Episode 39/Chapter 3: Hela (3)

TL: Tsubak

ED: Julsmul

Niflheim was the land of death.

That place was hard for the living being to continue living as it was swept by extreme cold and the sun didn't rise.

Because of that, the people living in Niflheim was really low even though it was as wide as Midgard.

Niflheim. The land of death. The world of the dead.

Niflheim was Asgard's underworld. The souls of the humans that died in Midgard and couldn't enter Valhalla stayed in Niflheim for a moment and prepared for a new life.

Extreme cold swept up.

That thing that was the same everyday was so cold it could freeze one's lungs just by inhaling some air.

But that wasn't the case for the giants of Jotunheim. The frost giants that grew in a land with the same conditions as Niflheim showed leisure in this land.

The army of the giant king, Hrumbark, marched.

He and his army were exhausted in peace as they had only stayed in Jotunheim and saved their power since the Great War. They were bengs that wanted to destroy the world and desired both destruction and massacre.

The giants numbered 600, and there were close to 100,000 evil spirits.

The giants couldn't cope with their strength. They couldn't rest easily because of their desire to destroy and wanted to tear apart the evil spirits.

It was unavoidable. Because this land was Niflheim, the land of the dead.

There were no living beings here to grant the blood and screams the giants desired. The dead ones did scream and cry, but it was comparatively lacking to the ones that were alive.

"It will be different if you go to Helheim. You will find the Queen of the Dead, Hela, living there, and her subordinates are also living beings."

The giant king, Hrumbark, said with a loud voice.

"Let's destroy Helheim and fill Niflheim with the screams and cries of Hela."

Hrumbark laughed. The other giants panted as if they were waiting for that moment and laughed alongside their king.

The Magician King Utgard Loki had said,

'Destroy Helheim and turn the underworld into a mess. Destroy the cycle of the living and the dead beings and create chaos.'

Hrumbark didn't like the Magician King all that much. The orders he gave were always complicated.

But he liked that he had said that he was able to do whatever he wanted with Hela.

"Let's go."

To seek some blood.

"Let's go."

To give birth to screams and cries.

Hrumbark and his army marched towards Helheim.

-

Hela went out to the floating garden.

The God of Messages, Hermod, had told her not to go out to the garden, but it was unavoidable.

There wasn't an army from Asgard that would protect Niflheim for her.

The dead ones gathered next to Hela.

She, who could take the appearance of a young girl, woman, and old lady, walked with haughty steps and consoled her citizens. Stepping up with courage made their fear subside a little.

The army of the dead greeted Hela.The ones at the front were people that were warriors of Midgard in their previous lives.

The ones that couldn't die in the battlefields and died in their beds.. The ones that had died by disease. The ones that couldn't fight and had been slain by beasts.

They were people that didn't have what it took to enter Valhalla, but they were still the most proficient in battle among the dead ones.

Next to them were the second most proficient in battle.

They were wicked people that couldn't even dream about entering Valhalla.

The ones that fled from the battlefield, betrayed their comrades, and the ones that brought destruction to their allies and even themselves because of their jealousy and envy.

It seemed like they hadn't been able to throw that side of them away, for they all had sly and wicked eyes. They were people that would have fled already if this place wasn't Niflheim and if it wasn't a place that didn't have anywhere to flee to.

And behind them was the group with the biggest number lined up with nervous faces.

The ones that weren't accustomed to battle.

The ones that lived all their lives as farmers, fishermen, blacksmiths, carpenters, researchers, cooks, and other random professions.

They were weak. They were the ones that had ignored Valhalla even though they'd lived in a world which knew of its existence.

But Hela didn't pity them. Midgard wasn't a place to provide warriors for Valhalla. A world with only warriors in it couldn't work properly. Midgard was able to be maintained because each one of them existed.

The ones belonging to the third category faced Hela with stiff expressions, and she showed a smile towards them. Some felt the fresh smile of a girl, and some felt charmed at the smile of a woman. And others felt gentleness that came out from a mature and old woman.

"Please, get on."

The strongest and bravest warrior of the first category, Galeon, pulled a ghost horse and stood in front of Hela.

He hadn't been able to die because he was too strong, and because of that, he couldn't enter Valhalla.

That wasn't actually the real story, but he was still the most reliable warrior and advisor Hela had. And he, who'd received the trust from Hela, had the strength of an intermediate-ranked warrior or above.

"Thank you."

Hela got on the ghost horse. The army of the undead reached 200,000 in numbers. As the army that was marching towards Helheim was composed of 600 giants and 100,000 evil spirits, it was almost twice the number.

But they couldn't ascertain victory, and defeat was more probable.

It was an army that the strongest warrior was merely at the intermediate-ranked level.

They could plentily face the evil spirits, but the problem lay in the appearance of giants. The fight could tilt to the side of the giants just by having the 600 giants charge towards them.

But they still had to go. They couldn't collapse without any resistance.

"Let's go,"

Hela said. At the gesture of her warrior, Galeon, the dead ones blew the horn trumpets.

He ordered the army of the dead to march.

-

An evil spirit that had the head of a dog and body of a human went out to scout.

The dead spirit that had went up ahead riding a ghost horse discovered the army of giants.

With this, the giant king, Hrumbak, and Hela knew where their armies would face each other.

"We will fight in the valley."

"It seems like the battle will occur in the valley."

It was a mutual agreement. The place the two armies could fight on could only be limited as both sides surpassed the hundred thousand mark.

The reason Hela had chosen to go out and fight was because of the giants. The existences of the giants made the purpose of the walls meaningless, so it was rather better to use the dead spirits on a wide plains in the most efficient way.

Both armies moved. There was a bit of a dissonance as a perfect agreement couldn't exist, so in the end they ended up facing one another when the sun was at its peak.

The giants panted due to excitement. Hrumbak imagined the screams Hela would let out and unsheathed his sword.

Hela raised her hand in front of those giants with a dispirited face.

The sound of horn trumpets was heard from both sides.

The battle had started.

-

"We are late! Late! The battle has already started!"

Ratatoskr, that had gone out to scout as Odin had ordered it to, chirped quickly. Looking at how it spoke, it seemed that it was telling them not to go as they were already late.

But only Nidhogg listened to its words among the group.

Odin activated the rune of obedience to make Ratatoskr shut up and then turned to look at Tae Ho.

"With Nidhogg's speed, we won't arrive that late."

Odin and Tae Ho were currently in the forehead of Nidhogg while lying down.

The reason they did this and sent Ratatoskr out to scout was to prepare for the battle to come.

As soon as the group reached Niflheim, Odin started to engrave several runes in Nidhogg's huge body. This was the best he could do as he couldn't go out to the battlefield due to his injuries that hadn't healed completely.

The essence of Nidhogg moved her fingers sluggishly with a nervous expression.

It was because she was afraid to fight.

The only time Nidhogg had fought since being born was with Tae Ho. And actually even that was hard to call it a fight as she had only gotten hit one sidedly.

"It will be fine. Idun's warrior will do great. Just believe in him and entrust your body."

"Ye-Yeah. I believe in Tae Ho master."

Nidhogg hurriedly nodded at Odin's words.

"We spent too much time. I will pray for your victory,"

Odin floated in the air and said. Tae Ho hit his chest twice towards Odin, and Nidhogg copied Tae Ho's movements sloppily.

"For Asgard and the Nine Realms."

"For Asgard and the Nine Realms."

Odin moved to Ratatoskr's head, and Tae Ho grabbed Nidhogg's hand and went to the insides of her body.

As the current body wasn't that big compared to the original 2 kilometer-long body, the heart room wasn't that big, but Tae Ho felt that it wasn't bad at all. It was because he felt like he had entered a control cabin.

There was a big chair that Nidhogg had made by Tae Ho's order in the center of the room. Tae Ho looked at the tools that were at the sides of his chair and put on a biter smile.

"Are they made poorly?"

Tae Ho shook his head when Nidhogg asked with an unconfident voice.

"No, it's the best. It's exactly as I wanted it."

Tae Ho smirked and then sat on the chair, and then, Nidhogg sat in front of Tae Ho. He needed physical contact to use the 'One that Controls Dragons', so they had to assume a posture so that Nidhogg could enter Tae Ho's embrace when she leaned back.

Nidhogg waited for a moment while leaning forwards. It was because she had heard something beforehand.

Tae Ho took out the Mead of Poetry from the air. He had thought about it, but there was only one choice.

'Idun's Warrior.'

The saga Tae Ho relied the most among the several sagas he had. The one he liked the most.

Tae Ho drank from the Mead. Nidhogg sniffed as a sweet aroma was emanated, and she smacked her lips.

And it was at that moment - Tae Ho drank all the liquid in the Mead without leaving a single drop and then opened his eyes abruptly.

It wasn't that there was a problem with the Mead. He could feel that his saga was being strengthened just like Odin had said.

Bragi's rune.

The God of Music and Poetry.

Light emanated in the rune of Bragi that was drawn in Tae Ho's tongue. The strength it emitted grew much stronger than before.

'Ahh.'

'Ahhhh.'

Tae Ho let out a sound. It was merely a sound of admiration, but it was enough with that. That seemed to be just like a sweet song.

Nidhogg flushed and put on an enchanted face, and Cuchulainn mumbled as if it was absurd.

'I think I know how Bragi and Idun got together.'

For an exclamation to be heard as a sweet song.

Tae Ho took a deep breath. When he exhaled, Nidhogg leaned on Tae Ho naturally.

'Let's go. To the battlefield,'

Cuchulainn said. Tae Ho closed his eyes and activated his saga. The raised the level of his saga by one stage as it got empowered by Bragi's strengthened rune.

[Strengthened Saga: The One that Controls Dragons]

Nidhogg convulsed and let out an exclamation, but she didn't resist and received Tae Ho's command. She entrusted her body and soul to Tae Ho.

Tae Ho opened his eyes and saw the world through Nidhogg's body. The world he saw with the eyes of a dragon that was a hundred meters big was different to the world he saw with his own eyes.

But Tae Ho grew quickly accustomed to it. He then extended both of his hands forward and placed them on the tools he had prepared beforehand.

'Will that really be enough?'

A keyboard and a mouse.

The objects Nidhogg had made after listening to Tae Ho's explanation and strange tools that Cuchulainn couldn't even grasp where it was used on.

But it was different for Tae Ho.

If he had to control someone or something, this was the most familiar thing for him.

A keyboard on his left hand and a mouse in his right.

Nidhogg fluttered its wings and then jumped up and started to fly.

Tae Ho's hands started to move quickly.

And at the same time, something else moved. There was something newly created.

[Synchro rate: 73%]

[Saga: The Legendary Pro Gamer]

Before being a warrior of Valhalla and a warrior of Idun and even before being the strongest warrior of Dark Age, Kalsted.

Pro gamer, Lee Tae Ho.

A smile spread across Tae Ho's face.

The roar of the black dragon, Nidhogg, shook the sky and the ground greatly.

< Episode 39 - Hela (3) > End

TL note: Thanks for reading~