Glaring light hit the back of my eyelids. It feels like I am laying down… Why am I sleeping on such uncomfortable ground? My mind… is very hazy… I remember… Odin… Leader of the Aesir. I was fighting him. I hated him with all my being. I was going to crush him with all my might… He managed to pierce my stomach with his legendary spear, Gungnir… The wound was like a pin prick, a pest… but then there was an abrupt searing pain…

Ah, I was made a slave through his vile magics… I tormented the very people I ruled over, I aided Odin in turning the other Jotun into his slaves, and drove away the demon-kin that I presided over. How can I call myself a king any longer? Ah, that’s right. I was fighting moments ago. A demon-kin… Was that a dream?

I try to lift my left arm… “Unnnhhhh…” I groaned pitifully. My arm was shattered. I had never been so damaged in my life… So this is pain?

“Oi, you awake?” A voice called out to me. It was a voice full of confidence… and arrogance. It must be the voice of the demon-kin. He didn’t sound hurt from our battle… that is good…

“I… am…” I answered weakly. It was difficult to put my thoughts in order. It felt the same as when you lay on one of your limbs while sleeping, and wake to find it numb, the strange pain that courses back into your limb when blood flows freely once more… It gave me a massive headache.

“You have control of yourself?” The demon-kin asks. He is a cautious one, regardless of his arrogant tone.

“...Yes.” I said as I let go of my fire-blade, ‘World Scorcher’, and used my right arm to lift myself up to a sitting position. The small demon-kin observed me carefully as I did so. Seeing I posed no threat, he approached my left side. ‘Still being cautious, hu-’ “Gaaahhhh!” my train of thought was interrupted by an abrupt searing pain in my left arm. I could feel the many shattered bones moving with a will of their own. ‘What is this?’

As if he could read my mind, the demon-kin answered, “I’m re-aligning your broken bones so I can heal you properly… tough it out, big guy.” I did as he said, and gritted my teeth as the bones continued to shift. “Wow, I really did a number on your arm, huh?” What is he doing? Rubbing salt into the wound that is my pride?

“What should I call you by, little demon-kin? I should know the name of the one who freed me from my slavery.” I attempt to divert my thoughts from this newfound unbearable pain. How do the smaller creatures live with this all their lives?

“You can call me Veloth. Or savior. Master maybe? Yeah, call me Savior Master Veloth. Your soul is mine now.” He answered. It was difficult to make out the inflections of his tone… Was he being serious?

“T-then, Savior mast-”

“It was a joke, a joke. I’ll kill you if you really did that.” He interrupted in a tone you could not mistake for anything other than serious. “Done.” He said as the bones finally stopped moving. There was a bright green glow that covered the entirety of my arm and the pain melted away… A healing spell of such magnitude, in addition to the strength that broke the arm in the first place… This demon-kin… Veloth... already surpasses Odin in power. Was he the one Odin is using an army to find and kill?

“V-Veloth then?” I hesitantly asked. I didn’t want to get on his bad side and feel that pain again. Veloth nodded as I flexed my now healed left arm and tested its range of motion, starting with the shoulder, then the elbow, down to my wrist and fingers. There was no pain, and it was as good as new. “I am-”

“Surt, right?” He cut me off again. He really is arrogant, but he has the power to justify that strength.

“...Right.”

“Then, Surt, I’m going to use you as a guinea pig.”

“Guinea pig? What is a guinea pig?” I asked as Veloth placed his hand on my arm. Abruptly the scenery of the mountain’s peak surrounded by a sea of clouds became a wide open virulent green plains with gently rolling dotting the landscape.

“W-where are we? What did you do?” The sudden change in scenery startled me and I asked Veloth in a panicked fashion.

“Hmmm, that’s kind of cheatsy. How OP is my character going to be? Ah, sorry, just talking to myself. We are about five miles from the Demon castle Pandemonium, to the south west. I used a spell called Teleport that instantaneously moves us to any place I have been before, and I just confirmed I can teleport others regardless of size and magical resistance with me. Your sword too, I was able to include even though I had no direct contact with it. Very cheatsy indeed…”

Wait, so I was used as some sort of experimental test subject just now? This man… Is insane… I picked up and clutched my sword in my hand tightly to make me feel a little safer… It wasn’t working…

“Well, let’s walk towards the castle… I’ll just hitch a ride on your shoulder. I should introduce you to the current king of the demons, and we can devise a way to free the rest of the Jotun. Sounds good, right?” The words Veloth spoke were music to my ears. The freedom of my people was now within reach… thanks to a maniac who is more likely to use us for experimentation and transportation than as war potential… The future of the Jotun seemed bleak indeed…

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Veloth POV:

Surt was obediently doing everything I asked of him. I guess he is the type to feel indebted to someone who saves him. I am currently riding on his shoulder towards Pandemonium. I couldn’t just teleport us into the castle because it would cause a panic. After all, as far as anyone other than me knows right now, all Jotun are enemies. Besides, 5 miles should be very quick and easy ground for a person ten stories tall to cover.

Sure enough, five minutes later, we approached the gate of Pandemonium. Arrayed in front of the gate was every available soldier, and each of the generals who were not ordered to make preparations for war. They clearly saw Surt on his way far before we actually reached the castle. He was a huge guy, after all.

“Helloooo there!” I called down from Surt’s shoulder. Many soldiers and the generals started in surprise. I could see them squinting trying to make out where I was. I jumped from Surt’s shoulder, causing him to panic, and he catches me with his left hand which did not carry his sword.

“Veloth! Are you ok?” He asked concernedly.

“I’m fine! You didn’t have to catch me, you know.” I retorted as I leapt off his hand as well. At my second leap, I could hear soldiers speaking in surprised whispers ‘Veloth?’ ‘Did the Jotun say Veloth?’ ‘It’s Lord Veloth!’. I landed, and at the same time, Prast Pride stepped to the front line of the soldiers to address me.

“Lord Veloth? What is going on?” Pride’s demeanor always seemed to be calm and collected, but I caught the tone of overwhelming curiosity in his voice.

“I freed Surt from the Aesir’s mind control. He’s on our side now.” I said simply. More whispers surged through the army.

“Is-is that true?” Pride looked inquiringly at Surt. Surt answered by taking his five storey blade… And laying it at the feet of the assembled army. The army abruptly burst into cheers, and I could barely hear Pride’s astonished voice. “Veloth… T-that is miraculous! That should have been an impossible feat for one man… How did you…?” Pride’s question went unanswered, as the army parted to let Kel’thul through.

The cheers died down, as if by silent command. Kel’thul looked up at Surt with a fierce expression. Surt returned Kel’thuls gaze.

“Welcome back, Grandfather.” Kel’thul said. What? Grandfather?

“Is that… little Kel’thul? My little Kel’thul!? You did survive! I’m… so… glad!...” Surt’s eyes dimmed and tears of boiling water began rolling down his face. His nose began to run, and he sniffed, making a sound like that of a cannon… They are really related…? Wow… I guess that means Hahnu is… huh...