chapter 20

"I want to become a sternritter."

Walter had awoke to those words coming from Ophis' mouth. Walter was about to refuse, until he saw her eyes.

Determined.

"Alright." He used his right blade to cut open his hand, the blood started to drip into ophis' mouth.

"I, Walter Newgate, grant you the letter H, the halcyon." Walters sewed his wound together with reiatsu before using kaidō. The green glow healed the wound, and he sewed his gloves back together.

"Thank you, Walter." The man smiled weakly. He left the room, Ophis followed curiously.

They headed straight for the cabin and upon entering, he spoke.

"I've received a mission. And as promised, Lena." The girl blinked over to him.

"Yes? Do I finally get to join ya? Being like a hero?!" Lena made some finger guns and pewing noises. Walter felt like he was looking at a child.

"You do, Lena. Though we first need to get you an appropriate outfit. The place we'll be going is very cold."

"How cold? Like a bit chilly?"

"Frostbite inducing."

_________________________________________

"You really weren't kidding!" Lena was shouting to me while wrapped in several layers while donning a big winter coat.

"I don't kid often!" I was completely fine in comparison. The cold didn't even touch my scales due to the natural body heat of dragons.

"I see that now luv!" Ah, good old British slang. So familiar. Trudging through the snow wasn't hard for me either. I glanced over to Lena, her entire body was shaking.

Hah...

"Watcha lookin at?" I pulled Lena close to me, right against my chest.

"What are you?! So... warm..."  I held her close to me, she's too cold. I'm not going to risk her life from the cold.

I will protect them. No matter what it takes. I will not fail again.

We reached a peak. There, a massive castle covered in snow.

"Where... where are we?" The awe that I saw in her eyes. Its amazing to see things like this.

"Welcome, to jotunnheim." This place... its in a winter.

"Why are we here?"

"You ask a lot of questions, don't you Lena? But, to answer your question, we are here to prevent a war. The giant king thrym, may start a war against the head God Odin." There was a puzzled look in her eyes.

"Oh dear. Lena, what do you know about mythology?" There was a completely clueless expression on her face.

"This may be an issue." I started using hirenyaku to approach the castle. The main gate seemed to be connected to a wall separate from the castle itself, an outer perimeter so to speak.

"Thyrm sure built a sturdy castle." I say that, but those walls won't keep me out. Nothing shall impede me.

One use of hirenyaku placed me high in the air. High enough to view this beautiful castle, its was shaped like a diamond and at the center was a large spire. Standing tall above it all.

I could feel the souls of every individual in-

"Walter! Please bring us down!" Is she scared?

"Weren't you a pilot?"

"I ain't scared when I'm flying! But floating like this is terrifying!" I chuckled a bit.

"Why ya laughing at my misery?!" Such a funny thing in these trying times. I moved us down onto the castle.

Let's see, I feel what I believe to be thrym's soul, right about... here!

I punched straight through the roof. The simplest solutions are usually the best. As we fell, Lena screamed in a panic and I locked eyes with thrym who sat on his throne.

The king stared me back.

"Intruder..." I landed with Lena as thrym's cold but wise voice reached us.

"Thyrm. I have come here in hopes of peaceful negotiation. To prevent you from warring with Odin. As cruel as it is to say this, you'll die should you fight him." Shit... Lena is here. I maybe should've thought this through a bit more.

"So I am to let my people be oppressed? To let Thor slaughter them? To just sit here and stew in silence after my own son was murdered?! No. I refuse your offer. I will have Odin's head. No matter what it takes, whether I must use the 9 realms as collateral is a simple choice! The blood debt must be paid, in full!"

Of course. The old generation will never change, they're stagnant, they think everything is fine as is. They are... sickening.

"So you would rob other parents unrelated to this blood debt of yours of their children? Their families?" Thyrm looked down upon me, disdain was all that he felt.

"Yes. Their lives are of little importance compared to my own flesh and blood!" Disgraceful. Disgusting. Damnit all! I can't even hate him. Was it my own child, I'd end the world to get his killer.

"You... are a good father Thrym. But as a person, you're the most deplorable and despicable thing I've ever seen!" The 30ft tall giant stood up from his throne, shaking the entire throne room with his steps. A club made of beautiful and magic saturated metal appeared in his hands.

"Silence! I will not be mocked in my own court room by an interloper who knows nothing of fatherhood nor of kingship!" He was right, I had no children, no kingdom, no citizens.

All I have, is my power. But what is a king with no people.

"I will freely mock you as I wish! You would destroy the entirety of the 9 realms over your son! The suffering, the pain, the misery you would cause! You would make those uninvolved suffer!? That is why I mock you!" I let go of Lena, pushing her away a short distance.

"Sankt zwinger." I whispered out, making a small defensive field around Lena. The field adorned with crosses and I knew that it would keep her safe.

"You would dare to claim I would let the uninvolved suffer! They support Odin! They help the warmonger! They assist in my people's extermination! Yet you would bring a person who is unable to defend themself-"

"Hey!"

"Here?! That is the height of arrogance and hypocrisy!" Thrym raised his club high, swinging down right at me.

"It seems, peaceful negotiations have failed." I drew both my blades, forming an X which easily blocked the mace.

"Impossible!" I sighed and raised my head.

"Unify, Nijū yōso!" My two blades, my two partners of the soul. I swung the left blade, cutting cleanly through the club of magic. A knife through butter would be an appropriate comparison.

"You... would cut through a dwarf made club so easily?! What form of God are you!?" I looked up at him coldly, incinerating the remnants of his club.

"I, am a Dragon God." I let out my wings, my white wings with blue lines just like blut vene running through them.

"Impossible! Inconceivable! There are only two and you are not Great Red or Ophis. PRETENDER!"

Hah...

_________________________________________

Pretender. That would be an apt description of Walter.

A king with no kingdom.

A god with no followers.

A dragon with no treasure.

A man with no certainty.

Walter was many things and he was unfit for each of them.

He was not fit to lead nor rule, no prior experience.

He didn't want to be worshipped or revered.

He did not want to fall to his baser desires.

He wasn't sure what to do.

A king who cannot lead is a pretender.

A god who doesn't want to be worshipped is a pretender.

A dragon who doesn't follow his desires is a pretender.

He was all three.

He didn't want to deny these titles. He felt obligated to fufill the duties that came with these titles.

He, was a man who had trouble saying no.

_________________________________________

Walter sheathed his right blade, holding the left one with both hands.

A two handed strike, will always be far more powerful than a single handed one.

He would end this, with a single blow.

Thrym threw spell after spell at him, rune after rune. Each were destroyed by his overwhelming reiatsu.

_________________________________________

"It's a mystery that he tried to settle things diplomatically. I suppose he does want peace, fighting immediately would be contradictory to his goal."

"He's powerful. But, there's something off about him. As if he's holding back his joy at fighting. He definitely does enjoy it. If I had mjolnir right now, I'd head over there just to fight him right now." Odin grinned at his son's words.

"After feeling the might of one of his blows, even after blocking with gungnir, my hands were shaking. I've been itching to fight him after that. I just need an excuse."

"Y'know, I'd reckon ya leave the wee lad alone. Bad things may come of confrontation against a supposed peacekeeper." A wise and Nordic accented voice reached the duo.

"Wise as always Mimir. But do you think he'll kill thrym?" The body less head sighed.

"Why ask me things ya already know the answer to? Even a dwarf could tell he's resolved himself."

"What are you watching, Husband?" Freya, Odin's wife had walked into his hall. The projection of Walter's fight was clear to him. The white haired beauty had long hair, a battle dress which accentuated her assets, gloved bracers, shoulder armor, shin guarding boots, a short skirt. All seemingly leather in appearance, but anyone knew it was far more.

"A supposed peacekeeper is about to kill thrym. In an attempt to prevent a war."

"That poor man. Why on earth try and prevent a war that you have no place in? Who is the girl behind him? Is it not irresponsible to bring what appears to be a powerless woman into such a dangerous battle?" Odin chuckled before heartily laughing.

"Ah, wife. It's funny, you see, she's a chronomancer. I can tell that she hasn't gotten much control over it, but still a chronomancer. Besides, that barrier vaporises anything that gets close." A stray spell flew by Walter, straight into the barrier, disappearing into nothing.

"I see."

_________________________________________

It was time. I raised my blade, both hands gripping the handle tightly. Blut aterie flowed through my veins.

One swing. The reiatsu in my blade flared, coating itself in a tight compact set of flames.

"Mereoleona. Give me all of your power that I can handle." A boisterous and prideful laugh of a roaring lion rang through my head.

"Of course! Finally, I get to use my power!" The flames of her blade turned a pale blue, it was time.

Time for some kendo.

To any observers, the blade must seem slow. Kenpachi had never practiced this much, but it didn't matter. Because he was a monster in learning anything combat related.

However, this blade was anything but slow. It was imbued with both reiatsu and magic. The two were like a violent whirlwind.

This single slash, was enough to cut through even my own scales.

"Walter... what... what did you do?" Thrym had been bisected.

Twice.

Yet I had only struck once. It didn't take a genius to understand. Someone else had struck him as well.

Though, the fact that the throne room had a line cut through it which didn't match up with my own, made it dead clear.

Someone else had struck thrym down.

That someone else, I didn't know who.

But Odin did. And it made him very alert.

"Why... I thought he was forging his perfect sword..."

_________________________________________

Said this on my other two stories but join the discord. I got nobody to talk to about my stories.