Harry ascended from the caves and waited by the mouth. He didn't bring out his wand since it would lead to more danger than good—the spells would shoot out from the wand rather than outside of the wand. Sweat had accumulated on his temples while he gathered a large amount of magic and compressed it into a tiny white ball outside the bubble. This was a spell he created inspired by the explosions his magic had done to protect him in his first door. One wrong move and his body will explode along with the monsters.
He could hear it, the waters rippling from the hundreds of movements. He took out a vial of Maxima potion from the utility belt and chugged it all in. Immense strength surged from his core, and the explosive bomb he had created was close to completion—all that was left was to throw the white energy ball to the hoard.
"System, is it possible to return Hedwig back to the white room?"
[Yep!]
"Send her back. I won't be able to protect her here."
[Teleporting familiar to safe zone…]
Hedwig huffed from his shoulder before she dispatted into thin air. None of them knew this would be the environment, so it was best that she was sent back before it was too late. Now that he had less to worry about, he focused all his attention on the creatures in front of him. He stood by the cave's entrance like a guard dog, baring his fangs at the uninvited guests.
"Sorry, but you guys aren't welcome here. You see, I'm tasked to protect a sleeping beauty inside, and I wouldn't want to see the consequences of waking them up."
A strong vibration and skin-crawling sounds echoed from the abyssal creatures. Suddenly, the front lines charged at Harry. It wasn't the right time to use the bomb, so Harry brought dozens of ice snakes that acted as his guards. It wasn't enough to penetrate the skin of shelled aquatic creatures, but it was able to deal a good amount of damage to the forces.
[19/1000]
"Not enough." Harry frowned when the water currents were stirring abnormally. He made a veil to cover his trump card from the naked eye and listened carefully for movements. Small critters tried to get past Harry but were quickly minced into small pieces.
[27/100]
"Tch, I need to get in the middle. Glacies Clavi! Multiply and shoot!" At his command, hundreds of ice shards were conjured outside the bubble. It fired like a machine gun and mercilessly penetrated the skins of the abyssal creatures—not even the hard-skinned monsters were spared.
[98/1000]
"That's my favorite attack now, hah…." Harry panted after exhausting his magic. He cast another barrage of Ice shards and took out another round of enemies.
[149/1000]
He clicked his tongue and dodged a barricade of attacks. A large goblin shark came with a surprise attack from underneath and swallowed the bubble whole with its elongated jaws. Multiple jaws were piercing through the bubble, closing into him slowly. Sweat accumulated on Harry's temples while he breathed a mist from the cold. There was rubble in the shark's stomach, and suddenly, corrosive liquids rose from its innards, threatening Harry's bubble. He cursed under his breath and shouted a spell out of panic.
"REDUCTO!"
The shark squirmed in pain and opened its jaws. Harry took this as an opportunity to flee and cast a severing charm on the shark's head. Once he was out, Harry saw the monsters fight against each other while they tried to enter the cave. Panic swelled up, and Harry immediately took action. If one slips by, it's game over, repeated in his head.
"Oh no, you don't. Confrigo!"
With the help of the Maxima potion, the spell was as powerful as Bombarda, if not more powerful. The creature that nearly slipped in exploded into chunks, and all the monster's attention returned to Harry. Leeches, eels, crabs, krills, sharks, and all other deformed abominations charged at him like a pack of starving wolves chasing their prey. Harry ran and ran until he reached the middle of the crowd.
His body sustained multiple scratches and a large gash on his arm—otherwise, his agility and quidditch skills saved him from large scales of damage. He was about to use his bomb, but something oppressive and horrifying made itself known. All attacks from the abyssal creatures, who had also felt the oppressive aura and bloodlust, came to a halt.
RUMBLE!
"...?"
Harry felt a large disruption from the ground. His instincts were telling him to run and hide, but he couldn't understand why.
"Did the serpent wake up?"
[Nope! Turns out there was a Kraken amongst the forces.]
"SON OF A BITCH SAY THAT SOONER!"
Looks like there will be a change of plans, he groused. Now that the bubble was less than a meter from touching his skin, Harry turned his boots into ice skates. He didn't know how to skate, but there were no other options since the bubble was moving too slowly now that it shrunk. He made an ice platform and evaded the miasma that was spreading from the Kraken's body. Since he was flexible and had good balance, Harry was able to pick up skating easily.
Large red tentacles came out of nowhere, piercing through the shells of tough creatures. It attacked indiscriminately and pulled in even the strongest forces. Its giant head appeared from the midst and crushed the creature it had pulled with its enormous beak. More tentacles emerged and came rushing at everything that had moved.
[289/1000]
Chills ran down Harry's spine as he watched the number of enemies drop. It had only been a few minutes, but everything was already chaotic. The memory of the end repeated in his mind, the feeling of hopelessness against powerful enemies. His breath quickened, and sweat accumulated on his palms.
[Harry, watch out for incoming attack!]
"Damn it!"
Harry paled immensely when a tentacle went straight at him. He twisted his ice path and evaded the attack. The tentacle turned around and went for another strike, but Harry had anticipated it and used it as leverage to boost himself into the cave. He jumped on the tentacle and kicked with all his might, propelling him away from danger.
"Lead me to the pearl! A shortcut would be appreciated!"
[Roger (￣^￣ )ゞ]
Harry threw an explosive spell and collapsed the main entrance to buy more time.
[There are 4 more entrances to the ruins.]
[Would you like me to close them?]
Harry grinned at the convenience and immediately agreed. As soon as the system confirmed the action, Harry felt a bit of his magic get drained. The system must've used his magical core to collapse the remaining entrances.
"Alright, accelero." His movements began to accelerate as he skated down the ice path. He was breathing quite heavily from the extraneous work, but it did not slow him down. Too much adrenaline coursed through his veins to be tired at the moment.
[What do you plan on doing?]
"Cause some havoc."
[Should I be worried?]
"Not that I know of. I'm actually worried myself." He released a nervous chuckle. Honestly, he doesn't know what the consequences of his actions will be. There's a 90% chance that his plan will fail, and only 10% of it succeeds. If he lands on the 90%, he's dead for sure—that's why Harry did not plan on using this strategy. Unfortunately, he can't possibly defeat a Kraken with his power alone while protecting the entrances.
Harry turned to look at his forming bomb and kept feeding it his magic. If this plan fails, he won't be going down alone. There was another rumbling from the outside, so Harry quickened his pace. He was back at the castle ruins where Jörmungandr sleeps. The white trail led him inside the castle, so he carefully slipped through the entrance without touching the serpent.
Inside the castle ruins were rubles of the once majestic structure. Crystal chandeliers hung from the high ceiling, illuminating the dreary castle. The tinted windows cast a colorful glow caused by the light crystals from outside. In the middle of the entrance is a sculpture of a majestic whale with a crown—unfortunately, most of it crumbled due to time.
Harry proceeded in caution as he followed the misty trail. The pearl was deeper inside the castle ruins, letting Harry study the castle's structure. On the hallways he passed were paintings of the royal family that once resided in the castle ruins. They didn't look human, rather, they looked like celestial beings of the ocean with beautiful scales trailing down their necks and whale-like tails pooling to the floor. It didn't fit the image Harry saw when comparing them to the ocean creatures he had fought. As much as he wished to marvel at the beauty of otherworldly architecture and know more about the people in the painting, he had a pearl to find.
The trail led him to the throne room or was a throne room. Purple veins and flesh membranes protruded outside the giant door, pulsing with energy. Harry didn't feel anything bad from it, so he did not hesitate to open the large doors that led to the room. Rather than the king's throne, there was a large clam where the veins and membranes came from. In the middle of the clam's tongue is a lustrous white pearl that reflects the lights cast upon it. Compared to the usual sizes, this pearl was big, nearly the size of a baby.
[Alert! The main entrance has been breached.]
"That lasted longer than I expected. It should take them around 8 or 10 minutes to get here."
Wasting no time, Harry approached the pearl and placed his hands on it. It pulsated with so much magic that Harry nearly flinched when its power wrapped around his body. It's testing his worth, Harry noted. The power entered his body and explored every part of it, including his magical core. It was unsettling and painful when an unknown force rushed through his veins. Harry coughed out blood and dropped to his knees, but he did not let go.
[Warning! The ancient serpent is stirring!]
[Warning! Player's magic core is rising abnormally!]
[Warning! Magical core might combust!]
[Warning! Please let go of the pearl for your safety!]
Multiple warnings appeared all at once, causing Harry to be dizzy. He ignored all of it and wiped the blood that trailed down his mouth. His vision was blurring, and black dots appeared, but he persisted. He was determined to absorb all of the sealed energy of the pearl and wouldn't stop until the very last drop of power was gone
Harry groaned in pain as he felt some of his veins pop from the pressure. He gritted his teeth and clutched the pearl like his life depended on it. He could feel the ground shaking from the serpent's movements, but he ignored it. The system had finally gone quiet after realizing that Harry would not stop.
After what felt like an eternity, the lustrous pearl became a dull crystal that held no power. Harry grinned through his heavy breathing and chuckled. He could feel the power surge inside of him, it's far different from wizarding magic. His magic got back to work, and started repairing the damage in his body.
[Congratulations! You absorbed the power of a God!]
"W-wait…power of a god? I thought it was ancient power or forbidden magic at best!"
[Surprise! You've done something only lunatics would gamble for. (ㆆ ᴗ ㆆ)]
"Shut up, what god are we talking about? Do I get something like skills or power-ups?"
[
Judgment Day - Level 1
Allows the player to send down a hundred swords of heaven that will eliminate the threats. This attack will be highly effective against guilty targets and dark entities
Cooldown: 24 hours
]
[
Divine Verdict - level 1
The universe will decide if the target is guilty or innocent.
Guilty - a gate to Gehenna will open and swallow the guilty for punishment (death penalty), or a curse will be applied to the target, which will cause them to be miserable for life
Innocent - they will gain heaven's blessing for a minute (resistance to any attacks)
Cooldown: 3 hours
]
[
Eye of Truth (passive skill)
The player can tell if the target is lying or not.
]
[
Voice of Authority - level 1
Allows player to bend or forge a law upon a target. These laws may be universal or small as long as they're within the player's capability.
Cooldown: 1 month
]
[The God of Judgment was alerted of your endeavors and applauded you for your bravery. As long as you don't abuse your authority and give monthly offerings, the god will continue to lend their power to you. Failure to abide by these rules you'll face heaven's judgment.]
[Get stronger, and maybe you'll unlock more skills 乁(ツ)ㄏ]
Harry read the skills over and over again and was ecstatic to see that his suffering was worth it. All of them were extremely powerful and needed to be used wisely, or else he'd pay the consequences. He was determined to get stronger and enhance his skills more. He prayed to the God of Judgement and thanked them for their greatness and generosity—unlike someone. Somewhere in the universe, a cloaked figure holding a scythe sneezed.
[Warning! The serpent has awakened!]
After his short celebration, Harry chugged down a blood-replenishing potion and a wiggenweld potion. It worked like a charm and got Harry back on his feet. By now, the ruins are infested by abyssal creatures who wanted to harness the power. Too bad for them, Harry got there first—finders keepers as they say. The ground shook, and Harry held on to the clam to stabilize himself. A loud shriek from the outside disoriented everyone who heard the vile sound.
Harry froze momentarily at the powerful aura that emanated from Jörmungandr, it was the same feeling he had around Death's presence, except this one was uncontrolled. Had it not been for the absorbed power, he would be down on his knees, trembling from the sheer force it brought. While the aura had not left him trembling to unconsciousness, he was still scared. Everything from now on is a gamble of life and death, one mistake could lead to his and this world's doom.
Thanks to the power he had absorbed, Harry was unaffected by the sound. He wouldn't dare act cocky just yet, especially when the serpent outside could easily kill him if he wanted to. The building began to crack, signifying that it wasn't safe. Harry hurried his way out while evading falling debris and critters that made it far inside the castle. He could hear the slithering and words from the awakened serpent outside.
"HAHAHAHA! After millennials, I have finally awoken!" The serpent said with a booming voice.
"I'll make sure that bastard Odin will pay for everything he'd done to me! Let's not forget that overbearing Thor…hisss. What's with all this pest trying to invade my territory."
Harry immediately sweatdrops at the serpent's change of topic. It's good that he can understand the snake's language, but he doesn't know if he can communicate with Jörmungandr peacefully. While uttering its revenge a while ago, it didn't seem as aggressive as he thought it would be.
"Begone, you stupid wench! Stop biting on my fabulous scales do you know how tiring it was to maintain it!"
"Eh? Are you sure this is one of the disasters that will end my world?"
[It was supposed to be….]
"And..?"
[In the past timelines, Jörmungandr was controlled by their rage or served under the first abyssal creature that got to the pearl first. Not once did a player successfully absorb the pearl's power.]
[ミヽ（。＞＜）ノ]
Harry stared at the system dryly, who chose to disappear and remain quiet. He resumes his operation of getting outside the castle before he gets crushed by the falling rubble. The serpent continued muttering some things that Harry could not comprehend, something about eating Thor and drowning Odin with his blood. It was a very brutal and concise plan of how it would take its revenge against the two gods that enraged the creature. By the time Harry was out, he already had a gist of Jörmungandr's situation thanks to its blabbers and almost felt pity for the thing.
"Ahh… I was minding my own business, and this happened. Should I just destroy everything? Maybe that will piss them off." It lazily said and yawned.
Never mind, Harry retracts his statement he was not gonna pity Jörmungandr. Just picturing the demise his friends experienced left a bitter taste. Though, maybe he could talk to it and reach a mutual agreement of some sort. Call it hopeful thinking and wreckless gambling, but he wouldn't reach this far just by playing it safe.
"Ehem…Oh, great serpent of the world, Jörmungandr! I would advise you not do that." Harry internally cringed at his words, but his face was neutral as he made himself known. Harry stood on one of the crystal spikes and came face to face with the world serpent. He had a professional smile plastered on his face to act convincing.
Jörmungandr: "What's this? A mortal knows how to speak my language and dares to command me? Hah! Even the gods know not to mess with me."
Harry: "Oh no, that's not my intention. You see, I'm a messenger of the gods!"
Jörmungandr: "Humph, as if I would believe that. You look too scrawny and weak to be a messenger. Scram before I lose my patience and eat you."
Harry's eyes twitched in annoyance but threaded carefully.
Harry: "But I do speak of the truth, will this scythe and eyes be enough proof?"
Harry brought out the scythe given by Death and activated his Eye of Truth, which revealed a golden eye looking directly at the serpent. Jörmungandr hummed and brought its face closer to inspect the scythe. Harry nearly cried out when the serpent was a few meters away from him, he looked like an ant compared to its humongous head. Thanks to his fortified mentality, he was able to maintain his smiling face. Maybe he'll use the blunt side of the scythe if he meets Death, that's only mercy he'll give since the blessing was quite useful.
Jörmungandr: "Humm… you speak of the truth, messenger of Death and the Judge, quite a surprise. Do tell, what are their words?"
Harry: "You will meet your doom along with the universe if you act rashly and destroy everything in your path. If you wish to live, leave the others from your revenge, for there will be consequences."
Jörmungandr: "Hoh! A threat against me?! KUAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Harry: "Please don't misunderstand. It's a warning from the future, not a threat. You are still free to do what you wish but show some restraint, or the world might collapse."
Jörmungandr: "Fine, I'm easy to talk to. Fight me first, and I'll consider it."
Harry: "Wait, what."
"Don't tell me you're too cowardly to fight me! Aren't you supposed to be a messenger of two gods?! Fight me and satisfy me with a duel!" They had both forgone the serpent's language and spoke in human language. Jörmungandr raised its head in a taunting manner, egging Harry into a fight. Harry paled when he realized the predicament he was in. "Unless… were you fooling me this whole time?" There was a glint in its eyes. Harry slipped back to the serpent's language and tried to recompose himself.
Harry: "Did you not see the proof already? I am, in fact, the real deal. Fighting was not part of my contract. If you wish to battle, then go to Odin or Thor."
Jörmungandr: "Tch, coward. It's not like you're the only messenger around. I can't go to those buffoons just yet, but I'm bored."
'This absolute menace…' Harry thought irritatedly. Though he still had one more to offer, if this didn't satisfy the serpent, then he'd have no choice but to engage in battle. He's quite surprised that he could fool the serpent for this long and hoped that he can keep up the act.
Harry: "Hold on, I have a much more interesting offer for you."
Jörmungandr: "Is this your way of evading our duel?"
Harry: "Of course not, but I'm afraid I'll bore you with how weak and scrawny I am." He repeated the serpent's words from earlier—it was a big hit on his ego, but alas he had no choice.
Jörmungandr: "Then what do you suggest?"
Harry: "You see, a Kraken outside wanted to duel you for some time now. This does not include the other creatures who wish to test their strength against the almighty serpent. I am sure that you'll have plenty more fun with them."
Harry hoped this would be enough to divert the serpent's attention away from him. There's no harm in collapsing this dimension, it would just guarantee the erasure of threats against Earth. The system hasn't told him to stop anyway, so he'll take it as a go signal.
Jörmungandr: "My interest has been piqued! Lead me to these challengers, and I will fight them."
Harry: "Yes, of course, just right outside. But first, would you like to swear an oath to my Gods?"
Jörmungandr: "Tch, fineeee. I, Jörmungandr, son of Loki, swear to cease my meaningless destruction even though my brothers wish differently."
Thanks to the skill 'Eye of Truth, ' Harry could tell that Jörmungandr was honest in his words. He was slightly relieved that Earth was free of one godly threat. With the words uttered, Harry beckoned the serpent to where the Kraken continued to cause havoc. The earth shook, and the waters rippled just from Jörmungandr's movements alone.
Harry prayed to his gods that he wouldn't have to battle this large disaster. Despite his internal struggles, he was still accommodating a smile.
A/N: I've rewritten this chapter 3 damn times cuz I didn't like how the first few went. 1st one was actually tragic and brutal. 2nd one was abt someone else getting to the pearl first but after that I couldn't really imagine how the story would develop since the serpent is too much for Harry. So I settled with this third one! I hope that ya'll enjoyed the interactions between the characters and look forward to the upcoming chapters that will come out next week or longer since break is over.
Jörmungandr: Why do I feel like I've been scammed?
Harry: *sweating profusely* Don't worry about it.
System: (; ö) The system is witnessing the birth of a scammer