Chapter 30: There's always a Greater Monster

Disclaimer: I do not own Highschool DxD and that hasn't changed, so I don't know what you expected when you read this. I own the OCs and that will never change!...Probably

Speech – "Hey, I'm Pierce."

Inner speech – {Neat}

Thoughts – 'I'm dead.'

Spells – "Jumon"

Secret Elf City

I moved the moment Brynhildr left. I entered the house and alerted everyone to the situation. They quickly got their bearings and we all rushed to the Valkyrie's house, seeing the Valkyries already ready to move. Brynhildr nodded to us when we arrived.

"What's the plan?" Adrian asked

"I commanded Sigrid to teleport ahead of time to Andvari's cave. She'll try to learn whatever she can from a distance before we arrive. Is everyone ready?" She got a round of nods and waved her hand, a large magic circle appearing under the group. Like usual, a bright light flooded my vision and when it faded, we were at our location. We were among a group of tall oak trees, a wide patch of grass and a river lying west of us. I looked up to see the abandoned castle from the raven familiar's vision and a waterfall calmly flowing next to it. It was a pretty and calm looking place…if you ignored the undead Norse witch flying high in the air. Thorbjǫrg was waving her staff, my enhanced hearing picking up demonic chanting and the night sky started to get cloudy. Lightning bolts the size of houses started to streak across the sky and thunder roared so loud that the ground shook (I had to stop channeling Chi into my ears before they became damaged).

"They're not wasting time." I idly said. Sigrid appeared in front of us a second later, walking from within the woods.

"Report." Brynhildr said with a stern face.

"Talien has called a large majority of the Draugrs patrolling inside. Thorbjǫrg rose into the sky a minute before you guys arrived. He definitely knows we're here."

"So that rules out stealth." Adrian said, crossing his arms. "If he sent out one of his Pjágas, then he's not planning on leaving. We need to charge inside."

"You up for a rematch?" I looked over to Maven after the Emissary finished. The mage smirked and we both walked forward but Brynhildr stopped us.

"Wait, take Sigrid and Astrid to deal with Thorbjǫrg. They're both well versed in Seiðr arts, they'll be better help than him."

"…That's actually a really good point but damn, words hurt you know?" Brynhildr rolled her eyes at my comment while everyone chuckled. Both mentioned Valkyries walked forward and I gave Maven a small squeeze on her hand, telling her to be careful. The mage gave me a squeeze back and floated in the air, flying towards the undead Seiðr. I had to hold back a wince when Thorbjǫrg sent one of the house sized lightning bolts at them and they blocked it.

"Let's go." Brynhildr started to lead the wave, choosing to go on foot up to the castle. Thorbjǫrg fired some lightning bolts at us but they were pitiful at best with the Pjága having her hands full with the other three. Holding up a Touki covered arm to block the occasional bolt of lightning, the elemental attacks did nothing and we eventually reached the castle gate. The structure on the mountain couldn't be called castle, more like the front half of one. It dug into the rock and when Brynhildr destroyed the gate with a fire spell, a long hallway into the mountain appeared. "We're going to pick up the pace, keep an eye out."

The Chief Valkyrie gave a heads up and we followed her inside.

Andvari's Cave, Control Room

Deep within the legendary Dwarf's domain, there was a large room with smith equipment and magic arrays littering every corner. Many weapons of different sizes were strung up on the walls. Magical axes, swords, spears, arrows, and even siege weaponry that would make a mortal warlord green with envy. The room was mostly untouched save for the anvil in the middle still smoking from recent work and the throne currently being used. An elf woman was sitting on the throne, looking through multiple floating screens in front of her. If anyone from the team was here, they would recognize her as one of the light Elves that fought alongside Talien. She gave a bloodthirsty smile when she saw the group enter the cave.

"They don't know when to give up, do they? Oh well, more entertainment for me. Not that you haven't been wonderful company but I just don't feel the connection. You understand." The Light Elf tilted her head to the left and flashed her smile to the tied up being in the corner. A short man with blond hair, a beard, and smith robes was sitting on the ground. His clothes were bloodied and he glared at the elf in silence. That only got a chuckle out of the Elf. "This would be much more interesting if you actually said something."

"Go to Helhiem Níðingr." The man said full of spite.

"Hmm, that's better but not very original." The Elf said and waved her hand. Magic circles appeared around her and she rubbed her chin in thought. "What to choose, what to choose. How about…this one."

She pressed on a magic circle and it shone, a sudden change happening in one of the screens. The walls around the group started to randomly shift, blocking their path and dividing the group into two. One of the members quickly reacted and a white aura encased their body, raising his fist to smash the wall. Unfortunately before he could do so, the ground gave out from under them and they started to fall down. The blond haired healer was able to create a barrier to stop their descent but the roof over them fell, forcing the Chi using human to hold it up. The second group tried to break through the wall to help but the Light Elf pressed another magic circle and holes started to appear on the walls surrounding them. Puppets, ranging from humanoid to demonic started to crawl out, lunging at the team. The ones trapped under the falling roof were also having this problem.

"This is fun!" The Elf woman was amused by the situation. She started to observe the other magic circles. "I wonder what this one do-"

"We had a deal. Where are my apprentices?!" The man in the corner chose to make himself known again, demanding an answer from the Light Elf. She gave him a small glance before looking back at the circles.

"Once Talien has what he's come for, you'll get them."

"…" The man stared a bit before staring at the ground. She almost pitied the Dwarf; he didn't really have a choice in the matter for helping the Dark Elf King. With the capture of his disciples, Gunnar could only do what Talien wanted or he would face the consequences. Granted, he had his greedy father to blame for his current predicament, he was naïve to believe Talien would just hand back his apprentices. Talien was definitely going to keep the Dwarf around for his smith skills.

'That said, I wonder how Kari's holding up.' While she hated her ass kissing sister, she wouldn't want to be babysitting a bunch of snot nosed Dwarves. She couldn't see her because Kari was holding the apprentices in a section of the cave where no surveillance was being kept. Talien made it that way so Gunnar couldn't somehow gain control of the array and help his apprentices. While that seemed like a bad idea, it didn't matter much to Talien as long as he got what he came for. A good Dwarf Smith was inconsequential compared to the true prize.

Peeking over to a platform in the middle of the room, she resumed handling the cave's defensives. A fully intact Andvaranaut with Nordic symbols was resting on the platform, a portal to the Tomb of Sigurd calmly hovering over it.

Back to Pierce

'This is starting to get heavy.' I frowned as I pushed up the ceiling, the concrete being held up by my hands starting to crack. The shifting of the room came from out of nowhere and the puppets nearly got the jump on us if it wasn't for Samantha's barriers (kind of hard to sense the aura of something when it doesn't have life force). Melissa, Vargas, and Samantha were currently fighting off the puppets while I tried to push the roof up. I was able to cast my Strengthening Magic before catching it but it seemed to get heavier by the second. I grimaced when I could feel my arms creaking. "We need to go down!"

Samantha dispelled the barrier we were standing on and we fell down again, the roof chasing after us. The puppets were smashed on impact and I took out Tyrfing, channeling my Chi into the Demon Sword. Vargas saw my idea and we slashed at the wall, creating a large hole into another hall. We flew into the hole and narrowly dodged the falling roof. I watched in shock as it took 5 seconds for the entire roof to pass the hole and a massive crash resounded. The trembling was fierce.

"Who the hell makes a pitfall trap like that!?" I exclaimed and Vargas stood up, cracking his neck.

"Now I get why Aindrea hates Dwarves."

"…Wait, does that make him racist?"

"I...don't know. I think he just hates their creations." Vargas theorized. Samantha walked over to the hole and peeked over the ledge.

"Wow, that's quite a fall. The Dwarves sure are hard workers. If it had succeeded then our deaths would have been instant!" The blond healer said in awe.

"…What you find fascinating worries me Sam." Melissa offhandedly said and the healer shrugged. The Shadow Yokai looked up the pitfall. "Should we fly u-"

Before she could finish the sentence, a puppet came flying at her and she sliced it to pieces. That wasn't all because more started to pour into the hallway we were in and we had to deal with them. The puppets weren't particularly strong, one normal hit from Tyrfing was able to destroy them but they seemed to have no end. Taking out my regular sword, I cut down dozens of puppets at a time but minutes passed with seemingly no progress. I noticed when shattering a puppet to pieces that the broken parts were being absorbed into the ground. Sensing out with my Spiritual Energy, I felt magic arrays in the stone going to work. They melted down the broken pieces and manufactured more to send out to fight. I sent a wave of destruction at the ground and a trench was formed in the hallway, successfully destroying the magic arrays. I frowned when the ground repaired itself and the arrays were restored.

"What was that?!" Melissa asked as she dodged the bladed hands of the puppets. I explained how there were magic arrays in the walls to reuse the broken puppets to create new ones. Samantha sensed with her own Spiritual Energy and found them too. "So what do we do!? This will never end then!" That technically wasn't true. While the arrays made more from the destroyed pieces, there some pieces that were too damaged to be salvageable and they were slowly decreasing. We could fight it out till every puppet was smashed beyond saving but that'll take too much time.

"Book it!" Choosing our next course of action, I turned around and started to run down the hallway. The others followed shortly after and soon we had a literal tidal wave of puppets chasing us. Spikes shot out of the ground in front of us, forcing us to dodge and twirl out of their path. As if annoyed by our efforts, walls came down to block our path but I slashed through them.

'Someone's definitely controlling this place.' That or this place was alive and it really doesn't like us (the feeling was mutual). I could feel magic arrays everywhere, connected together and pulsing with power before a trap sprang at us. We needed to find the controller. Sensing as far as I could with Chi Vision, I tried to pick up any aura's I could. After running for a couple of minutes and surviving multiple traps from blow darts to poison gas, I finally located some auras. 'Found you.' I smiled once I got closer to the auras. They didn't feel like the others and one was similar to a Light Elf's. Jumping up in the air, I slammed down on the ground and it collapsed under my blow.

We fell to the floor below and came to a wide chamber. It looked like a training room, with combat dummies and weights lying around. Once the smoke cleared, I saw there was a fighting ring in the middle of the room. In the ring were a group of (really) short kids that had chains wrapped around them, Draugr were standing guard and the Elf I sensed was staring at us in shock. I smiled widely when she gained a look of realization.

"Howdy!" Creating a large Chi Sword, it went flying at the Elf and she blocked with her rapier. She was sent backwards from the force. The Draugr's rushed at us, Melissa activating Touki and meeting them head on.

"Ysglyfaethwr Plu Venus!" The Elf woman summoned a huge venus trap and it tried to bite at us.

"Spiritus Custos!" Vargas' Avatar grappled with the plant monstrosity, ripping its jaw in two. The Elf woman continued summoning more and they swarmed the Avatar, forcing me to create my Chi Tyrant to help. Samantha used the distraction to place a barrier around the kids and float them towards us. The Light Elf didn't like that because she rushed at them but Vargas intercepted her. I grabbed the chains and ripped them off, freeing the captives.

"Where's the control room?" I asked as the kids scrambled to the side, not wanting to be caught in the fight. They looked like Dwarves so they were probably our best bet.

"I-It's a couple levels above here, b-but what about master Gunnar!?" One of the older kids stuttered a response. "W-we have to help him!" I locked eyes with Samantha, who looked equally confused on what to do.

"I'm sorry kid but I don't know whe-" I couldn't finish because the wave of puppets from earlier caught up and started to flow into the room. I smashed the face of a charging multi limbed puppet and told the kids to retreat. I took out Dáinsleif and gave him some of my Chi, his aura shining bright. I sent a sword wave at the group of puppets, encasing them in a large glacier. I cursed when the puppets caught on fire and started to melt the ice.

'I know right? Dwarves' are too good at what they do. They made me after all! They failed at Tyrfing obviously but…' Ignoring Dáinsleif's running commentary, I rubbed my communication ring.

"Hey Adrian, Brynhildr, can anyone hear me?" I waited a second but no one responded. I spoke a couple more times until one of the kids stepped forward.

"Here." He waved his finger and a thread came out, wrapping around my communication ring. Nordic symbols appeared on my ring and the Dwarf kid motioned with his hands to speak.

"Adrian, Brynhildr?" I tested it and after a second, I heard Adrian's voice.

"Pierce? We tried to contact you after we were separated but we couldn't get through. Is everyone alright!?"

"We're-" I looked over when I heard a large bang as the puppets escaped their icy cage but Samantha placed a barrier around them. Melissa was tearing into the quickly dwindling Draugrs and Vargas was in a heated battle with the Light Elf. "-doing alright. How about you?"

"Aindrea and I are fighting a Pjága right now, Brynhildr went ahead with Gunhild. I haven't heard from-arghh!" I heard the faint sound of steel clashing and rock crunching from his end.

"We'll catch up soon, focus on your fight." Getting one last sound of acknowledgment, I cut the communication and nodded at the kid. "Thanks."

"If you want to repay us then help our teacher." The kid said before bowing. "Please." The rest of them also started to bow, my eyes narrowing at the request. I looked around and everyone was holding their own well enough. Vargas' Avatar and my Chi Tyrant were currently helping Samantha keep the puppets at bay while Melissa was almost done with the Draugrs. I didn't care for these kid's teacher but the odds that I'm going to meet him anyway was high. He was the whole reason Talien was here and the one controlling this place (I'm assuming).

"Alright, I'll help your teacher but you're going to help me with something." I said and they looked surprised. After filling them in on my plan, I walked over to Melissa with the kids.

"What's going on?" Melissa asked as she ripped out her dagger from a Draugr's skull (is it weird I found that sexy?). Shaking my head of the odd thought, I pointed at the kids.

"They're going to be our guide." The Shadow Yokai frowned at the statement.

"We won't be able to protect all of them in this fight Pierce." She was right. There were only 4 of us with 9 of them and hundreds of other things trying to kill us.

"We don't have a choice." My face gained a stern expression. "Gunnar restored the Andvaranaut." Melissa's eyes widened at that.

"…Shit." Yeah, I had the same thought when they told me. Talien apparently arrived hours ago, probably right after his attack on the Elf City and made Gunnar restore the ring. I don't know how long Talien has been inside the tomb but we needed to move. Melissa looked over to our enemies.

"They won't let us leave so easily."

"I know that's why I have another idea but you're not going to like it. I'm taking one of the kids and going ahead while the rest stay with you guys."

"…Fine." She sighed and smiled at my surprised look. "You're right, we're running out of time and moving while fighting to protect them will only make it harder. It'll be easier if you go alone and shut this place down…don't die."

"I won't." I promised and gave her a small hug, moving to explain the plan to the others. There were two reasons I didn't send Melissa to do this plan. Reason number one was because she couldn't enter the shadow realm within the cave, the spells in this place not allowing her to (with all this protection, I'm curious how Talien got in). The other reason was because of how long Talien has been in Sigurd's Tomb. He most likely hasn't revived the dragon slayer yet because of all the resistance but if I can't make it in time to stop him then…I don't even want to think about Melissa stuck facing the legend when she can't escape into her shadows. Getting a quick "go ahead" by the blond healer and Holy Sword user, I led one of the kids to a far wall. Sending a Seismic Fist into the wall, it shattered and a hole opened up into another corridor.

"Where do you think you're going!?" The Elf woman yelled and rushed at me with her rapier but Vargas stopped her. I picked up the kid and placed him on my back, piggy back style.

"What's your name?"

"C-Cadby." He answered while wrapping his small arms around my neck in slight nervousness. I smiled.

"Well buckle up because you're my GPS now." I coated us both with Touki and crouched.

"W-What's a GP-" I left two foot indents in the ground as I jetted down the hall, his question lost in his screams.

Brynhildr ducked under the machete of a brute looking puppet, slashing it to pieces before moving on to the next one. Parrying multiple blades, she cut off their heads in a row but had to retreat when they kept attacking. Regular puppets had cores within them that were usually in their heads or chest, destroying the core would stop any regeneration. Except these puppets were connected to the control room itself, making it so they didn't need a core and could draw energy from there. But that also allowed an adept Magician like Brynhildr to follow the energy trail and make her way to the control room.

'Stupid, stupid, stupid!' Sadly, the Chief Valkyrie was too busy reprimanding herself to enjoy her good idea. She was not proud of her decision earlier. Choosing not to check on Gunnar, especially considering his connection with the ring, because of her prejudice on Dwarves came back to bite her. It wasn't that she hated Dwarves; it was that the majority she had met in her life were greedy, arrogant, and/or incompetent. Hell, a lot of them were a bunch of old coots that were too stuck on old practices or views. She truly believed that Gunnar couldn't fix the Andvaranaut after the Original Brynhildr sealed it.

Talien obviously thought differently.

"Brynja Hepta!" Gunhild summoned chains that wrapped around the puppets and pierced into the walls, sticking to the arrays within. Knowing that would only slow the regeneration of the puppets for so long, the two Valkyries carved a path through the hall and reached a pair of reinforced double doors. They had many engravings on them from smith tools to Nordic warriors and war beasts.

Not in the mood to enjoy the artwork, Brynhildr lifted her foot and kicked the doors off their hinges. They went flying into the walls becoming embedded into the rock and the room was shown in its entirety. They were presented with a smith room and two beings inside, one was an elf woman and the other was a tied up Dwarf. The Elf woman looked at doors in the wall then back to the Valkyries with a bored look.

"Now that's just rude, did your mother never teach you to knock?" Brynhildr ignored the sarcastic barb from the woman and looked to the portal in the middle of the room. Her frown became even deeper after seeing the restored Andvaranaut under it.

It seemed like the Elf King was right. Gunhild placed a large magic circle at the entrance to block any puppets trying to get in and Brynhildr walked towards the Light Elf. For her part, she was completely calm with her ever present nonchalant look and slowly stood up.

"You won't be able to stop him, it's too late." The woman's words made both Valkyries on guard.

"Oh really? How do you figure that? If he was done then he would have already come out from the tomb." Brynhildr said with a smirk and narrowed her eyes when the Elf walked next to the platform.

"Because...you can't stop what you can't reach." She quickly took out a dagger and jabbed at the ring, piercing through it. The Valkyries were shocked at the new development, not expecting the Elf to essentially trap her leader in a closed off dimension, and charged. Gunhild tackled the Elf, pinning her to the ground and the elf pushed her off. Brynhildr tried to stabilize the ring but more cracks appeared and the portal started to warp, slowly shrinking in size. Seeing how little time remained and how no spell she tried stopped the cracking, the Chief Valkyrie did the only thing she could do.

'Fuck it.' Internally saying the two words that usually promised recklessness, she dived into the portal before it got too small and entered the Tomb of Sigurd. Hearing the barely audible voice of a yelling Gunhild, Brynhildr saw a myriad of different colors pass her vision before a bright yellow light hit her face. Shielding her eyes from the glare, she realized the light was coming from the bright sun high in the sky. The Chief Valkyrie looked down at her feet and saw she was standing on tall grass that reached her mid calf. 'T-This is the tomb?'

No one had ever been inside the Tomb of Sigurd, not even Odin, since the Original Brynhildr created it. Many had theories on how the tomb looked with Brynhildr having her own ideas. Some said it was a traditional Viking burial site while others said it was a massive castle made from pure gold. While the Chief Valkyries didn't agree with those guesses, finding them too grandiose, she did assume the tomb had to contain many relics or artifacts.

But instead of a castle of gold or a historical site, all Brynhildr saw for miles on end was a wide, grassy plain. Tall mountains could be seen in the distance and a stone path heading north, flowers decorating the sides. Remembering her mission, she followed the stone path for a couple of minutes and came to a point where a massive smoking crater laid. The Chief Valkyrie knelt down and observed the crater, finding burnt clothing on the edge.

"Security Magic…" Brynhildr sensed the remnants of the magic spell, triggered not too long ago. She continued to follow the path and came across another scene of carnage but instead of a smoking crater, there were long cut marks on the ground. She didn't give the minor blood stains another look. Brynhildr picked up the pace; flying at low altitude in case there was some sort of Security Magic spell that prevented her from flying too high (she wouldn't put it past the Original Brynhildr). After passing 3 more places that were destroyed in some way, Brynhildr arrived at a hill. The stone path went up a hill and a group of trees rested at the top.

Brynhildr reached the top in no time and found 2 destroyed Gargoyles lying at the entrance of the trees. Not minding the creatures known for their magic resistance, The Chief Valkyrie walked past them and soon heard hoarse chanting. Recognizing the voice, she started to run towards the source and found what she was looking for. Talien's form hovered in the air above a white stone coffin. The lid was tossed aside to reveal the shriveled corpse of a man and a bright red glowing sword resting within.

"Ventus Ambulate!" Casting a Strengthening Spell to boost her speed, Brynhildr blindsided the spell casting Talien and sent him flying through multiple trees. Not giving the Elf King a chance to breathe upon landing, Brynhildr flew to Talien and pierced at his chest.

"Arghh!" The Elf King grabbed the sword, successfully making it avoid his heart but it still pierced into his torso. Getting a closer look at the Elf King, Brynhildr saw just how ragged he was. His skin was a sickly pale, skinner then the last time they met, and she could feel his weakened Spiritual Energy. Such were the consequences for constantly using forbidden magic to its limit like the Pjaga spell; having to get through the high level Security magic and the Gargoyles to reach Sigurd made his condition even worse. Brynhildr didn't relent however and pushed her sword even deeper, causing Talien to start losing his grip on her arm. She frowned when she saw him smiling.

"What's that smile for? It's over." The Chief Valkyrie pushed down to make her point but he just chuckled, painting his lips in blood.

"Yeah…it is over." Brynhildr was incredibly confused about where the self satisfied look was coming from. I mean she stopped his spell, how can-

Then she heard the footsteps behind her. Pulling out her sword, she twirled around and blocked. A huge force clashed against her sword and she was flung back, her feet digging into the ground. Brynhildr hissed from the throbbing in her arms and looked at her attacker in apprehension. Though what she saw confused her. Standing there was a tall man with black hair, coal like skin and clean clothes. In his right hand was a large double-edged sword with golden markings and a red aura. It was the Demonic Emperor Sword, Gram. Everything pointed to this undead in front of Brynhildr being Sigurd yet…

'His aura…isn't as impressive as I thought it would be.' Brynhildr had seen the auras of the other Pjágas and while Sigurd surpassed all of them in terms of sheer density, it wasn't overwhelming (even the red light in his eyes was faint). This was the human that killed Fafnir? The Chief Valkyrie met the Golden Dragon before and from memory, the undead in front of her wouldn't stand a chance. 'Did the Sons of Ivaldi make Gram too effective against Dragons?' Brynhildr peeked over to the side where Talien was originally and didn't see him.

Sigurd used that moment to charge at her. Learning from the past, she didn't try to parry his swings and dodged, slashing at his throat. He tilted his head out of the way by inches and slashed back, forcing her to dodge again. The sword fight quickly escalated into a hit and run game, with neither one gaining a hit. Brynhildr moved through the trees, not allowing herself to focus too hard on Sigurd with Talien still around.

"Folk Galti." Brynhildr waved her hand and an ethereal boar charged at Sigurd. The dragon slayer just raised Gram and lightly swung down. The Chief Valkyrie watched in shock as a wave of destruction split her boar down the middle and continued towards her. She dodged out of the way and watched as the trail of destruction went for hundreds of meters, leaving a deep trench on the hill. The Chief Valkyrie started to sweat.

'I'm never assuming anything ever again.' She gripped her sword and parried Sigurd's barrage of slashes, counterattacking when she could.

She didn't notice how his swings were slowly getting faster.

Back to Pierce

I have never appreciated forethought more than in this moment. I figured having a guide to lead me to the control room was a good idea because it would be better than running around blind or trying to sense around with Chi Vision till I found someone. This place was a god damn maze. After Cadby got over my running speed, he started to give simple directions like "make a left", "go right", "head up those stairs", and even "go down that hatch" (that happened twice already). We were lucky that we landed close to the Light Elf and the captives because actually trying to reach a specific place in here was disorienting.

"Okay who was your architect because this is ridiculous!" I said while climbing up the third hatch to the upper levels (whatever happened to stairs?).

"Whoever's in the control room activated the shift phase and that's what made everything hard to navigate. It's usually not this weird." Cadby explained and I grumbled, seeing a fourth hatch. Choosing to just jump to the next level, I smashed through the ceiling and ended up back in the main hall.

"Where to?"

"Down that way, to the left." Cadby pointed down the hall and I did as he said. I noticed a while ago that the walls have stopped trying to block my path and the magic puppets stopped coming out of the walls. It made me wonder if Adrian or Brynhildr reached the control room and stopped the controller. After running for a minute, I reached my destination and saw a horde of puppets trying to break a magic circle blocking a door. Summoning Jade, I took out Dáinsleif and tried something I wanted to test out.

Activating Advent of the Jade Warrior, I channeled Chi into Dáinsleif and sent a sword wave at the horde. The puppets were instantly frozen in dark green ice, the attack even freezing the magic circle solid before it shattered. I smiled when the puppets tried to melt their way out but were unsuccessful. I guess using my Chi as a medium for Jade's power and Dáinsleif was pretty effective (the fact they were both ice based probably helped). Hopping over the ice puppets, I entered the control room just in time to see Gunhild slam an Elf woman against the wall. The woman groggily fell to the ground, her face bleeding from the Valkyries' attack. She didn't see me so I sent a Chi Spear through her chest, turning her to ice and alerting Gunhild to my arrival.

"Pierce? Where is everyone else?"

"Fighting a horde of murder puppets and the other Elf." I explained while Cadby jumped off my back, heading over to help his master.

"Master Gunnar! Are you alright!?" The young Dwarf hovered over his master, worry in his tone.

"I'm okay Cadby but where are the others? Are they alright?" Gunnar, who looked surprised to see his disciple, was relieved and asked about his other disciples. Cadby answered while trying to undo the bindings.

"They're still down in the lower levels, everyone's okay but we need to hurry before it's too late!" Cadby kept pulling at the chains but they wouldn't budge and I felt pity when his face started getting red from overexertion.

"Let me." I stepped forward and took hold of the chains. Crushing the metal in my palms, the chains fell harmlessly to the ground and Gunnar stretched.

"Thank you." The Dwarf bowed in thanks but I shook my head.

"If you want to thank me then shut this place down, my friends are still fighting." Gunnar paused before nodding in agreement and stood up. The blood must have drained from his legs because he stumbled and I caught him, lending him my arm as we walked over to the throne. I observed the screens floating in the air and saw the other's still fighting in the training room. No one was hurt with Vargas actually zooming around the room, cutting any puppet unfortunate enough to be in the Holy Sword user's way. Melissa was forcing the Light Elf on the defense while Samantha formed a barrier around her and the Dwarf kids, sending out bursts of light that obliterated some puppets. They were all holding their own quite easily but like I assumed, the rate that the puppets were being destroyed was incredibly slow. If we were to fight till they were all beyond saving then the sun would come back up by the time we were finished.

'Moments like this make me wish I had my own red haired boss that can make black orbs of annihilation.' Wistfully thinking of the future Ruin Princess' useful power, I frowned when Gunnar cursed in Norse. "What?"

"That damn Elf corrupted the controls, they're not responding to my signature." Gunnar's hand started to move over every magic circle.

"Can you fix it?"

"Yeah but I'm going to need a minute. Cadby, come here and try to reconfigure the core while I-"

"Stop! Fix this before you do anything!" Gunhild spoke and held out her palms, fragments lying on top. I got closer to see what it was and widened my eyes.

"Is that the Andvaranaut? But he said it was fixed?" The Valkyrie grimly frowned.

"It was repaired and the portal was open but the Elf broke it…Brynhildr jumped inside before it closed." Gunhild looked at Gunnar after explaining. "Please fix it, she may need help!" Gunnar took the fragments from Gunhild and observed them before shaking his head.

"I can't restore it."

"What!? But you did before!"

"Yeah, when it was professionally cut apart to maintain the spell within. She just smashed it apart without consequence; I don't even think these are all the pieces."

"Please, just try something." I asked while Gunhild looked on worried. The son of Andvari rubbed his chin in thought before walking away and heading into a room in the back. Gunhild and I looked at each other before watching Gunnar walk back out. He brought the ring fragments back to the platform and placed them with a small box. The Dwarf opened the box and saw some silver colored mud inside. "What is that?"

"Magical Salve." Gunnar dipped his hand in the salve and rubbed it over the broken pieces, slowly putting them back together. "I can't meld the pieces together because of its fractured state but I can restore it for a short amount of time."

"So you're putting a bandaid on it?"

"I…I suppose so? I'm sorry but what's a bandaid?" Gunnar asked in confusion but his hands never stopped and soon, the ring was restored but with countless small cracks on it. The Dwarf placed the ring on the platform. "Now one of you will need to feed it magic."

"What?" We both asked in confusion.

"The salve will only hold the ring together but the array to self-sustain itself was lost when it was shattered. One of you will need to feed it to keep the portal open or it'll close by itself." He left with that and went to help Cadby shut down the defenses. Gunhild and I stood in silence for a second before I stepped forward.

"Alright then, let's do this. I just need to pour my Spiritual Energy into this right? When it opens I'll try to hold out as long as I-"

"I'll do it Pierce." Gunhild stopped me and lightly pushed me out of the way. "I have a better handle when it comes to these things and if Talien has already reanimated Sigurd then you'll be a better help. Besides, I have far more Spiritual Energy then a human, even one as odd as you."

"…" She had me there. I couldn't refute her words as she stretched out her arms and started to feed the ring her power. It started to glow, with Nordic symbols appearing on it. While the glow coming from the cracks worried me, the light eventually gathered over it and a small portal formed. I looked the portal up and down before reaching out a hand.

"Pierce." Gunhild called out to me the moment my hand was about to touch the portal and I looked to her, the Valkyrie's face deadly serious. "I know you got your mission and we haven't known each other for long but…bring her back safe, please." I stared at the Valkyrie for a second to smile.

"You got it." I finished with that and turned to the portal, diving right in. Watching as every color in the spectrum passed me, the feeling of weightlessness that usually comes with teleporting stopped and I blinked at the bright sun. Looking around in confusion at the incredibly peaceful setting, I focused and followed the convenient stone path. Running so fast I was practically a blur, my Chi Vision finally picked up Brynhildr's spiritual energy.

I ran even faster when I felt it slam to the ground. Traversing the craters that laid on the path, I saw the Chief Valkyrie fighting against a Pjága on what looked like a destroyed hill. With Dáinsleif still in hand, I sent an ice pillar flying to the Pjága. It pushed back Brynhildr and met the flying glacier with the swing of its sword. The pillar shattered but that left enough time for Brynhildr to back away and catch her breath. Reaching Brynhildr's side, I placed a hand on her shoulder and gave her some of my Chi. The Chief Valkyrie's aura became a bit stronger and her breathing became less strained. Accepting her thanks with a silent nod, I stared at the undead in front of us. I narrowed my eyes at the recognizable glowing red sword in its hand.

"Sigurd, I'm assuming." I got nothing but eerie silence from the dragon slayer.

{Well I'll be damned, never thought I'd ever see the day where we face the Queen. I knew things were going to be interesting with you around kid but this was unexpected!} Dáinsleif spoke in a shocked tone before it turned serious. {I hate to say this but you should really take out Tyrfing. I know you want to wait till you get a better handle on our power but you don't want to face Gram just with me. Trust me.} Taking the Demon Sword's word for it, I took out the other magic weapon.

{…Gram? Really? What the hell did I miss!?} Tyrfing's reaction spoke volumes of the current situation. Waiting for Brynhildr to get back to her feet, I held up both swords in preparation for Sigurd.

"Wait Pierce, be careful he can-" Whatever Brynhildr had to say was interrupted by Sigurd slashing down with his sword and a sword wave came rushing at us. We separated, allowing the wave to pass us and leave a trail of destruction. I rushed at the Pjága and clashed my Demon Swords against his. I gritted my teeth when I saw that he moved back a step before forcing me back. Swinging with both my swords, Sigurd parried them all with finesse and jumped away when I tried to kick his legs. I barraged him with Chi Swords but he blurred around the battlefield, cutting the ones he couldn't dodge.

"Gryttr Ham. Auka Atrið." My Touki turned silver as I coninued attacking the undead. Brynhildr was also sending elemental attacks towards Sigurd, getting in close whenever his attention was on me and successfully left a gash on his arm. Jade froze the ground around us solid, Sigurd stumbling from the ice and I channeled Chi into Tyrfing. I swung the charged Demon Sword at Sigurd's face but he titled his head, dodging the swing by inches and the attack obliterated the ground next to Sigurd. He retaliated by swinging Gram towards my neck and I blocked it with Dáinsleif.

I had to grit my teeth as Gram's destructive power slammed against Dáinsleif and a shockwave rang out, sending me flying through the air. I landed on my feet, creating a large crater and the loss of feeling in my left hand. Sigurd rushed at me but Brynhildr raised the earth in front of him and blocked his path. Sigurd cut through the rock easily enough and I sent an ice wave at him, forcing him to block with Gram. The Demonic Emperor Sword was encased in ice and I used the moment to slam my foot in his chest, sending him flying through a large boulder. Channeling Chi into Dáinsleif, and starting to feel the fatigue from using two Demon Sword abilities back to back, I pointed the sword at the sky.

"Svalr Hregg!" Using the same spell King Hǫgniused used in the catacombs (courtesy of Dáinsleif) a magic circle appeared above Sigurd and snow piled out. Hitting the dragon slayer with the full force of a primal blizzard, he tried to escape but Brynhildr placed a large barrier around the spell radius. The Chief Valkyrie began sweating as she maintained the barrier, Sigurd hitting it with Gram to escape but he eventually stopped and lowered the Demon Sword. We felt our moods lift when the snow slowly started to cover Sigurd and he stilled.

Then he lifted Gram and pointed at us through the barrier.

"Móðr Til Einn Gramr." We barely had the chance to jump back before a beam of red obliterated the barrier and blizzard, passing us and continuing towards the horizon. I wasn't hit but the wind still sent me flying through multiple trees and I groaned as dust covered my vision. Sitting up, I watched as the dust cleared and Sigurd stood in the middle of a huge crater. The undead dragon slayer was glowing in a blood red aura, identical to the aura on Gram and his aura continued to grow every second.

Blinking when he suddenly disappeared, I rolled out of the way and Sigurd pierced where I originally was. Hastily getting up, I barely blocked Sigurd's swing and took a knee to the stomach. Heaving from the attack that had far more strength than it did earlier, Sigurd slashed at my legs and left a nasty cut. I ignored the searing wound and wildly slashed at Sigurd as I retreated but he pressed on. The wound on my leg was having trouble healing so it hindered my movements and he took full advantage of it, slashing at my leg whenever he could.

"Duck!" Sensing her approach long ago, I did as instructed and Brynhildr slashed at Sigurd, forcing him to dodge back. The Chief Valkyries' sword barely nicked the Pjága, leaving a shallow mark across his face. I used the chance to cut Sigurd on the shoulder and Brynhildr pulled me back, flying into the forest of rubble created from our fight. She chose a large rock to hide behind and we both sat down, taking a breather. Brynhildr summed up the situation in four words.

"This isn't going well." I snorted.

"Don't sugar coat it now, tell it to me straight." I tried to lighten the mood and got a small smile out of the Valkyrie. I peeked over the rock, not seeing any sight of the undead menace and I couldn't sense his life force since he didn't have any. 'True Descendant my ass.' Canon Siegfried was practically fodder compared to the man he was supposed to be. From his strength, speed, hell even how they use Gram is worlds apart (I don't remember there being any mention of that spell he used). I could be wrong since he's only fought a selective number of times and he did beat the entire Gremory team when he turned into a monster spider but I still doubted it.

"We should retreat." Brynhildr suddenly said that and I looked at her with a frown.

"But what about Sigurd?"

"He's too dangerous by ourselves, he's getting stronger as the fight goes on and we have no idea where Talien is. We should escape and come back with the others." Brynhildr reasoned and while she had many good points, there were multiple problems I made clear. If we try to escape then Sigurd will definitely follow and he may come with us through the portal before we would be able to tell Gunhild to close it, not to mention the possibility that Talien may have a way out of here. There were also the two other Pjága outside with the puppets most likely still attacking the others. Adding Sigurd to the battlefield did not sound like a good idea and Talien may leave entirely with him. It just made more sense to fight him here. The Chief Valkyrie looked reluctant but agreed in the end. "Fine but we need a plan."

I fell into deep thought, trying to figure out how we were going to take down Sigurd. He was too strong to overpower and too fast for any of my stronger attacks to land. I doubt I could ask Gram to betray Sigurd since she hasn't spoken to me yet (both Demon Swords said the sword was a she) and he is her original use-

"Wait." I looked up at Brynhildr in confusion. "Did Talien seal Gram like he did Dáinsleif and Tyrfing?"

"No, from what I've seen, there is no seal on Gram. It was the first thing I looked for." Brynhildr shook her head and an idea formed in my head.

"Hey Brynhildr, you wouldn't happen to know the sealing spell Talien used do you?"

"Yeah, I do."

"...Can you use it in a fight?" Brynhildr looked confused at the question before realization appeared in her eyes and they narrowed.

"Yes but it would only last a second at best, Gram is far better than either of your Demon Swords."

{Hey!}

{How rude.}

"That's all I need." I ignored the offended Demon Swords and stood up, stretching my limbs. I looked down at Brynhildr and widely smiled. "Let's go Subjugate a Dragon Slayer."

10 Minutes Later

Sigurd calmly walked along the destroyed grounds, Gram held tightly in his right hand and his red aura still active. The undead's eyes roamed the debris and tried to find where we were hiding. I leaned back against a tall boulder, out of view of the Dragon Slayer and took deep breaths. I listened to Sigurd as he stepped on the gravel, slowly making his way over in my direction. I opened my eyes when I heard him stop. Rolling out the way, the tall boulder was sliced in half by Gram and Sigurd lunged at me. I got to work parrying and blocking every swing that came at me, using the terrain to my advantage. Dodging a wave of destruction that shattered another boulder, I left a shallow cut on Sigurd's stomach and retreated when he tried to cut my head off.

I led him further into the rubble, landing any hit I could but none were substantial and he managed to slash me on the forehead. Blood flowed into my eye and Sigurd grabbed me by the arm, throwing me to the ground. The ground cracked under me and I jumped up, kicking the Pjága in the face. That didn't faze him and he was on me again. Our hands were blurs as magic steel clashed dozens of times, my hands numbing from every clash. It was an odd situation for me really; it was usually something ten times my size that forces me to exert my strength to the limit. It's a recent change that beings my size are matching me blow for blow.

"Arghh!" Sigurd slashed my wrist, blood flowing from the seared flesh and forcing me to hold him back with Tyrfing until my wrist healed. Sigurd pressed down on the Demon Sword and elbowed me in the face. I hissed when my nose broke and kicked him in the head, sending him to the ground. He quickly got up and I sent my Chi Tyrant at him, backing up while they fought. Sigurd instantly destroyed the Chi creation with a sword wave and sent another one at me, forcing me to dodge. I breathed out when he slowly approached me and I could've sworn he gave me an unimpressed look. He lifted Gram and his aura flared, the intensity increasing by multiple folds. He was looking to end this.

"Brynhildr now!" The moment Sigurd was about to attack, a magic circle appeared under him and chains wrapped around him. The Chief Valkyrie lunged at Sigurd from behind a rock and clashed against Gram, touching the blade with her hand. The chains around Sigurd's arm broke and his fist connected with Brynhildr's face, sending her flying back. Putting away Dáinsleif, I grasped Tyrfing with both hands and used Sword Fury. A ten meter blade of Chi appeared like always but I could feel Tyrfing's pure, destructive power seep into my Chi and I was having trouble keeping it contained.

{Go!} Tyrfing yelled and I Chi Burst to Sigurd. He was waiting for me and gathered the red aura around Gram, a light hum radiated from the sword to show the power stored within. Sigurd didn't notice the Magic Rune that rested on Gram. Just before we clashed the rune activated and the red aura around Gram dispersed. Sigurd's undead eyes widened in shock at the development. He tried to back away but an ice barrier blocked his retreat, Jade sticking out her tongue at the Dragon Slayer from her position on a boulder. Sigurd could only guard with Gram as my attack hit him head on.

A massive shockwave rang out, everything from the rubble to the ice barrier shattering and Sigurd was flung hundreds of meters away. I watched Gram make a parabola in the air and pierce into the ground on landing, Sigurd's arm still holding onto the handle even though it wasn't connected to the rest of the body. I knelt down on the ground and took in labored breaths, feeling exhaustion throughout my body. I was tapped. Back to back fights through the cave, using both Demon Swords at the same time and fighting a legendary Dragon Slayer made my Chi reserves run dry. Beneath Sigurd's superhuman strength, speed and skill, there was above average but still mortal durability. And I took full advantage of that fact to land a finishing blow. It took me a couple of seconds to realize what I just did. I beat Sigurd. I beat the legendary killer of Fafnir himself (and I was alive). I couldn't stop the smile that made its way on my face.

"What's with that face?" Brynhildr's voice rang out and I looked up to the Chief Valkyrie. She was walking back from where Sigurd was flung and dropped his body on the ground. He was a mess with his arm, leg and a portion of his torso obliterated. The light in his eyes was long gone. I blinked at the Chief Valkyrie before smiling.

"We just beat a Dragon Slayer. I think I deserve a moment."

"At a fraction of his strength." My smile dimmed at Brynhildr's words but she didn't stop. "Even at his best, Talien would have never had enough power to bring Sigurd back at his full strength. He was gaining back his old strength quite fast but it was still only a fraction of his true power. We were lucky to beat him before he got any stronger."

"…"

"…"

"…You sure know how to rip into a guy's win." I sighed and sat down, slumping at the Valkyrie's words.

"It's the truth." She shrugged and stayed silent for a second before sighing. "But…I guess it was pretty awesome." The Chief Valkyrie smiled down at me.

"Brynhildr…" I made a moved face and she rolled her eyes. I knew she was right, if Sigurd did kill Fafnir in his outrage mode then there was no way I could have beaten him if he was at his full power. I was honestly surprised how well I was doing against him at the beginning but I figured out that he wasn't fully restored. 'Still counts.' Standing up slowly so as to not aggravate my wounds, I walked over to Brynhildr but stopped halfway when the glowing form of Gram caught my eye. I stared at the Demonic Emperor Sword in silent contemplation.

"…Are you going to try or stand there all day?" Brynhildr deadpanned and I blushed in embarrassment, walking towards the sword. Prying the dismembered hand from the handle, I reached out to grab Gram. I could feel the answer before my hand grasped the handle. I pulled my hand back when Gram started to heat up and the aura dimmed a second later. I blinked at the small tinge of red on my palm.

"…This is the second time I've been rejected by a sword…what is my life?" I asked and Brynhildr stood next to me, looking down at the sword.

"Pity, Gram is an incredibly powerful weapon."

"It's whatever, I already have Tyrfing and Dáinsleif. You can't win them all."

{Awww, love you too man!} Dainsleif said happily from within the space ring and I shook my head in amusement. I picked up the body of Sigurd under the confused gaze of Brynhildr and brought it over to Gram, lying it next to the sword. I shrugged at the look the Chief Valkyrie gave me.

"Seemed right." Brynhildr just gave a small nod. We flew up into the air and made our way back to the path we came. "So where do you think Talien went?"

"He probably escaped when Sigurd fell." Brynhildr said while we flew. "If he did escape then he most likely went through the portal and Gunhild is waiting on the other side. If he isn't then we'll just close the portal and trap him in here."

"Hm." I nodded in agreement, seeing how we won regardless at the end of the day. We flew for a minute in silence then Brynhildr spoke up.

"Hey Pierce." I looked at her, a grateful look on her face. "Thank you, for coming to save me. I know a lesser man would have cowered at the thought of facing Sigurd."

"…Don't mention it Brynhildr." We settled into peaceful silence after that and reached the place where the portal was. Problem is it wasn't there anymore. "I guess that answers that question. Do you think she'll be okay?"

"Talien was pretty much crippled by the time I got to him, he shouldn't be a problem. But how are we getting back?" She furrowed her brow and walked around, waving her hand in the air.

"What are you doing?"

"Trying to find any remnant of the portal. Space magic always leaves traces behind." Oh right, I think Grayfia explained that some time ago but I forgot.

"You think this will help?" I rubbed my space ring and took out the fragment that she gave me back in the Elf city. She took it with a quick "thanks" and got to work trying to open another portal. I stood patiently on the side, enjoying the beautiful scenery.

{What's wrong?} Tyrfing asked when I sighed.

"Just disappointed that Gram didn't accept me using her. She would have been really handy."

{I get you but you did win a great victory, be happy about that. Besides, I knew she would not have chosen to go with you.}

"What does that mean? Why not?"

{She likes pretty boys.}

"…"

'…'

"…I believe you." That explains a lot actually. And speaking of pretty boys…how exactly is Siegfried going to get Gram now? I know the church wanted to create a perfect clone of Sigurd to wield the Demonic Sword but now that Gram is going to stay inside this tomb and we plan to close it on the way out…how are they going to get it? (I mean, even the key to get in was completely smashed).

'…I just messed up the plot again didn't I?' I didn't really care for Siegfried getting it but that means Yuuto won't get it either and he needs that power to keep up with the others. '…Oh well.' Shrugging it off, I watched Brynhildr successfully create another portal with the fragment and we stepped through it.

Finland, Malmr Forest

Within a magical forest protected by ancient magic, a fierce battle had just concluded. Many trees were destroyed with hundreds of wolf corpses littering the ground. In the center of the chaotic battlefield was the corpse of a huge creature. The creature had the body of a man but it was covered with fur, its nails razor sharp and the head was a wolf's. This was the Werewolf King Ferox. The Homer party looked down at the corpse, everyone injured and exhausted from the battle.

"Damn he was tough; I didn't know he'd get stronger with other wolves around. I thought that only applied with other werewolves." Achilles said while rubbing a claw shaped wound dangerously close to his neck.

"It could apply to any vassal wolf under them…I want a bath." Celica groaned at her torn robes, dirt and blood staining them. She never did like getting physically dirty, used to defeating opponents with her ranged magic. Odysseus ripped out his trident from Ferox's heart, waving it to take off the werewolf's blood. He turned to the rest of his team.

"Alright, now that we're finished with Ferox we can go help the other team with Talien. Take a fifteen minute break to get your bearings together before we head out. Let's hope this night will soon be over." The Spirit inheritor and fairy descendant groaned at the order but didn't debate. Celica sat down for the break and Achilles looked over to Phonemes who was staring out into the distance.

"Hey, you okay big guy?" Achilles walked over and patted the half-Cyclops on the back but got no reaction. 'He's been quiet since we defeated Ferox.' Phonemes had his fair share of wounds but most were already healing from his natural healing powers and he was usually more reactive after a fight. 'What is he looking at?' Achilles looked in the direction where Phonemes was staring but he couldn't see anything.

"Hm?" Odysseus felt his communication ring pulse and when he answered he was surprised to hear the voice of his patron, the God of the Sea Poseidon.

"Odysseus!?"

"Hello my Lord, I'm here. You'll be happy to know we just finished defeating the Monster General Fero-"

"That doesn't matter right now; you need to take your team and go!" Poseidon's frantic tone worried Odysseus.

"What's wrong? Has something happened in Olympus? Has Zeth-"

"Odysseus! Leave the area, Now!"

While he was confused with his lord's order, he did as instructed and told Celica to immediately get them out of here. The fairy got to work making a teleportation spell, which took longer than usual because of her fatigue and Achilles was asking what was going on.

Phonemes didn't react to anything happening behind him, fully lost in what he was seeing. Being half-Cyclops, Phonemes didn't just have the physical capabilities of a regular Cyclops like superhuman strength and healing but he also had their legendary sight. He could see dozens of miles in the direction he's looking; see Mana like he was an experienced magician and his vision wasn't hindered by the dark. Even under the tall trees that hid the moon, Phonemes could see clear as day. And on top of the mountain, past the trees and over the prairie, something appeared that set the half-Cyclops on edge.

There, floating over the mountain, was a unique magic circle. It pulsed with power that drawed in the Mana from the surroundings towards it and an odd insignia was in the center. Phonemes didn't recognize the insignia but he did know what he was looking at.

'A Dragon Gate.' The term echoed in Phonemes head and what happened next shocked him to his core. A large scaly hand popped out of the circle, grabbing its edge and a dragon's head exited. Soon the entire body of the Dragon came out of the gate and it sniffed the air before turning in the direction of the Homer team. Phonemes would swear to every deity in this world that this legendary creature, that was dozens of miles away, looked past the dense forest they were in and stared right into the half-Cyclop's eyes. Then it smiled at him. Phonemes was petrified as Celica's spell slowly covered them in light.

"Now can someone tell me what's going-" Achilles never got to finish his question as they teleported away and a mountain sized lightning bolt landed in their original position.

Druk watched the destruction caused by his attack in a daze. '…They got away didn't they?' The yellow and blue colored dragon sighed at the fact. Zeth wanted to deal with these pesky Emissary groups that have been targeting his generals and ordered the ones under attack to call for backup when they arrived. The Monster God never took into account that the majority of his generals were just as arrogant as he was and believed they could handle the Emissaries themselves.

Irony was a beautiful thing wasn't it? Druk flew down to the Emissaries' former location, the entire forest no more. The countless trees were instantly incinerated and the thousands of meters of ground were blackened, mostly likely to stain the earth for many years to come. It was the best Druk could do from that distance, seeing how they were going to teleport away and he sensed Ferox was already dead.

'He's not going to be happy about this.' Druk thought in annoyance at the Monster God's reaction and, as if in a hurry to prove him right, his communication ring pulsed. A ring appeared on the dragon's large palm and he answered, waiting for the God to speak first.

"Report." A deep male voice came from the ring, giving one command.

"Um, I arrived at the location of where Ferox was recruiting the Mamlr wolves to the army and fighting the Emissary group but I was too late to stop them." Druk gave a rough summary of the situation and instantly got a response.

"And Ferox?"

"…He's dead." Druk got silence after that and started to explain why. "I was sleeping when Ferox called for back-up and by the looks of it, he only did so when he was on his last ropes."

"…I see." Zeth spoke these two words before hanging up, finding the conversation over. Druk sighed.

'Yep, he's pissed.' I mean, it wasn't his fault. Zeth told all his Generals that the moment an Emissary group arrived to kill them; they were to call for the other's to destroy them. He didn't feel like losing anymore Generals because of arrogance or foolishness, Froid and Shiruku being prime examples. Druk knew Zeth would get over it but a wounded God's pride was an annoying thing. Druk took off into the air and flew above the clouds, thinking on how to avoid the headache waiting for him back in the Monster God's domain. At least he wasn't the only one dealing with this.

The Dragon King thought on his fellow General while flying towards the horizon, wondering if the Oni was having any luck on his end.

Back to Pierce

I could see the moon. That was the first thing I thought of when we came out of the portal and it instantly confused. Why? Because the entrance to Sigurd's tomb was inside a ring that was deep within a cave, I should not be able to see the moon. I thought that Brynhildr may have teleported us outside the cave but what I saw stopped that thought dead in its tracks.

"What the hell…" Brynhildr said in awe as we saw the completely destroyed remains of the cave. I saw now that the reason I could see the moon was because of the massive hole on the mountain side. The control room was partly untouched by the mountain of rubble and the waterfall on the side was warped out of place.

"Pierce!" I looked over to where I was called and saw Melissa coming out from under some rubble. She had multiple long cuts on her body and her haired was a mess.

"Melissa? What happen-" I stopped once I saw the fearful look she was giving me 'No.' I realized she wasn't looking at me. She was looking behind-

"Well that's one way to make an entrance." The amused voice of a man rang out and I turned around. What I saw was no "man". I didn't spare Talien's bloodied and ragged form a glance and stared right at the being in front of me. He was tall, about two meters in height with purple skin, wild grey hair, a beard and yellow eyes with black sclera. He had two horns growing out of his hair and a loose robe on, the only thing on his belt being a club and a gourd.

'An Oni?' The first thing that came to mind was the mythical Yokai, not knowing they were real since Melissa never spoke of them. I became on guard as the Oni turned to Talien and asked him a question.

"Are they with them?" The Elf King gave a feeble nod and the Oni gave a quick "I see" before looking back at me. "That's a real shame, you looked pretty interesting."

"Who are you-" I asked as I lifted Tyrfing and blinked when the Oni disappeared before my eyes. Time slowed to a crawl as all of my instincts screamed at me to move and I pushed Brynhildr to the side.

Then a purple fist connected with my chest and a fierce crunch exploded in my ear, darkness coming over me shortly after.