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Chapter 189: Ragnarok (4)
Evolution of the Soul Sword?
Originally, the Soul Sword evolved by slaying god-level beings.
Since it reached SS-rank, I didn’t even know it could still evolve—but now, out of nowhere, a message like this appears...
Was I supposed to absorb not just gods, but also their weapons?
Hmm.
Divine weapons...
Does any one of them work?
Huh.
Should I ask an Apostle to hand one over?
“Oh, you did it! Thank goodness. You stopped Ragnarok.”
“Well done. You’ve crushed Ares’s trap.”
While I was deep in thought about the Soul Sword, Loki and Odysseus approached me with bright expressions.
Both were praising me.
But then Odysseus added with a serious look:
“But this is only the beginning. Since Ares’s Authority has been activated, we don’t know what other tricks he may have.”
“Ares’s Authority... is it the ability to foresee the path to victory?”
“Yes. If one trap is neutralized, he moves to a second move. If that’s overcome, he proceeds to a third. He always moves toward victory.”
“Do we have any information on this second move?”
“Hmm… no. Not yet. Not yet…”
Not yet?
So we’ll get some later?
Hmm.
Odysseus is completely at odds with Olympus—maybe he has an insider on the inside?
“Well, anyway, we saved Baldr. Ragnarok won’t happen now.”
“Who saved whom, exactly?”
A voice cut through the conversation between Loki and Odysseus.
A dazzlingly handsome man with golden hair was staring at us.
“Baldr?”
“Loki? What are you doing here?”
“Uh, well…”
“You said you saved me. What do you mean by that?”
Loki glanced at me and Odysseus, then secretly sent me a message.
[I’ve always had a rough relationship with this guy, and if I don’t explain why I trespassed into his building, he won’t let it go… But now that Mistilteinn has been destroyed, it should be fine to tell him, right?]
[Since Mistilteinn was destroyed, it should be okay, right?]
[Yeah. I’ll go ahead and explain.]
Well, it’s his business, so I’ll leave it to him.
Loki explained what had happened to Baldr, who listened carefully.
“...Thanks to the Soul God destroying Mistilteinn at the right moment, we were able to stop Ragnarok.”
“You stopped Ragnarok?”
“Yeah. But we still need to prepare for the Black Thunder Legion from Olympus.”
“Hmm…”
Baldr stepped closer to me and touched the wall.
He walked right up to the exact spot where Mistilteinn had been.
“Mistilteinn... it's really been shattered.”
“Yeah. The Soul God completely destroyed it.”
“Why did you do that?”
“...What?”
Boom!
Light burst forth from Baldr’s body.
Power resembling the Authority of the Sun God.
That light held tangible force, and in an instant, pushed our group back.
“I went through a lot of trouble to make that in time for Judgment Day, you know.”
What?
This guy...
He made Mistilteinn?
He made the divine weapon meant to kill himself?
“You... you’re insane?”
“Loki. How does Ragnarok end?”
Baldr suddenly dropped the honorifics, staring coldly at Loki.
“The end of Ragnarok... no way, you…”
“After the world is destroyed, I resurrect in the newly risen land and become the supreme god.”
Ssshhhhh...
Baldr’s body slowly turned into light.
Within the light, streaks of black lightning began to surge.
He pointed at me with a hand shimmering in black light.
“When our world is completely destroyed and reestablished anew, the massive debt I owe to the Soul God will vanish.”
“You bastard... that’s Black Thunder!”
“The time of the promise has come. I, Baldr, God of Light, shall begin Ragnarok here and now. I will die, but I shall resurrect. Asgard will fall, but it will be reborn.”
“Baldr!”
“Here and now, I renounce the Authority of Immortality given to me by my mother.”
Crackle.
The divine body of the God of Light slowly became dyed with black lightning.
No way—he’s voluntarily becoming Black Thunder?
We thought we had stopped Ragnarok, and now he’s trying to kill himself?
“Baldr! What could you possibly believe in to do something this insane?”
“This is a vow confirmed through the Creator. You, who have never met the one who surpassed the gods... wouldn’t understand.”
“A vow? You trust a vow? Don’t you know what Ares did to the minor divine realms? They throw away oaths like trash!”
“Hoho. I’m already aware of that. But the vow I made is different. My resurrection is guaranteed.”
Baldr responded calmly, unfazed by Loki’s words.
He really did know.
A different vow?
But they can twist those promises however they want.
What the hell is he trusting?
Surely not Zeus.
That guy’s not someone you can trust.
Wait... did he get brainwashed back when Zeus was pretending to be Odin?
Hmm… but Zeus wasn’t the Creator back then…
“You lunatic… betraying Asgard like this…!”
“No. Asgard is simply following its destined path. According to our fate.”
Thud.
Baldr placed both hands on the ground.
Immediately, Black Thunder began spreading.
It was clearly not something ordinary.
“Damn it, what the hell is he trying to do…?”
“Loki. We can’t just leave him be. If he’s planning to die anyway, it’s better to take him down before he does anything crazy.”
He was clearly intent on dying, already turning himself into Black Thunder.
If he’s going to die either way, we might as well kill him before he wreaks havoc inside Asgard.
“You’re right. Let’s take him down!”
“Odysseus, go back.”
“Yes. I wish you good fortune.”
I reverse-summoned Odysseus and pulled out the Soul Sword again.
Baldr wasn’t aligned with Olympus, but he was turning into Black Thunder.
Fighting him alone could take time, so I needed to summon as much support as possible.
“Artemis, summon.”
“Work’s done? Huh… wait, what’s going on here?”
"We just need to eliminate that guy."
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Artemis blinked.
Quickly assessing the situation, she pulled out her bow.
Good.
She’s ready.
At the same time, I also called upon Thor for aid.
[Oh, Kim Jiho. Shall I head out? Hm…? Asgard? The coordinates are near the World Tree? What? When did you get here? If you’re in Asgard, you should’ve come to see me first.]
[Now’s not the time. Baldr’s lost his mind. Hurry over here.]
BOOOOM!
"What? Baldr? What are you talking about?"
Before I knew it, Thor had arrived at my side.
He looked at me, puzzled.
Instead of answering, I pointed my finger toward Baldr.
"Through death… I shall be reborn…!"
"What’s wrong with him? He was the sanest one among us."
"I… shall be reborn through death…!"
Baldr, now completely shrouded in black lightning.
His once radiant appearance had vanished, and he now repeated the phrase about dying and being reborn like a parrot.
And instead of attacking us, he just clutched the underground floor of his own building.
"He’s trying to trigger Ragnarok by dying himself."
"What? That crazy bastard…! Why?"
"I don’t know what changed in the situation, but… Kim Jiho, he’s the enemy, right? Should I shoot?"
"Yeah. Let’s take him down."
TWANG!
The sound of Artemis’s bowstring snapping.
At the same time, I moved toward Baldr.
SSSSSSK.
When I drove down my soul blade, a black barrier intercepted it.
This… looks like a soul barrier?
It would be tough for a regular god to deal with… but—
"Soul Energy Emission."
There’s no way a barrier can block my sword when it has Soul Energy Emission.
BOOM. BOOM. BOOM!
As I swung my sword, the three gods attacked alongside me.
Thor, Loki, and Artemis—an impressive lineup.
But the others’ attacks were mostly deflected by the dark shield.
Artemis’s arrow broke and vanished, Loki’s dagger shattered, and Thor’s lightning fizzled out against the barrier.
Only my sword was gradually piercing through.
"Artemis, use Soul Energy Emission!"
"Got it!"
Her arrow, now imbued with soul energy, flew toward Baldr and helped break down the barrier faster.
Good. At this rate…!
"Heh heh. Soul God… as expected, you're strong… If I can cause Ragnarok by dying to the Soul God's sword, that’s not too bad either."
Despite the barrier being breached, Baldr laughed.
Earlier he was mumbling like a lunatic, but now he seemed completely lucid again.
"But before the gate opens, I cannot die. I must welcome the Creator’s army, the Celestial Army…"
SHHHHHH.
Golden light burst from within the barrier.
The source of the light was a bracelet.
Loki screamed when he saw it.
"The golden bracelet… Draupnir…!"
"Draupnir. The nine days weren't granted to me. Vanish—and unleash your final authority."
At Baldr’s command, the golden bracelet disappeared.
Then, the golden light was absorbed into the black barrier.
And then—something astonishing happened.
Flick. Flick. Flick.
The barrier gained another layer. And another.
With each new layer, the darkness deepened, until it was completely opaque to the naked eye.
CRACKLE.
At the same time, black lightning spread throughout the building.
Much faster than before.
The barrier was now three times stronger, and the power of the black lightning had tripled as well.
Seeing this, Thor’s expression hardened.
"Draupnir… the golden bracelet that multiplies into nine after nine days. I didn’t know it could do this."
"Yeah… If it just made more bracelets, it wouldn’t be so special. Damn. He’s boosted both the black lightning and the barrier threefold. Doesn't seem like he focused power on just one side either…"
"Hmm. I’ll call other gods. This is serious."
While Thor called for backup, I used one of my skills.
"Divine Domain."
A divine domain that grants my allies the Soul Reaper’s abilities.
It has a cooldown, so I was saving it—but seeing the current situation, I couldn’t afford to wait.
"Summon Apostles."
I summoned my elite apostles and activated Soul Energy Emission.
"Attack!"
The urgently summoned divine apostles launched a fierce assault on the black barrier under Artemis’s command.
"Baldr… how could you…!"
"Odin. Can’t you do something about your son?"
"He’s not even responding to my messages. Ugh… Baldr. Not Ragnarok…! It won’t end like the prophecy! Once it ends, it’s over, Baldr!"
Odin’s here too?
I hadn’t noticed, since I was too focused on the relentless attacks.
This damn barrier.
Not only had it tripled in number, but its defense had also massively increased.
Even my tendrils weren’t breaking through anymore.
The underground beneath his building was now completely flooded with black lightning.
More gods from Asgard arrived, but their attacks couldn’t even reach the barrier and were blocked by the black lightning.
Damn it…
This is a real headache.
At first, the barrier seemed easy to break, but after Draupnir was used, it had become too solid.
WHIP. WHIP. WHIP.
Tendrils infused with soul energy launched a concentrated assault.
Some parts broke through… but then the black barrier regenerated again.
That defense is the strongest I’ve ever seen.
Ugh.
Useless damn tendrils.
What kind of skill did Asura give me…
Oh. Wait.
Asura’s skill.
There was a final version, wasn’t there?
SSSSSK.
As I struck fiercely, one layer of the barrier broke.
But inside the slightly cleared shield, Baldr—covered entirely in black lightning—was grinning grotesquely.
"It will soon… come to an end. Asgard shall be reborn."
"Baldr. Instead of this… how about I invite you into my world?"
So this is how I use it?
"Summon Asura’s Path."
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