Episode 35/Chapter 7: Great War (7)
TL: Tsubak
ED: Julsmul
The Giant of Beasts, Ortr, opened his mouth widely. He charged towards Tae Ho and spat black fire that resembled the flames of hell.
Tae Ho didn't dodge it. He rather faced it head on and raised the Gunlance of the royal dragon. Rolo covered his entire body with the ensuing cloak of flames.
[Saga: Roar of the Dragon]
What he was using was the Draconic ballista. The piercing spear that would even pierce through the breath of fire.
Rolo folded his wings and charged towards the flames, and the Gunlance passed through the flame breath.
Explosions occurred in the sky in consecution. They were explosions that occurred inside the fire breath, but Rolo didn't lose balance. The blessing of the Master of Flames, Shootingstar, protected him, and the Gunlance opened a path for him.
They then finally reached him. Tae Ho and Rolo passed through the fire breath, and the Giant of Beasts, Ortr, swung his fist at almost the same time.
Tae Ho's spear moved. He carefully controlled Rolo with the 'One that Controls Dragons' saga.
The charge itself wasn't the only important part of a lance charge where each side collided with the other. If one just stabbed the other, then both of them would die. Because of that, one had to move precisely and minutely so that their attack reached their opponent first while their opponent's attack didn't touch them.
The trajectory drawn by the tip of Tae Ho's spear didn't cross the trajectory of the fist Ortr drew. They seemed like they would connect, but the attacks missed at the decisive moment.
Ortr's fist stabbed the air, and Tae Ho and Rolo dove behind it. The Gunlance then touched Ortr's chest.
All of this happened in an instant.
Ortr smiled bitterly as Tae Ho howled in triumph. The Gunlance had carved deeply into Ortr's chest!
The trajectory of the both of them now became one. Rolo pushed back Ortr with an overwhelming speed, and Tae Ho fixed the Gunlance and pulled the trigger in sequence. The head of a dragon that lay within the spear spat out fire consecutively.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Ortr's body shook every time an explosion was made. He swung his arms to catch Rolo, even while he was being driven to the ground, but then his arms got fended back.
Kwagang!
The last explosion burst out, and at that moment, Tae Ho let go of the Gunlance. Rolo fluttered his wings with all his strength and quickly fled the gravitational pressure.
Ortr crashed in the ground, and Rolo flew up once again with rough movements. Tae Ho's breaths were ragged atop him as he looked down at the ground.
Ortr vomited blood while having his chest burst open, and Loki approached him.
—
The King of Gods, Odin, had left Valhalla.
He, who was wearing a big hat and tattered robe, didn't leave behind any traces of his movements. There was no one that could check his actions while fierce battles were occurring in Midgard and Asgard.
Odin didn't pass through the Bifrost. He instead used a secret passageway that only he knew of to head to Mimir's lake and then met the ones he had put on standby at the root of Yggdrasil.
They were all named warriors, but they were also ones that had faked their deaths or retired due to a myriad of reasons.
Because of that, no one, even those on the battlefield, had missed them.
In addition, not even the warriors Odin had gathered knew the general picture of what had happened a few minutes ago. Because it was impossible to count one's plans.
"Let's go, my warriors. Let's go to end the war."
Odin spoke and took the lead. The warriors stood up and followed his back, and the great Viking king, Ragnar Lodbrok, smiled bitterly.
"For Asgard and the Nine Realms,"
Someone said, and Odin nodded. His steps became faster.
—
The attitudes of the Five Fingers towards Loki were different from one another.
The Giant of the Night, Avalt, treated him as an enemy, and his rival, the Giant of Strength, Harad, showed good will towards him.
The Giant of Beasts was also one that showed good will towards him.
It wasn't a rational judgement. His beast-like senses were telling him that Loki was the same side as them.
And actually, Loki had been a loyal underling of the Magician King Utgard Loki for quite some time.
Because of that, the Giant of Beasts looked at Loki approaching him and became mystified. It wasn't because he'd appeared suddenly either.
Ortr's senses were warning him of great danger. His senses were saying that Loki was an enemy.
What had happened?
Ortr couldn't come up with an answer. Loki executed the magic he had prepared for a long time and clenched his heart. At the same time, Tae Ho jumped down from Rolo's back. He stabbed the prototype of Fragarach in Ortr's neck, who couldn't move because of Loki's magic.
Ortr, who'd had his neck pierced by a huge sword, couldn't even scream. He had the strongest vitality among the Five Fingers, but he couldn't do anything to save himself. He flinched a few times and then didn't move anymore.
Tae Ho, who was almost hanging onto the huge hilt of the sword, let out a long sigh and slowly removed his hands. He landed on the chest of the fallen Ortr and looked at Loki.
Black flashes and fire pillars were descending from the sky. Adenmaha and McLaren were fighting against the giants with Merlin.
'Explain, Loki!'
Idun yelled. Originally, her voice wouldn't have reached him, but Loki nodded. He looked at Tae Ho as if he had heard her voice and said,
"It will take too long to explain it with words. I will show you a memory."
Loki drew a rune in the air. The rune of light that was the size of a palm flew towards Tae Ho.
Idun wanted to stop Tae Ho, but Cuchulainn stayed silent. Tae Ho placed his hand on the rune Loki had sent towards him after a moment of consideration.
Loki's magic activated, and a light-filled, chronological sequence of memories was transmitted.
—
The plan had started a dozen years ago.
—
The Magician King, Utgard Loki, was standing on the World Tree, Yggdrasil, which connected Asgard and Midgard.
It was something that no one would have been able to guess.
Because the attention of everyone would have been gathered upon the fights occurring in Asgard, the front lines, and in several places throughout Midgard.
The Magician King didn't act carelessly. He had guessed where the Gods of Asgard like Thor and strong warriors like Sigurd were fighting at and against whom.
Because of that, he thought that his plan had succeeded.
The objective of the Magician King wasn't to gather the soul fragments.
His real objective was reaching the nucleus of Yggdrasil without being interrupted.
He would destroy the nucleus of the World Tree and cut off the connection between Asgard and Midgard. He would then naturally wait for the destruction of Asgard.
All the things that had happened until now were merely preparations.
There was an island in the sea of death at the end of the world, and Yggdrasil passed through it as if penetrating it.
The Magician King landed on the island. He then walked towards Yggdrasil.
But there was someone waiting for him.
"We finally meet, Utgard Loki."
The one standing before the World Tree was the King of Gods, Odin.
The location where Garmr's soul fragment was first discovered was in the trace of the Great War located in Svartalfheim.
The moment they defeated the fire giant that was using a strong magic, Tae Ho and Siri were swept by the storm of magic power and thrown towards the trace of the Great War that was hidden in a crack of the world.
It wasn't a coincidence.
It was all planned by the Magician King.
—
"We will let Asgard know of the fact that the soul fragments of Garmr exist and that the giants of Jotunheim are searching for it. That was the objective of that battle."
—
Tae Ho and Siri being the ones swept up by it wasn't a coincidence, but Tae Ho obtaining a piece of Gae Bolg wasn't something planned on by the Magician King.
But until then, it wasn't that important.
Because of that, the Magician King proceeded with his plan.
—
Asgard started to search for Garmr's soul fragments like expected.
And the giants of Jotunheim also began a search of great magnitude to not lose them to Asgard.
Inevitably, Garmr's soul fragments were discovered, one by one, at suitable places.
The warriors of Valhalla and the giants of Jotunheim clashed to obtain the soul fragments.
—
"The death of the Giant of Strength, Harad, wasn't planned, but thanks to that, Asgard grew to completely believe that the giants of Jotunheim were intricately obsessed with the soul fragments."
—
The stage then moved to Midgard. Several soul fragments were discovered, and due to several cases, Asgard started to concentrate more on Midgard.
—
"The big picture remains the same, but the speed of the plan has been slowed. It's because Idun's warrior fought much better than expected."
—
The death of the Giant of Earth, Balgad, also wasn't in the plans.
Now that the Magician King had lost two of the Five Fingers, he decided not to delay anymore.
He already had the necessary things anyways.
The Goddess of Magic, Freya, couldn't trust in the security of the Great Barrier anymore. She had started to ponder whether she had to reinstall it or not even if Midgard was then exposed to the giants.
—
"The Magician King revealed the whole picture to the remaining Five Fingers, and he ordered the revealing of all soul fragments to the only one whom he had originally shared his plans with."
—
A bunch of soul fragments appeared in the front lines, and several soul fragments were discovered in Midgard.
The giants passed through the holes that were in the Great Barrier and started to invade Midgard.
Because of that, the Goddess of Magic, Freya, decided to remove the Great Barrier, and the King of Gods, Odin, agreed to her decision.
Because the objective of the giants was to gather the soul fragments.
They just had to retrieve it faster than them.
The king of the frost giants, Harmarti, marched in the front lines. Not only that, but high-named giants revealed their existences clearly in the battlefield. As a result, the Gods of Asgard didn't look anywhere else.
—
"We will dig in that opening. The Magician King will destroy the nucleus of Yggdrasil himself while everyone is preoccupied elsewhere."
—
The Magician King gazed at Odin.
Odin took off his tattered robe and said,
"I wanted to meet you. I wanted to bring you out, you, who was shrinking down into the deepest places of Jotunheim, because a war will only end after one strikes the head of the king."
The Magician King, Utgard Loki, wasn't the only giant king in Jotunheim, but he was the one that had the biggest force. The giants of Jotunheim could gather their strengths into one as he possessed a strong political power.
Odin knew all of the plans of the Magician King.
Because Odin also knew the only giant that the Magician King shared his plans with. That giant- no, that God was relaying to him the plans the Magician King would harness to his desires.
He knew that the Magician King already had all the soul fragments.
He also knew that the one that had put the soul fragments in Svartalfheim and scattered them in several places of Midgard was the Magician King.
But he still played by his palm.
He started to search the soul fragments more fervently. He didn't share the truth with Freya, Heimdall, or even Thor. As a result, they acted earnestly in everything.
He was also prepared for sacrifices. Loki had blocked Thor when they were fighting against the fomoire king. He'd let that happen even by knowing that the warriors of Valhalla who had descended would suffer crushing casualties.
Because he had to make the Magician King trust in Loki.
Thor and everyone else had to play by the plans of the Magician King.
Just like the Magician King had exposed named giants, Odin had also exposed named warriors.
For the battle that was not related to the great war occurring in Asgard and Midgard, but for that one fight that would occur in the crevice of the world.
They needed a long time for that.
Loki could obtain the trust of the Magician King because of the hundred years that had passed.
Thanks to that past hundred years, the Magician King grew to believe in the magical nucleus that connected Midgard and Asgard.
Valhalla was also on the defensive since the Great War. They just defended instead of attacking.
Freya thought that it was to protect Asgard, Midgard, and everyone as the King of Gods.
Thor, Heimdall, and other Gods like Ullr and Hermod also thought similarly.
But that wasn't the case.
Odin had endured it and was patient.
For that one instant that he would bite the neck of his enemy.
And that was a really obvious thing.
"Because I'm the cruel and cunning God of War before the King of Gods."
Odin gripped Gungnir, and the superior-ranked warriors that had retired or faked their deaths appeared behind him.
"For Asgard and the Nine Realms,"
Someone uttered, and the warriors activated their sagas.
—
Idun panted with a dumbfounded face. She could only react as such to the plan Loki revealed.
Loki, who had betrayed Asgard when the Great War was coming to an end.
Loki, who had lived as a loyal underling of the Magician King for a hundred years.
It was a story that was hard to believe but also hard to doubt. His story was akin to an expertly fabricated lie.
"By now, the fight against the Magician King and Odin would have started."
But of course, there was no way the Magician King would have gone alone; there was, however, a limit to the number of forces he could mobilize as he was hidden in Midgard.
On the other hand, Odin had been preparing for this fight since long ago. He had Ragnar Lodbrok and other great warriors next to him. In addition, Odin was an unrivaled warrior and magician at the same time. As the island atop of the sea of death was Odin's magical territory, his chances of defeat were too low.
They would defeat the Magician King.
They would end what the strongest warrior in Erin, Cuchulainn, couldn't do in the Great War and bring the giants to an end.
The superior-ranked warriors that emerged down from the Black Flash started to fight against the giants. Even though they were in the middle of a fierce battlefield, the place Loki and Tae Ho were standing at was silent, just like the eye of a storm.
Tae Ho got down from the chest of Ortr. He moved quickly instead of explaining his actions to Loki.
'Tae Ho?'
Cuchulainn asked, but Tae Ho didn't stop. He went to the place he had sealed Garmr's soul fragment before fighting against Ortr and retrieved his divine power.
Perhaps it had been a meaningless thing.
Because the real objective of the Magician King wasn't to retrieve the soul fragments. In the first place, he was the one that had scattered them.
But Tae Ho still retrieved it. It wasn't because he didn't trust in Loki. It was because of the instinctive sense which lead the way to Tae Ho at important moments. The doubt that pinched a part of his head while listening to Loki's story made him act.
He had heard several things from Loki. The information had increased and his saga was strengthened thanks to Bragi's rune.
Tae Ho took one more step and then poured the divine power that got amplified by 'Idun's Warrior' into his 'Eyes of the Dragon'. He then checked Garmr's soul fragment once again. He could see things that he hadn't been able to until now.
[The Already Used]
[Garmr's Soul Fragment]
Tae Ho took a breath. He gritted his teeth and looked at the soul fragment.
The already used.
Something that wasn't in Loki's story.
At that moment, Cuchulainn let out a groan as if he had realized something. Tae Ho hurriedly turned towards Loki.
It wasn't because he doubted him. It was to tell him that they had to hurry.
But right at that moment, at that instant-
—
The Magician King believed in the God of Fire and Lies, Loki.
He couldn't know that Odin had all of this planned.
But he was also a king. He had a secret he hadn't revealed to anyone else.
The Magician King had all the soul fragments, but he didn't use them regardless of that.
Odin and Loki thought that it was because he couldn't use them.
Because he would have called the World Wolf beforehand if he could. He would use the World Wolf to attack Asgard from the front.
Because calling the World Wolf with the soul fragments was only possible in theory.
They thought like that.
He believed that to be the case.
The World Wolf hadn't appeared for the past hundred years.
But that thought was wrong.
"Why do I have to do so?"
Why does he have to reveal the World Wolf? Why does he have to use it to attack them from the front?
Why would he, when it could become a trump card to pierce the heart of the enemy at the decisive moment when no one could have expected it.
A decisive moment like the current one.
The Magician King looked at Odin. He activated his trump card magic that he had hidden since the Great War.
Above the head of the Magician King.
The thing that appeared while tearing space.
The howl of the World Wolf covered all of Midgard.
< Episode 35 - Great War (7) > End
TL note: Thanks for reading~