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[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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Chapter 190: Ragnarok (5)
Chik. Chik. Chiiiiiik……
The space ignited and collapsed in an instant.
The underground level of Baldr's building, where the black lightning had spread.
The once pitch-black scenery changed, and a blue sky came into view.
“I’m dying… being reborn… no, wait… where is this…?”
Baldr, who had been smug behind his barrier.
Startled by the sight of the blue sky over a barren land, he looked around in confusion.
“Good, the summoning worked. Baldr, even a god-class being can’t help but be pulled into Asura’s Path?”
“Soul… god…!”
“When I first received this skill from Asura, I thought it was useless, but it turned out to be quite handy, huh?”
“Asura… Asura’s Path? Why is he suddenly being mentioned?”
Baldr, still clueless.
Is it because he became black lightning and lost intelligence, or does he just not know about Asura’s Path?
Either way, he clearly doesn’t understand the situation.
“The Power of the Sun God.”
My land, raised as close to the sky as possible.
It’s the perfect environment to use sunlight.
Soon, my senses expanded, merging with the sunlight.
Baldr scowled at the sight.
“You wretch… I am Baldr, god of light! How dare you use the power of light in front of me!”
“Oh yeah? Then you shouldn’t mind a bit of sunlight.”
I expanded my senses to control the light.
Gathering sunlight like a spotlight, I shone it directly on Baldr.
Asura’s Path darkened like night, and the light began to focus on a single spot.
Right on Baldr.
Chiiik. Chiiiiik.
His barrier began to burn quickly.
That once-solid barrier started peeling away.
“Ah… no! My barrier…!”
“If you die here, will Ragnarok still happen?”
I raised my soul sword and walked toward Baldr.
“You bastard!”
Baldr instantly fired black lightning at me.
God of light, yet throwing lightning?
It was fast, but far too straightforward.
I could already predict its trajectory through the light I was shining on him.
“No…!”
Whoosh.
I easily dodged and closed in on him.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
“Ugh… ughhh…!”
The barrier was still sturdy.
But I wasn’t in a rush anymore.
Now that I’ve pulled him out of Asgard, I can take my time and break him down.
Baldr, still firing black lightning from inside the barrier.
Each time a crack appeared in it, his face twisted further into despair.
Fwoosh!
“Gah!”
[You are reaping the power of the god Baldr.]
[Soul Energy increases.]
[SP increases.]
No absorption message popped up when I suppressed the black lightning…
Is it different because he’s a god?
Either way, if he’s giving me power, I’ll take it.
“Ugh… my power, my power…!”
I absorbed Baldr’s power.
A steady stream of soul energy and SP flowed into me.
Since I’d already pinned him with my soul sword, I deactivated the costly Sun God power while continuing to absorb his strength.
[You are reaping the power of the god Baldr.]
[You gain the Power of Light.]
[It is fundamentally the same as the Power of the Sun God. It will be assimilated, enhancing your Sun God power.]
[You can now radiate light and use the power even without sunlight.]
Oh wow.
It strengthens the Sun God power?
I can emit light by myself now?
Damn.
This guy’s a treasure trove.
“Grr… ugh…”
Chiiiiik.
Baldr was completely falling apart.
If we had fought head-on, it would've been annoying.
But thanks to him wasting his strength bombarding the building with black lightning, I subdued him easily.
After one more round of absorption, his body was nearly transparent.
At this rate, he’s going to die.
Hmm.
Should I kill him?
His whole thing was, “If I die, Ragnarok begins.”
Maybe it's better to just seal him after absorbing some of his power?
[Kim Jiho, what happened?]
Just then, a communication screen from Loki appeared.
“I got recognized by Asura and received part of Asura’s Path. I summoned him into my land.”
[Wha—You received Asura’s Path? You?! Even among countless high gods who tried, only a few succeeded… That’s amazing. What about Baldr?]
“I’m debating whether to kill him or not.”
[Wait, wait! Ragnarok hasn’t started yet. Can you just seal him for now? Just in case.]
“Fools… Once my body was transformed by black lightning, I was doomed to fade.”
Baldr, overhearing my and Loki’s conversation, scoffed.
“Now that the god of light is gone, light will slowly vanish from Asgard. The World Tree will wither, and the world will decay. Loki’s children—Fenrir, Jormungandr, and Hel—will go mad and invade Asgard.”
[You crazy bastard. Hey! That’s from the Ragnarok myths! Do you know how popular my kids are in the divine realm these days? Fenrir is literally Asgard’s mascot now. You think they’ll go berserk just because you’re dead?]
Loki, getting riled up at the mention of his kids.
So, is Ragnarok happening or not?
“Kill him or not?”
[Ugh. Personally, I’d love for you to kill him, but for now, just seal him. Just in case.]
“Heh… Too late. I’m glad… to be fading away…”
Baldr’s body, turned into black lightning, began to crumble into dust from his fingertips.
He watched his own disintegration with satisfaction.
Guess he was going to die anyway.
Thud!
“Ugh…”
“If you’re gonna die anyway, might as well give up your SP.”
“Y-You… Soul God… after all you’ve stolen… Even on my final path…!”
“Exactly why you should give everything before you go, jackass.”
“If I’m reborn… I won’t forgive you…”
“Idiot. You believe in Zeus or something?”
“…Heh.”
Then, Baldr gave a mysterious smile.
Without another word, his soul collapsed completely.
[Sigh… Well, it couldn’t be helped. If he was going to die anyway, better that you gained power from it.]
“There’s no change in Asgard?”
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[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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[The sunlight is gone, but otherwise, there’s no change. My children are fine too... But we don’t know how things might shift, so come to Asgard for now.]
“Alright. Got it.”
Just as I was about to return to Asgard through the portal Loki opened for me—
Something caught my eye.
The spot where Baldr’s soul had disappeared.
Golden fragments were floating in the air.
What is that?
Whirrr. Whirrr.
Suddenly, the Soul Sword flashed on its own.
Its aura extended toward the fragments.
As the aura touched the golden shards, they vanished softly.
[The Soul Sword is absorbing the fragments of Draupnir.]
[Soul Sword evolution conditions met.]
[Absorption of the neutral faction’s divine artifact is complete. Please absorb a divine artifact from the Order faction.]
[Once the power of the Order faction is obtained, the Soul Sword will be upgraded to SSS-rank.]
Oh.
So that was the Draupnir that Baldr had destroyed earlier?
Didn’t expect it to remain as fragments…
I’d been wondering when the Soul Sword would absorb another divine artifact, and it just did it by chance.
Now only the Order faction remains.
“A divine artifact from the Order faction, huh…”
Shrrrk.
I pulled out Poseidon’s divine artifact, Triaina, which had been strapped to my back.
Since Olympus is part of the Order faction, this should count as an Order artifact, right?
Voom. Voom.
The Soul Sword began to shine intensely as it saw Triaina.
In response, Triaina started to emit a blue light.
What, are they going to fight?
It’d be nice if these two SS-rank weapons turned into an SSS-rank one…
“Hm. But Triaina is still useful for disrupting Okeanos… Can’t let it get absorbed that easily.”
If the Soul Sword could use the same powers after absorption, I wouldn’t hesitate.
But considering it hasn’t been using any functions from the divine artifacts it’s absorbed so far—like Mistletoe and the fragments of Draupnir—it’s probably best to hold off.
Instead, I should ask the apostles of the Order faction to hand over any artifacts they’ve got.
[Kim Jiho. What are you doing?]
“Yeah, yeah. I’m coming.”
As I stepped into the portal, countless gods stood there with somber expressions.
At the front of them was Odin.
“Soul God. Thank you for killing my son. Asgard nearly fell in a foolish way.”
Hearing a father thank me for killing his son… left a bitter taste in my mouth.
A goddess clung to Odin’s arm, crying.
Other gods couldn’t hide their sorrowful faces either.
“Tch. Was there no sign from Baldr?”
“There was no sign at all. Baldr was the god of light—righteous and kind to all. I had no idea such a child would try to trigger Ragnarok…”
“He had imbued that building with so much Black Thunder. What exactly was he trying to do?”
“Come see.”
Odin drew a circle with his finger, and a portal opened in the floor.
As I dropped down, I was once again in the world of Asgard I’d seen earlier.
The great World Tree.
Next to it stood Baldr’s golden-glowing building.
It had once been a normal building, but now it resembled a spear in form.
“That thing had an immense amount of Black Thunder embedded in it.”
“That spear-like structure?”
“Yes. I suspect he was targeting the sky and the World Tree.”
“The World Tree and the sky…”
What was he planning to do with them?
The World Tree is important, sure—that’s obvious.
But the sky…
The Black Thunder Army would attack regardless; they don’t need something to be fired at the sky.
So why…?
“The World Tree is the root of Asgard. If Yggdrasil is damaged, the foundation of the world collapses. To restore it would require the power and SP of many gods.”
“Then what about the sky…?”
The sky was growing dim.
It had been as bright as midday earlier, but now the world was bathed in a red twilight.
That bastard Baldr.
He said the world would lose its light when he died.
But it’s still shining just fine.
Wait… that’s odd.
There’s no sun, yet it’s still bright…
Where is the light coming from?
“As for the sky… hmm. I don’t really know. But the light feels ominous.”
Odin sighed quietly as he looked up.
“Why would Baldr try to shoot Black Thunder into the sky?”
“Hm. When Baldr said his death would trigger Ragnarok… Will it actually happen?”
“Baldr believed with all his heart that it would, but… it won’t. This world isn’t destined for mythological destruction. It’s a divine realm created from human faith.”
“Yes. My children didn’t go insane either. And even if they had, they’re only mid- or low-level gods—Thor would’ve smashed their heads in.”
“Indeed. Ragnarok is nothing but a myth. It won’t actually happen.”
Odin, Loki, and Thor all sounded hopeful.
But just as those words ended, flames surged in the sky.
Crimson fire engulfed the heavens.
And then the flames formed into letters.
[Odin. I am Zeus. As a long-time ally and comrade, I offer my blessing.]
Zeus?
Why’s he suddenly…?
[As a member of the alliance, I was honored to grant the request of the son of the All-Father, Baldr. He wished to reenact the myth.]
Fwoooosh.
The flames spreading through the sky grew larger, and the fiery letters began turning into Black Thunder.
[I, Zeus, initially refused. But he offered his life—so I decided to grant the alliance’s request. What he wanted was Laevateinn.]
“Laevateinn…! The sword of Surtr—the blade that destroys Asgard!”
Loki screamed.
The Sword of Fire.
That heavenly fire burning through the sky… is a sword?
“Zeus, this is a violation of the alliance pact!”
[No, it’s not a violation. I merely facilitated things.]
“What…? Facilitated…?”
[Yes. Go ahead and check the system. See if it implicates me. Hahaha!]
Odin looked flustered.
The fire continued to spread—ready to completely consume the sky above Asgard.
Damn.
He made that and claims it’s not a violation?
Unbelievable.
[Then enjoy the beautiful twilight. My allies!]
With that, the letters vanished.
As the message ended, black thunder troops began to appear between the flaming sky.
Seemingly unaffected by the flames, the enemy forces emerged with overwhelming presence.
“The Black Thunder Army…!”
Laevateinn.
The fire sword that burns the sky, plus the Black Thunder Army.
So this is the Ragnarok they envisioned?
At this level…
We might just be able to handle it.
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[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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