"Hahaha!"

With Van's every step, with every whistle that rang and drummed through the air, another wound or scratch builds on his face. He had to summon his shield in order to mitigate the wind that threatening to pull his skin off as he ran through the depths of Muspelheim.

With pretty much destroying the city, the scorching heat of the outside, as well as the confines of the underground, had already merged, raising up the temperature even further as the lavas that spewed from the ground elevated the searing air.

And perhaps, because of that, Van could feel a sort of sting with his every step, accompanied by the scratches of varying sizes that appeared on his skin. However, he did not even seem to mind as he continued to ram through the fire giants.

But unlike the previous times, the giants weren't being blown to bits or turning into mists of blood and guts. No, this time, with Aegis by his hand as well as the speed he was going, he was only creating holes on the giants' torsos, almost a perfect circle in the shape of his shield.

Clean, with not even a drop of blood dripping from it.

"H… hmm."

Vanya, who was put into sleep by Dionysus's most potent tranquilizer, slowly stood up as the high-pitched whistles woke her up. She could not help but quickly cover her ears, but not because of the gnawing whistle that seemed to have surrounded the whole realm.

Perhaps in Muspelheim, she was the only one that was able to hear it-- a cry. Muspelheim was crying. Its charred roots, which were at its depths, were trembling. They were feeling a sort of fear that was enough for them to even move through the fiery lava that hid in most of the realm.

And this fear, Vanya was able to feel all of it. Even the rocks, and the smallest of creatures that lived in Muspelheim, fearing a single entity-- her father.

"S… stop," Vanya muttered. However, only a whisper escaped from her mouth. The fear of the realm was already enough for her legs to give out. And confronting the very same entity that the whole realm is afraid of?

Vanya could only watch as his father continued to kill the fire giants that were already running away. No, it wasn't only the fire giants-- his path no longer finds them. His path was now that of destruction, mowing down the surface of Muspelheim itself.

"I'm still killing more!"

Even from afar, Vanya could hear another one that seemed to be hellbent on creating chaos, Gerald. And unlike her father, who was ramming down boulders and killing everything that might have lived in it, Gerald was smashing the ground.

"...No."

Perhaps because the spirits of the Realm were too focused on her father, they were completely ignoring another dangerous entity, and in this situation, even more dangerous to the Realm than her father who was only randomly running around.

Gerald… Gerald was drilling through Muspelheim.

"Hahaha!" Gerald cackled as he continued to drill through the ground; and with the high-pitched whistle that Van was producing partnering with each of the drums that Gerald was making, the inhabitants of Muspelheim felt like Valhalla was already welcoming them to join its glorious city.

"Gerald, please stop this!"

She was not able to stop her father because of the fear that was wrapping her whole body, but Gerald, she can at least try.

"You will end up destroying Muspelheim if you continue this!" Vanya pleaded as she summoned enhanced roots and vines to chain Gerald's arms. But alas, the only thing they did was do more damage as he was able to pull the roots of the earth.

She also tried to strangle him, but Gerald did not even mind as he continued to smash through Muspelheim's surface.

"Almost a billion lives would be destroyed if you do this!"

"That's the point!" Gerald once again laughed as his fists continued to deepen the huge pit he had made. At this point, the only light that was reflecting through their eyes was the lava falling and spewing at the edges of the pit; the sun of the 9 realms was no longer reaching it.

"If I kill everyone, then I would surely kill more than Van!"

"Even if they have wronged us, it is wrong to commit genocide!" Vanya muttered, "There are children here!"

"And!?" Gerald did not stop.

"What do you think Xinyan would feel if she knew of what you have done here!?"

"She would be proud of me," Gerald said.

"I think she would loathe you."

"You think you know her more than me?" Gerald finally stopped smashing through the ground as he turned to look at Vanya, his golden hair, slightly waving as the lavas of Muspelheim reflected through them.

"Your kind had looked down on the humans of Midgard for an eternity. Dwarves, giants, Vanir, Aesir… all of you are the same-- Xinyan despises all of you equally for what you have done to Midgard."

"That is not true, Gerald," Vanya let out a long and deep sigh as she shook her head, "I am sure you have learned that by now, living across Realms."

"I have traveled through the Realms, that is why I know this," Gerald muttered, "Even humans are the same. They are just the weaker species, and so the things they could harm and abuse are limited."

"That's--"

"Perhaps if you have spent more time exploring the world instead of sleeping all the time, you would know this," Gerald said as he looked Vanya straight in the eyes, "In truth, unlike my brother and the rest, I don't hate or despise your kind, Vansdottir. You're just cursed from being the stronger race."

"..." Vanya slightly looked down from Gerald's words, but after a few seconds, she let out a sigh, "Your view in the world is truly interesting, Gerald, but you're looking at it in the view of clouded eyes. The world…

...is much more than its people."

"..." Gerald furrowed his eyebrows and let out a breath of his own, but afterward, he scratched his chin, "What the fuck is that supposed to mean?"

"It means--"

"I don't care," Gerald shrugged his shoulders as he let out another sigh, "I'm not in the mood anymore anyway, I still killed a lot more than your dad."

"..."

"And if anyone has a skewed view of the world, it would be your father," Gerald smirked, "Maybe ask him where he lived when you get the chance. Your father kills for survival-- and he's a survivor. See? You're not the only one good with metaphors."

Vanya was going to say something, but in the end, chose not to as she just jumped from the almost bottomless pit that Gerald had made. And confirming that Gerald had followed her out, Vanya could finally release a sigh of relief.

Now, only her father was left.

"Damn, he's fast. What's this guy eating to be able to move like that?"

"You're… still able to see him?"

"I have perfect vision."

"..." Vanya could only blink her eyes a couple of times as she had a difficult time trying to follow her father. She could only see a flash of light streaming across her eyes, but other than that, nothing.

"Can you stop him?"

"Why would I?" Gerald shrugged his shoulders as he sat on the ground, "Just wait for him to get tired or something."

The only thing that Vanya could do was look at the fat giant that was floating in the sky. And with a breath, she summoned a huge tree to take her beside him.

Dionysus, who saw this gigantic tree rushing towards him, wanted to fly away. But maybe because of his weight, he was not able to do so before several roots chained his limbs.

"L… let me go!"

"Dionysus," Vanya then muttered, "I think I remember now. My mother had mentioned you once."

"Oh, did she now?" Dionysus awkwardly chuckled as he ripped the vines binding him, but even as he did so, more vines crawled and wrapped around his body.

"Yes, she said you are the weakest Olympian," Vanya muttered, "And seeing you now… she was right."

"Ho, quite a--"

"But she also said you were the most innocent one. How wrong she was."

"..." The small smile on Dionysus's face slowly disappeared as he heard Vanya's words. He then turned to look towards the flashing light below that continued to decimate the surface of Muspelheim. In truth, the reason he brought almost thousands of troops was to completely overwhelm Van and the others-- to lessen the loss of life as much as possible.

His only mistake was that he underestimated the enemy too much.

"I… am just trying to survive, Vanya," Dionysus then muttered as he turned his attention back towards Vanya, "I am not as strong as your mother…Especially not as strong as Athena-- Lost… I can't handle losing my place in the world again."

"You--"

"Who dares wreak havoc in my Realm?"

Before Vanya could finish her words, the tree she had just summoned instantly burned as the entirety of Muspelheim rose in temperature. With her distracted, Dionysus escaped, quickly flying up beyond the skies and into the expanse of space.

Vanya, however, no longer minded him as she let herself carefully fall back to the ground.

"The big boss comes," Gerald then said as soon as she landed near him.

"...Queen Nori," hearing Gerald's words, Vanya's eyes lit up as she disappeared from her spot, rushing to get Nori who was still lying unconscious from afar. She had to get her back to the Branch, away from the being that finally showed himself because of all the chaos.

Surtr-- the progenitor of the Fire Giants.