I own nothing but my OC(s).
Chapter 13: Helheim
Kyoto, Japan
"Keith Nakamura, Odin requests your presence in Asgard." Freya said, looking straight in the human's eyes.
No one said anything for a few moments. Kunou and Kuroka were worried about that because when it came to Gods, nothing was simple. Rossweisse was merely anxious and was watching Keith with hopeful eyes. As for Yasaka…she had half a mind to blast the Goddess to Shinigami. She had a thought about what they would want from Keith.
'He is not ready to face Garm.' She thought, narrowing her eyes at Freya.
For his part, Keith was in deep thought. Almost two months have passed since he was introduced to the supernatural world. Sure he grew quite a bit: he had good mastery over the True Longinus and could defend himself, but he had a limit to how much he could do.
"What business does Odin have with Keith-kun?" Yasaka asked.
"Briefly put, he believes that Keith Nakamura can stop Garm." Freya answered, her eyes still fixed on the human.
"What?!" Kunou was incredulous. "How in the name of Amaterasu-sama could he believe that a human who barely got involved in our world would be able to defeat a cursed beast?"
"All will be explained once he accepts." The Goddess said.
"If he accepts." Kuroka argued, almost snarling at the white haired woman.
The Love Goddess didn't say anything back. Her hands were slightly trembling. She didn't like to do these kinds of errands. She didn't like barging into other pantheons and factions' lives. She also didn't like condemning people to unwinnable battles. She didn't share her husband's optimism about the human either. He was young and still too green.
"This Garm…" Keith said. Everyone's focus was instantly on him. "Why does Odin think I can do anything against him?"
"The wolf's nature is allowing him to not die." Freya explained after a few moments of silence. "That is why he was chained in Helheim. No weapon or object can hurt him in such a way for him not to be able to heal it."
"The True Longinus." Yasaka said, catching up on what the Goddess was going to say, making her look at the fox. "You believe that Garm's nature won't save him from the holiest weapon in existence."
"Yes." Freya nodded, then her eyes softened when she looked back at Keith. "I know what I…we are asking of you is grand, but without you, Garm will continue to trash Helheim. When he is finished with it, the other realms will come next."
Keith closed his eyes and took a deep breath, thinking. If he refuses, the wolf will be their end, eventually. That is if he is not taken care of by someone else. But nobody knows when that somebody else will come…
"How did you chained him the first time?" The young man asked.
"The short story is that Tyr, the God of War of our lands, lured the wolf by letting him chew on his hand. He then managed to chain him, but once the gates of Helheim were opened, Garm realized that he was led into a trap. In rage he ripped Tyr's arm off in revenge." Freya told him.
"I see." Keith simply said, seemingly undisturbed by the fact that Tyr's arm was ripped off by the wolf he is going to face.
"I will help you." He announced after a moment's silence.
"Kei-kun?!" Kunou looked at him incredulously. "You can't be serious."
"Yeah." Kuroka agreed, worry adorning on her face. "I think you didn't hear the part when that thing bit a God's arm off, nya."
"I did hear it." He said. "Do we have any other options?" He looked at Freya.
She grimly shook her head, making her way to him.
"I am afraid not." She then softly rubbed his cheek with her hand, smiling at him. "So young, yet so brave." She did the unexpected when she kissed him on his forehead. "The Norse pantheon will not forget this."
"Okaaaay, you are too close!" Kunou quickly grabbed Keith's arm and pulled him to her, away from the Love Goddess. How dare this…this…thieving cat kiss her Keith! She narrowed her eyes at Freya,
"Oh?" The Goddess giggled. Rossweisse blushed at her antics. She did that with everyone. She liked irking others up whenever she got the chance.
"Goddess or not, I won't let you near Kei-kun, nya." Kuroka grabbed his other arm, squishing it between her amble bosom.
All this stained Keith's cheeks in red, making him lose his composure. Yasaka merely tsked, giving Freya a quick glare, then made her way towards the human.
"Keith-kun." She got his attention. "Are you sure?"
He managed to calm down, Kunou and Kuroka letting go of his arms, but not leaving his side.
"Not really, but what else can we do?" He asked. "If we wait any longer, we don't know how bad the damage Garm will do might affect the world."
"I will try my best to defeat him." He continued resolutely after a moment of silence.
"Very well." Yasaka nodded. She looked at Kunou briefly, seeing the worry and anxiety on her face. "Then I will join you."
"Huh?" He looked at her with wide eyes. "But what about the leylines? Won't the city be destabilized?"
Yasaka shook her head.
"No. We will not be away for long. I can leave Kyoto for a few days before the city begins to destabilize."
"Didn't know that." Keith noted. "I thought you were bound to the city."
"That would've been an inconvenience." She said. "Are you ready?"
"As ready I will ever be." He said.
"Kei-kun." Kunou grabbed his attention. "Please take care and return safely." She gave him a tight hug which he returned.
"Hey, no fair, nya!" Kuroka snatched him out of Kunou's embrace, only to smother him in her own. "Be careful out there and do not play hero, got it, nya?" She told him, giggling. "As Kunou-chan said, return to us, nya."
"I will." His voice came out as muffled because he was currently suffocating in Kuroka's breasts.
"Ahn~! That tickles, nya." She moaned, a faint blush forming on her cheeks. She let go of him as Yasaka began to speak.
"Ahem." The older Kyuubi coughed in her fist, giving the cat an annoyed look. "Let's go Keith-kun." She grabbed his hand and nodded at Freya, who nodded back.
"Ah here." Keith was surprised when Kuroka kissed him tenderly on the cheek before they could teleport.
"Kuroka-chan!"
He didn't hear Kunou's incoming rant as he, Yasaka, Freya and Rossweisse disappeared via a magic circle.
"I can't believe she kissed him…" Yasaka muttered as soon as they finished teleporting. Now she was behind both Kunou and Kuroka! That wasn't fair at all.
Keith didn't hear her as he was too busy marvelling at the immense palace he was currently in front of. It was the tallest building he had ever seen, seemingly made out of gold with two enormous gates. On the sides, he could see several statues of Gods and Goddesses, each standing tall and prideful, but none other like Thor, who was holding his hammer, Mjolnir, up high.
Up on the sky, he could see no clouds, only blue as far as the eye could see.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" Freya asked, a smile greeting her face.
"It is here where people come when they die?" Keith inquired curiously, unable to look away from the pristine palace.
"Sort of." Rossweisse was the one who replied. "The people who die in battle, they are picked by us, Valkyries, and brought to Odin-sama where he grants them passage towards Valhalla." She spoke with excitement and pride when she explained. Keith could see she was honoured and content with doing this.
"I see." He said. "And those who don't die in battle?"
Rossweisse's excitement disappeared at his question.
"They go in Helheim." She said softly. "Similar to the Hell in Christianity or the Hell in the Greek mythology, Helheim holds the dead."
"I take it that it is ruled by someone then?" Keith asked. Since Hades had in control the realm of the dead with the same name.
"Hel, the Goddess of Death, is its current ruler." Freya replied, but didn't say anything else. Her tone sounded sad.
"Will we have to deal with her?" Yasaka asked.
"No." The Love Goddess shook her head. "She was the first to let us know that Garm was freed. She doesn't like to have her realm in disorder."
"Well then, if there aren't any more questions, let us go." She continued. The four walked through the two gates and instantly were met with a tall, brown long haired and bearded man with matching eyes. He was dressed in warrior attire consisting of straps and light clothing on his upper body, not covering his stomach and only a part of his chest. He wore black pants with matching shoes, giving him a warrior-like look. His hammer was sheathed on his belt.
"Ah Freya!" He exclaimed with a grin. "You are back." He then looked at Yasaka and Keith. "And I can see that you brought guests." His grin widened when he looked at the young man.
"You must be Keith Nakamura." He offered a hand. "Name's Thor."
The Longinus wielder accepted the handshake, which proved to be a mistake since the God of Thunder almost crushed his hand, making Keith grit his teeth in pain.
"Ahaha!" He laughed and rubbed his head sheepishly. "Sorry, I got too excited and forgot you're human."
"Uh, right…" The human gave him a dry look as he held his almost crushed hand.
"And who must you be, pretty lady?" The son of Odin averted his attention to the kitsune.
"I am Yasaka, the leader of the West Youkai Faction." She offered him a small bow and a smile.
The God of Thunder, being the gentleman that he is, took her hand in his own and kissed in gently.
"A pleasure to meet such a beautiful and powerful lady such as yourself." Sure, she was weaker than him, but definitely stronger than your usual Youkai…a lot stronger.
He then turned his attention back on Keith.
"I know father asked you to come here for other business, but can we duel?" He asked excitedly.
"Huh?" The young man looked incredulous at him. "You want me, a human, to fight you, a God?"
"Bah, don't worry." He dismissed him with a move of his hand. "I will go easy on ya. I just want to see how the wielder of the strongest Longinus in existence fights."
His grin made Keith shudder slightly. It didn't take him long to realize that the person in front of him was a battle maniac. Before he could respond however…
"Dear husband." A new voice entered the discussion, and it sounded irritated, making the almighty God of Thunder pale. Keith almost laughed, but decided against it because he didn't know how he would've reacted at a mortal laughing of him. He could see that both Freya and even Rossweisse were trying to keep their laughter inside.
"Y-Yes honey?" He squeaked, his jovial and friendly attitude quickly disappearing when a hand grabbed his cheek and pulled. The one who did that was none other than his wife. A young looking woman with abnormally blonde long hair, wearing a regal blue dress, which accentuated her curvaceous body. Her blue eyes were currently glaring at him.
"Ow, ow, ow!" He flailed his arms around, trying to get away from her, but her grasp was seemingly unbreakable. "Phleash, leth goh!"
"Hmph." She turned away from him, then looked at the newcomers. "I apologize for his behaviour." She offered them a warm smile. "I am Sif, Goddess of Family and this doofus' wife."
"A pleasure to meet you, Sif-sama." Yasaka bowed respectfully, Keith mirroring her.
"Oh please, just Sif will do." She said. "Come, the All-Father wishes to see you."
"But-" Thor closed his mouth as soon as he opened it when he recoiled in fear from his wife's glare.
"What was that dear?"
"N-Nothing!" He coughed in his fist. "Yes, let us meet father."
Keith was once again surprised to see the big interior of the palace, far greater than Yasaka's, with several paintings on the walls, with huge chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, which looked like they were made out of the purest gold.
"Welcome." He was brought out of his admiration when a male voice greeted. When he looked. He saw an elderly man coming towards them. He had long grey hair with a matching beard, as well as a gold and white monocle over his left eye, dressed in a blue robe with a golden and black hat atop his head.
"I apologize for bringing you here so suddenly, Keith Nakamura." The old man said. "I am Odin, the chief deity of the Norse pantheon."
"An honour to meet you, Odin-sama." The young man bowed respectfully.
"None of that boy. Only Odin will do." He smiled, then looked at Yasaka. "Ah Yasaka, I see that you are as beautiful as ever." His smiled turned lecherous, as he kept his eye on her breasts.
"Why thank you, Odin-sama." She said, purposefully not covering her assets, knowing that he will get in trouble. "I can see that you are still a pervert."
"Of course!" The Norse God exclaimed shamelessly. "It is a man's duty to gaze upon a beautiful woman."
"Is that so dear?" A voice snapped behind him, making him gasp and widen his eye. He turned quickly.
"W-Wait Freya! I was joking!"
"Were you now?" Keith didn't even see the Goddess leave their side. "Why don't I believe you?" She narrowed her eyes at him.
"I-I swear!" He raised his palm solemnly.
"In case you didn't notice, Odin is quite the pervert." Yasaka whispered in Keith's ear.
"I did notice. How does Freya put up with him though?" He whispered back.
"Oh, I believe she punishes him almost on a daily basis." She giggled.
Clearing his throat, Odin brought the attention back on him.
"I believe you know why I called you here."
"I have the gist of it." The human said. "Something about this wolf, Garm."
"Yes. You probably have heard already, but since Garm's nature is enabling him to 'come back' every time he is 'killed' is very troublesome, hence why he was chained." Odin re-informed.
"And you believe Keith-kun's True Longinus would help." Yasaka re-stated.
"Indeed. If may I ask Yasaka, what are you doing here?" He asked curiously. "Not that I mind." Once again, his eye was fixated on her voluptuous breasts, but didn't linger for long, courtesy of Freya who smacked him behind the head.
"Keith-kun is not, under any circumstances, prepared to face someone as strong as Garm on his own." She said. "I will join him."
"But, your fire will be useless in Helheim." Freya noted.
"Under normal circumstances, that would be true, but…" She trailed off as in her open palm appeared black flames.
"Amaterasu's flames." Odin exclaimed. "So, you're her Champion."
"Yes."
"Keith Nakamura." Odin got the young man's attention. "Take this." He handed him a knife which had various small runes carved upon its blade. "With this knife, you will be able to seal Garm inside it."
He took the knife and its sheath, tying it around his waist.
"The wolf will be kept inside until we can chain him again." Freya informed.
"Where did ya get the knife?" Thor asked.
"I asked the dwarves to craft something powerful enough to imprison Garm." Odin replied. "I once again apologize for asking you to do this."
"It's fine." Keith said.
"How will we survive the cold of Helheim?" Yasaka asked, knowing very well that the realm was the coldest of them all.
Odin sighed. "For that we will have to-"
"Ask for my help." A chilly, yet attractive voice said. Out of the shadows appeared a feminine figure whose hair was half white and half black, wearing a long black robe made out of shadows. Her eyes were bluish pale, almost white, looking lifeless and on top of her head was a pointed crown-like tiara. Her skin was deathly pale, yet looked very smooth.
"A-Ah, Hel…" Odin smiled nervously. "Good to see you."
"Spare me your babblings, All-Father." She glared at him.
"R-Right." He coughed in his fist.
"So?" She looked at Keith and Yasaka, the former flinching slightly from her cold gaze. "Are they the ones?"
"Yes." Odin nodded.
"Come here." Hel said, more like demanded. Keith moved towards her and offered his hand. She took it and he was disturbed to feel how devoid of warmth her skin was.
"This rune will protect you from the cold of Helheim." A rune formed on the back of his hand. She did the same to Yasaka. "Do not overstay your welcome." She then disappeared in a black mist.
"Don't judge her too harshly." Freya said softly after a few moments of silence. "She's been…through a lot."
The two didn't say anything.
"Be careful out there and good luck at hunting!" Odin exclaimed as a magic circle manifested itself under them.
When Yasaka and Keith appeared in Helheim, they both were surprised to see how dark it was. The realm of the dead was, more or less, in ruins, marks of destruction everywhere as far as the eye could see.
"What are you waiting for?" They looked up and saw Hel emotionlessly looking at them. "Get that mutt and leave. You're disturbing the realm only by being here. You are not dead after all." She said. "I will try my best to hold off the dead from leaving, but you have to hurry. Oh and…you see that bridge?" She pointed to an immense bridge on which ghostly figures were passing on. "Do not, under any circumstances, cross the Bridge of the Damned, understood?"
"Yes Hel-sama." Yasaka nodded.
The Goddess of Death didn't say anything else as she merely disappeared.
"Well then, where should we start?" Keith asked.
They heard an ear piercing howl coming from the north. Yasaka having the keener sense of hearing, felt it a lot stronger than he did.
"From there." Yasaka said, but stopped suddenly when she saw his hands shaking slightly. "Are you afraid?"
"Huh?"
"Are you afraid?" She asked again, grabbing his hands in hers gently.
"I…I would lie if I said I wasn't." He confessed. "I mean, I barely know anything about this world and here I am, facing a cursed wolf."
"Don't worry." She said, smiling warmly at him. "This is why I am here. The dog won't even touch you as long as I breath."
"I get that, but…" He frowned.
"But?"
"Who's going to protect you?"
"What do you mean?" She tilted her head.
"If Garm proves to be stronger than we thought? I don't want anything to happen to you." He said. "That is why, I will return the favour and protect you as well."
Yasaka's cheeks gained a faint blush from what he said.
"W-What are you saying?"
"I understand that I am human and that there isn't much I can do, but I do not wish to see you, or anyone else hurt." He continued. "That is why I am going to look after you, just as you will do for me."
Yasaka's heart began to quicken its beatings. She has heard these words only when she was a kid.
'Don't worry my adorable daughter. We will protect you.' She remembered her parents telling her that. For some reason, she believed him instantly. Something in his voice made it clear to her that she can rely on him.
"Oh Kei-kun, that is very sweet of you, but I am quite strong you know?" She said.
"I know, but even the strong need protection sometimes." He smiled. "That is something which mother told me."
Yasaka returned the smile, hugging him tightly, catching him off-guard.
"She was a wise woman, wasn't she?"
"Very much so." He returned the hug. "Well then, let's begin."
Then the two began wandering around Helheim, fighting off any undead which managed to escape Hel's sight, until they reached an open space with broken columns around it.
"This is where we heard the howl, right?" Keith asked as he looked around.
"Yes." The Kyuubi nodded, then her ears twitched. "Watch out!" She quickly jumped and pushed the young man out of the way of a giant chain which would've crushed him.
"Holy shit." He breathed out. "Thank you Yasaka."
The fox nodded, then both looked where the chain came from. Keith was left breathless when he saw a giant dark grey wolf whose eyes looked soulless. He was currently baring his teeth at them, growling.
"Well…he's uh…big." Keith summoned the True Longinus in his outstretched hand. "How do we do this?"
"We need to be cautious. We do not know what he can do." Yasaka said. She coated her hands in black flames and prepared to fight the beast.
With a growl, Garm didn't waste a second and began his attack by stomping on the ground with such force that it created shockwaves towards the two. They managed to dodged them by jumping over them with enough ease.
"Careful!" Yasaka pointed out as Garm opened up his mouth and shot out blocks of ice at a rapid rate. Yasaka dodged them and Keith either dashed to evade them or managed to destroy some by using his spear.
The fox needed to ack quickly when the giant wolf jumped towards them and opened up its maw to eat her. She grabbed him by the teeth and managed stop him from doing so, while she was skidding on the ground, still standing on her feet.
With a battle cry, Keith appeared near Garm's neck and thrusted his spear into it, making the wolf whine at the sudden pain. The beast jumped back and snarled at the human, feeling how the blood was starting to stain his fur, as well as smoke coming out.
"Uh-oh." He jumped to the side in order to dodge the wolf's frontal paws. Thankfully, he wasn't that fast, but what he lacked in speed, made up with resistance and strength.
"I will attract his attention. You try and stab him with the knife!" Yasaka yelled from a distance. She threw a ball of fire at Garm, pushing him slightly. The beast instantly growled and turned to her, ready to attack her.
He began a series of ground pounds in the hopes to crush her, but to no avail.
"Is that all you can, stupid mutt?" Yasaka taunted him. She didn't know if he could understand her or not, but surely he would recognize the taunting tone. "I have faced bigger and stronger beasts than you!"
To her surprise, the wolf growled louder than before and began to attack even more aggressively.
Seeing this as a potential chance, Keith wasted no time. He made the Longinus disappear and grabbed the knife. Using his speed to the limit, he reached Garm and attempted to jump high enough so he could grab his fur. Imagine his surprise when the wolf suddenly turned in his direction and swatted him away like a fly using one of his paws, sending him in an already ruined wall. The impact was so hard that when he fell down, he began coughing blood.
"Kei-kun!" Yasaka became horrified when she saw Garm smack Keith like nothing. She had to grab his chain to stop him from going after the human further. "Ugh, stay away from him!" Her feet dug into the ground, as the giant wolf struggled against her.
"Agh." Keith groaned when he stopped coughing and attempted to get up. His body was hurting…bad. "Fuck that hurt as hell."
"Kei-kun!" He widened his eyes when he saw Yasaka keeping Garm in one place by using his chain. "Get out of there! I cannot hold him for much longer!"
With another groan, he picked himself up and right on time. When the beast got free, he instantly attempted to crush him, but thankfully, he managed to dodge.
"Are you-" Yasaka gasped when she saw blood running down his face.
"Heh, yeah, just a flesh wound." He joked weakly.
"How can you joke right now?!" She wanted to reprimand him further, but instead she grabbed him and jumped out of the way of the rampaging wolf.
"Shit, this hurts." He gritted his teeth while Yasaka was averting Garm and was holding him.
"Bear with it for now." She said as she ran under a ruin, then let him stand on his own feet. "I am afraid this will not hold for long." She motioned at the ruin they were currently hiding under. Garm was outside, trying to break it.
"Where does it hurt?" She asked.
"My back and head." He replied. With a nod, she immediately began to heal him, but it didn't last long until the beast managed to destroy the ruin, the fight beginning once again.
"We need to hold him in place for a few seconds!" Keith shouted, dashed out of an incoming paw, then swung at it with his spear.
"I have an idea!" Yasaka said. "I will use my real form to incapacitate him for a little while. In that time you get on his back and stab the knife into him!"
"Okay!"
Without wasting a moment, Yasaka concentrated and was engulfed in light. She began to grow and grow, her tails becoming longer until she transformed into a gigantic nine-tailed fox.
"Holy fuck." Keith gaped at her form. She was a golden fox of the same height as Garm, if not bigger.
'She looks so majestic, damn.' He thought. 'And is huge as hell.'
"Kei-kun, prepare yourself!" She could hear her talk inside his head.
"Huh?"
"Telepathy!" She needed to move her head to not be bitten by Garm, then pushed into him, making him stumble backwards.
"Quick! I will grab his chain!" She informed as she took the chain in her mouth and pulled in the opposite way of him.
With a nod, he grabbed the knife again and ran. He grabbed onto Yasaka's fur and climbed until he reached the chain. Without wasting any time, he began to run on the chain until he reached Garm's snout. Avoiding his maw, he jumped on top of his nose and climbed further until he was on his back.
"We win, pooch!" He rose the knife above his head, the runes on it glowing brightly and in a fast motion, he stabbed it into him.
Wide eyed, the wolf glowed and disappeared in particles made out of light.
For his part, Keith would have fallen and broken something, had Yasaka not acted quickly. She managed to grab him on her head right before he would touch the ground.
Feeling the soft fur, he fell on his back, exhausted.
"Fuck, it's done." He held up the knife and looked at it for a few moments, then sheathed it.
"Yeah, we did it." Yasaka telepathically said. "Are you okay?"
"Aside from almost dying, yeah."
"Don't say that." She growled in his head, making him flinch. "Ah, sorry."
"I wouldn't have let you die, Kei-kun." She continued. "So please, don't say that."
He remained silent for a little bit.
"Sorry."
"It's fine." She then smirked. "How's my fur?"
"Very soft." He chuckled. "Didn't touch anything like it."
"Of course you didn't." She began to giggle. "Don't fall asleep."
"Huh?" He almost did.
"Come, we need to get out of here."
Yasaka lowered her head and he got off. In the same light, she returned to normal.
"Oh, were you expecting me to be naked?" She teased when she saw him looking at her.
"Wha?" He recoiled. "No! Of course not."
"Mhm…tell yourself that." She laughed softly.
"I wasn't!"
"Is it done?" Their interesting conversation was stopped by a familiar chilly voice.
"Yes Hel-sama." Yasaka nodded. Keith showed her the knife whose runes were glowing.
"Good." The Goddess said. "Now leave." She swiped her hand in the air as the two disappeared via a magic circle. "And thank you." She said softly, then sighed upon seeing all the destruction that stupid mutt did.
"Welcome back!" Thor exclaimed when the two reappeared in the palace.
"How did it go?" Odin asked.
"We got him." Keith showed them the knife.
"Oh thank the Ginnungagap." The All-Father breathed out.
"The what now?" Keith was dumbfounded.
"Oh it's a long story." Freya dismissed him with a shake of her hand.
"Right…" He trailed off, then he handed the knife to Odin.
"How can I repay you?" The King of the Norse Gods asked. "Oh I know! How about I let you have Rossweise?"
"Eh?" The only Valkyrie in the room exclaimed. "Odin-sama!"
"What?" He didn't think he did anything wrong. "Besides this is your chance to find a boyfriend."
"What?!"
"You are 20 and never had one!" He reasoned.
"Uhm, Odin-sama, that won't be necessary." Keith said.
"Am I so undesirable?" Rossweisse glared at him.
"N-No!" He flailed his hands. "The choice should be yours."
"Of course, I was joking." Odin said. "Rossweisse is like a granddaughter to me and I wouldn't offer her for anything in the world. Also I hope you do not resent me for teasing you." He offered her a smile.
"Of course not, Odin-sama." She shook her head.
Yasaka was amused by the two.
"If this is all, then we will take our leave." She said.
"Oh, but I cannot let you leave without a proper reward!" The All-Father pressed on. "Besides, I am sure you and I can catch up Yasaka!"
"Yes and I want to spar with Keith Nakamura." Thor added.
Both men were immediately in tears when their respective wives grabbed their ears.
"You dare say that to another woman while I am here?" Freya bristled.
"I told you to stop searching for fights." Sif told her husband dryly.
"But-!"
"No buts!" The two women said at the same time, pulling their ears harder.
The young man laughed at the display, making everyone look at him.
"Ah, sorry. It's just…I wasn't expecting Gods to act so…normal." He said.
"In the past…we may have not." Odin rubbed his ear. "We were very different back then."
"Odin-sama, if I may ask you something." Yasaka caught his attention. "Amaterasu-sama talked with me and was curious to know if you wanted to become allies in the near future."
The King of the Norse Gods was surprised upon hearing this.
"Does that mean…"
"No, she didn't forgive you." Yasaka said amusedly, making the old man deflate.
"What did he do?" Keith inquired.
"He may have peeped on her while she was bathing." Freya became irritated. "For a few times."
"It was only 10 times!" Odin reasoned, or tried to.
"Only he says." Sif let out an unladylike snort.
"Anyway, why would Amaterasu want to form an alliance?" Thor asked.
"She believes that there is strength in numbers, especially since Tsukuyomi is free."
"So I've heard." The old God stroked his long beard. "We believe that it was Loki who freed him."
The fox was surprised to hear that.
"How so?"
"Before betraying us, he made it clear that he will not work alone." Thor said. "He told us that he won't be the only God we will have to be aware of."
"I see…" Yasaka trailed off, deep in thought.
"I will consider Amaterasu's proposal." Odin declared. Before Keith and Yasaka could leave, Rossweisse spoke.
"Odin-sama." She grabbed his attention, "I would like to go with Yasaka-sama and Keith-san."
"Oh? Why Rose?"
"I was thinking about what you said a few days ago." She said. "That I never left Asgard."
"Oh that…Are you finally deciding to go and see other places?"
"Yes." She nodded, then looked at the fox and human. "If that doesn't bother you."
"Of course not." Yasaka shook her head. "We would be delighted to have you."
The Valkyrie then focused on Keith.
"It's your choice. Since Yasaka, isn't against it, do as you wish."
She smiled softly again.
'He seems like a good person.' She thought. 'He helped out with Garm without expecting a reward in the first place and knowing that it will be dangerous.'
"Are you sure of this Rose?" Freya asked.
"I am Freya-sama." She nodded happily.
"Very well. I am sure the others won't be too upset to share your work for a while." She smiled. "I will send your belongings later."
"Well then." Odin said. "If there is nothing else, I bid you farewell." He then continued. "Oh and be sure to take care of her, Keith Nakamura, because if I find out that something bad happened to her…I will come for your head."
"O-Odin-sama!" Rossweisse was bit red while Keith gulped and nodded.
"Until we meet again, Odin-sama." Yasaka bowed.
"Oh and do not forget about thinking what you want as a reward!" The All-Father shouted before the three teleported back to Japan.
A/N: Yoo people! Exiled here with another chapter! I hope you enjoyed it! I really had a lot of fun writing this one. Initially I thought of writing the fight with Garm as a separate chapter, but decided against it. I felt it was better this way, right? The next chapter is going to be a bit shorter I believe…dunno yet.
Anyway, let's jump into the reviews.
runelt99: Always maxing out the charisma!
GhostlyDrew: I agree that it feels a bit like the scale mail from Boosted Gear and Divine Dividing, but my reasoning of giving him armour was because it would help him survive against tougher opponents like Gods and such. I will try to think of what else would it do besides armour. Also I do not really know much about FGO or the Fate universe. All I watched was Fate/Stay night and Apochrypha ( I think that's how you spell it).
Guest: Ah I see…Maybe I will add that, dunno yet. Also I am happy to hear you enjoyed the Hel-Walkers and Garm. I can surely say that God of War (both the 2018 and Ragnarok) are my favourite games right now. As I said to GhostlyDrew, I am afraid I am not that well versed in the Fate series. I don't really know much about it. Nonetheless, I appreciate the ideas!
Keo namikaze: Initially I was thinking to introduce Tiamat, but got this idea and went with it. I was thinking Rossweisse would rather teach Kuroka and Kunou Norse magic since they are better at magic in general than Keith, will see. I am trying my best to write the chapters as long as I can.
Dante687: Hmm interesting abilities. If I decide to use any, I will let you know. I appreciate you giving them!
Anon: Thanks mate!
Thank you all for reading, favouring, following and reviewing! I really appreciate that.
Now…
IMPORTANT NEWS!
Sadly…I will be pretty busy in the following weeks with my exam session (starting from the 6th of June). Therefore, I don't know how much will I be able to write, so I do not promise that I will manage to get out chapters once a week. Basically my exam session lasts for three weeks, then on 5th July I will have my BA exam, followed by my BA Thesis presentation on the 7th. So yeah…I will try my best to write, but no promises!
The better news is that I am thinking of starting another story! I was having this idea for a while now…and I cannot not write it. Basically the story will be about an OC who will use wind as his main ability (yup no Sacred Gear in this one), something similar to Kazuma Yagami from Kaze no Stigma ( I recommend it if you are into strong MC, I quite enjoyed it). I am thinking of making the OC like half human and half wind spirit or something like that, don't know yet. Of course it will be a harem (dxd duh) in which I am thinking to include Artemis/Athena/Grayfia/Raynare and maybe Tiamat. I will limit the number of mamacitas in this one to 5. Artemis, Athena and Grayfia are 100% in. Raynare I still have to think about her, the same for Tiamat. Now perhaps some of you might think "ugh, again Tiamat?"….well yeah, I love dragons :P. Plus I am not 100% sure if I will add her, or Raynare. Tell me your ideas with who should I replace these two and if I like them, maybe I will. Also why Raynare? Cause she's hot duh! Plus she won't have two wings and die in like…the first 3-4 episodes lol. She will have 10 wings and have more importance. Now: a bit on why I chose Artemis and Athena…cause I am a nerd about mythology XD. Initially I wanted to add Freya as well, but I decided against it. I believe two Goddesses are enough. Grayfia? Because I like her *shrug*. It will be slightly AU I believe, don't know yet, but it will not follow the canon 100%, the same as how this story doesn't either. So yeah…tell me what do ya think?
I think this is all what I wanted to say.
Anyway, if there are any grammatical or spelling mistakes, I apologize.
Stay safe & sound!