The original concept of the sky was that it wasn’t something that could be torn apart. How could the atmosphere thousands of kilometers above the ocean and clouds be torn? Large-scale weather phenomena were trivial compared to the real extent of the sky. The days of fearing that lightning known as the wrath of God had already passed.
“Crazy!”
No, it was just an illusion. Theodore looked up at the distant sky and couldn’t help cursing. As a magician who explored the laws of the physical world, he couldn’t believe the sight he was seeing. Who was it that contacted him in an urgent tone? Alucard?
The knee-jerk reaction was indeed accurate. The sky was torn.
It was almost 9 in the morning, but the sky where Nídhöggur stopped the sunrise was still dark. Unlike the moonlit sky filled with stars, this was a darkness that didn’t allow any light to be seen. Unfortunately, Nídhöggur was the one who made this darkness, and Hraesvelgr was going against it.
――――――――――――!!
At this moment, lightning struck, and the world turned white.
“Urgh, again!”
The ground and the sky shook. Despite knowing it was an illusion, Theodore couldn’t help reacting to it. It was a feeling caused by the oscillating of the dimensional system, which was due to the two transcendents. The aftermath of the fight traveled at least a few hundred kilometers. If the elves shared Theodore’s senses, they might have fainted.
He kept this in mind and arrived at the place he had been told to go to through Ratatoskr.
“You came? I heard you were dealing with the enemy leader alone and was worried.” Alucard, who had sent Theodore the signal, welcomed him with a serious expression.
“Fortunately, there are no big injuries. My magic power is overloaded, but if I am careful, I can fight more...”
The dragon heart belonged to a dragon who had lived for 10,000 years, and it was literally a treasure with infinite magic power. Theodore was utilizing its power and would only be able to fight for half a day with it. Nevertheless, the battle against Jerem had been dicey.
Jerem’s casting speed, magic combination, and magic control made him more of a great magician than a monster. Theodore had barely won with the fouls of Soul Calibre, the Hall of Fame, and the dragon heart.
‘Well, there was also the patron called Nídhöggur.’
The emergence of the variable called Hraesvelgr tilted things to their side. Additionally, Theodore hadn’t had a method to finish Jerem off fully. Instead, he had collapsed on his own. Since early on, warlocks had never accepted death. So, Jerem must have had ulterior motives.
“Do you know what the situation is? The sky is torn despite the atmosphere not seeming to have a single scratch.”
“I’ll tell you everything when the others get here. Repeating the same words several times is just a waste of effort. Those in the south are already approaching.”
“The south?”
Before Theodore could say anything more, Veronica fell from the sky and clung to his neck. It was a high-speed fall that quickly switched to a slow speed, like a fishing fisherman.
“Theo, we won as well! You knocked down that monster alone while I was gone!”
“V-Veronica? Wait a minute…”
“What’s wrong? I’m just giving you a reward because you worked hard,” Veronica spoke while placing her cheek against Theodore’s.
Meanwhile, Titania just shrugged. She had the sense not to get involved. Soon afterward, Ellenoa and the leaders in charge of each defense area gathered. Apart from Alucard, the other three high elves were busy maintaining Hraesvelgr’s summoning.
“I will explain after the situation is organized,” Alucard said. Then he clapped a few times before saying, “Defenders responsible for each other, report.”
“The eastern front, Guardian Ellaim will report,” Ellaim said politely as he stepped forward. “On the eastern front, all the undead died a few minutes before you summoned me. There isn’t a single undead moving on the eastern front.”
“It is the same in the west.”
“The southern front has also been verified. Combat has entered in all areas, the land has been cleansed, and we are in the post-processing stage.”
“Umm.” Alucard’s expression stiffened after hearing that all the dangerous undead had disappeared.
Anyone who felt excited by this situation would have stones for brains. It wasn’t hundreds or thousands but hundreds of thousands of undead. Theodore might’ve killed the caster, but the undead wouldn’t be so easily destroyed. It was impossible for all of them to be gone.
“...It can’t be.” Theodore reached the truth before anyone else. “Don’t tell me that all the undead were sacrificed to Nídhöggur?”
“What?” Alucard was surprised by Theodore’s words and immediately asked Theodore, “Theodore. I’m not a magician, but is the power of the sacrifices enough to affect the two beings?”
“It should be fine...”
At that moment, Gluttony woke up and interrupted, -You are half right, half wrong. How can the soul of an imperfect warlock interfere in the confrontation between transcendents? The balance of power will just be temporarily collapsed.
“The balance between Hraesvelgr and Nídhöggur will collapse?”
-That’s right. Hraesvelgr is stable because of the legitimate ritual that doesn’t need a big sacrifice like Nídhöggur’s did. However, Hraesvelgr’s force is small. In the opposite direction, Nídhöggur took a shortcut by swallowing Baldur’s body. Nídhöggur can momentarily exert a stronger power.
Nídhöggur had devoured Baldur, while Hraesvelgr was reliant on the four high elves, the Great Forest, and the world tree. Hraesvelgr was stable and could be summoned for a long time, while a short battle was more beneficial for Nídhöggur. Therefore, Nídhöggur aimed to finish it straight away, but Hraesvelgr wanted a drawn-out battle.
However, this fight was turned upside down by a variable—the sudden disappearance of Jerem who had summoned Nídhöggur to this material world.
-The most important thing for summoning magic is the link. If it is lost, you can’t stay in this world for a long time, no matter how strong you are. This isn’t the time to relax. Nídhöggur’s power is threatening.
“So, is it a toss of the dice over who will win?”
-Hrrmm, I don’t know, Gluttony spoke in a voice that contained hidden significance. -Based on my memories, Nídhöggur is someone who will use everything he has.
Theodore’s super sensitivity gave him an intense warning, making him feel dizzy. This was a headache that caused his eyes to blur! It was at a level which told him death was inevitable. The direction of the danger came from the sky where the monsters were tangled together.
“...Eh?”
The sky was bright. This pure white sky didn’t look normal. Unlike the darkness of Nídhöggur, divinity could be felt from the white light. It was the strength of Hraesvelgr. Theodore had no idea of the circumstances when Alucard suddenly paled and opened his mouth.
“Theodore.”
“Huh?”
“Hraesvelgr has sent a message.”
Theodore's face stiffened at the unexpected name.
“Eventually, Nídhöggur will shoot a death breath. Hraesvelgr will use all his strength to prevent it, but we should prepare for the blow.”
“...Ha, a blow. The words aren’t easy.” Theodore sighed as he realized what the warning meant.
It was only one blow, but it was much more powerful than Theodore could handle. A grand master’s killing technique...
The 9th circle magician’s ultimate magic. It was a blow that would inevitably cause death for any opponent. Nídhöggur’s breath would be able to destroy all creatures in this forest and Elvenheim.
‘...I don’t want to think about it.’
Theodore shook off the terrible scene that he imagined and asked a question, “What is the time limit?”
“The next two hours. There is a little bit less time now.”
“Two hours... We can barely get out of the Great Forest.”
Additionally, it was difficult to abandon the world tree and Elvenheim. This was the elves’ paradise beyond the Red Plateau and beyond the reach of greedy humans. Although Alucard didn’t refute Theodore’s words, the bitter expression in his eyes was clear to Theodore. Alucard was determined to throw away the world tree.
‘Damn, it is hard with just two hours. If the right answer is to evacuate, then we have to move right now...!’ Theodore desperately tried to think of measures, but the scale was too big.
The 5th stage Superbia and 6th stage Invidia were no match for this. It was a one-sided fight. In this case, it was closer to a natural disaster than combat. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, and so on... A mortal couldn’t do anything against an uninvited guest from another dimension.
Theodore moved his lethargic brain and continued to think of possible measures. ‘First, I can briefly summon Fafnir to counter it.’
If Nídhöggur consumed a lot of power fighting Hraesvelgr, Theodore might be able to intercept it with Fafnir. The destructive power of the ‘laser’ was superior to any breath, so it could stop the breath of death.
‘...Dismissed. Nídhöggur will shoot the breath at the world tree, and if I call Fafnir near there, Elvenheim might be burned with my own power.’
The world tree was so sensitive to fire magic that it burned with just Veronica approaching. It would surely be a catastrophe if two dragons fought against each other in the vicinity of the immature world tree. There was no time to intercept it from a distance, and he didn’t have the exact timing either. Thanks to Gluttony’s advice, he knew the speed and destructive power of the death breath. However, he had no control over Fafnir.
So, Theodore gave up on his first method.
‘Second, I can use all my achievement points to borrow the power of those in the Hall of Fame.’
Thanks to Jerem, he still had over 100,000 achievement points. It was possible to borrow powerful magic by calling the name of a great magician. However, this was frustrated by Gluttony’s advice.
-Meteor Fall or Grand Cross both have enough power to counter it, but they can’t be used with 100,000 points. You don’t have enough points to call their souls.
‘Ugh, then the third―’
It was amazing that there were spells which could counter the death breath. However, what good were the spells if they couldn’t be used when he needed them? Theodore was about to think about a third plan when Ellenoa raised a hand.
“Ellenoa? What’s going on?”
“Ah, nothing. Just...” Ellenoa was a little hesitant and took a few deep breaths before speaking. “I can still summon Nohengrin. Please tell me anytime if you need my strength.”
“Ah, thank you.”
“It isn’t a situation where you should thank me.”
The two of them smiled brightly as they faced each other. The heavy atmosphere became a bit lighter. Theodore heard Ellenoa’s words and thought about using the power of the elemental ruler. However, he dismissed it. Even if the elemental ruler did their best, it would be difficult to block Nídhöggur’s breath with their power.
Gluttony predicted that it would have the power of a lower or intermediate-level god.
‘Why is this lizard so anxious to eat plants? Reptiles should eat worms instead of going to another world.’
Theodore looked around. The location of their meeting was quite high up, and he could see the elves being busy at the bottom. There were some he knew, and others he didn’t know. They were anxious at the fact that the monster from the Age of Mythology, Nídhöggur, would blow a breath over their heads.
“...Ahh, the parent tree. Please protect us.”
An elf rushed toward the world tree with a small swaddling cloth in his arms, a child that was born recently. Theodore had thought that the act of praying was for the religions of the human race, but the act of gathering both hands together and praying could be found in any culture. The elves really prayed for a god to help them. They hoped for their sincerity to touch the sky, and for a righteous deity to draw a sword and defeat the dragon.
‘Hmm?’ At that moment, Theodore sensed he was missing something and his eyes narrowed.
[Hoing!] Mitra, the brown-skinned girl, popped out of the ground with a bud on her head and somersaulted. It was a feat that could be seen in a circus. Theodore praised her skill before having a thought. This was the age where the gods had disappeared and magic had declined. If they couldn’t hope for a god’s help, why not ask for the help of a god here?
“Mitra.”
[Yes? What?]
Theodore stroked Mitra’s wheat colored hair and asked with a heavy expression, “Will you become the god of this forest?”