Chapter 220

An army of those who cannot die advances.

Already, an army of the deceased advances.

An army without flesh advances.

A giant with a black statue leads the way.

Breathless giants lead the way.

They break through any wall or multitude of forces; all fall before them as they lead the charge.

The world is engulfed in flames.

With the breath of those who have scales and wings, the world is engulfed in flames.

Using the bodies of the wicked as firewood, the world is engulfed in flames.

Destruction approaches.

The twilight of the gods approaches.

Ragnarok approaches.

– A tale passed down by the giants.

—

The gods called Valhalla paradise.

And he too, stepping into Valhalla as an Einherjar, considered this place paradise.

Not a land of harsh cold filled with snow and ice but a world always warm and comforting.

No snow-laden storms howl here, no fist-sized chunks of ice rain down—just clear, sunny skies forever.

Not frozen ground but soft soil where seeds sprout instantly and crops can be harvested in less than a day—a miraculous land.

If this isn’t paradise, then what is?

This Einherjar felt honored to have been chosen by the gods.

To set foot in such a paradise was the greatest honor of all.

Here, he feasted daily on mead and meat, honed his skills through endless battles, and even after death, would resurrect to enjoy the happiness of paradise once more.

But that happiness didn’t last long.

Buuuuuuuuh!!!

A massive trumpet blast echoes across the heavens.

The sound shakes the paradise, causing many Einherjars to murmur uneasily.

And everyone instinctively realizes one thing:

Why the gods gathered the Einherjar.

Why they assembled an army to prevent their own downfall.

The gods’ end was approaching.

The Einherjar quickly gathered, grabbing their weapons and armor.

He too, wielding a circular wooden shield and heavy axe, joined the others.

Yet, there were noticeably empty seats in Valhalla’s hall.

Only half of the Einherjar had shown up.

And the Valkyries, who always soared above the Einherjar, were nowhere to be seen.

Something ominous was in the air.

Then, a colossal figure appeared in the hall.

A mighty god with golden hair and a heavy hammer.

Thor, God of Thunder.

“Warriors of the Æsir! Guardians of Valhalla, Einherjar!”

Thor’s booming voice shook the entire hall.

“Finally, the day has come! The day of destruction that ends everything is upon us!”

It wasn’t just Thor.

All the great gods of Æsir had appeared, each holding their weapon, each rekindling their strength.

Gods ready to resist the coming doom.

Except for two.

Odin and Freyja were absent.

“We may not survive this! We might fail utterly, reducing everything of Æsir to ashes!”

Thor spoke of despair.

“But such a fact does not give us the excuse to surrender! We will fight as we always have! As we battled harsh winters! As we slaughtered enemies and claimed their treasures! We will always fight!”

But at the same time, he spoke of hope.

“Life is battle! Life is resistance! Even if our efforts seem futile against the inevitable end, it gives us no reason to throw up our hands! That is why we must resist with all our might! It’s the very reason we exist!”

Thor raised his hammer, Mjölnir, and shouted.

“Rise, warriors of Valhalla! Stand against doom! Fight! Resist! Leave your mark upon this world!!!”

As soon as his cry ended, Tyr, the one-armed god standing beside Thor, grabbed the horn hanging from his waist and blew it with all his might.

Buuuuuuuuh!!!

The trumpet call that gathers the Einherjar sounded again, and the gates of Valhalla opened wide.

Simultaneously, the Einherjar rushed to the battlefield.

To swing their weapons against the unstoppable force of doom.

—

Terror rains down from the sky.

The Einherjar tightened their trembling hearts and fiercely swung their weapons.

Pwoosh!

One strike sends an enemy’s head flying. But even without its head, the enemy doesn’t stop.

Because it was already dead, its form dissolved into nothingness unless struck with extraordinary power.

The Einherjar spat and used his shield to knock the torso over, then chopped off the limbs with his axe to neutralize it.

Even though they too were souls chosen by the gods, being forced to grapple with these undead spirits frustrated them.

Cutting off limbs was meaningless. They would return to their original forms and charge again soon enough.

These creatures, armed only with teeth and claws, kept regenerating despite being slashed repeatedly, overwhelming the Einherjar with sheer numbers.

And they weren’t the only threat.

BOOM!!!

Once again, Valhalla’s walls crumble.

A towering dark colossus swings its massive greatsword, scattering countless Einherjar like dust.

Even the mighty gods couldn’t block its blade.

And it wasn’t just one colossus.

The Colossus of Flames burned everything in sight, while the Colossus of Ice froze everything solid.

The Colossus of Storms tore everything apart, and the Colossus of Stone crushed everything beneath it.

The Einherjar looked up at the sky with despair.

The ever-clear sky had turned into a battlefield.

Winged lizards of various colors—dragons straight out of legend—flew overhead, turning the ground into chaos.

Hundreds of Einherjar vanished with every fiery breath exhaled by dozens of dragons.

Sky-bound gods tried to bring down the dragons but failed.

A giant-shaped god swept through the battlefield, while a wolf-shaped god devoured other gods.

Many gods had already fallen, and the ranks of the Einherjar were dwindling fast.

Still, they did not stop resisting.

Weapons melted away under the energy of death, armor corroded into nothingness, but the warrior did not give up.

When weapons disappeared, they fought bare-handed. When arms were severed, they kicked. When legs were lost, they bit.

Until their heads were cut off, the Einherjar never ceased fighting.

Never stopped resisting doom.

—

“Odin.”

“O Goddess of Life…”

I saw the old man staring blankly from the top of Valhalla.

The god with a face of resignation. The one-eyed god.

The god of wisdom, yet consumed by madness.

“Why… Why did you do this?”

“Why indeed.”

What answer could I give if asked “why”?

Because your constant defiance against my appointed king of gods annoyed me?

Because Baal breaking apart and its fragments creating new gods irritated me?

Because I disliked intruders in my paradise?

There are many reasons I could fabricate.

But ultimately…

“I simply dislike parasites.”

“Parasites?”

I merely disliked them.

No matter how much I rationalized it, it boiled down to one conclusion:

I simply disliked gods.

Beings that parasitize on other lifeforms yet claim superiority.

Most of them, anyway. There were a few exceptions, but they were rare.

So…

“Return Baal’s eye to me.”

I reached toward Odin.

One-eyed Odin. Odin who possesses the eye imbued with Baal’s wisdom.

To see is to perceive. To perceive is to know.

Thus, it was natural for Baal’s wisdom to reside in that eye.

I wanted to reclaim that eye.

“Krrrgh!”

The two ravens perched on Odin’s shoulders lunged at me, but they exploded into feathers and disappeared with a flick of my hand.

Taking advantage of the moment, Odin swung his spear, Gungnir, toward me. Empowered by a fragment of Baal, it crackled with lightning and shot toward me.

But…

“Hmm. So you intend to resist?”

The sharp tip of Gungnir, moving as fast as lightning, was caught between my index and middle fingers of my left hand.

Lightning coursed through the spearhead, scattering around, but it couldn’t even singe my fingertips.

Not only that, but Odin himself, holding Gungnir, was completely immobilized.

As if time itself had stopped. Not a single movement.

In the end, this was it.

So-called gods who act superior? They’re just this weak compared to me.

Infinitely small when compared to me.

I let out a small sigh and extended my right hand.

My right hand slowly pierced into Odin’s unmoving eye.

Odin screamed. My fingers dug into his blind eye, and cries of agony echoed through the air.

And thus, I reclaimed Baal’s eye.