Ultimate Spear

"So twisted, so decayed! You could have everything if you just let go and achieve freedom by submitting to your desires! Ahh~ I really want to see it! Watch you release your desires, discard all conscience, and witness you plunge into the abyss amid despair! Just imagining that scene, I feel like I'm about to die of ecstasy!"

Loki shouted like a lunatic and his face flushed with excitement.

However, at that moment, a cold voice suddenly emerged behind him.

"Are you asking for death?"

*Pu-chi!*

A black streak, like lightning, flashed through the void, and crimson blood soared into the air along with a shattered arm.

"AHHH—!!!"

Loki clutched his severed arm, his expression contorted.

A whip-like kick slashed through the air, viciously slamming into his abdomen. With a visible shockwave, he was sent flying towards the ground, creating a massive crater and kicking up a cloud of dust.

"Hey man... You finally made it..." Cu Chulainn said with his breath labored as he turned to look at Arkhan supporting himself.

"Don't grin like that; it's painful to watch. I'll patch you up in a sec."

Arkhan landed with Cu Chulainn on the ground, carefully placing him on a large rock. He switched his Black Abyss to White Flower and touched it into Cu Chulainn's body, repairing the injuries.

About two or three minutes later, Cu Chulainn was back to full strength. He stood up, stretched his body, and looked at Arkhan with amazement.

"I don't know where you got these skills, but thanks, man. If you had been a bit later, I might really be done for."

"You don't seriously think it was me who got here in time, do you?" Arkhan rolled his eyes, pointing to Scathach, who had landed next to them at some point. "If it wasn't for my mother helping me stall for time, you would've been dead a hundred times over."

"Stall?" Cu Chulainn blinked, glanced at Arkhan, then at Scathach, hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Umm... You mean, you two were in contact already? Are you fucking kidding me?"

Since entering the Land of Shadows, Arkhan had activated 'Primordial Rune - Search'.

On one hand, it was to trace his mother's location, and on the other hand, it was to establish contact with her.

Mages of Scathach's caliber wouldn't fail to notice someone tracking them, especially with Arkhan using the unique Primordial Rune. It allowed her to instantly identify the user.

And thus, Arkhan and Scathach successfully established contact. All of this occurred during the time Loki devoured the four gods.

So, when Scathach seemingly ignored the situation when Loki busy powered up, it was partly because she genuinely didn't care and partly because she was in contact with Arkhan.

When Arkhan found out about the situation, he breathed a sigh of relief, thinking everything would be fine. However, he didn't expect that Loki had captured Cu Chulainn at some point and used him as a hostage.

Arkhan quickly consulted with Scathach and decided that she would buy time until he arrived, seizing the opportunity to rescue Cu Chulainn.

"So... Master, were you just acting back then?" Cu Chulainn turned his head stiffly to Scathach after listening to Arkhan's explanation.

"Um." The Queen of the Land of Shadows replied with an indifferent tone. 

"...I don't know why, but suddenly I feel a weird sense of heartache..." Cu Chulainn scratched his head and sighed in frustration. "I thought you really cared about me, but no, all for nothing, huh..."

"I'm just a woman with a twisted and corrupted soul; those emotions are too extravagant for me." Scathach said calmly. "Besides, for a disciple who was caught because of his lack of skill, I didn't see the need for saving."

"Ahaha, but you still agreed to Arkhan saving me, right? Master is really the same, cold outside, warm inside. Is this what Arkhan called as 'Tsundere'?"

Cu Chulainn spoke triumphantly, even though he had no idea what language 'Tsundere' was, thanks to Arkhan's explanation, he understood the meaning of the phrase.

Scathach remained silent with crossed arms, while Arkhan wore an awkward yet polite smile on his face.

What he didn't tell Cu Chulainn was that his mother wasn't lying. At that time, she was genuinely thinking—no, already decided to give up on him. If it weren't for his persistent persuasion and repeated assurances, Cu Chulainn's ashes would have been scattered long ago.

'Better not to shatter his illusions...' Arkhan thought silently.

"But now that Master is sealed by that guy, what do we do?" Cu Chulainn scratched his head while looking at the dissipating dust in the distance. "That guy should be back to his peak state by now, and he must be strong since he is one of the main gods of the Norse pantheon. Without the suppression from the Land of Shadows, can we really beat him?"

"Why would I risk persuading Mother to save you if I worry about that? A main god? Just leave it to me." Arkhan said casually without worry.

His six Divine Keys—Jizo Mitama, Fenghuang Down, Abyss Flower, Star of Eden, Oath of Judah, and Xuanyuan Sword were ready to deal with a main god effortlessly.

However, just as he took a step forward, Scathach's voice reached his ears.

"Let me handle that trash."

Arkhan turned to Scathach with a confused expression.

"But Mother, didn't we agree that I would deal with him?"

"I've changed my mind." Scathach said with a cold tone. "Daring to speak such blasphemous words to me, if I don't personally punish him, how can I bear the name of the Queen of the Land of Shadows."

Arkhan's mouth twitched slightly.

"But Mother, right now, you—"

"It's okay." Scathach took a step forward, turned to her son, and smiled gracefully. "Just give me that spear."

"That spear?" Arkhan was momentarily confused, then seemed to remember something. He quickly opened his Rune's storage space and pulled out a branch-shaped, withered spear.

Rune letters were inscribed on the spear.

—The one who pursues eternal silence, those who have departed will eventually return to nothingness.

This was the weapon Nidhogg gave him in the Norse Realms, the weapon of the Chief God Odin—Gungnir.

At that time, Arkhan didn't understand who the Rune letters referred to. Now, reading the first sentence of 'The one who pursues eternal silence', wasn't it his mother?

As Gungnir fell into Scathach's palm, it instantly burst into a dazzling and radiant light. The withered branches fell away, transforming into a silver-white spear adorned with divine runes, emanating an ancient and majestic aura.

Loki finally flew out of the crater and accidentally caught sight of the spear in Scathach's hand. He froze, and his pupils contracted sharply.

"Gungnir?! How?!" Loki exclaimed with shock and fear.

"Loki, pay the price for your betrayal and blasphemy!"

The moment Scathach threw Gungnir, the entire Land of Shadows seemed to freeze. Time, space—everything was pierced through by the spear, rendering it all into absolute nothingness.

This was the epitome of the ultimate spear, surpassing the extreme limits, transcending even the divine realm, and arriving at the realm of the unknowable—a strike that defied imagination.

"NOOO—!!!"

With the otherworldly strike of Gungnir, Loki's figure was instantly submerged, and in the blink of an eye, he was annihilated into utter nothingness.