Horror.

The fear that Hermod was feeling had now turned into horror as Van was now right in front of him, gripping his arm tightly. He tried to swat his arm away; but forget about pushing Van away, Hermod himself couldn't even move from Van's grip.

The only thing he could do was grit his teeth when Van's grip suddenly grew tighter. The only reason he wasn't wincing and groveling in pain was that due to his speed, his body also quickly heals his body, causing only a sort of tickle to wrap around his wounds and injuries-- no matter how grave.

He could only watch as Van ripped his arm off and threw it towards Gerald. This kind of brutality was common with the Aesir, but never once did he imagine he would one day become its target.

Van had said that he wanted to send his head to the Aesir-- if so, then Hermod was just waiting for his death if he stays here. But with Surtr incapacitated, there was no longer any variable that could serve as a distraction.

Vanya, who was watching with a slight shock down below, would have worked as a hostage; but seeing as they were of equal strength, there was no way he would be able to restrain her well enough before Van rips his head off.

"Father, perhaps you should let the Aesir go?"

And as if a song to his ears, the individual he just thought of as a hostage approached them with words that traveled like honey.

"You said it yourself, if we want the forest giants to live in peace from now on, then the best way to do that is to perhaps not agitate the Aesir?" Vanya reasoned as she stood calmly on the colossal tree she had just summoned, "The very reason you are tagging along with Gerald is that you made a deal with him for the humans to not involve us in their war."

"Listen to your daughter, Prime Progenitor," Hermod quickly added as soon as Vanya finished her sentence, "Sending my head to the Aesir will surely lead them to hunt you do--"

"What's the hold up up there!? I am losing my aim!"

"..." Hermod could only shut his mouth once again as Gerald's voice suddenly interrupted his momentum. He was going to start again, but before he could do so, Van let out a long and deep sigh.

"Your mother wished for peace," Van then said as he turned to look at Vanya, "And she was killed because of the crimes of your brother."

"Mother died for trying to protect Ymir, father."

"That doesn't change the fact that she was killed, executed. No matter how much one wants peace; even if the whole world wanted peace, it just takes one person to pull back to create chaos. And there will always be that one person, Vanya. In the forest giants' case, it was Ymir."

"What would you know of war, father? You have only been alive for a fraction of a century."

"And yet the only thing I have known is war," Van quickly replied. His life in the Relic Graveyard was a war to survive, and he never really stopped doing so. He found a minute solace in the Academy, but even that lasted like a flicker of a candle.

He was thrown to a prison, in which once again, he was in a war for freedom; and when he got out, he fought a war for truth.

"Even if you let him live, the Aesir will always come for us. Maybe not now, maybe not even in the near future-- but they will come, Vanya."

"Then we will face them then. But for now, let the humans and the Aesir wage their little war--"

"Ymir was the one to start this war," Van shook his head before turning towards Gerald, "Even if my deal with Gerald is successful, there's no way to know if the humans would honor it, or even listen to him. Your mother wanted peace, and I will try to seek the same. But you see, Vanya, no matter how we twist and turn the story...

...they still killed your mother."

"..."

"And it might not look like it, but I am very... very angry right now; but for your mother's sake, I will try my best not to actively seek revenge. But if they come to us, then I will kill each and every one of them-- even if they were my friends once."

"Father... are you sure you want to actively join this war?"

"I'm already in it."

And with those words, Vanya watched her father suddenly swing his arm; and along with it, Hermod's head.

"I have gained many things through war, Vanya...

...Achieving peace will just be one of them."

Vanya could not help but take in a long and deep breath as Hermod's headless body slowly fell to the ground, landing violently beside the unconscious Surtr as it was slowly swallowed by the encroaching magma that flowed from Surtr's wounds.

Vanya's eyes reflected Hermod's body slowly fading through Surtr's blood, not even once looking away from it. But finally, after Hermod's body had completely disappeared, she once again turned her attention towards her father.

Throughout the years she had lived, she had always been just watching; watching as the world changed before her. Perhaps…

...it was also time that the world changes along with her, or even change the world herself.

And so, with that thought, Vanya nodded towards her father, before proceeding to kneel on the branch she was standing on.

"Then I will follow you through this war, father; and not just me, I am sure the forest giants, as well as the frost giants, would be willing to serve under your banner as well."

"...I was actually thinking just taking all of them myself," Van could not help but scratch his chin awkwardly as his daughter suddenly kneeled in front of him, "But I guess that'll do as--"

"You… you think you can get away with this!?"

"What the fuck…"

Before Van could finish his words, the head that he was holding suddenly spoke.

"You're... still alive?"

"You think something like this was enough to kill me?" Hermod let out a small smirk as the blood dripping from his neck started to solidify; slowly forming into what seemed to be a heart beating loudly.

"Well, yes," Van blinked a couple of times as he lifted Hermod's head in front of him. He was thinking why the Aesir didn't even drop a soul-- but to think that he was actually still alive. Van was about to smash his head in, but before he could actually do so, he thought of something else.

"Go return to the Branch, we'll handle the rest here."

"W--"

Before Vanya could even ask what he was going to do, Van's body already flickered towards where Gerald was. And so, with that, she could only once again let out a long and deep sigh. Perhaps she should start trying to contact the other races soon-- her only hope was that they would actually listen to her.

"Woah, that shit is still alive?"

Gerald quickly raised an eyebrow as soon as he saw Van suddenly appearing in front of him, carrying a head whose eyes were still actively looking at him.

"So, you are the one who killed Magni," Hermod said as he let out a scoff, "You will not get away with your sins, human; the retribution of the gods will befall you-- Ugh!"

Before Hermod could finish his words, Van suddenly slapped his cheek.

"I guess you get to do your job after all, Hermod," Van then said as he once again lifted him to the front, "I want you to say this to the Aesir, word by word--

--The Devourer of the Gods is here."

"Devourer... of the gods?"

"Shit. Hand it to me, I also have a message," Gerald let out a small chuckle as he forcefully grabbed Hermod's head from Van.

"This is my message," he casually said before suddenly gouging out Hermod's eyes, "Tell Thor I use his son's skull to wipe my ass!"

And with that, Gerald took in a long and deep breath as he stretched his arms. Seeing this, Van quickly took a few steps back. And before Hermod could even say another word, a ripple thundered through the air, pushing all the heat away as Gerald threw Hermod's head straight beyond the skies of Muspelheim. Its destination-- the land of the Aesir.

"..."

"You really used someone's skull to wipe your ass?"

"What? No, the fuck are you on about you fucking midget."

And so, with that, Van joined the fray.

***

Somewhere out in the expanse of space, a small fragmented world outside of the 9 Realms, one of the Hermod's limbs landed-- and as soon as it did so, it floated through to the air, flying at a high speed towards a specific direction.

"...Blood," a small whisper then echoed through the air as the frozen blood within Hermod's arm turned into a mist-- and soon, it once again turned into a luscious red liquid.

"An Aesir's blood? I smell something else... something familiar. Where... where have I smelled this before? Think...

Think... Sarah, think."

***

"Is someone losing a leg?"

"Who left their leg here? This is awfully rude."

"Stop playing pranks, guys. This is not funny."

"Wait, this footwear, does it not remind you of someone?"

"Let me-- Wait... this is Hermod's! This is Hermod's leg!"

"Hermod? Messenger Hermod!?"

"Quick, we need to bring this to the Queen!"