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The Record of Ragnarök—it was a sacred text that recorded the great battle between gods and humans to determine the survivability of the Human Realm.
Through Ragnarök, the schemes of an ancient evil were uncovered, and the threats of the Primordial Gods loomed over every plane.
It has been fifty years since that battle concluded. Through the collaborative effort of humans and gods, they were able to restore order to this world…and what came back in that restoration were the souls of the Heroes who were thought to forever perish in Niflhel.
While many places were still being restored from the battle that took place, peace was steadily returning to Valhalla…
“WHAT DID YOU SAY?!!!!”
…Or as peaceful as it could get when egoistic Gods and humans exist together.
“QIN SHI HUANG WENT WHERE?!!” Göll shouted so loud that she nearly choked. In fact, she did choke, but she couldn’t care about that as she crawled onto the table, not even caring about the records she was writing just to shake the life out of the heavenly soldier that came to deliver the message. “WHY DIDN’T ANYONE STOP HIM?!!”
“W-we can’t!! We t-t-try to tell him about the danger of that tool, but he wouldn’t listen!!” The poor soldier shouted as his eyes spun from being so violently shaken.
“WHAT ABOUT SISTER ALVITR?!” Göll was really tearing up now. After all, the person missing was Qin Shi Huang of all people. Who knows what kind of chaos that man would cause!
“Lady Alvitr is still passed out drunk, we couldn’t wake her!!” The soldier reported. “With the Lord of the Silent Realm absent, Lady Brunhilde and the other Valkyries on a trip to the Human Realm with the humans, we can only come to you!”
“AAAAAH!!! Big sister even told me to look after the place while she’s gone!! She’s really gonna kill me when she comes back!” Göll cried, dropping to her hands and knees on the table as she finally released the poor soldier.
It was over…
Her life…it’s over…
“Wait!” She bounced back up as she grasped onto that small speck of hope.
“Buddha!” She shouted, jumping off the table before making a mad dash out of the Hall of Records. “BUUUDDHAAAA!!!”
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…
“Ho?” Spoke the young girl who looked to be at the age of sixteen with pale skin that had never seen the sunlight and hair as red as the sky during dusk. Her eyes were in a bright emerald colour, blinking as they stared into the mirror and at her own reflection.
“Interesting,” the girl’s lips stretched in an elegant smile as she walked around the room, looking over the interior that was foreign to her, yet also familiar. Some of these designs were strikingly similar to a few things back in Valhalla.
“My lady…?!” The maid in long black dress with white apron finally said, having been just standing next to the bed, dumbfounded. One moment, the lady she served was lying motionlessly in the bed and the next, she suddenly jumped up and began pacing around the room, fiddling with everything she could get her hands on.
“HAO!!” The outburst of the girl caused her to jump back.
“My lady, where is your manner?!” The maid shouted at the girl who was now standing by the windows, throwing the curtains apart to let in the sunlight. When the young lady did not respond, the maid’s face twisted in anger as she stomped towards the girl. She grabbed her by the shoulder and tried to turn her around to slap her, only to find that she couldn’t even get the smaller and frailer girl to budge.
“What the…?!” She gasped as she grabbed onto that small shoulder with her other hand and even used her body to pull, but the girl still didn’t budge an inch.
“Hm?” The young girl finally seemed to notice that someone was trying to move her, turning her head to look at the maid, revealing her beautiful face.
“Ah, my servant!” She said as she finally acknowledged the maid and turned around, her movement causing the maid—who had been using all of her strength to pull her—stumble back and fell onto her butt. “Prepare my wardrobe. I will be heading outside!”
She ordered, walking by the maid. The maid stared at the girl with her jaw dropped, wondering if she had lost it after being poisoned. However, remembering who this girl was, the maid was quick to get back on her feet, anger on her face as she ran in front of the girl, raising her hand to hit her.
“You little bitch, did you forget your place?!!”
Before her hand could come in contact with the girl’s, her wrist was snatched and held within an iron grip.
“You—you dare to fight back?!” The maid screamed and tried to pull her hand away, only to discover that, to her horror, she couldn’t. Just like before, she couldn’t even get this girl to budge a millimetre.
“Oh? Are you not my servant? Then apologies for that,” the girl said, not sounding sorry at all as she released the maid’s wrist and walked towards one side of her room.
“Hey! I’m talking to you!” The maid shouted, turning around just to see the girl standing before the wall and held out her fist. “Look at me, you little—!!”
BAAAAAAAAAM!!!!!!!
Whatever she wanted to say, she couldn’t remember as she stared at the giant hole in the wall—made by just one punch of the girl's delicate fist. Her legs wobbled and she dropped to her knees as she watched the girl step through the hole she and into the empty room next to this one.
And then…
BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!!!
CRAAAAAAAAAASH!!!!!!!
BAAAAAAAAAAAAAM!!!!!!!!
BAAAAAAAAAAAANG!!!!!!
“What is going on!” A man who looked to be in his late forties shouted, standing up from the couch as soldiers in two different uniforms came pouring into the room.
“My lord, we’re under attack!”
“What?!” The man shouted. “Impossible! How could assassins get through the ward?!"
“Protect the prince!” The other half of the soldiers who were dressed more fancily swiftly surrounded the blond-haired man who was still calmly enjoying a cup of tea on the leather couch.
“My lords, your Highness, please stay put in this room,” another man said as he quickly entered the room and bowed. “It seems someone has snuck into the manor. We will have it handled swiftly.”
“Who is it?” The Lord demanded as he looked at his advisor.
“I’m afraid we have yet to identify them. However, it shouldn’t be long before our soldiers—”
CRAAAAAAAASH!!!!!!!!
Everyone jumped back in shock as pieces of the ceiling came tumbling down, smashing into the finely carved wooden table, followed by a soldier who also came slamming down onto it. Next, a young girl drops down from the large hole in the ceiling, landing onto the table with her head held high and her hands behind her back. She looked around this room, seeming to be appraising it before jumping onto the soft couch next to the blond-haired man and leaning back comfortably.
“HAO!! I’ve taken a liking to this room. Prepare my meal, I shall dine here!!”
“Rosalina, what are you doing?!” The Lord shouted at the sight of his daughter. “And what are you wearing before his highness!”
At this, the girl—Rosalina, looked down at the plain white dress she was wearing with long sleeves. While she has little knowledge in the fashion of woman, even she could tell this was highly inappropriate with how plain and simple it was.
“You are correct, fetch me my wardrobe! Clothes must be befitting of a king!”
“Rosalina, what nonsense are you talking about?!”
“My lord, the prince is still here…!” The advisor hissed softly as he tried to hold the man back from beating the girl. There were a lot of questions they have to ask, but none of that matters before the presence of the Crowned Prince who—if nothing goes wrong—would become the next king.
“King, you say?” The blond-haired man said in interest as he looked at the red haired girl. “The Lady’s sense of humour have changed quite a lot since we’ve last met.”
“Oh? Who are you?” Rosalina asked, much to all of their shock.
“You don’t remember?” The blond haired man muttered, looking over the girl with a suspicious gaze.
“Rosalina, mind how you speak before the Crowned Prince!”
“A crowned prince…so there is a king?” Rosalina asked, ignoring the blond-haired boy and to the Lord.
“Of course there is a king, what kind of—”
“I see!” Rosalina clapped as she pointed at the prince. “Then tell me what your country’s like!”
“ROSALINA, RETURN TO YOUR ROOM!!!”
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…
“BUDDHA!!! BUDDHA!!!” Göll shouted while panting between breathes as she ran around the large tree that the famous Buddha was usually loitering around. “BUDDHA!!!”
“Tone it down, lil’ Göll~” Came a lazy voice from above, causing the youngest of the Valkyrie to look up and see the blond haired god lying on a large branch of a tree, snacking on a stick of candy. “Because you kept screaming, you couldn’t even hear me calling out to you. Puberty’s really making you start to take after your sister.”
“BUDDHA!!!”
“Yes, yes, the one and only,” Buddha yawned before he jumped down and landed onto the soft grass. “So, what’s up?”
“I need your help, Buddha!” Göll shouted, grabbing onto Buddha’s robe like a lifeline.
“Yeah, I figured with all the yelling."
“Qin Shi Huan is…Qin Shi Huan is…!!”
“Calm down, I’m listening,” Buddha patted her back seeing how the young Valkyrie looked like she was going to hyperventilate.
“Qin Shi Huang vanished after getting hit by a truck!!”
“…Huh?” Buddha blinked, not sure if he heard that correctly.
“You have to come with me!!”
“Wait—hang on?!” Buddha shouted but Göll was already dragging him down the hill. “Hold up, lil’ Göll?!”
It took a while before Buddha finally wrestled his robe from the girl and getting her to stop. Really, she was resembling her oldest sister more and more. “Why don’t you start from the beginning? Slowly.”
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…
Rosalina did not get to meet with the king, much to her disappointment, for she got sidetracked with other things she hadn’t seen before and food that was foreign to her. Her maids trailed around her, absolutely worn out and tired from trying and failing to get her to wear a proper dress. In the end, they could only let her wear a man’s clothes, and even that took hundreds of different styles until she settled on one that she found more decent than the others.
Guards were also dispatched to go along with Rosalina by their lord, fearing there might be accidents during the outing. Of course, the father was worried about his household's reputation, not the daughter he never cared for. His fear came true when the guards and maids watched in horror as a cloaked figure was thrown into the air with a simple flick of Rosalina’s slender hand. Fortunately, the man himself seemed to be a warrior. He quickly twisted his body around and managed to land on his feet. However, this caused the hood covering his head to fall off, revealing short raven black hair and eyes as red as blood.
"D-Duke Winterhart?!" The guards from Rosalina's household shouted at the reveal of the man's identity. Rosalina, on the other hand, simply turned to the stall owner who was shaking and looking to be on the verge of collapsing.
"My good sir," she said, taking the owner's hand and dropping a bag of coins into his palm. "You look like you should seek out a doctor! Here's the money for the stone, keep the change!"
The stall owner opened and closed his mouth, but he couldn't even form a proper word as Rosalina took the ruby red stone that shone brilliantly when held up to the sunlight. From the moment Rosalina laid eyes on this rock, she was fascinated by it. Not because it looked like a beautiful piece of jewelry, but because of this strange aura swirling inside of it.
“Hey!” The black-haired man from before stood back up, frowning as he walked back up to her. “Did you not hear me? I said I’m taking that. It's not some fancy jewelry for a lady's dress.”
“What a rude man,” Rosalina said while tossing the stone up and down in her hand. "I got this stone first and was already going to pay when you came up and demanded me to hand this over to you."
“And I said that I’ll give you however much money you need,” the man stated, clearly annoyed but looking worried at the same time as his eyes followed the stone being tossed up and down.
Rosalina ignored him as she snatched the stone from midair and weighed it in her hand for a bit. Then, she threw the stone so hard onto the round that it shattered into hundreds of tiny pieces from the force. She watched with unblinking eyes as that power came pouring out of the stone before it quickly dissipated within the air.
“Interesting…” she mumbled to herself, not noticing the shocked looks of the people around her.
“YOU—!!" The black-haired man looked furious, but quickly held himself back as he shot the girl a nasty glare. "Very good. I’ll remember you, woman.”
With that, he just turned and stormed off, pulling his hood back over his head as he did so.
"What a weird man," Rosalina commented, still not seeing the jaws of the people around her that practically hit the ground.
“M-m-my Lady! Do you have any idea who that is?!" A maid shouted as she quickly ran up to her. "That was Duke Lucien Winterhart! The Duke of the Northern land! The Cold-Blooded Monster of the North! The Slayer! Newphew of his Majesty!!"
"So what is this?" Rosalina picked up a shard of the rock that was now in a dull brown hue and held it to a flabbergasted guard.
"My Lady, are you listening to me?!" The maid shouted, already red in the face, yet the girl paid her no mind.
“I believe that was a magic stone, my Lady,” the guard answered.
This made the maid stop yelling, looking to the guard in disbelief before turning her eyes down at the shattered rock.
None of them had realized it at first, but the moment the rock shattered and lost its beautiful crimson lustre, the truth became apparent even to them. What their Lady had bought was a rare a magic stone. These magic stones were always monopolized by the Magician's Tower, so it was almost impossible for any of them to see the real thing in person. That explained why Duke Winterhart wanted it—why he would go so far as to argue with a little girl over it. As they all stared at the shattered magic stone, their faces only grew paler. Behind the stall, the vendor had already fainted.
“Magic?” Rosalina’s lips curved upward, her eyes gleaming with intense interest. “HAO!!!”
“M-my Lady?!” the maid gasped.
Before anyone could react, Rosalina leapt into the air and landed onto the carriage—right beside the coachman. The coachman stiffened in shock, but only briefly. Considering this was how they had travelled here in the first place, he was no longer surprised by this noble lady's un-noble-like behaviour.
“Set course!” she commanded, flinging her arm out decisively.
“Y-yes—I mean, as you wish!” The coachman replied, clearing his throat while inching away to maintain a respectful distance. “Where to, my Lady?”
“The path I walk is the path of the Emperor,” she declared, confidence practically rolling off her. “Until I say otherwise, you will continue forward!”
At such a bold and borderline blasphemous proclamation, every passerby froze, their wide eyes snapping toward her. If possible, the maids’, guards’, and coachman’s faces became as white as the Northern snow. Without hesitation, the coachman cracked the whip. The horses neighed and surged forward into a sprint. They needed to get away now—before anyone reported them to the city guards and had them arrested for treason against the royal family.
“MY LADY!!!” the maids cried out, running after them and scrambling into the carriage. The guards hastily mounted their horses and took off after them.
Before long, the city walls faded behind them, the rowdy market replaced by fields of lushgreen grass and stretches of woodland.
“My Lady, please return to the manor!” One of the guards pleaded as he rode up alongside them. “It’s dangerous to be out here alone and you have not received the Lord's permission to travel out of the city!”
“Mou man tai!!" She laughed, yet no one was able to understand a word she had just said. "That is precisely why I have you!”
“MY LADY," a maid shouted from within the carriage behind her. "PLEASE SIT DOWN!!!”
Their journey beyond the city lasted for hours, until the sun began to set and they were inevitably forced to make camp in the forest for the night. Naturally, the guards attempted to escort their stubborn lady back to the city by force when she continued to refuse—but the matter was swiftly settled after each of them was thrown around a few times. Even the maids became more obedient after witnessing the display from the sidelines.
By the late afternoon of the following day, Rosaline finally spotted something as they emerged from the forest and were greeted by the fields of farmland. However, these fields were dry and barren, the earth cracked and carried a sense of death.
At this, Rosaline jumped onto the top of the carriage. This time, the maids and guards knew better than to tell her to get off.
“Keep moving,” Rosaline ordered the coachman who was about to pull the horses’ reins. With her tone filled with so much seriousness and authority, the coachman didn’t dare to disobey.
Rosaline could see a town in the far distance…and even from here, she could see how broken and old the structures were in comparison to the fancy city she came from.
When they finally arrived, her suspicions were confirmed. She stared as the people shrank away at the sight of the ornate carriage surrounded by soldiers. Sitting on the side of the road were men missing limbs, their bodies gaunt as if they had not eaten in days, waiting in silence for their end to come. Children, too, lay motionless, conserving what little strength they had left in their starved state.
“What happened here?” Rosaline demanded, pointing to a random guard to answer.
“I heard a town near the city was raided by bandits a month ago,” the guard replied. "This might be the one."
“Bandits?” Rosaline snorted at such a ridiculous lie. “This is done by no bandits.”
She tried to approach a civilian, but they once again moved away at the sight of her. This fear of nobles and the hatred in their eyes made it quite clear already who the real culprits were.
“Is this common throughout this land?” She asked.
“Yes?” one of the guards answered, not sure what exactly this rich lady was on about. “Slums are not uncommon, my Lady. The closer you are to the country’s border, the more common this sight will be.
“Who governs this place?”
“Uh…the Lord of this land?”
“HAO!!” She bellowed suddenly, her voice booming across the town. People flinched in shock as the crows scattered into the sky. An intense seriousness settled over the girl's features before her lips spread into a wide, triumphant smile. “I’ve decided!!”
She stepped forward, an aura of authority that could only belong to someone standing at the very summit rolling off her, rendering all who gazed upon her unable to look away.
“Those who still have the will to fight, stand!!” She declared to the dumbfounded citizens. “For I, Ying Zheng—”
“Who?” One of the maids muttered, refusing to step out of the carriage because of how filthy this place was.
“—shall become your King from this day onward. Those who comply with Imperial wishes, will prosper! Those who not, will perish! For I am the King, and therefore the road I walk is just!"
Everyone stared at the girl as though she had lost her mind.
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“So basically, because Qin Shi Huang is a walking natural disaster with no common sense, he was too dangerous to join the other humans' trip to the Human Realm. Since he was the only one who couldn’t go, he threw a fit and somehow that led to him getting into a drinking contest with some other gods…” Buddha summarized. “And while drunk, he wandered around and went to that new place constructed by a couple of the Gods who were interested in humanity. Am I getting it right?”
“Yes!” Göll shouted. “And one of those technologies was that truck! The one humans use to transport goods!”
“Ah, yes, I remember that one,” Buddha answered while rubbing the back of his neck. After all, he got a hand in playing around with that one. As the Buddha who got the power of reincarnation, he—along with some other gods with similar power regarding reincarnation—gave a little hand in that one.
“I don’t know what’s wrong with him that he became so interested in the truck!! He somehow activated auto mode and the truck drove right at him because he got black hair!!”
“But isn’t this Qin Shi Huang we’re talking about? Even though he’s drunk, I can’t imagine him getting hit just like that,” Buddha pointed out. Honestly, he couldn’t imagine any of the human representatives from Ragnarök would get hit by something like a truck—except for one—drunk or not. After all, it wasn’t like the Gods magically enhanced that truck to give it super speed and strength.
“According to the witnesses at the scene, he seemed to just plan on stopping it but just when he was about to catch the truck with his bare hands, he bent over and started puking! When the truck hit him, he went poof and vanished!!”
“…Damn,” was all Buddha could say. Really, what else was he supposed to say to that?
“I have to get him back before Sister Hilde finds out! Please, Buddha, you have to save me!!”
“Well, I suppose I did have a hand in it, so I got some responsibilities,” Buddha groaned. After all, how could he say no to a young girl’s tears? “You just needed to locate him, right?”
At this, Göll nodded furiously.
“Alright, let’s go to the truck.”
And so, the two shortly arrived at another floating island, far away from the mainland. There wasn’t much on the island other than a gigantic stadium with all sorts of machinery and twinkles piled in it. At the center of it all was a truck that could be seen anywhere within the Human Realm. The bumper at the front was dented, showing exactly where China's first Emperor was hit.
“Ah~ It’s damaged,” Buddha said as he leaned down to examine the bumper.
“Now’s not the time to worry about a piece of metal!” Gier shouted.
“On the contrary, it’s exactly this piece of metal we have to worry about,” Buddha corrected, grabbing the bumper and with a simple pull, he yanked it off the vehicle. “This is the reincarnation device, after all.”
“It is?!” The Valkyrie stared in shock at the damaged bumper.
“You know those human media from Japan, right? Since the Gods looked upon humans differently now, there are quite a few Gods going down to the human world just to entertain themselves these days. Games, movies, and stuff like that are popular. A few got hooked on these other-world experiences. Long story short, they started creating other dimensions with humans made out of the books and stories they’ve read.”
Buddha tossed the heavy-looking bumper up and down effortlessly with a single hand. “Damn, it’s really broken.”
“Wait…” Göll was still struggling to wrap her head around the insane information that Buddha just casually tossed at her. “You’re telling me that the Gods are creating other worlds out of stories?!”
“Yup,” Buddha answered while looking over the bumper. “Real worlds with living people. Unlike the Human Realm, which has gone through evolution and is stable, they just skipped the whole process. Think of it more like a processed world, but everything there is still very real and alive. Some of the Gods just wanted to play around driving a truck to see what happens if they send specific humans into these other worlds. By the words of humans, they should be called transmigrators.”
“I can’t tell if the gods like humans or hate them…” Göll mumbled with a small shudder. “But isn’t that…you know…cruel to the humans?”
“That’s why I offered to help,” Buddha huffed while rolling the lollipop around his tongue before biting into it. “The original idea was to really reincarnate them to another world, but now it’s just replicating the human’s soul and dumping them into another plane. The real body and soul of the person hit wouldn’t be harmed, and they’ll be compensated. As for the replica soul that got dumped into another world, it’s not alive in the same sense of human. You can think of it as a machine made to copy the original human a hundred percent without knowing that it is just a replica.”
“That still sounds pretty cruel…I mean, if it doesn’t know it’s a fake, then doesn’t that just mean it’s alive?”
“It just depends on how you look at it,” Buddha answered. “I can’t say your point of view is wrong. In any case, being transmigrated wouldn’t be too bad a deal for these replicas.”
“But if the machine was just meant to replicate the soul, why did Qin Shi Huang disappear?”
“Did you forget where we are, lil' Göll?” Buddha finally turned to her. “This is Valhalla. The humans living here are already dead and in their soul form. On top of that, someone like Qin Shi Huang got too strong of a soul, making it impossible to be duplicated. Most likely a system error occurred and because the duplication failed, it just sent the entire soul to the other world instead.”
Then Buddha held up the bumper to the Valkyrie. By injecting a bit of his energy into it, the metal surface of the bumper became like a glass window, giving the girl a glimpse into an entire galaxy with hundreds of glowing spheres floating within the stars.
“There are about a thousand worlds linked to this transportation device,” Buddha said as he pointed at those spheres.
“A thousand?!” Göll screamed. Seriously, just how free were Gods these days?!! “Don’t tell me we have to look through every one of these?!”
“Of course not! We just need to check what was the last world that got connected and we’ll find the human King,” the Buddha snorted and Göll instantly brightened up.
“Then hurry up, what are you waiting for?!”
“Calm down now, I might have helped by lending some of my power, but I didn’t take part in building this thing,” Buddha quickly tried to calm the girl. “All these creations here are the result of magic mixed with technologies. And since locating the world and fixing the bumper lies on the technology aspect…”
“You mean…Nikola Tesla?” Göll gasped. “He got a hand in this?!”
“Of course," Buddha answered.
“But Tesla’s in the Human Realm with the others right now! Don’t tell me we really have to wait for all of them to get back?!”
“Hmm…” Buddha rolled his lollipop around his mouth. “There’s one guy we can ask.”
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…
“Duke Duskmore!! What is the meaning of this!!” The king shouted with guards pointing their swords at the person who dared to barge into the throne room—the proof being the large doors lying flat on the ground instead of being on the hinges.
“Y-y-y-your majesty!” Duke Duskmore’s legs were shaking as he fell onto his knees and bowed low with his forehead pressed into the red rug. “Forgive me! My daughter—she’s having some sort of mental breakdown! Perhaps it is the annulment of her marriage to his Highness! I tried to stop her, but she—”
“Are you the king of this nation?” The teenage girl who was dressed like a man with mud staining her boots demanded as she fearlessly stared up at the king.
“Such insolence!” The king’s aide shouted. “How dare you speak and even question his Majesty without permission!”
“Father, would you please allow me to handle this?” A smooth voice cut in as the crowned prince walked into the room, stepping over the fallen doors in the process. He was smiling as he stared at the red-haired girl with what could only be interest in his blue eyes. “I shall escort Lady Duskmore back home.”
“The Kings are talking,” the girl suddenly said as her hand shot up, a finger pointed at the prince with her nail inches away from piercing his eyeball. This action startled everyone within the room, for no one saw how she suddenly gotten so close to the heir to the throne. "Who gave you permission to interrupt?”
“Your Highness!” The soldiers shouted as they immediately swarmed in front of the prince who was too stunned to react.
“Take her down, NOW!!” The king roared. Before these guards could act on their orders, another person strolled into the room. He was a young man in his twenties dressed in black from head to toes. His tight clothes made it obvious how broad his shoulders were with hair as black as the night, blood-red eyes, and thick black brows.
“What is this?” the man asked as he stepped inside, his gaze sweeping over the weapons raised by the guards before finally settling on the red-haired girl at the center of it all.
“Lucien, seize this girl!” The King shouted, pointing a finger down at Rosalina.
At this, the man glanced at the girl and let out a small snort. “You certainly know how to stir up trouble. Do you always go around picking fights?”
“Hm? Do I know you?” Rosalina asked, only sparing the man a brief look before turning her attention back to the king. “Outsiders have no right to speak. This is a matter between the Kings.”
“Hah!” The black-haired man looked as if he might pop a blood vessel from the girl’s dismissive gesture. Yet it only deepened his fascination with this mysterious girl, who was unlike anyone he had ever met.
“What the heck are you talking about, Rosalina!” Duke Darkmore shouted and looked to be on the verge of breaking down.
“Insolent girl! Know your place!” The king slammed his hand against his armrest. “What are you waiting for, Lucien?!”
“Yeah, sure,” The man, Lucien, didn’t look like he cared to follow the command. He looked more interested in what the girl was trying to do, but a King's order cannot be defied, so he walked up to the girl and took her by the wrist. "Come with—”
Before he could finish, his world suddenly spun and then…
BAAAAAAAAM!!!
The infamous Duke of the North—the Murderer, Slayer, Monster, among many other foul nicknames that could induce nightmares in any citizens of this land—was suddenly lying flat on his back with air knocked out of his lungs so hard that he spat out a mouthful of blood.
“Did you not hear me?” Rosalina said as she began to walk up the steps leading towards the throne.
“A-attack!!” The aide shouted, being the first to recover from the shock of the little girl so easily defeating the War Hero of their nation.
All at once, the guards lunged at the girl. But no matter how many charged, she continued her steady ascent up the staircase, completely unfazed. Swords swung at her, yet she dodged them with ease, sending one soldier after another crashing into the corner of the room, forming a pile.
By the time the last guard was thrown aside, Rosalina reached the final step—coming face-to-face with the King who had jumped up in fright.
“Your Majesty!!” The aide shouted, throwing himself at the girl only to have his wrist seized before he too was flung onto the pile of soldiers.
“Darkmore girl, do you have any idea what you’re doing? This is treason!” the King bellowed.
Rosalina ignored him entirely. She strode around the King before spinning around gracefully on her heels. Then, before everyone's eyes, she sat in the chair the king had occupied just seconds before.
For a couple of seconds, all was silent as everyone stared at the girl sitting on the throne.
And then…
"Hao!" The girl shouted. "Not a bad view."
“YOU DARE—!!” The king roared, only to be thrown off with the guards scrambling to catch his fall.
Now, every single person was forced to lift their heads, looking up at the girl sitting with her legs crossed on the royal chair that symbolizes the ruler of this land.
“Lower your heads,” the girl commanded as she pointed to all those who were below her. "For thou are in the presence of your King.”
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…
“Found it.”
“That was fast!!” Göll shouted, staring at the large screen showing a planet that looked similar to Earth, except the formation of the continents was completely different.
Standing by the table under the large screen was the God of Darkness, Beelzebub. To his left were all sorts of magic tools, while to his right were all machineries. The God was using some sort of scope pressed right up against the bumper to look into the worlds cramped within this small device.
Göll wasn’t too familiar with this God outside of Ragnarök. However, it was clear that the battle he had with Nikola Tesla changed some things about him. A lot of things, actually.
If Buddha didn’t bring her here, she wouldn’t have known that Nikola Tesla and Beelzebub became partners in a lot of experimentations. Even in Beelzebub’s workplace, she could see the blend of magic and human technology. There were two sets of everything in here, showing how this was a workplace shared by two people very intimately.
“Hm?” Beelzebub frowned as he began adjusting some gears on the scope, which caught his two guests’ attention.
“What’s wrong?” Buddha asked, leaning over and trying to see any oddities.
“…Nothing.” Beelzebub removed the scope and waved a hand. The bumper flew up—pulled by an invisible force as it attached itself onto another device on the ceiling.
The God of Darkness then walked over to a keyboard that was unlike any Göll had ever seen. The keys were oversized, each etched with strange, unfamiliar symbols. As his long fingers danced across them, sound came out of the machine as though he were playing a pipe organ.
Before their eyes, the bumper began to glow. The metal bent and reformed under the unseen force until it looked flawless with no trace of the dent remaining.
“You’ll see it yourself,” Beelzebub said after the restoration of the bumper was complete. He held out his hand and with a small beep, the bumper was unlocked from the machine and flew back down—landing directly into the God’s waiting palm.
“Eh?” Göll had no chance to react, for all she saw was Beelzebub turning around, raising the bumper over his head before swinging it towards her like a weapon.
WHAAAAAM!!!!
“OUCH!!!” Göll screamed, jumping up with her hands holding the large bump on the top of her head. “THAT HURTS!!”
“A-are you alright?” A concerned woman’s voice asked, startling Göll who turned to see a woman in her early thirties with a child next to her, clutching onto her dress.
“Huh?” Göll blinked at this woman who was very obviously a human. “Y-yeah…I’m fine…?”
Her eyes then trailed away from the woman and the child, looking up at the bright blue sky before back down at the human buildings surrounding her with horse carriages passing by on the street next to her.
“Huh?” Göll rubbed her eyes before looking around again. “Where…?”
“The world that Qin Shi Huang is in,” Buddha’s voice came from behind and Göll turned to see the God nursing the side of his reddened face where he had gotten whacked. “Damn that Beelzebub.”
The human woman who had asked if Göll was alright yelped at the sudden appearance of Buddha. She quickly scooped up her child and ran off as though a beast was chasing after her. It wasn’t just her—many nearby onlookers stopped in their tracks, staring at Buddha before shifting their gaze to Göll, making the Valkyrie feel extremely self-conscious.
“Uh, why are they looking at us like this?” Göll asked as she shuffled over to Buddha.
“We probably stood out with these clothes.” Buddha looked around, finding an alleyway which he quickly pulled the youngest Valkyrie into. With a wave of his hand, Buddha created out two large cloaks which they wrapped themselves in, concealing their bodies before emerging on another part of the street. As expected, no more weird gazes were cast their way now that their odd clothing was covered.
“So where do we start to look for Qin Shi Huang?” Göll asked, looking around, but still had no idea where to start.
“I might have an idea for that.”
“Really?!” Göll looked towards Buddha, who was pointing towards a certain direction. She followed the direction of his finger and soon saw a rather impressive building in the distance…and it was this design of the building that made it instantly stand out to her.
“A CHINESE CASTLE?!!” The Valkyrie shouted. She quickly looked at the European houses around her, then back at that Chinese castle in the distance.
There was no doubt about it…
Qin Shi Huang was definitely there!!
“Are you travellers?” A raspy voice asked softly. Göll looked over her shoulder to see that it was an elderly man sitting next to a newspaper stand.
“Yes, we are.” Buddha walked over, pulling out a few coins which he handed over to the elderly man. “I don’t believe I’ve ever seen a structure like that before. Quite the unique design,” the God said, starting up a conversation with the human.
“That’s the new castle of the King." The elderly man pocketed the coin before handing Buddha today’s newspapers. “Third page, take a look there.”
At this, Buddha opened the newspaper to the third page, lowering it so Göll could see as well. The two of them stared at the image of what really looked like an abomination in their eyes. If a castle could have legs, perhaps this is what it would look like.
“That’s the old castle. Recently, some architects and surveyors were discussing the old castle and how dangerous it actually was.”
“H-hah…” Göll stared at this…castle.
Dangerous didn’t even begin to describe what she was looking at.
It was just…weird. It didn’t look like a structure that could be built in the first place, yet the humans here somehow did it and even lived in it for years?! How was it that only now they realized this building might not have been a good idea?!
“Buddha…is this the result of speeding up the process when creating this world?” Göll whispered to Buddha, whose eyelid was also jumping at this spectacular design.
“Some corners are bound to be cut when you start mass-producing worlds without any foundations. Many of them are just copies and pastes of each other with different storylines,” Buddha mumbled back.
“When the new King took rein three months ago, the castle was deemed unsafe and was immediately taken down to be rebuilt. Though there’s also rumours going around that in reality, the castle just collapsed in on itself after the new King punched through a couple of walls, which resulted in the need for a new and more stable palace.”
“Punched through what?!” Göll was certain of it now. Qin Shi Huang really was the king in this world! Should she say as expected from the King of all Kings to be transmigrated as another King?!
“Quite the new king you got. I don’t suppose we could go up to that palace and get an audience with him?” Buddha asked.
“I do believe there's a broadcast from the palace happening soon…” The elderly man trailed off, looking up at a device that was attached to the side of the building on the second floor.
Right on cue, that device began to glow and large holographic screens began to appear all over the street—all of them projected by these strange devices. Everyone on the street stopped whatever they were doing. No one looked surprised by the screens, meaning these must be normal to them. They just seemed to be eagerly waiting for whatever was going to be broadcast.
Göll and Buddha stood to the side of the road, picking a screen to watch as well like the other citizens. The screen flickered before a handsome man with blond hair and blue eyes appeared.
「 Greetings, citizens of the Empire,」he said. Just as Göll wondered who that was, she caught the whispers of the people around them.
“The Crowned Prince is the one making the news?"
“You mean former Crowned Prince."
“I heard he became the advisor of the current King after the former one stepped down.”
“Seriously…” Göll mumbled as she looked back at the screen where the man was talking about stuff she couldn’t even bother registering. She just wanted to hurry and find Qin Shi Huang so they could get out of this world before her sister came back!
After an entire speech from the former Crowned Prince, the man suddenly stepped aside and bowed. At that moment, the screen turned around and Göll briefly saw a dark-haired man. For a moment, she thought that was Qin Shi Huang, but the camera (Göll would just call these devices that) came to settle on a girl instead. She was a beautiful girl who still looked to be in her teens with wine-red hair and bright emerald eyes. However, the way she stood before the camera and the air she carried herself with was eerily familiar—almost as familiar as those clothes the girl was wearing that definitely were not of this world’s style.
“So that’s the new King?!”
“But isn’t the ruler a woman? Calling her King seems inappropriate.”
“What are those clothes she’s wearing?!”
“How preposterous! Look at that skin she’s showing!”
“Can a little girl like that really lead our kingdom?”
“What was the former King thinking?!”
“Buddha…” Geir mumbled quietly.
“Yup,” Buddha responded as he unwrapped another lollipop and put it into his mouth. “There’s our human King.”
「Citizens of this land, this is a message from your King！」the girl announced. While her voice was completely different, that line was unmistakably something that Qin Shi Huang would say.「The path I walk is the path of the Empire! The land bows where I stand, and the nation follows where I lead!!」
The girl’s voice was loud, booming across the entire city through the recording.
「As the first decree of your King, I—Ying Zheng—will unite every single nation within this land. This will mark the new beginning of the Great Empire!!」
“W-what?!”
“What did she just said?”
“Unite what?”
“Great Empire?”
“Are we going to war?!”
Gasps echoed from the citizens as they looked to each other, none of them having any idea what was happening.
「War, poverty, diseases, famine—surely all of you know what it is like in this nation we stand in？」The girl said as she stared through the camera and into every single person’s soul.
「Bandits desecrate the fields, and foreign armies cast their shadows over every horizon. They call this land the Empire, yet it's nothing but a hollow shell. Do you truly believe that hiding within your manors, clinging to your status will shield you from the world trying to devour you？！」
These words jolted through every citizen, and in an instant, all whispers were gone as everyone stared at the girl who held out a fist towards them.
「The other nations seek to seize our land? Hao! Then let them come! But engrave this into your hearts—we are not the ones who shall be hunted. We are the hunters. We shall march forward, trample their borders beneath our feet, and seize every inch of land before us! As your king, I shall stand at the vanguard and lead this nation to triumph! When all lands are united beneath one banner, I will ascend as your First Emperor,」the girl said as she pointed upward.「The King of All Beginning！」
There was a moment of stunned silence among the crowd before it erupted into an uproar. Göll clapped her hands over her ears, trying to dull the ringing from the screaming masses. A tug at her cloak made her turn to see Buddha waving at her. She hurriedly squeezed her way through the crowd and followed the God into the alleyway. Without a single human noticing, the God and Demi-God vanished into the shadows.
As it turned out, that crazy speech of Qin Shi Huang wasn’t just broadcast to his own people, he made sure it was broadcast to his neighbours as well.
In other words, he essentially started a war declaration!!
In order to find Qin Shi Huang, Buddha and Göll waited in the corner of the palace. With their power, it was easy to move around without being detected. They waited until the young girl housing the soul of Qin Shi Huang retired to his room for the night before Göll all but pounced onto him.
“GOT YOU!!!”
“Ah, the youngest lady,” Ying Zheng greeted, not the least surprised when he saw the two familiar faces. He didn't even dodge and just let the girl grab onto him. “And Buddha!”
“Do you have any idea what you’re doing?!” Göll shouted as she tugged on the sleeve of that man’s—girl’s—she'll just stick to man since that was what the inside was. Just seeing Qin Shi Huang having the appearance of a delicate girl was giving her goosebumps. “You’re coming back with us right now! Buddha—”
“BU HAO!!!” He loudly denied, not budging a bit despite how hard the Valkyrie was pulling.
“Hah?!” Göll stared at the King in disbelief.
“I have decided that I will unite all of this land!!”
“This isn’t the world you came from, it’s a completely different world!!” Göll shouted, her frustration hitting its peak. “Just come back already, you’ve had your fun now, right? And Sister Alvitr! You totally dumped her behind again! Do you know how angry she’ll be when she wakes up and finds out you somehow got transmigrated?!"
“Mou man tai!” The arrogant Emperor laughed. “I will go back, but a King must foremost keep his words. I said that I will unite this land, thus I will!”
“Can’t you forget about that?!”
“Now, now, lil’ Göll,” Buddha cut in and gave the girl a couple of pats on her shoulder. “Isn’t it fine like this?”
“What is?!”
“Time flows differently in this world compared to ours. Even if Qi Shi Huang dies from old age here, it’ll only be a couple of days in Valhalla.”
“B-but still…” Göll was still hesitant. A few days were enough time for her sister to return. However, there was also no way for her to change Qin Shi Huang’s mind and get him to go back with them once he set his mind on something. If only that great being were available…not that Göll would have the guts to face him anyway.
“Fine…” she finally relented.
“HAO!!!” Ying Zheng clapped, making her jump. “Then it’s time for you both to get changed, for there is much to be done. I first need to acquire stronger forces, so tomorrow, we take the Mages under my command!”
“Wait, what? How are we now involved in your plan to unite this place?!” Göll cried while Buddha shrugged.
“Looks like we got no choice but to finish the game,” he said while reaching for his pocket where he kept his snacks, only to freeze upon realizing that he had just eaten the last one.
“Are you serious?!” Buddha swore before he turned around to leave.
“Wait! Where are you going?!” Göll gasped and instantly latched onto the God.
“Uh, I ran out of snacks. I promise I’ll be back very soon!”
“You just said it yourself! Time in Valhalla passes differently than here! You’re going to throw me here with him for years?!!”
“No, I promise I’ll be back real soon! I can’t go on without snacks!” Buddha shouted, even his tone taking on desperation at the thought of going years here without sugar.
“You’re one of the reasons this happened in the first place!!” Göll shouted. “Take responsibility!!”
“HAHAHA!!! HAO!!! I LIKE BOTH OF YOUR ENERGIES!!” Ying Zheng laughed as he came up to the two and wrapped an arm around each of them. “YOU’RE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT!!”
“About…?” Göll suddenly had a very bad feeling about this.
“Why wait for sunrise when we can strike them in the night? Cedric, Lucien!!”
“Yes, your Majesty,” the door slammed open, revealing the blond and black-haired man standing there, bowing respectfully to Qin Shi Huang.
“Bring your best men! Tonight, we take the Magician’s Tower!!”
“YES!!!” The two men shouted with awe and respect gleaming in their eyes.
“NOOO!!!” Göll screamed as she and Buddha were both dragged off by the Emperor in the skin of a teenage girl.
Thus mark the new era of the first Emperor of the Great Empire, Ying Zheng.
With his forces of only a mere hundred soldiers, he took down the impenetrable defences of the Magician’s Tower. When surrounded by the mages, he proposed a deal to them who were proud in their magic and believed that magic was superior. A fight between rulers to determine the result—a one-on-one duel against the strongest mage in history, Adrian von Falken, Head of the Magician’s Tower.
Adrian was a mage who has said to lived for hundreds of years, yet completely retained his youthful appearance, looking no older than twenty. Yet ultimately, this powerful mage loss in the battle against Ying Zheng. With his defeat, the Empire has gotten its first win and the mages has officially joined the Empire’s forces.
History would later insist this was an impossible feat.
Ying Zheng merely called it natural.
Clad in resplendent armour that reflected both steel and spell alike, the Emperor stood at the summit of the Tower not as a conqueror drenched in blood, but as a ruler who had already decided the outcome. His laughter echoed through shattered wards and collapsing sigils—not mockery, but delight.
For Ying Zheng did not fight to prove dominance.
He fought because he was the King.
The duel that decided the Tower’s fate was far from brutality, but remembered merely for its imbalance. Against sorcery refined over centuries, the Emperor broke through it all with his bare hands and wills alone. And the smile he wore the entire time as though he was having fun stirred something within the hearts of those who watched on. When the Head of the Tower admitted defeat, it was not beneath hatred or despair, but beneath the crushing realization that he had stood before a king who could not be denied.
“You belong to me now,” Ying Zheng declared—not as a threat, but as a promise.
And so they did.
The magicians, once aloof arbiters of power, found themselves drawn into orbit around the Emperor’s brilliance. He did not shackle them, he claimed them. Magic was no longer an untamed force lurking behind curtains and towers—it became an extension of imperial will, ordered, refined, and proudly displayed beneath banners of the gold dragon.
The five hundred who marched beside him were transformed. They did not follow out of fear, nor blind loyalty, but because they had witnessed something undeniable: a sovereign who bore every burden himself, who laughed in the face of fate, and who declared every victory to be for his people. Under Ying Zheng, there was no such thing as expendable lives—only subjects yet to be protected by unity.
In the gaslit capitals and fog-bound streets of the Victorian kingdoms, whispers spread. Some called him a tyrant. Others called him a saviour. Scholars argued whether he was a man or divine aberration. Engineers hastily redesigned weapons and automatons. Kings stared at maps already obsolete.
Ying Zheng paid them no mind.
To him, borders were inconveniences. Resistance was a misunderstanding. And history was merely a record waiting to be corrected.
Thus began the march of unification.
Not a war waged by desperation or hatred, but a grand procession led by an Emperor who adored the world too much to allow it to remain divided. Kingdom by kingdom, tower by tower, crown by crown, the land would come to understand a singular truth—
The world was never meant to be many.
It was always meant to be one, with all the people united.
The End.
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!!!!!” Göll screamed as she flew through the sky.
What kind of portal would toss someone into the atmosphere?!
“HAO!!” The culprit of it all laughed in such a carefree way that she really wanted to beat him up if she was capable. “As expected, it feels much better to be back in my own body!”
“Buddha!! Help!!” Göll shouted, but when she glanced at him, the God was snoring away blissfully—completely oblivious of the impending danger. Having suffered a severe sugar shortage that drove him almost insane, Buddha went into hibernation a year into Qin Shi Huang's conquest.
Yes…this God went to take a long nap that lasted for years because he couldn't handle not having his snacks.
“BUDDHA!! WAKE UP!! WE'RE BACK!!!” The youngest Valkyrie flapped her arms and legs as she struggled to fly over to the Buddha so she could grab onto him.
“Calm yourself, youngest lady,” Ying Zheng said, arms crossed over his chest with one leg crossed over the other. It was as though the man was sitting on an invisible throne rather than falling through the sky. “Surely a height like this would not kill a God so easily.”
“But I’m gonna die!!” She yelled, looking down only to shriek at how close the ground was now. Weren't they falling way too fast?! “And you too! You can’t stop our fall either, can you?!”
“Mou man tai!” Came the Emperor’s catchphrase.
“You mean you can stop our fall?!” Göll asked hopefully.
“I can’t,” was the carefree, irresponsible reply.
“GAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!” Göll hugged onto Buddha’s limp body and squeezed her eyes shut, unable to look at it anymore.
With the roaring wind blasting against her ears, she failed to see the smile stretching across the Emperor’s face.
Just as the three were about to crash into the ground, they suddenly came to an abrupt halt, as if an invisible force had frozen them in midair. A couple of seconds later, Buddha and Göll were gently set onto the soft grass, while Ying Zheng landed securely into a pair of arms—one hooked under his knees, the other wrapped around his shoulders.
“Y-you’re…!” Göll gasped upon realizing she was being impolite and hurriedly bowed in the presence of the King of Helheim—Hades.
“This is quite the greeting I get after coming back,” the silvery voice of the God spoke with much fondness.
“Hades!” Ying Zheng greeted in delight and looped his arms around the God's neck. “I was dying of boredom without you!”
Göll had to refrain from making remarks that the man certainly didn’t seem to be bored. If not for her crying and begging for the Emperor to go home already, Qin Shi Huang was prepared to unite the entire world!
“Really?” Hades chuckled as he held his lover close. “It looked to me that you had quite the fun.”
“It’s a fitting vacation for an Emperor, but it was still lacking without anyone who can match you,” Ying Zheng said. “You should join me next time!”
“Certainly. I have been curious about those worlds as well,” Hades agreed. “But for now, let us return. Your Valkyrie partner was worried to the point of tears. You should not keep the young lady panicking for too long.” With that, Hades turned and walked away, carrying Ying Zheng who was pretty comfortable with the royal treatment and showed no plans on walking on his own legs.
Just like that, the two of them walked through a portal and left Göll’s sight, leaving Göll trying to wrap her head around everything that happened.
“Nngh~!” Buddha sat up at that moment, stretching his arms over his head with a loud yawn before looking around. “Oh, we’re back? Perfect, I gotta go find Kin-chan and restock on my snacks. See you later, lil' Göll!”
And just like that, Buddha ran off as well.
“At least…I survived…” Göll mumbled to herself. Really, she has no idea what in the world she should feel. She sat there in the grassy plains for a long time before finally getting up, deciding that she should enjoy a bath and relax after everything she had been through.
As she made it back to the main city, lesser gods and Demi Gods dwelled the street. As a new year had arrived not long ago, there was still a rather festive feel in the air.
“Huh?” Göll paused at the sight of a familiar husky and it was only thanks to the dog that she noticed the man next to the animal dressed in pure white. It was Simo Häyhä. “Simo!!” She jogged up to the hooded figure who turned at the call, revealing a young Finnish man with a scar along his jaw.
“Lady Göll,” Simo greeted her politely.
“You guys are back from your trip to the Human Realm?”
“Yes, we returned about an hour ago.”
“What about Sister Hilde? Do you know where she went?”
“Apologies, but we went our separate ways after stepping through the portal, so I’m not sure,” Simo answered before seeming to remember something. He reached into the bag he was holding, pulling out a small present wrapped in a red wrapper and green ribbons. “This is for you. New Year’s present,” he said as he handed her the little box.
“For me?” Göll gasped in surprise. “Thank you! Oh…uh, I didn’t prepare anything to give back.”
“It’s alright,” Simo assured her. “To tell the truth, this is more of a Christmas present, but I understand that religion works differently in the realm of Gods. I apologize if this would be offensive.”
“No, of course not! Thank you so much!” Göll smiled before looking down at the bag the young man was holding. “Then that present…I take it it’s for Lord Loki?”
Simo smiled and gave her a small nod.
“I went back to visit my homeland. A lot has changed, but I’m glad to see that it’s doing well. I bought some gifts from stores I used to frequent, though perhaps that is not something a God would care for.”
“No, no, I’m sure Lord Loki will like it!” Göll immediately encouraged the man.
“Paljon kiitoksia,” Simo's smile widened and he thanked the Valkyrie in his native tongue.
After Ragnarök, anyone with eyes could see how fond of Simo Loki was becoming. It didn’t start like that at first. In the beginning, Loki did not like Simo at all, but Simo was nonetheless the human who was able to defeat and kill him, so he kept an eye on Simo.
Simo, on the other hand, was quite happy whenever he saw Loki. After all, of all the people he had killed with his own hands, Loki was the only one still alive and he was grateful for it. Göll has no idea when the relationships between these two shifted. At some point, she just started seeing the God hanging around Simo. This was also something that her eldest sister was extremely happy about.
With the humans who participated in Ragnarök getting special privileges, Simo was living in a realm of his own—within the snowy mountain that looked similar to Finland. Göll heard that Loki took part in crafting that area for him and they spent most of their time there together.
Perhaps Simo’s calm and patient nature ended up balancing well with that of a trickster’s. Simo could easily laugh at anything Loki does and truly enjoyed his company, while for Loki, the human was like a breath of fresh air where he didn’t need to become anything.
While Göll still didn’t feel comfortable being near the god, Simo was by far her favourite human. The sniper was very well spoken and, more importantly, didn’t have a lot of drama around him.
“Then I shall be on my way. Have a good day.”
“Oh, yes! Thank you again for the present!” Göll said as Simo gave her a little wave before he walked off with his hunting dog trailing after him.
SCREEEEEEEEEEECH!!!!
At that moment, time seemed to stop. Göll stared, eyes wide in horror as a truck suddenly came bursting from around the corner, startling the demi-gods and lesser gods as they all scrambled to get away. The tires screeched across the tracks, drawing a line over the pavement as its bright yellow light flared and blinded the sight of the sniper who turned.
But it was already too late, for the Truck was just half a meter away and unlike other fighters, Simo didn’t have their superhuman strength or speed.
“SIMO!!” Göll shouted as the present the sniper gave her fell onto the ground. There was a loud BANG and right before her eyes, Simo vanished into thin air while the truck slammed into a building and ultimately came to a stop.
“Arf! Arf arf!!” Simo’s dog barked frantically at the truck, unable to understand how its owner disappeared like that.
Snapping out of her stupor, she rushed toward the truck only to yelp in surprise as someone leapt out from the driver’s seat.
“Michel de Nostradamus?!!” She shouted, pointing an accusing finger at the most obnoxious man in the history of humanity.
“Ya-hoo~” said the obnoxious man, giving the youngest Valkyrie a wave. “Happy New Year!”
“Happy N—NOT!!!” Göll shouted as she shook her head, determined not to get dragged along by the frivolous man. “Do you know what you’ve just done?!!”
“Of course!" Michel laughed as though she had just asked the dumbest question. "After all, I was the one who sent Qin Shi Huang over~"
"WHAT?!!" Göll shouted in disbelief.
“I heard about these machines and worlds the Gods are making. With how interesting it looked, how could I possibly not take part in it? It was just a one-time idea at first, but your adventure with Qin Shi Huang was so interesting that it made me want to see how the others would fare being dropped into different worlds!”
“Others?” Göll paled, suddenly getting a very bad feeling. “Don’t tell me…!”
“Yup!” Michel stuck his tongue out and struck a pose. “Simo Häyhä was the last one! Maaan, you have no idea how hard it was to catch the others off guard.”
“NOSTRADAMUS!!!”
“EEEK!!!” Göll shrieked when she looked down the street to see Brunhilde standing at the very end, dark aura blasting off of her and her hair flying all over that she almost resembled Medusa. “S-Sister Hilde?!!”
“Aaaand I might have accidentally sent lover boy over as well~” Michel chirped before he quickly took off into the nearest alleyway. “Now I got some shows to watch! Take care of the rest for me, will ya~? Adieu! ♪”
“GET BACK HERE!!” Brunhilde shouted, not even noticing Göll as she charged right past her, trying to catch that damn prophet who had already slipped away.
“Miss Göll!”
“What now?!” Göll shouted, feeling like she was going to develop PTSD at this point. Fortunately, the one who shouted her name and ran at her was Eve. After spending some time in Valhalla, she and her family learned how to wear proper clothes, though Adam would call it troublesome many times and tried to rip them off anyway.
When Eve finally reached her, she was gasping for breath, having little to no physical prowess unlike her husband. “Adam…” She panted before looking up at Göll with worries written all over her face. “Adam has been missing since we’ve come back! Have you perhaps seen him?”
“Missing?” A familiar voice spoke and Göll was almost in tears as she pounced onto the demi-god who came over to them.
“Brother Heracles!”
“Göll? What’s wrong?” Heracles asked worriedly as he caught her. There was just so much that Göll didn’t even know where to begin, so instead, she asked why Heracles was here. After all, it was hard to see any of the better-known Gods walking amongst these streets.
“I was looking for Jack. I thought he and Hlökk would be around here until I overheard you two,” Heracles answered before looking back at Eve.
“Where did Adam go missing?”
“I don’t know. He said he was going to step away for a bit, but he never came back,” Eve answered. “My children and I looked everywhere for him, but we couldn’t find him. It’s not like him to leave us like that without a word.”
“I would like to know more about that,” another voice spoke and the three of them turned to see Thor walking towards them. He wasn’t carrying his weapon with him, but even so, the lesser Gods all scrambled away upon his appearance, not daring to get too close.
“Lord Thor!” Göll quickly prostrated herself before the Thunder Berserker.
“What a gathering this is.” In a blinding flash of light, the God of Sun—Apollo, also joined their little circle with his robe and hair fluttering around him. “Coincidentally, it seems we are looking for the same thing. Isn’t that right, Poseidon?”
With a light gasp, Göll lifted her head a little to see Poseidon, standing there quietly with his arms crossed over his chest. She had no idea when he even appeared!
“It seems the humans have returned from the Human Realm after all,” Susano'o no Mikoto came down from above, not even bothering to soften the impact as his landing shook the ground.
“Ah!” Eve gasped, almost falling over from the sudden shake. Thankfully, Heracles was quick to put a hand on her back and help stabilize her.
Göll was now shivering nervously at the presence of all these big shots who were practically standing right next to her and chatting.
Should she say anything?
Should she get up?
After some thoughts, she ultimately decided to stay on the ground quietly and hoped these Gods would forget that she was here.
“Susano'o, are you looking for Okita Sougo?” Heracles asked.
“Indeed. I sensed Sougo’s presence not long ago, but it faded so quickly that I found it odd, so I came to see what was going on.” The Japanese God then cast his glance at Eve, who stood nervously under all these Gods’ gazes. “Considering the wife of the human warrior who fought Zeus is here, it proved that they should all be back in Valhalla.”
“Yet none of us can sense them now,” Apollo finished with his delicate brows knitted and a frown tugging down his lips.
“In conclusion, all of our humans just up and vanished~”
“Eeep!!” Göll jumped at the voice that practically breathed into her ear. When she looked up, she was greeted with Loki, hovering in the air above her with his face just centimetres away.
“L-Lord Loki!” She shouted as sweat began oozing out of every single pore in her body. With a flip, the God of Mischief landed next to the present that Simo had given her, picking it up to take a look. Upon seeing the god, Simo’s dog immediately ran up, circling him and making distress whines which Loki smoothed by petting its head.
“So,” Loki looked towards the youngest Valkyrie with a chilling smile and veins pulsing from under his skin. “Göll, was it? Where's Simo?”
“I-I-I…!!”
Göll made a New Year’s wish at that very moment.
Heck, she would even make a Christmas wish and bow to Jesus!
If she ever gets her hands on Michel de Nostradamus, she's going to drive that goddam truck and ram him over a hundred times!!