Chapter: 221
I created a small box and placed the eye I had extracted from Odin inside it.
With this, I should be able to gather all of Baal’s bodies… Hmm.
For now.
“Don’t just stand there watching; come here.”
I waved my hand lightly, and at that moment, two gods who had been hiding off in the distance, spying on me and Odin, were suddenly brought right up to my face.
To be precise, it would be more accurate to say that the places they were and the spot in front of me had switched. Anyway.
“Was that Hermes and Ares?”
“It’s Mars!”
“Oh, I apologize. This guy just recovered and his mind is kind of all over the place.”
Hermes hurriedly grabbed Ares by the back of the head and squeezed it. Hmm. Mars, huh… Well, it doesn’t really matter what the name is.
“I won’t ask how you managed to sneak into this battlefield. You probably just mixed in with the others.”
There were more than a few who had come from outside into paradise for this war.
After all, it’s not that easy to just stroll into paradise from the afterlife right next door, so I had to open the door myself and let them in. It’s probably the same from other places.
“The reason you two came here is… this, right?”
I lifted the box in my hand, and Hermes and Ares remained silent.
Well, just looking at their shifting eyes, I could take a guess at what was on their minds.
“I know what you’re worried about. You’re concerned that if you can’t offer me this piece of Baal, you won’t get the ten years of grace.”
“Well, if you already know, this should be a quicker conversation. We won’t shamelessly ask for the piece of Baal. We just thought, since you’ve accepted it, could you grant us that ten years of grace?”
Hermes respectfully bowed his head as he spoke. Hmm. Grace, huh.
Well, that much wouldn’t be a problem.
“I will grant you ten years. What happens after that is on you, so go convey that to Zeus.”
I said, tucking the box I was holding into my cloak.
“If you don’t want to end up like Odin, you’d best behave yourselves.”
At my words, Hermes and Ares looked over at Odin, who was sprawled on the ground.
The story of a foolish god who had lost his one remaining eye, all the crows that had watched the world on his behalf, and even all of his wisdom.
“Well then… I’ve got some cleanup to do, so you uninvited guests should graciously take your leave now.”
“Oh! H- Hey, wait a minute!”
Hermes tried to say something, but it was already too late.
In the blink of an eye, the two gods vanished from paradise. I dropped them somewhere near Olympus’s domain, so they’ll figure out the rest.
Now then.
“It’s time for cleanup.”
If you’ve had a blast smashing and breaking things, you want to finish up neatly.
I looked at Odin, who had become a writhing blind god on the floor.
For now, I hadn’t taken his life. Hmm. Hmmm…
Should I kill him? Or maybe make him live in such misery that he wishes for death?
Either option works for me, but hmm…
I grasped Odin’s head and hoisted him up, even though he was unable to properly get up on his own.
Odin, whose eyes could no longer see. Odin, whose wise insights had totally vanished, now consumed by madness.
To such an Odin, I asked in a low voice.
“Odin. Do you want to live?”
At my question, Odin paused, not responding for a moment. He was blind, but his ears were still working just fine, right? Is he deliberately refusing to answer?
Well, if that’s the case, I’ll just go ahead and end him neatly.
However, after a brief moment, Odin finally moved his mouth.
“Kill me…!”
Oh! Isn’t that the kind of famous line you want to hear from a captive knight? If I had added a little cough, it could’ve scored me some bonus points. But let’s brush over that minor detail for now.
“Do you truly wish for death?”
“Yes. Just kill me. I don’t want to continue living after losing everything.”
Hmm. Wanting to die, is that so?
Then.
“No.”
“What?”
“Why should I grant your wish?”
I held Odin aloft, lifting the frail remnant of a god who had lost everything, even his creation.
A feeble old man who could hardly be called Odin anymore.
Indeed. The fall of the Aesir began with this man, so let’s bestow upon him a new name.
“I will strip you of the name Odin. Since you’ve caused destruction to the Aesir, I’ll grant you a name befitting one who initiated their downfall.”
“What, stop it! I command you to stop!”
“Loki. I will engrave the name Loki onto you. I will shroud you in the guise of a god made of lies, because you have lost all wisdom.”
As luck would have it, there wasn’t a god named Loki at that time. By assigning that name to him, I could conceal Odin’s existence.
Wouldn’t it be quite amusing if the wisest of gods, who once led the Aesir, became known by another name—the god of trickery and deceit, responsible for their ruin?
I considered naming him after the blind god since he was now sightless, but that god was an incredibly skilled warrior, making it a bit tricky to use his name.
Thus, I decided to name him after the instigator of the Aesir’s destruction.
Having lost all wisdom, he was left with nothing but shallow trickery and lies. The very qualities that brought about the Aesir’s annihilation.
“You will henceforth spend your life weaving lies upon lies. You will wander in eternal darkness, never to glimpse a single ray of light. The name Aesir will only resonate with a select few, and the reason for your downfall will be your own foolishness.”
“Stop it! Stop it!!”
“Rejoice! You’ve now become the one who leads all gods that follow you toward ruin. Many will fear this string of events and will call it the Twilight of the Gods, Ragnarok.”
The one who was Odin. Loki curled up, screaming in agony, but his cries couldn’t drown out my voice.
“Loki. A being born of lies. A being stripped of divinity, merely clinging to life due to an inability to die. You will accomplish nothing. You will achieve no truth. You will never see even the faintest glimmer of light. If you ever do see the light, it will be your demise.”
I wrapped curse upon curse around Loki, ensuring he would lose his divine essence and become a being that could only crawl upon the earth.
That was the punishment I bestowed upon the entity formerly known as Odin, now Loki.
Rather than a comfortable death, I preferred a life plagued by suffering and misery.
“Just kill me already! Please kill me!!!”
“Now, go live. Live a life that never finds resolution in suffering and sorrow. Spend each day crying out to me for forgiveness. When your screams once again fill my ears, I will decide whether to end your miserable existence.”
In this way, Loki lost his divinity and was cast onto the earth as a mere deceiver.
Alright then, I guess I’ll check back after around a thousand years.
I picked up Gungnir, Odin’s spear, lying abandoned on the ground. Hmm. Even though it looks like this, it’s a spear infused with divine power, so I should refrain from treating it carelessly…
After securing Gungnir, I surveyed the paradise where the battle had just wrapped up.
Hmm. First, let’s separate this area to use for another purpose. It’s not a sight that fits in paradise. I’ll roughly arrange it as an afterlife for dragons… And while I’m at it, let’s protect paradise by enclosing it… Hmm. I’ll save deeper planning for later; for now, cleanup is the priority.
With that settled, I glided gracefully towards those who had emerged triumphant from the battle.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
“So, the gods bearing the name Aesir vanished through Ragnarok.”
At the Dragon Priestess’s words, I paused my writing.
“Ragnarok…?”
I recalled having seen that name somewhere before.
So, surely…
“I feel like I’ve seen that name in the mythology of giants…”
“Giants? Well, that’s no surprise. The giant gods would have participated in that war and likely relayed the story.”
I didn’t remember the details too well, but wasn’t it about how the gods were brought to ruin by giants?
While looking into that material, I vaguely recalled coming across the name Odin…
“Was that really a genuine occurrence? I just assumed it was the giants boasting.”
“That’s a stretch. The giants’ god didn’t do everything. They merely took a portion of the thunder god’s power as a reward for participating in the war.”
“If the god belongs to the giants… Was your father a giant?”
“Correct. That god. He already possessed traits of the god of thunder, but by obtaining a piece of the thunder god’s power among the Aesir gods, he grew much stronger… Well, it’s not essential to delve into that right now, so let’s skip it.”
The Dragon Priestess coughed lightly before continuing.
“Thus, during the twilight of the gods, Ragnarok, the gods of Aesir fell. Of course, not all gods perished, but most either changed their names or adhered to other gods to survive.”
“Are you saying that the ones who survived are the current Pantheon?”
“No, not exactly. Isn’t there still one left?”
I nodded slightly in response to the Dragon Priestess’s words.
Ennead, Lokapala, and Aesir.
With those three gone, now what remains is…
“Olympus….”
“Yes. Those guys are still around.”
The Dragon Priestess smiled softly.
“The Olympians were probably pleased to have survived. With the powers of the other gods entirely eliminated, they must have deemed there was no force that could rival them.”
“But, I don’t recall ever hearing the name Olympus.”
“Well, it’s been erased.”
“Erased?”
The Dragon Priestess spoke as if it were a matter of course.
“They were obliterated by the king of gods they were trying to elevate.”
“King of gods… Baal…?”
“To be precise, it was the spirit of Baal. I’m sure even humans know that name well.”
The Dragon Priestess said with a faint smile.
“Rychlen.”
It was the name of the hero chosen by humanity, and there was no human who did not recognize it.
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