowly rose to her feet.

She held her hand over the surface and poured green mana into it. From the depths of the mirror, a gigantic sphere of light began to emerge. It had to be thirty meters across.

Disturbing the water as it rose, the luminous orb revealed itself completely and came to a halt, floating at about the height of a child. The surface of the lake turned pure white in its radiance. As it absorbed the magic flowing from Lu, the light only grew brighter and brighter.

The sphere rotated slowly. Drawing in the green mana around it, it continued to gather strength.

“Your sister has begun Creation….”

My head still felt hazy.

That… that was Creation.

“That sphere of light is the unfinished world that was once meant to be created through Freyja, long before this age. It contains an amount of power that surpasses even the gods. But because it has already begun to take shape, it can no longer be used as ordinary magic. Its only purpose now is Creation itself.”

At Odin’s words, my throat tightened.

That enormous sphere of light—

it was the next world, on the verge of being born from the power of Creation.

“You fought well, using the skill Alarm. There is no longer any reason not to call you a Hero.”

Odin looked down at me.

“Congratulations. The people precious to you can now pass into the next world, where no one will ever be lost again.”

The Chief God repeated himself.

“Congratulations. The family life you longed for… can begin anew and continue forever.”

The coin inside my pocket trembled.

I looked around, but the goddess—Solana— was nowhere to be seen. Some power must have sealed her within the coin.

Tears welled up in my eyes.

“…That’s not fair.”

When it was laid out before me like this—when I was reminded once again just how precious they were—it made me want to treasure only my family.

Those days had been warm.

They had been happy.

I had loved them with all my heart.

So I understood. I understood the desire not to lose them… the desire to get them back. Because if there were no monsters, then everything would be solved.

But…

“I’m sorry, Odin.”

I looked up at the Chief God above me. Drawing my blue-crystal short sword, I pointed it toward him.

“I can’t accept that way of thinking.”

“Luisia fears your loss more than anything else. And you will be lost. Will you repeat the same tragedy that befell your family?”

“Maybe. I don’t intend to repeat it… but there’s a chance it could happen.”

I took a breath and continued.

“But… Father didn’t just die.”

I tightened my grip on the short sword.

“He left me the horn… and the means to fight monsters.”

The moment I threw all of that away…my father would truly be gone. I am still not ready to abandon what he had entrusted to me.

“…I see. And you do not realize that this resolve of yours is what is hurting your sister?”

“That’s why I’m going to talk to Lu.”

I answered without hesitation.

I understood how Lu felt. She had probably faced the same question I had just been given. And my resolve—to protect her no matter the cost, even if it meant my own death—was something she simply couldn’t accept.

I had been so desperate to protect her that I had never truly considered how it felt to be the one being protected.

“Thank you for giving me Alarm skill.”

I looked straight at Odin.

“But I came here to bring my sister home. So please… step aside.”

Yet Odin still blocked my path with his wall of ice.

I was about to use a skill to shatter it when a chilling sensation ran through me.

The presence I always felt—the goddess’s presence—had vanished completely.

“So…Solana?”

I couldn’t hear her. There was no cheerful voice in my head.

Odin spoke coldly.

“The skill Alarm that I granted you… I have sealed it, but only within this place.”

I called out again.

“Solana!”

No answer came.

The goddess’s voice no longer reached me.

“Can you still uphold that resolve on your own? Can you break the ice without her?”

Odin asked.

I glared up at him and pulled the gold coin from my pocket. It wasn’t just that the awakened goddess had always helped me. As one of her followers, I had forged a bond with her.

“I’ll be fine.”

I took the coin from its pouch and pressed it firmly against my blue-crystal short sword.

The gold coin began to shine. Golden mana raced along the blade.

Then a voice echoed inside my head—the voice of the gods, the voice of the goddess Norn.

Skill『Sun’s Divine Protection』was activated. 【Sword of the Daughter of the Sun】…… Imbues the Daughter of the Sun in a weapon.

Golden light crashed into the ice.

The wall that stood between Lu and me shattered beneath the surging radiance, breaking apart and melting away. The gold coin glimmered proudly before slipping from my short sword and falling.

Clink.

A clear, refreshing sound rang out. Even if I couldn’t see the goddess. Even if I couldn’t step outside through Alarm. This bond—the one that still let me draw upon her power—was real.

A memory surfaced in my mind.

—I will always be with you.

Those were the words of the goddess.

When I had shown her around the Royal Capital, I had made that promise.

I raised my eyes to Odin.

“I’m going through, Odin.”

I walk towards the water mirror where Lu is.

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

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Hand in hand with Solana, I raced upward through the twilight sky. Ahead of us flew the gigantic eagle carrying Lu away. Each of its wings had to be several meters long, yet from this distance it had already shrunk to the size of a speck.

But I couldn’t let it escape. I would never let it escape.

The wind roared in my ears. I tightened my lips and pressed forward. Solana’s fingers tightened around my hand.

“Are you all right?”

“Yeah…!”

When my gaze drifted downward, a took a breath.

“…Amazing.”

The earth below was stained crimson. The temple, surrounded by monsters, looked like an island floating in a black sea.

“I’m bringing Lu back… and we’re coming home.”

The great eagle passed through a ring of rainbow light. Then it disappeared into a hole torn open in the clouds. We headed for the same opening.

A memory surfaced in my mind—something Solana had once told me. There was a bridge that connected the heavens and the mortal world. Its name was—

“The Rainbow Bridge, Bifrost!”

The instant we plunged into the hole in the clouds, seven-colored light flooded my vision.

The wind vanished.

Gravity vanished.

Everything vanished.

Afraid that we might be separated, I gripped Solana’s hand as tightly as I could and refused to let go.

“S-Solana!”

“We’ve entered the entrance to the heavens! Hold on, Rion!”

The heavens and earth spun around. After several rotations, I fell onto the soft ground on my back. A warm light pressed against my eyelids. And a gentle breeze blew by.

I slowly opened my eyes.

Under the blue sky, I was lying on my back on a green hill. I am still holding to Solana by my right hand. I let go and stood up. The ground where my palms touched was soft with grass. I inhaled, and smelled the scent of green.

“Where… are we…?”

I looked around while still sitting. Solana floated up and peered down at me.

“Awake?”

“Yeah…”

I stood up.

Around the hill, a breathtakingly beautiful scene unfolded, as if the battle from earlier had never happened. A city of white. The pristine white cityscape stretched endlessly, bathed in sunlight. Each wall, each sculpture, gleamed proudly, showcasing a material and form unlike anything found on earth. In the distance, a large ash tree and a castle with a spire were visible. The canals flowing through the city sparkled with crystal-clear water.’

“So this is… the Realm of the Gods?”

“Indeed. A thousand years ago, this was where we lived. The name Asgard Kingdom now belongs to your nation, but originally, it referred to this Celestial Realm.”

I listened carefully, but all I could hear was the sound of the wind passing by.

This city…

It must be deserted now. It’s beautiful, yet devoid of life. Perhaps that was why its beauty felt so unreal.

“Many gods lived among humans on the surface, but the principal gods—Odin, Thor, Heimdall, and the others—made this place their home. Here rested their divine treasures as well. The water mirror that watched over the world below, the spear that never missed its mark, Thor’s hammer…”

I pressed my foot into the grassy hill.

“Is this really above the sky?”

Solana shook her head.

“It is certainly higher than the mortal world. But… explaining it is somewhat difficult.”

Just as the goddess hesitated, the sound of footsteps brushing through the grass approached.

A woman is climbing the slope to my left. She wore a robe dark as shadow, and her hair was black as well. For some reason, she reminded me of a raven.

Her gray eyes narrowed slightly.

“To you, this place exists in a different dimension.”

Her voice was low and calm. And yet it sounded strangely familiar. As though I had heard it countless times—so many that forgetting it would be impossible.

“It is not a place one can reach simply by climbing higher into the sky. It’s an alternate dimension that can only be reached by passing through a special entrance—that’s how you should think of it.”

The woman smiled.

I felt as though I understood… and yet I didn’t understand at all.

As I stood there in confusion, she gave me a graceful bow.

“Adventurer… welcome.”

At those words, I suddenly froze.

I recognized that voice.

“Y-you’re… the one giving the gods’ messages…?”

The voice that echoed throughout the world, delivering messages to adventurers. The voice we heard when using skills or leveling up. At countless moments, it informed us of our status and conveyed information to us.

“Indeed I am. You are quite perceptive.”

The goddess’s long black hair swayed as she bowed once more.

“My name is Norn, Hero. It is my role as a goddess to inform you of your talents, skills, and status.”

Then she turned her back to Solana and me and smiled.

“Allow me to guide you to the Chief God.”

I exchanged glances with Solana.

“Rion, let’s trust her.”

“…All right.”

After all, nothing could begin until we reached Odin.

We walked through the city of white stone. Part of me desperately wanted to hurry. Ymir and the others were still rampaging below, on the surface. But there was no harm in remaining cautious.

Suppressing the urge to run, we followed Norn’s leisurely pace through the Celestial City.

“Is this okay, Norn?”

“Is something wrong? Oh, it’s been a long time, Daughter of the Sun.”

“Aren’t we intruders to Odin?”

“Certainly. But for many years I have conveyed status information and messages to adventurers. I do have a slight inclination to side with you.”

That doesn’t necessarily mean the chief god feels that way though...

Norn continued to guide us.

“Gods and heroes once traveled back and forth across the Rainbow Bridge, Bifrost.”

We passed beneath the towering gate alongside Norn.

Beyond it stood a colossal castle. Its spires might have reached a hundred meters into the sky. The royal castle below had seemed enormous when I looked up at it, yet this place dwarfed even that. Past the gate stretched a vast courtyard. Far off to the right, the surface of something like a lake glittered in the light.

Solana murmured,

“Mímir’s Mirror…”

“That’s Odin’s water mirror for looking down on the land.”

There was a shrine-like building by the water’s edge. I noticed someone sitting on a stone chair.

“…Lu!”

I started running.

However, frost swiftly crossed in front of me. The next moment, a wall of ice blocked my path. An old man with a large backpack walked out from the palace entrance.

“Antique shop owner….”

I clutched the gold coin in my pocket.

The beginning of everything…

I used the gold coin he gave me to ‘unseal’ Solana. And that’s how I met the goddess. Everything started on that cold morning.

The antique shop owner smiled.

“Thank you, Rion.”

The expression was exactly the same as when he gave me the coin.

But only his eyes narrowed coldly.

“But this is as far as you can go. Thanks to you, your sister has truly awakened. Now—can you leave it to me?”

I shook my head. I drew my short sword and pointed it at the old man.

“No. I can imagine what you’re planning to do there with Lu—but I won’t ask now.”

The old man remained silent.

“I just want to cherish them. Both the horn and Lu!”

The old man’s body was enveloped in light.

What appeared was an elderly god, clad in a robe and wielding a spear. He had silver hair and a fierce face. His gentle demeanor vanished, replaced by eyes as deep as starlight, gazing at me.

“Pardon me.”

Odin spoke.

His voice resonated deep within my stomach, filled with dignity.

“…Then I, too, have a responsibility as the one who created the world.”

The chief god raised his spear and swung it like a staff. A fierce white light enveloped Solana and me.

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

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It felt as though my heart had frozen solid.

Down below, beneath the city wall, my little sister was in Ymir’s grasp. An awful, helpless sound escaped my throat.

“Aah…”

I broke into a run. The great wolf, Fenrir, blocked my path, forcing me back and preventing my reckless charge. Solana tried to unleash a beam of light at Ymir, but Freyr leapt in from the side and cut it apart.

“Gods…!”

Thor hurled Mjölnir.

In the temple courtyard stood a woman in a black robe.

A grin spread across her lips. And in the next instant, the World Serpent, Jormungandr, appeared.

Its undulating coils intercepted the hammer. Near the main gate, an innumerable horde of monsters was holding Heimdall back with suicidal ferocity. The God of the Horn swung his sword, cleaving giant soldiers in two, but monsters were pouring over the walls and into the temple like a waterfall.

It was like trying to stand alone against a raging flood.

A desperate plea slipped from my lips.

“S-someone…!”

Felix-san, Mia-san, and Safi.

The dwarf Bari-san and Lloyd-san, the Stone Hammer, had also appeared on the castle wall. But they were far away. My companions were going in the opposite direction from me and Lu.

Ymir shouted.

“I’ve got it! My heart…!”

Even though my sister was just a short jump away, Ymir was closer to Lu than anyone else! His giant body, over two meters tall, lifted Lu high into the air with one arm. My head felt like it was going to explode as I watched my sister flail her arms and legs in her priestly robes.

Run, run.

Run past this wolf!

“Haa!”

I dodged the wolf’s claws and slid down the castle wall at the last moment. In that instant, a sharp pain shot through my head. I had been slammed to the ground. I instinctively understood that Fenrir had swung its front leg.

“Rion!”

Freyr’s sword came down upon Solana. Above and to my side, the goddess was slammed into the top of the wall. Fragments of stone rained down around her.

At this rate… we couldn’t even coordinate. Through my pain-blurred vision, I saw light envelop Lu’s body.

Ymir opened his mouth wide. He’s going to devour the skill <Miko>—the Power of Creation itself.

“No…!”

In desperation, I unleashed a gust of wind from the spirit Sylph.

Ymir did not so much as budge. He was like an ancient tree rooted deep in the earth.

But—

Something changed. Ymir suddenly grimaced. Then his expression twisted into something horrifying. Fire blazed within his eyes, and his roar shook the air.

“You!”

I pushed myself up from the ground and stared at Ymir.

Fenrir, who had descended to the ground, also widened his great golden eyes. The giant wolf muttered darkly,

“You rat…”

For a moment, I thought I heard a tiny, chittering laugh. The form of Lu was enveloped in icy mist and began to distort. Then a small creature slipped from Ymir’s hand.

It was—

a rat.

I whispered in disbelief,

“…Rata?”

The rat— Ratbone Rata  that had been imprisoned within the temple—let out a dry, crackling laugh.

“Oh Ymir! Oh Great Creator! Ratbone Rata has at last managed to take a little revenge upon you!”

Ymir’s enormous foot came down and crushed the rat. Rata dissolved into light. Ymir inhaled the floating particles of light into his mouth and chewed them with a look of disgust.

『Oniichan!』

I heard Lu’s voice.

It came from the Great Tower of the temple, from the exit opposite Ymir. Lu stood there beside Pauline-sam, smiling at me. We had to be dozens of meters apart, and yet my sister’s voice sounded perfectly clear, as if it were speaking directly inside my head.

『I’m all right.』

“Lu… was that… Rata just now?”

『Yes. Freyja-sama knew there was a power there that might be useful, so I used it.』

Lu smiled. A strangely mature smile, her mouth twitching from both sides.

Something’s off. Lu is afraid of monsters. And she is not the kind of girl to “use” someone else as a substitute.

“What’s wrong?”

Lu kept smiling.

『Oniichan, Gods, Pauline-sama and the others, everyone I care about is safe. No matter how this battle turns out—』

My sister tilted her head.

『It’s all alright now.』

A chill ran down my spine. It wasn’t the kind of fear that froze me instantly like before. It was a fear that gradually drained the warmth.

Lu…

Something seems to have changed. I had always sensed my sister’s anxiety. But I always believed that if I could protect her, if I could protect her to the very end, no matter what, everything would be alright.

But why is my body trembling so much right now?

Ymir let out a roar of rage from his massive body.

――OOOOOOOOOOOOH!

Ymir’s fine robes billowed violently, tearing apart and scattering in the wind. At last, the giant raised his massive, muscle-bound right arm toward Lu.

I ran. I wouldn’t let it happen again.

Something—something felt as though I had realized it too late, but—

“Wake up!”

An explosive inferno born from combining the Wind Spirit, Sylph, and the Fire Spirit, Salamander, erupted forth.

Ymir didn’t even bother raising a barrier. He took the blast head-on with his body.

Using the 『Divine Protection of the God of Hunting 』 and Hunter’s Footwork, I erased my presence and slipped directly in front of him.

Then I awakened my next skill.

Skill 『Divine Protection of the God of Medicine』 has been activated. 【Sigris’ Spear】⋅⋅⋅⋅⋅⋅a ranged support. The magical effect is channeled into the spear, delivering it to the target.

Skill 『God of Thunder’s Divine Protection』has been activated 【Mjolnir】 ⋅⋅⋅⋅⋅⋅Borrows the legendary war hammer from the God of Thunder.

I infused the spear with the power of Thor’s hammer. This way, even if Ymir leapt backward, I could still pursue him. Gripping the long shaft with both hands, I swung with all my might and brought a bolt of thunder crashing down upon Ymir’s colossal body.

“Haa!”

The power of two skills combined.

Ymir erected a barrier to block it. The gigantic foot took half a step back.

Solana’s voice rang out.

“Rion!”

Skill 『God of Thunder’s Divine Protection』was used. 【Will of the War God】⋅⋅⋅⋅⋅⋅When facing an enemy stronger than oneself, it increases the power one’s blow.

Even after using the skill, the impact was so strong that it felt like my body would explode. My boots dug into the ground as I braced himself. My bones creaked, and I involuntarily screamed.

But even so, I had to protect Lu. I would feel guilty towards father if I could not do so.

Ymir’s giant arm swung through.

Leaving a footprint on the ground, I slid back three meters. Yet, I didn’t fall. Right behind me was Lu.

“Oniichan.”

Without turning around, I spoke.

“It’s okay. Stay back. I’ll protect you… no matter what it costs.”

Even if I died here, that was fine. The moment I decided I would no longer run from being a Hero, I had already accepted that possibility.

Don’t shake.

Don’t you dare shake now.

I spoke again.

“Here I come—”

I raised the Sword of the Daughter of the Sun.

But just as I was about to bring it down, Ymir moved. A gigantic hand clamped around mine. Golden eyes looked down upon me.

Ymir grinned. It was the smile of someone looking upon a meal he was about to devour—a smile that trembled with genuine delight.

“Rion! Get away from him! You… you’ll die!”

Held back by Freyr, Solana shouted at the top of her lungs. The other gods couldn’t reach me either. Fenrir, the World Serpent, Jormungandr, and the monsters flooding the temple were blocking every path.

I pushed against Ymir’s hand and shouted,

“Wake up!”

In an instant, Ymir leaped backward.

“Huh?”

My mind went blank.

Immediately afterward, I was thrown backward. Where Ymir had been, a spear was stuck in the ground. A long, dark shaft and a forked spearhead. Magical runes, densely inscribed on the shaft, glowed faintly. The spear soon crumbled into pieces.

Behind me, Lu spoke.

“Odin. I’ve made up my mind.”

A raven cawed.

The raven circled above the temple.

“Lu…?”

My sister’s face was a mix of tears and laughter.

“I’m sorry.”

A gigantic claw grabbed Lu’s body.

——I understand.

The voice of a man echoed in my head, a voice I vaguely recognized.

A familiar face flashed through my mind—the face of the antique shop owner. The image was seared into my memory. A giant eagle, with one wing several meters long, was cradling Lu in its lap.

The pure white priest’s hat fell from my sister’s head.

I cried out.

“Odin…?!”

A gigantic eagle snatched Lu into its talons and soared into the sky. Higher and higher it climbed, at an impossibly fast speed. In moments, it had become no more than a tiny speck.

“Lu…!”

Then Heimdall’s voice rang inside my head.

『Go after her, Rion! Together with Solana!』

Ymir stood motionless, staring up at the sky.

『The royal capital was originally a place close to the Realm of the Gods, the heavens themselves! Right now, if you follow that eagle—follow Odin—you can reach the Celestial realm!』

“But if I do that, then what about the ground here…?!”

A great cheer suddenly rose from beyond the walls. Leaping over, Loki and Uru entered the temple.

“This is a hell of a mess!”

“…My apologies. We were too late!”

The gods spoke over one another as they arrived.

Breaking through a ring of giant soldiers, Heimdall finally emerged. He planted himself directly in front of Ymir.

“I can hold him here a while longer. Trust me.”

He smiled despite his face being covered in wounds. Sigris arrived as well, casting yet another massive healing spell over the entire temple—perhaps for the twentieth time or more. Her golden hair streaming behind her, Solana descended nearby.

The battle on the ground was not over.

But above us, a path to the heavens had just opened.

“Solana!”

“Yes!”

I held the goddess’s hand and glared at the sky where the eagle had fled. The sky was bathed in twilight. At the same height as the clouds, there was a single point of rainbow-colored light. Far above, a rainbow formed a ring. Inside the ring, instead of the colors of the sunset, a clear blue sky was visible. It was like a rainbow gate opening in the sky.

I pointed there.

“There it is!”

Towards the rainbow gate opening in the sky, I flew with the goddess.

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

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The raven, messenger of Odin, flew high above the battlefield.

Below, the temple was surrounded by a black tide. The creatures swarming toward it were individual monsters, yet they pressed together so densely and surged forward with such ferocity that they looked like a single, enormous wave.

At the beginning of the battle, a thousand defenders had been stationed on each of the temple’s four sides, forming layer upon layer of defensive lines. Now, only a few thin ranks remained before the walls.

Against the monsters’ mounting momentum, those defenses were little more than a sheet of paper. Indeed, in many places, the enemy had already reached the walls. The fiercest assaults were in the south and the east.

In the east, Ymir—who had been battling Heimdall—had forced the god back and was advancing toward the walls.

In the south, the World Serpent, Jormungandr, had rammed itself into the fortifications. The path carved out by the great serpent had become a road for the monsters. Thor had clearly fought desperately to stop them; even now, the ground was scarred with blackened craters that still smoked.

——I’ve seen this sight before.

A strangely familiar scene unfolded beneath the raven’s eyes.

The raven heard the voice of its master, Odin. It tilted its wings and flew further.

With the lines broken in two directions, the monsters now had the upper hand in the remaining northern and western directions. Sigris, Loki, and Uru were desperately trying to prevent the front lines from collapsing.

——The balance has been broken.

Odin declared.

There were several reasons for this.

First, the disparity in troop numbers. Tens of thousands of monsters had appeared on the hills from the rift in the sky and from the dungeons in the east, west, north, and south of the capital. Furthermore, Ymir’s roar had doubled their power all at once.

The enemy’s strategy had been a good one. Perhaps it was instinct rather than planning, but great numbers of monsters had focused their attacks on the gods.

It was the gods who had borne the responsibility of holding back the true threats—the monsters capable of collapsing an entire front in a single stroke, such as Ymir and the World Serpent, Jormungandr.

And the humans, already fighting at the very limits of their endurance, had been unable to shield the gods from the monsters’ interference.

As a result, the collapse of the battle began with the gods being pushed back. Ymir and Jormungandr were set free. The mighty monsters shattered the walls, and the delicate balance of the battlefield was broken.

―—However…

The Chief God’s thoughts came to a halt.

―—The monsters, too, were at the end of their strength.

Around the city walls, the ground was beginning to turn white. Ash. The monsters that had exhausted every last ounce of their power were vanishing one after another into white ash. Those whose strength had been wrung dry by Ymir died within moments. Not even a magic stone remained behind.

And still, the voices of humanity had not fallen silent.

―Everyone, to the walls!

―Hold the monsters back!

―Endure it until the gods return!

The offensive led by Ymir would not last much longer.

After the wolfbone Hati and the others had been driven back, Ymir’s side had realized they were at a disadvantage. Their sudden, all-out assault was proof that they could not afford a prolonged battle.

They had gambled everything on a swift, decisive strike—breaking into the temple and seizing Luisia. If they could reclaim the Power of Creation, Ymir would become even stronger. He might even gain the power to devour the entire range of hills.

At Odin’s command, the raven flew toward the Temple of Odis. The Chief God had sensed the surge of power rising from underground.

——The skill, 『 Miko 』, is awakening.

While Ymir and his forces assaulted the walls, Odin had been attacking something else entirely. Luisia’s heart.

——I can only hope she reaches the correct conclusion before this battle is decided.

At that very moment, the hammer Mjölnir crashed down upon the head of the World Serpent, Jormungandr, which now lay motionless. The great serpent let out a final scream and vanished.

Meanwhile, Ymir, the wolfbone Fenrir, and Freyr had already breached the city walls. The smaller monsters that had used the serpent’s body as a bridge were electrocuted and tumbled into the moat.

But Fenrir shattered another section of the wall, creating a makeshift path. And through it, the monsters continued to pour into the fortress without end.

——I’m waiting, ‘Power of Creation’!

While monsters and humans were at war, only the chief god’s plan was progressing smoothly.

◆◆◆

Ymir kicked up the castle wall.

The cries of monsters filled the rolling hills as far as the eye could see. It was more of a scream than a cry of joy. Yet, the monsters, following Ymir’s orders, were drawing their magical powers to the limit and charging onto the castle wall.

Ymir turned his head and suddenly felt a sense of nostalgia. The hills were stained red. The shadows of monsters covered the ground, and beyond the haze, he could see the city of humans. He was sure it was the place called the ‘Royal Capital’. The center where the royal castle now stood was the center of humanity and gods even in the age of myths.

What was different now was that there used to be a bridge to the heavens—the Rainbow Bridge Bifrost. Now there was nothing there, only the castle spire piercing the sky. Even so, Odin must still be in the heavens with the Norns, the goddesses who deliver messages.

“I’ve returned to the same place.” That was what Ymir thought.

A thousand years had passed, and yet they were repeating the same thing all over again. Bathed in a crimson glow, the interior of the temple was stained red.

“Let’s go.”

The Primordial Titan took a step forward. He would bring an end to the world that should have ended long ago.

Overwhelmed by the hunger that consumed every corner of his thoughts, Ymir licked his lips.

“Freyr!”

Ymir roared.

The blond man came to his side, cutting down an adventurer who stood in his way.

“Hold this place. I’m going below.”

Freyr nodded. Unlike the monsters, he had not been driven into a frenzy. Though, dwelling within a human body, he had lost many of his divine abilities, such as the power to fly.

Keeping his sword at the ready, Freyr spoke,

“We don’t have much time.”

The gods would soon come flooding back to the temple. In the sky, Ymir could already see Thor and Heimdall approaching, having driven back the monsters they had been fighting.

“Then I’d better hurry.”

Ymir snorted.

He could smell it. Within that exceptionally tall tower—the Great Tower—lingered the icy scent of the seal…and the presence of his own heart.

Then a sharp voice called out to him.

“Ymir!”

The boy wielding the horn—Rion—was shouting from the city wall. Together with the Daughter of the Sun, he glared at him.

“Kuhahaha!”

Ymir swung his arm.

The forehead of the wolfbone Fenrir slammed into the boy. Rion was hurled into the opposite wall. A long howl rang out. The great wolf, together with its pack, moved to intercept the boy and the goddess.

“Now then…”

Descending the castle walls, he headed towards the Great Tower.

He passed by the cathedral, filled with screams, trampled over the flowerbeds, and stood at the entrance to the Great Tower. With a single swing of his right arm, he shattered the rune-marked defensive wall, tearing the warrior group that stood in his way into rags. He devoured their skills as if they were an appetizer.

“A Swordsman, huh? Not good, a miss.”

Licking his lips, Ymir descended the stairs.

“Ymir!”

Solana’s cry echoed emptily.

Ymir descended to the basement. He turned his head left and right.

(Footsteps)

There was only one person, clearly frightened and anxious. It seemed they had sensed he had entered and were heading for another exit.

Ymir knew that buildings like this usually had two exits. His breath was visible. Here lay the source of the sealed cold air—the ‘Frost Orb’. I felt an especially strong cold in my left hand. The handcuffs on that girl, Luisia, gleamed as if resisting.

“How troublesome.”

Flames wrapped around both of his arms. The power had originally belonged to the Flamebone Surtr. Having devoured an identical orb back in Flocia, he had also gained a resistance to sealing.

“Later… I’ll devour the orb here as well.”

Wiping his mouth with one massive hand, Ymir pressed onward. The sound of suppressed breathing and hurried footsteps reached his ears. His prey was fleeing in terror.

A sadistic pleasure unlike anything he had ever known filled the giant with satisfaction. After making his way halfway around the corridor, Ymir came to a stop. A room with the musty scent of age lay before him.

“…Books?”

Apparently, it was a library.

Humans were incomprehensible. The idea of preserving something through words was beyond Ymir, a being who knew only how to devour. Through a gap in the bookshelves, he caught sight of a pair of feet clad in temple robes.

Ymir walked straight toward them. With a sweep of his arm, he smashed one bookshelf after another. Shattered wood and burning pages dissolved into particles of mana, which Ymir greedily consumed.

A page fluttered briefly into view before he stepped on it. Its illustration depicted the Chief God Odis raising his staff, sealing away the monsters, and celebrating his victory. Ymir continued onward.

At the back of the room was a staircase. The girl, breathless from fear and exertion, must have stumbled.

The distance between them had closed. The narrow spiral staircase was so tight that, if he stretched out his hand, he could almost reach her.

Ymir did just that. His fingers brushed the edge of her robes, but the girl fled upward.

He followed.

Then they emerged outside, bathed in red light—

where the girl stood surrounded by a pack of wolves and giant soldiers.

“Lu!”

It was directly beneath the section of wall where Rion was fighting. The Sun Goddess noticed him as well, but it was already too late.

Ymir’s enormous hand shot forward and seized the girl by the chest, lifting her into the air.

“Return it.”

Ymir’s eyes burned with hunger.

“The Power of Creation… and my heart.”

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

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The basement of the Great Tower of the Temple of Odis.

Pauline stood in the room where the Frost Orb was enshrined. Luisia was beside her. The orb, about two meters in diameter, emitted a white light from its centrally recessed base. Frost covered the orb, and their breath was visible in the cold air.

Luisia shivered.

“Something’s coming.”

A monster’s roar echoed even underground.

Pauline knew it was the roar of Ymir, the primordial titan. The wrath of the creator, terrifying all living things. Pauline held her hand over the orb and infused it with magic.

The light and cold intensified, and Pauline pulled her cloak closer.

“Are you alright, Luisia?”

Rion’s little sister clasped her hands together as though in prayer.

She nodded over and over, her small body trembling.

“…Oniichan…”

The faint whisper tightened Pauline’s chest.

Outside, thousands of adventurers and the knights defending the royal capital were fighting for their lives. Among them was Luisia’s brother, Rion.

Pauline had commanded dungeon expeditions many times before. But those had only ever been on the scale of a single party. To bear the weight of thousands of lives—to shoulder the fate of the entire world—was a pressure so immense that it made her want to faint.

Even now, people whose names she did not know were falling in battle to protect the temple. And on top of that, Luisia carried an even greater fear. She’s only twelve years old, a girl who had lost her father at a young age. To now face the possibility of losing her brother as well…

There could be no words for such anguish.

――OOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!

A tremendous roar shook the air.

Once again, the voices of Ymir and the others echoed through the walls. And this time, they were closer.

The light of the sacred orb flared as though crying out in alarm. Heavy, earth-shaking footsteps reverberated from every direction. Pauline could vividly imagine it—the monsters surging toward the temple.

What had become of the adventurers on the ground?

Had they all fallen, their bodies piled high outside, with the monsters now marching over their corpses?

Fear was all that came to her mind. She tightened her grip on her staff and endured.

If I tremble here, then what kind of Commander am I?

Luisia clutched the sleeve of Pauline’s ceremonial robe tightly.

Forcing herself, Pauline returned a smile.

“It will be all right. The gods are—”

The ground suddenly shook.

The orb’s light flickered wildly, and both of them lost their balance and fell.

Dust rained down from the ceiling. Bricks tumbled from the walls and clattered across the floor. From the upper levels came a chain of shouts and screams. Then the door to the room burst open, and one of her aides rushed inside.

“The city walls have been breached!”

Pauline nodded quietly, summoning all her self-control.

“Is that so? Please give me an accurate report.”

“Yes! They haven’t entered the temple yet. However, the monsters have grown unusually powerful. There are also reports that Ymir has breached the front lines…”

The monsters’ voices drowned out her hearing.

Pauline shook her head.

“They’ve entered. However, this is the source of the sealing chill. If the gods and the main force are safe, we have a chance of winning if we can hold out.”

The group members nodded and returned to the surface.

Luisia’s voice trembled.

“Then…!”

Hugging her knees, her eyes wide with pity.

“Where’s my brother…?”

Luisia clutched the front of her dress tightly. A green light slowly filled her eyes.

“It’s my fault.” She never spoke the words aloud, yet Pauline could see them forming on the girl’s lips.

“I have to become stronger, after all…”

Luisia repeated the words to herself.

A green radiance gathered in her chest, illuminating the entire room.

“I have to…!”

Then a voice echoed within Pauline’s mind.

It was the voice of the Goddess of Fertility, Freyja.

—Luisia.

The tone was calm, as though she had already resigned herself to what was about to happen… and accepted it. Even now, an immense reserve of mana slumbered within Luisia. Because the divine power that Goddess Freyja had once carried away from the heavens still remained inside her.

The problem was that Luisia had never learned to wield it. The control of mana was like a floodgate. Within Luisia lay a vast spring, but the amount of water she could release at any one time had always been limited by the narrowness of that gate.

But what if that gate were suddenly thrown wide open?

Then the skill <Miko> would become exactly what its name implied. Luisia would no longer be any different from the gods themselves.

“…Luisia!”

Pauline called her name sharply.

The girl’s sky-blue eyes were steadily turning green. She’s drawing upon the gods’ power in such overwhelming quantities that, for the first time, Pauline was no longer certain that Luisia would ever return to normal.

A dreadful thought flashed through her mind.

Had the Chief God, Odin, been waiting for this all along?

Waiting for a girl with the power of creation to learn the terror of monsters… to grow stronger and stronger… and, in the end, arrive at the same conclusion he had.

Still on her knees, Luisia’s lips trembled.

“My big brother has always been the one protecting me… so…”

Tears welled in her eyes.

“I don’t want anything terrible to happen to him anymore!”

Then Luisia cried out.

“I don’t care about heroes or the horn…! If my brother dies, then none of it means anything…!”

Tears, illuminated by a green light, slid down Luisia’s cheeks. The light intensified, and Pauline was thrown back. The frost on the floor shattered, swirling into the air like a blizzard.

Coughing, Pauline stood up.

“Lu…Luisia?”

The girl, enveloped in green light, lowered her chin slightly in response to Pauline’s question.

Pauline gasped. Her eyes were wide open, yet there was no tension in her mouth or cheeks. Her green eyes turned towards Pauline.

“…Luisia?”

Even when Pauline repeated the question, Luisia showed no reaction. The noise outside was still palpable. Voices of monsters and people rained down from the ceiling. Without even moving an eyebrow, Luisia slowly raised her hand to the surrounding walls.

The girl extended a finger and pointed to the wall in front of her.

“Over there…”

Luisia turned her green eyes toward Pauline.

“I think there’s… something there that I can use.”

She was pointing toward the eastern side of the underground chambers.

To where the monster—the ratbone, Rata—was being held.

“It looks like the enemy has finally played all of its cards. If we can endure this, then we still have a chance to win. And even if we can’t…”

Luisia left the rest unsaid.

Then she smiled.

“Shall we go?”

It was a smile that made the muscles in her cheeks tremble. In that expression, she looked strikingly like Freyja. And to Pauline, it was both reassuring… and terrifying.

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

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I ran east with the goddess. It was early morning, and we were heading towards the sun, yet the light was the color of a sunset. The whole world seemed to have gone mad; it was terribly eerie.

Fenrir the Great Wolf fled, bathed in a bright red light.

“Solana, let’s drive him away and join Heimdall’s battle!”

“Yes!”

The ranks of adventurers stretched for more than ten layers to the front lines. I dashed through them using the speed of ‘Golden Flame’.

I reached the front lines.

A thunderous roar, like lightning, grew louder as I advanced.

Heimdall and Ymir were clashing swords and fists. The aftershocks of their power tore up the surrounding earth, and skeletons that carelessly approached were blown to pieces.

“Heimdall!”

I raised my voice.

His face covered in wounds, Heimdall grinned.

“So, you’ve come!”

“Yeah!”

Ymir’s colossal fist slammed into the ground. I ducked low and slipped beneath the spray of earth and stone that erupted into the air.

“Gah!”

A kobold that rushed at me was cut down with my short sword. The monsters from the Eastern Dungeon weren’t even a challenge anymore!

The eastern front, filled with veteran adventurers, was already pushing the monsters back in several places.

Solana spoke in a low voice.

“Before we join the fight, be on your guard. Ymir is not an enemy to underestimate.”

“I know. Loki said so too—that the enemy might have some kind of scheme—”

Then it happened.

The air trembled with a sharp, violent shudder. A chill crawled through my entire body.

“W-What…?”

A wall of sound crashed into us. Ymir was roaring at the heavens. Instinctively, I bent low. If I hadn’t, the sheer pressure of it felt as though it would have blown me away.

Solana stepped in front of me and wrapped her arms around me protectively.

“This is… some kind of magic is flowing!”

The cries of monsters grew louder from all directions. An adventurer’s voice reached my ears.

―W-what is this?!

―The monsters I defeated are…

A cry of panic, almost a shriek. Even without using the blessing of the God of Hunting to detect it, I immediately knew something was wrong.

The monsters that had been defeated and are turning to ash rose one after another, resuming the battle. An adventurer was grabbed by a goblin with only one arm, and was swallowed by the wave of monsters, screaming.

―H-help—!

He desperately tried to suppress his fear. Goblins, kobolds, orcs, fire-beasted kobolds, water-horse kolbies, and giant soldiers. Type and size didn’t matter. Anything that had even a small piece of body left is being resurrected.

“Gu, ga…!”

I looked back over my shoulder.

The kobold I had cut down moments ago was standing again. It had switched the dagger to its left hand—probably because its right arm had turned to ash. Staggering unsteadily, it lurched toward us.

“…I-it came back to life?”

“No. I believe it is something else entirely.”

A sharp gleam flashed in Solana’s golden eyes.

“This… is not resurrection. It is something far more dreadful.”

The kobold charged.

“G… GRAAAAH!”

It sounded less like a battle cry and more like a scream of agony.

I have to put it out of its misery—

The thought flashed through my mind, and I swung with all my strength, slicing through its torso. This time, it was a killing blow. The body split cleanly in two and dissolved into pure white ash. Then I noticed something even stranger.

The kobold had dropped nothing. Not even a drop item—no, not even a magic stone, which monsters always left behind.

“Solana… what does this mean?”

“When monsters die, they leave behind a magic stone. Even in death, they retain a small amount of mana. But judging by what we are seeing…”

Her expression darkened.

“Ymir has ordered them to squeeze out even that last remnant of power.”

I was about to ask, For what?

But the answer was obvious.

“The magic stones…! Monsters always retain enough mana to form one, even after death…!”

A magic stone—the thing every monster inevitably left behind after dying. In a sense, it was the very core of their existence. And even that final reserve of mana… Ymir was forcing them to give it up.

Solana fixed her gaze upon Ymir, her eyes narrowing.

“He’s inflicting even more suffering upon monsters on the brink of death and forcing them to fight for a few minutes longer!”

The tide of battle was shifting once again. After retreating farther behind Ymir, the wolfbone Fenrir stood perfectly still, watching us.

Then Heimdall turned and shouted:

“Rion, get back to the walls!”

A chill ran through me, as though an icicle had pierced my spine.

That’s right…

The corpse of that monster is still there—

“Hurry! Protect your sister!”

The monsters that had already been slain surged toward Heimdall once more.

The front lines were being swallowed by a great black wave. The battlefield had already been stretched to its limit, and now all the enemies we had fought so hard to defeat were joining the fray again!

“B-But…!”

“Go! Do not mistake what matters most!”

I ran towards the castle walls. The vow to protect them at all costs now feels heavy.

“…I’m counting on you.”

From behind me, the roar of Ymir bringing his fist down echoed.

◆◆◆

For the first time in his life, the God of Hunting, Uru, experienced something utterly unthinkable.

In the middle of battle, he had nearly dropped his bow.

――OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!

Ymir’s roar thundered across the battlefield. It was the cry of the Primordial titan—the Creator himself—a voice that made every living thing tremble. Not only humans, but even the monsters ceased fighting for a single instant. Perhaps it was like flinching at the crash of thunder. No living creature could completely deny such instinctive fear.

“—Ah!”

Uru snapped back to his senses. He lowered his gaze, raised his bow, and searched for the one person he had been tracking until moments ago.

There was no sign of him.

His brow furrowed.

“…Freyr, where have you gone?”

He must have concealed his presence to coincide with the roar. The god Freyr now resided within a human body. If he completely sealed away his divine power, he could disappear among ordinary people.

Uru had been on guard for that possibility. Yet Ymir’s roar had stolen his attention for the briefest moment—and Freyr had seized that opening.

“Of all mistakes…!”

At that moment, cries erupted from the ground. Near the city walls, Hati—who should have been dead—had risen once more, leaning upon his staff.

“G… Ga… Grr…!”

Once, he had possessed a towering frame over two meters tall, but his entire left side was already gone. Everything below one knee had turned to ash as well. To say he had stood up would be inaccurate; it was more as if he had merely dragged himself upright. The center of his forehead had caved in deeply, and from his left eye to beneath his jaw, an entire portion of his face was simply… missing.

One half of his face remained, its mouth split grotesquely to the ear. The other was a hollow ruin, with only a solitary eye left behind.

That vacant gaze stared fixedly at the city wall.

“Gah…”

And yet, Hati still used magic. Obeying the command of his Creator, he raised cries of agony and terror and swung his staff.

“Resurrection…!?”

Uru loosed a flurry of arrows.

Even as divine arrows pierced both eyes, his chest, and other vital points, Hati did not cease his spellcasting.

A chill spread through Uru’s chest. It was like looking at a marionette. There was no will left in it, no awareness of pain—only a thing driven onward by fear.

Mia and Felix were still nearby, but neither the chain-axe nor their magic possessed enough power to completely obliterate Hati’s shattered body.

“Gih… Gah… Kaaah!”

The final struggle of a legendary monster.

Ordinarily, Hati would have vanished and left behind an enormous magic stone. Instead, every last ounce of the power that should have formed that stone was being converted into magic. The defenders on the wall had likely believed the sudden assault was already over.

And then it came.

Flames, boulders, and ice rained down in a torrential storm.

Shouts and screams erupted in succession.

The giant ballistae the dwarves had only just reset and the golem cores placed along the battlements were destroyed one after another.

“Ga… ah… ahh…”

After unleashing the last destruction of his existence, Hati finally collapsed.

He did not turn to black ash. He became white ash. His eyes remained wide open, and his twisted tongue protruded from his mouth, a final testament to the agony he had endured.

A hoarse whisper escaped Uru’s throat.

“He… forced them to fight until the very end of their lives… through terror?”

A shiver ran through him.

The relationship between the Primordial titan and the monsters…

It was one of absolute domination and absolute subjugation.

“…This is bad.”

Uru thought to himself, directing his thoughts towards the gods.

“I’m sorry, I’ve lost sight of Freyr. Judging by the atmosphere, a fierce counterattack is coming!”

Uru gritted his teeth. His plan was to lure the enemy into a trap and gain an advantage in battle. However, now that Fenrir and his men had been repelled, the defenses in front of the city walls were weakened. Perhaps the gods themselves had been lured in.

◆◆◆

The man, covered in blood and mud, blended in among the wounded returning to the city walls. Perhaps because he had pushed himself too far, his vision was blurred and his footing unsteady. As he staggered, someone caught him by the shoulder.

“…You look terrible. Here, lean on me.”

The man gave a small nod.

“Ah.”

His body was caked in mud. His blond hair had lost its luster, and the smell of blood clinging to him stung his nose. Though, in truth, almost all of it was someone else’s blood.

Borrowing the other party’s shoulder for support, he walked toward the walls like just another injured soldier. Then, before long, the roar of a monster echoed from the direction of the battlements.

It was Hati, driven mad with terror. Burning through the last remnants of his life, he unleashed a wild barrage of magic upon the walls. The events unfolding exactly as planned, the man narrowed his eyes.

“…Poor thing. Still, thank you for serving as a sacrifice, Hati.”

Not even a magic stone would remain after his death. Even the mana that should have endured as the core of his being—his magic stone—had been converted into spells and hurled away.

The agony must have been unbearable.

Setting one’s own body aflame would probably have been less painful. With a faint smile, Freyr wiped the mud from his face.

“I suppose it’s my turn now.”

His sword flashed once. The adventurer who had been lending him his shoulder collapsed to the ground. Stepping over the corpse, he moved on.

He had already reached the base of the city wall.

Columns of black smoke rose from the battlements, the aftermath of Hati’s magic. Freyr lifted his eyes to the temple’s great tower.

“My sister is in there.”

Concealing himself beneath mud, hiding among the wounded—there was nothing divine or noble about such conduct. Even so, for his sister’s sake, he would endure any humiliation, commit any atrocity.

A smile spread across his mud-stained face.

Then he broke into a run.

“You—you’re Freyr?!”

The shout came from an adventurer who must have known him back in Flocia.

Freyr showed no mercy. He cut the man down without a second thought. And kept running. Uru, high above, spotted him. Arrow after arrow came raining down on him.

But this—this was his greatest opportunity. The arrows he could not deflect buried themselves in his back. Even so, he never slowed. The city wall loomed before him.

Then he began to climb.

Archers. Giant ballistae. The dwarves’ golems.

Freyr cut down what little remained of the wall’s defenses, one after another, praying that someone—anyone—would follow through.

――OOOOOOOOH!

This time, it was the roar of the World Serpent, Jormungandr.

Its colossal body swelled even larger with mana until, for a moment, its head rose higher than the temple’s great tower itself. Though it had been losing its battle against Thor, this monster, too, had likely been forced to squeeze out the very last of its strength.

Standing atop the wall, Freyr drove his sword into the stone battlements. Mana poured into it.

Then he shouted with all his might.

“Here! Come here!”

Mjölnir crashed into the great serpent, drawing a spray of blood. Yet as though it felt no pain at all, Jormungandr hurled its massive body against the city wall. Already weakened by Hati’s magic and by the mana Freyr had poured into it, the wall finally gave in beneath the World Serpent’s charge.

It collapsed.

Using the serpent’s enormous body as a shield, the frenzied horde of monsters surged toward the temple through the breach. Far in the distance, Ymir had broken through Heimdall’s defense, leading countless resurrected monsters in his wake.

Toward the hole torn open by the serpent, Ymir and his army advanced.

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

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The adventurers’ triumphant cries rode the wind across the battlefield.

The lightning assault launched by the wolfbones—Fenrir and Hati alike—had been repelled by the youth holding the horn. The battle cries that had begun atop the city walls echoed over the crimson-stained hills.

—Drive them back!

—Come on, drive them back!

The raven tilted its wings.

A bird that served as a messenger of the Chief God, it circled high overhead, its keen eyes taking in the state of the battle below. Even the hard-pressed front lines had begun to change. The humans were starting to push the monsters back.

Word had spread that the rear guard had repelled the surprise attack, and the resulting surge in morale was undoubtedly playing a part. More than that, the battle lines themselves were being reorganized.

—Anyone’s weapon broken?!

—Wounded over here!

The exhausted soldiers at the forefront withdrew to the rear, while those who still had strength stepped forward to replace them.

When the Fenrir had been threatening the rear, confusion had disrupted communications, and the sheer danger posed by the beasts had made it impossible to rotate the front line with the reserves. The attacks on the city walls where the archers and mages were stationed had only increased the burden on those fighting in front.

But now, the threat behind them was gone. The preparations made beforehand—the cooperation between the various formations—were finally beginning to function as intended.

—Someone get over there and reinforce the eastern commander—the Jormungandr side!

—Stay away from the giant serpent! Leave that one to the gods!

—If the rear lines managed to push them back, then so can we!

—Push them back.

—Come on—push them back.

Against the monsters’ overwhelming pressure, humanity resisted first with its voices. The formation that had been steadily driven backward slowly began to breathe again. Though the battle seemed endless, the monsters were undeniably dwindling in number. That small glimmer of hope filled the adventurers with renewed courage.

The adventurers and knights carried to the rear were healed at once by the God of Medicine, Sigris. Those too gravely wounded to continue fighting were borne back inside the city walls on stretchers by the white dwarves who could take to the skies.

Even so, from high above, the sight remained unchanged: a black tide of monsters still surrounded the temple. More creatures continued to pour from the rift in the sky, while the Four Great Dungeones of the royal capital likewise spewed forth an unending horde.

The raven flew overhead, gazing down upon the battlefield. In the eyes of the Chief God, the contest had not yet been decided.

Having just completed what must have been his dozens of wide-ranging healing miracles, the God of Medicine, Sigris, left a trail of blue light behind him as he once again returned to the front lines to rally the defenders.

◆◆◆

The God of Medicine, Sigris, raised her spear high. Twilight gathered at its tip, its radiance deepening into a hue akin to gold. With a sweeping stroke, he slashed sideways, cleaving apart a blue, bat-winged siren soaring through the sky.

“Warriors!”

A torrent of blue mana descended upon the northern front.

The divine blessing spread through the ranks, and the wounds of the adventurers healed in an instant. Hundreds were restored at once.

Though the power of the awakening horn, Gjallarhorn, had amplified her strength, such a feat of healing was not something even Sigris could perform again and again. Even so, this opportunity was too precious to waste.

Raising her voice, Sigris called out:

“Forward! Drive the horde of monsters even farther away from the temple!”

A thunderous roar of assent rolled across the battlefield like a wave. Together with the knights clad in steel, the adventurers held the line. They had to slay as many monsters as possible, and as quickly as possible. If they failed, even for a moment, they would be pushed back and swallowed by the tide.

It was like trying to catch a waterfall in a cup.

The knights, who would ordinarily have charged on horseback, now fought on foot. The enemy outnumbered the cavalry by more than two to one; any charge they made would only end with them being engulfed by the sea of monsters.

—Let’s go!

—Push them back! Drive them into the ground!

The cries echoed from one warrior to the next, and even Sigris found her own spirit lifted by them.

Swords, spears, and great shields surged forward, forcing the monsters back step by step. Sigris herself descended to the ground and swung her spear. Its blade flashed through the neck of a towering humanoid monster—a giant soldier standing well over two meters tall.

The fierce valor of the Valkyrie only further inflamed the army’s morale.

“…At this rate…”

A smile touched Sigris’s lips.

Then a voice rang out within her mind.

It was from Loki, fighting on the western battlefield.

『Do you have a moment?』

The battle lines lay far apart, so distant that those on the ground could no longer see one another. Yet the gods could communicate through their divine power.

『Rion and Solana—and Felix and Mia as well—have driven back the wolves.』

“Yes. This is our chance.”

『Indeed. Mia and Felix performed splendidly. It was worth entrusting that task to them.』

A faint furrow appeared on Sigris’s brow.

She skewered several flame hounds, Garmr, with her spear and leapt into the sky before their blood could spatter her. From above, she looked toward the western battlefield where Loki was fighting.

“…You chose not to go and help them?”

『Nothing of the sort. We were barely holding on here ourselves. It simply turned out that we had no choice but to leave it in their hands.』

Sigris let out a sigh.

In other words, if Loki had truly pushed himself, he could have gone to their aid.

『But if humans defeat the monsters by their own strength, their morale rises immeasurably. They become heroes in truth, after all.』

Even as close to a gamble as it might have been, Loki had a habit of never failing when it mattered most. By now, he was probably wearing a satisfied smile, the corners of his drooping eyes curved even lower than usual.

Sigris pressed him.

“And?”

『Right, to the main point. Thor is currently fighting the World Serpent, Jormungandr. Heimdall is engaged with Ymir in the east, and Uru is keeping Freyr occupied.』

A thunderous boom erupted from the southern front. Even with the temple’s walls between them, Sigris could see the clouds of earth blasted into the air and the flashes of Thor’s lightning.

『Sigris, I want you to keep a close watch on Ymir. I’m stationed on the western side, so I can’t.』

“…I had no intention of lowering my guard in the first place.”

『I need more than that. Fenrir has withdrawn, and Hati is dead. But my instincts are telling me… things are going too well.』

Sigris turned her gaze toward the eastern battlefield.

The air itself continued to tremble, the result of Heimdall and Ymir exchanging blow after blow, their fierce clash showing no sign of ending. The god Heimdall was holding Ymir in check, waiting for reinforcements from his allies.

Now that Rion and the others had defeated Fenrir, this should have been their chance.

“…But…”

『I know. If we’re too cautious, we’ll let our opportunity slip away. Just keep the battle line intact with your healing and be prepared for any sudden change.』

With that, Loki’s message came to an end.

The meticulous God of Mischief would no doubt pass the same warning on to Uru and Solana as well, altering his wording ever so slightly for each of them.

Sigris returned to the front lines and, fighting shoulder to shoulder with adventurers and knights, swept aside the monsters that hurled themselves toward them.

Then thunder rolled across the heavens.

“That’s…”

In the southern sky, Thor soared upward, wreathed in storm clouds. His wild red hair was illuminated by the lightning dancing around his hammer.

But—

The God of Thunder was badly wounded.

Sigris’s instincts as the God of Medicine immediately sensed that something was wrong with the divine power emanating from Thor.

“…He’s been poisoned?”

His opponent was a serpent. Such a trick would hardly be beyond it.

Focusing her thoughts, Sigris reached out to Thor.

“Thor, what is your situation? If you’ve been poisoned, then I can—”

High in the sky, Thor glanced back at her for a brief instant.

『Ha! No need!』

The next moment, Thor vanished beyond the city walls with the force of a falling meteor. A deafening crash, like a bolt of lightning striking the earth.

Even on this side of the battlefield, the ground trembled. Then came the agonized scream of the World Serpent, Jormungandr.

“Even so…”

『The adventurers around me are doing a damn fine job clearing away the pests. Meaning, I can focus on the big one.』

Thor laughed, his voice rumbling like distant thunder.

Entrusting the smaller monsters to the humans while he concentrated solely on the World Serpent, Jormungandr, seemed to be paying off.

『I’m grateful—to them, and to all of you!』

“…Grateful, is it? To think that the fearsome God of Thunder would say such a thing.”

People could change.

So, too, could gods.

A faint smile touched Sigris’s lips as she swung her spear.

“Then let us give one final push!”

The instant the words left her mouth, Sigris shuddered.

She sensed something. A presence from the east—from the battlefield where Ymir and Heimdall were fighting.

Then, in the next moment, a mighty roar shook the air, drowning out every other sound as it rolled across the hills.It had come from Ymir.

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

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The battle to protect the Temple of Odis was unfolding in places other than where Rion and his group were.

“Felix!”

Felix desperately grabbed the chain Mia threw. Mia, shaking her red hair, pulled with all her might, and an explosion occurred behind the sorcerer. She managed to drag Felix behind the stone wall just in time.

If they had been even a little later in their evacuation, they would have been blown away by the blast.

Mia groaned.

“…He’s strong.”

“Yes.”

Felix grabbed a fistful of his black hair. A thin stream of blood trickled down from beneath the coronet on his brow. The two of them peered around opposite sides of the stone wall at Wolfbone Hati.

After the relentless barrage of magic, parts of the ground still glowed red-hot. Amid the drifting clouds of dust and black smoke that hung over the hills, Wolfbone Hati stood unmoving.

—Awooooooo!

A thunderous howl echoed across the battlefield.

The cry that burst from its split maw was unmistakably that of a wolf. Wrapped in tattered cloth, the monstrous creature stood nearly three meters tall, leaning on its tin staff as it blocked their path.

With his back pressed against the stone wall, Felix muttered grimly,

“He got an inexhaustible supply of mana. Endless stamina. And with a body that large, its field of vision is enormous. No matter where we run, it tracks us immediately.”

“And on top of that… it’s a textbook magic-type enemy. Its optimal range overlaps perfectly with both yours and mine.”

“…That’s the worst possible scenario.”

“The absolute worst.”

“To think I might die alongside you…”

“Hey, I’m not planning on that either!”

Mia twisted her lips into a frown and pulled several throwing knives from inside her coat.

Just as her chain axe suggested, she had always excelled at throwing weapons of every kind. More than a blessing from the Chief God’s bestowed skills, it was likely the result of Mia’s own relentless training—and her natural talent.

“Come on, what’s wrong?!”

Hati’s booming voice thundered across the battlefield.

“You adventurers! Is that all you’ve got!? You’re so weak it’s not even funny!”

Mia clicked her tongue in irritation.

Her level was 35. Felix’s was 42. Those were the levels of seasoned veterans—elite adventurers by any reasonable standard. But against beings capable of standing toe-to-toe with the gods, they were hopelessly outmatched.

An ordinary adventuring party would need numbers large enough to be called an army just to stand a chance.

“…And this thing is supposed to be one of the weaker members of the enemy’s main force, right?”

Felix’s expression darkened.

“It seems so. Honestly, the Age of Myth was absurd in every conceivable way.”

Just then, a volley of fireballs came hurtling from the city walls. The defenses had been shattered by Hati’s assault earlier, but it seemed the defenders had finally managed to regroup.

However—

“What was that supposed to be?”

Hati burst into laughter and casually swept his tin staff through the air.

There was no need for barriers or elaborate defenses. The incoming fireballs were effortlessly swatted aside. Then Hati drew water up from the moat below and launched a barrage of ice projectiles in retaliation.

A chain of screams and furious shouts echoed from the walls.

Moments later, the ramparts fell silent once more.

“What a monster…”

“The walls are protected by Safi’s rune magic. I doubt they’ll be wiped out so easily, but…”

He left the rest unsaid. The situation was grim enough that neither of them needed to hear the conclusion aloud.

Hati raised his voice, the roar carrying across the battlefield.

“Has the axe-wielder and the mage already died!?”

The two of them instinctively stiffened and pressed themselves deeper behind the wall.

“I can smell you, you know. Stop hiding.”

Hati swung his tin staff and began gathering mana for a massive fireball.

The defensive wall shielding Mia and Felix was inscribed with rune magic as well. It would probably withstand a few hits—but staying put would never lead to victory.

“Ready?”

“Yes.”

Mia and Felix exchanged a nod.

“Hopefully all that practice pays off somewhere along the way…”

The gigantic fireball was unleashed. At the same instant, the two burst from cover in opposite directions.

“Hah!”

Propelled forward by the shockwave of the explosion behind her, Mia exhaled sharply and hurled a throwing knife. Aiming for the face was surprisingly effective. Even powerful opponents hated having their vision threatened.

“How irritating.”

Hati shifted his staff to intercept the attack, but that brief distraction was all Felix needed. He was faster.

“Ice Blade!”

The spell erupted from his outstretched hand, razor-sharp blades of ice streaking toward their towering foe. Ice raced across the ground, coiling around Hati’s legs and locking them in place.

The instant his movement stalled, Mia hurled her chain axe.

“Hmph.”

Hati caught it with his tin staff.

But Mia only grinned.

“This one hits a little harder.”

Mia used the skill <Axeman>, Heavy Strike. Though blocked by the staff, the axe continued to drive forward, forcing its way toward Hati.

Then it struck. At that moment, the mana stored within the blade erupted. The power of the dwarven masterpiece, Crimson Axe, was simple: it absorbed magical energy and hurled it back at its target.

A violent shockwave rippled through the air. Hati dropped to one knee.

“That was your own mana, you know?”

“…So you’re at least somewhat competent.”

Hati planted the end of his staff into the earth.

Once.

Twice.

Again and again.

The ground began to tremble.

Each impact intensified the vibrations until standing became nearly impossible. Chunks of earth rose into the air, compressed and hardened by magic, before raining down upon Felix and Mia like a deadly meteor shower.

“Mia, get to the barrier!”

“On it!”

The dwarven-made barricades were scattered all across the battlefield.

Built using technology derived from golem engineering, they were remarkable fortifications. If the defenders were forced to retreat, the barriers could be collapsed remotely, preventing monsters from turning them against their creators.

“Flames! O heavenly sphere of fire!”

It was likely a spell from the Age of Myth itself. A fireball over ten meters across descended from the sky. The heat radiating from it rivaled the flames of Surtr himself. Even from a distance, the scorching air burned Mia’s nostrils.

“Damn, you’ve got to be kidding me…”

She dove behind the barricade.

But would it hold?

Hati’s lips curled into a vicious grin.

“Burst apart!”

The colossal fireball exploded high overhead.

A torrent of heat crashed down upon the battlefield. The shockwave from the aerial detonation swept over everything below, reaching even Mia and Felix behind the wall. Felix suddenly grabbed the back of Mia’s head and forced her down.

“Earth Burial!”

The ground sank inward around them. There was a faint trace of magical energy overhead—perhaps Felix had cast some kind of protective spell above their shelter. When the searing heat finally passed and Mia opened her eyes, she found Felix beside her.

The entire left side of his body was covered in burns. His usually calm, narrow eyes were twisted with a level of pain she had never seen before.

“…As expected, protecting two people was beyond me.”

A pained smile tugged at his lips.

In an instant, Mia understood what had happened. The barricade that had stood barely a meter and a half tall before was now noticeably higher than it had been moments ago. Felix had used magic to gouge out the earth beneath them, creating a deeper refuge. Because of that, Mia had avoided the full force of the blast and heatwave.

But there hadn’t been enough cover for Felix as well. The left half of his body had taken the punishment instead.

“I’m the tougher one. You should’ve shoved me aside!”

Felix let out a strained chuckle.

“It’s fine. We have gods on our side. An injury like this barely qualifies as an injury.”

Despite his words, the burns were horrific. The skin on his left arm and shoulder was blackened and blistered, and even speaking seemed to send fresh agony through him. Yet he still smiled.

The sight only made Mia grit her teeth harder.

Felix said something unusually irrational. For a man who always weighed every situation calmly and logically, his words felt strangely out of character. Using his staff for support, he forced himself to his feet.

Then a shadow loomed over them.

“So this is where you were.”

Hati stood there.

The tin staff swung down.

Mia threw herself in front of Felix, but the blow sent both of them flying.

“Gah—!”

They crashed across the ground.

Felix’s injuries were already severe. Mia staggered upright and positioned herself protectively in front of him, but she knew the truth.

How much longer could she hold out against this monster?

With Felix barely able to move, their previous strategy of retreating from barricade to barricade was no longer an option. If they ran now, they would have to leave him behind.

“Damn it…”

She glanced toward the nearest battle line.

The front was already being overwhelmed. Monstrous giants and bear-shaped beasts had driven deep into the formation. Their massive silhouettes were clearly visible amid the chaos. There was no spare force coming to rescue them. Everyone was too busy fighting for their own survival.

The realization settled heavily in Mia’s chest.

“So everywhere’s falling apart, huh…”

For a moment, Mia’s thoughts drifted to her hometown.

She would have been happy living as an ordinary adventurer, earning an honest living and taking on ordinary jobs. So how had she ended up here? Fighting monsters like these.

If no one had called out from the city walls, she probably would have charged forward in a reckless, suicidal attack.

“Mia!”

A high-pitched voice rang out through the chaos.

Leaning heavily on his staff, Felix raised his head.

“Safi…?”

Along the battlements stood Safi and three other dwarves. Together, they were carrying enormous glowing spheres, each one as large as a barrel. Then they hurled them over the wall.

Mia found herself thinking, not for the first time, that dwarves possessed utterly ridiculous strength. The three radiant orbs crashed to the ground below. Immediately, they began drawing in the surrounding earth and stone. Chunks of soil, shattered rock, and debris gathered around them as if pulled by an invisible force.

Meanwhile, the dwarves on the wall continued tossing equipment down—armor, weapons, metal plates, and other materials. Piece by piece, the constructs took shape. The earth-and-stone bodies grew larger. Metal fused into their frames. And before long, three complete golems stood upon the battlefield, towering over the surrounding troops. Their massive forms gleamed beneath the smoke-filled sky as they turned toward Hati, ready for war.

“Sentry Golems…!”

“—The improved version!”

Safi immediately corrected Mia from atop the wall.

The three hulking constructs stood nearly three meters tall. In sheer size, they rivaled even Hati himself. Encased in heavy armor, the golems looked like walking fortresses. Then blue light flickered to life within their heads, shining from beneath their metal helms.

Without hesitation, Safi leapt from the city wall.

Landing heavily on the ground below, she rushed toward the center golem and slammed the hammer in her hands against its body.

“Bless!”

The middle golem raised its weapon high.

“OOOOOOOHHHH!”

A deafening roar echoed across the battlefield. Accompanied by the thunderous clatter of armor and weapons, the three golems charged straight at Hati.

Hati swung his tin staff and unleashed a barrage of ice projectiles. The attack never reached its mark. One of the golems swept its axe through the air, smashing the ice rounds apart before they could connect.

“Tch.”

The constructs accelerated.

One carried an axe.

One wielded a sword.

One leveled a spear.

The three attacked simultaneously.

Hati met every blow with his staff, intercepting axe, sword, and spear alike. The impact shook the ground. Then the giant wolfbone warrior bared his fangs and roared.

“They’re nothing but toys made by a bunch of tinkering craftsmen!”

—Ooaaaah!

Hati roared. The ground beneath her staff shook, and Mia stumbled. The moment the golems lost their balance, Hati swept them away with her staff. Flame shot from the butt of the staff, engulfing the golems.

Felix shouted.

“Mia!”

Mia nodded as if struck.

“Ah, I know! But, you…!”

“I told you. Even we ordinary adventurers should act heroically once in a while.”

There was an unusual intensity in his scarred, narrow face. Mia chuckled.

“…You have an adventurer side to you too.”

She threw her chain axe. The golems were mowed down by Hati, but the axe arced through the blind spots created by their movements.

“Now then—me too.”

Felix unleashed his magic. Two in an instant.

“Blazing Flame Ball!”

The piercing fireball was absorbed not into Hati herself, but into the ‘Crimson Axe’ which absorbs magic power.

“Ice Blade!”

The ice crawling along the ground also absorbed magic into the axe’s blade the moment it came close.

The axe, imbued with two magical powers, flew, its chain rattling.

“What?!”

With a thud, the chain axe sank into Hati’s side.

Mia smirked.

“Unlike your relative, Skoll, your defenses are weak.”

“…A trick!”

“That’s right!”

Mia shouted.

“A trick to kill a big shot!”

The crimson axe’s blade gleamed. The first magic released was Ice Blade Ibarak. Hati’s side instantly froze. The magical cold seemed to penetrate particularly deeply because the axe had already broken through his skin.

“Next, Mia!”

“Yes!”

She pulled the chain, urging the axe. The crimson axe shone even brighter, unleashing a blast of flames.

“Guaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!”

Hati writhed in agony. She had been frozen by the cold air, and then the shockwave of the blast hit her. Having two types of magic unleashed by the crimson axe was like having an explosion forced into her body through a wound.

“Guh…!”

Hati remained standing only by using his tin staff as a crutch.

The left side of his abdomen had been gouged open so deeply that his ribs were visible. Blood poured from the wound in torrents, cascading down his body like a waterfall.

“Y-you bastards…”

A dangerous light flashed in Hati’s eyes.

Then an arrow struck him squarely in the back.

“We’re here to help!”

The shout came from a group of veteran adventurers. Mia recognized some of their faces from Flocia. Like her and Felix, they had been assigned to the rear lines to prevent enemy breakthrough attacks, their prior experience fighting alongside the gods earning them that responsibility.

At their head stood Lloyd, a seasoned adventurer wielding a stone hammer. Raising his weapon high, he bellowed to everyone on the battlefield,

“The enemy is on his last legs!”

Mia yanked on her chain.

The Crimson Axe came whirling back into her grasp. Across the battlefield, she met Felix’s gaze. No words were needed. They both understood. For the first time since the battle had begun, Hati was wounded. Truly wounded.

The monster that had seemed invincible was bleeding.

And that meant—

He could be killed.

“Go.”

“…Yeah! And don’t you dare die on me!”

Hati was still swinging his staff desperately.

“Fenrir! Where is the chief of the Wolfbone Clan?! H-help me…!”

At that moment, a chill wind brushed across Mia’s skin.

In the direction where Rion and the others were fighting, a raging blizzard swept across the battlefield. The howl of a wolf echoed again and again through the storm.

Hati’s eyes widened.

“…The chief… is struggling?”

Swords and spears leveled toward him from every side.

For the first time, genuine unease appeared on Wolfbone Hati’s face.

“Push forward!”

“We can kill him!”

“Axe-men and swordsmen, get in close! Spearmen, hit him from the flanks!”

“Come on then—which one of us is going to be the hero?!”

Hati staggered. His massive body swayed as blood poured from his wounds.

Desperate, he slammed his tin staff into the ground, attempting another spell. The earth erupted with violent tremors. The shockwave blasted outward, hurling adventurers into the air all at once. Everyone who had been charging only moments before were thrown from their feet like leaves caught in a storm.

Yet this time, something was different. The attack lacked the overwhelming force it had carried before. The tremor was weaker. Slower.

The magic that had once seemed inexhaustible was finally beginning to falter. And everyone on the battlefield noticed it.

“Stop… getting in my way…!”

Mia ran. She sprinted up the wreckage of a shattered Sentry Golem and launched herself straight at Hati.

“You’re the one in the way!”

The Crimson Axe came crashing down.

Its blade struck squarely between Hati’s brows, right in the center of his massive forehead. The legendary monster lashed out with one enormous arm. Mia was swatted away and sent flying through the air.

But she had felt it. Her blow had landed.

“Gu… Aaah…!”

The giant staggered. Then he collapsed.

Even Mia no longer had the strength to break her fall properly.

Just as darkness threatened to overtake her, someone caught her and pulled her upright.

It was Felix.

“…He’s—”

“That thing…”

The moment Felix indicated Hati with his chin, his face twisted in pain. The movement alone must have sent agony tearing through his burned body.

The Crimson Axe was still buried in Hati’s forehead. There was no sign that the monster would rise again. His enormous eyes rolled upward. His limbs slowly began to crumble into ash.

A familiar end. The death of a monster.

Soon, nothing remained except an enormous magic stone. The legendary beast that had seemed invincible only moments before was gone.

For a heartbeat, the battlefield fell silent.

Then the adventurers erupted.

Cheers and victorious cries rolled across the field, echoing beneath the crimson evening sky. The sound spread from one soldier to another, growing louder and louder as the reality of their victory sank in.

Wolfbone Hati had fallen.

And for the first time that day, hope returned to the battlefield.

—Push them back!

—Push them back!

—Come on, push them back!

The adventurers were repelling the monsters’ swift attack.

“…We did it,”

Mia smiled, and Felix’s cheeks relaxed as well.

“We can both be a little proud of ourselves now, can’t we?”

◆◆◆

The cheers spread across the entire range of hills. They were no longer merely being protected. Nor were they simply waiting for destruction.

Rion, too, stood facing the enemy alongside Solana. Wounded and steadily being driven back toward the front lines, Wolfbone Fenrir retreated step by step.

Rion leveled his short sword at him. The blade caught the light of the setting sun, its edge gleaming with a radiance almost like gold. Forcing air into his ragged lungs, he raised his voice as loudly as he could.

“Push them back!”

The rallying cry of the horn-blowing boy ignited the battlefield.

The soldiers answered with a roar. The adventurers surged forward. Even the exhausted defenders found strength in their legs once more.

The momentum of the battle swelled.

What had begun as a desperate effort to withstand a sudden assault was changing into something else entirely.

From defense—

to counterattack.

Beneath the fading light of dusk, hope spread across the battlefield as surely as the cheers that echoed from hill to hill. And before that rising tide, even the legendary Wolfbone Fenrir found himself driven backward.

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

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The crimson sunlight bathed the gigantic wolf.

Fenrir, the Wolfbone. Standing nearly five meters tall, it was about the height of a house roof. I looked up at the face covered in pale blue-white fur. For a moment, it seemed as though the great wolf was smiling.

“Then let us begin, young hero!”

Its jaws were massive enough to swallow a horse whole. The longer of its fangs was as long as a longsword, while its tongue writhed within its maw. Its gaze burned like fire. The intent to tear me apart and devour me blazed darkly within those eyes.

“Rion!”

Solana’s voice rang out.

“…Yeah! I’ll keep its attention on me!”

After sending Solana into the air, I renewed the effect of Golden Flame.

It was time to put all the teamwork we had practiced to the test!

“GRAAAAH!”

Fenrir kicked off the ground.

I barely managed to evade in time. A violent gust roared past my left side. Then a chill raced down my spine. Sensing danger, I leapt forward on instinct.

BOOM!

A thunderous impact exploded behind me, showering me with dirt and mud.

Fenrir had already changed direction. Its forepaw crashed down upon the very spot where I had been standing only an instant earlier.

“To dodge even that…”

I kicked off the ground and retreated, widening the distance between us. A streak of golden light came hurtling through the air.

“Over here!”

Solana unleashed a blast of magic.

But Fenrir weaved in a zigzag pattern, effortlessly avoiding the attack. A wide-open battlefield was every bit as advantageous for a wolf as one might expect.

Then a voice called out from atop the city wall.

“Rion-dono! Do you need support?!”

“I’m fine! Help the others instead!”

I pointed toward the southeast.

One of the dwarves on the wall gave a sharp nod before disappearing from sight. There was no way the defenders atop the walls could accurately support a battle as fast-moving as the one between Fenrir and me with arrows or magic.

I’d rather they focus on the other fronts.

“Ha ha ha! To think I would be underestimated!”

Fenrir threw back its head and let out a mighty howl.

Every hair on my body stood on end. Wolf-type monsters began pouring through the front lines and gathering around us.

“Grrraaah!”

“Awooo!”

A tidal wave of wolves surged toward me.

One came from the front. I slashed it apart. Another lunged from the left. I dodged. Then one leapt at me from behind.

In that case—

“Wake up!”

A violent gale erupted around me as Sylph, the Wind Spirit, answered my call. The wolves were blasted away in every direction. Several crashed into the city wall.

Others were swept into the moat and carried away by the current.

“Solana, now!”

“Indeed!”

The goddess unleashed a sphere of light from the sky above.

“Behold the radiance of the sun!”

Golden explosions rippled across the battlefield in a chain of dazzling blasts. As Fenrir darted away from the detonations, its gaze shifted for a brief moment beyond our battlefield.

A warning screamed through my instincts.

Stop him!

“—!”

I stepped forward and accelerated.

As I crossed paths with Fenrir, I slashed at one of its hind legs. The great wolf’s eyes widened, immediately tracking my movement.

“Oh… impressive. Fast, and quick to judge the situation.”

The direction it had been looking was Mia-san’s sector of the battlefield.

Thunderous crashes had been echoing from there for some time. It had probably intended to charge in and kill Mia-san and the others. If a monster like this caught someone off guard, even the most skilled warrior would likely be swallowed whole before they could react.

Fenrir glanced down at the wound on its hind leg, sounding almost amused.

“…So I have been wounded.”

The pale blue-white fur covering its body began to glow faintly.

Cold. An icy wave surged toward me, freezing both the soil and the air in its path.

My breath turned white. My teeth chattered. The dark red blood flowing from the wound I had inflicted is already freezing solid.

From above, Solana called out:

“Fenrir’s ability is 『Freezing』.”

The massive beast advanced. With every step it took, the frost-covered grass beneath its paws shattered.

“The Great Wolf of Ice that freezes all things. That is Fenrir, the Wolfbone.”

As though shielding its master, spears of ice began forming in the air around it. One after another, countless frozen lances appeared, their razor-sharp tips aimed directly at me.

“…It’s freezing.”

“Rion, this cold does more than lower the temperature—it drains vitality itself! If we do not stop it quickly, it could alter the weather and affect the entire battle!”

If Fenrir was left unchecked, the defenders on the city walls would gradually lose their strength.

The battle could collapse all at once. So that’s why this monster charged in first! Its goal had been to destroy the front from the rear.

“Now then, what will you do?!”

Fenrir unleashed the ice spears.

Dodging them alone was difficult enough. And yet I still had to close the distance and defeat it.

My footing slipped. I barely managed to avoid a direct hit by throwing myself into a forward roll.

“Guk—!”

The freezing air clung to my body. It felt as though heavy weights had been shackled to my arms and legs. I couldn’t draw out my usual speed. Ice spears slammed into the ground around me one after another.

My lungs felt as though they were freezing solid.

“Guh!”

An ice spear struck only centimeters away.

The resulting blast sent me flying. I tumbled across the ground before crashing into a low stone wall bordering the road. That finally stopped my momentum.

The instant I ceased moving, the cold invaded my body even more aggressively. My ears felt like they might snap off from the freezing pain. My vision blurred. White flecks drifted through the air.

“…S-snow?”

Even though it was already spring.

Fenrir’s silhouette was growing hazy, as though hidden behind a blizzard.

“Forgive me, Rion.”

Solana descended in front of me. A magical barrier spread outward, intercepting the incoming ice spears. Only then did pain shoot through my arm and chest.

My bones—

They weren’t broken. My arms and legs still moved normally.

“The moisture in the air is being frozen and solidified by its magic. Try not to breathe it in. Humans absorb a monster’s magical power when they inhale it.”

I hurriedly wiped my mouth.

Not that I thought something so simple would truly protect me. The cold kept seeping deeper and deeper into my body.

As Fenrir’s howl echoed across the battlefield, the goddess placed her right hand on my shoulder.

“I am always with you. The blessing that healed Luisia should serve you well here.”

Skill『Sun’s Divine Protection』has been activated. 【White Flame】⋅⋅⋅⋅⋅⋅Recovery. The blessing of the sun also exorcises curses.

White flames enveloped my body. Light returned to my vision. More than anything, the goddess’s smile gave me strength. Enough strength that I found myself smiling too, even in a situation like this.

“…Thank you, Solana.”

Icicles continued hurtling toward us, threatening to shatter the barrier at any moment. Their movements were linear.

Solana and I exchanged a glance.

“Let’s go.”

“Indeed. Time to strike back!”

Parting ways with the goddess, I burst into a run.

“Those aren’t going to hit me!”

I raised my voice, deliberately taunting Fenrir.

Pillar-like spears of ice slammed into the hillsides one after another, sending dirt flying.

Using the massive icicles as cover, I dashed across the frost-covered ground. Solana’s White Flame could dispel curses—abnormal conditions caused by magical power. As long as I had the Blessing of the Sun, I didn’t need to fear the snow that eroded the body through magic.

High above, Solana halted the incoming icicles with her own magic. Then she wrapped them in golden light and hurled them straight back at Fenrir.

“This is payback!”

Fenrir’s eyes widened.

“Tch!”

The great wolf instantly generated countless ice bullets. Its target shifted from me to Solana. The goddess vanished behind the storm of attacks. Taking advantage of that opening, I sprinted alongside the giant wolf.

“Over here!”

I slipped past its fangs and deflected a swipe of its claws with my short sword. When it tried to crush me with its massive body, I dove into a slide and passed beneath it.

Fenrir leapt backward. The next instant, a torrential rain of ice spears descended. Even so, I kept advancing. Little by little, I am driving the great wolf toward the moat.

A growl rumbled from Fenrir’s throat.

“…Your strength exceeds my expectations…!”

My enhanced hearing caught the unease in its voice.

“A god’s power should not grow so rapidly…”

A crimson glow flared within the wolf’s eyes. Then a blizzard of ice particles exploded toward me. It was like charging headfirst into a raging snowstorm. Every shard was razor-sharp. The exposed skin on my cheeks and ears was sliced open again and again.

“Wake up!”

From the gauntlet Lu had made for me, I summoned Salamander, the Fire Spirit. Flames surged forth, forcing back the freezing air. The ice melted. For a brief moment, that meant a vast amount of water had been created all around us.

“Wake up—!”

Once more, I called upon it. This time, I awakened Undine, the Water Spirit.

“Help me create mist!”

The water born from the blizzard spread outward, thickening into a dense fog. Fenrir’s form began to blur and fade within it.

The great wolf groaned.

“…An illusion?”

Within the mist, I used magic to project multiple copies of myself—illusions reflecting off the vapor itself.

Skill 『God of Mischief’s Divine Protection』has been activated. 【God of Mischief’s Deception】……Creates illusions using magical power.

It was only a momentary opening. Fenrir would quickly realize which one was real.

—Under its jaw.

“Found you!”

I caught the descending forepaw with my short sword just in time.

“…What?!”

Skill 『God of Thunder’s Divine Protection』has been activated. 【Will of the War God】⋅⋅⋅⋅⋅⋅When facing an enemy stronger than oneself, it increases the power one’s blow.

Even while separated, I could feel the gods through their blessings. I had defeated Surtr. I had defeated Freyr. There are gods supporting me from beyond.

Fenrir pressed down harder with its forepaw, trying to crush me. I could feel myself being overwhelmed. Its claw, like a curved blade, pierced my cheek and arm. I could feel blood instantly freezing as it flowed.

But—

I wasn’t alone.

So all I had to do now… was endure.

“You dare harm my follower!”

The opening was taken—this time by the goddess herself. Solana had deflected the ice bullets completely. At Fenrir’s flank, she formed a sphere of light. Though her hair and skin were already wounded, her eyes burned brighter than the light she had created.

“…You… are you truly the daughter of a defeated warrior…!?”

Fenrir reeled in shock.—Then from the side, a golden war hammer of light pierced straight through it.

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

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