die.
Gwen Sifhar had spent her entire life preparing to face it. She knew that, as the Princess of Avalon, her only hope in the afterlife was to serve the gods or fight for honor; in an ideal world. Although she served Tyr as a paladin, this was merely a trade arrangement, a way of funding her ambitions to modernize. Gwen does not believe in Tyr; she believes in the justice and fair order that Esir represents.
When her bastard uncle Medelot returns from the dead and beheads her after an ignominious defeat, Gwen is ready to face Hel's torment. Her hopes were dashed when she failed to defend Avalon in the critical moment. How could the Chief forgive such a failure?
Instead, she found herself floating in the endless sky, her body as light as a feather; the pain of her missing eye disappeared, as did the agony of her last moments. As she floated aimlessly, with no Valkyrie or Helheim's messenger in sight, Gwen Heyfal heard a voice echoing in the void.
"Gwen Sifah of Avalon."
An ancient wizard appears in front of her, teleported from nowhere; her magical mentor and advisor to the royal family.
"Lord Calvert?" Gwen Sifhar recognized him and frowned in confusion. "What does it mean?"
Was he dead? Did Lancelot, no, Medelot, kill him too?
"This is the name of this incarnation," the Archmage answered. "But it's just a disguise, a body, that allows me to stay within the bounds of Yggd
Interact with your world under asil rules. I have had many names throughout my long life, but there is one that you respect the most. "
Like a chrysalis, the entity before her shed his skin, emerging as a brilliant light from an inanimate being. The soul grows and expands back to its original form, a bearded giant made of solid gold. His great spear glows with divine lightning, and his helmet is crowned with dragon's horns. One of his eyes is hidden behind a black eyepatch, and the other eye is like a shining star.
Then Gwen Siffa understood.
She recognized who she was facing. The Lord of Asgard, the God of Slayers, the God of Runes; the One-Eyed Lord, in charge of the Nine Kingdoms, and the patron saint of Avalon.
"I am Odin," said the god of war, his voice as loud as thunder. "I come for you, child."
Anyone else would have fallen to their knees, but the princess' mind wandered. She remembered every time she saw the Archmage whispering in her father's ear or pretending to receive revelations from the gods. She thought back to her history books, recalling the many mysterious advisors and wizards who had served the royal family of Avalon until its founding. A puppeteer has a thousand faces.
"All the time," Gwen Schiffar connected the dots. "You've been manipulating my family."
"Guide it," Odin corrected. "This way humans can thrive in the savage country of Midgard."
"I understand..." Gwenhwyvar replied politely, wise enough not to challenge the god who presided over her afterlife. But she couldn't lighten the burden in her heart, nor the bitterness in her mouth.
"My child, without me you would not have been born."
Gwenhwyvar alone opened her eyes wide as she remembered her father marrying her mother the Queen at Calvert's suggestion.
Her existence was planned from the beginning.
No, not hers.
Arthur's.
"I hope your brother will grow up to be the powerful king Yggdrasil predicted," Odin replied, apparently reading her mind. "But you succeeded amazingly, Gwen Sifhar. Although you lacked the talents I gave your brother, you grew into a wise and courageous leader. Although your untimely death is regrettable...but because of your bravery and Skill, you have earned your place in my domain.”
"Can I enter the Hall of Valor?" the princess asked in surprise. After she'd sacrificed so much for her ambition, this felt like a consolation prize. Not bad, but not the best.
"You will have a place in my halls for centuries to come, until you are called upon to defend the Nine Realms in our final battle." Odin smiled darkly. "If the people of Earth cannot defeat the Scourge, you will have a chance to avenge your losses during Ragnarok. Perhaps you are the one to defeat Nyhog and ensure that he does not poison the next world."
"I care not for vengeance, Your Majesty," Gwenhayfahl answered. "How's Avalon? Where's Arthur? Is my brother still alive?"
"Your brother died at the hands of Medelot, and your kingdom was in chaos." Odin shook his head. "Midgard will go through dark and terrible times under Nyhog's tyranny, but I hope that my followers and the people of Earth can bring down the snake..."
The god froze, his lonely eye staring suspiciously.
"Your Majesty?" Gwen asked uneasily.
"Something happened." Duke Esil said suddenly. "One of my Valkyries should have brought your brother's soul to me."
Then the sky darkened.
The blue horizon turned purple and the smell of decay and death hung in the air. The clouds become toxic and the air becomes oppressive. Odin tensed and assumed a fighting stance, using his body to protect Gwen's wayward soul.
"I'm afraid your Valkyrie won't collect a single soul today."
The voice echoes in the chamber of the afterlife, its owner is revealed to Odin, and Gwen's soul is trapped between the two giants.
This was the most beautiful woman the princess had ever seen, but her beauty was terrifying. She is a dark-skinned, ashen-skinned queen with long flowing white hair and pale eyes, sitting on a throne made of bones and crow feathers. She had an air of menace and the stench of inevitable death.
"Hey," Odin said cautiously.
"Odin," the goddess replied very calmly, her eyes falling on Gwen. "You have my stuff."
Gwen froze, Odin's spear protecting her. Never had she been more grateful to the gods as the existential horrors that plagued humanity played out before her eyes.
"She is mine," Odin said. "You've died enough today, Hale. If you hadn't deteriorated, the Convergence wouldn't have killed so many innocent people."
"I think you should remember the respect you owe me for my..." He paused for a long moment. "neutral".
"Princess Gwenhyfar fought bravely and died gloriously, defending Avalon with her last breath." Odin answered. "Our agreement protects her."
"I'm going to change the terms of our agreement." He smiled, amused. Her face reminded Gwen of a cat playing with a mouse, enjoying the tension before pouncing on its prey.
The lord of Asgard lets lightning shoot from his spear, the mighty [Gunny]. Electricity spread through the clouds, but the goddess remained cold and unmoved. "You have forgotten yourself," Odin warned. "I won't support it."
"Do you want to duel me, Odin?" he mused, unmoved. "You're not going to win."
Gwenhwyvar wanted to call it hubris...until she noticed Odin was furious.
"Will you fight?" The response seemed to surprise the Asgardian lord, who was not expecting it. "What about fate?"
"It's not always about duty, mortal," the goddess replied, a strange emotion penetrating her cold voice. She corrected herself, leaning against the throne. "This matter is personal right now."
The Lord of Asgard, the God-King of Esir, stood as motionless as an ice sculpture. There was a long silence between them, the god's one eye looking down at Gwen, his thoughts blurred.
No... "Lord Odin..."
"What are you going to do with her?" Odin ignored the royal princess and focused all his attention on the goddess of death.
"I'm taking a page out of your book and creating my own hero," he replied with a smirk. "Two of her siblings are already part of it and I love the complete set."
"A hero against whom? Nidhogg?" Odin frowned. "Your failure to keep his fallen soul in your kingdom is the cause of all this chaos."
"You have to know that I will always take care of Walter," Haier replied coldly. "But I can't tolerate any interference from you, nor any of your followers. Of course, this allows you to focus on protecting Asgard from Suter, Thurm, and their kind. After all, they are on your side. Troops massed near the borders…waiting for their chosen warriors to end life itself.”
"What about Metro and his army?"
"I will also claim his disobedient soul. They will not destroy your roots, and your home will live a little longer. All you have to do, Odin," she raised her head proudly, "is to take your Eyes turned the other way.”
Odin didn't answer immediately. Instead, he looked down at Gwenhwyvar with an unreadable expression on his face. At this moment, the princess was willing to do anything and pay any price just to know what was going on behind his expressionless mask.
As the silence continued, Gwen suddenly realized that she had misunderstood the entire afterlife system. It is not an arrangement between opposing gods, nor is it a delicate balance on which the stability of the universe depends.
It was a tribute from the gods to ward off greater forces.
"Lord Odin," Gwen said. "please……"
"I'm sorry, Gwenthivar," Odin said, and he seemed to mean it... though not too seriously. "I really regret it, but it's for the greater good."
"You demand that we live with honor and die with honor!" Gwen snapped. "But when it happened, you weren't living according to your principles!"
To his credit, the Lord of Asgard doesn't try to hide his hypocrisy. "You lost your sister and brother," he replied. "I lost a son."
He lowered his head until his one eye was staring into Gwen's.
"To protect my family," Odin said, "I would do anything."
He withdrew his spear, leaving the princess unprotected.
"If you die after this, Your Majesty," Gwenshifal asked the King of the Gods, her tone stern, "will you go to Valhalla?"
Her words made Odin freeze, as if he had been struck by an arrow. His face contorted into an angry scowl, then a shadow of regret...and then nothing.
With that, he disappeared like lightning, leaving Gwen to fend for herself.
Despair overwhelmed the princess's heart, a pain even worse than what she had experienced in Lyons' dungeon. She was really lonely and abandoned by everyone.
"Now." Gwen froze as she felt Hale's cold hand on her shoulder. "You need not worry so much about your immortal soul, my dear princess. I am compassionate and wise; if you serve me well, you will be richly rewarded."
Gwen was shaking, but still strong. "I reject."
The hand seemed much heavier. "why?"
"Because being a less evil person," Gwen replied dismissively, "doesn't make you a good person."
His hands turned into festering flesh and were covered with maggots.
"We will test your courage, slave."
Walter Tye finished reading the princess's mind, his memory flashing back to horrific tortures and soul experiments. The godlike necromancer stood there, stunned, and then did the sensible thing he could.
"Well..." a voice came from his dead lungs. "Uh-huh……"
He smiled.
Tae couldn't help but laugh at the childishness.
"I know, right?" Loki joined in, his cackle echoing through the cavern, while Gwenhoff glared down at the two disasters. "Ironically!"
"Gwen!" Annie immediately rushed over to help her chained friend, ignoring the fallen god in the room. Mrs. Salter did not, and she stared warily at the chained Loki; the fallen Asil replied with a charming smile.
"Annie..." Gwen gasped, her lungs hurting. Walter took this opportunity to use magic to examine the princess's nature, and the more he learned about it, the more worried he became.
There is no flesh beneath her armor, and her internal organs have been replaced by magic. Gwenhwyvar is no longer human, but a unique monster. A soul bound to her will, driven by her divine essence; not entirely immortal, but not entirely dead either.
Type: Death hero (humanoid/god).
"No matter how hard my daughter tries to bend her will, her will will never break," Loki mused, answering Ty's inner question. "So he sent her to me in the hope that my whispers would drive her crazy."
"(Bloody Feud) Pe
k?" asked.
"It's hard to kill a bound Disaster when your allies are killing each other," Loki said with a smile. "You should be grateful that I didn't ask you to demonstrate."
"What do you want?" Tai asked cautiously. "How did you fit into this team?"
"If you could unchain me and set me free, I would be grateful to you. After all, we are all one big happy family, aren't we?"
"It won't happen," Ty replied, much to Mrs. Salter's relief.
"Do my jokes piss you off? I only show people the things they love most." Ty snickered suspiciously, and Loki smirked at him. Since he looked like Hel to the Necromancer, the effect was unsettling. "But when I peered into Walter's body, I saw nothing, so I improvised a bit. I fear you may be deceived by your feelings, my dear Anne. There is no way he can love you the way you do. "
The young witch was too wise to believe in the God of Lies, and failed to notice him as she tried to break Gwenhwyvar's chains, but to no avail. They are forged by the gods and cannot be destroyed by mortal hands.
"It's nice to know I have high self-esteem," Hagen mused, and Dullahan saw himself in Loki.
"Hagen, I'm so disappointed that you never prayed for me!" Calamity said, pretending to be sad. "I'll pamper you like God!"
"Loki Lord, if I were interested in destroying the world, I would value you above all else." Dullahan replied as Lady Thrall looked on with disgust. "Alas, I only have one master now."
Tai looked at Loki with a cold gaze, noting that he seemed surprisingly laid-back and friendly for a monster bent on destroying all living things. But then again, so does Laufey. As he stared into Calamity's eyes, the Necromancer saw the ugliness behind the mask.
In Loki's eyes, he did not see the rage and desperation that fueled Metro's madness, nor did he see Gwen Siffa's misguided ambitions in Avalon.
Loki is the most evil.
Motiveless evil. Cruel for its own sake.
Ty then glanced at the snake crawling on the Disaster's nose. The beast looked back silently, frightened and obedient.
"Your child," Loki told Ty. "Or rather, the former you whom Asclepius worshiped. My eldest daughter has always had a dark sense of humor; I think she must have gotten something from me."
"Asclepius..." Tai said in a low voice, a little angry to hear this despicable guy say his mentor's name.
"Didn't Medelot tell you our arrangements?" Calamity replied. "I gave him power, and he spread the undead to the nine kingdoms and resurrected you. I can't stay here forever, you know? One day, you must plunge the universe into chaos and set me free."
"Lies," Tai replied, still unwilling to believe that his mentor would help Disaster.
If you still have questions, you can ask him directly. My dear Hel locked him up with the other necromancers in the room below for target practice. "
That's all Tai wanted to know. When he notices that Anne and Lady Salter are unwilling to follow him, he prepares to turn away, leaving Loki in solitary confinement.
"Yes," said Anne, who had failed to free Gwen Sifhar. "We're not done yet."
"We can't leave the princess here, Walter." Mrs. Searle nodded in agreement.
"We can and we will," Ty replied coolly, not wanting to release the notorious pest. Even if Hel fails to tame her, she's still a threat to his plans for humanity, and she's too cunning to control.
"I will not leave Gwen!" Anne insisted stubbornly, and the princess looked up at her friend with grateful eyes. "I vow to bring her back!"
"Oh my gosh, you've got some serious Spitfires on you," Loki laughed at them, noting the hateful look Mrs. Thrall was giving him. "Nyhog, you seem to like your iron-hearted friends. Although iron cannot bend, it can also break easily."
"Where is Lord Balder?" Mrs. Seer asked the fallen god in a vicious tone.
Loki paused for a long moment, his eyes becoming haughty and condescending. "You still don't understand."
"Oh, no way," Hagen smiled to himself, understanding something that Mrs. Salter did not. "It's going to be good."
"Where is my God?" Mrs. Salt almost ordered disaster. "You threw him into this horrible place, so tell me where-"
"Lord Balder."
The sound that came out of Loki's mouth was not that of Hale, but that of Mrs. Salt.
"'Lord Baldy, please... why are you torturing me like this? What have I done to deserve this? What have I done?'" Loki imitated Mrs. Soult's prayer, then turned his voice Became a man's voice; one with a lyrical, melodious tone "My dear child, because life is limited, it is beautiful."
Mrs. Salter trembled on the spot, with no color on her face. "impossible……"
"He can read minds," Tai pointed out, finding this display of cruelty pointless. "Don't believe him."
"Maybe she needs better evidence?" Loki's smile became even brighter. "Listen to your god, Vesta."
Tai through his [Godslayer] Pe
k felt this. Although he excludes Lady Salt's influence, he can feel her connection to her divinity and spy on divine communions.
Where there was once silence, the connection is activated; a sacred connection is re-established.
"No..." whispered Mrs. Soult, trembling involuntarily. "No……"
"Do you really think that the dead only pray and never mourn?" Loki mocked her cruelly. "I give my followers the power to steal the faces of their victims... and so do I."
"How?" The priestess panicked, while the others watched in silence. Anne, especially, seemed as shocked as Sert himself. All her knowledge of theology was overthrown before her eyes.
"Have you ever wondered why the Ethir are so adamant in their belief that Earthlings can defeat Team Disaster, even after centuries of failure?" Loki asked.
"The Earthlings reduced Fenrir's HP to less than half during a raid," Annie finally said with a frown, remembering her lessons at the academy. "A feat thought impossible."
"But that's after they poured so many resources into the project and raised an entire army," Loki replied cheerfully. “Why raise a weak army in the first place, equip them, and train them with no guarantee of success? Unless…”
"Unless they already have proof of success?" whispered Anne, pale. Like Walter, she understood what Loki meant.
"Do you think Odin, this stubborn, inflexible, 'honorable' Odin, would think of asking outsiders for help?" the fallen god pondered. "I was the one who summoned the first Earthling to the Nine Realms, dear child. I guided the hand that killed my own brother Balder; his deed was so complete that the soul was completely extinguished."
"Why?" Mrs. Salter whispered in horror.
"Frankly? Because I already knew the fate Yggdrasil had in store for me, I figured if I had to play a character, I should give it a unique twist." Loki shrugged. Moreover, Balder is an annoying playboy who can't even laugh at a joke. Believe me, madam, he will bore you to death. "
"You still remember." Tai opened his eyes wide. He remembered that cycle.
"No," Loki replied, his delighted eyes meeting the Necromancer's. "But my eldest daughter was born old."
Hades. Having survived Ragnarok, she remembers reincarnation in her incarnation.
"Why..." Mrs. Soult said, her voice choked. "Why?"
"I believe you misunderstood the question," Hagen said to Loki, who was clearly amused by the scene. Ty silenced Dullahan with a glare, but he didn't interrupt; the incident piqued his curiosity.
"Ah, why would Esir hide the truth?" Boy, it would be an uproar if mortals knew they could kill their god given the right tools. Loki chuckled. As Odin struggled to find the lie, something cruel came to mind. I began to answer Baldur's prayers, concocting an elaborate lie.
"Forcing Odin to either cooperate or reveal the truth," Taichai.
"What a joke, forcing Odin to pretend his dear son is still alive.'" Loki said, very proud of himself. "I never spoil a character, at least with Walter
and Med
aut in "Midga"
d" before making it pointless to continue. This is one of my best performances. "
"That doesn't make sense," Tai said. "Why not take advantage of the situation? Why not use Balder's church to further your plans?"
"Walter, Walter, you don't understand." Loki shook his head in disappointment. "What's the point of opening a small store with no real purpose? Life is not about winning or losing, it's about happiness." I am a playwright, and the nine realms are my stage. "
All this lying and killing just because he thought it was funny?
No one was more devastated than Mrs. Soult, who could barely hold back her tears. "Could it be...is all this a lie?" she asked. "Every piece of advice, every warm word...is a lie?"
"My dear Soult, from your point of view your life is a tragedy... but from my point of view?"
Loki chuckled.
"It's a comedy."
Mrs. Salt fell to her knees, and the false god's laughter echoed throughout the cave.
Tai immediately activated the [Necromancer Stone].
The effect is brutal and immediate. The illusion hiding Loki's face collapsed and his magic was disrupted. The Necromancer now faced not a replica of the demon, but a naked giant with demonic features, hooves, and horns. His eyes gleamed with fire, and his tongue split like a snake. Some of his flesh was torn into scars and blood dripped into the stone.
"Your whore is dead before you can move, Nihog!" Loki roared, his bound hands sprouting claws, and his body exuded magic.
"I can bring them back to life," the necromancer said, unmoved, though it made Anne cringe.
"Some fates are far worse than death," the fallen god replied menacingly, his eyes burning with the fire of hell.
"But you will die like your daughter."
Loki's expression turned into one of resentment, but he didn't seem to care that much. Laufey is just a tool, nothing more; the fallen God values his eternal life more.
"When she stared into my face," said the Bound Disaster, a dagger made of words, "she saw you, Walter."
These words sent shivers down the Necromancer's spine, but he showed no uneasiness. The trickster god chuckled, clearly pleased with his own discomfort.
"Let him suffer, Walter."
Ty looked down at Mrs. Salter who stood up again. Her sunken eyes turned to steel. A glare of pure pain and hatred; the Necromancer saw that same gleam in Metro's eyes.
"If he would rather destroy the world than stay there forever," Mrs. Searle said angrily, clenching her hands. "Leave him in this pit, Walter. Leave him in the tender care of his daughter."
Tai debated whether he should just consume the Disaster, but decided to focus on the mission. He may have stepped in to prevent Loki's demise, and the Necromancer was there to save his undead brothers, not do Aesir's work for them. "as you wish."
"Leave me so soon, miss?" Loki taunted Mrs. Salter, who refused to answer. "Then I will pray for you. Pray for a speedy recovery from your cancer."
The priestess remained graceful and allowed the cruel words of the god to wash over her like waves against the rocks. This annoys Loki, and Ty realizes that he only finds pleasure in putting others down. Sert refuses to let him bring her down, keeping her pride alive and rejecting his victory.
"Okay," Anne insisted, putting a hand on Gwen Siffa's shoulder.
"No," Tai answered for the last time. "Let's go, Annie."
"please……"
The necromancer stopped, and the princess managed to rinse.
"Please..." she said, her throat so damaged by Hale's torture that she couldn't speak complete sentences. "please."
"No," Tai replied. "I gave you too many chances to leave."
"I'm not leaving without her, Ty," Annie said. "I learned witchcraft and brought her back."
"I won't stop you from raising this pest when you become strong enough." the necromancer replied. "But she refused to take my hand and get up. He has turned her original soul into the monster you see."
"Then I'll raise her myself," Anne said stubbornly. "I have (animated death) Pe
k, her soul is there. You proved it can be done. "
Ty regretted telling her that part. "That thing you're seeing is her soul, just half twisted into something else. You'll need another 20 levels to clear her of Hel's influence and turn her into an A
kou. "
Anne was silent, trying to find a solution.
"Boss," Hagen said loudly. "I agree the child is more trouble than she's worth, but if we leave her there he might turn her against us. I suggest we let her die a merciful death and trap her soul in the effigy .”
Unfortunately, he has a point.
Ty watched his former nemesis carefully for a long moment. The princess was too difficult to control and he was unwilling to raise her... but she might be more useful away from Helm than in Him. "Do you still have the "Paladin" level? He asked suddenly.
The princess' eyes froze. She must have guessed.
"Curse Tyr," said Ti, "and swear allegiance to me."
"Aspects!" protested Anne, while Mrs. Salter remained eerily silent. Loki observed the scene from backstage, like a theater audience.
"Change your [Paladin] level to [Dark Knight]," Tai continued, ignoring his apprentice's protests. "Open your soul to my power and kneel."
"Never..." Gwen said angrily.
"If you swear to obey, I will bring you back to life immediately." Tai attacked the princess's sore spot. "You will be able to rule Avalon. Shape it according to your ideals...as long as they match mine."
Gwenhwyvar's face turned into a stone wall.
"Princess."
Mrs. Salter spoke, surprising Ty.
"If you choose us, you choose life. If you choose them..." The priestess glared at Loki. "You chose death."
us.
Although it came at the cost of tears, Tai couldn't help but feel a deep sense of satisfaction.
"You are... a threat to Avalon..." Gwenhifar growled at the Necromancer, but her resolve was waning. Her few means of escape have been abandoned by gods and humans alike. "You kill people...without any hesitation..."
"For a purpose," he answered.
"To...yourself..."
"Maybe I'm not so evil to you," Tai said, bending his knees and walking towards the princess. "But there is no greater good in your choices."
His cold eyes stared at her.
"What do you want, Gwen Siffa of Avalon?"
He peered into her surface thoughts, feeling her hesitation as her mind examined every angle. Until she came to a conclusion that allowed her to stay true to herself.
"No," Gwen said. "I won't... give in. Not to Haier... not to you..."
This astonishes Tai, who realizes that he has finally found a true martyr. He had not seen anyone like him since Asclepius.
"I admire your dedication to your ideals," the Necromancer admitted. "I really like it, even if it's misplaced—"
"That's it!" Anne spoke immediately. "There is a soul in the portrait!" "I don't have to raise her now!" I just need to bring the soul back to Midgard now!"
"If you find a [soul vessel] to hold her soul," Tai replied, not intending to provide one.
Annie searched in the pocket of one of her spell components and pulled out a black gem.
The necromancer was speechless, and his apprentice grinned.
"How do you think I got my first [Nec
oma
ce
] She asked proudly, and Hagen burst into laughter from behind.
Tai didn't know whether to congratulate his apprentice on his success or growl in frustration.
