Chapter 132: Who Am I? I Have Left Many Names in Human History...
An era nearly two thousand years before the gods decreed the end of humanity.
A lone figure was conducting research on a massive corpse, delving deep into its secrets.
Suddenly, his body stiffened slightly.
"This is truly troublesome."
A new set of memories had surfaced.
To propose such a scheme to induce [Ragnarök]—how utterly wicked.
At that moment, the flames in the workshop flickered subtly, causing slight fluctuations in the surrounding light.
Some areas brightened slightly, while others darkened.
Such shifts would normally go unnoticed. Even if someone did notice, they would assume it was just the wind seeping through a crack, making the flames waver.
The next instant, the short blade in his hand tore through the air, plunging into a shadow untouched by light. The blade sank into the stone floor as effortlessly as if piercing tofu, vanishing instantly.
That shadow had felt darker than the others to him. Just before the blade struck, the shadow dodged.
It writhed, then took the form of a figure.
The intruder clapped in admiration—surprised that their presence had been detected.
Before they could speak, he called out their name directly, leaving them stunned.
Then, he curled his lips into a mischievous smirk and made the following proposal to the other party.
"How about we bully a Valkyrie? Let's make a bet while we're at it."
Within Akasha.
A beautiful figure was continuously eating an extremely unpleasant specially-made salty licorice pie.
After stuffing the last piece between her lips, she swept all the plates off the table with both hands, the resulting clatter startling her youngest sister outside the door.
Summoning the Akasha system, she pulled up a character profile.
In the next second, her slender, jade-white fingers began violently stabbing at a button.
Yet, the system showed no response—this figure could not be summoned.
Damn it—!
Bang—!
She slammed her fist down hard before collapsing forward, burying her face in her arms.
"Big Sister Brunhilde, it's broken! It's broken!"
Göll's flustered voice rang in her ears.
What's broken?
She didn't want to deal with anything right now.
"Get out, or I'll break you instead."
"Huh? Break me? No, no—the Akasha system got messed up when you hit it!"
This made Brunhilde pause and lift her head to look.
The displayed window flickered with interference-like static, as if it were about to glitch out completely.
Uh... the Akasha system isn't that fragile, is it?
The next instant, it completely distorted, like an old-fashioned black-and-white television from the last century.
No way!
She pressed a few buttons—no response?
"Oh no, it's really broken! Big Sister Brunhilde, who should we call to fix this?"
Göll was at a loss.
If the system was broken, what would they do about the upcoming match?
Suddenly, her sister slammed it again with full force.
"Big Sister, what are you doing?!"
Göll couldn't help but shriek.
"I remember humans used to fix their black-and-white TVs by hitting them hard. It usually worked."
Oh, so that's it.
Those ancient relics did often have that kind of problem—a good smack would fix them.
Wait, no!
"That's not it! This is the Akasha system, it's not the same as a human TV!"
She almost got tricked into agreeing with her sister's ridiculous logic, so to prevent further nonsense, Göll stepped in front to block her.
"Move. Let me hit it, and it'll work again."
"It won't!!"
"Big Sister Hrist, everyone—come in and hold her back!!!"
And so, the other sisters rushed in to restrain their eldest sister.
Seeing Brunhilde gradually calm down under their grip, Göll finally let out a sigh of relief.
Suddenly, her sister's eyes widened as she stared at her, her expression turning downright sinister, freezing Göll in place.
No—it wasn't just Brunhilde. All her sisters' expressions had changed, their gazes turning hostile.
Wh-what's with the looks? What did she do wrong?
"There's no need to be so tense. We are not enemies, Brunhilde."
A voice spoke up from behind Göll, making her jump like a startled cat, her hair standing on end.
The figure in the black robe was entirely dark inside, as if the layers depicting any exposed limbs or features had been painted over, leaving only the clothing—giving the illusion of an empty shell.
Noticing her staring, the figure reached out and patted her head.
"Eeek!!!"
Göll let out an adorable shriek of terror.
Huh? She didn't feel the touch—his hand had passed right through her?
After a moment of stunned silence, Göll finally realized—was the other party a hologram?
A hologram?
Could it be that the Akasha system wasn't broken by her sister, but had been hacked?
"Who are you?" Brunhilde asked in a low voice.
"Who am I? I've left many names in human history, and we've met quite a few times," the other replied with amusement.
Brunhilde, of course, had no recollection whatsoever. How could she possibly deduce anything from such vague information?
"Our first meeting was in the 27th century BC, followed by the 10th century BC, and so on."
Those words made Brunhilde's pupils constrict.
"Was it you who lured me into seeking out those kings?"
The reason those kings were so extraordinary might have been due to this mysterious figure's assistance behind the scenes.
This person must have been close to those kings—whether as a guard, a minister, or something else—but Brunhilde couldn't immediately pinpoint who it might have been.
So, what was this person's true identity?
Could it be—
"I am not aligned with the Primordial Gods. On the contrary, I am their enemy."
Reading her thoughts, the figure denied her speculation outright.
"Right now, I need the assistance of you Valkyries. Among the gods, you Valkyries are the least watched by the Primordial Gods. I need you to open the Celestial Gate connecting the pantheons to the human world at the critical moment."
That was the request for assistance.
Open the pantheons' gate?
The gate of all divine pantheons?
Can just the thirteen of them really open the gates among so many pantheons?
In truth, the Valkyries aren't limited to just these thirteen. However, these thirteen are the most representative—sisters bound by close ties.
Every pantheon has demigods akin to Valkyries, tasked in the past with guiding humans from the mortal world to become divine soldiers. Thus, they also possess the authority to open the gates.
This person was demanding that she rally all the Valkyries to open the gates connecting to the human world!
What was the purpose of this?
Invasion!
"Why should I do this?"
Then, with a wave of the other's hand, a character panel appeared before Brunhilde.
That gray button—it actually lit up.