Waltrautesan no Konkatsu Jijou - Chapter 4 - A.E. 0 - Part 8

The great giant Ymir’s resurrection had begun.

The sea grew dyed with the red of blood, the rocks on the shore became white teeth and bones, and the distant mountains turned to the color of flesh. It became clear what those objects they always tread on had originally been.

And the changes did not stop at the terrain.

The trees, the grass, the animals, the humans, the dragons, the fairies, and the giants were all affected.

Everything born within the nine worlds held this inescapable destiny. All objects and living beings created or born within the nine worlds were headed for their demise. It was the same for Muspelheim and Niflheim which had been made from the matter of the worlds after the Æsir in the process of destruction and revival.

“Wal…traute…” groaned the boy.

While still shrunk down, Waltraute had collapsed to the skin-colored beach. The same thing had happened to all the other sisters.

A few exceptions existed for this problem related to Ymir.

For example, the Æsir.

They had killed Ymir to create the nine worlds, so they had existed before Ymir died. They had been born somewhere unrelated to Ymir and had brought about their descendants from men and women that were unrelated to Ymir. As such, they would not be affected even if Ymir did resurrect.

However…

The Valkyries were existences whose forms had been changed for both gods and men. Humans had been involved in the process of their creation and those humans had been created from Ymir, so they were related to Ymir.

“I’m going to be having trouble soon, too,” groaned the goddess of beauty Freyja.

She must have grasped the general situation from the changes occurring to herself and her surroundings.

She was a member of the Æsir, but she had originally been of the Vanir. In other words, she was a giant. She had the divinity of the Æsir so the damage was being reduced, but she could not completely avoid taking damage since Ymir was involved in the process of her creation. At the current rate, she would become a part of Ymir’s body just like every other life form.

“Honestly, we must have let our guard down because Ragnarök was temporarily avoided. It may have also been bad that the Norns did not react. Who would have thought Ymir would be coming back? But it is true that the instant that fate is switching rails is an opportunity for those who have been cornered by fate.”

“What happened to Waltraute?”

The one suffering the most was likely that human boy.

He was directly receiving the effects of being created from Ymir and he had no divinity to defend against it with.

The damage was great enough that even an indirect blow was enough to knock out the average Valkyrie. The boy was receiving that damage directly, yet these were the first words from his mouth.

“What happened to Waltraute and the others?”

“Explaining the reasons behind this destruction would just bore you, boy. At any rate, there is nothing you can do for us even if you knew the reasons…”

If the pure Æsir that had no relation to Ymir gathered and worked to solve the problem, they might be able to manage. But it would be difficult even for them. Even if the Æsir were safe, their heavenly world of Asgard and the world tree Yggdrasil that supported it were beginning to collapse. When it was unclear if they could even protect the ground they stood on, they would not have time to worry about the other worlds.

“Boy, if you have any reverence for me as a goddess, then bury me after I collapse. As the goddess of beauty, I cannot allow anyone to see my body turning into something else. Ha ha. I know it isn’t right for a god to ask this of a human, but please. Give me a proper burial.”

“…”

The flesh and blood pulsated with life.

Something several dozen meters tall welled up from the ground that had changed form.

It was the great giant Ymir.

But this was not a perfect body. The body was dyed a dark red. It was covered in fresh blood and it did not appear to be covered by skin. It was just the core of his body. Once everything had been gathered from the nine worlds, his giant form that could pierce the heavens would be complete.

But thinking about it differently…

This was the perfect opportunity.

“…No, boy,” said Freyja as she kneeled down on the beach. “Since Waltraute can’t speak, I will stop you for her. You cannot do this. Even if it is incomplete, that is not something a soul born in the human world can handle.”

“No,” replied the boy decisively

He picked up the large sword that had fallen to the beach.

It was the sword he had given to Brynhildr.

It was the weapon prepared by Odin and then remade by human hands.

Yes.

It was the dragon slaying sword Nothung that was prepared by the leader of the pure Æsir and held the power of the pure gods!!

“No matter what happens, I cannot let Waltraute die.”

The boy tightened his grip on the sword’s hilt.

At 150 cm, the sword was longer than the boy was tall and he held it up of his own free will.

“I…”

He made up his mind.

“I…!!”

He prepared himself to wield the single power in that place that could kill the great giant Ymir.

He prepared himself to turn that power against a living being, regardless of what form that being took.

He prepared himself to protect the person he found most important even if it meant getting blood on his own hands.

“I will protect Waltraute no matter what it takes!!”

It was true that this was yet another form of justice. Many heroes had sought that justice, resolved themselves, and become members of the Einherjar war dead.

But this was not the path for that boy.

This was the boy who had avoided Ragnarök by proving in his conversation with Surtr that he held the determination to set down his weapon. His actions here would deny everything he had done back then.

Freyja tried to shake her head, but she no longer had the strength left.

The boy was going to take action.

The distortion to fate was manipulating him into this new distorted fate of his own. He would choose the option he never would have chosen before – that he must never choose – and destroy everything he had built up.

The giant mass of dark red flesh that was Ymir seemed to be laughing. The dragon slaying sword Nothung was indeed a threat, but the fact that this human who should never have wielded it was wielding it proved how distorted fate had become. If things continued as is, Ymir would regain his original form.

But then…

Just before the boy took that first step off the path of his proper fate…

“Wait. That isn’t your role.”

A deep male voice reverberated throughout that landscape of distorted fate.

A large and thick arm reached alongside the boy and towards Nothung.

It picked up the large sword almost too easily.

It was as if the sword belonged in his grasp.

It was as if fate was being restored.

It was as if the sword was returning to its rightful owner.

The great mass of Ymir writhed as if to ask, “Why?”

“Do you want an explanation?” muttered the large man holding Nothung. He was dyed red with the blood of a dragon rather than with his own blood like Ymir was. “You’re resurrecting there, so is it really that odd for someone else who’s dead to resurrect? This only works here where fate has been distorted. Isn’t that right, you mass of materials for the worlds?”

Freyja muttered something in a scratchy voice.

It was the name of a hero.

It was the name of Nothung’s owner.

“…Siegfried?