Episode 22
Aum looked at his younger sibling and Kudan, alive and perfectly unharmed.
“How in the world…?”
Those who should have died—or, if fortunate enough to survive, should have been crippled—were intact without a single wound.
At that moment, Aum Linia recalled the potion the Undead had used for treatment by the frozen lake not long ago.
Good heavens…! To think a single bottle of potion could save even Kudan, who had been on the verge of death, and regenerate his severed limbs!
It was a kind of potion he had never experienced… never even heard of or seen before.
Yes, it was almost like….
‘A miracle of God!!’
He had thought him a fraud. At best, a lackey from another country, or merely a wizard of exceptional skill.
But this was on an entirely different level. A greatness that already transcended the bounds of humanity existed here.
An absolutely omnipotent medicine that might appear in legends or myths?!
“What in the world is this… Could it be the Elixir of Immortality?”
“It is not something so grand.”
At that dignified voice, Aum looked at the demon sitting upon the throne.
A red gaze, bursting from the holes bored between the goat skull bones, stared directly at him.
Aum realized why he had come here and bowed his head deeply.
There was no longer any hesitation in that movement. Only worship and praise remained.
A potion with absolute efficacy, an Undead legion that seemed to be death itself.
This was not something mere humans could do. Nor could demi-humans or other species accomplish it.
Almost like a true ‘God.’
A greatness as if a Constellation had descended!
“Aum Linia. I have come in answer to the Great Constellation’s call.”
Aum showed the utmost courtesy.
He realized his own foolishness in picking a fight with such an opponent. If his opponent had so wished, there would have been no need for such troublesome acts. He could have simply commanded the Undead legion to snuff out all life on this frozen land, and that would have been the end.
That such a being had faced him and deliberately treated him as an equal was perhaps….
‘A simple amusement….’
He might have merely wanted to play. Or perhaps he had given Aum Linia a chance.
A chance to stand against a great being.
“Very well. I shall ask you about the Nordo tribe later. What I wish to know now, Kudan Ragna, lies with you.”
Kudan bowed his head.
He no longer harbored hatred toward Loki.
He had heard that Loki had saved Kankun several times. And the strength shown until now had made him realize exactly what kind of being stood before him.
He too could not help but bow his head in awe.
“What is it? This life that has already died once—I shall tell you everything in my head.”
“It is about the woman you escorted. I wish to ask about the chess game, and the woman who made that food.”
“Chess was a game that became popular on the continent roughly 300 years ago. I do not know the food in detail… but I know it is related to ‘Her.’”
Kudan could tell what Loki was asking because he had heard some of it through Aum.
Kudan hesitated for a moment.
It was because of the promise he had made when he first met ‘Her.’
That ‘Woman’ had said: do not tell anyone about meeting her. But… for some reason, the being before him was obsessed with her. And strangely, she and the being before him exuded a similar atmosphere. Surely the two beings must be connected.
“This is a promise. I was told never to speak of it.”
“…….”
“But since you saved this dying life, I shall speak. That being possessed the appearance of a goddess of overwhelming beauty.”
Loki’s eyes widened.
“She called herself the personification of death, and its queen.”
“…….”
“She said that she could save even the dead.”
“…….”
“People called her the ‘Angel of Death,’ and she is presently a target of the Holy Order that rules the continent.”
Kudan continued after taking a deep breath.
“She said her own name was… ‘Helga.’”
Loki’s current state of mind was complicated.
This was no coincidence.
The period when Loki came to this world, roughly 300 years ago, coincided with the time chess became popular. Furthermore, Aum Linia had learned otherworldly cuisine from a woman, and that woman was said to be a being who reigned over even death.
That alone could not be dismissed as coincidence.
And decisively, her name was said to be ‘Helga.’
Precisely one of the game characters Loki had created.
Another boss monster of Ragnarök.
And that being was now being hunted by a religious state called the ‘Holy Order’ that held sway over the continent, becoming a target for the entire land.
“The one I know is a being who travels the continent saving those afflicted by the plague. I too was saved by her when I nearly died of the plague. She performed such miraculous deeds that there were even groups who worshipped her. Thus her influence grew. To the point that she threatened the Order.”
Kudan, catching his breath, continued.
“But the Holy Order did not appear to view this favorably, declaring her a demon or a witch. It has now been fifty years since the era of the Demon King’s advent ended, and they have been tracking her all this time.”
Witch hunts—Loki knew what they were.
Since the early 15th century in the West, people had hunted those who did not believe in a monotheistic religion or who worshipped different gods, branding them heretics or witches.
When the Black Death swept across the lands, humans were driven by superstition even then, and countless cases occurred where those even slightly suspected of being witches were captured and burned at the stake. It was in such a terrible and foreign world that his junior, ‘Yun Sirin,’ had spent nearly 300 years.
‘Sirin, where and how are you faring right now?’
Loki pressed his palm to his forehead.
If Kudan’s words were true, it meant she was being hunted, alone.
Loki asked Kudan.
How he could find her.
“Finding her will not solve the problem. Your opponent is the Holy Order. They wield considerable influence on the continent. They are dangerous enough that a single word from them can make even an empire obey. But even so, if you wish to find her….”
Then Aum cut in.
“Build a force. You, my lord, now possess might greater than any other being. But even so, if you turn numerous nations into enemies, you will eventually be brought down. Therefore, build a nation. Grow your power. No matter how strong the Order’s influence, as long as there is the framework of a nation, they cannot openly antagonize you.”
His junior, Yun Sirin, was in this world. And she was being hunted. If so, there was only one thing he could do.
Find her and protect her. And as Aum said, build a force.
Loki looked ahead.
The audience chamber was filled with the connections he had made since his awakening.
Shaman, Hans, Aum, Pere, Kudan, Kankun.
One was a believer who served God, one an ousted noble, one a former ruler, one a warrior who stood beside a ruler, another an exceptional warrior who surpassed human limits, and one a chosen shrine maiden.
They had now gathered at Loki’s call.
“I wish to borrow your strength.”
Loki sat upon the throne and straightened his posture toward them. The arrogant demeanor he had shown until then was nowhere to be seen.
He looked at each and every one of them seriously and spoke.
“Pledge your loyalty to me. Then I too shall spare no means or methods to protect you.”
“…….”
“Find her whereabouts. Even trivial matters will do. Find all clues and traces related to her and report them to me.”
Loki thrust his hand into the empty air.
The air tore open. And a golden spear was grasped.
A myth-grade item.
The spear said to have been wielded by Odin, King of the Gods.
Gungnir.
“I shall become whatever God or demon you speak of. In exchange, find her and protect her. If there are those who threaten her, do not forgive them no matter who they may be. Consider them my enemies and annihilate them, crush them.”
Loki’s eyes blazed as he slammed the Gungnir he held into the floor.
With a thunderous sound, all the Undead in the great hall flashed with blazing eyes and let out monstrous shrieks.
“My name is Loki. Centered around this Valhall.”
Everyone knelt.
“I shall found Asgard.”
***
The Continent of Britten had witnessed many eras of war.
The first was the Era of Continental Chaos. -(Year 725 of the Creation Era)
The Constellations of the world ran amok.
They enjoyed war through humans.
An era when each nation existing on the continent waged war to prove the greatness of the Constellation it served.
Humans grew cruel, slandering and betraying one another.
It was the cruelest period in history, an era of chaos and confusion.
It was then that empires first began to rise in each nation, and the strong began to seize control of the continent. Then the religion [Azelan Church] was born, and the Holy Order came into being.
History books recorded the events of that time thus:
-It was an era where corpses lined the roads, and seeing the dead was more common than seeing the living.
Second, the Era of the Red Orcs. -(Year 825 of the Creation Era)
Orcs with red skin began to gather. Their numbers reached into the millions. Legions of Orcs began to devour the continent.
In an instant, the continent was drenched in blood by the red orcs, and even mighty empires began to tremble.
At this time, a coalition army was organized centered on the Holy Order at the continent’s heart, and only after years of orc subjugation could they finally suppress them.
The history books recording the circumstances of that time stated….
-It was an era where those killed by the red orcs were devoured by them to become nourishment, and the remaining corpses became nests birthing the next orcs.
…or so it was recorded.
But this event served as an opportunity for the influence of monotheism to grow stronger, and became the occasion for the Holy Order to expand rapidly.
Third, the Advent of the Demon King -(Year 1775 of the Creation Era)
A being that threatened the continent for the first time in hundreds of years, the ‘Demon King’ who was called the king of demonic creatures appeared. He raised an army centered on a small mountain range in the northeast of the Continent of Britten and founded a nation called Hanes.
As an army composed of demi-humans, they shook the continent with mighty strength centered on Demon King Kalib.
By interfering with humans, they blasphemed against God and corrupted religious devotion. They also caused epidemics and came to be called the worst existence in the history of the continent.
The Holy Order conscripted armies centered on a young Pontiff, Pallis, who had only just reached the age of twenty, and organized a coalition army for the subjugation of Demon King Kalib.
And finally, by the sacrifice of the Twelve Heroes, they executed Demon King Kalib Hanes and destroyed the Demon Kingdom of Hanes.
History books recorded the Demon King’s final moments thus:
-Even with his limbs severed, he wept and cursed humanity. He insulted God and expressed hatred for humans until the very end.
Thus the Holy Order once again became the center of the continent and the guardian of peace, while demi-humans became targets of rejection as heretics.
And so, fifty years passed….
[The Era of Pestilence] dawned.
“S-save me! I-I’m not a demon!”
A man’s screams echoed in all directions.
In a city square, people huddled together.
As if out for an outing, smiles filled everyone’s faces.
Age and gender varied wildly.
There were old men, old women, young men, young maidens, and even children.
They looked at the young man atop the logs, a ‘pleasant spectacle.’
“That man… says he’s not a demon?”
To the innocent child’s question, a man who appeared to be his father smiled with his eyes like crescent moons.
“He’s not. They say he’s clearly a heretic.”
“What’s a heretic?”
“It means a descendant of demons who betrays the Azelan Church.”
The child blinked and looked at the young man tied to the logs.
“No! I’m not a demon!”
The young man shouted until his throat would burst.
He was poor, fated to live in the slums, yet he had endured steadfastly with faith alone.
He had firmly believed that this too was a trial sent by God, and that happiness would come someday if he overcame it.
But… that faith was betrayed.