To Rinnea, the aura emanating from the white-faced man was a power so familiar it could be called a deeply intertwined ill fate.
Before Yggdrasil burned and Asgard fell—back in the days when Odin had floundered desperately to somehow prevent that destruction—she had faced that power countless times.
The Frost Giants of Jotunheim.
The Fire Giants of Muspelheim.
The power she had felt from those who would do anything to bring about the world's end.
That was exactly what she felt from the power the white-faced man was now emanating.
“Why are there so many bastards frantic because they can't seem to destroy the world?”
She gathered her composure, returned to the days when she stood upon the battlefield, and aimed her spear.
The white-faced man, who had flinched momentarily at Rinnea’s appearance, let out a twisted laugh from behind his mask.
“Heh heh heh. I thought I would have no face to show that one, yet who would have imagined meeting a servant of the gods in a place like this?”
“You know of the Valkyries?”
“No, I do not. But that power emanating from your flesh... It is a power one would expect from a god who fancies playing games of balance.”
The man observed Rinnea with a sticky gaze so intense it could be felt even from beyond his mask.
He recalled the words his master had spoken in the past.
‘Does a being called a god truly exist?’
‘Yes. Though they merely call themselves gods; in the end, they are no different from humans who wield immense power.’
‘Then there is no need to fear them simply because they are called gods.’
‘That, too, depends on the god. Just as there is a difference in power between you and me, there exists a difference in power among gods.’
‘Then how does one know whether that being is a god or not?’
‘Our power is the antithesis of divine power, so you will recognize it immediately upon encountering something related to a god. If you ever meet such a thing, report it without delay.’
By his original orders, he should have returned immediately to report encountering a god-related being in a small eastern peninsula; however, having lost the precious forces granted by that person, and wishing to achieve merit, he chose not to withdraw. Instead, he opted to confront the servant of the gods.
“If I take your head, surely that one will value me all the more.”
“Are those your final words?”
“Now, let’s see just how strong a servant of the gods is.”
Darkness gathered.
The dark mana, so vast it could have covered the surroundings entirely and then some, gradually condensed around the man, transforming both his arms into shapes resembling those of a beast.
Then he swung his hand from below to above, and a black storm swept across the front.
In response, Rinnea gripped her spear tightly and whirled it in a flowing motion along her armor.
The spear, spinning in the shape of an X, split and scattered the black storm flying at her from the front.
“Did you think such a crude, merely violent technique would work on me?”
“Heh heh, so you truly are a servant of the gods. You block this with such ease.”
Having finished feeling each other out, the two now began in earnest to target each other’s lives, disappearing from their spots simultaneously.
Moving at speeds too fast for the eye to follow, the two circled widely around the area, exchanging dozens or hundreds of blows.
Each time the two clashed, the surrounding landscape was mercilessly torn apart, and the Awakeners were forced to retreat to avoid being caught up in it.
The two, who had vanished, reappeared in the center of the battlefield, and the beastly claws gathered in one direction collided with the twisting, spinning tip of the spear.
Boom!
A brief roar followed, and the ground between them split apart.
“Not bad.”
“Hngh... I suppose this wasn’t an opponent I could defeat alone.”
To an outsider, it might have looked like a stalemate, but Rinnea had seized the advantage through the fierce exchange just moments ago.
As the words faded, cracks mercilessly formed across the beastly hand molded from gathered black mana.
Furthermore, dark blood trickled from the cracked beastly arm.
Normally, a wound of this degree should have regenerated in an instant, but the injuries inflicted by Rinnea were slow to heal even at that.
“I apologize for underestimating you. But next time will be different.”
“Running away? You think I’ll let you leave here?”
“Follow me if you can.”
Snap!
The white-faced man snapped his fingers, and the four black-clad figures still waiting on standby simultaneously slashed their wrists.
Then they opened mouths they had kept sealed until now and muttered something in a voice one would rather not hear.
-■■■■■■
The blood flowing to the floor gathered behind the man, creating a circular fissure.
But it seemed there was no lack of price, for the bodies of the four black-clad figures gradually withered and collapsed to the floor.
Soon, the Awakeners who saw the completed Gate cried out in shock.
“They made a Gate artificially?!”
“How on earth?!”
“Could it be that the unidentified Gate incidents until now were...”
The man leisurely walked into the Gate.
And looking at Rinnea, he spoke in a provocative tone.
“You’re not following?”
“Tch. Do I look like a damned fool who’d walk into a trap on my own feet? Get lost.”
“That is a shame. My name is Sahwi. Remember it, for it is the name of the one who shall kill you.”
“Ha! After getting your ass handed to you?”
The man who introduced himself as Sahwi waved his hand, and the Gate, emanating an ominous aura, gradually shrank, twisted, and vanished without a trace.
The spear disappeared from Rinnea’s hand, and when she turned, there were the Awakeners gathered in one place.
Though they appeared to be allies, they showed a guarded attitude toward the unidentified woman named Rinnea, who had displayed terrifying might; as the standoff seemed likely to drag on, Sinsua clapped her hands to draw their attention.
“Everyone, let’s clean up this place and treat our wounds first, then talk.”
“...Very well. But you must properly explain who that person is and how she is wearing the same armor as Miss Sinsua.”
“Yes, yes. I’ll tell you once the cleanup is done.”
Thanks to Sinsua, who diverted their attention in this way, the Awakeners began moving one by one to clean up the area and gather the corpses of the black-clad figures; just as the cleanup was nearing its end, Nidhogg emerged from the Gate.
***
I heard from the group what had happened while I was fighting Bia in the Gate.
To think demons would launch a raid in the meantime.
“Something like that happened?”
“Yes, the demons ambushed us so suddenly, we were terribly flustered.”
“Weren’t demons supposed to appear only years from now?”
“That’s what I thought too.”
“So it’s another thing you didn’t know about.”
At this point, isn’t Sinsua practically useless?
It seems like everywhere we go, only things she doesn’t know or couldn’t predict end up happening.
“N-Nidhogg-nim? Your gaze is a little scary...”
“I’m just reconsidering how necessary you really are, that’s all.”
“Nidhogg-nim?!”
A flustered Sinsua made excuses left and right, but they didn’t reach my ears.
Ignoring her as she clung to my legs, crying out not to be abandoned, I turned my gaze to Rinnea.
“You spoke as if you knew something about them.”
“Yes. Nidhogg-nim may not be aware, but the enemies we Valkyries faced were mostly similar to that one.”
“What, are they from the same world as us?”
“No, that’s not it. Those who committed all manner of atrocities to drive the world toward destruction. Such beings possessed exactly that kind of power.”
“Toward destruction? Explain in detail.”
“It is only what I heard from Odin-nim, but...”
According to Rinnea’s explanation, the main actors of destruction, fated to bring ruin to the world, receive a certain power from fate itself.
And those who receive power from fate can, in turn, share a similar but qualitatively inferior power with their subordinates; the demons possess a power very similar to that, she says.
“Then if we leave them be as they are...”
“This world, too, will be destroyed.”
“We’ll have to deal with them as soon as possible.”
They’re completely useless; leaving them be does no good.
I asked Rinnea if she could track their energy.
“I’m sorry, but that is not my specialty. My specialty lies solely in combat.”
“Your specialty is combat?”
“Well... compared to you, Nidhogg-nim, anyone would look weak.”
“You call that an answer?”
That I’m strong?
It’s not wrong, but it’s not as though I’ve never seen an opponent with strength similar to mine.
Especially that eagle lady, who is even stronger than me; having fought with her so much, I am under no delusions about my own strength.
“Anyway! It’s impossible for me.”
“Then it can’t be helped.”
Since I couldn’t order her to do something she was incapable of, I gave up on commanding her to track them.
Instead, I tried to think of someone capable of tracking those troublemakers who drove the world toward destruction, and a suitable candidate came to mind immediately.
“Is everything that needs to be done here finished?”
“We must explain Miss Rinnea to the Association, but... if Nidhogg-nim wishes, you may move out immediately.”
“Then let’s go to where my real body is for the first time in a while.”
I wasn’t sure if they specialized in tracking, but they were a being who, if nothing else, was terrifyingly good at finding paths.
Let’s go find Ratatoskr.
***
Sahwi returned to the hideout he had prepared in Incheon, recalling the fight from moments ago.
A warrior maiden who wielded the light—a power antithetical to his own.
The wounds he had sustained from fighting Rinnea had still not healed completely and were delivering agony upon him.
To think a servant of the gods would be that strong.
If he had known he would face one in such a place, he would have gone with all his armaments.
Swallowing his regret inwardly, he walked down the dark, long corridor.
Beyond the corridor lay a place resembling a laboratory.
Arranged on both sides, naked men and women stood within transparent capsules, not a single article of clothing upon them.
A man in a lab coat, who had been standing before a capsule writing something, approached him.
“Sahwi-nim. Have you returned already?”
“Yes. How goes the experiment?”
“The process of combining the mana bestowed from above with humans is proceeding smoothly. However, the phenomenon of ordinary humans being unable to endure it and exploding still persists...”
“Is that so. Report to me if there is any progress.”
“Understood.”
Passing the scientist and heading deeper inside, he came upon a dark room prepared in secret, without a single window.
Entering the room, Sahwi manipulated a panel on the wall, and the wall scattered apart, revealing a black orb the size of a head.
Sahwi placed his hand on the orb and opened his mouth.
“Master.”
-Zzzt... Sahwi, is it? What became of the mission?
“I apologize. I failed.”
At Sahwi’s answer, delivered without the slightest shame, a brief silence fell from beyond the orb.
-...Failure? To fail despite having such forces at your disposal. What happened?
“I discovered a servant of the gods.”
-A servant of the gods? Truly?
Even the entity beyond the orb could not hide its surprise at the news that a servant of the gods—a Valkyrie—had been discovered.
“Yes. Though faint to be called a god, it clearly bore a fragment of the divine within. Just as Master said, I recognized it the moment I saw it.”
-A servant of the gods, in a tiny peninsula...
“How should I proceed?”
-I shall send additional forces. Capture the servant of the gods alive.
“Yes. This time, I shall complete the mission without fail.”
-I expect results.
Click.
The communication cut off. After manipulating the panel again to hide the orb and exiting the room, Sahwi went straight to his personal storage.
Resolving that he would take Rinnea’s head next time.