Episode 70/Chapter 7: Sword of the World Dragon (7)
TL: Tsubak
ED: StellarRain
Nidhogg was in a place not too far from Kum Oh Do. It was a flat leveled land, but the region was quite high that allowed for a complete view of the destroyed Kum Oh Do.
'We didn't mean to, but it was solved in one go.'
'Right.'
Not even Tae Ho could have imagined that Kum Oh Do would be destroyed that way. It was a misfortune that Kum Oh Do never expected.
Tae Ho glanced at Kum Oh Do, that had become a land of death covered by remains created by the earthquakes, and then left the Heart Room.
The body of Nuwa that the black holy dragon placed down on the ground was a huge snake about 50 meters long. 50 meters wasn't small at all and was a bit bigger than Rolo after he transformed, but she looked comparatively small and cute as he had seen many huge things already.
'A bastard that's not even 2 meters tall says that.'
As Cuchulainn snorted Tae Ho approached the head of the snake and called out the name of Nuwa once again. The snake shut its mouth, lowered its head and then a beautiful woman appeared from its head.
It was a woman with white skin and long black hair. She had the appearance of a human, but her yellow eyes certainly belonged to a snake.
She was in a naked state without even a strand of thread on her. However, she gave off a natural and beautiful feeling rather than a sexual one.
Nuwa looked at Tae Ho. Tae Ho hit his chest twice and saluted.
"For Asgard and the nine realms."
"Let the light of the Temple be eternal."
Nuwa replied in the way of the Temple. Tae Ho opened his mouth again.
"I'm the master of Asgard and Erin, Lee Tae Ho."
"You should already know this but I'm the ancient God of the Temple, Nuwa. Master of Asgard and the new Erin."
She grew a faint smile while softly speaking. She was in a really weakened state just like Astelone said, but she still had the peculiar dignity of an ancient God that had existed since the world began.
"I heard the voice of the world when I woke up and sensed it. That I would meet with you. That I needed to do a few things to be able to meet you."
Nuwa spoke in a low voice and extended her hand to Tae Ho. It seemed like she wanted him to come closer.
Tae Ho took a breath. It was because he sensed everyone looking at him through the eyes of the black dragon. Specifically he could feel Adenmaha watching him. It felt like she was a bit anxious.
'Let's go.'
Cuchulainn urged. Tae Ho approached Nuwa and she looked at his eyes once again. The eyes of a dragon got reflected in the eyes of the snake.
"The end is nearing."
Nuwa prophesized like Nyx and at that moment Tae Ho realized one thing. The end Nuwa and Nyx spoke about didn't refer to the Kingdom of Fire like Odin had guessed.
"Asgard and the nine realms…the end of the ten realms. The end that exists because there was a beginning."
That was the natural flow. Even the Gods who could live thousands or hundreds of thousands of years would one day pass away.
Nuwa continued to speak.
"The proof is that the place Asgard call Muspelheim, the land where the flames of the north will start, has appeared."
Muspelheim was different from Asgard or the Temple. It didn't belong to the ten realms.
"That place only exists for the end. All the real ancient Gods that have existed since the beginning of the world and haven't been contaminated would feel this."
Nyx, who had maintained the appearance of a pure ancient God before she descended on Zeus, had felt it. But Gaia hadn't been able to feel it, as she created a body to descend on the mortal world and had cut off her strength.
It was also obvious that Nidhogg wasn't able to feel it. She was the successor of the ancient God Audhumla and not a true ancience God.
"I heard the voice of the world after I woke up but I don't know everything. I just sensed it."
Nuwa extended her hand. Tae Ho approached a bit closer and Nuwa, who was seated on the head of the snake, stood up and placed her forehead on Tae Ho's.
A part of Nuwa's aura entered Tae Ho. Tae Ho didn't reject it and didn't stop Nuwa from taking some of his own aura. Information was exchanged naturally.
"Dilmun, Xindu, Memphis and Maya… even Avesta, the only world where the destructive beings won completely, accelerated the end of the world. I think that their defeat is related to the end of the worlds. I think that there is a flow where the destructive beings get stronger and the beings of balance get weaker."
What Nuwa spoke about wasn't a direct change in strength that was noticeable by their eyes. She was talking about a flow instead.
And those words were kind of correct.
Erin was destroyed.
The birth of the World Wolf and the Space Snake had weakened Thor and Odin and drove Asgard into danger.
The destruction of Olympus that Nyx, the Goddess of Night Nyx, had spearheaded also proceeded well.
"If you haven't been there, there's a high possibility Asgard and Olympus would have already been swept away by the flames."
Tae Ho had stopped that flow. He saved Odin, rescued Nidhogg from the roots and changed the domain of the Great War. He had defeated the Magician King Utgard Loki and the World Wolf to save Asgard.
It was the same for Asgard. Tae Ho had also saved the Temple. He stopped the Kingdom of Fire that was trampling on the southern regions, and now devastated Kum Oh Do that was threatening the Temple in the northern territory.
If Tae Ho hadn't existed Asgard, Olympus and the Temple would have fallen to the flow.
Tae Ho gulped. He looked at Nuwa who was so close to him to that his breath reached her. He asked with a trembling voice.
"But Nuwnim. If there really is something like a flow."
If the ten realms were heading to their end.
What would he do? What was he to do about that natural flow?
Nuwa smiled. He stroke Tae Ho's cheek softly.
"There exists a flow. But master of Asgard, the one that has already saved the third world from the flow of the world. We are beings that want to maintain the world. If the destructive beings are calling for destruction and are riding on that flow, then we have to face against them to maintain it. We have to work harder to maintain the world for one more instant."
And that wasn't an impossible task. Asgard, Olympus and the Temple still existed in this moment. It was the result of having beaten the flow.
Nuwa looked the eyes of Tae Ho. She faced his eyes with her snake eyes and thought.
She had now finished one of the several things she wanted to do for Tae Ho. Now, she had to finish the remaining things.
But the moment she stroke Tae Ho's cheek and was about to do the thing Tae Ho liked the most, she stopped. And it was no different from Tae Ho. The ancient God and the new God that has just climbed to the boundary of ancient God looked back at the same time.
To the west. If you were located in the Temple the direction Asgard and Olympus should be at.
Nuwa's eyes became sharper. Tae Ho spoke out loud unconsciously.
"Olympus."
The place Odin and Thor were fighting at. The world that was opposite from the Temple.
Tae Ho and Nuwa sensed.
The flow accelerated.
&
The south and north of Olympus was burning.
What burnt down the north was the flames of the north.
They were the fire giants that came down from Muspelheim.
Surtr held a burning sword and led the Path of Flames. The one that was completely covered in flames burnt the world just by walking.
What burnt down the south was the flames of the south.
It was due to having arrived in Olympus with the evil dragon Azidahaka and Avesta having jumped over Maya and Memphis.
The power of Anjra Mainiuu got weaker as it left Avesta. It was because the place the World God could release all of their power was when they were at their world.
But his strength transcended imagination even though he got weaker. That was what a World God was.
Heracles, that was protecting the northern regions of Olympus, retreated to the mount of Olympus with his force. It was because he wasn't able to deal with Surtr just with the power of the Great hero Heracles. If he wanted to stop him then he needed the assistance of Olympus, the power of Heracles that was invincible when guarding the path to the mount of Olympus.
Odin and Thor, that were guarding the south, could also only retreat. The attacks of Azidahaka and Anjra Mainiuu were really overwhelming. As Quetzalcohuatl and Set, that had avoided a battle with Thor, joined the battle as if this was the moment he wasn't able to face all of them at once even though he was strong.
Odin could know.
Their attack this time was planned. When Tae Ho moved to rescue the Temple, Surtr and Anjra Mainiuu invaded Olympus as if the time had come.
Actually, Anjra Mainiuu didn't know much about Tae Ho. But Surtr did.
He didn't make light of the master of Asgard that had rescued Asgard and defeated Nyx.
That's why he had sent the Space snake Jormungand to the Temple. It was to hold Tae Ho's attention in the Temple for a bit longer.
The Space snake Jormungand got defeated much faster than Surtr had imagined. It was due to the result of having the power of Nidhogg having transformed into the black holy dragon added.
But it was enough with that. Tae Ho attacked Kum Oh Do, the old concern of the Temple and Surtr and Anjra Mainiuu invaded Olympus. The wall between each world wasn't low at all so when they received the news they would have already accomplished their objective.
Surtr continued to advance to the south.
And Anjra Mainiuu headed to the north.
Zeus thought about having a decisive battle in the mount of Olympus. Heracles also thought that way.
As all the forces of the Kingdom of Fire were gathered at the mount of Olympus, they would defend this place and wait for reinforcements from Olympus and the Temple.
It wasn't bad. It was a common idea.
But Odin felt that something wasn't right.
He looked at a map of light formed with runes for a long time and then realized one fact.
Surtr and Anjra Mainiuu weren't headed to the mount of Olympus. If you looked at their movement route you could notice that they were prioritizing joining with the other rather than invading the mount of Olympus.
This wasn't that weird. Although it may be less efficient than surrounding them from the south and north, joining forces into one big army was also another avaiable option.
But that wasn't what the enemy was thinking. What they were hoping for wasn't a commong thing like joining armies.
They still didn't have any evidence. It was just a feeling. But Odin could still be certain of it.
The Paths of flames of the north and south.
Not the beings that wanted to maintain the world, but the destructive ones.
Odin raised his head. Not only him but all the Gods with power that were at the mount of Olympus could feel it.
From the west of the mount, where the Paths of flames of the north and south met.
An existence that transcended the imagination of the Gods was being born.
&
Surtr and Anjra Mainiuu faced each other.
The Paths of the north and south were composed by destructive beings. Their wish was the destruction of the world and they could do anything to accomplish that.
Surtr was the king of Muspelheim. He was a special existence that was elected to bring an end to the world.
Anjra Mainiuu was the World God of Avesta. He was an exalted being that had managed to climb to the boundary of World God completely when even the Goddess of Night Nyx had only been able to in an incomplete state.
But this was the first time they met. And the both of them knew that this meeting wouldn't' continue for long.
The giant of fire Surtr extended his hand. Anjra Mainiuu, that had the appearance of a huge path of flames, was the one to approach Surtr this time.
Surtr and Anjra Mainiuu gave up on their selves and chose to become one and get born once again.
They couldn't know who would be the one to be on control. Perhaps, a completely new ego could be born.
But Surtr and Anjra Mainiuu didn't mind that. Because they were destructive beings. They chose the most certain method to bring destruction to the world.
The Paths of flames of the north and the south became a single Path. Their power that could easily burn down one world when they were separate became amplified a few times.
The last flames.
The flames that would bring the end to the world and would burn down all the ten worlds.
That thing arose. It ended up being born at the west of Olympus.
Odin folded the map of light. He came to a conclusion when everyone was trembling in fear.
They would give up Olympus.
They would seal the connecting path to make that flame stay in Olympus for a moment.
It wasn't a selfish idea that he didn't care what happened to Olympus as he was a God of Asgard.
That wasn't a problem of a single world. It was a problem of Asgard and the other nine realms.
He would give up on Olympus and tie him down for a moment. He would lead all the forces of Olympus to Asgard and also gather the forces of the Temple.
"Asgard."
The place where the final battle would take place.
Odin didn't hesitate anymore.
< Episode 70 - Sword of the World Dragon (7) > End
TL note: Thanks for reading~