Chapter 13 Jörmungandr

 

I knew faintly.

 

I was just a large snake.

 

Unlike the colossal serpent from Norse mythology that encircled the world and fought against gods, I couldn’t shake off the feeling that something was missing.

 

Surely, I was strong.

 

Even this chain, a sealing chain created at the cost of thousands of lives, was no stronger than a chain made of the weakest sand to me.

 

*Sshhh…*

 

A slight movement.

 

With that alone, the chain shattered completely. I looked down at the broken chain in silence and then lifted my head to gaze at the sky.

 

I couldn’t fly.

 

Was it because of my immense mass, or was it because even the mythical Jörmungandr couldn’t achieve such a feat?

 

Despite possessing transcendental power, I was still merely a gigantic snake.

 

What was I lacking?

 

I pondered over it for countless years.

 

Was it a lack of training?

 

Was it the power of the enemies I had devoured that was lacking?

 

Had I not yet reached my mature form?

 

Did I not know how to awaken my abilities?

 

Yes.

 

All of that was true.

 

I had not yet matured, didn’t know how to fully control my own body, hadn’t devoured many enemies because I lived relatively peacefully, and hadn’t awakened the abilities inherent to a divine being.

 

I tried.

 

I tried to become stronger.

 

But no matter how many walls I faced, and even if I overcame those walls.

 

I felt like, with my power alone, I would always live a life just staring at walls.

 

When I focused my mind, I could sense everything happening within my domain.

 

This planet itself was my domain.

 

A hero fought against a demon.

 

The battle between the two was fierce, for sure.

 

But it wasn’t enough.

 

That demon was at least stronger than a mere avatar of the Demon King.

 

It was almost impossible for the young and inexperienced hero Asgard to defeat a well-trained and skilled demon.

 

Therefore, defeat was inevitable.

 

A broken sword rolled on the ground, and I could hear Elyserede’s voice filled with despair.

 

To become stronger.

 

To be reborn as a new existence.

 

To shed this skin once again.

 

What should I do?

 

I recalled the myths.

 

Specifically, the gods that existed even in this world.

 

Did they become gods purely by their own power?

 

It was a question similar to whether the chicken or the egg came first.

 

A god is worshipped, and as the number of worshippers increases, the god becomes more distinct and stronger.

 

At that point, I realized.

 

Ah, what I was lacking.

 

It was something I could no longer fill on my own.

 

I needed faith, worship, reverence directed towards me.

 

And that wasn’t something I could fulfill on my own.

 

So, I pretended to be weak.

 

I acted as if Elyserede was endlessly precious to me.

 

In truth, it wasn’t to that extent.

 

Even if I had a lifelong friend, I wasn’t the type to readily sacrifice my life for them.

 

That was still the case now.

 

Sacrifice for others?

 

Sure, why not.

 

But it wasn’t something I could do for a princess I had known for merely a month.

 

I admit it.

 

I had some affection for her.

 

In the past, I could have considered her a friend.

 

Therefore, I decided to give her a chance.

 

For the first time, and perhaps the last.

 

Realizing what my existence was.

 

What she could do.

 

From the first moment I met her, the potential within my heart.

 

For the first time in my life, Jörmungandr completely released the limits of his size.

 

* * *

 

“Why did it come to this?”

 

Everything was confusing.

 

The mighty Jörmungandr had bowed his head because of her, and the hero who stood up for her was now on his knees, coughing up blood.

 

She felt hatred.

 

Not towards those who made her this way.

 

But towards her own powerlessness, her inability to do anything.

 

She squeezed her eyes shut.

 

Even so, nothing would change.

 

She was still weak, just a powerless princess.

 

The prison rattled.

 

Suddenly, the walls of Trelinia were right before her eyes.

 

And on those walls stood countless soldiers of the Kingdom of Trelinia, along with her father and brothers.

 

Their eyes were bloodshot.

 

Their intense will to kill the villains threatening their precious princess was palpable.

 

“Release my daughter!!”

 

His voice echoed.

 

She heard mocking voices in response.

 

The princess they cherished was in their clutches, they mocked.

 

Even with just a small gesture, they could take her life in their hands, they scoffed, and despite such light mockery, the numerous soldiers couldn’t do anything.

 

Blood splattered.

 

The soldiers were helplessly swept away by Calibargo’s forces, and her father, desperately trying to hold them back, bit his lip hard.

 

All those sounds.

 

Began to grow faint.

 

*Thump, thump…*

 

Everything became silent.

 

She could hear her heart beating.

 

At first, it was a small thud.

 

*Thump, thump, thump…*

 

But soon.

 

*Thump! Thump! Thump!*

 

It became the drumbeat announcing a grand beginning, resonating across the battlefield.

 

No one noticed.

 

Despite the clear sound of her heart pounding, no one seemed to hear it.

 

Something seeped into her heart.

 

It wasn’t just a curse.

 

It was something much smaller.

 

But stronger and purer than anything…

 

Like someone’s eyes.

 

An infinitely warm and blue energy.

 

“Ah…”

 

The moment she realized what that energy was.

 

Elyserede let out a sigh.

 

It felt as if all of this was a grand destiny.

 

Did Jörmungandr plan all of this?

 

She wasn’t sure.

 

But it seemed like all the scenes were fitting together, going back in time.

 

Jörmungandr collapsed powerlessly. His eyes, sealed by chains, were sharp, and his presence, pressing down on the soldiers, was like that of a god. The moment he was sacrificed and offered to him was like a ritual.

 

Yes.

 

A grand ritual.

 

To be more precise.

 

Swallowing the world like a giant egg.

 

Finally, breaking that world and being reborn.

 

From some point on, there was no need to speak.

 

The noblest and purest woman, holding the potential to become a divine being, was offered as a sacrifice to one who could not become a god.

 

From the moment she, the only princess of the Kingdom of Trelinia, was discovered near her kingdom, found by a hero who knew the legend of dragons, and happened to stumble upon the story of the sacrifice.

 

Was it really a coincidence?

 

Perhaps it was fate.

 

“…Jörmungandr.”

 

A god needs worshippers.

 

Followers who solely follow, revere, and worship the god.

 

That’s why.

 

Jörmungandr wasn’t perfect.

 

Even though his pure stature reached the divine, he didn’t have the power to transform that stature into divinity.

 

Faith, worship, reverence.

 

Because there were no humans to provide all of that.

 

Because there were no living beings to do so.

 

Thus.

 

Jörmungandr couldn’t become a god.

 

“I will become your…”

 

Everyone on the battlefield.

 

Stared at the princess of the Kingdom of Trelinia.

 

Cal Lediums, the hero Asgard, the demon Kalyfax, her father Lesbeligo.

 

And.

 

The being that couldn’t break out of its shell.

 

“I will become your priestess.”

 

Jörmungandr.

 

In front of all those gazes.

 

The princess, the priestess, reverently knelt down and looked up at the sky.

 

In an infinitely devout manner.

 

Her voice carried a deep vow.

 

“I dedicate my body, mind, soul, all of my humble being. I will become wholly your priestess, your devotee.”

 

The sky didn’t roar.

 

The earth remained silent.

 

The wind swallowed its quiet breath.

 

The sea gently waved.

 

And then.

 

*Crack, crack—!*

 

The sky split open, revealing him.

 

Shed of his mortal body.

 

Shrouded in a black divine light.

 

Filling the vast sky endlessly, from one end of the horizon to the other with his enormous form.

 

From the sky, that being appeared.

 

[———!———,———!!]

 

A colossal roar twisted the sky.

 

Gravity warped, and the world began to accept the new god.

 

Jörmungandr.

 

The moment he shed his mortal form and was reborn as a god.