66. The God of Evil Hides His Power (3)
They began their operation.
When the fake Valkyries waiting in the Demon Realm went to Midgard, the senior Valkyries who had been waiting for them flew in to meet them.
Among them was Har, whom Odin put in charge of training the warriors. She was known as Odin’s Dagger and was his favorite Valkyrie.
The fake Valkyries greeted her politely as she got closer. Based on her response, she didn’t notice they were impostors at all.
“Forgive us for being late.”
“It’s okay. The deadline hasn’t passed yet, so I’m sure Odin will understand.”
She even cared about them.
She had a cruel personality, but she was only ever vicious towards her enemies and beings she found worthless. On the other hand, she was infinitely kind to her colleagues and subordinates.
Har and the Valkyries she commanded soon moved the 200,000 humans the fake Valkyries brought, transporting them to different areas in Midgard.
They had abducted a total of 210,000 individuals. However, only 3,000 people remained of the first 10,000 they had sent here, leaving a total of 203,000 humans currently alive in this realm.
While Har was writing a report to send to Odin, the fake Valkyries carried out their mission, approaching the middle-class Valkyries busily relocating Earthlings.
“What’s the matter? If you’re tired, you should go back to Asgard and rest.”
“Well… We’ve discovered anomalies among the humans.”
“Anomalies? Ah, don’t worry about it. That often happens when they cross dimensions. Guide us to them, and we’ll check them out ourselves.”
They followed the fake Valkyries, who guided them to a place out of their allies’ sight.
“Here they are.”
They immediately looked around when they arrived at their destination, hoping to identify what was wrong. However, they could only tilt their heads in confusion.
There were no anomalies, just humans lying dead.
“I don’t see any problems here.” The middle-class Valkyries said, turning around to face their juniors.
Bam!
A powerful blow struck the back of their heads, causing them to stagger and collapse. Barely managing to raise her head, one of them stared at their assailants.
The fake Valkyries had bloody blunt weapons in their hands.
“What do you think you’re doing…”
“She’s quite tough.”
“They’re definitely worthy of being in the middle-class.”
“N-no, don’t! Stop!”
“It would’ve been better for us both if you just fainted. Why do you have to make me do the same job twice?”
Bam!
The fake Valkyrie hit her with her blunt weapon once more, finally rendering her unconscious. Her body flinched a few times before drooping completely.
Shriek!
The humans lying on the floor slowly got up after, their bodies liquefying and resolidifying in the form of the middle-class Valkyries.
The Dopplo clan, now looking no different from their captors, smiled at the fake Valkyries.
“Thank you for your hard work.”
“You’re welcome. There are only nineteen left. How are the avatars doing?”
“Well, their links with Arorong are unstable. They should be able to move, but they might seem a bit awkward.”
“That’s unexpected. We should move double time.”
An unaccounted variable had appeared, but they should be able to cover for it if they moved swiftly.
The fake Valkyries took off their victims’ equipment and moved them to the cave, where they had nurtured Lilith’s tentacle plant, an evil entity that bound its prey’s body and sapped their energy.
The Dopplo clan adjusted to their new physiques. Since it was their first time changing into middle-class Valkyries, their actions seemed a little awkward at first and felt quite alienating.
But it didn’t matter much. They’d soon grow used to it anyway.
The fake Valkyries smiled and flew away as if nothing had happened.
From then on, Odin’s servants disappeared one after the other. The Dopplo clan were cautious at first but became more daring as their numbers increased. Soon enough, they had replaced everyone but Har, an advanced Valkyrie.
Flying to the awakened humans, she began the tutorial. As usual, she tried to start by brutally killing those who rebelled against her, but this batch’s atmosphere was strange.
It was far too different from the ones that came before them.
[Rejoice, for you have been deemed qualified to become the warriors of Odin, the greatest god to ever exist. From now on, you are expected to survive until you’ve proven your worth. All crimes are legal here, including murder, rape, and thievery. The strong are the law.]
She just revealed their new cruel reality!
Normally, at this point, people would start going against her, and she’d massacre them to set an example.
“…”
“…”
But this batch just stared at her, showing little changes in their expression. The gloomy silence enveloping them creeped Har out, yet she couldn’t quite understand the horror she felt.
They were insignificant beings compared to her, after all. They should be screaming and begging for her mercy.
Har sent her feathers to the man at the front, ruthlessly desecrating him far more than necessary.
Pussack!
Her target fell as his blood and organs splattered all over the area.
They all reacted to the situation, but…
“Oh no.”
“He’s dead.”
“Help me.”
“She’s evil.”
“Run away.”
It was as if they were just reading a script.
“U-u-ughgh…?”
“No. No. No. Arghhh…”
The humans before her began shaking violently. As if trapped in an endless loop, they repeated the same actions ceaselessly.
‘Something’s wrong with them.’
Horrified, she felt goosebumps popping all over her body. However, when she took a step away from them, they all stopped simultaneously and turned their heads towards her.
Her horror turned into fear. She couldn’t even think of proceeding with the tutorial anymore.
“Help. Me. Help. Me.”
“Run. Escape. Run.”
[What? What the hell…]
“What. What?”
“What the hell… What the hell?”
They copied her words, their actions becoming increasingly tense.
Clack! Clack! Clack!
Some of them broke their necks, causing their heads to spin uncontrollably.
Har hurriedly flew away, hoping to report the situation swiftly. Luckily, she soon found her subordinates, causing the fear that enveloped her to disappear. Sighing in relief, she went to the Valkyries, who had their backs turned.
“The humans you abducted are acting strange! We must report it to Odin now!” She shouted, but they didn’t respond to her words. Rather, they simply hovered in the air, seemingly refusing to look at her.
“Mar?” She called out the name of the subordinate she cherished the most.
Still no response.
Haru slowly glided over to them.
Pure white wings, beautifully waving blonde hair, and the fragrance she exuded. The female in front of her was undoubtedly Mar.
She had to be playing a joke.
Barely suppressing her anxiety, Har reached to her, her touch causing her to turn her head slowly and stare right into her eyes.
“What’s going on?”
“Those humans… No, they’re not humans. They’re-”
“Are you okay? You look tired. You should take a break.”
Mar backed away from her. Her tone, body language, and expression were the same as usual. However, her attitude towards her made her feel somehow alienated.
“You… You’re not Mar!”
Her words caused the Valkyrie’s smile to disappear.
In an instant, all emotions left her, rendering her expressionless.
Slurp!
Half of her face melted down to the point where her bones were visible, then it regenerated, changing to several fellow Valkyries’ before returning to her original look.
“M-monster!”
Har backed away from her.
At the same time, the others around them slowly turned and looked at her, revealing their facelessness.
They had no eyes, mouths, or noses.
“Damn!”
The Valkyries stretched out their hands, releasing tentacles that entangled Har. She could barely swing her sword to slice them off before she began losing strength.
Knowing full well she’d be defeated if they fought, she ran away, swiftly leaving the area and flying to Asgard. She found several Valkyries flying around the Bifrost, all of which stopped what they were doing and stared at her when they noticed her presence.
She couldn’t bring herself to come closer to them. Not with their faces melting and their mouths ripping open all the way to their cheekbones like Mar and the others.
‘Them too?’
Terror engulfed her mind.
‘This has to be a nightmare.’ She thought desperately.
Unable to use proper judgment, she recklessly ran away, stopping only when she came across a lesser Valkyrie.
“Har?”
“You’re…”
“Everything’s weird, Har. None of our fellow Valkyries are acting like themselves…”
The lesser Valkyrie seemed just as terrified as her, if not more.
“We need to run away and get out of here for now! This isn’t a safe place to talk!”
She followed Har. Feeling a little relieved now that she had found someone in the same situation as her, she led her to a remote cave.
Even inside its walls, they could barely relax. Their current circumstances were far from normal. They had to inform Asgard quickly, but…
The lesser Valkyrie trembled.
“They don’t look any different… They tricked even the senior Valkyries. They scare me…”
“We need to let Asgard know.”
“But will they trust us? We can’t even distinguish the real Valkyries from the fake ones.” She replied, her words clearly enveloped in anxiety.
Har hugged her.
“The great Odin has an all-seeing eye. They won’t be able to deceive him.”
“… If you say so…”
As she patted her back while still in her embrace, the lesser Valkyrie slowly raised her head.
Her worried and unsettled expression had disappeared.
“Thank you for that valuable intel.”
“What…?”
She pushed herself away from Har’s arms and looked at her. Grinning coldly, she then slowly and respectfully went down to her knees.
But she wasn’t kneeling for her but for another being sharing the same cave with them.
Gulping deeply, Har looked around her vicinity, immediately noticing a person sitting on an elegant chair.
Valkyries were lined up behind him, their limbs tightly bound.
She knew all of them, and this time, they weren’t the fake ones she met outside.
They were certainly the real ones, but their conditions seemed… odd.
They were all shaking uncontrollably, their ecstatic eyes staring directly at the man in front of them.
She couldn’t even guess what had happened to them.
“Odin’s eye, huh…”
She remembered him. During his batch’s tutorial phase, he was standing next to the human she killed due to his rebellious attitude.
His name was Jin-woo.
“Are you really just a mere human? How could you do this? What the hell are you?”
Har turned her attention to his side, where a talented person the Valkyries paid close attention to was standing.
Kim Ah-young.
She was considered the ace of their generation and was currently at the top of their class. Even Har couldn’t avoid monitoring her growth.
Now, however, she was talking to and applying medicinal herbs to her pillow.
“Your wounds have almost healed,” she said. “You don’t have to worry anymore.”
“…”
“Valkyries are fearsome creatures, and their personalities are unpredictable.”
“….”
“We can’t go against them. Especially not against Har, an advanced Valkyrie strong enough to earn the title ‘Odin’s Dagger.’ She’s a divine being, too.”
“…”
“I’ve learned a skill that allows me to hide information, but… She might still catch onto my secrets once we’ve seen each other for the first time in a long while.”
She treated it as if it was a sentient being, a sight just as incomprehensible as the rest of the events Har had to go through.
Swoosh!
Fake Valkyries came up behind her and rendered her unconscious.
“Is this the last one? That was cutting it a little too close for comfort.”
It took some trial and error, but they gained great results.
It didn’t matter if they failed in the first place. Quite the contrary, it would actually be better for the Norse gods to succeed in this operation. Once they had noticed what was happening, they’d have no choice but to wipe out Asgard.
‘Odin.’
Norse mythology’s supreme deity and owner of Gungnir.
According to the legends about him, he would do anything to gain power.
That was exactly why he was one-eyed.
In exchange for one of his eyes, he drank from the fountain of cosmic knowledge. In doing so, he gained deep wisdom, knowledge, and greater vision.
The Valkyries even claimed he could see through everything.
‘Interesting.’
Jin-woo couldn’t help but wonder how far he’d be able to see through the avatars protected by his abilities.
‘If his eye is that good…’
Then it was worth collecting.
* * *
Valhalla, Odin’s palace in Asgard.
Great warriors feasted endlessly in its halls and were provided the best treatment. However, it had recently been converted into a building that received the Earthlings they had carefully selected in Midgard.
Sitting on his golden throne, Odin looked down at everyone. Har, his beloved Valkyrie, politely knelt before him, holding out a golden parchment.
He opened it, finding a detailed report about the Earthlings inside. His eye shone sharply as he read through it.
His eye alone contained the power to bring all the gods of Asgard to their knees. Even Loki, the god of mischief, couldn’t look directly into it.
Loki was involved in many major accidents, one of them being the time he secretly brought a venomous snake from Earth and hid it in Midgard. Eventually, it grew so large that it completely enveloped the entirety of the said realm.
“The preparations are going well. You did great, Har.”
When Odin spoke with a satisfied smile, Har lowered her head even more.
“I see no mention of that woman Kim Ah-young.”
“I didn’t think she’s a warrior worthy of your grace despite how outstanding she is. I apologize.”
“It’s not your fault. No one would’ve been able to see through her properly.” Odin said with a shake of his head.
“Kim Ah-young is a warrior who signed a contract with Saturn to go back from the future.”
“Is that possible?” Loki asked with a surprised expression.
“Saturn was the supreme deity of the Central World. With his power over time, he made even Uranus, a primordial god, retreat. He chose that female to be his champion. I’m sure she’ll be as powerful as Thor.”
Saturn conspired with the Western World and Midgard. He worked in secrecy, but he couldn’t avoid Odin’s vision, considering he could see through him even when he was still on his throne. Still, he didn’t expect Zeus to have such a tragic ending.
“The God of Evil, huh…”
He was so dark he couldn’t see anything past him. He couldn’t even glimpse into his past, let alone his future. To this day, his existence remained blurry.
Hence, he decided not to oppose him until he had gained the Eye of Horus.
‘I should send her a letter.’
Hera had recently fled from the Central World to the Northern World and immediately captured his heart. She was currently imprisoned in Asgard since she was Saturn’s daughter, and he desperately cared for her.
If he were to hand over Hera’s location to him, the God of Evil most likely wouldn’t treat him as an enemy.
Odin thought so.
He looked at the parchment again, reading the names of notable warriors.
‘I’ll have to look into them myself.’
Odin rose from his throne. Gungnir, the spear in his hand, flashed, and the landscape of Midgard appeared in front of him. His weapon could produce lightning, but it could also see all the places that contained light.
And when combined with the power of his eye, he gained the ability to see through everything.
Odin looked at the humans in Midgard. However, just as he was about to check their information windows, seething pain permeated through his body.
“What?!”
Odin stopped what he was doing and squeezed his eye shut. When his agony subsided slightly, he looked at Gungnir’s shiny, reflective surface.
His eye was bloodshot.
The strange condition he was in startled even Loki.
“Eye disease…?” Loki uttered, unsure how to feel about this situation.
That was right.
Odin was suffering from an eye disease!
“Loki, you bastard!”
“Yes?”
“How dare you play such a prank on me!”
The power of Odin’s eye wasn’t always active. He had to concentrate quite a bit for it to work.
And Loki had a history of playing a lot of pranks while avoiding his sights.
“I didn’t do that. I swear.”
“Silence!”
Embarrassed, he felt like he was going to go crazy.
Odin looked at the Valkyries around him.
“Where did Thor go?!”
“He went fishing in Midgard. Loki lied to him about cats living in the sea…”
“Loki, you bastard!”
“I admit to telling Thor that, but… I’m really not the one who did that to you.”
“Go to your room! You’re grounded!”
Loki tried to protest, but the Valkyries surrounded him before he could. They covered his mouth, then dragged him into his room.
Although he had an all-seeing eye, his children were still helplessly troublesome.
“Whoo…”
Odin sighed, his sore eye closed.
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