Chapter 945: For the Homeland.
At this moment, Hela was feeling deeply conflicted. The cause of this conflict? The man seated before her.
With just one glance using her Divine Senses, she could tell they weren't on the same level. With his casual gestures of disappearing whenever she blinked, she could tell that if he wished, at any moment, she could be killed.
His casual attitude was disconcerting, and the way he acted as if he owned the place left her with a feeling that nothing was under her control.
The way he made casual nods and conjured things out of thin air left her profoundly frightened. Dealing with Victor was like dealing with the unknown, and she had no control over her current situation.
This feeling was very uncomfortable. After all, since becoming stronger, she had always had the things that interested her under her control. Victor's presence reminded her of the same feelings she had when she was a young Goddess who was fresh to the world, the feeling of knowing nothing, when she was weak.
All these feelings were causing deep stress on her psyche, and combining this stress with her weakened body, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that she was on the verge of a complete breakdown.
Little did Hela know that all these feelings were being sensed by Victor entirely. She could put on a strong and unruffled face in an attempt to hide her discomfort, but in front of Victor, all of that was futile. He could read her like an open book.
"[Master, important items have been delivered to your Wives...]" The image of Idun's Apples appeared in Victor's mind.
'Heh... I can use this.' Victor smiled internally.
[Well done, my Herald. For now, continue assisting my Wives; I will need your services soon.]
[Yes, My Master.]
In a way to break the uncomfortable silence and draw Hela's attention, Victor put on a compelling act; he was a natural actor, after all. "Hmm? Interesting."
"... What's interesting?" Hela unconsciously asked. The uncomfortable silence had lasted so long that she unintentionally clung to these words.
Honestly, she just wanted him to leave already! But she couldn't say that. It would be too rude, and she didn't know how this man would react. But knowing his reputation, she didn't want to unnecessarily provoke this madman.
She just wanted him to lose interest in her and go away. Honestly, the attention of this powerful Being was too uncomfortable. She didn't know what to think, she didn't know what game he was playing at, and she didn't know if she was being used as a pawn or not.
A feeling of disgust grew in her as she thought about being used as a pawn for a stronger Entity.
"My agents have found something quite... Peculiar," Victor replied while leaning his back against the chair he had created. He opened his right hand, and in the next moment, a Golden Apple appeared.
"... Idun's Apples." Hela looked at the Apple with desire. If she could get her hands on that Apple and a few dozen more, she could completely recover from her current condition.
"Indeed, a rather peculiar fruit, isn't it?" Victor spoke while smiling. With a brief look at the Apple, he had thoroughly analyzed its internal components and found he could easily recreate this fruit. Idun's Apples were just crystallized vitality, after all.
'Although, I won't be able to replicate the positive effects of the apple; that's a skill of Idun's own Divinity.' Victor realized.
The difference between the Apple that Victor created and the one Idun tended to was simple. While Idun's Apples could nourish a God's body with vitality, they also helped the God better understand their own Divine Concept. Thus, it was an item that both healed and aided in progress.
On the other hand, the Apple that Victor created would only be pure vitality, much stronger than Idun's, but would only be an item that healed effectively.
Hearing Victor's words, a cold sensation descended to the core of Hela's existence; she had just realized the nuances that Victor's simple action had.
Hela was an intelligent woman and a very competent planner, something she knew Odin was as well. In such an important war, ensuring that your best cards were protected as much as possible was expected. The fact that this man could so easily take one of Odin's cards proved that his and his subordinates' capabilities were even more frightening than she initially assumed.
Yes, she accepted that he could ignore the senses of three Beings of The End and infiltrate their quarters since the three Beings of The End could be pretty careless.
But she couldn't accept that this man's forces had penetrated so deep into Asgard and stolen something precious right from under Odin's nose. Yes, she could accept that this man could do it, but she couldn't accept his forces being able to. Because if she admitted that, it meant that this man's army was much more competent than anyone had thought before... And that was terrifying.
Victor's smile widened as he looked at Hela. 'Dealing with intelligent people is so much fun,' with the bit of information he had let slip, she could clearly deduce how dangerous his subordinates were and infer that this war didn't matter much to him.
And that smile made Hela's body shudder slightly. With that simple smile from Victor, she realized that her internal turmoil wasn't as hidden as she had hoped.
Quickly, she invoked her Divinity and covered her Soul even more in an attempt to shield herself from having her internal issues leaked.
A foolish attitude, considering that it was impossible to hide from Victor unless, of course, the individual had a level of Divinity as strong as his, or in other words, was as strong as him. Even for those with those traits, Victor could read their body language to understand what they were thinking more or less.
'Honestly, she would get along well with Velnorah, Ruby, and Aline... Maybe with Aphrodite, too,' Victor thought.
Victor bit into the Apple and nodded in satisfaction. "Delicious."
The resentment that Victor felt from Hela when she saw him biting into the Apple was quite satisfying.
"Dragon God-."
"Call me Victor. You've earned the right by being such an entertaining person."
Hela's lips quivered. "... Right... Victor... What do you want from me?"
"I have a war to wage, and I need to rest."
Instead of responding, he asked, "I'm curious." He bit into the Golden Apple again. "Why did you sacrifice your vitality?"
Hela's eyebrows twitched in annoyance, and that annoyance only made Victor's smile grow.
She clicked her tongue internally when she realized that this man was using her reactions for entertainment.
"I had to do it to win the Ragnarok," she replied evasively without giving too many details.
"I see..." Victor nodded as if she had just told a whole story of over a thousand words about why she sacrificed her vitality.
"And to think it took so much to summon The Dragon of The End."
Hela narrowed her eyes. "... Are you reading my mind?"
"Although reading your mind would be fun, I'm not doing anything that boring." Victor looked curiously at where he had bitten the Apple. "I'm just guessing based on what I know, what I've learned, and what I observed today."
His crimson-violet Draconic Eyes looked at Hela. "Any God who has interacted with the Norse Pantheon at least once in the past knows that The End Dragon lives in a separate Dimension where the roots of Yggdrasil are located. That place is both its lair and its prison... A prison that not even a Being of The End can break out of, as that prison was made with its own Power."
"Which begs the question, how did that Dragon escape? Seeing your weakened appearance, understanding that you have resistance to End Energy due to being born from the womb that carried two Gods of The End simultaneously... The answer becomes apparent, right?"
"You summoned it by sacrificing your vitality, and in exchange for this help, the proud Dragon agreed to grant you a favor. But since you are a very astute woman, you probably expected this and resolved another problem of the Dragon, thus gaining another favor."
With each word that came out of Victor's mouth, cold sweat began to trickle down Hela's face.
"With first favor, you used it to destroy the Bifrost, thus fulfilling your alliance with Diablo."
"The other favor is probably for some purpose in this upcoming war..." Victor smiled slightly.
"... You seem to know a lot about Dragons," Hela said in a way just to keep the conversation going. She didn't even know why she said it. She just spoke, needing a few seconds to recover.
"Well, I am their Progenitor, after all."
"... Right..."
"I wonder what the other favor was that led The End Dragon to promise you aid. Can you kindly tell me?" Victor asked gently, as if he were asking a friend where he left his keys or something like that.
But Hela knew that nothing in those words was kind. It was an implicit order for her to answer his question. It was clear that he wouldn't tolerate any more concealment.
"... Ratatoskr... I gave him the squirrel as a snack for the Dragon."
'Got it. So that's why Valeria couldn't find him, huh,' Victor thought.
"Interesting... And why did you do that?" He asked, genuinely curious.
"Ratatoskr knew no bounds... When Nidhogg was trapped in that Dimension, he often used his Power to roam the branches of The World Tree to taunt the Dragon... With Ratatoskr's constant provocations, a deep hatred grew in Nidhogg."
"A squirrel taunting a True Dragon..." Victor spoke with genuine incredulity, just as Susanoo said. Isn't that the same as courting death?
"He's a fool." Victor couldn't help but say.
Hela couldn't help but agree with Victor's words. Whether the squirrel could escape through The Roots of The World Tree or not, the simple act of thinking it was a good idea to taunt a True Dragon with the Divinity of The End was pure foolishness.
"By giving that squirrel to the Dragon, I knew I would be able to gain another favor from it. That's how I got another favor from Nidhogg."
...