Volume 12 Chapter 37 How Far Can I Go(Ask)
When I punched Loki and slammed her to the ground, Jormungand started to move.
"Hey, girl!"
Jormungand rushed to help Loki, who was falling fast. Watching this, I touched my throat.
"...Wow. Even for a short time, I can give orders to a goddess, a Demon Queen? With Vishuddha Chakra. Cough."
But I could feel that giving long or complicated orders would be tough. Even a simple word like "stop" put a huge strain on my throat.
"Probably, if I talk with Vishuddha Chakra for more than ten seconds, my throat will break before anything else. And about the effectiveness..."
I could sense that the opponent's strength and alertness also played a role. It felt like it worked because it was a perfect opening right after I learned it.
At least against a powerful goddess or Demon Queen like Loki, it's not something I can use easily. I should think carefully about when to use it, I thought.
Still, there's no doubt that I gained a very powerful attack method.
"...Ah, I messed up. I really messed up. Please don't let me go down easily like this, okay?"
I made a weird face at the fact that I had grown stronger.
Right now, this moment is fun. Really fun.
But it won't last long. The opponents I've struggled against so far will feel weaker as I grow. It'll get boring.
I don't want that for Loki. With that thought, I looked down at Loki, who was being helped by Jormungand, floating in the air.
After being picked up by Jormungand, Loki stood above me.
"Hehehe. Master~♡ You finally let me out! How do you feel~?"
"It's the worst and the best. The enemies I have to fight from here on out have become even more numerous and weak."
"But~?"
"...Yeah, I admit it. Loki, right now, fighting you in this moment is truly, deeply fun."
That's why it's so troublesome. I can't help but feel scared thinking about how many more fights as fun as this I can have in my life.
It's like the end of my life is slowly getting closer, that kind of feeling.
Loki says.
"Master, don't make that face~♡ It's okay~♡ Loki will make you happy♡."
"...Huh. What do you mean by happy?"
"Of course, happy is happy, right~?♡."
Loki licks her lips. She sharpens her gaze challengingly, spreading fire around us.
Then she said.
"Shall we raise the level of the fight~♡ Let's make it more flashy and fun!"
She snaps her fingers. I stay alert for illusions.
But it was different.
It was a signal snap.
"...Finally."
Jormungand mutters and starts to move. I feel something off and glance down at the ground far below.
Fenrir and Surtr also reacted to Loki's snap, looking up at us. Then they ran away from Typhon and hid behind the Demon King's castle.
I return my gaze to Loki. She was smiling widely, perched on the tip of Jormungand's nose, looking at me.
"It's the start of the second round~♡."
As if following Loki's words, the blizzard grows even stronger. I squint my eyes and wait for the snow to settle, and the intensity of the stars falling all around us has increased even more.
"...It's just like Surtr's Domain Control."
"Master, that reasoning is pretty close~♡ Loki's Domain Control is basically this falling star itself, you know~."
At Loki's words, I frowned. Loki giggled with a "heh heh~♡" and then said,
"Master♡ b-e-h-i-n-d~♡."
I felt a chill and turned around. There was Fenrir, jumping up from the falling stars, with Surtr on his back, opening his huge mouth to attack me.
And in that mouth, Domain Control was activated. The Domain Control that denied my fate and pushed me into a corner with one hit.
"────!"
The guaranteed combo that Fenrir hit me with earlier. My face twisted in fear, but for some reason, I couldn't help but laugh.
"Ah, damn it."
I readied Durandal.
"Why is fighting so much fun?"
With a flash, Surtr's sword clashed with my Durandal, creating a shower of sparks.
"Now! Fenrir-sama!"
"Howllll!"
Taking advantage of my struggle with Surtr, Fenrir jumped even higher, using the falling stars as a springboard. By the time I thought about dodging, Gleipnir was already wrapping around me.
"And while we're at it, Jormungand, go for it~!"
"Sorry for the trouble, everyone!"
With that warning, Jormungand opened his massive mouth, ready to swallow everything as it charged in.
Surtr created an opening for me, Gleipnir crushed my chance to dodge, and if Fenrir hit me, it would be a guaranteed kill. Even if that failed, Jormungand would deal massive damage.
In the past, I would have been helpless. I had no means. But now, I have the newly learned Vishuddha Chakra.
I whispered.
"[State the Aphorism]."
The words spun from my mouth.
They echoed in the surroundings, doubling.
I continued, saying more.
"['O king, O hero (You should know the), you shall meet your demise at the hands of a sl*ve' (pain of a rotting body)]."
Durandal received my double order, embodying two characteristics.
One is Muramasa, the fate-devouring blade. The other is Nergal, the plague-spreading god.
Finally, I declared.
"[Grow beyond your limits, Durandal! I'll let you surpass your limits!]."
I finished speaking, and immediately after, I spat out blood. My throat was scorched, and I couldn't chant the mantra properly for a while.
But.
The preparations for the rampage were complete.
"Haaa...! ."
I shouted with my hoarse, raspy voice.
"Wh...ere...are...you...going...to...run...?"
I swung Durandal.
Even though I was restrained by Gleipnir, I didn't try to escape or hide. I swung Durandal down at Fenrir, who was approaching with the intent to bite me.
I slashed the sturdy Fenrir from the head, cutting it in half. I couldn't bisect him, but that's fine.
Fenrir's fate was devoured by Muramasa. His body was afflicted by Nergal's plague.
"Gaa...!?"
Stricken by an unprecedented malady, Fenrir lost his balance in the air. I followed Gleipnir to Fenrir and whispered in his ear, my throat now recovered.
"[Run with me on your back]."
"[Understood]."
I take the fate I gave with Durandal and remove the disease from Fenrir. It seems the brainwashing effect has taken hold while Fenrir was weakened, and with his recovered body, he starts to run with me on his back.
The problem is Surtr, who has lost his legs and is thrown into the air.
"Ugh...!"
Even in the air, Surtr tries to fight back in this situation, raising his sword at me. Instead of clashing strongly, I lightly dodge and have Fenrir step on Surtr.
"You stay down on the ground, Surtr."
"What──!?"
With a thud, Surtr, who has become Fenrir's next stepping stone, is forcefully slammed down to the ground.
At this point, it doesn't matter if he's alive or dead. Surtr has a close-combat fighting style. He can't reach this high place.
Meanwhile, I keep using Fenrir, making falling stars into stepping stones to avoid Jormungand's attacks. Seeing this, Loki shouts, "Ahh!"
"Hey, Master~! Can you not take my big brother away~!?"
"Sorry! Fenrir's Domain Control was really tempting for me!"
"What!? What does that even mean!?"
"This is what I mean!"
I whisper to Fenrir with my second throat, Vishuddha Chakra, and jump off his back.
Fenrir flies under Jormungand's jaw and bites down on his as I commanded.
To an outsider, it looks like a silly dog that crashed into a thick cylindrical wall. There's that much size difference between Fenrir and Jormungand.
But Fenrir has Domain Control.
Fate is nullified, even the main god is brought down, Domain Control.
"────ah."
From Jormungand, my strength fades. Fate is stripped away from my entire body.
I stand there, raising Durandal.
"I'm going to take you down in one go!"
Until now, it was pointless to attack Jormungand with Durandal.
If you think about the size difference, Jormungand is like a human compared to a piano wire. Even if I could cut it, its high recovery ability made it impossible to do anything.
But now that fate has been taken away, its recovery ability hardly works.
In other words, right now, Durandal means something against Jormungand!
"Here I goooooo!"
I swing Durandal with all my might. A single strike. Durandal passes through Jormungand's body, cutting it in half.
Then, Jormungand's torso shifts slightly. It moves about a meter and stops. That's when I realize the situation.
The recovery ability is still there. But it's much weaker. With this, I can kill Jormungand.
Jormungand's face twists in fear.
"Wade-san...! Are you serious? You think you can kill me with that body of yours?!"
"Of course I am! I'm going again!"
I raise Durandal once more and swing it.
At that moment, Jormungand thrusts his tail up at me. I block it with Durandal, and I'm launched high into the sky with a bang!
Suddenly, I feel a pressure behind me and turn around.
What was there was a wall. No, this is the ceiling. The ceiling of this hell, Nilfheim. The ground that separates the surface from hell.
I let out a small laugh.
"You're going too far, Jormungand."
I used gravity magic to attach the ground to the ceiling. Then I changed the point of gravity to Jormungand and kicked hard.
With incredible force, I fell. I could see Jormungand getting closer and closer.
And above it, Loki was staring at me. Loki was preparing to unleash hellfire, her chest glowing red.
"Are you planning to take me down with hellfire?"
I laughed. As expected, Loki is the biggest threat here.
I thought. If I charge in, I would be torn apart and eaten by Jormungand. So, I need to take out Loki first before dealing with Jormungand.
Then, how do I get rid of Loki? I thought for a moment and then chuckled.
"That's not a big deal."
I launched my crystal sword first. Loki easily jumped to avoid it──
I grabbed Loki, who was floating in the air, with gravity magic.
"Get lost, you nuisanceee!"
I tossed Loki away with gravity magic. Loki screamed in a high-pitched voice, "No way!?" as she was thrown into the air.
By chance, she was sent flying toward the airship. Since there was distance and time, Loki's hellfire exploded far away from me.
And so, it became a one-on-one battle between me and Jormungand. Jormungand opened his huge mouth and lunged at me, but... it no longer meant anything.
"A guy whose fate is sealed isn't a threat."
I avoided being swallowed by Jormungand and swung Durandal in a flash. Jormungand's head shifted even more.
It would take a little longer to fully recover. In that moment, I unleashed a powerful attack.
"Summon Meteor."
I called down a meteor from the sky. The unstable head of the giant serpent was torn off by the meteor.
Surtr crashed to the ground.
Fenrir got caught up in Jormungand's body and fell to the ground.
Jormungand's head fell off and dropped down.
And there I was, facing Loki on the flying ship.
"Hehe~♡ Master, that was amazing! You went wild against all 4 of us and won so easily──so impressive!"
Even though Loki should have lost all her allies, she was laughing happily. I held onto Durandal and stared at Loki.
"Why are you so relaxed when everyone else lost?"
In response to my question, Loki chuckled,
"Hehe~♡ What do you think, Master~?"
Loki said that in a teasing way.
Just then, a shout came from afar.
"Loki-sama! Please take this!"
It was Surtr's voice, weak and raspy. Ahead of the ship, a giant figure, completely black, threw a burning sword toward us.
It spun around as it came toward us. It hit the ship with a loud clang and broke, falling above Loki's head.
Loki grabbed it as if it had always belonged to her and swung it around.
Fire spread around Loki. The broken sword transformed into a refined shape in Loki's hands.
"Magic sword, Lævateinn."
Loki's presence grows even stronger. With a sharp, unsettling aura, I swallow hard.
"...Hey, hey. Can you still keep going? How much longer are you going to entertain me, Loki?"
"Nihihi~♡ Well, you see──."
Loki smiles at me.
"Until my master loses, forever~... what would you do if I said that?"
"..."
That's when I realized.
"...Loki, your Domain Control isn't just some illusion manipulation, is it?"
"Nihihi~♡ That's right~! Loki's Domain Control is this~♡."
Loki spreads her arms wide.
"Everything in Niflheim. That's the current range of Loki's Domain Control. If Loki goes to the surface, Ragnarok will start there, and if I reach the heavens, Ragnarok will be complete~♡."
Do you understand? Loki continues.
"Right now in Niflheim, the real Ragnarok is happening~♡ It's a Domain Control that brings the Creator to the Fated End (Ragnarok). Inside this, only things that follow the script of Ragnarok can happen."
The script of Ragnarok. That means.
"Therefore, Loki and everyone else can never die by anyone other than the mythological enemies. Fenrir and Jormungand, the gods who fought to a standstill, are not here. So they don't die."
In the distance, Jormungand rises again. Fenrir and Surtr are coming back to life.
"If you work hard to summon them, you might win, but it'll be a tough job~. Besides, in Ragnarok, Surtr doesn't lose anyway~! But, but, the ultimate one is──Loki~♡."
Loki pokes her cheek with her index fingers and laughs, "Nihihi~♡"
"Heimdall, who fought with Loki, got killed by master! So he's not around anymore. Do you understand what that means~?"
I recall the evil god I once killed. The outskirts of Nilfheim. The evil god I killed, Heimdall.
"The only one who can defeat Loki is Heimdall."
He was a strong enemy. I thought, is this what a god is like?
"That Heimdall is already dead. Even if he fell to evil and was killed, and became a Demon in Nilfheim──he's the Demon King Heimdall. Not the god Heimdall."
But now, Heimdall's death has taken on a greater meaning.
"So, the one who can defeat Loki? In this fate, there isn't a single person~♡."
──Fate. I realize I had greatly misunderstood its meaning.
Losing is painful. It's something that should be there. I thought that was true. But it was different.
Fate itself is victory. Winning by wearing down fate in various ways, depleting it. That's the most abstract way to understand combat in this world.
If that's the case, this situation is extremely, extremely bad.
After all, Loki's fate is supported by Domain Control. There can be no depletion of Loki's fate, and I will continue to have my fate worn down unilaterally.
In other words, at this point, I can only consider my fate to be doomed. Because the Heimdall who could defeat Loki is nowhere to be found.
"──But you know? This story also leads to something happy for you, master~♡."
Loki says. I look back at Loki, confused.
"Loki, in terms of mechanics, can never lose. Even if she loses, she will come back. And she will be stronger than you, master."
At those words, I am taken aback.
"Master must fight against Loki, who continues to grow stronger because of all the struggles, no matter how hard it gets."
My heart beats strongly. It is, it is──―
"There is no end to this loop. As long as Master keeps winning, Loki will keep getting stronger and stronger with the power of fate."
Loki smiles with a cute "Nihihi~♡."
"This is the greatest happiness that Loki can give to Master~♡."
Loki says.
"The battle with an eternal rival that never ends. Master can keep getting stronger forever while fighting against Loki. Until the limit comes, until you are satisfied."
Loki readies the magic sword, Lævateinn. I, with hands shaking from joy and excitement, ready my Durandal.
"Forever, forever, for a long, long time, okay~?♡."
And then, Loki starts to move.
With a gentle smile, the phantom flames flicker.
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