POV: Baldur
Near the Infinite Flame Swamps, Nidavellir
Shortly After the Emergence of the Queen of Angels
The army of Fire Demons chased me across the hard ground plains towards the trap. Wherever they passed, they left a straight trail of flames. I kept a challenging pace to ensure they wouldn't lose sight of me, a nearly unnecessary measure since I was glowing like a Christmas tree.
In the distance, I saw Angela locked in a personal duel with the Queen of Angels. From what I could tell, the fight was evenly matched. If Angela could fly, she would have already won. But I knew the army of Angels wouldn't just stand by for long, so I increased my speed, diving into a forest and setting it ablaze as the Demons followed.
After several kilometers, I finally spotted the trap site. It was a lifeless plain, surrounded by a crescent-shaped ridge of hard stone over twenty meters high. This chain of relatively small mountains stood close together, and right in the middle of this crescent, the Dwarf army waited with their shields raised, all together, ready for their enemies.
Normally, this would be a death trap for any army, unable to retreat with their backs to the mountain. But this configuration favored us now. The narrow gaps between the mountains on either end weren't wide enough for the entire Demon army to attack at once.
As we reached the trap's entrance, I took flight, leaving my pursuers behind. I landed atop the central mountain, with the Dwarves below and their backs to me. True to plan, the Fire Demons didn't slow their advance and were funneled into the entrance, limiting the number that could face the Dwarves at once.
"Prepare for battle!" Eitri shouted from the front of his army on the ground.
"BOOM!"
When the Demons crashed into the wall of shields, a huge column of flames erupted. The Dwarves, highly resistant to flames and extreme heat, held their ground well. Had my soldiers been there, they would have been roasted alive in their armor, which is why they now stood around me.
"Should we begin the attack, sir?" Freyja asked, approaching my side.
"Not yet. A bit longer."
The battle maintained this rhythm. The Giants clashed against the shield wall, while the Dwarves defended their position fiercely.
It didn't take long for the ideal conditions to align.
"Now, Freyja," I said calmly to her at my side.
"FIRE!" my general commanded.
My men, positioned across the mountains of the ridge, spread throughout the crescent formation, began firing at everyone within the trap. A barrage of energy blasts from their spears rained down on the Demons, creating utter chaos.
"Initiate the second phase," I ordered.
Then, above us, Ratatosk appeared. Drones and ships emerged from him, filling the sky. Originally deployed to handle the Angel army, they now offered us a chance to eliminate the Demons even faster. Their target was the rear of the enemy forces that had yet to enter the trap.
"BOOMM!" "BOOMM!" "BOOMM!" "BOOMM!" "BOOMM!" "BOOMM!" "BOOMM!"
The explosions from the combined firepower of my soldiers and the drones created a fiery pandemonium. The only calm area below was where the Dwarves stood firm.
(If things continue at this rate, victory will be ours soon.)
"I request permission to join the battle as well, sir," Freyja asked from beside me. She was the only one, thanks to my powers, who could face the Fire Demons head-on. I wished I could join her, but I needed to stay here in case the leader of the Fire Demon army appeared.
"You may go. I will command from here," I replied.
Freyja then leaped from the cliff, landing among the Dwarves. The height was nothing to her, and she immediately charged into the fray.
"Sir, they are trying to retreat," one of the soldiers behind me reported.
The barrage of spear fire and the drone attacks hadn't ceased, but the Fire Demons, though simple, were not fools.
"Do not worry. I will handle it," I assured.
I closed my eyes and focused as much as possible. My power took the form of four gigantic golden walls that appeared behind the demons, trapping them.
The walls closed off the mountain pass, cutting off their escape route.
I could feel them pounding and unleashing flames against the more than twenty-meter-high walls, unable to make even a scratch. In the past, my light constructs were as fragile as glass.
Now, their durability is immense. Moreover, I continuously feed them with my energy, amplifying my powers with my magic.
As time passed, I finally confirmed that there was no leader among this army. With the number of enemies dwindling, my presence here was no longer necessary.
When the enemy realized they couldn't breach the walls, they turned their attention back to the dwarves, eager for a desperate battle. This meant I no longer needed to stay and bolster the walls with light.
(Since everything here is relatively calm, I'll go to where trouble might arise.)
"I'll head to where the army of Angels is. Inform me immediately if anything changes," I instructed the soldier behind me.
Then, I took off in the direction where Angela had stayed behind.
It didn't take long to find them. But what I saw made my blood boil. I had known that the Angels weren't honorable enough to respect the duel between Angela and the queen, but knowing and seeing are two different things. Now, right in front of me, my newly discovered sister was about to be beheaded.
"Trim!"
I caught the Queen's sword just behind Angela, who was pinned to the ground by several spears piercing her body. Her entire body was covered in blood from her wounds, and she was extremely weak. This sight made my blood boil even more.
"What do you think you're doing!?" I demanded of the Queen of the Angels standing before me.
She didn't answer and tried to pull the sword from my grasp, but the blade wouldn't budge while I held it.
"Protect the Queen!"
"Kill the worm!"
The Angels above sensed the danger and hurled their spears at me.
"You irritating flock of birds, turn to dust!"
I unleashed a burst of heat and light upwards, where the Angels hovered. Before their spears could reach me, they disintegrated into dust. The Angels, on the other hand, were engulfed in flames.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
It wasn't a quick or painless death. Their screams ceased only when their lungs were too damaged, but they remained alive, burning. Perhaps I had gone a bit overboard, but those without honor who harm my family cross a line that enrages me.
The Queen finally abandoned her attempt to retrieve her sword and retreated several meters. The remaining Angels landed behind her, pointing their weapons at me.
"Are you okay?" I asked Angela, ignoring our enemies.
"Pufff. I'll be fine. Just need you to pull these out so I can get back into the fight."
I would have believed her if she hadn't said it while spitting blood.
I dropped the Queen's sword to the ground and touched Angela's body. The spears in her body vanished, freeing her, and she fell into my arms.
"Back to the fight? I doubt it. If I wasn't holding you, you'd be on the ground right now."
"Stop talking nonsense and give me my sword!"
(The family stubbornness is really something.)
"Unfortunately for you, they hit vital points. Even with my healing, it'll take a few minutes before you can fight again. And I highly doubt they'll just stand by watching us while I heal you."
I spoke, glancing at the Angels who were just watching us, awaiting their Queen's command as she studied me.
"Then leave me behind and take care of them!" Angela demanded.
"If I leave you behind, you'll be an easy target for them. So stay quiet and rest while I handle them."
"Rest where? Hey... What is this?"
Angela's surprise didn't last long, as I pulled her into my dimension where she would be safe for the time being. It was easy since she couldn't resist.
"Sorry for the delay, shall we continue from where we left off?" I said, now calmer, addressing the Queen.
"Teleportation? No, I didn't feel any changes in the space..." The Queen muttered to herself, trying to figure out where Angela had gone. My dimension isn't exactly a secret, but I don't go around boasting that I killed an entity and took its powers.
While she was talking to herself and ignoring me, I took the time to really observe her. The reason I hadn't attacked her with the explosion earlier was because I didn't have many details about her. Her appearances in the comics didn't reveal much about her powers. The records in Asgard don't have much on her either. So, I can only speculate that she has some tricks up her sleeve. If it was just Angela's strength, the Queen would have been defeated easily. If her strength were that limited, she wouldn't have been such a challenge for Odin.
"It's pointless to overthink it. Angela is now in the safest place in all ten realms," I declared.
Finally, my words seemed to snap the Queen out of her reverie. She looked at me with cold disdain.
"Little whelp. You are the first to dare steal the honor of killing my prey. And then you slay many of my soldiers and now speak to me with such arrogance."
"You certainly talk a lot of nonsense. It seems you don't understand the situation you're in," I retorted.
"And what situation is that, little whelp?" she asked, smiling.
"That of prey!"
I didn't give her a chance to process my words. As soon as I finished speaking, I was already in front of her, swinging Sigel towards her body. As a being who had faced numerous adversaries for thousands of years, the Queen easily dodged by flying backwards.
The Angels behind her saw this as an opportunity and launched their spears at me. I swung Sigel again, but this time, a flame extended from the tip of the spear, transforming into a whip that intercepted all the incoming spears, slicing them in half. The Angels in front of me met the same fate, their bodies burning even after being cleaved.
"You spoke of honor earlier, yet showed none when your soldiers intervened in Angela's duel. Your honor seems very selective to me," I said, cutting down another group of Angels with my fiery whip. The Queen continued to dodge my attacks, never getting close enough to strike.
"Why should I show honor in fighting a beast I myself created!" she screamed from a distance.
"A beast!?"
With several more attacks, the remaining Angels were reduced to burning fragments on the ground, while the Queen kept evading in the air. Now I was certain she had no tricks left. The trouble my father had in defeating her in the past was due to her army, not her own strength.
"You've been talking nonsense for so long, yet you haven't even tried to fight or attack me. Your mouth is bigger than your courage. Normally, I wouldn't care, but your words have made me very angry."
I moved at such speed that the Queen couldn't react as I grabbed her face with my palm and slammed her into the ground.
"BOOOMMM!"
Above her, several golden spears of light materialized and shot down, piercing her body but carefully avoiding all her vital points.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAH!" she screamed in agony, completely immobilized.
"I was planning to let my mother or Odin deal with you, but I wouldn't taint the soil of Asgard with your presence. So, die here," I declared.
Sigel aimed for her heart, but I halted my attack when I sensed something behind me. I always trust my instincts in a fight, so I dodged as quickly as I could. Looking at where I had been, I saw a purple sword being wielded by Malekith.
"Unfortunately, I can't allow her to die just yet, Sun God," he said.
"Malekith!" I shouted, attacking him instantly, but my strike passed through him.
"Not yet, my dear Sun God. It's still too early for the main event," he taunted.
Then, a black portal opened, enveloping them both, whisking them away from Nidavellir.
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