Player Who Became A Constellation [EN]: Chapter 140

140.

Salad’s eyes widened.

She trembled at the sight of the Flame Giants.

The murderous intent that seemed to crush her entire body was enough to chill her to the bone.

Then, she saw another figure emerge from the collapsed outer wall of the capital.

“…Turam?”

Turam the Destroyer.

His body was rotting, and worms wriggled from various parts of it.

The hero had become a wraith, unable to die.

“…We’ll have to deal with that.”

“He looks strong.”

Kudan and Cancun, gazing at Turam, once a hero but now a wight, readied their swords and warhammers.

Salad also aimed her arrow at Turam.

-Fight.

Cancun, Kudan, and Salad paused.

-Fight.

Turam, now a wight, moved his lips.

He lifted his head and smiled.

-Fight the strong.

Even as a wraith, his conviction had not crumbled.

***

Loki was startled and turned around.

A massive pillar of fire soared from below the mountain range.

‘Is that Surtur? I hope they’re holding him off. But….’

Loki stared at the old man standing tall next to Thrym.

The one clad in white robes.

‘Is that the Holy Emperor?’

A truly pathetic human—no, a being who had given up on being human.

Could such a being dare to threaten Asgard?

「…King of Humans.」

“Yes?”

The Holy Emperor stared at Thrym with a dumbfounded expression.

「You are to kill that one’s subordinates along with Surtur. If you fail, you die by my hand.」

The Holy Emperor looked down at the mountain range, at a place slightly away from the capital.

A fortress was visible, and magic emanated from it.

It was visible from this distance, so one could imagine how fierce the battle was.

“Ah, I understand.”

The Holy Emperor nodded.

Because now was the perfect opportunity to escape.

Holy Emperor Palis quickly left the spot.

Loki watched the Holy Emperor’s retreating figure and turned his head, just in time to see Thrym leaping forward and swinging his fist.

“Jormungandr! Fenrir!”

At Loki’s cry, jet-black beasts poured out from his armor and charged at Thrym.

They opened their maws to tear at Thrym’s arms, legs, torso, and face.

「Useless!」

Thrym swung his fist and directly blasted Fenrir and Jormungandr, causing them to vanish.

Loki was startled by how easily his skill was blocked, but he raised Gungnir [Loki’s magical spear].

A fist struck Gungnir.

A clear metallic sound rang out, and Loki was sent flying.

‘Heavy!’

Even as he barely managed to plant his feet on the ground and regain his balance, Thrym relentlessly swung his fists, attacking.

It was hard to believe he had such powerful fists considering his massive size.

Loki was barely blocking or dodging them.

Thrym slammed his fist down.

The massive fist crushed Loki, and Thrym seized the opportunity to continue striking him.

His movements were unskilled, lacking combat experience. It was a natural result of being confined to a cave prison without any battle experience.

But such clumsiness didn’t matter, as he possessed agility and immense power.

「Pathetic!! Loki! You are pathetic!」

Thrym withdrew his fist and stomped down with his foot.

He crushed Loki as if stomping on a bug, grinding his foot left and right.

Thrym, judging it was enough, lifted his foot.

There lay Loki, sprawled out.

The armor he wore was broken, and his crimson cloak was torn.

The goat helmet was half-destroyed, collapsing.

Most of Loki’s body began to freeze.

「Ha! You said you were our creator? The chief of demons who would lead us? The god of evil who would bring about Ragnarok [the end of the world in Norse mythology]? Your current state is none of those things!」

Thrym grabbed Loki and lifted him up.

He brought Loki close to his massive face to get a better look.

Only faint red glints and pupils were staring directly at Thrym.

Seeing this, Thrym shook his head, wearing a pitiful expression.

「You are weak. Loki! The vanguard of Ragnarok, who would bring the world to its end, is just such a being!」

“……”

「I waited for only you in the prison. Your strength, your cruelty, your greatness…! I yearned to see you destroy the world with that power and recreate it! But you disappoint me, Loki.」

“……”

「Not only did you betray us, but you’ve become so weak by associating with vermin!」

“……”

Suddenly, a strike of light pierced Thrym from behind.

「Kuaaaak!」

Thrym’s eyes rolled back.

‘Loki?’

Behind him, Loki was stabbing him with a spear.

‘Then who is this?’

Thrym turned his head to look at the Loki he was holding.

The Loki he was holding melted away and disappeared.

‘…A fake?’

An illusion? But the sensation was real…!

This is….

“Utgard!”

Utgard’s illusion magic.

A skill that creates illusions identical to the real thing.

Because it even had sensation, it was difficult to see through the illusion.

「That bastard betrayed me!」

Loki pulled out the spear. Light was inscribed on the spear.

And when he stabbed again, Thrym’s back exploded.

Gungnir was embedded in Thrym’s back.

“…Burn.”

Black flames spread from Thrym’s back to his entire body.

「Ugh!」

Thrym turned around and threw Loki to the ground.

Loki’s body bounced away after being slammed down roughly.

「Loki! What exactly are you…!」

Thrym staggered back and knelt down. The scorching flames on his body were trapped in ice, and then shattered and fell away.

「…What exactly are you doing this for?!」

“…You know very well, don’t you, Thrym? The world you spoke of is a world of nothing but boredom. Our goals are different.”

Frost formed all over Thrym’s body, and a white blizzard arose.

That was an expression of Thrym’s anger.

“Thrym, be captured by me and stay quietly in the underworld. Then I will spare you.”

Thrym’s eye muscles twitched at Loki’s words.

「Spare me? You make amusing jokes, Loki! Do you think you can win in my domain? Do you believe you can overwhelm me just because you learned some magic from Utgard!?」

Thrym laughed heartily.

Ice giants gathered around Loki.

If they joined, subduing Loki would be easy.

「Stop bluffing, Loki! You’re being ridiculous, gloating just because you landed one hit!」

Thrym clenched both fists, and Loki also gripped his spear.

Soon after, they charged at each other and became entangled.

In the meantime, other ice giants joined in, pressuring Loki.

The spear struck Thrym’s body.

Ice fists slammed into Loki’s body.

Blood flowed from various parts of Thrym’s body, melting like water, and chunks of ice fell off.

Loki’s armor was broken, and blood flowed from his entire body.

Both were severely injured, but Thrym was recovering from those injuries through the surrounding environment.

Loki was overwhelmingly at a disadvantage.

Loki threw Gungnir, and Thrym slammed his hand down.

In a strike where each gave their all…

Cracks formed on Thrym’s hand, and Gungnir bounced away. Thrym’s fist slammed down on Loki.

The earth caved in, and the mountain range trembled.

Even the blizzard that had been raging for a moment disappeared.

“…Cough!”

Blood spurted from Loki’s mouth.

Due to the impact of being driven deep into the mountain range, his armor shattered.

「…It’s over.」

Thrym took a deep breath and looked down at Loki.

Ice giants gathered around Loki.

They grabbed Loki’s body and lifted him up.

They lifted Loki, who was hanging limply with his arms restrained.

Thrym sneered as he looked at Loki, whose pupils were faintly trembling.

「Is this the ending you wanted? Even if you were in a disadvantageous situation, to be beaten so unilaterally. How unsightly!」

Thrym grabbed Loki’s entire body.

Loki’s body gradually began to freeze.

「When I first fought you, you were overwhelming, but now I have won instead.」

Loki groaned.

「Loki, I will not kill you now. I will make you into an ice ornament. On the day the world is destroyed, I will shatter your body as a 기념 [Korean: Commemoration/Memento].」

Breath flowed from Loki’s mouth.

Cold. So very cold!

His entire body was freezing.

From his toes to his fingertips, his body, neck, and face were gradually frosting over and freezing.

Even the blood in his body was gradually freezing, threatening Loki’s ‘life.’

‘Death’ was approaching.

Realizing this, Loki…smiled, confident in his victory.

“…Thank you, Thrym.”

「……?」

“For pushing me to the brink of death.”

It was when Thrym was making a puzzled expression.

Thrym’s ice hand gradually became warmer. No, it was becoming hotter, beyond warm.

Eventually, his hand melted, and black flames bloomed.

Thrym reflexively let go.

Loki’s armor began to regenerate.

Black flames blazed all over his body, covering the surrounding area in black flames.

“I clearly gave you a chance, and you rejected it. Therefore, from now on, I will use all my power to trample you.”

Around him, space-time twisted, and something transparent appeared.

They were numerous books.

‘That’s…!?’

Thrym stared at the golden books floating in the air, frozen in place.

“I am your creator. For me, 攻略 [Korean: to capture/conquer] you is nothing.”

Loki’s eyes curved like a crescent moon.

It was a clear ‘mockery’ directed at the being in front of him.

It meant he was ‘underestimating’ his opponent.

“Therefore, subduing you is easy.”

‘Utgard’s multiple magic!?’

Storing Utgard’s vast magic as skill books, a skill that allows temporary use.

Could it be that Utgard taught him all of his magic, which could be said to be his everything!

‘Dangerous!’

Thrym knew best how he would be dealt with using that.

「Loki-!」

Loki’s skill books unfolded.

One of the skills learned from Utgard.

A skill where the written skill book is activated just by reciting the incantation.

“Physical Enhancement.”

Enhance physical strength.

One book became light and permeated Loki’s body.

“Speed Enhancement.”

Enhance agility.

Another book became light and permeated Loki’s body.

“Nerve Enhancement.”

Enhance reaction nerve speed.

“Defense Enhancement.”

Enhance defensive durability.

“Cold Resistance.”

Enhance resistance to ice.

“Fire Attribute Amplification.”

Enhance attack power against fire.

“Penetration Enhancement.”

Enhance the penetration power of magic skills and physical attacks.

“Magic Time Reduction.”

Reduce magic cooldown time.

“Recovery Enhancement.”

Increase physical recovery speed.

“Impact Vampirism.”

Enhance regeneration proportional to the impact received.

“Impact Reflection.”

Reflect a certain amount of impact back to the enemy.

“Flame Sonata.”

A wide-range flame attack skill.

“Fire Arrow.”

A skill that creates fire arrows.

“Sea of Flames.”

A skill that covers the surrounding area with flames.

“Sword Seal.”

A skill that summons a sword of light to pierce the opponent and seal their movements.

The more he recited the incantation, the more books that became light permeated Loki’s body.

Thrym stared blankly at the skill books that were disappearing one by one.

He was so flustered that he couldn’t make a proper judgment.

The thought of stopping Loki filled his head, but his body couldn’t react in time.

‘He mastered all of Utgard’s skills?’

And if he temporarily uses all the skills simultaneously with multiple magic…?

With Loki holding the god-level item Gungnir, he was on par with Thrym.

And Thrym had filled the surrounding area with a cold aura to suit himself in order to gain an advantage.

But if the opponent becomes stronger than he anticipated…? Not just one or two skills, but armed with dozens?

An unbeatable being would be born.

‘Do you think I’ll just stand still!’

Thrym hurriedly swung his hand and struck Loki.

Loki was too defenseless right now. Besides, he was critically injured.

Now was the perfect opportunity to drive him away.

‘I have to get rid of him! If I miss him here, he will become even stronger and come to subdue me!’

If that happens, there is no chance of winning. So, I’ll end it here!

Even as Thrym thought that, he was startled by the sensation he felt from his fist.

The frosty mist disappeared, and Loki’s figure was visible.

「……!」

Loki punched out, meeting Thrym’s fist head-on.

Loki, who was specialized in magic and wide-area skills, exerted power equal to Thrym’s attack, who was specialized in physical attacks.

“Phase 2 begins, Thrym.”