Chapter 140
The cutscene commenced as they were ascending the stairs.
Viola, imprisoned.
Vigo, facing her from beyond the iron bars.
– Huh?
– What’s going on here?
– Another betrayal?
– This family’s a total mess, seriously.
It was reminiscent of the trial on the fifth floor. In that trial, Viola had been betrayed by Belveim, a fellow Valkyrie. However, whether fortunately or not, this time, it wasn’t a betrayal.
“Viola is a sacrifice.”
“Sacrifice? For what?”
“Didn’t you hear the objective before coming here?”
Those words replayed kindly beside Vigo.
A man with a kind appearance and green eyes, blurry like a mirage, appeared and spoke while looking at Rasderikh.
“Therefore, I’ve decided. I’ll try to get past there in my own way.”
Suhyuk, watching the scene, clicked his tongue.
“That guy, he looks like a villain, obviously.”
– Yep.
– Agreed.
– Guys who look kind are usually worse.
In response, Viola spoke firmly.
“Impossible.”
There was no need to hear the following words. Suhyuk, now vaguely understanding what Valhalla was, knew it wasn’t a place for mere Midgard residents to set foot in.
However,
“That’s why the captain needs a Valkyrie.”
The trial, as expected, wasn’t proceeding smoothly.
“…… Figured as much.”
It couldn’t be as simple as just fighting and entering Valhalla. The trial on the sixth floor was not going to be that straightforward. There was still more to come, and this cutscene was the starting point for it.
“For what purpose?”
“To awaken Bergelmir.”
Bergelmir.
What exactly that was remained unknown. But judging by Viola’s response, the man’s words with green eyes didn’t seem groundless.
The subsequent cutscene featured the man with green eyes. A man named Baldur slashed Vigo’s neck and ridiculed both Viola and Vigo from beyond the prison.
“Isn’t it amusing? What do you think will change just by passing on such information?”
However, to his words,
“No. It will change.”
Viola responded confidently, holding the communication kit that had been handed to her.
Hiss-.
The cutscene gradually faded.
However, even after the cutscene ended, Viola’s voice continued.
“It will definitely change. Definitely.”
A voice came from the communication kit in his pocket. It was a message meant for him. And at that moment…
『Stage ? – Would you like to start ‘Bergelmir’?』
『When a new stage starts, Valhalla’s trials will reset.』
An unexpected stage marked by a question mark appeared. Lee Suhyuk showed a puzzled expression at its content.
‘This is the first time I’ve seen something like this.’
Not knowing which stage it was, made it difficult to guess its difficulty. Especially since it was a choice-type stage. He had to decide whether to pass Valhalla’s trials and head safely to Valhalla, or to save Viola and prevent the resurrection of the entity named Bergelmir. Usually, such trials were measured to have high difficulty.
Confronted with the new message, Suhyuk asked, “Should I go back?”
He asked as if he had a choice.
– You’re not going back?
– Are you kidding?
– Abandon Nuna?
– Yeah, abandon her and see what happens, LOL
The terrifying public sentiment. It wasn’t a matter of any real choice for him. Half of the viewers watching Suhyuk’s stream were Viola’s fans.
* * *
Two hours had passed since Vigo died. Baldur, who had called someone to remove Vigo’s corpse, returned to the prison where Viola was confined.
“It’s time.”
Viola, who had been sitting on the floor, looked up. Baldur asked her, seeing the hope still in her eyes, “May I ask why you have that look?”
“You will fail, Baldur.”
“So, you still think you can survive.”
Viola shook her head at Baldur’s misunderstanding.
“It’s not about whether I live or die. What’s important is that your objective will fail.”
“Is your confidence perhaps because of that human you came with?”
Viola chose silence instead of replying. She believed for sure her message had been delivered. But Baldur thought differently.
“He will not be able to return.”
He was certain.
“Didn’t I tell you? Those despicable gods have no intention of accepting us.”
“How do you know that?”
“Because I have challenged Valhalla as well.”
A sneer mixed into Baldur’s smirk.
“And so did my wife.”
“Your wife?”
She had vaguely heard about it from Vigo a long time ago. The captain, Baldur, had lost his wife early on.
“We had promised to go together to Valhalla. To be eternally happy there, chasing an impossible dream.”
Clang-.
Baldur opened the door to the cell imprisoning Viola. At that moment…
“Unlike me, my wife did not come back alive. Do you know why?”
Shiiik-.
Viola lunged at Baldur, pulling out her nails and aiming them at his neck.
“Because she didn’t give up.”
Thud-.
Thwang-!
Baldur’s hand grabbed Viola by the neck and slammed her against the wall.
“Guh-.”
The impact on her back made her vision blur.
Grasping at her fleeting consciousness, Viola stared into Baldur’s eyes.
“So, abandon your hope that human will return. It’s all because of those nonsensical rules you all have created.”
Swoosh-.
Thud-.
As Baldur released his grip, his soldiers entered the cell as if they had been waiting.
“And even if he does return, there’s no way he can get this far.”
Watching Viola being dragged away, Baldur crushed her final hope.
“This is the headquarters of Midgard.”
* * *
Around the tall spire, the soldiers of Midgard stood guard.
Gloomy weather. The dry and icy air made the soldiers shiver.
“Why is it so damn cold? Something’s definitely about to happen.”
“Hasn’t something already happened? You’re aware a Valkyrie is being held here, right?”
Conversations mingled with anxiety and anticipation.
One of the soldiers lifted his head to gaze at the sky.
“Is it really starting?”
“As it’s about to happen, I’m feeling nervous.”
“Don’t you have any regrets?”
“Regrets about what? It’s better to make a stand than spend a lifetime cleaning up after the gods.”
Midgard belonged to Asgard.
Yet, their dreams always lay in Valhalla.
Asgard’s paradise. A world of beautiful landscapes, sweet rivers, with neither extreme cold nor heat.
Probably not a single resident of Midgard didn’t dream of Valhalla.
“Let’s just trust the commander and move forward.”
“It’s too late to worry about failure now.”
In the distance, one of the soldiers could see Rasderikh.
The boundary separating Midgard from Valhalla. The core of their plan was to break it down and topple the realm of the gods.
“Isn’t the sky on our side too? Luckily, a Valkyrie dropped into our lap.”
“That’s true.”
“Right. Our job is just to hold this position.”
Before the words could even settle.
Thump-.
A stranger approached the headquarters’ entrance guarded by the soldiers.
“Halt.”
Click-.
The guard at the entrance raised his hand forward, and other soldiers around aimed their weapons in alert.
Dozens of weapons were pointed at him. Yet, instead of showing fear, he looked up at the towering headquarters.
“I need directions.”
There was something unsettling about him.
“Is this the headquarters of Midgard?”
“What’s your business here?”
“So, my guess was right?”
Skak-.
Upon hearing the guard’s response, Suhyuk nodded.
“Then I’ve come to the right place.”
“What are you talking about-.”
Booom-.
Boom-!
Before the soldier could react, yellow electricity covered his body.
“Someone must be here, right?”
“It’s an attack!”
“Who the hell is this guy?”
“How many?”
As soldiers gathered around the commotion at the entrance, Suhyuk stood in the center, grinning beneath his mask.
“100 points per kill.”
The mission came at just the right time.
The swarming soldiers started to look like delicious points to him.
“Accepted.”
* * *
A stealthy infiltration was not even considered.
This incursion hinged on time being of the essence. Since Viola had been chosen as the sacrifice to awaken Bergelmir, there was no room for detours.
Boom-!
A widespread bolt of lightning obscured his vision. Given the number of enemies, Suhyuk had no choice but to expand the range of his skills to confront all the soldiers rushing from every direction.
Buzz-.
One of the soldiers pierced through the lightning and thrust a spear.
The spear that aimed for Suhyuk’s head grazed his cheek, while at the same time, the tip of Suhyuk’s sword split the soldier’s groin upwards.
Slash-.
With the sound of bones and armor splitting, the soldier’s breath ceased. When Suhyuk looked around again, the number of soldiers had increased even more.
– Stronger than I thought?
– But they’re still demigods, right?
– Then they’re idiots.
– Idiots, hahaha.
That was right. This was Midgard.
A world where humans and gods mingled, inhabited by demigods.
The soldiers here possessed skills similar to that of Vigo.
“It’s going to take some time.”
If he could, he wanted to charge through using bolts of lightning generously.
At the least, if he used the Heart of Lightning, the fight would be much easier.
But that would be a bad move.
“Was his name Baldur?”
The green-eyed man he saw in the cutscene.
The enemy commander who had captured Viola in this headquarters.
He would likely be the boss of this trial.
“In the end, I have to defeat that guy.”
He needed to save some stamina for that moment. Hence, he couldn’t afford to rush ahead too quickly.
However…
『’Bergelmir’s’ seal has begun to release.』
『Release rate: 1%』
『Release rate: 1.2%』
『…』
Just then, a message popped up.
– What the…?
– Already?
– Is NOONA okay??
At this rate, he couldn’t afford to go slowly. He had no idea about the situation on the other side, and once the seal was completely lifted, there would be nothing he could do.
It was obvious, wasn’t it?
Bergelmir was the countermeasure against the gods. Rasderikh, who sought to break the boundaries of the world, was precisely Bergelmir.
“I need to change my approach.”
Energy surged to his head instead of his body.
Squeeze-.
He tightly clenched his hand, which was wearing the Glove of Thunder.
Continuing to fight through these soldiers while advancing was not the right choice. However, he couldn’t ignore his stamina either, so he needed to find another way.
Hiss-.
For the first time, Suhyuk took a step back amidst his advance.
Soldiers surrounded Suhyuk as he stopped moving.
“Did he give up?”
“Surrender quietly! Then there will be room for leniency!”
It seemed the soldiers thought he had given up when they saw him stop.
– Is this GG?
– Did he really give up?
– Aren’t you going to save NOONA?
– Yeah, just play another round~
The viewers seemed to think the same.
In this urgent situation, Suhyuk had taken a step back and stood still, making it appear that way.
But if he were going to give up, he wouldn’t have come back here in the first place.
“I’m going to give it a try.”
Suhyuk’s gaze shifted to the top of the command tower.
“Let’s see if I can fly that far.”