Chapter 43) – Control

In total, 5 magic wielders were absorbed by me.

Each of them had the Magine base within their DNA, but had varying levels of activation.

Out of the 5, 1 had nearly their entire Magine activated, whereas another had less than 100th of their available bases active.

It didn't necessarily mean that the 1 who had the most active Magine bases was the strongest - in fact they were actually the weakest.

Even though she had a lower percentage of active genes, Gertrud was the strongest magic user due to her overwhelming potential - she had nearly double the 2nd highest available Magine count!

Preventing myself from getting too wrapped up in my thoughts and contemplations, I stored all of the genetic information from the magic wielders to the side for later analysis.

Gently stroking my head, which she had made a habit of since I got too distracted after absorbing Gertrud, Mara gently spoke, "You finished, El?"

Whether my host could tell from our connection, or there was some visual sign I gave that indicated I had re-focused on the outside world, I wasn't sure.

What I was sure about, however, was that I wasn't going to ignore my host when she spoke to me ever again after seeing how concerned she was previously, "Yeah. All the genetic information from the sorcerers has been absorbed and is awaiting analysis."

Continuing to stroke my head, Mara questioned, "It's not taking a mental toll on you is it? We can stop for the day and deal with the special ones tomorrow if you need."

As much as I wanted to accept Mara's offer and immediately set to work on digesting all of the sorcerer's genetic sequencing, I answered, "I'm all good, we can finish up today. Thank you for thinking about me."

Pulling my head closer to her, Mara planted a kiss on what was essentially my forehead as the comfortable feeling from earlier returned and rippled throughout my very being.

Releasing my head from her hands, my host said, "Okay, but if you feel anything slightly off, let me know."

Not giving a verbal response and just bobbing my head, Odin spoke up from next to us, "The last prisoners are the gifted individuals. They have abilities that we understand even less than the magically blessed Asgardians you have already consumed. 1 is Asgardian, but the other is a Rock Troll. The Rock Troll is not especially unique, but his threat to Asgard is what landed him within the highest security section. His physiology may be of great benefit to you due to him being so different to humans and Asgardians. The Asgardian… well I can tell you about her when we get there."

As Odin finished talking, he set off walking towards the maximum-security cells and Mara, as well as Frigga, naturally followed.

We didn't have to follow for more than a minute though as, surprisingly, the high-risk cells weren't on a lower level or sealed behind a massive barricade of some sort.

Instead, they were located on the same level as every other cell we had visited and the only difference between the unique cells and the sorcerer cells was that the unique cells had a double golden barrier.

Either Frigga created the golden barrier, so Odin had complete trust in it due to her abilities, or he had tested the barrier himself and found it adequate.

Stopping in front of the first cell, Odin introduced the Rock Troll, "This is Ulik. He was captured after trying to steal Mjolnir from your brother and then attempting to invade Asgard alongside his king, Geirrodur. Needless to say, but your brother slayed his king, and he, as the second in command, was taken prisoner for life to atone for the destruction caused. His people still believe him to be their rightful ruler, and with revenge no doubt taking its hold of his mind, he would unquestionably invade Asgard again should he get free."

The Rock Troll had an ape-like humanoid appearance. His skin, that was more like an orange leather-like hide, was hairy. He only had two toes at the end of each foot and his body had an extremely large, muscular, build. He had a full beard and shoulder length hair, both of which were brown. His eyes were also brown, his ears pointy, and he was tall, even taller than Thor, standing at around 6'4". Whatever clothing he was wearing had been torn to shreds and only a small amount of fabric was covering what we believed to be his genitalia - if he was similar to an ape in that regard as well.

Walking up to the golden barrier, Mara waved at the Rock Troll who was stood in the middle of his cell and was staring at Odin with eyes burning in visible hatred, "Hello Mr. Ulik. We're here to free you from this mortal coil."

Drawing my host's attention back to himself, Odin cleared his throat, "Ahem, he cannot hear you daughter. The double layered golden barrier has soundproofing so no sound can enter or exit. The prisoners are not to know anything about the outside world, and none on the outside can risk being influenced by them."

Lowering her hand, Mara shrugged her shoulders, "Well that's no fun. So how does this work then? Do you lower the barrier like the other times, or is it someone else's job?"

Stepping forward, it was Frigga that answered, "Both myself and your father need to lower a barrier each. Having sole control over these cells would be too risky if someone discovered how they functioned. Ulik here does not have any particularly special abilities that we are aware of, but if you find anything, even a dormant ability, could you please notify us El? The threat of his compatriots still exists after all, and we do not want to be underprepared if possible."

Both pleased that our new mother had used my nickname, and the fact she asked politely, rather than demand or order me, I was more than willing to accept, "Of course, mother. Although a sample size of 1 will not provide any conclusive genetic data, I can at least thoroughly examine what makes him tick - which should partially translate to the rest of his species."

Inclining herself in a slight bow, Frigga expressed her appreciation, "Thank you, El. I cannot ask for more than that."

Sending out tendrils, I gently lifted our mother out of her bow, "You don't have to bow to me, mother. You are family now, so such things are trivial."

Tenderly smiling at myself and Mara, mother ended the short exchange, "Very well. Shall we deal with Ulik and then move onto the truly unique individual?"

In sync, Mara and I nodded our heads before turning to face the barriers.

Acting first mother lowered the first golden barrier with her magic and immediately after her, Odin lowered his barrier.

Still not averting his eyes from Odin, Ulik didn't pay any attention to us as he bolted towards the Asgardian king as soon as the second barrier disappeared.

Now, Mara wasn't exactly the model human in terms of mental stability from what I had gathered up to that point.

In fact, she was probably pretty far from it when looking at human society.

Watching the Rock Troll, that she had already tagged in her mind as being worth less than the air he breathed, charge towards her new father - something she had only dreamt about having for nearly 2 decades - with the intent to harm him?

Well, Mara erupted like a volcano.

Recognizing the emotional state of my host, I absorbed my head into her body and transitioned into our suit form as Mara required.

Since I started the suit transformation at Mara's feet, as always, I hadn't even finished half of the transformation when my host shot forwards to intercept Ulik using her strengthened legs.

With her right hand open and outstretched, Mara aimed for the Rock Troll's neck.

Finally realising that there were others in the dungeon with Odin, Ulik shifted his eyes to look at my host even as he continued towards our father.

By the time Mara grasped hold of Ulik's neck, since he had reacted to our presence too late, I had covered my host's body with our suit form other than her head.

Lifting the Rock Troll off the ground with the momentum from its charge, we spun him around and slammed him into the cell wall – cracking said wall with the force behind the action.

As Mara stared into the wide eyes of the Rock Troll, I finished off the suit by eating her head as we roared together, "HOW DARE YOU EVEN ENVISION ATTACKING OUR FATHER, YOU FILTHY WRETCH!!!"

Not wanting to keep Ulik alive any longer, we opened our maw and bit his head off before he could utter any words in protest.

Once we had ended Ulik's life, Mara slowly realised that she had completely lost her head in front of our new parents.

The realisation caused her to slowly become concerned about the fact that they may think she's a tiny bit unhinged.

Removing the suit form and spreading it over the Rock Troll to absorb his corpse, I reminded Mara, <Loki attempted to kill his brother and usurp Asgard's throne from father. You becoming angry killing someone that do the same our new father pales in comparison. have nothing worry about Mar.>

While I was breaking down the genetic information from the Rock Troll, and storing it for future analysis, Mara turned back to face our parents with a pink tinge on her face and scratched her cheek in embarrassment, "Hehe, sorry about that. I, err, kinda lost my cool for a second then."

Tilting her head slightly, mother questioned, "Sorry about what, dear? The yelling? It is nothing to apologise for, you should have seen the tantrums Thor threw as a child. You could hear him from halfway across the palace."

Surprised that she wasn't being told off for her outburst, my host asked, "But I got so angry that I killed him without hesitating. Shouldn't you be lecturing me about how I shouldn't lose control of myself or be impulsive?"

Soft-heartedly smiling at Mara, mother replied, "Does it really matter? If Ulik did not attack your father, and you therefore did not have reason to be angry, would the outcome have been any different? The Rock Troll would still be dead in either scenario. As far as acting impulsively, you need to remember that you are still but a child. There is plenty of time to grow and mature. I would prefer if you did not kill people in your anger, however. Deaths are the hardest to cover up."

Frigga's words inspired a multitude of emotions in my host.

First was relief. Even though she lost control, the end result would have been the same, so it didn't matter in this situation.

Second was embarrassment at being perceived, and partially treated, like a child in our mother's eyes - when my host considered herself an adult due to her human age.

Third was a mixture of shock, and a little fear, at mother mentioning the covering up of deaths as well as the nonchalance in which she did so.

Last was a combination of understanding and acceptance. Our new parents were rulers of a world and sometimes rulers performed some dark deeds. They had also been to war numerous times and had likely seen things infinitely worse than an angry outburst or a cosmic horror chowing down on some Troll's cranium.

With how efficient I had become at breaking down and storing genetic data, I finished processing Ulik and re-made my head just in time for Mara's response, "The difference in cultures really is stark at times. Although the outcome would be the same whether I lost control or not, I need to set a good example for El. If it does happen again, and either of you are around, please stop me and reprimand my behaviour. For both of our benefits."

Walking up to my host, Frigga started to gently stroke Mara's face as she answered, "If that is your wish, my dear. Very well. If it does happen again, both your father and I will take a firmer stance. Is that agreeable?"

Nodding her head as much as she could under Frigga's ministrations, Mara affirmed, "That would be perfect. Thank you, mother."

Kissing Mara's forehead, Frigga closed out the conversation, "Anything for you, my child. Now, shall we get going? We still have 1 more prisoner for El to consume before we can leave this dingy dungeon and make ourselves presentable for the announcement."

Grabbing hold of our mother's hand, without it needing to be offered, Mara walked alongside the queen as the pair followed behind Odin who lead the way to the final prisoner.

Our group only skipped 1 cell before Odin stopped and faced the unique individual behind another double-layered golden barrier.

Sat on the ground, with her back leaning against the farthest white cell wall and staring at the ceiling, was a woman appearing to be in her mid-20's. Even confined, for Stan knows how long, her hair was still a luscious auburn that flowed over her shoulders without any imperfections. Her skin was pale, but equally as flawless as her hair. Forest green eyes completed the parts of her face that were visible and highlighted why humans referred to Asgardians as gods. Although sat down, it was clear that the auburn-headed woman was on the slightly smaller side - approximately around 5'7". Different from all the other prisoners we had seen up to that point, she also wore a collar around her neck that spread up her jawline to cover her mouth and cheeks to the bottom of her nose so she could still breathe.

With our little group walking in front of the barrier, the woman in the cell redirected her head to look straight at us.

Since the inmate had noticed us, Odin introduced her, "This woman is not only Asgardian, but she is also a sorcerer. Unfortunately for her, she did not fully develop her sorcery capabilities and instead used basic magic to simply strengthen her unique ability. Speaking of the unique ability, it is something she shares alongside her elder sister but, the same as her sorcery, she did not develop her ability too much and even then it was already very powerful. We have dubbed her ability Will Domination due to how she can manipulate men to her will. Her elder sister is not limited to men, but as mentioned, this 1 did not train her powers as much as her sister. Her name is Lorelei, and she has a… coloured history with Lady Sif, who you already know. That history is precisely the reason she ended up in here."

Staring at the caged woman, Mara enquired, "Should I ask Sif about the history between them, or will you tell me?"

Shaking his head slightly, Odin answered, "That is not my story to tell. All I will say is that it was over 600 years ago, and I have no doubt Lady Sif still despises her. During those 6 centuries, Lady Sif requested Lorelei's head whenever she performed an exceptional feat, but I always rejected her as the controlling ability was too valuable. As such, she would probably prefer that Lorelei suffers for all eternity. However, a chance that you could take her ability for your own is too tempting to pass up."

Mara was already well aware of who the confined Asgardian was and, judging by the controlled anger that my host held towards the woman, I had no doubt she also knew the story that Odin refused to say.

Not wanting to drag on the conversation for longer than necessary, I spoke up, "I am ready whenever you are mother, father."

Before opening the first barrier, Frigga mentioned, "You won't need my help with this sorcerer. Her unique ability is imbued in her voice and the collar prevents her from speaking. Like your father said, she only used her sorcery to enhance her abilities, so without said abilities her sorcery is worthless."

Nothing else was spoken as Frigga removed the first golden barrier, followed by Odin with the second.

Stepping into the cell, Mara and I watched as the woman stood up from the floor with wide eyes - shock evident in her facial expression.

Prior to me launching myself towards the mind controller, Mara made sure to give her some parting words, "Sif sends her regards."

Exploding forwards, I speared my head through Lorelei's heart – swallowing it whole.

Rather than absorbing the Asgardian's body straight away, all I did was remove my head from her torso as Mara walked up to the heartless woman.

Staring into her eyes, Mara made sure to watch the light in Lorelei's eyes slowly fade as she bled out.

When my host was confident that the Asgardian was dead, I covered her body and repeated the same process I had multiple times prior in order to break down the genetic sequences of my target.

Storing all of the genetic information, of which I had already noticed some differences with the other sorcerers I had absorbed just at a glance, I finished consuming the manipulative woman.

Upon finishing the process, I informed all those present, "I'm done. I have stored all of the information and will delve into it when available to do so."

Clapping her hands together once, Frigga decided, "Perfect. You've worked hard today El, so you can recuperate for the rest of the day. Mara, on the other hand, needs to come with me so that we can outshine everyone at the announcement. Everyone likes an attractive person, so the better and more regal you look, the easier it will be to convince the general public you are a descendant of royalty."

Nodding his head in agreement, Odin echoed, "Your mother is correct as always. I shall go and make sure our other child is prepared for the event. Everyone must be present to give the impression of a united front and show that everyone within the family approves of the adoption. Perception is as important as the announcement and justification itself."

Since the plan was decided upon, I absorbed my head back into Mara's body as she linked arms with our mother.

The trio headed towards the dungeon entrance before Odin split off to see Thor, and we continued on to Frigga's chambers in order for her and Mara to get dressed-up for the announcement.