The cursed sword’s influence wrapping around Rehilis was akin to a type of curse.
Right now, it wasn’t a problem, but eventually, it would inflict great harm on its bearer.
No matter how high a dragon’s resistance might be against such curses, there was no reason to let it be. That’s why she attempted to channel her power for healing…
“Ah?”
Rehilis stared blankly, tracing her face with her fingers.
It was soft.
Unlike the scales that had enveloped her all her life, her delicate form felt as though it could shatter at the slightest touch.
As she savored the familiar sensations of nature from her skin, she then gathered strength in her legs and stood up.
Though she wasn’t used to walking on two legs like this, she quickly adapted after moving a few times.
“Hmm…”
Rehilis started bouncing on the spot.
Balancing was a bit tricky, and the lightness compared to her dragon body felt oddly delightful. Of course, it couldn’t hold a candle to a dragon, but still, it was a body that could definitely be used from time to time.
From the impenetrable scales that endured all attacks, to this seemingly fragile skin that seemed like it could get hurt by mere pebbles—it was all quite fascinating.
How does one live with such skin?
It felt like a minor scratch could lead to a significant injury.
Rehilis stood up and tried casting a spell. The magic circle that rose into the air bore a striking resemblance to those from when she was a dragon. While the total amount of magic had decreased somewhat, its delicacy had increased.
With movements impossible in a dragon’s body, it seemed she could manage magic with a greater finesse.
“Gravity.”
A simple gravity spell.
Gravity originally had the ability to pull objects in one specific direction. That alone was quite useful, but still, there was a hint of regret.
However, as she wielded the magic in her human form, she felt the dozens of tiny threads connecting her to the magic.
As she moved them with delicate precision, the rocks that had fallen to the ground began to float and suddenly started performing acrobatics.
“…….”
Rehilis moved her fingers.
As her tiny fingers danced through the air, a multitude of pebbles beautifully adorned the sky.
Eventually, she retracted her magic.
The stones that kept soaring in the air gradually descended to the ground.
It would surely have been difficult in her dragon form.
She would have had to focus all her effort on controlling the output to prevent those stones from shattering.
Moreover, this was even more true when targeting inanimate objects. If her opponent were to struggle even slightly and was strong, the magic could unravel in an instant.
It was only now possible to be more delicate.
With the initial output significantly reduced, it was impossible to exert the same power as when she was a dragon.
While she opened and closed her fists, searching for her sense of body, animals that had been hiding somewhere appeared to look at Rehilis. Surprised by her unusual appearance, they quickly recognized her essence and approached, rubbing their heads against her body.
Swoosh, swoosh.
“Hmmm…”
Rehilis thought as she petted the head of a deer.
The warmth she felt on her skin was certainly a sensation completely different from her time as a dragon.
This isn’t bad.
So then.
Rehilis’s gaze focused on one spot.
It was directed towards a small snake with blue eyes that was still staring at her.
Just a snake staring blankly.
Rehilis realized that this was completely different from Jörmungandr.
Had just a tiny fragment of him entered her, allowing her to manage the crisis on her own?
Well.
This body wasn’t so bad.
If she explored this body a bit more, returning to her dragon form seemed possible, and sometimes, a little deviation like this wasn’t such a bad thing after all.
Rehilis casually snatched up the staring snake and wrapped it around her neck.
She felt the smooth, cool sensation on her neck and concentrated on fully grasping her physical sensations.
There was no need to find Jörmungandr right now.
She would explore on her own, and if it turned out to be impossible, then she would seek him out.
With that thought in mind, Rehilis started humming a tune.
* * *
She could feel the presence of her avatar.
It was just a tiny fragment of him.
A fragment she had once given to a dragon.
As Jörmungandr felt the fragment wriggling around, he nodded quietly.
[It seems you’ve handled the dangerous situation.]
Seeing the fragment maintain a stable form indicated that he didn’t need to intervene directly.
Giving away that minuscule piece was an act of goodwill.
She had such a pure heart that one couldn’t help but wonder why she was a dragon, for she thought others would target her.
Sure enough, she had been ambushed.
Jörmungandr nodded at his decision to give her that fragment.
He hoped that those he cared about wouldn’t die.
Jörmungandr coiled up in his cave.
Then suddenly, he felt an inexplicable sense of discomfort.
It felt as if a part of the world had gone empty.
He tried to focus his senses to figure it out, but that area was the deepest sinkhole even in the sky.
It was beyond what he could sense.
Moreover, the discomfort passed so quickly that Jörmungandr began to wonder if he had just imagined it.
Still, just in case, he concentrated his senses further to find the source of the discomfort, yet he still felt nothing.
So, keeping some of his senses focused there, he attempted to let the discomfort flow past him.
* * *
He was born at a certain moment.
Why had he opened his eyes?
It was a mystery.
He had surely killed Odin and died, hadn’t he?
Where was this place?
It felt completely different from where he had lived.
He quietly looked around.
It was an endless, pitch-black abyss.
A gloomy place where not even light could penetrate, making every moment shrouded in darkness. The being reborn there instinctively realized.
He was weak now.
But the memory of devouring Odin was still strong.
Fenrir was getting accustomed to life in the abyss.
The first time he ate a living being was thirty seconds after he was born. A massive troll passing by had attempted to kill the newly born wolf cub, but before it could even register what was happening, its body was ripped apart in an instant and devoured by Fenrir.
Fenrir felt an overwhelming sense of exhilaration as he chewed through the living creatures.
It was the kind of elation that made him feel like he could never fail, and it wasn’t just a figment of his imagination.
His body was indeed growing firmer, his muscles becoming more defined and dense.
Eating living beings was making him stronger.
Naturally, it was a rule he could not ignore.
From that point on, Fenrir devoured whatever creatures of the abyss came his way. Countless beings fell before his sharp teeth without putting up the slightest resistance. No matter how weak his current form may be, the memory of having devoured one of the greatest gods lingered in his mind.
To Fenrir, these creatures were as insignificant as mere bugs.
Just wriggling bugs.
Creatures that could barely move, crawling along the ground like lowly insects.
Thus, the hunt was incredibly easy.
Fenrir gradually began to dominate the abyss.
In a last-ditch effort, some of the abyssal creatures banded together to challenge Fenrir, but they were utterly no match for him.
It wasn’t just about power or anything like that.
There was a tremendous fundamental difference between him and those beings.
A difference that could never be bridged, no matter what happened.
The abyss was very deep, and it was vast.
At least thousands of kilometers in size.
So, it seemed it would take quite a long time to consume all the creatures within it.
But that was fine.
Experiencing battle from the perspective of the weak wasn’t such a bad thing after all.
In his blind spot, a massive drake was on the move.
A gigantic drake, easily a hundred meters long, charged at him, its tongue lashing like a bunch of tentacles.
Right next to the drake was a colossal bull-like creature, with its bright red horns aimed right at him, and alongside it was a huge centipede monster barrelling towards him.
It was an offensive that felt like they had practiced together countless times.
The drake obscured Fenrir’s vision with its acidic fluid while the centipede pinned him down with its dozens of legs, and at that very moment, the gigantic bull pierced him with its horn.
But…
[So slow.]
Everything was far too slow.
So painfully slow and predictable that he had no doubt he wouldn’t be hit, even if he closed his eyes.
He planted his feet firmly into the ground.
The instant Fenrir disappeared from his current form, the centipede and the bull looked around in confusion.
Boom!
In a blink, Fenrir had clawed and devoured the massive drake’s bulky body dozens, if not hundreds of times, blood dripping from his jaws as he charged once more.
The centipede and the bull stood helplessly as they were consumed alive by Fenrir.
Crunch, crunch…
His body was growing in real-time.
At the same time, Fenrir instinctively erased his presence from the world.
It felt like it was something necessary to do.
[………]
Fenrir lifted his head.
Even though no light penetrated, he gazed quietly at a spot that seemed to be an exit, a smirk creeping onto his face.
Someday.
[I will escape this abyss and devour everything.]
What would the god of this place taste like?
Fenrir’s eyes gleamed coldly.
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