Fateburn: Thank you.
Hollowreaper 93: Yep ;) Ever since Olympus those underlined texts from seemingly nowhere was Despoina.
SomeDudeThatReads: That is great when little things like that happen :D How Despoina did it is coming this chapter, though their relationship will be spread out since Dorian has a new guest in his head lol.
tamagat: I am not sure what you mean? The battle isn't over yet.
reality deviant: Her father possessing a teenage boy while her brother tries to kill her? Yea she never expected that I imagine XD
Slayer Cross: lol yep, though as you'll learn she technically is still dead...but yes she was partying a bit in Dorian's head LOL. You may recall when Dorian had that harem dream the Rossweisse who gave him words of wisdom had her hair flicker violet for a moment... You stay safe as well! No need to worry about me, I am all hunkered down for the duration.
OBSERVER01: Time for the 3-person tag team to drop a god XD
Jwebb96: New Challenger...ACCEPTED!
fanficcyberman: Aww, thank you! It means so much that my story has had such an impact on you. You too! Skye and I are doing just fine, you be sure to stay healthy too :)
Haremfucker321: Thank you!
GunBlade2020: No worry, it was about 40 chapters ago lol. Despoina was the Olympian traitor working with the Khaos Brigade in revenge for Zeus killing the last Titan her surrogate father. She was killed by Forcas and Dorian used a gem the brigade had stolen to send her soul to Elysium...but not ALL of her soul was in her body at the time ;).
WinterRuneWolf: Can't say yet ;) But she is returning within Dorian's head, she left a present in there via the kiss before throwing him to Elysium. I hope the wait wasn't too long lol.
God of war: I bet Despoina is glad to be back, hiding out and laying low is not her style.
AJR3333: It's never too late to proclaim your favorite girl, feel free! :D
kpop1392as: It is so touching and means a lot that you have been enjoying the story to catch up with the latest so quickly. It is readers like you that help motivate me so much writing this story. If all goes as planned I will be encompassing the first 21 volumes of DxD before the end ;)
And with that...ONTO THE SHOW!
All had grown silent as Loki's cries faded. He was not banished but was driven far enough off that they had a few moments of respite. Dorian had no words, stumbling forward towards the familiar Olympian who looked no different than the day they had walked the library together.
"How," he finally croaked. "How are you here? You died; I SAW YOU DIE! You were in Elysium!"
"I am dead, and sending me there was very sweet of you," the girl kicked off the ground, floating gently down before him before cupping his face in her hands. "Don't you remember?" A flash of memory came to him, her lips on his mixing with blood and pain before being pushed through a portal. The version of Despoina spending the years with him shifting between her likeness and Rossweisse as his ideal and the one being imprinted fought for supremacy.
"But I thought that ideal was destroyed when I left Elysium."
"I would have faded by now, Aethir is finite after all away from the flame. That is, until you reinforce it with something else."
Blood, no not blood, ichor. The life essence of the gods of Olympus flowing from Despoina's slain body. It pooled around him, spilling upon the gem of his Sacred Gear and disappearing within the depths.
"I…" He froze as the young goddess could contain herself no more and leapt forward, embracing him as he spun her around to prevent her flying past altogether. Iggy pouted a little bit but refused to interrupt the reunion.
"I missed you too," she whispered to him softly. Dorian returned the embrace happy beyond words that she had not died, that evil always in the back of his mind, but still he was hesitant to trust after all she had done.
"I'm sorry I couldn't save you. Sorry that…" The Einherjar's apologies were silenced as she flicked a finger forward catching the tip of his nose in a playful gesture.
"Last I checked I was the one who allied with the megalomaniacal fallen angel and his army of monsters. That hole you blasted in his boss was REALLY satisfying to watch by the way."
"But, how could you remain hidden so long? I mean, neither I nor Iggy had any clue you were…" Dorian spun quickly, catching Iggy trying to glance away with a growing bead of sweat on her brow. For a moment he actually thought she was going to start whistling nonchalantly. "You knew?"
"Sh-she asked not to be revealed," the young world tree shrunk back to her human form timidly. "She said she would help me."
"Help you? With what?" Despoina and Iggy glanced to each other before their mutual decision to tell him.
"She has a hole in her mind spilling into your nightmares," Despoina admitted. "Where do you think I spent most of my time since Olympus? It is quite a mystery and one I'm hoping to…"
A roaring sound shattered the air around them as Loki's voice reached them. The god had finally shrugged off Despoina's attempt to banish him and soared at breakneck pace towards them face flame with rage, eyes red with fury. The previous seal with renewed strength blocked his advance from smashing right through them.
"You have ignored me ENOUGH!"
"Oh please," Despoina grinned back at him. "I could ignore you all day."
"No, you will not."
Loki's form bulged out, his body growing to massive proportions as fangs reminiscent of his wolven son sprouted from each claw. He continued to grow, his size dwarfing all around him as his human features fell away save for the visage with the ever-familiar smile. The trio craned their neck upward as he grew grander than even his son, his form lending more to the name of World Serpent so tall they lost sight of his face.
"He's spent long enough in your mind," Despoina explained as his form took shape. "One can control much in here, but I've been studying what makes you tick longer than him. I've seen QUITE a lot about you," Dorian didn't like the mischievous smirk on her face. "I can help focus."
"It's MY mind," Dorian stepped forward tired of being made a fool. "He tricked me, TWICE. Manipulated my friends and nearly got Rossweisse killed. We have to stop him here or he'll use my body to destroy everything. You said we can do much in here?" Despoina nodded.
"Not just that, your young friend is quite the fast learner. I've been teaching her all I know of Olympian magic. Iggy nodded, taking Dorian's right hand as Despoina held his left. "Cut loose."
"Both of you," he stood as tall as he could hands squeezing around theirs tightly. A great light swirled around the trio, the two women fading away with their ambiance merging into his body.
He does this in my mind, but it is MINE.
"You cannot kill me," Loki's new mangled voice laughed as his new form completed its change. He was a horrific amalgamation of himself, Midgardsormr and Fenrir. His body coiled about covered in scales harder than any steel, fangs that could rend flesh from godly entities and spikes protruding from every surface. Only his head retained any semblance of his own body, the face clearly his own with blue hair and fins emulating what had once been hair. before it vanished into the skies above "This has passed once before; I know for it was by his aid I was set on this path in the first place. A self-fulfilling prophecy."
"The prophecy of Ragnarok, your own machinations, none of it matters anymore," Dorian muttered as the light encompassing his body exploded outward. "Whoever your friends are in the Khaos Brigade or whatever else you have your fingers in we will stop them! You may be a deity out there, but this is MY mind and here I am the God!"
The radiance dispersed, revealing him in a new armor Loki was not familiar with. It was similar to his Balance Breaker but pulsed with energy unlike anything he'd seen before. The shoulders and chest were broader giving Dorian a far more muscular appearance than normal. The metallic bark of his gear was augmented by dragon scales and a thick toga-like mesh akin to the gods of Olympus covering it adorned with a dozen gems each a different glow. Roots exploded from his back to form wings that shook the air with each beat in much a way the great eagle of Helheim had. Roots sprouted from his back taking the forms of additional arms within each grasped a legendary weapon. Twilight Star, Bright Star, Mjolnir and even Despoina's Twilight graced each as he faced down Loki with the confidence of a true Einherjar.
"You…you have no such form!" Loki roared as he towered over the lone warrior preparing to strike. "You are not capable of this kind of power!"
"In here," Dorian grinned before a colossal helm closed about his face leaving only glowing silver-green eyes staring back at his opponent. "I am!"
Atop Hela's Castle…
Explosions sounded across the rooftop lighting up the sky for miles around. The Crossroads battled against their possessed leader wielding the powers of a God as siblings crossed spell and fang not far beyond. Hela leapt away from her bother cradling a near-useless arm dripping blood to melt the snow beneath her feet. Even with her powers augmented through proximity to the realm she had claimed they were coming up short before Fenrir as was often the case.
That is why father always gravitated to you after all. She mused knowingly. The prodigal son, not the layabout who literally sleeps the centuries away or the daughter who paled in power to the others. Was that why I wanted to rule here originally? Fatherly recognition…how boring, I suppose it doesn't matter now.
"How little would he care if you were weak?" She asked Fenrir who only snarled back in a language few understood. "Oh don't give me that bull of a pack!" She spun her hand in a circular fashion as he pounced, lassoing his mouth shut with an eerie green light. The massive wolf snarled as he sought to free himself.
Even though you obey father your heart isn't in it. You could have bitten my head off a half dozen times but you haven't. I just hope you see the light before you change your mind. She glanced off towards the other side of the tower. But how are they faring against father dear?
"Xenovia!" Irina cried out as she intercepted a new blade of ice before it would have bitten into her thigh."Nightmare!"
The young protestant split into a dozen differing copies of herself to act as the vanguard of their attack on the Loki-possessed Dorian or Lokirian as Bennia had grown fond of calling him. Misty had taken a heavy hit with Seekvaira and Brynda tending to her while the furious back and forth continued. The puppeteer's corruption had grown even more evident with his gold hair turning a pale blue similar to Loki's own. With each passing moment his control grew more secure.
"I have not gotten to fight so directly in ages," Lokirian grinned with glee as he parried Durandal and turned Xenovia's follow-up strike. Hecuba stepped in with a shield bash he kicked off for distance.
"Reinforce the barriers on their left!" Rossweisse called out as Herja struggled to keep up. "Lay down what fire you can but we have to keep up…"
Herja cried out as a backlash followed her runes back to their source exploding in her face and throwing the young Valkyrie to the ground below. Rossweisse's own countermeasures were the only thing preventing her from sharing the same fate. Before she struck the cold roof, Kuroka caught her with a lightness of foot only a cat could compete with before setting her down.
"His stamina is impressive," she huffed clearly fatigued but unwilling to show it as long as possible. "With some room I could test a few more concoctions."
"Not until we have no other option," Rossweisse called out knowing full well her mists and poisons were not accurate enough to target Lokirian without hitting their own people. "Have you had any success otherwise?"
"I scored a hit or two," she bragged. "His movements are at least 15% slowed not that it has helped much." Rossweisse was impressed at her analytical prowess in direct contrast to her usual self. "Loki's soul is ignoring the disruption to Dorianya's body. With a good enough distraction, I could aim for something more vital, but he is VERY apt at avoiding my blows."
Lokirian looked to the skies, spotting Rossweisse strengthening the defense seals that prevented him from tearing through the swordswomen. With a twirl shattering ice off Hecuba's bronze armor and casting her aside, he took to the air targeting the genius Valkyrie. Bennia spun to bar his path, barely disarming one of his weapons as he left her behind, quickly reconstituting a new one to replace it. Kuroka scarcely avoided the swing of a jagged helblade shredding one of her sleeves before she could dodge.
"Oh, how wondrous his pain will be when his own hands kills the woman who shares his bed!"
Rossweisse held her composure, fashioning the most complicated seal she could not only blocking his swing but sending waves of electricity into him. She pulled her punches, unable to bring herself to use the full force against Dorian's body and it had cost her. Once the energy ran its course, Lokirian crashed through her barrier blades seeking her throat.
NO!
The blades turned at the last moment, missing her flesh to scrape uselessly against her armor barely managing to scratch but not pierce it. There was a brief silence between them, the possessed Einherjar unmoving, gaze blank as if confused what just happened. In his current state he could not understand, but Rossweisse did.
He's still fighting in there! He and Iggy!
Rossweisse slammed her fist into his chest during that moment of hesitation, a renewed circle of energy expanding at the point of contact seizing his limbs. It couldn't hold him long as he struggled against it, she knew that. But she only needed a moment.
"KUROKA!"
"With joy nya!" She answered with a bubbly laugh. The nekoushou descended from above, delivering a colossal Sage Arts enhanced kick to the top of Lokirian's head. The sound thundered outward as the blow connected at full force, sending him careening back towards the roof and shattering the weakened ice. "That'll disrupt every sensory system he's got," she snapped her fingers proudly.
Lokirian staggered to his feet, immediately face-planting into the floor. He attempted to rise only for his attempts to lift a foot be transferred to his hand and vice versa. For each part of his body he attempted to move another decided instead to obey. The natural flow of energy in the body had been thrown into complete chaos, but not for long.
"Bind him!"
A grand seal, the finest she could fashion without additional time formed under his feet, a battered Rossweisse ignoring the pain as she poured all her skill into it. From the sides, Kuroka added her own Sage Arts and Devil magic to reinforce it. Herja and Brynda joined her before Hecuba, Irina and Xenovia all crossed their blades together around Lokirian's body in an attempt to restrict his movement. Bennia was last up, the head of her scythe detaching from the handle and burying itself deep into Dorian's chest. She channeled its power, causing no physical damage but seeking to extricate the foreign soul trapped within.
"Come on you prick," she grunted, pulling hard with a thin chain connecting her blade to the rest of her. She focused her powers in an attempt to destabilize his hold over the body. "If only I was stronger…"
We can't hold this, Rossweisse realized as their combined efforts buckled under the pressure. Lokirian's power utilizing Dorian's body, Loki's knowledge and soul surged once more releasing a wave against the beleaguered Crossroads. If something doesn't happen soon we'll be killed or forced to…she didn't want to consider that option. Dorian, Iggy, if there is ANYTHING you can do, please do it fast!
Dorian's mind…
Forests were ripped asunder, mountains crumbled, and the very ground was shattered into unrecognizable fragments with each passing flourish of battle. The gargantuan form that Loki had taken thrashed and unleashed godly powers that put all he had shown before to shame. With might that would have made Thor buckle in the real world he focused all his being on eradicating the last vestige of Dorian's consciousness to claim possession of his body for the rest of time. He was stronger there than ever, an unconquerable super being. Even so, he was slowly learning that such power was not an absolute victory within the landscape of the mind as he had hoped. Through all his attempts and attacks, he had not struck the Einherjar once.
"Where you recognize evil," Dorian uttered with a thunderous voice he did not have in the real world. "Seek it out, speak and act against it with no truce or quarter given!"
The warrior gripped a loose scale from the god-monster's back, using it as leverage he propelled himself with impossible strength dozens of meters up Loki's length. Once his momentum died, he dug the legendary weapons at his disposal into the flesh, hooking himself further up. Only after his certainty of safety, the warrior raised Mjolnir high, crashing it down to send a cascade of perfect lightning fused from every mythology's magics he understood further up the serpent's length. Loki roared in pain as his scales fashioned to be no weaker than his son's splintered with ease. Recovering, he raised a claw towards Dorian's new location only to find the agile fighter had already moved again staying fast and mobile against the behemoth, a pair of black devil wings supplementing those he already possessed.
I've never been this fast or powerful! The rush hit Dorian like a wave and did not dissipate. Within his mind where he held dominion he could envision what he wished to be and make it reality. Here, he was a true Norse warrior without equal akin to the heroes of legend facing beasts that could bring the world to heel. He could not hope to match this prowess in the real world…not yet, but the glimpse of what could be drove him on. Iggy, Despoina, can he be beaten in here?
If we drive him out, he will be reduced to his bodiless spirit. There are a thousand ways to deal with him then.
Until then, he is the totality of his being in here. To utterly destroy a god like that would take a long time.
Then we push him from my mind, he hesitated at the thought of killing even to Loki. He WON'T do this to anyone else!
A claw the size of the Gremory mansion descended towards him to rake Dorian from its back. Despite its incredible size, it moved faster than most could follow threatening to cast him from his voyage towards Loki's skull. Raising Twilight Star high, Dorian generated the power of his nine realms, a blast of amplified lightning-wreathed black fire ripping through the appendage. As he hoped, his attack tore through the scales and flesh, leaving a torn mangle of broken fingers left to withdraw.
A lift, how thoughtful of him!
Tendrils of Jotunheim reached from Dorian's arm, latching onto the retreating hand and pulling him along. In a matter of seconds, he had cleared much of the grotesquely misshapen form's distance, dropping down at the joint connecting the arm to Loki's new body. As soon as his boots touched down he took off running for the head now seen more clearly awaiting in the distance.
"Your tenacity is wasted," Loki's voice boomed like thunder. "I need but one strike to crush your mind, your bites are insignificant. No weapon conceived can slay me as I am now."
He does love hearing himself talk, doesn't he?
Just because HE can't conceive a weapon, doesn't mean I can't. Just a little further to…
Dorian paused his advance as, to his horror, scales at seemingly random intervals began to rise across Loki's body. One by one they warped and took shape, becoming copies of Fenrir stretching into the distance by the thousands. The Einherjar's heart froze solid as his right arm started to twitch, the stump remembering the nightmare when the limb was torn from his body. His arm was as real as he wanted it to be, but that didn't change that once he left there it was no more.
That little shit, Dorian they aren't the real thing, it's just in here!
I know, he sighed acceptingly. It's gone, I have Mr. Azazel's prosthetic and I'm sure Brokkr would love to whip up something, but my real one is gone. Even still, I don't regret my choice…not for a second!
Dorian charged forward with an inhalation to steady his nerves. The copies of one of the strongest beings of their world lunged at him one after the other fangs seeking his flesh. They were so slow to him now, allowing the Einherjar to duck and weave around them, cracking the occasional obstacle in the face with one of his legendary armaments before continuing on.
"You played me, from the very moment I set foot in Asgard!" Dorian roared, cleaving a Fenrir in two as he sprinted forward clearing the way to his goal. "Nearly got Rossweisse killed, you DID kill Baldur and set up the events in Kuoh surrounding Hrotti!"
Another attempt to strike him down descended from above blocking out the light, Dorian dove between the fingers taller than any trees, catapulting himself at incredible velocity towards Loki's chimera-like face drawing closer. The hand rounded back on him only to turn grey and break off falling into the abyss below, a perfected rune of Olympian-make petrifying it as totally as any gorgon.
"You manipulated Hecuba! Made her your puppet and tried to murder EVERYONE! I don't care what your plan was or your attempt to manipulate me into however you planned to survive it. IT ALL ENDS HERE!"
A torrent of energy wrapped in dark lightning erupted from Loki's maw towards him. Mid-jump Dorian could not possibly avoid it and was utterly consumed by its brilliance. The blast continued past him into the limitless vacuum of space beyond disappearing with a sparkle. All that remained was a dark cloud left behind from the thundering explosions resulting from the attack.
Dorian emerged from the smoke with a battle cry that shook the heavens and made Loki tremble even in his titanic transformation. He was scorched with bleeding wounds covering his flesh but it was ignored as he reached his goal, roots entangling Loki's face and pulling the warrior to his triumph.
"My will is stronger than yours!" Loki fired renewed beams from his eyes as another breath attack started charging. "My word is law!"
The beams missed Dorian who at the last moment flicked the tendrils of Jotunheim, propelling him high above Loki's head putting him just overhead. Raising his multiple arms high, the legendary weapons in his hand all radiated light so bright none could look upon it. One by one they merged together into something new. Neither could see what it was through the light but Dorian who knew what it was. His ideal weapon he could envision to end someone like Loki, his' kingly tool.
"I'm NEVER alone in here!" Dorian proclaimed to Loki as the light of Heaven exploded to blind his foe further. "It ends here, justice was too long in finding you!"
Dorian fell upon the corrupted god, his weapon akin to a sun collapsing on him. Even Loki could do nothing but stare up at the result he never conceived as a possibility. The shining golden light encompassed him utterly. The explosion consuming his head, the effects reverberating throughout his world-sized body with cataclysmic effects. Detonations set off going down until his entire body was collapsing even far into the distance beyond Dorian's sight. Both combatants fell, falling through the void of Dorian's mind as all the terrain around had been destroyed. After an eternity in free fall, Dorian in his shattered armor crash landed barely gripping the hilt of a cracked Bright Star, his old weapon. Loki fell not far, his regal attire tattered and shredded, his face bled, blue hair disheveled and wild.
"Th-this cannot be," Loki gasped while reaching a bruised hand out towards him, failing to stand. "I…I was promised, HE PROMISED!"
Between the two, a new shape appeared. It was Loki but not the one laying barely conscious on the ground. He was older, white and grey besmirching his blue coupled with the hint of wrinkles upon his face. His robes were vastly more bombastic than his current detailed in strange patterns and designs alien to any on Earth. He just stood there eyeing his current self, eyes narrowed in a clearly condescending tone.
"He…promised. Destroy this husk of a world for a better one, one with her in it again." Loki reached out, his hand passing through the mirage before him…pressing weakly against Dorian's chest who had staggered to his feet and closed the gap between them. With what strength he had left, the former godly retainer seized the beaten Jotun by his collar, hoisting him up to eye level. "Bravo, you got a taste of true power you'll never obtain in the real world. What now? Wish to kill me boy? It doesn't seem like you, no spine for it."
Could I? With enough time could I really kill him, a god, in my mind? I'm so tired, he could just be trying to get me to give him time to recuperate or…
…Or try to make you something you're not?
That would be just as total a victory over you.
At their combined assertions, Dorian loosened his grip that had been slowly tightening around his enemy's throat but did not release. With a calm that had escaped him through their battle he looked Loki dead in his eyes.
"I won't kill you, that's not me. But you won't harm anyone else, you abandoned your body and exist only in here...you did this to yourself."
"Will I become a new tenant? Another to your collection with the sapling and the traitor?"
He has the gall to call out a traitor after what he's done? I don't know how long my Aethir will last, Despoina admitted with a somber tone. But I'll only stay as long as you'll have me. I can help you understand those nightmares, they are more than what they seem.
"I don't know if I can trust you," Dorian answered solemnly as he remembered Olympus clear as day in his mind, remembered her lightning catching him in the back when he turned it to her. He was overjoyed she had not died, but such betrayal he had felt multiple times to that point, it was not easy to do so again. "I just don't know, Iggy let you stay and that means more than you know. But for now, I want to keep an eye on you. As for YOU," he returned his attention to Loki as a sphere of rainbow energy formed at his chest akin to his signature move the Bifrost Barrage. "You have no place nor power here; I've been wanting to say this for a long time."
The prismatic energy spanning the full spectrum struck Loki full in the face at point blank range engulfing him in its brilliant light coinciding with the Einherjar's words echoing with a resolve unmatched in Midgard.
"GET THE FUCK OUT!"
Helheim…
Lokirian looked to the heavens roaring with a final gasp of resistance. In a quick flash, the signs of possession and corruption faded from his face as a familiar god of mischief was catapulted from his collapsing body. Even separated, Loki's spirit was strong appearing in the same form as his corporeal body. Bested for a second time he slammed a fist down utterly enraged at his machinations falling apart around him.
No matter, I am still incorporeal. I won't be as strong without the reinforcing curse, but I can take another of them. Maybe that pretty Valkyrie of…
The conniving deity suddenly lurched forward as something solid struck him in the back. An impossibility he kept saying as nothing should have been able to interact with him. Slowly he glanced down, spotting the top of a dark scythe blade protruding from his chest.
"I caught a big one!" Bennia called out as she pulled on her haft across the roof like a fishing pole. "Everyone…PULL!"
Every Crossroad's member who could stand grabbed hold of the handle, chain or even Bennia herself and pulled back as hard as they could. The group planted their feet tugging on the Reaper's weapon again and again. Despite their best efforts, a thin tether remained between Loki and Dorian's body signifying his final resistance from being torn asunder.
"I will not go!" Loki bluffed as he crawled back towards the Einherjar. "I am a god, I'll rip his soul asunder first!"
"Gods are overrated," Bennia muttered under her breath as a black cloud snaked from her lips. If anyone had looked back, they would have seen the young Reaper's eyes flare black like bottomless pits, her light blue cloak darkening to a near-black hue. She had long contemplated the orb Sirzechs gifted her, a portal to power befitting her station without binding her will or loyalty to Hades as many of her kind, her father included. The sphere rested within her robe, power bleeding from its depths into her body. "COME ON YOU PRICK!"
The dark power followed her weapon all the way to Loki's struggling soul, surrounding him in the force granted to her through her lineage to the Underworld. With a scream of denial at his fate, the blood-brother to Odin was torn wholly from Dorian's body, dragging him without resistance back to the young woman. The sudden slack sent everyone stumbling backwards to the floor. Just before he would have reached her, the god held his hands out reaching for her throat.
"Then I'll take you! With that bit of power I can…"
Before he could reach Bennia's neck, a bronze-clad warrior with shining red hair stepped between them. A black blade extended between them, impaling him through the front as her scythe remained lodged in his back. Monster's Bane had skewered Loki, its might from the bones of Echidna capable of piercing soul as well as flesh.
"Remember me?" Hecuba twisted her sword harshly. "You want our bodies? Come take them!"
Her words shattered the god, his ability to resist Bennia utterly spent. With an echoing cry upon the still-winds his form exploded into a shower of light that rose up high before disappearing into the depths of Bennia's weapon to join the other harvested souls. The reaper who had taken her first step into a new realm of power stumbled back, her eyes returning to normal as she fell backwards barely caught in time by Irina.
"Never…caught a…god before," she gasped to the reborn angel as Rossweisse dashed past towards the unconscious Dorian. "They always say first time's the hardest. Maybe I'll just take a nap right here."
"Unfortunately, we have one left," Seekvaira pointed out as she motioned across the field. Hela remained locked in battle with her terrible brother…and she was losing.
Across the Roof…
Hela released a blood-curdling scream as fangs found her leg having failed to clear the distance between her and Fenrir fast enough. Her power was fading with every bite from the god-slaying jaws. Fenrir had taken his fair share of injury, a single horn broken away and fur scorched across his back, yet it wasn't enough to slow him down.
"So that's it?" She released a quick laugh followed by hacks of pain. "I help raise you, now I die by those same paws I bandaged when you tried to fight Vidar as a pup? Are you still terrified of the man?"
Fenrir focused his gaze on her once more, the pain at what he was doing evident in spite of his actions. He looked upon his sister with sorrow raising a paw towards her battered form. Unexpectedly, he did not finish her off as he could have done easily. Instead, he proceeded to pull her closer into his paws like a wounded pup licking at her injuries. She did not have the strength to resist him and was utterly perplexed by his actions.
One last mercy easing the pain before ending it? If you're going to do it just do it!
Fenrir seemed to hear her thoughts, once the last bit of blood had been cleaned from her open wounds, he raised his snout over her head. It would be quick and painless, a sharp snap of her neck like how a dog would take out a rodent that had wandered into its home. She closed her eyes to await the end.
It did not come. She felt the rush of air as the jaws snapped shut so close to her face her brother's foul breath hit her full force. Daring to look, Fenrir pulled against the chains still wrapped around his body now pulled tight against him. In the distance, a battered Einherjar stood leaning on the shoulder of a silver-armored Valkyrie. Laerad Ragnarok was raised high controlling the chains once more, the wolf could resist them no longer.
"Get away from her!" Her roared, clenching his fist with a commanding flex. With a renewed tug, Fenrir was dragged backwards scraping at the stone roof without finding any leverage to resist. The god-devouring wolf looked every which way for a means to fight back finding none nor his father whom he had put all his loyalty towards. He could find nothing but more enemies, looking back towards his sister. The weight of what he had done seemed to shine in his eyes, the gaze locked upon hers saying more than words every could.
I'm sorry.
With that, he was gone dragged back into his prison, the portal closing tight behind him to leave the group in utter silence. His energy sapped, Dorian fell forward barely caught by Rossweisse.
"Dorian!" She embraced him tightly using her own body to keep him on his feet, her own wounds causing pain to surge from his weight. Regardless of her own injuries, she smiled with a gasp of joy as his hands tenderly embraced around her. "I've got you, I got…"
"Rossweisse! Dorian!" Thrud's voice echoed as a flash of gold came into view blasting towards them at incredible speeds. She was coming in so hot that the ground shattered at her landing, her eyes widening at the two's mutual state of injury. "I can't leave you both alone for anything."
Without warning she grabbed the two, their cheeks meeting as her healing took effect immediately. Dorian tried to wave her off to help the others but she wasn't hearing it. Bennia was passed out in Irina's arms with a goofy smile of pride as they made sure all were well. Overjoyed, those of the Crossroads who could still stand surrounded the three, joining in their embrace. They were happy at the end to the conflict, however was hesitant to approach Hela. The Goddess of Death looked now towards the slain eagle, the future uncertain but regardless of what else they must contend with, one fact was certain. In terms of the battle…
It was finally over.
Later…
An uneasy peace had settled over Helheim with Loki's defeat. An army of living and dead still stared at each other across the way but the likelihood of battle had passed. Freyja had been permitted entrance by Hela's decree, Mooguor forgiven for her defeat and allowance of a single intruder. The more seriously wounded had been taken from the rooftop while the rest surveyed the slain eagle, questions for the future whispered between them.
"A few weeks, months at most," Hela sighed as Freyja surveyed the damage. "That is how long it will take for Helheim to be naught but mists of Niphlheim once more. Already my borders shrink encroaching on our settlements. Oh Hraesvelgr…"
"The dead can be pulled in closer to the center to delay the collapse," Freyja attempted to offer her input. "Asgard can suffice if need be."
"The dead and living in one realm? It would be chaos, perhaps a means of freezing it once more can be devised but it must be capable of continually replenishing the cold."
"They've been talking ever since we won," Dorian sighed still nursing the pain of the Crossroad's combined attack on his body. "I can't believe I did that, I killed him."
"It was Loki, not you as it was with Hecuba," Rossweisse tried to ease his guilty conscience. "We will think of something, we…"
Maybe we can use the ice from Laerad Ragnarok?
We draw upon that ice from here, Iggy lamented the uselessness of his plan. If it is gone, that power will diminish as well.
"Damnit!" Dorian slammed his fist down before walking over to the next and slain eagle, causing Rossweisse and Thrud to jump. "He was one of a kind, the only one who had chosen to nest here in Helheim, whatever the reason for it."
"Nesting…" Rossweisse suddenly perked an ear up. "What if that IS why he chose Helheim all those millennia ago?"
Thrud and Dorian glanced to each other as that gleam sparkled in the Valkyrie's eyes, that spark of inspiration that appeared whenever she thought of a new formula or found an especially generous discount. With the focus of an expert detective, she began scanning over the slain eagle, as before there was no apparent change since its death. Not to be deterred, Rossweisse formed glyphs in each hand, the light scanning over the bird, nest and rooftop directly beneath.
"Rose? What are you thinking?"
"That eagle was ancient, thousands of years old at least," she explained while continuing her mysterious search. "But it was still an eagle, right? Like the kind that live atop the heights of Yggdrasil?"
"I suppose," Dorian thought hard. He knew full well that other creatures besides Ratatoskr lived upon the boughs of Yggdrasil. He had heard speak of the eagles even if he had not met them yet. "They perched atop the World Tree and stay there because…" He slowed as what Rossweisse was getting at donned on him.
"Because similar to Earth eagles they prefer the same nest for reuse! As long as They are still using it they will not abandon a home! If it was…there!"
Rossweisse's glyphs lit up illuminating the outline of a box or compartment etched below the fallen bird at the warmest point. Scrambling with excited fervor, she started drawing the hidden secret of Hraesvelgr to the surface. Her interest in the fallen beast drew Hela and Freyja over from their deliberations.
"What are you doing?" The daughter of Loki demanded. "Can't you leave him be?"
"Not if I am right!" Rossweisse blurted out without even turning to look at her. Hela glanced to Freyja with a look of supreme agitation, but it did not last long.
The outline rippled into existence revealing itself to be a pocket fold similar to the one Xenovia used to house Durandal safely. The silver Valkyrie reached inside as far as she could, even a little further with help from Dorian but they could see nothing. Almost defeated, Dorian stepped forward to summon remaining chains of Gleipnir to surge forth from his Gear into the fold. The chain went further and further within before finally stopping.
"I hit something!"
"Careful!" Rossweisse stressed. "Be absolutely careful if it is what I think it is."
Dorian listened to her, tenderly pulling back as he felt the metal wrap around the object within. Freyja, Hela and Thrud gathered round as the chains emerged from the portal cradling an enormous egg bigger than the Einherjar's head.
"Hraesvelgr was…actually nesting? She was female?" Hela asked as her mouth dropped open as she eyed the polished surface of the shell. "But nothing living can thrive long in Helheim!"
"No," Freyja agreed. "But she chose her duty to keep this realm going over promoting the growth of his child, such dedication. That fold would have placed the egg in limbo, surviving until it could grow and hatch."
"The pocket would have collapsed on its own without the energy to sustain it," Rossweisse explained. "Leaving it there would have been a death sentence."
"It could perform the same purpose as its mother!" Hela said what everyone was thinking. "If we can care for it until it hatches here."
"To condemn another to this realm?" Freyja scowled at Hela's suggestion.
"Think what you will of my domain, but it IS a necessity," the half-living goddess turned towards her, the two practically butting heads. "I will find a way to…"
Before she could finish, a half dozen spheres of light popped into being one after another from Laerad Ragnarok. Once free, they floated in a circle surrounding Rossweisse holding the egg in her arms as if it were an infant. A great sense of warmth flooded everyone present, the egg taking it in greedily after the long years without light or heat. Hestia's flames native to Olympus were more than sufficient to provide all it required for life.
"It's moving!" Rossweisse smiled giddily unable to control herself, glancing back to Dorian who nodded feeling the same. "It is still alive!"
"Can these maintain themselves?" Freyja asked quickly, astonished at Dorian's sudden improvement in their use.
"As long as energy is fed into them on a regular basis," he explained thoroughly. "Maybe these can make it hospitable enough for it to hatch in and see Helheim as its home."
Maybe the eagles of Yggdrasil will know more, I can send Rat to ask them later.
"Perhaps," Freyja laid a gentle hand on Hela's shoulder. "It can be given a choice like its mother. We can work together to ensure this orphan we foster will have a good and meaningful life…"
Inside the Castle…
"Where are you," Seekvaira grumbled to herself as she turned another corner of the castle. While the goddesses debated Helheim's future above, the Agares heiress had moved within with the rest of her new team. Unlike the others waiting in the foyer, she had delved deeper remembering Dorian's words from earlier. "There!"
Coming to an ornate door, the blonde woman straightened her posture and adjusting her glasses before opening it. She knew what awaited her inside and prepared herself. In the back, a familiar man sat facing a window cradled in the fetal position. His hair was unkempt and the room was trashed, the bed broken and shelves cracked down the middle all done by him.
"I-I'm feeling b-better," he stuttered without looking at her. I should have listened and not gone out, I…"
"Zaeboy," she uttered the name she had dubbed him as children that she knew irked him so. "You don't have to say another word."
Zaebos Glasya-Labolas spun around so fast she almost fear him snapping his spine in the effort. It did her heart good to know he recognized her voice so completely. He crawled forward the slightest touch, squinting his eyes as if to ensure he was not hallucinating once more.
"Seeks? Y-you found me? How are you here? There is no mist!"
"It's me," she asserted coldly unwilling to break her demeanor no matter how much she wanted to. "You can thank that Einherjar who beat you so I hear. We can discuss it later, I'm getting you out of here. You may be dead, but your spirit should be with your own people."
Tears welled up in Zaebos' eyes. Uncaring for how it would look if anyone saw, he threw himself at Seekvaira, burying his head between her breasts much to the growing blush on her cheeks. He hugged her tighter, showing a comfort near her she couldn't recall him expressing since they were children before their house's troubles and rivalry pulled them apart. He may have been dead and that could not be easily undone but for the moment being with him again was…nice. Hesitantly, she opened her arms, wrapping them around him.
It's okay, I'm here. We'll get you back to the underworld, back to join with the rest of your ancestors where you belong.
"I-I was not killed in an accident," he gasped at last once his tears had dried. "I was ambushed, it was…"
"I know," Seekvaira interrupted to dissuade his fears before he broke down again. "We know who it was and have a little surprise prepared for him tomorrow."
Elsewhere in the Castle…
"It may be possible," Freyja concluded as they watched over the egg within a specially prepared chamber within the keep. "With the Hestia flames coupled with this chamber and normal care for such an egg it could hatch even within the cold of Helheim."
"I am accustomed to raising uniquely born young," Hela asserted, her young helping Fenrir grow up returning to her even with the many years since she had cared for another being. "It will be well-cared for."
"I'll get some magic eagle raising tips from my pals on high," Ratatoskr promised from the young Grim Reaper's shoulders. "By the time he hatches he'll have his uncle Rat's eyes!"
"I bet he'll be a cutie," Bennia poked at the shell already growing warmer. She had been summoned by Hela but had been uncertain why.
"I…suppose," Hela scrunched her face baffled by the girl's demeanor after the battle she had just been through. "I must thank you for your quick action, but I believe you have something of mine."
Bennia had to grip her scythe to prevent it from leaping from her back as Hela raised a hand calmly. Even with her weapon secured, a blue mist seeped from the tip wafting towards the goddess. More and more it coalesced within just as Baldur's had not long ago until its identity was irrefutable.
Loki.
"Father will be remaining with me," she asserted as an urn far more ornate and thicker to prevent any chance at escaped formed around it. They could barely hear the final scream of futility as the god of mischief's essence was locked away. "He was within Dorian when he made the pact after all…what's his at the time is also mine.
Dorian thought about the impact of such a thing, but he decided against saying a word. He had seen her face when Loki welcomed her on his moment of conquest. She refuted him utterly; he saw no reason she would go against that now. Freyja appeared to agree despite her desire to see Loki shackled in Asgard again, stepping forward as if to say something before pulling back, opting to keep the peace.
"That was reckless and foolish what you did,"
"...but predictable," Rat muttered while glancing away nonchalantly.
Freyja suddenly embraced Dorian, pulling him close to her chest as if she may have thought it would keep him from all future harm. "Any sacrifice should have been mine to bear!"
"Lady Freyja…" he didn't know what to say. He had taken her place to prevent the sorrow of losing her son, yet she seemed just as sad at the exchange made.
"Not so formal, Baldur will recover," she assured him finally stepping back only after her embrace had lasted long enough to placate her worries. "It is time to go home."
"I think not," Hela approached, her deathly half seeming to linger longer than before. "A deal was made upon this ground; the boy is mine. It sounds as if your son is recovering nicely. You have yours back, and now I have one."
"Still? For fucks sake!" Ratatoskr stood tall with a scowl of annoyance.
"But he is our leader!" Bennia protested with a pout of anger.
"He can't stay here all the time!" Hecuba pushed forward with the others, their voices starting to overlap in heated protests.
"Do you allow conjugal visits?" Kuroka's request sent facepalms reverberating across the gathered host save for a thumbs up from Ratatoskr.
"Silence!" Hela's voice echoed commandingly yet not harshly. "He made the pact and must uphold it, He will not suffer here, he will work to earn his keep as my enforcer but I assure you he will want for naught."
She is gentler than before.
She enjoyed your company, Iggy explained while pressing the urgency to keep this fact from anyone else for Hela's sake. Not just was it a binding pact, but she has not had such company in ages in spite of how brief it was.
"Please, Hela," Freyja asked far more gently. "We took him in, gave him life when his was taken and raised him to the station he now holds. Can we not…?"
"No!" Hela's voice was filled more with desperation than power. "He can stay, I will lend him out when you need him but I…I want him here."
"Can we not convince you?" Rossweisse stepped forward, drawing Hela's gaze which softened somewhat at her approach knowing full well her identity and meaning to Dorian.
"…no," she muttered at length. "You may visit as often as you wish, even stay here and live with him but he will NOT leave."
Living in Helheim? What about the Crossroads? Kuoh Academy and the future? I suppose a new one could be started here but…
You shouldn't stay, that would be boring and things will happen the same way again.
"I can't," Dorian suddenly chimed in, causing Hela to turn with a hesitant expression betraying her demeanor. "It would go against the pact we made."
"What are you talking about?" She demanded. "The pact was that you and Yggdrasil's daughter would remain in trade for Baldur's soul. Clearly he is safe and getting his body back, therefore…"
"Here it comes," Rat could tell something good was coming, taking a bit of his popcorn that had appeared from nowhere.
"The pact was trading one god's soul for another with Iggy and myself counting as one," he explained, the realization hitting him with the mysterious urging that he must leave Helheim. "Myself and Iggy for Baldur."
"Yes, and this was what was done!"
"Then what do you hold in your hands?"
Hela's pale visage grew dark, her face resting on that of an old crone longer than before as she glanced down at the urn holding Loki's soul within. She understood what he was getting at, but held against the inevitable as she had always done.
"Loki was within me when the pact was made and now you hold his soul in your very hands. That creates two souls you earned from the pact in return for Baldur, not one."
Technically two and a half, Despoina chimed in quickly. But you don't need to mention me, please don't. I imagine I am still not looked at fondly in Olympus for what I did.
"By your own deal," he concluded calmly. "You must choose one to keep and the other must be set free."
"Jackpot boss! If you were missing a soul you'd make a fantastic lawyer!"
Were it not for maintaining the resolve he had found, Dorian would have surely fled for cover. Hela's face was awash with anger, eyes wide with a slight twitch as her lips parted ever so slightly as if to speak yet closed again each time without an utterance. Even Freyja feared what she may say, even one her best day to be undone by her own deal would have thrown the daughter of Loki into an unrivaled fury.
"If you think, I shall let you go…" Hela reached out towards him before her hand stopped abruptly. A soft lapping sound could be heard below.
It was blood, as Hela had reached towards Dorian, the x-shaped cut on her palm made from the agreement had blazed open once more glowing as if scorching with heat. Several drops of godly blood had already fallen to the floor with more to follow for every moment Hela contemplated reneging on her agreement. Defeated, bound by her own words she lowered her head glumly, the wound on her hand sealing in an instant.
"Go," she whispered weakly, securing her grip on Loki's urn. "Just go."
The young Einherjar turned to follow Freyja as she breathed a sigh of relief. Before they would have exited the room, he quickly turned back.
That smile she had when she was showing us around and watching the movie, it would be nice if she had that more often.
"You know, as the leader of the Crossroads it would not be out of place to come to Helheim every so often for," he paused as her eyes locked on him. "Cultural exchanges, maybe discuss Ricardo's decisions." His casual name of the protagonist from the film he had passed out during brought the slightest echo of a smile to Hela's lips, Freyja and the two Valkyrie's glancing to each other in absolute confusion.
"Big softie." Rat smirked approvingly.
"That would be acceptable, I will…appreciate your company." she finally answered. "It will be some time before I can be as accommodating. Until the eagle hatches Helheim shall continue to melt. I will need to find places for my people from the outer fringes to remain."
"Perhaps I can help with that. The devils are part of the alliance after all," Seekvaira emerged from the next room having made sure Zaebos was on his way out. Hela was aware and saw no reason to hold him considering his arrival had been done under less than hospitable conditions. It was this above all else that made the devil heiress more than happy to lend all the resources she could. "The Agares family has access to vast territory much of which can be settled by spirits of the dead. It will be a logistical nightmare, but I am sure we can secure enough for your displaced people for the temporary future."
"Asgard's resources can help slow the melting as best we can," Freyja promised with a nodding Thrud in agreement. "In this, we are united."
Hela watched the party depart, her heart a little lighter in spite of the uncertain future. Whatever may come, somehow in the deep pits of her soul she would not admit, it felt good to not be so alone.
"Now then," she finally turned to the urn in her hands. She could feel the swirling mass of rage that was her father and it gave her more than a slight pleasure to know he was utterly bent to her power in that moment. "Shall we discuss all those missed birthdays father?"
Helheim Gates...
At long last, Dorian breathed a sigh of relief as the team returned to the Gates of Helheim hand-in hand with Rossweisse, the two leaning on one another for support.
The young genius provided a blanket of warmth in the freezing land. He had been unaware of the army of volunteers until rounding the corner, a bead of sweat forming upon his brow as so many raised a cheer for his return. He tried to lay low as he spotted Modi and Ragnar, both eyeing him as if he were a slab of meat ready for another fight or competition.
Loki is down for the count, Helheim stabilized for the moment and we all made it.
"And what is the smile for?" Thrud asked with a sly grin hiding the twinges of jealousy. She could fool Dorian but Rossweisse, who had known her for so long could tell she was unsettled. Silently she resolved to confront her at the next chance they had to be alone. "Have some ideas together?"
"I'm just glad we can finally relax," Dorian sighed in response. "It's been so long since we could feel at ease."
"You must wait a little longer my boy. Battle calls over the drums of Rossweisse's thundering breasts I am afraid."
"ALLFATHER!" Rossweisse blurted out as she turned red as Hestia's flames. The Allfather of the Norse Gods emerged from the rear column of troops eyeing them all with a wide grin. His gaze was especially unrepentant with Freyja, clearly adoring her battle attire immensely.
"I'd go to war to the beat of THOSE drums," Ratatoskr agreed with the perverted deity, stepping back a safe distance on Dorian's shoulder. "Play a few beats with the young maiden boss?"
"Still a maiden? That's too bad," Odin continued while ignoring her silent protests at his incorrigible nature and Dorian's attempts to catch his rodent companion. "I see things have resolved themselves nicely."
"What do you mean we must wait?" Dorian sighed heavily. He had been healed by Thrud with his own fires replenishing stamina, all the same however he wished for some downtime.
"You can only blame yourself for this one lad. Zaebos confirmed our assumptions based on the information you gave us. Suffice to say that the ones responsible for his death are making a move come the morn…and we'll be waiting for them."
"The ones responsible?" Dorian stood up, no longer relying on Rossweisse for support. "This Duke? Who is he?"
"One pompous little ingrate, the rest of the alliance are sending their own as well. We are expecting quite the fight."
"Count us in!" Thrud wrapped an arm around Dorian and Rossweisse's neck without need for further explanation, puling them together as she eyed the collection of volunteers who had done naught but wait through the ordeal with Loki. "After all, we just so happen to have an army itching for a good time."
Helheim has been saved, Loki recaptured to be a prisoner of his only daughter. As the Norse dress their wounds, a battle of devils draw them away for the final conflict of the day. One last fight to save Team Gremory from the one responsible for Zaebos' death, Seekvaira's maiming and Rating Game Sabotage. The final battle of the arc begins...next time! Until then I hope everyone Reads and Reviews...but most of all Enjoys! :D
On another note, I hope everyone is staying safe and healthy with this COVID going around. All is doing well with me but updates may be slower to which I apologize if that happens. I wish you and all your loved ones the best in this strange time.