Episode 41/Chapter 1: The highest branch (1)
TL: Tsubak
ED: Julsmul
The King of Birds, Hraesvelg, believed that he was born with the fate of a hero.
It wasn’t because he was born as the ruler of the highest branch or because he was the King of Birds.
The connection of fates.
When Hraesvelg climbed to the throne, Skuld, one of the three sisters, came and told him his fate.
That he was fated with the black dragon, Nidhogg.
It wasn’t a soft and sweet fate like that of a couple’s.
Fated enemies that are symmetrical to each other.
Hraesvelg had been satisfied with that. His fate was connected to the evil and wicked ancient dragon that has existed with the World Tree, so wasn’t this the strongest proof that Hraesvelg was born with the fate of a hero?
Hraesvelg had gathered information about Nidhogg, but it wasn’t easy to do so as Nidhogg lived in the roots. Not even the God of Messages, Hermod, could approach the roots.
But Hraesvelg could luckily get a capable informer.
The beast, Ratatoskr.
He, that could freely come and go between the roots and the branches, told Hraesvelg many things about Nidhogg.
Nidhogg was really a scary dragon.
To start off, it was an evil creature. To the point that no other giants could compare to it.
The dragon, that resented everything in the world, was raising a deadly poison that would one day cover the world, and it didn’t stop there. It ate off the roots every day to make it fall down. If the three sisters didn’t sprinkle the waters of life which could heal the injuries of the World Tree everyday, then the World Tree would have already crumbled.
But it’s mind wasn’t the only wicked thing.
It was a strong existence suitable of its name of an ancient dragon. Based on Ratatoskr’s words, there was no other dragon that was as strong as it even if they searched in Asgard and Jotunheim.
The biggest and strongest dragon.
Everytime Ratatoskr visited the highest branch, he notified Hraesvelg of the curses Nidhogg was pouring unto the world.
It was terrible just by listening to it.
The black dragon, Nidhogg.
That terrible and evil controller of shadows was Hraesvelg’s fated enemy.
The dragon had the same presence as a demon king so it could be said that Hraesvelg was born with the fate to defeat the demon king.
Hraesvelg was satisfied with his fate.
He didn’t laze away in his training for the fated duel that would one day come.
Hraesvelg didn’t leave the highest branch just like Nidhogg didn’t leave the roots.
But only once.
Hraesvelg left the branches once in the past.
It was when the Great War occurred in Asgard.
Hraesvelg wasn’t that interested in how the Great War turned out, but regardless of that, the reason he left the highest branch was to prepare for the fight against Nidhogg.
How strong would Hraesvelg be?
How would the existences that lived below the branches fight?
Hraesvelg saw a man in the world he first descended to.
It was something the citizens of the highest branch and Vedrfolnir didn’t know, but Hraesvelg experienced the first defeat of his life against that man.
But he didn’t feel bad.
That man was an existence that represented the ideal of a hero.
A great hero.
The king of heroes.
A shining existence that not even adding all the adjectives Hraesvelg knew of would be enough.
Hraesvelg admired him.
He wanted to be like him to the point where he wanted to gain experience by becoming his disciple.
But Hraesvelg was the owner of the highest branch. He had to return for his citizens.
When the Great War ended, Hraesvelg could hear about that man from Ratatoskr.
The man had faced a heroic death by facing countless enemies in the Great War.
Hraesvelg was deeply saddened, and he then grew determined.
That he would one day become the same as that man.
That he would become a Great Hero by putting that man as his objective.
And his thoughts had remained the same even after a hundred years had passed.
“Tae Ho!”
“Bracky!”
Tae Ho and Bracky called out to each other on a mountain road that connected to the fortress. They ran towards each other and shared hugs of men.
“You were alive!”
“You too, Bracky!”
The two of them yelled once again and embraced each other, but the two of them ended up inserting too much strength. Rather than inspiring hugs, it was more like a bear hug, which could be considered as a kind of attack.
“Kuook! I surrender! Surrender! Why are you this strong?!”
“Pant! Pant! You too, Bracky!”
In the end, the one that loosened up was Bracky. The faces of the two were completely red from having used too much strength.
And the woman that stared on at their stupid actions smiled bitterly from the side.
“Hug me lightly, please.”
“Captain Siri.”
“I told you to just call me Siri.”
As Siri lectured jokingly, Tae Ho smirked and opened his arms instead of replying. The two of them shared a natural and warm hug unlike the one with Bracky.
“I’m really glad to see you. Really glad”
“Me too.”
Meeting up again with a comrade was always a joyous thing.
In addition, Tae Ho was seeing the two of them in two years. The emotions he felt could only be different.
“Hey, isn’t the difference in temperature too different?”
Bracky complained with a discomforted face. Siri snickered and Tae Ho answered with an obvious face.
“Put yourself in my position.”
“Indeed. It’s understandable. I will have to try it now that I thought about it. Siri! Receive my love!”
“I will decline.”
Siri dodged simply by falling back and shook her head, and Bracky laughed at that.
“You didn’t change at all.”
“Adenmaha.”
Adenmaha smiled brightly at Siri’s call and then opened her arms just like Tae Ho had done. She hugged lightly with Siri and then placed her lips on her forehead.
“May Idun’s blessing accompany you.”
“Me too, me too.”
The one that’d gotten excited was obviously Bracky, but this time, Adenmaha acted the same as Siri.
“I will decline.”
“Sob, sob. You only hate me.”
Bracky dropped his shoulders in an exaggerated way. That wasn’t because he was really disappointed but more because he wanted to make others laugh.
And it was at that moment–
“I will do it then.”
“Huh?”
Bracky and Siri grew surprised at the unfamiliar voice and turned to look. A woman with black hair, who seemed to have just arrived after following Adenmaha, was standing in the middle of the road.
Just by looking at her appearance, she seemed to be a Goddess. She was also really tall at the level of possibly surpassing the height of Siri, and thanks to her black hair, her white face was really beautiful in contrast.
Nidhogg opened her arms while Bracky blinked. She was just about to bless Bracky and Siri, so Adenmaha hurriedly grabbed her arm and said,
“This is Nidhogg. She’s a pure girl, so don’t say anything weird. And don’t have evil intentions either.”
“Why are you only looking at me?”
Bracky pouted, and Adenmaha spoke to Nidhogg.
“Nidhogg, what did I say? Didn’t I tell you to not approach unfamiliar people as you please?”
“Yes, yes. Adenmaha did say that. I will listen to your words.”
“How nice.”
Adenmaha stood on her toes and stroked her head. Nidhogg smiled as if she really liked Adenmaha’s stroke, and Bracky and Siri tilted their heads at the scene that was somewhat twisted but was nice to see simultaneously.
“It seems like we need some introductions.”
It was Siri who spoke up. Tae Ho stood up and said,
“She’s Nidhogg. I will introduce her properly at a later time.”
Bracky just nodded, but it was different for Siri. It was because she immediately thought of the black dragon with the name of Nidhogg.
But Tae Ho had already said that he would explain later. Siri was someone that would believe in Tae Ho until the end.
“I understand. Nidhogg, I’m Siri, and he’s Bracky.”
“I’m Nidhogg. I’m the second dragon of Tae Ho master. Nice to meet you.”
Nidhogg waved her hand and greeted them like a child, and then, Siri and Bracky turned to look at Tae Ho.
“What? Why are you looking at me like that?”
The eyes as if they were looking at a bastard.
‘It’s all your retribution.’
Bracky opened his mouth once again while Cuchulainn laughed.
“The second? Is the first dragon Rolo?”
“Hey, why does Rolo appear here? That’s obviously me. And shouldn’t you be surprised by the fact that she’s a dragon?”
Bracky laughed as Adenmaha got angry.
“Let’s speak about the details at a later time. Whatever the case, nice to meet you Nidhogg. Treat me well.”
“Same here. Tae Ho master likes Siri and Bracky a lot, so I also like you too.”
Nidhogg embraced Siri and said. Siri got a bit perplexed, but she had already hugged with Adenmaha and Tae Ho. And in addition, she didn’t dislike Nidhogg’s childlike affection, so she hugged her back warmly.
“Hey, Tae Ho, aren’t Siri and I different?”
“Oh, now that I see….”
He could feel it even without using the ‘Eyes of the Dragon’. The amount of runes Bracky and Siri had had increased exponentially, and they had become much stronger than before.
Bracky smirked at Tae Ho’s admiration and shrugged his shoulders as if acting cool.
“We became like this after fighting without stop in these fifteen days. Don’t you think that we will soon become superior-ranked warriors?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Good, good. Now it’s only a matter of time to catch up to you……What? When did you get that strong?!”
The reason behind Bracky’s shock was simple. It was because Tae Ho released the aura he’d been hiding.
If one reached the level Bracky and Siri were at, they also became able to sense the amount of runes another had just by looking.
Siri mumbled with a dumbfounded face.
“The amount of runes……is really incredible.”
Tae Ho would probably have more runes even if he gathered Siri’s and Bracky’s runes together.
Bracky asked in his excitement compared to the relatively calm Siri,
“What, you only fought in the time we didn’t see you? No, the runes are secondary, but how did your skills increase that much? Is that possible in only two months?”
What Bracky emphasized was Tae Ho’s skills rather than his runes.
He could feel it just by looking at his posture. Even Tae Ho’s aura had changed. Bracky felt that he wouldn’t even become Tae Ho’s opponent even if they fought with pure skills.
“A lot of things happened. Ah, and I didn’t fight that much the past fifteen days. I think I only fought properly about two times.”
“Two times? Two times and you gathered that much runes? Just what did you fight against?”
“The World Wolf, an ancient dragon, and a giant king.”
“What?”
Bracky asked back with a dumbfounded face, and even the usually calm Siri couldn’t help but grow bewildered.
Tae Ho shrugged his shoulders as if he enjoyed the reaction of the two people. It was because there was something else in which they should have been surprised about.
“I will speak the details later, as Odin has almost arrived.”
“Wh, who?”
“Odin-nim. The King of Gods.”
Bracky and Siri couldn’t speak anymore.
“It was hard.”
A few hours after the joyous encounter.
When Tae Ho arrived at the fortress, he shared greetings with Rasgrid and the other Valkyries and started to speak about the things that had happened to him.
Tae Ho’s group had faced several adventures, but Bracky’s group didn’t fall back either.
And rather, just by looking at the density, Bracky’s group was higher. Compared to Tae Ho, who had been out of commision for almost ten of the past twenty days, Bracky’s group had fought fiercely everyday.
When the conversation concluded to an extent, they opened up a banquet and started to eat and drink like they did in Valhalla.
It wasn’t that the fortress had plenty of provisions, but everyone had accepted Bracky’s claim that if they didn’t open a banquet today, they would never do it.
“It was fun. Bracky is fun. It’s fun being with him.”
Nidhogg arrived the room that was provided to Tae Ho and mumbled with sleepy eyes. Adenmaha assisted her and said to Tae Ho,
“We will be departing tomorrow morning, so end it here and go to sleep.”
“Right. Have a good night.”
“Sleep well.”
Nidhogg smiled merrily and staggered while walking and then tried to walk to Tae Ho’s bedroom. But Adenmaha was a bit faster than her.
“Wait, where do you think you are going?”
Adenmaha grabbed Nidhogg’s arm tightly, but she grumbled with still sleepy eyes.
“I will sleep with Tae Ho master. I also have to bless him today. I couldn’t do it yesterday. Tae Ho master likes blessings a lot. A lot”
Blessing.
“What do you mean?”
Adenmaha opened her eyes sharply and asked. Her eyes were really cold and fierce.
Tae Ho grew nervous unconsciously and answered quickly,
“No, it’s just a blessing. Only a blessing. Because of the ‘Warrior that had a Valkyrie Meet Him.”
“Hmm.”
He did have a fair cause because the ‘Warrior that had a Valkyrie Meet Him’ needed blessings of Valkyries to increase its completion rate.
“Nidhogg is tired. I want to bless master and go to sleep.”
Nidhogg freed herself from Adenmaha’s hands and approached Tae Ho.
“Wait, Nidho…..”
“Sleep well, Tae Ho master.”
Nidhogg blessed Tae Ho like that and it was the best blessing like she always did.
“May Idun’s blessing accompany you.”
Nidhogg finished her blessing while smiling merrily and then lay down on her bed as if collapsing. She then fell asleep immediately.
One person disappeared, and only two were left.
The first one that opened her mouth was Adenmaha.
“Tae Ho, mas…ter?”
“No, so……..”
He didn’t know why he should make an excuse, but he felt like he had to do it.
But it was at that moment–
“Me too.”
“Huh?”
“I will also give you! The best blessing!”
Adenmaha yelled with a red face.
“Ah, Adenmaha?”
Adenmaha didn’t stop. Thinking about it, she felt that it was too unfair. Not even her, who could be said to be a formal member of Idun’s legion, had been able to bless Tae Ho, but some newcomer that came from who-knows-where dared to bless him?
The excited Adenmaha pushed Tae Ho to his bed. If it was strength, Tae Ho was certainly stronger than her, but he couldn’t resist her properly.
Adenmaha took a deep breath. She faced Tae Ho, and he flinched and flushed unconsciously.
He had received the best blessing from several people because of a just cause, but it was different this time. Thinking that the one he was facing was Adenmaha, he couldn’t treat her as he did with Freya.
While Tae Ho fell in chaos that was hard to describe, Adenmaha had also fallen in her own chaos. She trembled with a completely red face and yelled.
“Cl-close your eyes! It’s embarrassing!”
Then, wouldn’t it be better to not give the best blessing?
‘It’s your retribution.’
When Tae Ho closed his eyes after he’d gotten pushed by Adenmaha’s strength, Cuchulainn started to laugh.
And it was after that–
“I-I will do it!”
Adenmaha grew determined and said. Tae Ho clenched his fist in the nervousness and then felt a soft and warm feeling.
The best blessing.
It was special indeed, and Tae Ho could only open his eyes.
[Synchro rate: 76%]
The synchro rate had increased. It, that had increased up to 75% after the fight against Hrumbak, had increased one more percent.
‘No, this isn’t even a fight, so can the synchro rate really increase with this?’
Cuchulainn was shocked, but originally, the synchro rate didn’t only increase through battles. Tae Ho could then realize why the synchro rate had increased. It was because he could see another sentence of light that Cuchulainn couldn’t see.
[Saga: The Master of Extreme Cold]
The second dragon the dragon knight, Kalsted, had made a contract with.
The old enemy and twin star of the first dragon, Shooting Star, Master of Flames, was Javier, Master of Extreme Cold.
A seal of Javier was then carved into Adenmaha just like the seal of Shooting Star had been carved into Rolo.
It was a saga that should have originally been created when Tae Ho’s synchro rate reached the 70%, but it had only taken shape now as he didn’t have anyone worthy to engrave it on.
Adenmaha blinked as she understood instinctively what had happened to her. Her eyes which had grown mottled red because of the embarrassment started to show happiness.
“I’m now a real dragon.”
Increasing in rank from a sea serpent to a frost-white dragon.
Tae Ho nodded and grew happy along with Adenmaha. And Cuchulainn, who’d been silently watching at all of it, said shortly,
‘This is crazy.’
The ones that were meant to become big would be able to do anything.
“May Idun’s blessing accompany you.”
Adenmaha gave one more surprise blessing to Tae Ho, now that he had dropped his guard.
< Episode 41 – The highest branch (1) > End
Comments