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Chapter 460: Star, Niflheim (5)
Chapter 460: Star, Niflheim (5)
Chapter 460: Star, Niflheim (5)
Chang-Sun was confused. He had no idea where he was or why a puppy appeared out of thin air and welcomed him. Nevertheless, despite his situation, he still couldn’t help but reach out and pet the puppy.
The puppy wagged his tail like a propeller, seemingly showing that he liked it. The sight reminded Chang-Sun of Jjong back home, making him chuckle. He had always been very distrustful of people, but he had a strong faith in animals.
The puppy crawled into Chang-Sun’s arms. He then rubbed his head against Chang-Sun’s chest and licked his face.
Chang-Sun burst into laughter. “Hahaha!”
The shower of love, which only puppies could possibly give, quickly made Chang-Sun open up. He continued to play with him, momentarily forgetting that he had to figure out where he was.
The door to the room opened, and two people walked in. One was a calm-looking man with serpentine eyes and long hair, the other a woman with a set of small devil wings on her back.
“You’re up.”
Chang-Sun instinctively identified them as J?rmungandr and Hel. If so, then he had to be at <Niflheim>. After locking up the spatial gap to <Nihil> and falling unconscious, Loki seemed to have brought him.
Expecting that he would wake up around this time, the two came to check up on him. Unlike J?rmungandr, who was still hard to read, Hel was blatantly scowling at Chang-Sun, her eyes filled with disapproval.
Chang-Sun nodded at them. “Thanks to you, I rested—!”
Woof, woof!
The puppy in his arms suddenly barked at the two people, interrupting him. Unsure why the puppy was behaving so aggressively, he rubbed the puppy’s nape to calm him down.
“What... are you doing?” Hel asked.
Chang-Sun found J?rmungandr and Hel’s reactions a bit odd. J?rmungandr looked like he couldn’t believe what was happening, while Hel’s face began to redden. Chang-Sun thought she was angry with him, but he soon realized that she was looking at the puppy, not him. Wondering if the puppy was hers, Chang-Sun tilted his head in confusion.
Woof!
The puppy barked happily, finally welcoming the two.
“What the hell are you doing?” Hel snapped. “You’re embarrassing us,”
Woof!
“Come here!”
Woof!
“Now!”
Woof, woof!
“Hey!”
Hel’s face was as red as a tomato now.
Thump, thump, thump.
Huffing and puffing, Hel strode toward Chang-Sun and snatched the puppy by the nape from his arms. She didn’t seem angry, but she did look so embarrassed that even her neck was red now. It was as if this was the last sight she wished to show Chang-Sun.
“You’re dead meat if you do this again,” Hel growled.
Woof!
“Stop barking like a real dog!”
Woof, woof!
“Are you serious?!” she yelled at the puppy in her hand, storming out of the room.
Thud!
Chang-Sun blankly watched Hel slam the door shut. He then looked at J?rmungandr.
“... That was my brother.”
J?rmungandr gnashed his teeth, not really wishing to explain any further. His nose was starting to turn red as well.
Finally understanding what J?rmungandr meant, Chang-Sun’s jaw dropped. “The puppy earlier was...”
“I would prefer it if you don’t ask any more questions.” J?rmungandr turned away, his reddening nape making Chang-Sun realize that he was right.
Chang-Sun dumbfoundedly chuckled. Fenrir the Demonic Wolf was the eldest among Loki’s Three Demonic Creatures. He was also the second-in-command of <NIflheim>, possessing <Myths> about swallowing the sun, moon, and Celestials. No one could have expected Fenrir would act like that.
“... Ehem! Since you’re already awake, I need you to come with me,” J?rmungandr said, desperately trying to change the topic. “Someone is waiting for you.”
Chang-Sun pitied him for some reason.
* * *
“The fog is too thick,” Chang-Sun muttered as he followed J?rmungandr to Nastrond[1], the central divine ground of <Niflheim>.
The fog covering the area was making it difficult to make out their surroundings. With his bare eyes, Chang-Sun could only see three meters ahead at most, which were nothing but barren land and scrawny trees. Thanatos had told him that <Niflheim> was close to their death, but their situation seemed even direr than Chang-Sun had expected. Moreover, most of the <Niflheim> Celestials that Chang-Sun had occasionally run into looked alien, neither Giant nor human.
“It’s the demonic water fog,” J?rmungandr answered.
“Demonic water fog?”
“It’s the work of Ivaldi and his sons. We managed to survive <Extinction> and return to our prime because of it.”
Chang-Sun suddenly had a realization.
Ivaldi was the craftsman who made a furnace out of the beautiful hair of Thor’s wife Sif[2], and forged [Skidbladnir] and [Gungnir] using a furnace he made by burning the beautiful hair of Sif, Thor’s wife. He was also an elder of <Svartalfheim>, the realm where dark fairies lived.
“Without this demonic water fog, we’d consider ourselves lucky if we only plummet,” J?rmungandr explained. “After all, we could get annihilated too.”
After Bestla’s death, her forces split into three. They all faced <Extinction> in the end partially because other <Societies> kept them in check out of fear of a second Bestla being born. However, the biggest reason was that the great relic maintaining the Giants’ Divine Classes had been shattered. [Laevateinn] and [Fimbulvetr] were merely fragments of it.
Bestla’s death essentially guaranteed the Giants’ end. Nevertheless, <Niflheim> survived thanks to the demonic water fog Ivaldi had left.
“Evil Witch, Prophet of the Dead, Gray Old Woman, Loki’s Favorite Mistress... Angrboda has wicked titles and nicknames, but she isn’t really all that bad.”
The story that Thanatos had told Chang-Sun about Angrboda, the mother of Loki’s Three Demonic Creatures, was a little—no, a lot different from what was known in <Heaven>.
“She’s known as the woman who enthralled Loki, a married man. However, Loki and Sigyn married each other for political reasons. There was not even a trace of love between them. Angrboda’s <Myth> of predicting <Extinction> was honestly more like an analysis she made with her outstanding judgment and insight,” Thanatos continued.
“Is that so?”
“Angrboda is Loki’s true love and the godmother of <Niflheim>. She made sure their <Society> would survive. Unfortunately, that’s also the reason why she’s on the verge of plummeting.”
“What happened?” Chang-Sun asked.
“<Niflheim> is built on Angrboda’s survival.”
“You look like you know about the fog. I take it you know the truth about it, too, then?” J?rmungandr asked.
“If you’re asking if I’m aware that the main constituent of the demon water fog is Angrboda’s spiritual power, then yes. I know the truth.”
“... I see.” J?rmungandr sighed quietly.
The fact that <Niflheim> survived because of Angrboda’s sacrifice was a secret only Loki and the Three Demonic Creatures knew.
Thanatos continued, “Angrboda is a prophet, but she’s also a wizard exceptional enough to be comparable to Odin and Freya. She used herself as a sacrificial offering to ensure the survival of <Niflheim>.”
Sacrificial offerings were often made to gods and other great beings in hopes of receiving fitting rewards and blessings. The more valuable the sacrificial offering, the higher the ritual’s quality. Since human souls were valued highly, humans were occasionally sacrificed.
The ritual’s quality could also be affected by the relationship of the leading priest to the sacrificial offering. That was why people from ancient times offered their children.
However, that posed a question about what would happen if a Celestial was used as a sacrificial offering and also oversaw the ritual itself. Considering Celestials were already valuable, sacrificing the Celestial leading the ritual increased the ritual’s quality to unmeasurable levels.
Odin offered himself to Yggdrasil to learn gnosis, the great magical knowledge, and Sadalmelik sacrificed herself to summon Ubbo-Sathla, driving Worldline #802 into <Extinction>. Likewise, Angrboda sacrificed herself to save <Niflheim> and start their prime.
‘Unlike Sadalmelik, though, Angrboda didn’t offer all her soul, allowing her to continue existing,’ Chang-Sun thought.
“What about what remains of her?” Chang-Sun asked.
“Loki is holding onto her. He’s probably still wandering around trying to find a way to save his dying lover.”
“I only have to objectives to accomplish, then.”
“Exactly.” Thanatos smiled. “Save Angrboda and bring <Niflheim> under your command.”
In essence, this demonic water fog was Angrboda herself. Considering what remained of her was slumbering on the underground floor of Loki’s palace, it was hard to call her alive.
“I’m sure you know why I’m talking about <Niflheim>’s critical weakness.” J?rmungandr looked at Chang-Sun with sharp eyes. He hadn’t forgotten that Chang-Sun had told Loki that he would give <Niflheim> the cure for Angrboda’s condition.
“Although one of the reasons we’re preserving Jarnvidr is because it’s Mother’s homeland, the main reason is to get the ingredients for the cure you promised us. Keep your promise. Otherwise...” J?rmungandr looked ahead of him again. “... even I have no idea how Father would react.”
Calmly, he continued, “Father is a mischievous man. He has never once lost his smile, not even during his conflict against Odin. He only ever loses his rationality when Mother is involved.”
J?rmungandr was essentially warning Chang-Sun to watch himself.
Chang-Sun quietly nodded. “I will.”
“Then—!”
“But you better meet my terms as well.”
Tap!
J?rmungandr stopped. Chang-Sun walked past him.
“<Niflheim> has to give me their throne in exchange for saving Angrboda and acknowledge that I’m Bestla’s heir.”
“... Yeah, that is who you are,” J?rmungandr mumbled.
He could still remember the accomplishments that a human named Lee Chang-Sun had made on Earth and how he had done them. Chang-Sun would never let emotional ties get in his work, but he always made sure to keep his end of the deal. Hence, J?rmungandr couldn’t help but nod even though Chang-Sun was talking about the subjugation of <Niflheim>.
“If you succeed, then you might just get what you want...” J?rmungandr trailed off.
* * *
J?rmungandr led Chang-Sun into a palace built out of the bones of enormous demonic creatures. It was unclear if the bones were of Dragons or serpents, however.
Bel-Marduk nodded Chang-Sun. “Hey.”
The disapproval in his eyes made it clear that he didn’t want to be here. He would much rather finish his business here as quickly as possible so he could quickly return to where he was. When Chang-Sun began to wonder why...
“Oh, my! One more dashing man has arrived! Are you boys twins? Hohoho, you could have told me earlier. If I knew I was going to be surrounded by such fine men, I would have dressed myself up prettier.”
The woman winked at Chang-Sun. She then laughed, covering her lips, which she had applied a dark-red lipstick on.
The woman was wearing a tight dress that accentuated her curves, its slits keeping her beautiful legs in the open. She was so beautiful that anyone walking past her would turn back to just to catch a glimpse of her again. However, Bel-Marduk kept looking away, a frown on his face. He looked as if he had just seen something he shouldn’t have.
The more Bel-Marduk’s frown deepened, the louder the woman giggled. She linked her arm around Bel-Marduk’s right and asked him what was wrong. Bel-Marduk screamed to let him go, seemingly creeped out by her touch.
Chang-Sun tilted his head in confusion. ‘Who is she?’
The woman had a formidable Divine Class, but Chang-Sun couldn’t connect her to the people of <Niflheim>. He had already met Hel, so he was sure they weren’t the same person.
Chang-Sun narrowed his eyes. ‘Her energy is familiar, though.’
“... Fuck,” J?rmungandr grumbled in annoyance, covering his face. He had the same expression as when he saw Fenrir in Chang-Sun’s arms. “Would you please stop that already, Father?”
Chang-Sun hurriedly turned to J?rmungandr, unable to believe what he just heard.
‘Fa...ther...?’
J?rmungandr’s reaction made it clear that Chang-Sun hadn’t misheard him.
Gulp.
Chang-Sun swallowed down his saliva. He turned to Bel-Marduk and the woman again, finding the woman giggling coquettishly and Bel-Marduk trembling, hating every bit of this meeting.
“Hohohoho! What’s with the stare, sweetie? Is this your first time meeting a beautiful woman? Well, it would be difficult to find someone more beautiful, wouldn’t it?”
Chang-Sun wondered if he had just dug his own grave with this plan.
1. A shore of corpses in Helheim. ?
2. The novel has made a few modifications to Norse mythology. Not much is known about Ivaldi himself, but his sons forged Gungnir and Skidbladnir. Loki, the one who mischievously cut Sif’s hair, visited Ivaldi’s sons to get Sif a replacement. That marked the start of his journey to creating many artifacts like Gungnir, Skidbladnir, Mjolnir... etc. ?