Thor POV
The halls of the palace were quieter than normal as I just returned from Midgard.
Perhaps it was for the best. There was nothing worth celebrating, no need for merriment or excitement today.
I knew not what would happen when I returned to confront Loki, but watching him disappear into the void was not an outcome I predicted.
"Mother."
"Thor." Mother smiled back at me. "Your father is awake now. Go speak with him."
"Mother, I –"
"Thor." She cut me off, putting a hand upon my cheek. "You did nothing wrong. You have no blame. We will speak later; go to your father." She placed a kiss upon my forehead like she had done so many times.
I could see the pain in her eyes; I did not press matters. We knew not what happened to Loki, but uncertainty breeds mourning.
I pushed away my own cowardice and gently opened the final doors upon Father's chamber.
The room for which he enters his Odin-Sleep, sacred and inviolable.
He sat there, on the edge of his bed; he looked upon me as I entered, and he smiled, but it carried with it the weathering of time.
I had not noticed before how old he truly was. Twas not his white hair, nor the wrinkles upon his divine body, but the age he showed in his eyes.
"Father, I have returned." I spoke softly.
"I know." He said simply. "Come." He held out his hand, gesturing for me to join him at his side.
Mjolnir felt heavy in my hand. Perhaps heavier than when it refused to lift for me.
I set it down and went to him.
"I'm sorry, Father. For everything."
"I know you are." He smiled sadly. "And hearing you say that, it makes me proud."
"I failed you and brought shame upon our house."
"Failure happens from time to time. I have failed at many things. We are not mortals, but we live and grow all the same. However, one thing that is true is that I will never be ashamed of you. Angry, perhaps." He added with a slight chuckle. "Exasperated too. But shame is never associated with you in my heart."
"Loki is gone."
"I know." He responded.
"It's my fault."
"No." He replied again. "It's my fault, my son." He put a hand on my shoulder. "What happened to him upon the Bifrost was an unfortunate accident. The fault of which is mine to bear. I withheld the truth of his birth from him; I filled his head with stories of gods and monsters and of kings and glory. There is no surprise that when he believed himself to be a monster and that no glory or kingship awaited him, he lost his way."
"I would have given up the throne." I said quietly.
"Truly?" He eyed me with surprise.
"Yes." I nodded.
"It seems your time on Midgard has done you well." He smiled brighter than before. "My sight during the Odin Sleep is narrow, but I know a few things, and Heimdal informed me of the pertinent details. Come, tell me of your adventures; I wish to hear of your time as a mortal."
"Father, I'm in no mood for a grand story."
His smile faded slightly, and he squeezed my shoulder. "Your brother isn't dead. Out of sight, out of reach, but far from dead. You know his silver tongue and his wit; there is not much that can kill him."
I let out a sigh. "He attacked Midgard, father."
"I know."
"He allied with the Frost Giants."
"Yes."
"...you knew that he unleashed them upon my coronation day as well."
"I did." He didn't deny it.
"I was a fool."
"You were. You are. But all men of our family are fools; I am no exception."
"You sent me to Midgard to learn a lesson. I know that, but I do not believe what I learned was worthy of my return."
"And what did you learn, my son?" He asked.
"I learned that I do not know much at all even when I thought I did." I held my hand out, summoning Mjolnir to my grasp. "And that wielding Mjolnir does fill me with the confidence it once did."
He didn't respond immediately; he smiled, arm still on my shoulder. "Tell me of your days on Midgard."
I let out another sigh. Perhaps it was Father that wanted his mind taken off the thoughts of Loki. "I arrived unto the desert where I was struck by one of their mortal vehicles."
As I said that, Father let out a laugh I hadn't heard from him in a while.
"Aye, I deserved that one." I nodded, remembering the words I shouted at him in my foolishness. "It allowed me to meet good people. And it allowed me to meet Lady Jane."
"Ah, a mortal love." Father said wistfully. "The only path there leads to heartbreak. Gods and mortals live worlds apart."
"Do you spurn my intentions with her?" I hesitantly asked.
"Asgard is the home of gods. But what occurs on Midgard is not matters I care to moderate. You are well old enough to navigate matters of the heart on your own. I simply offer you wisdom from someone who has also walked that path in the past."
I nodded, thankful he didn't forbid my relationship with Lady Jane.
"She was tracking our use of the Bifrost, and that was how she was there when I landed. I admit that the knowledge she revealed was lost upon me, but it was impressive all the same. They took me in, clothed me, fed me, and provided me shelter."
"They sound like good people."
"Aye, they were good people. I met other people as well. In particular, I met a demon."
"I heard from Heimdal." Father responded, gaze cast into the distance. "A strange occurrence. Demons should not wander Midgard like such so openly; there are certain restrictions in place."
"He was kind."
"Another anomaly."
"Do you believe that it is a ruse?"
"I believe that…there has never been a demon I've known to be kind." He seemed to choose his words carefully.
"I took on a job to earn their local currency after I blundered Lady Jane's hospitality."
"Oh? And what did the Mighty Thor do to earn coin?" Odin asked, clearly amused.
"I shoveled the stables." I replied, No hidden amount of embarrassment, I'm sure.
He chuckled again; it was deep and wistful once more. "Like father, like son. A punishment your grandfather gave to me and my brothers in our youth. After a particularly enthusiastic competition between us that caused many mortals their livelihoods, our father forced us to shovel the stables for weeks. Every day, from sunrise to sunset, we were knee-deep into the horse droppings. It was a lesson we sorely needed, and your grandfather was nothing if not thorough."
"The demon helped me." I told him. "I would not have finished the work in time, and he dirtied himself to assist."
Father went silent, deep in thought from the looks he had.
"Tis a strange thing to hear."
"I consider him a friend." I spoke in return. "He helped me when he could have harmed me. I saw him defending mortals for no gain. They were not the actions of someone wishing harm upon others."
Father didn't chide me for my words, to speak so brazenly of friending a demon, the scourge of the universe.
"And he is with my newest sister." I added.
"Ah, yes. The girl for whom your mother adopted." He smiled again.
"Are you dissatisfied with Mother's decision?"
"When your mother gets an idea in her head, woe be to anyone—even myself—who stands in her way. If she decided to adopt the girl from Midgard, then she must have her reasons." Father replied.
"She is a kind girl. She wielded Mjolnir."
"I know." Father stated. "I saw it during my Odin Sleep. I nearly awakened, thinking something amiss. Imagine my surprise when I find that someone other than my son is worthy of such a mighty weapon."
"She could have been a god, and she rejected it because she said it did not belong to her." I smiled at the thought. "She happily returned it to me at the first opportunity and even apologized."
"There are exceptional mortals across all realms." Father nodded along. "Some are of might of arms and strength, others of heart and will."
"It is a moment worth celebrating to have a new sister join our house, but… it is unfair to her." I looked down at my hammer. "Asgard loses a prince but gains a princess. I fear that wherever Loki is, he will hear the news and believe himself replaced."
"It's unfortunate, but that may be the case. Loki is no longer a child; his actions were not the mischief he gets up to normally. The actions he took have consequences, and he has yet to properly face justice." Father's face hardened. "We will search, we will find him, and we will bring him home. But what he had done cannot be undone."
"Yes." I agreed. "I love my brother, but I very much want to hit him with my hammer."
"As all brothers do." Father chuckled again. "And there is one last matter we need to settle."
"Ah…yes." I was unsure of what to say about this. "There is a dragon in front of the castle."
"Your mother has already settled it mostly. A dragon it may be, but it is not the beast that sleeps at the roots of Yggdrasil. A construct of magic and a true dragon's soul take such a form. And Heimdal told me of its origin. Your 'friend' has much to answer for."
"Will you summon him to Asgard?"
"Yes, it is inevitable." Odin nodded. "To be seen and judged. There is no righteousness that Asgard can claim from Loki's actions, but Asgard cannot be so easily invaded or attacked."
I did not know where to place blame. Do I fault him for retaliating after Loki attacked Midgard and his own? No Asgardian lay dead at the feet of the beast; thus, I am conflicted.
Burnt buildings can be repaired, but Loki is now missing due to the dragon's actions and my own.
Yet, I cannot blame anyone but myself.
"We will invite your new sister and your 'friend' to Asgard." Father stood up, pushing himself by using my shoulder. "But before that, my son. We will need to discuss what possibly crossed your mind to give away the Destroyer."
I gulped, seeing the newfound anger in my father's eyes.
Perhaps I had made a mistake.
[Line Break]
Wilhelm POV
"Hello, Ddraig!" Jeanne greeted him despite the awkwardness.
"Hey." Ddraig grunted, blowing out a puff of air, making her hair and dress slightly billow. "Nice dress."
"Thank you!" She smiled.
I looked at Thor. "We're strangers."
"Complete strangers." Ddraig agreed.
Jeanne pulled on my cheek with a certain look.
"Hey look, what's that over there?" I pointed in the opposite direction, making them look away as I recalled Ddraig back into the Boosted Gear.
The thing is, it wasn't instantaneous; there was a brief moment where his fake body broke down, turning into motes of light, and his soul swished back inside.
A moment where they turned back and saw the entire thing.
Evidence removed.
"What happened to the dragon?" Thor asked.
"Dragon, what dragon?" I looked around, confused.
"The one that destroyed parts of Asgard." Thor kept a straight face as he explained.
"That's weird; I don't see a dragon. Jeanne, do you see a dragon?" I didn't wait for her to answer. "She doesn't see a dragon either."
Judging by the looks I was getting, I'm fairly sure I was completely believed, and it would never be spoken of again.
"Anyways, best not to keep people waiting!" I clapped my hands.
Thor gave me a look, same as Jeanne, but neither of them brought it up again.
And it was funny because after getting closer, I noted quite a few more holes in various places.
Potholes, holes in the side of the castle.
Quite a few holes.
Some oddly dragon-shaped holes.
Wonder where those came from.
Though, in truth, Thor didn't seem…angry?
Well, not particularly pissed; he didn't seem happy, but it looked like his mind was elsewhere.
I did take Jeanne's hand into mine as we walked. For her, at this point in our new relationship, it was the small things that were cherished. Her mood visibly lifted when I did so, and she shot me a bright smile.
And I'd like to think she knows I wouldn't harm any innocent people with whatever shenanigans I get up to.
There were no grand announcements as we arrived. No one to really greet us, and no true 'celebrations.'
It felt like they were mourning, and I was wondering if Ddraig actually killed Loki.
Would I be sad? Nope, but I would at least recognize the situation.
The last of the doors opened, pushed forward by Thor, and it opened to a large, ostentatious hall. Gold decorated nearly every corner, and while normally I would call it tasteless, there was a certain…ambience to it.
And finally, we were greeted by the sight of gods upon their throne. Specifically, at the end of the hall, Odin sat upon his throne with his wife at his side. The entire room was otherwise bereft of anyone else, making it a somewhat private affair.
And as soon as I laid my eyes on Odin, his singular eye widened, and he sat up straighter. "What in the Norns are you?" He blurted it out, which seemed surprising enough that both Thor and his wife shot him a strange glance.
"Rude." I answered back, which seemed to snap him back.
I don't know what he saw, to be honest. Any Odin I met, I was...weary of. Even the Odin back in my birth world, for all the bullshit he gets up to, is scary when he's serious. And he was the first one to figure out my situation.
I have no doubt that this Odin saw some things that I couldn't very well hide.
"Father, may I introduce my sister." Thor interrupted, gesturing to Jeanne.
Odin's intense gaze on me faltered for a moment, not because of Thor, but very bluntly, his wife nudged him.
"Come, child, let me see you." Odin seemed to reluctantly tear his focus away from me and settle on Jeanne as he gestured for her to get closer.
Jeanne, hesitantly, maybe a bit nervously, got closer, walking right up to his throne. His tone was…gentle, much more so than the first words he threw out at me.
Slowly, carefully, he took Jeanne's hand as if to take a better look, then he glanced up and smiled as she looked her in the eyes.
"Give your name, child." Odin spoke.
"I'm Jeanne D'Arc." She responded politely.
"Tell me, child, why did you give up your rightful ownership of Mjolnir? Twas it not a weapon good enough, or did you expect something else, a boon to be granted for its deliverance?" Odin questioned.
"It wasn't mine?" Jeanne tilted her head.
Odin was silent for a moment. "You would have become a god. Power and status unimaginable."
"I'm happy with how I am." Jeanne smiled warmly.
"I see why the Queen Mother was so quick in her decision. Never have I met a spirit quite like you, perhaps close to our Einherjar, but not. And with such a pure soul, I would hardly fathom such could come from the mortal world." Despite his gentle tone, it felt like his words reverberated throughout the entire hall with the air of authority.
"Thank you for your kind words, Lord Odin." Jeanne had settled into a diplomatic response and attitude.
"There's no need for that, dear." Frigga gently took her arm. "You are now Princess of Asgard; you need not behave so…distant."
Jeanne seemed flustered but just nodded silently.
"So the Queen Mother says, so it shall be." Odin held his hand up, and his signature spear appeared within his grasp. It radiated divine power, very clearly a divine construct just by its aura alone. He slammed it once against the ground, and an invisible wave reverberated throughout the hall that seemed to stretch outwards further beyond my senses. "In the name of Odin, and his Father, and his Father's Father, I hereby declare and name Jeanne D'Arc of Midgard as Princess of the House of Odin with all the privileges that come with it."
The words had weight to them, magical, authoritative.
I had no doubt that his words sounded all across Asgard and perhaps to other places connected to Asgard.
Maybe even across all Nine Realms bar Midgard.
The proverbial dust settled; nothing physically changed, but both Thor and Frigga were smiling towards her.
Perhaps it was now…official in a certain sense, making it something worth being happy about.
"Now." Odin set his eye back on me. "It is time for the matters of trial."
I could feel the air go cold as I narrowed my eyes at him.
"Asgard is in ruins, the treasures of its vaults have been stolen, and a prince is missing." Odin's spear hit the ground again, causing the noise to reverberate outward. "What say you, demon? What say you in your defense?"
This is not what I expected.
Or maybe it was.
But I was here only because of Jeanne.
So, I looked at him right in the eye before I spoke. "Fuck off."
It pretty much summed up all my feelings on his 'accusations' and I didn't regret it even as the tension in the room intensified enough to become palpable.
"Insolent!" Odin roared, hitting his spear against the ground again; a certain pressure rolled off him, his godly might and…something I didn't recognize, something heavy and powerful.
Oh boy, was it powerful.
I would say that this Thor was clearly weaker than the one back in my birth world, maybe even younger based on what I saw. He felt less mature, and I wasn't talking about his attitude or behavior.
But this Odin?
Just feeling his power, just his presence, I could tell that at a minimum he was as strong as the Odin I was familiar with, but I couldn't see his depths.
However, I was not one to back down.
My spiritual power bubbled to the surface before it erupted. My divine power emerged along with it; lightning crackled and danced across the ground from where I was standing while my spiritual pressure fought back against his own presence, pushing down on me.
The castle began to vibrate and shake from the collision of the two forces.
"Let's do a count on that, shall we?" I grit my teeth and adjusted myself as my own power staved off his, and I relaxed. "Your 'treasures,' are you talking about the ones used to attack my home and try to kill people I care about?"
Odin didn't seem to like my answer. "They are property of Asgard!"
"Oh, the Casket you stole from the Frost Giants belongs to Asgard, does it?"
"It was claimed in war to protect the Nine Realms."
"Hey, what a coincidence! I also claimed it from the Frost Giants to protect the Nine Realms." I shot back.
"The Destroyer." He shifted topics.
"Was freely given by your son." Despite the rampant energies colliding, I crossed my arms and nudged my head towards Thor, who was…doing his best underneath both of us.
Though Frigga was fine as she was shielding both herself and Jeanne, the latter of whom looked a little worried.
He can shout and be angry all he wants, but from any logical perspective, both of them now rightfully belong to me. Maybe the Destroyer was a bit iffy, but he would have to admit that his son fucked up, and it would be a major admittance and not something he could do as king.
"You released a beast upon Asgard; dare you deny it?" Odin's nostrils flared.
"Oh no, I definitely did that. But if you're going to have complaints, shall I remind you of the Divine Autonomous Armor that was released upon Midgard?"
"You speak for Midgard then? Is this the response of your Realm?" He said with a dangerous tone.
"That depends. Did Loki speak for Asgard?"
Odin didn't have an immediate answer.
At the end of the day, this was a major clusterfuck that was hard to navigate. I can get away with what I did because 'Loki did it first,' as silly as it sounds to say it like that. If Odin tries to challenge that, then that means that Asgard needs to take the blame rather than just saying Loki will be punished for misuse or whatever nonsense they can come up with.
Frankly, Odin knows this too. I know he would know this because he's frighteningly intelligent all the times I've met him.
I just don't know why he's going through all of this rather than just settling things thoroughly.
It was like he was putting on a show.
"Loki is gone." Odin's voice was quiet, but it still carried with it the same anger and weight as even when he shouted. "And your dragon is to blame, thus you are to blame."
I tilted my head at that.
[Thor and Loki were fighting; I did something cheeky to make Thor smack Loki across the face and send him flying off the Rainbow Bridge and off into space where no one could find him.] Ddraig explained inside of me.
My lips curled up. "Fuck Loki, good riddance."
Despite this song and dance we were doing being…irrelevant, his actual anger and attitude were real.
Did I know this would probably push him over the edge?
Yes.
Did I say it anyway?
Also yes.
His response was fast.
He leveled his spear at me, and it released a blast of energy that I didn't recognize. It was not magic nor divine power; it was the other thing.
In that split second, I summoned the Boost Gear and raised it up to block as my Aura also flared to life, and then I felt it hit me.
The throne room disappeared in an array of colors, and I hit many things as I was shot backward; my brain felt like it did a cartwheel in my head as the abrupt dizziness briefly disoriented me.
I looked up and stared at the stars above and looked down to see a rainbow surge of lines in a solid crystal form. Or, rather, I realized I was lying on my back on top of the Bifrost's bridge.
This wasn't like the destroyer situation, where I just sort of dusted myself off.
I wiped away blood dripping from my mouth as I stood up and felt an ache through my muscles. My Aura had sunk rather impressively to help tank that blow.
Thankfully, there was no damage on the Boosted Gear.
"Hello, Heimdal." I greeted the God that was ever watchful over the Bifrost.
"Greetings to you as well. It appears as though you have angered the All-Father." He noted.
"Couldn't imagine how." I said cheekily, spitting out a mouthful of blood that came up from my throat.
"Despite what Loki has done, the All-Father's love is vast. It would do you well to remember that."
I hummed, not responding directly to that statement. "Would you be joining in if I retaliate?" Because I would like to not fight both Odin and Heimdal at the same time.
The god looked at me, then into the distance, and looked…unbothered. "There is no need for me to meddle in the affairs of the All-Father. My duties are to defend Asgard and the Bifrost and watch for the enemies of Asgard from the outside."
"Wonderful." I summoned Mirage to my hand. "Though, if you could do me a favor, can you please tell everyone else in the vicinity to…vacate?"
He gave a curt nod.
My magical energy surged, and magic circles rotated around Mirage.
The Kaleidoscope sang at my call.
I looked at where I had just been blasted from; it was a long distance from here to the castle, but it was a…straight shot, more or less.
I wasn't one to take a hit without giving just as much in return.
"Ether Cannon!" My spell shot off right from where I originated.
An ethereal dome appeared around the castle as my spell slammed into it, vibrating aggressively before I could vaguely see a silhouette shoot out and collide with it.
Odin, spear in hand, used that same power to tear through my spell. I could hear his shout from this distance as my spell was dispersed with effort from him.
I let my wings out and shot up to the sky to meet him.
My sword met his spear with a resounding thunderclap. Overhead, I summoned the storms; from his end, that energy of his intensified, and with every swing, it felt like it carried the weight of a mountain behind it.
Just from his appearance, he looked…old, yet it was undeniable that he was still a warrior.
"Zun Haal Viik!" I shouted, his spear flung from his grasp as I took that chance to slip a fist through his guard and punch him in the face.
A well-deserved punch.
However, he barely reacted and simply gestured.
His spear that was falling through the air jerked midair, turned, and shot at me like a streak of light, and I had to twist my body, still getting caught by it as my chest was shallowly cut open.
My wings flapped, and just as I was about to shoot at him, my eyes widened as the tip of his spear was mere inches from my eye.
A deafening screech of steel followed by a spray of sparks as Ascalon parried it; my other swords flashed out to join it.
In midair, the All-Father's Divine Spear fought with my swords at frightening speeds.
I grasped Whisper into my hand and connected a string of runes, actualizing a gravity spell to smash him downwards.
Odin barely glanced at it as he swung his spear horizontally, deflecting all my swords in a wave of energy, and then pointed a finger at the spell sequence, and several runes were inserted into it, disrupting the spell entirely, causing it to implode.
In that same moment, I threw a handful of talismans at him; likewise, in front of both of our faces, we each had an explosion erupt, sending us both backwards a bit before regaining our proverbial footing in the air.
My swords all returned to my side, and Odin's energy surged around him as he held Gungnir aloft.
There was no warning for the fight to continue.
My swords shot at him; a few barely nicked him, earning small cuts, but each swing of his spear carried an unnatural weight to it that I was forced to acknowledge.
I let go of Mirage to let it join my other swords and summoned my staff as his spear approached again.
I admit, I smiled a bit as I began casting.
"Shield of Asgard!" I raised my voice; I wanted him to hear.
One of the strongest shielding spells I had, the golden dome manifested as his own spear collided into it, not giving an inch.
I admit, though, my spell was struggling.
However, he was forced to recall his spear because my sword was harassing him rather aggressively.
I quickly pointed my staff at him in that short interval, a large Magic Circle appearing at the front. "Thunder Bolt."
The lightning surged for a split second, and it all gathered and roared to life, erupting in a large blast right at him.
That same mysterious energy of his surged again, as if to shield him, and the two forces sent wisps of energy as they ran rampant.
However, I wasn't done.
"The crest of turbidity, seeping out. An insolent vessel of madness. Boiling up, denying, numbness, blinking, obstructing slumber. The steel princess who creeps. The mud doll, ever disintegrating. Unite! Oppose! Filling the earth, know your own impotence!"
The malevolent black aura enveloped me as I cast the kido.
"Hado #90, Kurohitsugi!"
The black box materialized, building upon itself as it surrounded Odin; the last look from him was his one eye staring at me defiantly.
It wasn't on the same level as the one I used against Surtr; I didn't have the time to pour that much spiritual power into it, unfortunately.
As it finished, perhaps a few breaths later, it began to crack.
The All-Father's power burst out, shattering the spell, though blood flowed down his lips, and he had his armor torn and shredded in many places, with blood sprinkling his body.
It was then that he noticed and looked up.
I smiled happily.
They always forget about the lightning storm above them.
"Thor's Hammer."
How ironic.
The world was filled with lightning.
I think I heard him shout something too. It didn't quite register to my devil heritage—the translation. It was familiar, but also distant, as if it were some strange and unnatural dialect.
I vaguely felt like he called me a cunt.
Though, even as he disappeared from view, I felt my danger sense surge, and I looked up.
His spear was dozens of feet above me in the air, and I hadn't even noticed when he let go of it.
Balls.
It erupted with that same energy, not dissimilar to how my Thor's Hammer discharged a pillar of lightning, and it slammed me to the ground.
I climbed out of the hole in the ground I had been shunted to. My legs wobbled a little bit, and my aura had nearly been shattered completely; a wave of fatigue followed.
Not far away, the All-Father too crawled from his own hole.
We were about in the same state.
He held a finger to one of his nostrils, pushing it in as he blew out a clump of blood and spit out another mouthful to the side.
I wiped away the blood that was running down my forehead, threatening to get into my eyes.
I was ready for the fight to continue, and if he wanted to escalate further, I would oblige. But to my surprise, he harumphed, turned, and began walking away.
I was taken aback because the Odin I knew wouldn't just…stop a fight midway. Admittedly, we weren't absolutely trying to kill each other, maybe…beat the shit out of each other, yeah, perhaps even maim a bit, but I felt like he lacked any true killing intent.
Hesitantly, I followed him as he made his way into the town portion of Asgard. The streets were…clear, most likely because of the disturbance we caused. But without hesitation, he threw open the door to….
That was a tavern.
I followed him inside.
"Brigulf, a table and drinks." The All-Father grunted.
There was a bartender there, barely even perking up as Odin walked inside.
"Sneaking away from the wife again, All-Father?" He responded.
"Not today." Odin didn't seem to mind his lip as he plopped himself down in a seat. "Drinks and some privacy." He iterated.
I unceremoniously joined Odin, sitting opposite him, as a moment later, the bartender set two mugs down.
Odin grabbed it and chugged it down to the last drop before slamming it back on the table.
I reached for my own mug, but he swiped it, glaring at me, and chugged that one down too.
With a twitch, I took out my own Asgardian mead right in front of his eyes and nearly drowned myself with how quickly I drank it all.
"Brigulf, more drinks!" Odin slammed his fist on the table.
The bartender quickly came out, arms full of cups, as he set them down.
I don't know why we were doing this, but fuck him.
I grabbed one and downed it as he did, one after another, both of us glaring at the other the entire time.
Once they were all empty, an awkward silence followed.
"You are not from this universe." Odin finally spoke up, and it was a direct and blunt accusation.
"I'm not." Was there any point in denying it? If my Odin could guess it from the clues, then this Odin probably could just as well. "What gave it away?"
Maybe even more so considering what's happened since then.
"I have seen much and traveled far across this universe; you are not the first I have seen to visit ours from another." Odin grunted. "The grace of Yggdrasil, the touch of Asgard." He finished off his last mug of mead. "And to not notice the blood bond of brothers? Do you think I am a fool?"
"Considering what happened with Loki, I'm leaning towards a yes."
He glared at me, looking like he was ready for a fight.
I glared back. "If you want to go another round, then by all means."
Odin seemed to rein in his anger. "Loki's actions were inexcusable, but he is still my son and a prince of Asgard."
"He tried to kill Jeanne." I lost my mocking tone here. "The fact that Asgard still remains standing is a testament to my patience."
Funny enough, that didn't give him a raise this time. He merely grunted as if dismissing my threat as childish.
"I'm not giving back what I took either." I crossed my arms, leaning back. "But you already knew that, didn't you?" He looked up at me. "All of that back in the throne room was just theater, at least until you lost your temper."
"Asgard cannot be seen as weak. Asgard is infallible." Odin said simply. "There are many enemies across the universe that would quickly march out if they believed Asgard had weakened."
I frowned, realizing that it all came down to politics at the end of the day.
I closed my eyes as I let out a sigh and voiced my thoughts on the matter. "If you just left it alone, especially after the whole Loki mess, you would be seen as old and weak. You intentionally started a fight because you wanted an excuse to step back while still projecting strength."
"Your view is narrow."
I cracked an eye open and looked at him with mild annoyance. "Then by all means, enlighten me." I gestured for him to keep going.
"Laufey, the Frost Giant king, is dead, slain at your hands."
"That's right."
"Laufey was beloved by his people, not merely a tyrant that led by force. They would have risen up in anger and declared war on Midgard. Asgard would have been forced to fight to defend it as it once had in the past."
I let out a breath. "And word will reach them that I fought the All-Father, giving them pause."
"They respect and fear strength all the same."
"There's more." I could tell by the look on his face.
"Loki's actions have set a great many eyes upon Midgard that have ignored it for many centuries."
"And I'm sure it'll be known that I come from Midgard then." He was using me as a deterrent.
Smart, just what I would expect from Odin, simplifying several delicate matters and settling them in one fell swoop.
But also, fuck him.
"Anything else?" I asked. "Any other reason why you started a fight?
"Yes." He grunted again. "I simply dislike you."
I felt my eye twitch.
"The princess is welcomed. She may come and go as she pleases and will be taken care of by Asgard." Odin stated.
"If Asgard harms her, it will cease to exist." I responded, the glaring between us was becoming commonplace now.
He harrumphed. "You are not welcome."
"Bite me."
"After tonight, you will leave. The Mother Queen will have her enjoyment, and you will no longer be welcomed upon the golden halls of Asgard." The way he said that, well, it irked me.
I'm not going to throw a fit or get upset that I wasn't 'welcomed.' It's his home, I'm a guest, and it is what it is. I wouldn't have even come if it weren't for Jeanne in the first place.
However, I disliked that he was talking down to me, like it was some sort of punishment.
"This is a Mercy, for know that Loki's mistakes are great, but he is my son, and now he is lost somewhere beyond my reach in the universe. My anger is not false; if you dare cross Asgard, I will not show mercy again." He warned.
I listened to his threat, nodded, and felt my pettiness rising.
I plopped Sir Wiggles onto the table.
"Bow before the King of Asgard."
Rather quickly, it became obvious that Odin was dumbfounded. It looked like he wanted to say a great many things, but every time his mouth moved, no words came out as he stared at Sir Wiggles.
And just like that, I felt like I won.
[Line Break]
Non-Canon Omake: The Foolish Genius, Part 3
Herta POV
Idiot!
Stupid idiot fool!
There were millions upon millions of the swarm there, there was an Emanator, there were giant Swarm Mothers that continued to spawn more of their number by the tens of thousands every few minutes!
There was enough that they were able to check three combined fleets and still advance past four worlds before they were stopped!
However...
"Herta!"
My puppet turned to see the crew of the Astral Express enter the Simulated Universe Room.
I regret giving them full access now, as I forced my puppet to calm down.
"Hey Herta, where's your husband?" Stelle looked around.
"He's not my husband!" I scowled.
"Really? He sounded like he really cared about you." Stelle grinned.
"Regardless, he is not my husband; we're not married." I crossed my arms, refusing to even humor it.
"Madam Herta, where is Mr. Schweinorg?" Welt asked, pushing up his glasses.
"He went inside the Simulated Universe." I flung some holograms over, showing a video of what was happening inside. "See for yourselves."
"What's going on? That's a lot of Swarm bugs." Stelle asked in surprise.
"It's an untested Swarm Disaster simulation." I said simply.
"That's an army." The dragon hiding as a man stated.
Most of everything visible was just endless 'bugs,' as she put it. As far as the eye could see, even blanketing the stars in the sky, it was nothing but the massive insects of the swarm.
The alerts began sounding, and I immediately took over the controls.
Simulation operation at 71% and falling.
Swarm Host is deviating from parameters; what's going on?
Checking systems—all systems showing optimal operational efficiency.
Running second diagnostics—no errors discovered.
"Hey, where's your husband, Herta? I can't see anything inside that big mass of icky bugs." Stelle asked.
I furrowed my brow as I looked over the strange readings. Why were such anomalous readings coming from Wilhelm?
I flicked my hand and let the screens find Wilhelm and focus on him as he stood before the Swarm.
"Madam Herta, is…that a Swarm Emanator?" The Astral Express's engineer asked me incredulously.
"Are you sure, Himeko?" Yang looked at her.
"It does look a little like the thing we beat up in the basement." Stelle rubbed her chin. "Though this one looks a lot…bigger."
"The one you fought was a half-baked attempt at replication. This is a true Emanator, name unknown." I replied simply.
"Oooh, he took out a sword." Stelle clapped. "Wonder what he's going to do. Hey, Herta, can you turn the sound on?"
I ignored her but did so, too busy looking through the system to try and find what was wrong.
Not because I was worried about Wilhelm.
I just…had to find the discrepancies.
However, suddenly, the systems started blaring several warnings. The anomalous energies that were faintly detected before, now it was like they were being blasted.
"Bankai."
I snapped my head to the screens; a large pillar of energy erupted from Wilhelm, and the simulation trembled slightly.
Why did that word feel heavy?
Thunderstorms rolled in from nowhere.
Lightning began to fall down, eviscerating the bugs by the thousands.
Next was a roar; the sounds reverberated throughout the simulation world.
"Holy shit, is that a dragon?" Stelle exclaimed as a large red dragon right out of a child's fairy tale had appeared and tore into the mass of insects. "Herta, you did tell me that you had Dragons in the SU!"
"...we don't."
"That's a real dragon." Dan Heng said softly, the Vidyadhara easily recognizing one of its own as a descendant of the Long Aeon.
The door to the room slid open. "Madam Herta."
"Screwllum!" Stelle greeted him.
"Greetings, Nameless." He looked at them. "Query: Madam Herta, why was I not informed of the arrival of Wilhelm?" He displayed a tablet that showed the scenes of what was happening in the simulated universe.
"Pointless." I scoffed.
"Query: Why did you utilize the untested Simulation of the Swarm Disarted? Follow-up: Why were the safety parameters disengaged"?
"Pardon, Screwllum, what do you mean by safety parameters?" Welt asked, making me frown.
"Answer: All Simulated Universe simulations include an array of safety procedures for the users protection. Question: Why does being 'killed' within the Simulation Universe feel unpleasant but not painful?"
"Some type of pain dampener then?" Welt asked.
"Affirmative." He answered. "Many safety precautions to protect the psyche of the users."
"I see, that makes sense. Then, Madam Herta, why are they not active?" Welt asked.
"...I just wanted to scare him away." I watched as a talon narrowly missed his head but cut his cheek on the way by.
"Madam Herta, this Swarm Disaster simulation was untested and dangerous. We did not include it in the normal Simulated Universe for a reason."
"There are a lot of bugs and an Emenator, but it shouldn't be that big of a deal, right?" March asked.
Screwllum merely responded by adjusting the focus of the screen so they could pan out fully.
What they had seen before was just the tip of the iceberg. The mountains that were in the background were in fact Swarm Mothers Behind them were millions more bugs. And further beyond, still swarming around the planet itself, were millions and millions more.
"...that's a lot of bugs." March, she said softly.
"What simulation is this? I thought you knew the Swarm Disaster simulations were derived to better understand the Swarm? This seems…pointless." Himeko asked.
"You are correct. This specific simulation was calculated and created from the data we could recover from the civilizations that perished during the onslaught." Screwllum responded. "Answer: It was an attempt to manage a large-scale scenario to facilitate and experience a true battle at the height of the Swarm Disaster as it swept across the universe."
"It was something meant to be fought by armies, and there's one person in there." Dan Heng summarized. "If there are no safety precautions, you should pull him out. I don't know if being eaten alive would be healthy for someone's mind."
Why did I feel my heart tightening?
"...He has the ability to exit the simulation at any time of his choosing." I replied.
"Madam Herta, what are these readings I'm getting? I'm picking up several esoteric energies that are unrecorded in our databases."
"Unknown." I replied as I too was trying to understand what was happening.
"It seems that Mr. Schweinorg is full of surprises." Welt commented. "It's not a one-sided slaughter; he's currently storming the enemy. Screllum, what are the numbers of defeated swarms?"
I perked up too because I hadn't been paying attention to that in all this commotion.
"Currently, Wilhelm has slain 195,478 Stings."
The number left a chilling silence.
It was hard to tell with the sheer number of the bugs, but then I realized they were along with them.
"He hasn't lost ground; in fact, from his starting point, he has gained ground." Welt pointed out.
Everyone started to pay closer attention then.
Lightning bolts rained from the sky. From Wilhelm himself, he released bolts of lightning that eviscerated thousands of their number with each passing moment.
Not only that, he had a plethora of weapons at his side, each of them giving off foreign readings, but each one was…powerful enough that one could tell at a glance.
Lastly, that dragon of his was currently colliding with the Emanator of Propagation that sat above the swarm, commanding it.
And it wasn't losing.
However, more waves of the bugs were flying at it, as if noticing that they weren't gaining ground. It was like they weren't taking him seriously before and now saw him as a threat and were moving on him properly.
It didn't matter how many he beautifully sliced in half, or how he moved breathlessly between the hordes, leaving but corpses in his wake; there were one, two , three, or ten to take its place.
Their numbers were endless.
Finally, Wilhelm came to a stop, completely surrounded by the creatures.
His breathing was a little heavy, and there were some cuts across his body.
Surrender, you fool.
Just say you quit, and it'll automatically kick you out!
However, underneath him, something bright began to shine.
It was a circle with thousands of strange markings, lines, and symbols that were incomprehensible to me on sight alone.
"Blessings of the World Tree – Yggdrasil."
All words would be completely impossible to hear over the sounds of the millions of insects buzzing about, stomping the ground, and reverberating in the air. Yet, these words were completely clear as day.
It started small for a split second, then it burst out of the ground. On this completely barren world that had been stripped clean of every morsel of life by the swarm, a tree began to sprout and push towards the sky.
A sword made of fire, a golden spear of light, a bright bow in the air, a strange box of ice. Many more phenomena appeared, and what looked like a sure conclusion once more was overturned.
Tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of bugs became frozen solid as waves of frost swept over their numbers.
That fiery sword, with but a wave, reduced an uncountable number to ash.
The spear, it moved at impossible angles, finding the particularly annoying bugs, the one that exploded, the ones that 'commanded,' or the ones that had other annoying abilities. And it pierced right through them without leaving a visible trail other than corpses.
The bow sat high up in the sky, its string pulled back, and it released tens of thousands of arrows, each one ending the life of a bug in the air, not allowing them to take the aerial advantage.
"Interesting, Yggdrasil is known as the tree that holds up the Nine Realms in Norse Mythology." Welt commented, and everyone turned to him. "It's an ancient belief system, fallen out of practice and barely written down by the original believers. They believed that the world tree connected various realms, including our own world and the realm of the gods, together."
They're from the same world?
He never told me what world he was from.
"Total deaths have passed the five million mark; at this rate, he is destroying them faster than they can reproduce." Screwllum informed everyone. "Two of the Swarm Mothers have been destroyed; their reproduction ability has further been reduced by 27%."
"...this was supposed to be a big galactic battle simulation, right? Like warships, armies, and big boom weapons blowing up bugs?" Stelle asked.
".....yeah." Himeko nodded.
"Alright… just checking."
The Simulated Universe didn't operate at a one-to-one ratio to the true universe. It would be ridiculous to sit here every day for tens of hours when it could be sped up within.
That's why, of the hours that passed inside, only about an hour passed here, yet…it felt excruciatingly long.
And more of the planet had been cleared of living bugs than there were bugs left at this point.
"Madam Herta, what path does Mr. Schweinorg walk?" Welt asked.
Path…..
I didn't check what path was registered.
"Unidentified." Screwllum answered before I could. "Unable to determine what path Wilhelm walks."
"Screwllum, check the simulation stability." I told him, finding it hard to pull away my eyes from the screen.
"Simulation stability is at 39% and falling. Chance for anomalous error has entered the danger zone."
I listened as I kept watching.
Wilhelm looked exhausted; blood sprinkled his body now, and he was breathing heavily. That big tree of his had slowly begun to dissipate, presumably requiring great mental or physical strain to sustain.
The various weapons of his were no longer as vigorously flying around, most of which had simply fallen to the ground.
Idiot…why go through so much effort?
Thousands of bugs all flew at him at once, and it looked like he was caught on the back foot as he was drowned.
It only took a moment for a blast of energy to push through, and his sword began to slice away at them, but there was a stinger sticking out of the side of his stomach.
I felt my hands clench as he pulled it free, blood gushing out of the large hole.
Yet, he continued to fight.
The numbers of the insects dwindled considerably; less than a million remained.
All the Swarm Mothers dead, and their innate ability to reproduce was being stymied purely by the speed at which they were killed.
Mountains of bug carcasses piled up on the horizon amidst the barren world.
Eventually, Wilhelm hunched over as he killed the last of the stings.
An impossible feat.
A bloodied and exhausted Wilhelm stood there.
There was one enemy left.
The Emenator hit the ground, causing a small earthquake as the Red Dragon landed next to Wilhelm. Both of the large entities were bloodied and tired, just as Wilhelm was.
Immediately, they fought again.
This time, there was no wondrous display of mystic powers or breathtaking skill. They clashed head-on, both sides utterly exhausted and at their limits.
The dragon and the Emanator tore at each other with claws and teeth.
Wilhelm joined in, his blade seeping deep into its flesh.
The Emanator still had a bit of power and was pressing both of them.
March was the first to gasp.
The Emanator had torn off one of Wilhelm's arms.
Wilhelm then took one of its eyes.
The Man and the Dragon fought together, driving the Emanator into desperation, and with a titanic quake, it fell over for the last time and didn't get up.
How much pain was he in? His body was….
There wasn't a single part of him that wasn't covered in blood.
He had holes all over him, and he was even missing an arm.
Why was this so important to you?
Couldn't you have just let things be? Why did you have to push yourself so much?
…..idiot.
Thankfully, the simulation didn't collapse due to all the unforeseen variables. However, it finally ended, and the machine churned as Wilhelm reappeared in the room.
Everyone looked at him with varying gazes, but he only focused on me.
"Will you finally talk to me?" There was no smugness in his tone, no taunting, no teasing….
"Stupid!" I threw something from my workstation at him. "Idiot, fool!" I don't know what I was throwing; I just grabbed anything I could and threw it at him. "Who told you to do something stupid like that? You were supposed to give up, and you wouldn't have had your stupid arm torn off!"
He was smiling. Why was he smiling!?
I hit him because he was being stupid! No, I needed to keep hitting his shoulder so he knew how stupid he was!
"I'm sorry." He finally said.
I huffed, crossing my arms. "Stupid."
"I am."
"Idiot."
"I'm that as well."
"The biggest fool I've ever met!"
"Probably."
"Hmph!" Stop smiling, you idiot! "Fine! What did you want to say to me!?" Even though he was physically alright, he looked…tired.
I was worried as he fell to a knee, but then my eyes widened as he held up a small box and opened it. "Herta, will you marry me?"
"...idiot." I whispered. "I hate you."
"I know."
"...this is just a puppet."
"I know that too." He still smiled. "But Herta is still Herta, and I love her anyways."
I stomped my foot in anger. "Stupid!"
Who allowed him to say something like that! Stupid, stupid, stupid!
I grabbed his collar. "How dare you say that to me! Do you have any idea who I am? I'm Herta, the greatest genius in the universe. I've conquered death; I've recreated the Aeons. I'm the magnificent, beautiful, genius Herta!"
"Herta." He looked at me.
"What!?" I scowled back at him.
"Shut up and marry me."
"Put your stupid ring on my finger!!" I scoffed.
Idiot….
My idiot.
[Line Break]
A/N
Odin: Cosmic Power goes brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.
Odin and Wilhelm's first meeting doesn't go well as Odin does damage control. MCU Odin is a notorious asshole from the canon sources, even when he's being reasonable. But now, it's family dinner round 2, electric boogaloo.
If you want to read 10 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone
I also have a boosty if you can't use the above under the same name.