Kitsune of the Blue Sun

[Keeno POV]

It’s been a few days since Freya collapsed during her match with Margaret. Her soul is still in the process of cleansing itself, but it’s almost done and she should be able to move freely again. Pram has stayed by her side the entire time, watching her like a hawk and taking care of any small thing Freya needs.  I consulted with Ama about why this was happening and she agreed with my diagnosis of the cause of this.  Once I was sure I wasn’t needed to constantly monitor her, Mostima, Margaret and I went back to sparring and getting me back into top shape.

 

Huginn and Muninn were getting constant reports on our perusers location. They picked up their pace and were now a week out from our location.  The lockdown was relaxed as well, and we decided to go and wait a few days out from the city to meet our opponents.  A few more days later and we could see a small group on the horizon. A dull glint let us know they were wearing armor, even if it seemed worse for wear. When they saw our group standing in their way, their pace increased.

 

When they got close enough to see us clearly the man in the lead grew furious. His shoulder length red hair almost seemed to start floating and electricity seemed to crackle in his scruffy beard.

 

“YOU DAMN FOX!  WE’VE FINALLY FOUND YOU!!”

 

I suppressed a smirk. You don’t find people who are waiting for you.  He then attempted to jump off his horse, but the poor animal collapsed before he could fully leave the saddle and nearly crushed him beneath the weight of it.

 

“YOU BITCH!”

 

“…I didn’t even do anything yet.” (Keeno)

 

“SHUT YOUR BLASPHEMOUS LITTLE MOUTH!”

 

“No you-“ (Keeno)

 

Before I could finish my words, the idiot in armor finally got up, summoned what was clearly his Soul Weapon, and threw it at me.  I tilted my head and it missed me, but I didn’t fail to notice several interesting things in those short seconds.

 

“Thor.” (Keeno)

 

“So, even a blasphemous, murderous whore like you knows who I am.” (Thor)

 

I ducked down as the hammer sailed over where my head was a second time. It was then that his lackeys arrived behind him, most of their horses looking ready to collapse like their leader’s.

 

“I’m taking their leader on, keep the rabble off me.” (Keeno)

 

I summoned my own swords and took a step forward.

 

“Ya know, I had thought of a lot of things to say when you finally caught up with us, but learning your name has changed all of that. Hehehe.  Though I HAVE thought of a fitting end for you, just like I had one for Baldr.” (Keeno)

 

“So, it WAS you who killed His Majesty and brought on this dreadful cold.  All the more reason to kill you and offer your head and heart to the Goddess of Life.” (Thor)

 

“Hehehehehahahahahahahahaha!  Amaterasu already has my heart, soul, and body, and I hers.  You’d just be giving me something I want!” (Keeno)

 

I expected this to make Thor stop in shock, but instead he just got angrier.  His hammer became coated in lightning, and he charged at me.

 

{Hmm?}

 

‘Something wrong?’ (Keeno)

 

{No…just weird.  It’s like he and his idiot friends are cursed, but not by any kind of curse I know of.}

 

‘Is it something I need to worry about spreading to me?’ (Keeno)

 

{Not in the slightest.  Now, kill them all!}

 

I smirked and dodged the lightning coated hammer as it sailed past me once more.  The sound of thunder rang out from behind me where the hammer hit.  I rolled to the side when the hammer flew back towards Thor who jumped into the air, caught the hammer, and brought it down where I was standing a second before.

 

“STOP MOVING YOU BLASPHEMOUS MONGREL!!!” (Thor)

 

I continued to dodge his strikes, though the electricity from the hammer kept messing with my hair and tails, making me pretty annoyed.  Fighting through the annoyance, I continued to dodge until I could see him slowing down and his swings getting sloppy.  When he stumbled on a small ice patch, I took the chance to change the fight’s momentum.  I stepped too far into his range to be effective and stabbed.  My sword pierced his armor’s shoulder like it was made of paper, which caused me to become confused.  It should not have been this thin. This momentary distraction was enough for Thor to ignore the pain and bring his hammer hard into my ribs. I felt the electricity flow through my body as the force knocked me away along with all the breath in my body. I know at least two were broken.  I expected to taste blood as well, but the coppery liquid wasn’t present. The pain, however, was.

 

‘No more getting distracted by stuff like that. Lesson learned.’ (Keeno)

 

Ignoring the pain and the tingling feeling of static in my tails I dodged the hammer again.  He was very persistent.

 

“Oh!  My Goddess, grant me the power of thunder and lightning so I may smite the blasphemer before me!” (Thor)

 

He held his hammer in one hand and presented it to the sky.  Though, much to my enjoyment and his shock, nothing happened. No brilliant display of light and sound, no mystic feeling of awe and power, just a man standing in the middle of a field doing a stupid pose.

 

{There we go. Just be careful of the hammer. It can still do some minor lightning magic, but nothing more powerful than that.}

 

“Nn.” (Keeno)

 

Before Thor could process this turn of events I shot forward. Once close I imbued my swords with Death and swung at him. His reflexes were commendable as he just barely managed to block my strike with his hammer, though said hammer had now obtained a large crack in it.  Thor stumbled backwards, his free hand holding onto his chest.

 

“M-monster.  To think you’d even stoop to such disgusting magic. You are the same as that disgusting pet the late king had. A walking affront to our Goddess’s love. A being that loves to spread death and revels in the suffering of all living things.  It’s no wonder you left a trail of atrocities in your wake.” (Thor)

 

I couldn’t help but frown.  Pulling a dragon scale out of my ring, I walked up to the still recovering Thor and placed it on his chest. A Rune for binding began to glow, and bands of golden light surrounded Thor, immobilizing him.

 

“You truly are an idiotic mongrel if you can’t tell a funeral pyre from arson.” (Keeno)

 

I took several steps back from the idiot in armor.

 

“You think I enjoyed doing that?  You think I enjoy seeing all those innocent people dead from the cold and starvation!?…*sigh*. This is why I hate fanatics like you and your ilk.  You preach the sanctity of life yet disparage its other half.” (Keeno)

 

I held back a wince from the shout. I even felt one of my ribs poke into something it shouldn’t have, yet I still tasted no blood.

 

“You cannot have Life without Death.  And now, it’s time for you to learn that personally.” (Keeno)

 

I tapped my foot and conjured a ginormous serpent made of blue flames. Its eyes held pupils made of Runes and its fangs were pure black. It stared down at Thor, and I thought I could see an almost primal gleam in its eyes that I didn’t place into the spell.  On Thor’s end, the giant snake seems to terrify him so much that he was struggling to break free from my restraints. He even tried using his hammer, though that only made the crack widen, forcing him to his knees.  The flame serpent watched this, a gleeful glint in its eyes.  It moved closer to Thor before turning to me.  It slightly opened its mouth and spoke in a language I couldn’t understand, but still got the meaning of.  Turning back to Thor, it opened its mouth wide, even going as far as unhinging its jaw, and swallowed him whole once he was completely gone, the snake looked back at me, nodded, then vanished.

 

“…I-”

 

Before I could get any other words out, a pain so intense I couldn’t even scream coursed throughout my chest and I fell to my knees, my vision fading in and out.

 

“A…ma…”

 

Just as my vision faded into pure darkness, I thought I heard Ama say something as I was enveloped in a very pleasant and familiar warmth.

 

Chaos Realm:

Luna: …I may not be very well versed in Norse myth, but isn’t this getting kind of too coincidental?

Says the woman who completed most of the Twelve Labors and tamed Cerberus.

Luna: …That aside, Jormungandr actually exists in that world and invited Keeno to have a chat.  That’s gonna be fun to watch.

I agree there. Though, between you and me, the one she’s going to meet is still on the smaller side.

Luna: …

Your old world’s version was big enough that it had to teach itself space magic because it no longer had space to wrap around the planet.

Luna: How-

Magic, Luna. Just because your old world’s modern era didn’t have any doesn’t mean other points didn’t. The ones still surviving from those times still have the ability. And besides, have you never wondered why people could never make it into the mantle of the planet even with all the technological advancements of the times?

Luna: …So many things make sense now.

Hehehehehe.