I’m exhausted. The giants became ever more numerous the closer we came to the human/demon border in the valley. Avoiding the giant’s sight was no easy feat.

“Once we have left the valley the Jotun’s security should lessen. It seems they were focused on the human side of the continent first. Endure, Tara, We are almost within demon borders.” Daimos attempted to encourage me. Clearly, he could see my exhaustion. While experienced in travelling with small groups and facing many foes, hiding from these resilient giants was another problem altogether.

At least Daimos was with me. He made a good scout for what is to come. He insisted on helping me reach Pandemonium, saying ‘Securing the safety of the human envoy is my duty as well’. I was being sent to Pandemonium alone as a gesture of goodwill, and to relay our acceptance of their terms. It was a little hard to stomach though. I would be forced to ally myself with the very demons that destroyed my village.

Perhaps, had I declined the title of general, I would be able to go my own way. However, without the title I would not have been able to grow in strength as much as I did, training with the other generals and using my authority to learn many trades and secrets of combat. It felt as though fate conspired against me, presenting these formidable enemies as soon as I was reaching the peak of my training.

I thought I was as strong as i could possibly become, but these new foes proved otherwise. Perhaps I would never reach my peak in strength.

“Daimos, you mentioned there was a new… Demon King?” I asked Daimos so I could get my facts straight. Bringing up the new Demon King caused me to wonder about how Veloth was doing once more. I can’t fathom why I thought of him so often.

“Ah, yes, our King-to-be is powerful indeed. His power is such that he was able to bring low a Jotun with ease.” Daimos said proudly.

Indeed, their ‘prince’ was powerful if he was able to bring a giant down with the ease Daimos spoke of. I had encountered the same one more than a few times. I was never able to injure it more than a few deep cuts, never able to hobble it or kill it. All I had been able to do was stall it for time.

“I’ll fly up and scout ahead once more. Though Jotun security should be getting lighter, it is best not to take too many chances.” I nodded for Daimos to proceed, and he shot upward…

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“Land-ho!” Called the lookout. At last I can finally get off this accursed ship. The constant swaying from the unforgiving cold blue waters of the freshwater sea wreathed havoc upon my stomach. Hopefully commander Freya would give the Valkyries enough time to recover. We were, after all, used to combat, not being shipped across a vast sea like cattle.

“Sassa! How much longer -muuuu…- do you think until landfall?” Hertha, a fellow Valkyrie asked. She seemed to have the worst of the sea sickness, bowed over the ship's railing. Although, from my own experience, staring out at the sea only made the sickness worse.

“Shouldn’t be much longer Hertha. You should go below decks and try to get some rest.” I knew she would be unable to, but it was best to try to become ready for battle at a moments notice. Although Odin had sent the Jotun as an advanced guard, the fact that he sent nearly all his forces to conquest Midgard means that he expected harsh resistance.

“Muuu… Alright, I will try… Please, call for me once we are beached.” With that, Hertha took her leave. I looked out ahead of the ship to see a speck of land in the distance.

“Winds be favorable and take us to shore quickly…” I muttered to myself feeling my own stomach churn as the ship tilted to one side, then the other at the mercy of the ocean’s waves.

“Sassa! I’m surprised you are above deck. What brings you up here?” Myr, a friendly deckhand approached me. The young man was usually tasked with harpooning the massive fish that ruled beneath the sea for food. Given the size and speed of the fish, the deckhand was actually pretty strong for his appearance. Tall and lean, very well tanned, pointy ears, and short sandy colored hair frazzled with the sea winds. The young man could probably wreck havoc with a harpoon on land as well as at sea.

“I was praying to the Norns for landfall. It seems as though my prayers will be answered soon.” I felt relieved as I said it. No offense to Myr or any other sailor, but I cannot fathom how they take so well to the sea.

“Aye lass, you can see Midgard there, in the distance.” Myr happily pointed toward the steadily growing landmass. It was somewhat odd seeing a landmass that was not held aloft by Yggdrasil.

“Yes, soon to be another part of Yggdrasil. With the current strength of our forces, conquest should be swift. Not even the Jotun nor the Vanir were able to stand against us before. What could a few demon refugees and humans do?”

“Well lass, have they not been recovering and preparing for this very event?” I almost laughed at Myr’s question. I didn’t blame him for not knowing, being out to sea so often as he was.

“No, in fact, they had been warring with each other for some time. If anything, they are as weakened as they will ever be. Soon this world’s lands will be united as one under the Norn’s upon Yggdrasil, and the promised peace and prosperity with it.” Odin’s goals were ambitious and noble. Freya, myself, and the other Valkyries followed him for that reason.

“Captain! Something approaching the bow!” The lookout called out. Something? Was it another ship then?

“Something?” Myr pondered to himself as he ran toward the tip of the ship. I followed close behind. Indeed something was approaching the ship quickly. It was small and white. At this distance it looked some sort of small wolf or cat.

“What is that?” Myr muttered to himself. Captain of the ship, Arvid, also came forward to peer out at the figure. It appeared to be running across the water…

“By the Norn’s what is that?” Arvid muttered to himself. “Hard to starboard! Ready the cannons! Fire as soon as that thing comes into range! Battle stations! Half Sails!” The captain spilled forth orders upon a sudden decision. Other transport ships in the distance were performing similar actions upon seeing the figure in the distance.

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There, that should fix things for now. If she disappoints me… Well, she knows better now. I ended up sending her on an interesting errand, but I will be able to view her progress when I want using the ‘gift’ I gave her which was a necklace housed with one of my scrying gems (as I was now calling them). Myria should be more than capable of taking out the first wave of the enemy’s army. If she runs back to me with her tails between her legs though, I will have a harsh punishment ready.

Once I had caught her she was surprisingly docile. Especially after I met out my punishment to the Fool Force. I may have gone a little too far with Pride though… He was a bit… skittish… in my presence now… In fact, a majority of the generals were. I was becoming starting to become annoyed with the way I was appearing to others. Funny, I never felt that way in my previous life.

Ruling through fear meant I could get what I wanted without much trouble… It ended up that way for the most part in school in my past life, but there always those greater than me. Now, however, I may be the strongest being on this planet. I had absolute power… and it was boring. What should I do if I were to destroy all my opposition? Would I end up like ‘Megamind?’ Would I lose all interest?

“You’re thinking too much. There would still be plenty to do. There still is. You could make a game of it! I know I would.” Zahramiik put forth his opinion in the usual manner.

‘Is that right? Then what are you doing that is so entertaining now, Zahramiik?’

“I’m watching you, heheh.”

‘Shut up.’

“Veloth? How about tonight? “ Sival pestered me. All three of them were. Once Myria had apologized and left to perform the task I assigned her, they were hounding me to perform the marriage ceremony immediately. Apparently the wedding ceremony was consummation… Sex… That meant a steamy three-way. I wasn’t exactly against the idea, but it felt kind of off.

I was a virgin in my previous life. I never had a chance with one woman, much less three. I tried to suggest one at a time, but they wouldn’t agree to anything other than the three of them at once. Amazing. Having three women just throwing themselves at me. Made me feel like some sort of dirty playboy… and then there was also Myria.

Myria had made sure her intentions were understood by the other three. It went something like ‘I will be first to give birth’... That was another thing that felt off. What would it be like to have a child? Multiple children? Could I love them all equally and give them my attentions? Could I provide them with a decent parentage? I wasn’t sure I could perform my fatherly duties properly. My only parental experience was with my mother, and even that seemed a bit… off… I would probably have to rely on the girls for that...

“Hmmm, tonight is…” I stalled answering. .. Honestly I wasn’t sure how to say it. ‘Sure. Lets all fuck tonight’... It didn’t seem right to me. Call me old fashioned? Classy? I don’t know.

“Come on, Nyah! It will be fun, Nya! Just release all your bestial urges, Nya!” That was another thing. When they learned Myria was my mother’s chosen fiancee, they also learned I was a mana spirit. Sometimes they would liken me to some great mythical beast or other. In Hahnu’s case, she wanted me to release all my pent up ‘beastly libido’.

“It’s ok… You can use me however you want…” Viridi tugged at my sleeve and whispered softly… These girls… Have some shame! Every time they spoke I felt an innocent part of me die.

“I-I’ll decide later! I need to get my armor and introduce myself to the soldiers that have been assigned to me. Also there is word that a human envoy is making their way here. There is a lot to do.

“Nya…”

“Damned war…”

“...”

========================================================================

I parted with the girls to head towards the castle’s smithy. It was a stone structure within the walls that had a massive pit of of flame at it’s center. Waves of heat poured forth from it, dousing the structure with its permeating energy.

A rhythmic clang rang out. I didn’t see the blacksmith master at the pit so he must be at the back shaping metal on the anvil. As I made my way to the back of the structure I viewed different kinds of weapons and armors made of various metals and hides. Blacksmiths ran about, cooling heated weapons in oils and other treatment fluids, reheating metals, and taking them toward the back of the building.

There at the back sparks flew as blacksmiths sharpened bladed weapons on whetstones and pounded the heated metals steadily into shape. It appeared to be hard grueling work. Just being in this building had to be hot. Fortunately it seems as though the heat just rolled off me. It did not bother me in the slightest.

There, with a massive hammer, was an equally massive man. He appeared to be in the midst of pounding a breastplate into form. He stood at a massive eight feet tall. He was as burly as Ira, muscle and tendon threatening to burst forth from the skin with every movement. He had long pale gray hair. Large black horns protruded from his temples and curved around pointed ears to the back of his head. Charcoal colored skin appeared thick and coarse. What stood out the most was his glowing violet eyes.

“Is it ready, Bob?” I swear I will never become used to calling this man ‘Bob’.

“Mmm, Lord Veloth. It is.” The large man spoke with an uncharacteristically high voice. He probably spoke very little because of it. The massive demon stopped his work and released the hammer that rivaled a full grown dog in size. He turned around toward an armor rack that appeared to be covered with a cloth. Seems he has an eye for flair to go as far as hiding it with a cloth for a reveal.

Sure enough, he turned a moment to be sure my gaze was upon the covered armor and whipped it off with a smooth flick of his wrist. There was a rather intimidating piece of armor that reminded me of a dark knight from many games. The armor was lacquered in black and red. It was full plate and full helm. I requested full helm because they always seemed more intimidating to me. The shoulder pads were thoroughly spiked, gauntlets thoroughly spiked, greaves thoroughly spiked. The man liked adding spikes as intimidation.

The full helm gave off a demonic look. Across the mouth area were rows of metal teeth lacquered in red. The majority of the helm was lacquered in black, while a pair of black demon horns curved over the top of the head from the forehead. From the temples curved a pair of red demon horns to the back of the head, much like Bob’s. There appeared to be a red fur cloak as well. It appeared as though it would clasp over the shoulder pads at the front. The clasps were made of a pair of red wolf skulls that appeared to have holes in them to settle comfortably upon the shoulder pads spikes.

The spiked gauntlets were worked around the claw weapons I had developed that Zahramiik had called the ‘Fangs of Fenrir’.

“What do you think?” Bob asked, awaiting my praise, as he was clearly proud of his work. Truly, it was magnificent and intimidating… But I would feel like some cliche super villain wearing that… Well, the point was to stand out so I guess it works…

“... Intimidating…” I kept my answer short and simple. That seemed to satisfy Bob, and he made a curt nod before he motioned me toward him. Seems I was to begin the fitting phase. Truthfully, I would rather have Bob stand next to me. I would be easy to spot then, and the guy’s appearance was itself intimidating. He declined, saying he was no warrior, but I persisted. Even if he had no combat training he would be a force to reckon with. He was a person I liked too. Strong, intelligent, quiet, and businesslike.

========================================================================

It was not difficult to move once fully armored. The joints were put together well and I had great mobility. The armor appeared heavy, but to me it felt almost non-existent. Behind me thundered the massive footsteps of Bob. He fought hard, but I convinced him to come with me to ensure the armor holds up and has no problems. He had grunted in resignation and I lead us towards where my standing force waited.

Outside the walls to the east of the castle stood an army of around one thousand troops. That was quite an appropriation of forces considering most of them were recently conscripted into service. Many of them I recognized from the Guardians of Order. Nilus was clearly glaring at me. I’m glad he hasn’t lost his backbone, it may help me to keep my sanity. The Fool Force on the other hand were shivering. I can almost guarantee it was not out of fear, but out of restraint. They were trying very hard not to perform their absurd choreographies.

The army wore armor similar to mine, only simplified. There were no spikes, no horns, no cape, no Fangs of Fenrir. Their armor was simply lacquered vertically half red and half black. At the moment they held their full face helmets under their right arm and looked upon me expectantly.

========================================================================

The intimidating figure made his way to a podium that waited in front of our assembled force. Behind him trailed a giant of a man that smelled of metal and oil. Our new general leaped onto the podium with an ease that should have been made awkward by the clearly heavy armor he wore. Lord Veloth’s tails that appeared to be flaming with their orange color twitched violently a few moments.

“Erm, I am Veloth. I will be commanding you in the coming war with the Aesir. I ask only that you follow my orders and fight well. Some of you are already aware of what happens should you fail. That is all.”

His speech was simply anticlimactic.

“What was that?” A soldier to my left asked. I wondered the same thing. Lord Veloth was nothing like the rumors. He didn’t even bother to mention that he is the demon prince. He didn’t seem as violent or bloodthirsty as rumors portrayed him either. It was said even the might Prast Pride was but a child before his wrath. The Awesome Force, which was assigned to their combat unit, also spread some terrifying rumors.

Though he appeared humble, clearly he had a hidden temper that could surface at any moment. I swallowed my saliva nervously. I could feel the sweat building up. Was I going to survive serving this man?