Chapter 367 - 366: Assembly (2)
MHS 366 Assembly (2)
"10th… Realm?"
"Did we hear that right? The dwarf is the King of the 10th Realm? Have any of you ever heard that before?"
Thor's statement came as if one of his thunders; as soon as it landed on the others' ears, they all let out gasps of shock. The meat in their mouths now hanging by their teeth as most of them had them wide open; their eyes looking back and forth between Thor and their sudden visitor.
And now, with all the eyes on him, Van could not help but slightly let out a long and deep sigh as he glanced at Athena, who nodded her head as soon as their eyes met.
Athena did say that Van should find his own Realm to live in, but as far as he knew, that was only a plan for now. No, it wasn't even a plan, but an idea.
"This is the best place to announce it, King Evans," Athena then gestured to Van to stand up, "Go do your thing, I know you have a speech ready for everyone to hear."
"Is… that really such a good idea?" Van muttered as his eyes landed towards King Odin, who seemed like he was already letting out fumes from his nose… and Van hasn't even started talking yet.
The last time they met, they didn't really separate on good terms; with Van and Athena even slightly disrespecting his authority. And now, out of nowhere, they became guests to his house and were even being promoted by his most prominent son.
"..." And seeing the look of pure irritation in Odin's face, for some reason, it made Van feel like he should really give a word or two just to mess with him. And so, he did just that.
"Greetings, people of Asgard," Van then said as he raised the cup he hasn't even touched once, "My name is Van…
...and I come from a time before your ancestors were even born."
"What did he say?"
"Is he saying he is older than all of us?"
"This little dwarf likes speaking the bullsh--"
"Hrn."
And before the other Aesir present in the room could start clamoring, King Odin's loud grunt instantly shut their mouths. They waited for their King to say something, but even after a few seconds, his eyes just remained staring at their little guest.
"I come from a time where your so-called 9 Realms were just but one," Van then continued as soon as the silence in the room persisted for a few seconds, "A time of chaos and destruction-- leading to your creation."
"Hm," Thor, who initially had an excited look on his face, slowly sat down as his eyebrows began to furrow; his eyes, focused solely on Van's words.
"All of you were forcefully created from my father's blood," Van continued, "Everything you think is special about you… was created from something that flows through my veins naturally. All of you…
...are fakes."
"What did you--"
Once again, before one of the Aesir could complain, they were stopped; this time, by Thor waving his hand and gesturing for all of them to sit back down and listen.
"My… mother is someone some of you know very dearly. Her name is Evangeline, you might know her as the Allmother," Van then slightly let out a sigh at the end of his sentence, not minding the light gasps that pierced his ears as he continued with his so-called speech,
"And all of you are right to call her that; because she is the only reason you exist. You exist because she planned for you to be, and as for the reason; Well, you were meant to be devoured…
...by me."
"I see," Thor then let out a small breath before chugging a whole mug of beer, "So you truly are Ragnarok."
"!!!"
Once again, the hall was filled with gasps of shock and fright. They wanted to say something, but they knew they didn't have the right to do so at this moment.
"I have seen it myself, the serpent that would devour the 9 Realms."
"W… what!? Then shouldn't we erase him now!?"
And finally, one of the Aesir could not help it anymore; standing up as his eyes locked on towards Van, "If this little man is the bringer of Ragnarok, then we should end him right here and now!"
"Silence!" Thor then stomped his foot on the floor, causing the entirety of the hall to tremble, "Do you not listen? He is not the bringer of Ragnarok, but Ragnarok itself. Our end is already upon us, and I brought him right inside our house…
...or did I?" Thor then looked Van straight in the eyes, his gaze almost piercing.
"I don't care about this Ragnarok all of you keep on talking about," Van quickly replied, "But what I do know, and what your King is already aware of, is that there is an existence out there capable of devouring worlds."
"...What?"
"Beings of unimaginable strength from another universe, I took it upon myself to call them World Eaters."
"...Another universe beyond our own? Is this true?"
"Of course," Van nodded, "I can point two, sitting right here in the mess hall."
And without any hesitation, Van pointed towards Athena.
"She came from a different universe, much like our own. The god from which your blood came is also from her universe."
"...You said there were two."
"Yes, that fat one," Van then pointed towards Dionysus, who had already been sweating ever since Van mentioned other universes.
"Dionysus!?"
"W… wait, I can expla--"
"There is no need to explain anything."
And before Dionysus could even say anything, a small pressure in the air began to materialize as King Odin slowly stood up from his seat, "I have known of your origin since long ago."
"...Father? What are you saying?"
"I am saying that the little man's words are all true," King Odin then said as he once again let out a small groan, "My father, and his father before him had passed down the legends of old-- told by the Allmother.
"Then… why have you not told us?"
"Because it didn't matter!" Odin then stomped his lance on the ground. And as soon as he did so, a ripple exploded. Every meal, every table, and even the floor and the walls themselves disintegrated as the ripple expanded; plowing them down like a wave.
But even when a whole side of the hall was now completely exposed from the outside, no one that was in the hall was harmed.
"We have an army, we have strength!" King Odin shouted, "Ragnarok? Let it come! World Eaters!? Let them try! For thousands and thousands of years, we have reigned the 9 Realms and we will continue to do so and no prophesied man could take that away from us!"
"But father… have you seen his strength?" Thor then stood up as he glanced at Van, "I was no match against the little man. He might even be stronger than you, father… and if there is anything I have learned to be always true from all the years that I have fought; is that if an opponent of greater strength is fearful and wary of something, then you should too."
"This is not about battles or wars, boy! This is about authority!"
"Oh, it would seem we came right on time."
"Hm!?"
And suddenly, just right after King Odin's words, a loud clap resounded in the air outside. All of the people in the hall looked towards the direction of the sound, only to find a dark-skinned woman being carried in the air by a green-haired woman who… had a pair of wings at her back.
And as soon as the two landed on the hall, a slight bounce could be heard from the dark-skinned woman's colossal bosom.
And as soon as Van saw the pair of jiggling mountains, his eyes quickly widened in surprise as he recognized who the pair belonged to.
"L… Latanya?"
"Latanya? The current leader of the Vanir!?"
"What is she doing here!?"
"It truly is you, Master Van." And without even greeting anyone else, even Odin; Latanya ran and went straight towards where Van was at, immediately embracing him in her arms and drowning him with her pair of glorious mountains.
"T… that's enough, Staff of Asclepius!" And without even a second, Athena forcefully separated the two.
"Tch… You look familiar," Latanya then squinted her eyes as she looked at Athena from head to toe, "Have we met before?"
"Once or twice, a very long time ago. Now please let go of King Evans."
"I suppose you're right," Latanya then let go of Van as her eyes wandered across the hall, "I may be but a servant for Van, but I am still the Queen of the Vanir to these people. So, can anyone brief me on the situation? Why is master Van here?"
"Queen Latanya," Odin then moved from his position, causing small tremors as he approached Latanya, "You are aware that you can not come to the Palace without permission, right? There is a hierarchy here that we must follow, or else chaos is soon to follow."
"You don't get it. Do you, you fucking shit?" Latanya then snarled; slightly surprising King Odin. When he met Latanya before, she seemed like a very calm individual; but now that he was meeting her away from her throne, it would seem that he was the one mistaken,
"Master Van is now here. Chaos? Chaos…
....is the least of your worries."