Chapter 449: Star, Jotunheim (9)

Bestla was the primogenitor of all Giants and the Celestial King of Worldline #801. She also had the potential to become an Emperor. On the other hand, Peter was still a mystery. All that was known about him was that he helped Ithaca’s reincarnation, created the [Seven Cryptical Books of Hsan], and made many preparations all over the Great Universe.

Chang-Sun didn’t know how those two people were linked, but his instincts were telling him that he needed [Peter’s Key] to open up ‘Bestla’s Temple.’

Clink―!

Upon inserting the key into the hole, he heard it interlocking with a lock mechanism. It seemed he was right.

Thuuuuud!

Chang-Sun rotated the key clockwise. The metal gate swung wide open in response, sending powerful tremors to the ground.

[You have found the hidden location ‘Bestla’s Temple’!]

Chang-Sun slowly walked in, finding a cave that looked too ordinary to be called a temple. It was just a vast empty lot with frozen underground water veins. Although it could hold hundreds of people, it didn’t have any expensive grave goods, fancy drawings, an altar, or even a prayer room. It was just a large cave.

The temple was truly ordinary for a temple that worshiped a Celestial King. The hallway that Chang-Sun had come from looked more holy than this temple.

‘The tomb was nothing special either,’

Chang-Sun thought.

He believed that this place was really Bestla’s temple. According to the verses of [Bestla’s Poem] that Chang-Sun had acquired, Bestla liked combat but distanced herself from extravagance and worldly pleasure. Hence, he didn’t find it odd that the places that worshiped her looked simple in respect of her character.

Chang-Sun found an enormous lake at the center of the water veins, its depth and size visually unfathomable. It had to have been quite a sight to behold before it had frozen up.

Tap, tap.

Chang-Sun lightly tapped the surface.

‘No, this lake is of magma, not water. It must have frozen up because of... [Fimbulvetr].’

Certain of his conclusion, Chang-Sun held [Laevateinn] in a reverse grip again.

‘This is it. This is how I can bring spring to the Dungeon.’

Crack!

He thrust [Laevateinn] straight into the frozen magma lake.

Craaaaaack―!

The magma lake was beginning to erupt. Cracks spread on the lake’s surface like a spiderweb, and scarlet flames soared from the openings.

Rummmmble...!

The heat was melting the frozen lake, but it wasn’t enough.

‘It would take a very long time for tectonic movements to start.’

Chang-Sun couldn’t just blindly infuse more fire to melt down the ice lake quicker. Making a mistake in controlling the amount and intensity of the flames could result in even bigger problems.

‘This is going to take a while, but... I have to wait until the ground heats up enough.’

He had to bring spring to and restore its ecosystem. However, while he was considering infusing a little more fire through [Laevateinn], he received a telepathic message from Jin. 『Master! We have a big problem!』

Did something happen? Wondering if it was related to Odin and the others, Chang-Sun quickly looked up and asked,

‘What is it?’

『Something weird showed—fuck!』

Booom! booom!

Chang-Sun could hear faint explosions. Moreover, Jin had so much urgency in his voice that it seemed as if he was witnessing something awful. Looking through Jin’s eyes, he grunted. A tentacle was slowly descending from a huge dimension teleportation gate in the sky.

Ubbo-Sathla had come.

* * *

[An unknown being wishes to indulge in the Dungeon!]

Only one of Ubbo-Sathla’s tentacles had appeared in the ‘Iron Forest.’ Since the Dungeon was only a fragment of an world, even Ubbo-Sathla couldn’t easily invade it without any Causality. However, Chang-Sun knew very well that Ubbo-Sathla wouldn’t let that requirement stop them. Their invasion would soon begin, and once it did, this Dungeon would become their toy, destroying it with a mere tap.

Where. Eat. Him. This. Time.

Ubbo-Sathla’s tentacle searched for Chang-Sun. Judging from the information and energy they released, they seemed determined to eliminate his existence and escape from the sickeningly tiring Rollback loop.

Jin and his Draconic Knights fought as hard as they could to stop the tentacle. Every time Jin swung the [Winter King’s Greatsword], hails of icicles dropped from the sky and blizzards and whirlwinds raged. The Draconic Knights tried to cut the tentacle with their sharp swords as well, but they could only make it flinch. Afterward, it would simply continue what it was doing, completely unscathed.

Even when Jin and the Draconic Knights managed to leave a few wounds on the tentacle, Ubbo-Sathla recovered in a second, which heavily disappointed Jin.

『Where in the world did this come from?! Master! Who in the world have you been fighting?!』 Jin yelled.

Since his memories were deleted every Rollback, all he knew about Ubbo-Sathla was what Chang-Sun had told him. His limited information led him to believe that they were simply up against a tough opponent. Hence, finally meeting Ubbo-Sathla in person brought him indescribable dismay. What Chang-Sun had told him conveyed less than a tenth of how terrifying Ubbo-Sathla actually was.

‘How in the world has he been fighting against this monster?’

Jin clenched his teeth.

’I’m an idiot.’

Despite being Chang-Sun’s subordinate, Jin had no idea what kind of anguish his master had been living with. To make things worse, he had been complaining about his blessings because of his inferiority complex toward Sinmara and his other colleagues.

The resolve to become stronger surged within Jin. With his master using any means necessary to save his subordinates’ world, he couldn’t just keep being a hindrance to him.

Meanwhile, Sinmara activated [War Cry] to raise the Fire Giants’ fighting spirit. 『 warriors! Stand your ground!』

Just like Jin and the Draconic Knights, this was the Fire Giants’ first time meeting this catastrophe. However, unlike the others, the more powerful their opponent was, the stronger their fighting spirit became. Without hesitation, they threw themselves at the tentacle.

Thuuuud!

Rumble―!

The Giants struck the tentacle with their axes and conjured pillars of fire to burn it, creating continuous flashes of light.

Everyone shared the same goal.

―Buy time! Give Master no reason to step in before he finishes his work!

‘Master said that the Outer Celestial shows up sooner with every Rollback.’

‘We’ll be even more out of time than we are now.’

‘We have to do whatever we can to help Master get [Fimbulvetr] now!’

The Fire Giants and Draconic Knights shared the same thought. It was now or never, especially since Bergelmir was very volatile. Although Chang-Sun had gained Bergelmir’s favor with ease in this Rollback because of Skathi, there was no guarantee that it would be the same next time. Considering the chances of Bergelmir dying without handing Chang-Sun the throne would be higher, they might never get another shot to get [Fimbulvetr].

Believing that this was their last and final chance to succeed, the Fire Giants and Draconic Knights did their best to hold the Outer Celestial down while Chang-Sun worked on bringing spring to . Fortunately, their resolve reached the hearts of their master’s other subordinates.『Let us help too!』

[‘Valhalla’ has appeared!]

Qi Gong and the other members soon joined the battle.

『That is

way

too big.』

『I hope you guys weren’t counting us out.』

『So that’s the Outer Celestial that Twilight mentioned, huh? They look scary...』

[All Subordinates of the Celestial ‘Divine Twilight’ have appeared!]

Kali, Crom Cruach, Xerxes, and Baek Gyeo-Ul all fought against the tentacle. The battle dyed the sky red, and the ground, once white with ice and snow, was being tainted little by little too.

Rummble...!

The subordinates' intense battles resulted in innumerable thunderous reverberations and tremors, shaking ‘Bestla’s Temple’ profusely.

“... I should hurry.”

Chang-Sun stood up. He had to finish all his tasks while his subordinates could still buy time for him.Retrieving [Laevateinn] made his heart pound harder.

Badump!

Badump!

The Dungeon shook in rhythm with his heart, seemingly dancing along with his heartbeat.

Thud!

Thud!

Now linked, the temple and [Laevateinn] resonated, and just like with Surtr’s heart, Chang-Sun completed his connection to the Dungeon Core upon awakening the magma lake.

Ooooong―!

Not only could Chang-Sun feel everything in the Dungeon now, but he also gained an omniscient view of its entirety. He could see Ubbo-Sathla and his subordinates fighting, magma flowing underground, gradually heating up the lands and forming tectonic movements, and snow melting and wetting the soil as it amassed into a river. The deceased Yetis’ wishes, Frost Giants’ hopes, Bergelmir’s lament... Chang-Sun could feel all of them and more.

―Us.

―Wake us up.

―Dear Lord.

―Please save us.

―Please.

―We...

Chang-Sun closed his eyes and threw himself into the lake’s cracks.

Splash.

The heat could have melted him as he sank, but it just felt strangely warm to him.

Badump, badump, badump―!

Thud, thud, thud!

As Chang-Sun’s heartbeats became quicker, the interval between the tremors also grew shorter. As this Dungeon’s absolute god, he could now feel everything inside it through his omniscience. If he were to combine it with his omnipotence, he could achieve everything he wanted in this world.

Chang-Sun slowly opened his eyes. His [Gnostic Eye], which was at full power, showed him countless runes swimming in the magma lake. Having been trapped in the lake for eternity, they were eager to leap out.

Chang-Sun activated [Wordwielding].

“Awaken.”

The magma lake grew even more tempestuous as the runes expanded, breaking the shell that bound them.

“Awaken,”

Chang-Sun repeated.

The ground soon swelled and broke open, giving way to the lava surging up beneath it. At the same time, the boiling magma lake exploded, and the runes inside it flooded out, scattering all over the Dungeon to reactivate its laws of nature.

Warm breezes cleared up the weather as the heat continued to melt down the snow, revealing the lands hidden underneath. At the same time, new streams turned into rivers, and seedlings sprouted from the wet ground. As the white world was dyed green, yellow, red, and blue flowers blossomed and danced with the wind.

After what seemed like an eternity, spring had once again come to this world of death, giving birth to new life.

[You have ended the winter of the Dungeon ‘Iron Forest’!]

[The arrival of spring is creating dense forests.]

[You have completed the Dungeon Quest.]

[Having fulfilled the last wish of the old Celestial ‘Death-Bringing Frost Giant’, you have acquired the right to inherit .]

[As a reward...]

...

[You can now create ‘Fimbulvetr’!]

Chang-Sun extended his hand.

“Come.”

The coldness in the ground rushed toward ‘Bestla’s Temple’ in the form of white runes. When Chang-Sun grabbed the mass that they had created upon merging, it grew longer and transformed into a sword.

[‘Fimbulvetr’ has been created!]

[Congratulations! You have successfully ascended the throne of , acquiring all the rights of the Celestial ‘Death-Bringing Frost Giant.’]

[You can now create Frost Giants.]

[You can now awaken the dormant .]

...

Among the numerous messages, the message about getting to create Frost Giants caught his attention the most. This was what he had been wishing for. Having tragically lost themselves in swamps of despair and resentment long ago, the Frost Giants had turned into Anomalies who could no longer remember their true identity. Chang-Sun had to summon them back to this land.

“Awaken.”

A tremor incomparably stronger than the ones before shook the temple.

[ is awakening!]