Bonus chapter thanks to @Geoffrey and @urbanjudge from Ko-fi!!
Hela watched Frondier absorb the shard.
‘Stupid fool.’
That was all she could think.
Hela knew about Frondier’s “Black Lotus.” She assumed he would use that artifact to absorb the fragment.
However, the Fragment of Helheim wasn’t just liquid trapped within a glacier.
Helheim itself represented a world, and the fragment was a passage connecting Helheim to this continent.
As long as the world of Helheim remained intact, the liquid would flow endlessly from the shard.
Even if he did, trying to absorb all that liquid… Hela frowned at Frondier’s actions.
He should have already tasted it at the barrier. The effect of absorbing the black monster’s magic. It wasn’t something a human could withstand.
Of course, it was strange that Frondier absorbed the black monster in the first place, but the Fragment of Helheim was beyond that level.
If the black monster was somewhat neutralized to have a monster structure, the shard was the raw essence itself.
He must have anticipated it. He must have already known the pain.
And yet he did that again?
‘He’s either more foolish than I imagined, or more insane.’
Hela saw the liquid flowing from the glacier all rush towards Frondier. It was certainly Frondier’s intention. He wanted it.
And before Frondier, swallowed by the liquid, Selena cried out, screaming.
‘Was he trying to save that woman?’
It was strange. From the information she had heard, the man named Frondier had extremely limited interpersonal relationships. He didn’t seem like the type to sacrifice his life for someone.
Moreover, the sight of the rescued person crying and calling out Frondier’s name was extremely bizarre.
The act of people building affection with each other, starting from myths and throughout history, was humanity’s greatest weapon and greatest weakness.
If Frondier had shown deep love for someone, the gods would have targeted that person first.
It would be easier for their powers to work on them than on someone like Frondier, who had no faith at all.
‘Well, it’s a meaningless story now.’
Covered by the shard, Frondier had completely disappeared. By now, the souls of all the dead in Helheim would be fighting to possess Frondier’s body. Meanwhile, Frondier’s original soul would have been torn apart and gone.
Unfortunately, with his soul in that state, Frondier wouldn’t be able to come to this Helheim, let alone Valhalla. That’s what true death must be like.
Even Hela, who ruled the underworld called Hel, didn’t know what awaited after the soul, not the body, was torn apart.
‘Let’s take a quick look.’
Hela closed and opened her eyes once.
As Hela, who had temporarily borrowed the sight of a human, looked directly with her own eyes, she saw countless souls rushing towards Frondier’s body.
[As expected, they’re fighting hard.]
Not all the dead tried to take Frondier’s body just because he was swallowed by the fragment.
Most of the proper souls were more or less content with their lives in Helheim. Above all, they knew that coveting someone else’s body wouldn’t end well.
The ones currently rushing to possess Frondier’s body were mere ghosts and wraiths.
They were just specters who wanted to regain their lives and had no other purpose, decaying souls.
However, even if they were just ghosts, their numbers had already exceeded tens of thousands and become uncountable. Among them, Frondier’s soul couldn’t even be felt.
[Still, it seems like a decent body. There is an overwhelming number that is incomparable to those who covet other bodies.]
Hela was honestly impressed by the number of ghosts pouring in like waves. It was rare to see such a number gathered at once. Even if Hela herself guided them, it wouldn’t be easy to gather this many.
The specters bit, scratched, and punched each other, killing each other to possess the body.
However, if a specter didn’t have proper consciousness, it would lose its form, and ghosts, in particular, had a much stronger tendency for this.
Some died from each other’s wounds, some mixed and stuck together. From there, monsters that could no longer be considered souls or ghosts were created.
It was impossible for ghosts to maintain their sanity while being swallowed into each other’s consciousness. The monsters born from sticking together couldn’t be expected to have proper reason or thought.
Since all consciousnesses were mixed together, they didn’t have consciousness.
Since all thoughts were all there, they didn’t think.
Since they tried to act in all directions at once, they didn’t act.
As a result, the soul that would possess Frondier’s body wouldn’t be able to act like Frondier, let alone do anything human-like, and would become a cripple. The end of a specter.
[Soon.]
The ghosts had all mixed together, the fight had stopped, and they were clumped together, expanding and contracting repeatedly. It was like cheese gratin bubbling.
The collection of ghosts that had become monsters swelled and subsided repeatedly, but ultimately, they were getting smaller. As if adjusting to Frondier’s body.
Hela shook her head. It was quite a sight to see, but she quickly got bored. More than anything, it was a sight that Hela herself had seen many times.
The number of specters trying to possess Frondier was much larger than before, but that was all.
‘Baldur warned me so much, so I had a little expectation.’
What was this?
She just watched a suicide show.
Of course, she wanted to say that it was impressive for a human to cross the barrier, reach the shard, and break it, but since Hela had lured him in that way in the first place, it was meaningless.
[Then shall we go back… hmm?]
Hela was about to turn her gaze away when she inadvertently discovered something.
It was Frondier’s workshop.
‘Come to think of it, he gathered people and floated them in the air. So they wouldn’t touch the fragment.’
Hela glanced at the workshop for a moment.
The large building still floating in the air.
‘…Wait a minute.’
Why was that building still floating?
No, why did that building still exist in the first place?
That was Frondier’s skill, wasn’t it?
Now that Frondier was dead, why was it still—
‘!’
With that thought, Hela looked at Frondier’s body again.
His body, where souls were tangled together, trying to possess him.
Hela still couldn’t feel Frondier, but there was only one thing that explained the current phenomenon.
‘Is he still alive?’
* * *
Laurie asked nervously, “A settlement that only I can make?”
To be honest, Laurie had nothing to give Frondier right now.
She couldn’t possibly afford to pay for all of these people’s lives.
‘Surely not.’
Laurie unconsciously moved her arm forward a little.
When a man tells a woman that he owes her something, there’s one thing that naturally comes to mind. And Laurie was well aware of her own appearance.
That’s why she lives her daily life wearing a mask of an ordinary and unremarkable face. Her natural appearance is too striking and memorable.
“If you’re saying my body is the goal,”
“No.”
His response was immediate. Frondier spoke as if he had anticipated such a misunderstanding.
Feeling somewhat embarrassed, Laurie pouted her lips.
“Then what is it?”
“I’ll propose two conditions, and if you agree,”
“…I’ll listen before I decide.”
Laurie tried to act tough, half-expecting another intense glare from Frondier, but he didn’t press further and simply raised a finger.
“First, you must answer my questions honestly.”
Laurie frowned. The first condition was already challenging.
Being a member of the secret agency, she naturally had many secrets that needed to be kept. Spilling them carelessly was worse than dying alone.
The very existence of their agency could be jeopardized if any information was leaked, considering the value of their lives.
“…No.”