Odin Descends

Bang!

A heavier thud came from the roof, as if something had slammed down onto it. The entire Maybach dipped slightly under the impact.

Then a tearing sound spread across the roof as the shadows tried to rip through the metal.

At the racket, Chu Zihang felt his breathing grow erratic. His mind went blank.

The situation was critical. Chu Tianjiao said gravely, "Zihang, buckle your seat belt. No matter what happens, hold on tight and don't let go. And don't look in the rearview mirror again."

Chu Zihang clutched the handle on the door with all his strength. He forced himself to look straight ahead, but he couldn't completely avoid the scene outside the side window.

More and more shadows clambered over the car, piled on top of one another and writhing, their presence suffocating.

Lu Mingfei sat beside him in the same languid pose as before, but his smile had grown broader, shifting from disdain to anticipation.

"Dad, they're coming in."

Chu Zihang finally couldn't hold back a low growl.

He saw spiderweb cracks appearing in the window beside him as the shadows pressed against it with frenzied force.

Clearly, the car window wouldn't hold much longer.

"Sit tight."

Chu Tianjiao barked as he wrenched the steering wheel. The Maybach's massive frame skidded dangerously across the elevated road, briefly shaking off the shadows clinging to one side.

But it was no use. More shadows pounced on the car.

Then something even more despairing happened.

He'd already lost track of how long his father had been driving at full speed, yet this stretch of elevated road seemed endless. They still hadn't made it through.

And the darkness crawling across the road ahead had been replaced by what looked like a silver ocean.

Chu Tianjiao reached into the car door and pulled out a Japanese sword. As he drew it from its sheath, rippling patterns surfaced along the blade like autumn waters.

Then he sheathed it again.

"Why a Japanese sword?" Dragon Clan Duyang wondered, but quickly put the thought aside and said, "Uncle Chu, turn left at the intersection up ahead. Don't look at the road signs."

Chu Zihang abruptly turned to look at Lu Mingfei, his eyes full of disbelief.

The navigation was down, and visibility was poor. How could he know there was an intersection up ahead, let alone direct them?

"Lu Mingfei, don't go making things up!"

What shocked Chu Zihang even more was that Chu Tianjiao didn't question him. The instant Lu Mingfei finished speaking, Chu Tianjiao twisted the hand gripping the wheel, floored the accelerator, and sent the Maybach roaring toward what looked like a stretch blocked by a concrete barrier.

Boom!

The Maybach seemed to plunge through a viscous curtain of water, or cross some invisible boundary.

The scene outside the windows warped and shifted. The shadows that had been pounding and clawing at the car vanished without a trace.

Chu Zihang's face lit up with delight. He turned excitedly to Lu Mingfei and said, "That's incredible, Lu Mingfei! We finally made it out. How did you know where the exit was?"

Only then did Lu Mingfei turn to him. Looking at Chu Zihang as if he were an idiot, he said, "Who said we made it out? Look ahead."

At those words, Chu Zihang's face froze. He looked ahead.

It was still an elevated road, only even stranger than before. The streetlights looked ancient, casting a pale, dim glow that barely illuminated the wet road.

The rain hadn't let up, but under the pallid streetlights, the raindrops seemed to turn into gray dust.

On both sides was still a bottomless darkness, but its texture had changed. It looked more like the gloom that had seeped out of some hidden realm over thousands of years.

"Where... are we?"

Chu Zihang's voice was hoarse. He still gripped the handle tightly, his body beginning to tremble.

Chu Tianjiao didn't answer right away. Instead, he brought the car to an abrupt stop.

His chest rose and fell as he stared at the small patch of light carved out by the headlights, his gaze sharp as a blade.

It was as if the shadows they'd just escaped had been nothing more than an appetizer, and something truly dangerous waited at the end of this road.

Chu Tianjiao sighed. "Young man, I knew you weren't ordinary, but I didn't expect you young people to be this reckless."

That's right. Chu Tianjiao thought Lu Mingfei had been giving him directions.

In reality, Lu Mingfei was guiding Chu Tianjiao along the fastest route to collide with Odin.

After all, only by paying the host a visit before leaving the funeral would they be showing proper manners.

Put simply, once Odin was dealt with, they'd be able to get through.

Du Yang had come here for Odin in the first place.

Chu Zihang was completely baffled. He couldn't understand how he'd been swept up in such a supernatural phenomenon.

And the two people in the car—his father and Lu Mingfei—spoke as if in riddles, leaving him utterly confused.

The Maybach's headlights pierced the rain-soaked night ahead like swords, a night that seemed eternal.

At the farthest edge of the headlights' reach, the road seemed to fork. In the center of the junction stood the hazy silhouette of a huge figure on horseback, clad in heavy armor. It silently blocked the road, holding what seemed to be a long-shafted weapon.

Lu Mingfei's eyelashes stirred.

Chu Tianjiao tightened his grip on the Japanese sword, his heart nearly leaping out of his chest.

The huge figure slowly approached them, finally revealing its true appearance.

And the instant it came into view, a blinding white light burst forth.

The dazzling light made Chu Zihang squeeze his eyes shut. It was utterly outrageous.

Being bathed in that light felt like praying to a god in a Christian cathedral, beseeching the deity to descend in person. It shone with a grand, glorious radiance.

But in such a bizarre place, it was hard to imagine that whatever appeared would be a benevolent, legitimate god.

Only after Chu Zihang had managed to adjust to the light could he make out what stood before them.

It was a giant like a god, surrounded by white light and clad in dark golden armor.

A metal mask covered its face, etched with strange patterns. Its mount was a burly steed with eight legs.

Even the enormous eight-legged horse wore elaborate, heavy metal armor. Light shone from its coat like the gleam of jewels.

As it advanced, it struck the onlooker with an overwhelming force.

Chu Zihang shuddered as he stared at the giant, lamp-like eyes beneath the metal mask.

Then an even more terrifying sight appeared. The shadows Chu Zihang had thought were gone now surged behind the godlike giant like a tide.

The shadows were no longer frenzied. They wore black clothes, and golden light shone from their hollow, pale eyes.

Chu Tianjiao stroked Murasama. Even though he was terrified out of his mind, he still had to act calm in front of his son.

Then he let out a breath, got out of the car with his sword, and said the same to his son:

"Get out. We've already been targeted. No matter how far we drive, we won't get out."