Chapter 293 CH 263:ARTEMIS, KUSANAGI AND MJOLNIR

If the war currently going on outside of the territory was a glorious one opposing the dragons against the invaders, the civil war going on in the territory was much less glorious and much more somber.

After all, matter how much of a traitor those Dragons were, they were still dragons. All dragons were related. They were all family.

So none of the soldiers could really summon the moral strength necessary to fight.

...At least that was before they appeared in the lower heaven and saw what was happening.

Fire and blood.

No matter where they looked, all they could see where huge pillar of black smoke as the devilish fire incinerated everything on its path.

Unlike the 9th heaven where only Tiamat lived or the 7th heaven where the 9 children were, the 7th heaven was entirely populated by young Dragons be it hybrids or pure blood.

While dragons could reproduce more easily than the other races, it still didn't change the fact that as divine beasts, the number of children they had was overall pretty low.

And now those dragons where attacking their brothers and sisters without any remorses?

Anger.

Hate.

Disgust.

Murder intent.

In an instant, the rage of the subduing army shot through the roof.

Any ideas of holding back or begging to spare the rebels vanished from the mind of the soldiers.

They just wanted to kill the perpetrator so that those unwilling souls could find a rest.

The rebels were not numerous but they were relatively stronger than the average and they split in different directions or even heavens.

If the 7th heaven was like this, they didn't even dare to imagine how were the lower ones.

"Sister."

"I know."

Kiyohime nodded and begin to walk until she landed on an island that was scorched to the ground. Everywhere she looked, she could see the devoured corpses of her family. Those traitors were not simply content with killing their brethren. They did not even let go of their corpses.

Surely, they wished to use the cores and horns to force of chaos.

‘How disgusting.’

Once she was landed on the ground, she muttered,

It was time to hunt down those miscreants.

Kiyohime laughed. It was a laugh full of rage of sadness.

Her eyes glowed with an ominous red light.

She was different from all her siblings. Jealous she may be. Envious she may be. But she has never seen herself as inferior to anyone. Not even Blaze.

She was the queen of the Dragons.

The second in command who was just below the strongest dragon Empress and she had the power befitting of the crown she wore.

<<My name is Artemis.>>

A green light flashed from her body and begin to cover all her soldiers.

Kiyohime was different from Fafnir. As the shield, his goal was to maximize the defense of the army.

Her goal meanwhile was to optimize the offense.

Grrrrrrr

Growling sounds filled the air as the soldiers were slowly filled with bloodlust. Their bodies grew stronger, their mind sharper. They were faster and their base regeneration speed improved.

It was an overall increase of power of more than 50%. In a fight with two armies of equal power, this skill alone was sufficient to change the tide of the battle.

But this wasn’t enough,

[Blood revenge]

This was perfect one of the strongest and most dangerous anti-army and anti-personal skills.

<<May the rage of the dead gives us the strength for revenge.>>

Sanguine light moved and bathed the full army. From now, as long as they faced the culprits of this massacre, all their strength would increase by more than 25%. What made this skill dangerous was the fact that it perfectly stacked with the previous increase.

Furthermore, since Tiamat could not easily move, Kiyohime acted once again,

<<May the rage of the spirit guide us toward the culprit.>>

Tiamat knew very well that behind this lady-like appearance was someone very dangerous.

“Show it to me little phoenix. Let’s see how you will once again dominate the battlefield.”

—--

Standing on the battlefield, as the storm of mana surrounded her and the odor of blood filled her nose, Nent could not help but think back to the old time.

Gabriel and Asmodeus were part of first-generation divine beasts. In fact, it wouldn’t be a mistake to say that the phoenixes and the snakes were the very first divine beasts in existence.

This was why, in a way, Nent had even more experience than Tiamat herself when it came to war. In terms of age, it wouldn’t be a mistake that she was one of the oldest living beings in the universe.

War. This was all Nent ever knew.

But even as everyone died, even as the angel retreated, she survived.

Wounded, sad, alone, afraid, scared. Again and again, escaping from the jaws of death by the most minuscule of chance.

Even then, she never once gave up on hope and continued to advance, determined in her beliefs.

The titans did not scare her

The giants did not make her waver.

Even the horrors of the depth and the darkness swirling inside it, did not destroy her faith.

Her belief was ever firm.

She believed in the possibility of this world. She believed what she did was for the sake of ‘good’, and to vanquish ‘evil’. She believed that she, as well as all the others, was born for some grand goal.

She was proud of who she was. She was proud of what she was and she was even more proud of what she had achieved.

Because this was her choice.

Because this was her own decision — Her freedom.

Her heart was left unshaken but...

When the war ended.

When she looked back at the trail of cold corpses, enemies and allies alike, she had left behind her.

She couldn’t help but ask herself.

‘Was it worth it?’

One year, ten years, hundreds of years later. She still continued to ask herself that question, never finding the answer she was looking for.

Until one day — seven hundred years ago. It was then that her belief was shaken.

Now, seven hundred years later, Nent stood again on the battlefield, and facing her was once again one of the people who shook her belief all those years ago.

Right here, right now, she stood at a crossroad. Her sole decision would change everything in her life.

What should she do?

She had agonized over questions over and over again.

“If this war happened a year ago. No...Just a few months ago, then my choice would have surely been very different.”

She mocked herself but the light in her eyes became firm.

One step, two steps. Each time she advanced, her beautiful and somewhat sexy robe was replaced by the armor she once wore all those years ago.

Feeling mana course through her veins, she called forth a power she had forgotten she even wielded.

Lightning cracked.

“I am Nent, daughter of Gabriel.”

But this wasn’t all.

“I am Nent, mate of Sol Luxuria.”

But once again, this wasn’t all. Her eyes became filled with light.

“I am Nent... and <<My name is Mjolnir.>>”

The world seemed to fall silent as the might of a superior being filled the battlefield. For an instant, everything seemed to stop and the soldiers themselves all looked at the source of light that was standing alone like a shining beacon in the middle of the battlefield.

Lightning roared as the thunder queen, the ultimate valkyrie, finally woke up from her long and deep slumber.

Was it worth it?

Indeed. It was fucking worth it!

“Begone! With the roar of a thunderclap!”

The world was dyed white by lightning as she slammed her hammer down.

[1]: Pretty sure most people know the legend of Kusanagi no Tsurugi. It’s the sword the god Susanoo found in the body of Yamata no Orochi after he killed it to save a princess. The Orochi is an 8-headed serpent full of poison. The Hydra is a 9-headed serpent full of poison....so yeah, it was pretty obvious to choose this name for me.

(AN: I must say. I was laughing like mad when I was writing this chapter and listening to Bleach battle OST to make my blood boil. I really hope I was able to make your heart thump even if a little. Don't forget to leave comments please and write me on discord if you have question.)