89 Aftermath, harvest time

"So, what do you think of my mecha demon spider?"

'Very interesting, a design that can fight and defeat multiple king magi is definitely a great creation. But do tell, how did you manage to make it capable of doing real harm to king magi. Ordinary elemental attacks can't do that kind of damage.'

"So you noticed! Let me tell you, getting the elemental origins to create this was so exhausting. I even had to ask Sindri to make that hammer for Thor. But look at the result! Hiring Gandalf was definitely a worthy investment."

'Oh, I definitely have to meet him at some point. Maybe after visiting Sindri.'

"So you are just going to leave?"

'Well, I'll first collect the king magi's remains but after that yes. Is there a reason to stay here?'

"Don't you want to find out where all this came from?"

'It comes from a city guarded by an undead divine beast that wants nothing more than to kill someone. Do you still want to go?'

"How strong can a divine beast be? Let's assemble a giant army and storm that city!"

"Don't be a fool, king Durin! In our ancient text divine beasts are described to have a special domain and unlimited magic! They are unrivaled within this world."

"Are they truly that bad."

'Not quite but it isn't far off. Their domain isn't special but a fused domain with two innate understandings within. This makes them unbeatable unless you have a stronger domain. As for unlimited magic, that's incorrect. They just have the incredibly pure magic which someone if our level can't hope to exhaust.'

"That didn't sound much better..."

'And that is why I will stay the hell away from that place!'

"Indeed a good suggestion. Should you ever find yourself near my palace in Nidavellir, feel free to visit."

And with that, my audience with the king came to an end. Now it was time to head to Nidavellir.

But wait, wasn't I forgetting something? I could swear there was someone else I had wanted to tell about the divine beast...

Nah, it couldn't have been that important if I forgot about it. While I had been lost in thought, Night Owl had descended next to me without making a sound. I had made it a habit to keep my magic perception up at all times. Just thinking of having a divine beast sneak up on me unnoticed gave me the creeps.

"Are you heading straight to Nidavellir? I'd be happy to accommodate you in Svartalfheim. It's only a slight detour on the way down to Nidavellir."

'Sure, I accept your invitation.'

Night Owl whistled and only minutes later a giant bird figure approached our current position. As it came closer I could make out more details. It was an enormous owl with feathers darker than the night. The only parts of it that weren't black were its crimson-colored eyes.

'So that is where your name comes from! Night Owl seems to hit the mark quite well.'

"It's an ancient tenebrous owl. The last of its kind."

'Can't beasts of that level produce eggs without a mate? Resources to nurture them shouldn't be that much of an issue for your entire race.'

"The ancient tenebrous owl is special. Once they fully mature they can immediately match a king magus but the criteria for a tenebrous owl to grow unto an ancient tenebrous owl is that it spends a thousand years in true darkness."

'True darkness... You helped the dwarves in return for the dark origin, didn't you?'

"It's the only way to create true darkness for a long enough time. Neither I nor Tenten can keep and area in darkness for that long."

'Tenten?'

The giant owl turned its head to me. Something about the way it had turned its head by 300 degrees to look at me made me feel uncomfortable. Couldn't it have just turned the other way?

'Tenten is its name?'

"Yes, her name is Tenten. I was very young when we first and tried to say tenebrous. I stuttered and what came out was Tenten. The name just stuck."

We got onto Tenten and started flying south. At first, Tenten's speed seemed somewhat slow but as night fell, her speed increased explosively. I could feel the darkness around us respond and carry us like waves across the night sky.

While we were flying in silence, I decided to review my gains.