Chapter 8 Jörmungandr’s Simple Amusement

 

Hero.

 

One day, the human realm opened to the demon realm, and with it, humans were born. To be precise, they were beings who received the stigmata of the goddess.

 

They weren’t exclusive to just the human race.

 

Elves, dwarves, beastmen.

 

Among the many races, only a very few received the stigmata of the goddess and became heroes.

 

They had various characteristics, but the most important one was their potential to surpass the limits of their species.

 

To be exact, all the limits of their species were shattered.

 

Even with training, there were limits.

 

No matter how much a human tried, they couldn’t live without breathing.

 

But a hero could.

 

Of course, it wasn’t an easy feat.

 

But if they endured trials that constantly tried to break them, they would become stronger, like steel becoming tougher under the blacksmith’s hammer.

 

Aside from that, the stigmata bestowed by the goddess had unique traits.

 

These traits were determined by the person’s nature and could be seen as characteristics that represented the hero.

 

In that sense.

 

The Hero of Nobility,

 

Asgard, was very satisfied with his title.

 

Nobility.

 

Didn’t it sound like a hero from legends who nobly saved everyone?

 

For Asgard, who had dreamed of becoming a hero and protecting everyone since childhood, the title of Hero of Nobility was like a dream come true.

 

So he worked hard every moment.

 

He infiltrated a village swallowed by beasts, saved everyone within a month, and killed the beasts. He purified land contaminated by monsters and reclaimed lost territory.

 

Everyone praised him.

 

However, he couldn’t become the strongest.

 

There were too many excellent ancient heroes, and unlike those heroes, he didn’t form a party.

 

The reason he didn’t form a party was simple.

 

He didn’t want to lose precious people anymore.

 

So he always traveled alone.

 

People sometimes called him the Hero of Solitude, but he didn’t care much.

 

In fact, it was good.

 

The title of solitude became a wall that kept people from approaching him.

 

He rejected all offers.

 

Some kingdoms even offered their daughters to have him stay, but he refused.

 

He was afraid of having someone precious.

 

He couldn’t deny being called a coward.

 

He was trapped by past traumas and constantly tormented by the compulsion to save someone.

 

That’s why.

 

He rejected all offers of support.

 

Being affiliated with somewhere meant he couldn’t save people in places his feet couldn’t reach.

 

He was a wandering adventurer.

 

Thus, he traveled the world, saving those in distress.

 

He didn’t need rewards.

 

The sight of people smiling gratefully after receiving help and villages regaining their vitality was enough.

 

With that warmth, he could raise his sword again.

 

After wandering the world for several years, this time, his steps brought him to one of the mountains in the Demonic Realm, where monsters endlessly appeared.

 

A mountain strangely devoid of monsters.

 

So Asgard found it suspicious. In a mountain where monsters constantly thrived, the only place with few monsters? It meant a powerful beast was born there.

 

So he climbed the mountain.

 

And when he discovered an unusually suspicious cave, his instincts screamed loudly.

 

Telling him not to go in there.

 

That he would surely die if he went in.

 

It felt like all his nerves were standing on end. Thus, he tried to turn back. There was no one he needed to save in such a mountain, and he wasn’t a foolish human who gambled with his life.

 

“Wow! This fruit…”

 

Until he heard a woman’s voice from inside the cave.

 

He stopped his turning steps.

 

Honestly, he was still afraid.

 

It was a feeling he had never experienced before.

 

His muscles froze.

 

He was wary of the monster that would be inside this cave.

 

But.

 

“…If there’s someone I need to save.”

 

I wouldn’t retreat.

 

He moved his steps.

 

And what he faced was an endlessly ferocious and cruel beast.

 

[That’s fortunate.]

 

And a woman as beautiful as a flower.

 

“Oh, a person?”

 

That peaceful atmosphere.

 

Normally, he wouldn’t have misunderstood.

 

Because it was a very peaceful and calm atmosphere.

 

However.

 

[…….]

 

The moment he saw the beast silently staring at him.

 

The alarm ringing crazily in his head made Asgard lose his reason. What came to his mind was the day he became a hero, the cause of losing everything.

 

A dragon.

 

It looked very similar to it.

 

As! You must escape!

 

You are the hope, survive.

 

Don’t look back! Just run!

 

What came to mind were past memories.

 

A village engulfed in flames and a dragon laughing while burning everything down.

 

And… the horrifying sight of everyone shouting for him to survive as they burned in the fire.

 

The moment he recalled that.

 

Asgard lost his reason and dashed out.

 

His movements were big and flashy.

 

To draw the dragon’s attention as much as possible.

 

He stood in front of the woman with exaggerated movements and looked up at the dragon to give her a chance to escape.

 

A massive force stirred.

 

The aura he possessed and the divinity bestowed by the goddess coursed through his muscles.

 

“A dragon devouring the kingdom! This hero, Asgard, has come to exterminate you!”

 

He raised his sword.

 

His characteristic was nobility.

 

A stigmata that inflicted fatal attacks on all unclean beings.

 

There was no monster that this characteristic couldn’t harm. Even if it was a dragon. Moreover, this stigmata grew stronger the greater the gap and the stronger the resolve to protect someone.

 

Crackle——!

 

A blue sword aura wrapped around his sword.

 

To block the dragon’s sight, he swung his sword as big and flashy as possible.

 

Crash——!!

 

A single strike that swept through the cave and cut everything apart.

 

The blue sword aura clashed with the dragon and created a massive dust cloud.

 

‘This is the chance!’

 

Asgard grabbed the woman’s hand.

 

And started running with all his might.

 

“Eek?! What are you doing…?”

 

“It’s alright! I’ll definitely save you.”

 

The misunderstanding, which he didn’t know where it began, started like that.

 

* * *

 

[…….]

 

Jörmungandr blankly stared at the spot where the hero disappeared.

 

He didn’t fully understand the situation, but he roughly guessed it.

 

He was probably a hero.

 

And he must have jumped into the jaws of death to save a woman with a giant serpent.

 

I highly praise his bravery.

 

Although he mistook it for a dragon, he still dared to challenge it.

 

Honestly, it didn’t bother him much.

 

He could see the essence of living beings.

 

The essence of the hero he saw was very noble and strong.

 

At least, he wouldn’t hurt her.

 

However…

 

[Unpleasant.]

 

He was sick of these misunderstandings.

 

He didn’t feel anger towards the hero, but it was somewhat annoying.

 

He suddenly appeared in front of me, waving a toothpick, and ruined my precious abode.

 

And to be honest.

 

He thought this situation was turning a bit interesting.

 

He hadn’t encountered a human who directly challenged him like this in thousands of years, except for one.

 

Should I tease him a little?

 

He decided to join in the hero’s amusing play.

 

This kind of amusement was something he desired.

 

He wasn’t the type to waver with various emotions. The proof was that the unpleasantness quickly sublimated. The void left by the sublimation was filled with pure joy of interacting with a human after a long time.

 

Jörmungandr, uncharacteristically, curled his lips.

 

He flicked his tongue.

 

And then he slowly began to move his massive body.

 

His body moved smoothly.

 

Each time, his size began to grow larger.

 

But he didn’t grow too big.

 

If he did, the mountain would completely collapse.

 

Hmm, alright.

 

About ten times his current size.

 

Feeling his expanded view, Jörmungandr watched the hero desperately running away.

 

Maybe he sensed the gaze.

 

As the hero turned his head and looked up at him blankly, Jörmungandr opened his mouth.

 

* * *

 

“Let go of me!”

 

“Calm down! We haven’t escaped the dragon yet!”

 

The hero held the woman’s hand and hurried his steps.

 

Yes.

 

Dragons were masters of magic.

 

So they could cast simple mind-control spells at will.

 

Then he understood the woman’s resistance.

 

A human under the dragon’s mind control couldn’t think for themselves until the spell was broken.

 

That was the same for the dragon he encountered before.

 

He remembered the dragon casting a spell on his… childhood friend to lure him and bit his lip.

 

It was when they were running away.

 

He thought the sun was covered by clouds.

 

It was because the bright surroundings suddenly turned dark.

 

But it wasn’t.

 

It wasn’t just that the sun was covered; only a radius of 1 km around him was cast in shadow.

 

He sensed something was wrong and looked up.

 

And what he saw.

 

“…Ah.”

 

Filling the sky.

 

A giant dragon looking down at him as if he was insignificant.