An eye for an eye

Two hours ago--

Nidhogg's black mist enveloped the entire Scandinavian Lostbelt, even Skadi within the barrier was not spared. The barrier she constructed was closely connected to the Lostbelt, and as its maintainer, the power of the black mist inevitably corrupted her.

"My memories have been tampered with? No, this thing has been influencing the entire Lostbelt from the outside world all along. I'm afraid those who left the Scandinavian Lostbelt have already unknowingly lost their memories of Nidhogg."

"How many times has this happened already?"

Countless faces appeared in Skadi's mind. After Surtr was sealed away, many people from other Lostbelt sensed the world-ending crisis here and set off to try to resolve it.

In the end, those who set aside their Lostbelt between Lostbelts mostly died at Nidhogg's hands. For this evil dragon, despair was its lifeblood, its unchangeable essence. Therefore, it chose the means that could be used to its fullest extent.

The Ice Goddess felt a chill, not the biting cold of solid ice, but the sensation of a knife slowly cutting through flesh, carefully avoiding blood vessels, slicing life into small pieces like a steak.

Nidhogg seemed to know of her existence, Skadi could see everything happening outside, watching her side fall into dire straits. Countless times, she had watched with hope as the arriving warriors set off, hoping to resolve the Lostbelt, only to have that hope ultimately be swallowed by the evil dragon.

"Hey, they really don't have any defensive measures at all. That evil dragon is quite resourceful."

A flirtatious female voice came from the palace entrance. A young woman with long, snow-white hair and boots, dressed in a black and white swan gown, strolled in and looked around as if she were visiting a tourist attraction.

"Hmm, it seems I can't move at all."

"Who are you? There's no one like you in the Valkyrie. Did you infiltrate my barrier?"

"Yes, even a deity of your caliber, weakened to this extent, would find it difficult to conceal. So I borrowed this ceremonial attire for a moment. But the design of this attire is far too daring. Is Odin some lecherous old man?"

Fran gently stroked the exposed area of her swan-themed dress, accidentally tearing flesh open with her fingers.

What do you want here?

Skadi asked coldly, her divine majesty still overwhelming despite her poor condition. But Fran showed no sign of backing down; like a dancer, she somersaulted to Skadi's side, facing the last Northern Europe deity.

"What do I want to do? With an irresistible ice queen in front of me, do I even need to ask?"

Upon hearing this, Skadi gritted her teeth, her pretty face contorted with anger. But the next moment, Fran pulled a piece of flesh from his own body, pried open Skadi's clenched teeth, and inserted the small piece of flesh.

"Ugh, you damned thing! How dare you make me... wait, recovered?"

Just as Skadi was about to lash out, she realized she had broken free from the influence of Nidhogg's black mist. Fran sat on her long table and shook her bloodstained fingers.

"It's not restoration. I can't handle this level of curse. It's just deceiving your mind. Strictly speaking, it's an illusion. With your body, you'll probably realize you've been deceived in about a day and then return to that state."

"One day is enough. Why are you helping me?"

"The reason is simple: I find playing with a doll incredibly boring... Just kidding. Although I'm not interested in Human Order or the world, that guy's behavior is just too dull."

Fran flicked the blood off his fingers and looked up at the black dragon that Shrouding Heaven and Blotting Out the Sun the sky in the Projection Magecraft.

"If that guy gets his way, the whole world will probably end up like what you just saw, right? That would be so boring, you might as well be dead. A drama with no plot twists, just pure darkness—no matter how well it's acted, you'll get tired of it eventually, won't you?"

And wouldn't it be really interesting if the guy who planned everything until the very end failed at the last step?

So... let me lend you a hand.

Fran bent down, revealing a sinister smile, as if the devil had produced a contract that said, "Sign this and all your wishes will be granted."

But at this point, Skadi couldn't care less about anything else. The situation had already turned into a tornado, and even the slightest change would be a good thing.

"That's decisive! I should have used a different method to relieve you earlier. You know, the jejunum absorbs nutrients two to four times faster than oral administration!"

"Your dirty jokes are like a child reading a textbook compared to Loki's. If you're hoping to see me embarrassed, you're in for a disappointment."

Faced with Fran's words, a normal woman would have been filled with shame and indignation, but Skadi's long life experience in front of her greatly diminished Fran's interest.

"This is boring. Bai Mo is much cuter. Alright, how much magic power do you have left? Hand it all over. Casting spells on those guys outside isn't as simple as you think."

"Don't worry, I've always been frugal, and the amount I've preserved is more than enough. It's just that waking them all up now wouldn't really help the situation. But judging from your expression, you seem to have other methods up your sleeve."

"Of course, but that depends on that lady."

Skadi had reserved a great deal of magical power, which she had accumulated little by little over the long years in preparation for any eventuality. Then, with the help of Fran's spell, she temporarily restored Ophelia, the Electric Eye, and Sigurd.

"Strange, why can't Ortlinde recover? Is there something wrong with her?"

Her first choice was Ortlinde, who could control Gullfaxi, but after activating it, she found that Ortlinde was still lying on the ground, motionless. In the end, she had to settle for second best.

This is why Ophelia and the Electric Eye were able to temporarily escape from Nidhogg's black mist. But what could they do? One was a fairly good Magecraft, and the other had 600,000 horsepower in the Electric Eye. Even though Surtr was in the worst possible condition, with 970,000 horsepower in power, a single roar from the Electric Eye could turn them into bloody scum.

Ophelia looked at Surtr before her, staring fearlessly into Surtr eyes. Even though she felt so insignificant in his presence, as an intelligent being, as a human being, she still possessed her own dignity, no matter how small she was.

"Sirius Light, activate! Surtr, now is the time to repay you for everything you've done to me! I will show no mercy in this battle!"

A dazzling light burst forth, and from the shadows, Fran silently appeared behind her and cupped her face in his hands.

"That's quite a bold move. In that case, just wait and see. What happens next is going to be very interesting. If you show this to Odin and Loki from the Pan-Human History, they'll laugh themselves silly!"