Isher Notra

"Okay, why is their lair so beautiful, though?"

Stella gazed at the entrance of the Ogres' home. Surprisingly, a plethora of blue, glowing crystals littered the mouth of the cave.

The girl could also see green crystals illuminating the tunnel that followed it, then what looked like a rainbow at the end. The discrepancy between the lair and the ones who lived in it was too wide for the Human's mind.

The Knight seemed as impressed as the girl, even more so. His visor was producing two shining stars for eyes. "Stella, these are not only beautiful. They are sikpha crystals!"

The name sounded important but meant nothing to the girl. "Okay... Am I supposed to be impressed by what?"

The hero started to make small skips while he pointed at the ceiling, like a flabbergasted toddler. "These crystals hold plenty of value! Naturally, they are pewter colored, but because of their natural Saniya absorbing properties, they can adopt countless tones of color!"

Okay, that did sound pretty awesome. Other than that, the term "Saniya" was thrown again. Judging by Lien's definition, it seemed like mana, ki, chakra, or whatever gave characters magical powers.

Well, that was real, apparently. Pretty cool, if not kinda scary.

The Knight puffed his chest and straightened his posture. "Alright! I will rescue Lien and be back in no time!"

Stella scoffed. "I still think this plan sucks."

Surprisingly, the hero chuckled. "Don't worry! I can tell Lien that you fought plenty of Monoke to reach me!"

The girl was tempted. However, it wouldn't be the same. If she wanted to be perceived as badass, it wouldn't be because of a lie. "Nah, thanks. Just go already."

The Knight saluted the Human and marched towards the clash of colors at the end of the cave. Stella could hear the echoes of his steps all too well, slowly decreasing in volume with each step.

And now, she was alone. Alone, worried, tired, and a little bored.

Maybe she could take a nap? Nah, she couldn't risk being captured by Jóla or the Ogres in case everything goes wrong.

Perhaps practicing some rock throwing? It would be an essential skill coming forward, and she gathered plenty of them in her bag just in case. But man... she was EXHAUSTED! She would probably pass out while she went back for the rocks.

Worst of all, she was too worried about what could happen in the lair to do anything else. Shit!

Maybe... If she sneaked through the cave and kept outside the Ogres' view, Stella could at least be there in case shit hit the fan.

However, what could the girl even do to help with these freaks? If Lien was effortlessly snatched by that giant, she didn't stand any chance of doing better.

Even with these convincing arguments, Stella's mind was still troubled by the fact that she was responsible for the pup's argument. Sometimes, it felt like Lien's voice was whispering in her ear, calling her a pathetic coward.

Then her voice turned into someone else's.

......

"Fuck! I can't do this!" The girl clutched her head with both hands.

In an impulsive act, Stella entered the cavern without giving more thought. She carefully examined the walls to see if an Ogre was ready for an ambush.

The good news was that there were no Lads hidden in darkness. As a bonus, the scenery was gorgeous! The green crystals encrusted on solid rock lit the wide tunnel in a beautiful emerald tone.

However, it was as beautiful as it was somewhat intimidating. The size of the crystal-lit tunnel, in comparison to the minuscule Human, solidified the idea of entering the home of a powerful, mystical creature.

The bad news was that the cave was hot. Like, almost boiling! It was a little warm at the entrance, but she assumed it was the rising sun. However, with each step she took, the heat increased, eventually reaching a level where Stella had to ditch the hoodie to avoid a heatstroke.

After walking for a few more minutes, Stella had a perfect view of what lay beyond the tunnel, the true home of the Jólasveinarnir.

And it was even more beautiful than she imagined. That was primarily because of the gigantic, colorful cluster of crystals stuck at the ceiling of the colossal room that was a perfect home for someone as big as Leppalúði.

Speaking of the giant, he was comfortably sitting on his couch, which was large enough to support his size. The entirety of the Yule Lads formed a barricade between their father and the Silver Knight.

The Knight sounded very exasperated. "There's no way I could ever make this deal! As a proud member of the Dragon's Guard and enforcer of the queen's laws, I must-"

The Ogre patriarch laughed at the hero's words. "Look, boy! Us Ogres ain't giving a rat's ass 'bout that sorry sack of scales!" His voice lowered in tone. "Now either get us the Human, or we're gonna have a problem..."

Stella shuddered. She HATED feeling this way about someone, but that dude was the scariest thing she ever encountered, thanks to his giant size and monstrous features.

She felt so pathetic. Now, Lien was going to stay with these bullies because of her. The girl sensed that it was never meant to be that easy.

Nothing ever was.

To make the situation worse, she saw the Lads preparing themselves to fight the guard, probably as an intimidation tactic rather than a real threat.

Stella's blood boiled at the mere sight of them. You know what? Who cared if she was caught right now?! This seemed to be headed to a conflict, anyway!

It was either fighting or retreating to think of another plan to convince the Ogres to free Lien. And Stella was tired of waiting.

While the Human made her first steps into the spotlight, the Knight pleaded to the Ogres. "Please! I wouldn't even know where to start-"

"HERE I AM, YA DAMN, DIRTY OGRES!" Stella shouted as loud as her lungs and vocal cords allowed.

Everyone in the room stared at the Human, dumbfounded. The Knight's visor only produced two circles transfixed on Stella's eyes.

"STELLA! WHAT THE F- WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

The giant chuckled. However, he was so loud that even that was enough to take everyone's attention. "Well, well, well. The brat is stupid enough to follow us, eh?" Then, his right index finger alternated between pointing at the girl and the guard. "And you two seem to know each other already? You damn liar!" That last part came out as a roar.

Before the Knight could explain himself, Stella wanted to vent her anger more. "Give me back my friend, you fugly-ass motherfucker!"

Leppalúði's laughter became louder, enough to make the entire room shake. Just what the hell was that guy?

"Oh, I will. But only if you join us for dinner." The giant had a menacing grin that Stella could see from miles away. "I heard Human soup is delicious!"

Stella's attention to the patriarch was broken by a very familiar individual. The Ogre with the hook (Stella did not remember his name) shouted a battle cry and dashed past the Knight! The girl had already prepared a fighting stance in anticipation.

However, her vision was overtaken by a flash of light. After stepping back and opening her eyes, she saw that it was The Silver Knight. The guard had practically teleported from his previous spot. What the hell was that?!

She moved sideways and saw that the Lad had stopped in his tracks, clearly as shocked as her. It was comforting to know that she was not the only one blindsided by all this mess.

"This Human is under the Dragon's Guard's protection! In the queen's name, I won't let you do anything with this child!" He spoke in his usual heroic tone, but his voice was resolute. It actually made Stella respect him a little bit more.

Leppalúði wasn't intimidated, though. He pointed at the guard and shouted. "Attack!"

All of the Yule Lads charge at the hero, with the one with the hook taking the lead. Stella was about to aid her companion until...

"Stay here, Stella. I can handle this." The guard extended his hand to impede the girl from going any further.

Stella was about to protest, but no words came out when the hero started to glow. A white, blinding aura emanated from his body.

Yep, it was time to step back a little.

Right before the Lad could swing his hook at the Knight, all that Stella could see afterward was a bright blur zig-zagging all over the place!

Again, all that Stella could think was. "What the hell is going on?!"

Amidst the flashy chaos, Stella could discern only a few things. A punch on Stúfur's face, another kick on the one with the big nose, a karate chop on the Lad with the wooden legs, a powerful elbow strike on one of the Ogres with the disgusting tongue, and a powerful kick on the one with the hook.

After all that light show, the guard stood proud in the middle of the unconscious bodies of the Yule Lads. What Stella and Lien accomplished by pushing themselves to their limits, that guy did in a mere two seconds.

To rub salt in the wound, the hero even had the energy to make another one of his stupid poses. He was still standing on his right leg, but his hands were crossed with closed knuckles.

"LIGHTSPEED BARRAGE!'"

That. Was. SO COOL!

Stella's mouth hung open. She couldn't believe it! How strong was that guy?! A few hours ago, she thought he was just a goofy nerd.

She needed a breather after this.

Leppalúði was also taken aback by the Knight's skills. However, his initial shock was replaced with rage. With an ear-shattering roar, he got up from the couch! That made the lair shake violently, even knocking down the lamp-like object to the ground.

The giant gave a thunderous stomp on the ground with his right foot, creating more tremors.

"You think beating up my children proves you tough?! Ha! Come and fight the real deal!"

Lien:

Just when she finished her soup.

The ground started to shake violently! What was going on?!

After her meal, she finally calmed her nerves after that stressful conversation with the Ogre witch.

Although she tried to not think about Stella after that, it was hard to think about anything else. She tried to think about her mom and her home, but even that was short-lived.

The bright side was that the powerful earthquake did wonders to help take her thoughts somewhere else. Now the question was, who was causing this?

The first suspect was the giant witch, but even she showed genuine surprise at this phenomenon. "Again!? What the hell, Leppa!?"

So it was Leppalúði. Great...

The witch was sitting on a chair close to the pup, or at least that was what Lien estimated. She could hear the familiar sound of the chair's legs being scraped on the ground.

"W-Where are you going?" Lien dared to ask.

The witch only chuckled. "If what I think is happening is true, then it's yer lucky day!"

Grýla's tectonic steps could be felt. "After I'm done, I'll even give ya a taste of my famous jam!"