Chapter 18

Somewhere in an undisclosed location deep within the forest, Aada was bound in chains and placed on a chair inside a pitch-black room with only a candle providing a meagre light source. The young Oracle trembled in terror as she gazed upon the man standing before her. What horrible things would he do to her? What painful tortures would he implement to make her talk?

"All I ask of you is to help me get into Asgard," the man said in a disappointed tone, "Is that too difficult for you to understand?"

Ada was seething with anger at the absurdity of the man's speech. First, he and his undead army attacked the village, killing her father and her friends, kidnapping her, and demanding entrance into Asgard as if he were asking for a free meal. After all that he had done, he had the audacity to speak such nonsense.

" I will never let you enter the dwelling place of the Gods ". She growled at the man. " I am Aada of Fredilig, Oracle of the Norse Gods. I would rather die than let a monster like you enter Asgard. "

" Monster? " The man repeated, " Is that what people call me now. " he chuckled at how the tables have turned. " You know back then, people call me the Scholar, a very prestigious title mind you. Then I got married and was called a husband, later on, my wife gave birth to a beautiful baby girl and I was happy to earn the title " Father ". The man spoke as he gazed into the dark abyss of the dark room. He had a nostalgic look on his face, but that soon disappeared, as his cold rage-filled eyes bore deep into her soul.

" Then my daughter was brutally taken away from us. Me and my wife did whatever we could to bring her back, but your FUCKING GODS AND THOSE FUCKING CHRISTIANS! THEY BRANDED ME A MADMAN AND MY WIFE A WITCH! YOUR FUCKING GODS ABANDONED ME! AND THOSE FUCKING CHRISTIANS BURNED MY WIFE TO ASHES! I BEGGED ODIN TO HEAR MY CRIES! " The man tried to calm himself down which succeeded, but Aada's heart was beating so hard that she could even hear it. ' Just who are you? '

" Your- well they were also once my Gods as well. " He chuckled, as he grabbed her chin forcing her to look at him. His face was pale, almost as pale as a corpse, he looked very thin and frail as if he had not eaten anything for days. " Let me tell you this Aada... Just like me, the Gods have abandoned you as well. For you will never leave this place and they will never be able to find you. "

" Keep telling yourself that. " she snarled, " They will come for you and when they do, you will feel Odin's wrath! "

The man smirked as he heard her threat, " Odin's wrath my ass. " He began to cackle like a maniac, which was so creepy that it made Aada's hair stand. " That old bastard will die by my hands, as I squeeze the very soul from his body and make him a part of my undead Army. When that's done, I'm setting my sights on the Christians. It's kinda funny that I'll be the one to start Ragnarok don't you think? But I'll need your assistance for this as you are one of the only people on Midgard that can create a route to Asgard, so I suggest you do as I say or you will die a painful death and there'll be nothing left of your body when I'm done. So Will you do as I say, you understand? "

Aada did not answer, this did not infuriate the man, but it made him chuckle as he let go of her chin. " It's kinda pleasant to have you Aada, you've been a very good listener so far. Since you're a patient person, I'll do the same for you. "

He took the candle and starts moving to the exit of the room, with his back blocking the light source she saw the silhouette of the man who was limping his way to the exit. He quickly turned to her with a grin plastered on his face, " I'll give you two days to consider, I'm feeling generous today. But after that,t I will take drastic measures to get what I want. "

" See you later Aada. " With that, he blew the candle and darkness had devoured the room.

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Back at the Village, things were not looking good. First, the Oracle was kidnapped, and then one of their finest Valkyries was either missing or dead. The four Valkyries who assisted Rosseweisse had retold all the events that transpired that night to Eir and Erik, and both of them knew that something was not right.

" I believe that a summoner is responsible for all of this mess. " Erik declared, to which his wife nodded in agreement, " Your reasoning is clear, with the facts that are presented to us and with the testimony of the four Valkyries. I also believe that it is the work of a summoner. "

For seven years they had theorized that the undead had spawned within the forest due to the Russo-Finnish War of 1939, which left over 300,000 corpses that could potentially have been turned into undead. Though the presence of undead orcs and draugr remained a mystery to them, it was the best explanation they could come up with.

The undead that attacked the village always came in small numbers, not more than twenty. It was such an easy, low-paying job that not many Valkyries or Einherjars wanted to take it. As a result, it was given to the Valhalla Institute as a form of live combat exercise for the eleventh and twelfth-semester students. Since it was easy and required only one supervising Valkyrie and an Einherjar to look after the young Valkyries, it benefited both sides. It strengthened the faith of their believers and provided an important practical lesson for the young Valkyries.

" Just who could this Summoner be? " Erik asked, but he had a hunch, " I just hope it is not who I think it is. " His wife immediately knew who this man was, " I hope it's not that man, he had caused enough problems already with that stunt of his thirty years ago. "

The man they were talking about was Ragnar Olsen; he was once praised as the best Rune master on Midgard. There was a controversy about him marrying a witch, but that paled in comparison to when, thirty years ago, he attempted to experiment with rune magic that was banned for tampering with corpses and souls.

It was because of him that the Undead Attack of 1988 occurred in one of the territories of the Biblical faction in Norway. During his trial, he was ordered to stop his experiments, but the madman was not willing to comply with their demands. He was then stripped of all the titles he had worked his entire life for, a Dwarven rune was placed on him and his wife, preventing them from using magic to prevent similar events from happening again, and then they were expelled from Nordic lands.

He had not been heard from since. The chances that he was the culprit were very high. What were his intentions? The kidnapping of the Oracle could lead only to one possibility - he wanted to go to Asgard.

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" HAH!!! "From the Woodcutter's shed, a Valkyrie brought down an axe to a log and split it with only one powerful swing. The local woodcutters were awestruck and frightened at the sight of a young woman not older than eighteen. They were awestruck at her strength for splitting a large log despite her size, they were frightened as she was chopping the log with a scowl on her face as if she was pissed at something, this Valkyrie was Sigrun.

With the Oracle gone, they were stuck in this village. Eir had ordered the Valkyries to help the village in whatever they could, some were assigned to help the hunters to get some meat, some in fishing and some in improving the defences of the village with Erik.

Sigrun decided to go to the woodcutter's shed to alleviate some of her stress and anger towards the poor defenceless logs.

" Sigrun? " She heard the voice of one of her fellow Valkyrie, she recognised her as one of them who went with Rossweise to rescue the Oracle, she was accompanied by three others that stood behind her, their gaze kept low not wanting to face her

" Yeah, what? " She growled, not really wanting to talk to anyone at the moment. This mission was a bust, not only was their only way back gone, but Rossweisse was also missing not knowing if she was alive or injured. ' What if she's gone? how will I tell that to her parents? '

" I'm sorry. " The Valkyrie apologized as she hung her head in shame, " We could not save her. We know that she is like a sister to you and the pain of losing her must be unbearable. "

" Hey, you guys I'm not mad at you all! " Sigrun waved her hands in panic, " Maybe at first I was, but I understand your situation at that time. "

The Valkyries felt a sense of relief wash over them, as they know that she was no longer mad at them, they could also see the usual smile she wore and they cannot help but smile as well.

" I just wish I can search for Rossweisse and bring her back. " Sigrun continued, but her fellow Valkyries were worried about that, " I don't want to be pessimistic, but what if she's... you know... dead? "

To this, Sigrun gave a vivacious laugh, " I know she's alive. She may be clumsy, but she's a smart girl even now I believe she trying to contact us. "

Just at that moment, there was a sound coming from Sigrun's Phone; Someone was calling her. She immediately took it and saw the name.

ROSSWEISSE CALLING

" Hello! Rose can you hear me? " She released a sigh of relief when she heard the sound of Rosseweisse from the other side.

" Yes I can, but it's not clear the reception is terrible here. " Sigrun checked her phone and it has only one bar, " Same here. " Their phones, or Oracle phones as they're so-called, are a marvel of the supernatural world. Combining both Nordic magic and Midgard technology, these devices have created a means of long-distance communication that requires magic to power them.

However, they function similarly to the phones in Midgard, requiring a tower to receive magical signals that are directed towards the intended recipient. Unlike Midgard phones, they were safer as it was nearly impossible to gain unauthorized access. To unlock the phone, it required a combination of a person's fingerprint and their unique magic signature, as these varied from individual to individual, ensuring top-notch security.

To call someone, their magical signature must be recorded in the phone as contacts. When calling a person, the phone sends a magic signal that is received by an Oracle tower located at the village temple. The temple reads the signal and directs it to the person you want to communicate with. However, since the temple in this village is small, the reception is limited.

" I don't think it will get any better soon. " Rosseweisse sighed, " But don't worry I'm safe and sound, just a little injured with a fight with a giant Draug. "

" What you're injured?! " Sigrun exclaimed, " Hey why are you quiet? Hello! " She checked her phone and found that there was no service.

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Rosseweisse clicked her tongue as she saw that there was no service on her phone. "At least she knows that I'm safe," she thought. Sigrun was like an elder sister to her, and she knew she would be getting really worried about her well-being.

" What is that rectangular object, Rosseweiss?" Igor asked, pointing at her phone before she could even open her mouth. Nikolai returned from yet another successful hunting trip, carrying a large deer over his shoulder.

{ 6 hours earlier }

As soon as Nikolai finished his breakfast, he asked her if she wanted to go out for some fresh air. Being in bed all day would get boring very quickly. The pain on her back was starting to subside, and she wouldn't be long before getting back into fighting shape, but the Russian man insisted that she rest some more.

When she said yes, he asked Artom and Igor to carry a rocking chair and pillows to the cabin's porch. He then carried the blushing Valkyrie bridal-style to the porch. She was very vocal about rejecting being carried in such an intimate fashion, but he laughed it off and carried her anyway; he was not going to let an injured woman punish her body just to go outside for some fresh air.

Throughout the entire time she was in his arms, she could not look directly at his face; instead, she covered it with her hands, blushing in embarrassment. When she finally peeked through her fingers, she saw the manly face of Nikolai, who smiled back at her, reassuring her that she was safe and protected.

' Why is my heart beating so fast? ' She asked herself that question, fully aware of what she was experiencing at the moment. It was the same thing that happened to those characters in her favourite romance novels.

As much as she tried to deny it, it was clear to her because she was not a dense person and these feelings she had were one of the many signs of a person having a crush on someone.

' Why now of all times? Why? ' It wasn't even really her fault to begin with anyway. ' It's all because of him! It's all because of Nikolai! ' She placed all the blame on the Slavic man, as what girl would be able to resist such a kind, caring, affectionate, and manly man who carried her in his arms like she was a bride. Plus, he was a good cook, even though most of his dishes consisted of only meat and potatoes.

Not to mention that he promised to marry her, just to take responsibility for stripping her without consent. ' Why would he even say that? '

.

.

.

Well after he carried her to the porch, she was placed on the rocking chair that had pillows so that her back will get supported.

" Ok Rosseweisse, I going for a hunt now and I would probably be back by two in the afternoon. Lunch is already cooked and only requires to be heated later Igor or Artom could do that, just relax and enjoy the fresh air. So boys stay here and keep your future Mama entertained Ok. "

"OK!" The two twins responded energetically, but it wasn't the same for Rosseweisse. She was left with her face red as a tomato, causing Nikolai to chuckle and leave them for his hunting trip.

"Can we call you Mama?" The question came from both the twins as they gazed into her aquamarine eyes with their own aquamarine eyes. "It's really weird to call you Roseweiss and since Papa said he'll marry you one day, why not call you Mama instead? We never had a Mama...so...can we call you that? Please?"

The sad looks on their faces melted her heart; they had lost their mother at such a young age, and she was thankful that they were adopted by Nikolai. These two children were so sweet that it really hurt her to deny their request.

{ At the present }

" Papa! You're back! " The twins rushed towards their father and leapt towards him arms stretched for a hug, to which the Slavic man reciprocated with a cheerful laugh.

" I hope you two have kept your future Mama entertained. "

" Yes! " They both replied, " Look we made something for you. "

" What is it? " The twins went back to the porch and brought back a rectangular wooden plank, with a drawing made with Charcoal.

"I drew you." Artom shows his drawing of himself, or rather a black stick figure with two circle eyes and a circle mouth, it even has his hairstyle!

"I never knew you were such a great artist." He showered him with praise, and he was beaming with pride and joy.

" Look! I drew all of us! " Igor pointed to his artwork, which consisted of four stick figures all holding hands. One was a tall black stick figure, one was a stick woman with two large circles on her chest indicating her breasts, and the other two were smaller stick figures.

"Well, we got another artist in the family it seems." As he said that, both Artom and Igor smiled with pride. "But Mama taught us to draw in the first place," They added with a grin. Turning back to the Valkyrie, he continued with a bright smile. "So, what do you think of my work?" " It's wonderful."

"How's the day been, Rosseweisse? Or should I say, Mama? " Rossweisse immediately retaliates by punching his shoulder. "Stop it, please."

"Okay." His eyes quickly went to the phone in her hand. "What is this device?"

That question also caught the attention of the two boys, who came closer to inquire about the strange gadget.

She tried to explain it to them in the simplest way she could and they were in awe at such a marvellous gadget she held in her hand. She was explaining the camera's functions when an idea struck her - how to preserve these precious memories she had experienced in this small cabin nestled amidst an undead-infested forest.

She wanted to take a family photo.

She sat in the rocking chair, with Nikolai behind her and the twins standing to her left and right sides.

Click!

"It's such a nice photo."