From that day on, people would often catch faint glimpses of storms and giants crossing the land, fire burning over their bodies. When the unrighteous beheld them, their souls would be taken away and turned into followers of the storm.
From that day on, the magical beasts of the earth, scourged by storm and giant alike, dwindled sharply. Heroes had fewer chances to win fame—but there were also far fewer frauds and pretenders.
—Prologue of the Nibelungen
...
After making a pact with mankind in the name of a god and leading those "Giants" out of Jotunheim, Rovi sent them scattering across the land. Changed by his influence and having set foot upon the earth, they had become true storm giants through and through.
Their very existence was the manifestation and incarnation of storm.
And just as Rovi intended, they would gather the souls of the "unrighteous," forming one storm legion after another.
Like sparks scattered across the land, they would, when the time came, turn into a surging blaze and scorch the entire Norse Age of Gods.
These were the seeds he had sown.
The power of Atlantis that Rovi hoped to strip away.
As for Rovi himself...
"Excuse me, sir—have you seen the evil dragon Fafnir that used to wreak havoc around here?"
"No. Ever since the King of the Wild Hunt descended upon Midgard with the storm, the evil dragon Fafnir fled in panic. No one knows where it's run off to now."
"That's a shame..."
"..."
Their voices drifted across the vast, desolate wilderness. After parting ways with the local old hunter, Rovi felt a little regretful that he had failed to get anything useful out of him.
Snow blanketed the ground in every direction, heavy on the bare, jagged branches.
The old hunter hurried away, clearly unwilling to remain near him. Though Rovi had been gentle and polite, the deathly aura clinging to his entire body made the man want nothing more than to keep his distance.
"What are you looking for that thing for?" A purple head popped out from behind Rovi. Skadi's face was full of confusion.
Fafnir was a notorious beast across the Norse lands, one of the ultimate dragonkind, much like the Hydra of Greek mythology—a monster powerful enough to rival the higher-ranking gods.
And after dispersing the storm giants, Fafnir was precisely the prey Rovi had set out to hunt.
As for Skadi, unable to return to Asgard and forced to constantly fear being treated as a traitor by the gods there, she had no choice but to follow Rovi. Even so, she still did not understand him at all.
"I'm the Wild Hunt now, right?" Hearing Skadi's question, Rovi cast a sidelong glance at the purple-clad goddess.
Skadi nodded.
"How can the King of the Wild Hunt not have a mount? Running around on two legs alone just doesn't have enough presence."
Skadi: "..."
Of all the possibilities she had considered, she had never expected Rovi's reason to be this absurd.
Then again, it did make sense.
In legend, the King of the Wild Hunt often led an army of the dead, sweeping across the land with storm in tow—a ruler and commander clad in heavy armor, mounted on a fine steed.
If he wanted to fully embody that role, Rovi really did need a good horse—or at the very least, a divine mount that had reached the level of a god.
So this was not just some whimsical nonsense.
It was also a kind of "performance," part of stealing an Authority.
"I'm going to make Fafnir, that ultimate dragonkind, into my mount—make it take the shape of a horse." Rovi smiled, then turned to look toward the distant snowy mountains. "I can feel it. Fafnir is hiding in those mountains ahead."
"Then why did you ask that hunter just now?"
"Just confirming." Rovi paid no heed to Skadi's retort.
"Come on." He patted the long coat he was wearing as he spoke. "The sooner we deal with it, the sooner we can relax."
Fafnir was an ultimate evil dragon, one that countless heroes had prepared themselves to challenge, only to fail in subduing.
Yet in Rovi's mouth, it sounded no more troublesome than a sparrow that could be dealt with at any time.
And faced with that, even Skadi found it hard to argue.
For a while, the two "gods" walked over the freshly fallen snow, leaving behind prints of even depth one after another.
Branches swayed on either side, and every so often the wind would shake loose the snow piled on them, sending glittering flakes scattering through the air like another blizzard of powdered snow. Amid the wind and snow, Skadi brushed down her purple dress and watched Rovi walking ahead of her.
He had shed the heavy armor he wore as the "Wild Hunt," and though that deathly stillness still lingered around him, the crushing pressure was gone.
Even now, Skadi had not actually known Rovi for very long.
And yet a strange feeling kept circling in her heart.
He clearly possessed tremendous power, and yet he always walked the earth like a mortal. He had strength enough to rival Thor himself, and yet in the way he treated people and handled things, he was always exceptionally polite.
But once he put on that armor and donned the mask, the pressure he gave off was enough to make all things choke...
——Mm-hm? That makes him sound like a complete lunatic. Don't tell me the one by your side is actually insane?
Scathach, hidden deep within Skadi's mind on the far side of the Magic Mirror, could not help snarking.
Skadi answered that other self in her heart. Insane?
——That's right. It's a term from the Aegean Sea—used for someone with multiple personalities. So? Pretty accurate, isn't it?
It really was.
Skadi's eyes lit up slightly. The more she thought about it, the more it fit, and she could not help laughing.
Rovi glanced back at her, somewhat puzzled.
And then he heard Skadi say, "Insane."
"?"
Faced with that sudden "insult," even Rovi was momentarily taken aback.
Skadi, on the other hand, laughed even harder.
That's right—this guy really was a complete and utter lunatic!
But to be honest, Skadi still regretted it. She regretted ever provoking this man in the first place, regretted being tricked by him into entering Jotunheim, regretted being forced to "betray" the gods of Asgard.
She regretted it.
And yet, as time passed, she found herself less afraid than before.
Because Rovi never relied on his power to do whatever he pleased. In that, he was different from the Norse gods.
Like a human, and even more like a true god.
But still...
She wanted to go back to Asgard.
Though later legends claimed that Skadi had originally been born as a frost giant, here, Skadi was a pure god born of the realm of Asgard itself, the manifestation of the holiest snowy mountain within the divine realm.
Because she was pure and beautiful, she was beloved by the gods above all others. Odin doted on her more than he did his many sons. Odin had once regarded her as the dearest of sisters, and Tyr had once repeated Odin's own declaration for her.
She was a pure maiden, and the most flawless symbol of Asgard.
A goddess cherished to such an extent did not wish to leave her home.
Even if Rovi had never truly forced anything on her, and because of that Skadi's impression of him was not particularly bad.
But—the fact remained that he was a "demon king."
No matter how good a demon king might be, a demon king was still a demon king.
Skadi quietly clenched her soft fist beneath the sleeve of her dress. She had to seize a chance to explain her grievance to the gods.
Rovi glanced at her from the corner of his eye.
How could he fail to see what Skadi was thinking?
He just did not find it surprising.
There was no way he could make a goddess completely submit with a few casual words.
The North was not Greece.
He had no legends here, nor could he count on that kind of world-famous idol effect to give him a boost.
In any case, she was only a "tool."
As long as she was useful... that was enough.
...
The snowy mountains rose and fell in the distance, and the wind and snow swept over the land. Rovi lifted his eyes and looked ahead.
Beyond the hill lay a deep ravine.
He could sense it.
Fafnir was hiding there.
BOOOM!!
Without warning, thunder exploded. The world, which had only just weathered a snowstorm, was struck as if by a bolt from a clear sky. Blazing lightning came crashing down from above, a heavy hammer smashing through the void and hurtling straight behind Rovi!
Faced with the thunder descending head-on, Skadi froze in shock.