THE GUARDIAN OF MIDGARD

CHAPTER 6

The prison fell into complete silence.

Kraden's headless body remained on the floor, his blood spreading across the cracked stone floor.

The women locked inside the cages stared in horror, while the other guards backed away.

Some even started running. It was best to return back to their families than stay here.

Naj didn't spare Kraden a second glance.

He dusted his sleeve as though crushing his subordinate's skull had been nothing more than an inconvenience.

"I've always disliked incompetent followers," he said with a faint smile. "They become troublesome once you start putting them in charge of hard work."

Jayd's grip tightened around his sword. “What makes you think I won't become incompetent and then you'd discard me just like that?” He said, instantly taking a fighting stance.

Naj shrugged. "Pawns exist to be discarded once they've served their purpose. Kraden opened the Abyss for me, gathered suitable vessels, and helped in using this region wisely. He fulfilled his role admirably. But unlike him, you interest me.” He answered, moving closer with his staff.

Jayd remained silent, watching the man closely.

Behind him, Ria had gone off, trying to open the cages of the other kidnapped women.

“Join me,” Naj said, extending his hand, I can give you far more than the gods will. Together, we'll bury Olympus, shatter Valhalla, and build a new order.”

Instantly, a golden fire erupted around Jayd's sword, “I have gotten my sister so I don't see a reason to let you live.”

Golden divine energy wrapped around Jayd's blade, while thick streams of cursed energy flowed around Naj's black staff like living serpents.

The two forces collided before they even moved, sending violent ripples through the prison.

Then, they vanished. The first thing that was heard a second later was a deafening explosion that sent a shockwave through the building.

Jayd pressed forward first, as his sword clashed with that annoying staff.

Golden light followed every arc he drew, sending sharp, crescent looking whips of divine energy towards Naj.

“You truly do want to kill me.” Naj chuckled, and he moved his staff too, evading those strikes with accurate precision, but his clothes were caught in the cross fire.

Jayd twisted his wrist, there was no way he would give this creature a breathing space.

His sword disappeared from Naj's sight for the briefest instant before reappearing beneath the staff, aiming directly for his ribs.

Naj narrowly leaned aside, before he vanished, turning into a wisp of smoke, "Impressive." His voice came in an echo.

Jayd refused to get distracted and instantly found the man, he would end it in a single move.

But he wasn't the only one planning a big move.

Naj’s figure flashed across many corners of the building, leaving afterimages in his wake.

Jayd moved towards the figure, but his attacks were going through them.

Just when he thought he had found the real one, he felt the deathly energy behind him.

Naj raised his staff, bringing it down in a curved swipe.

The blow landed against Jayd's shoulder, launching him through three prison walls until he finally regained his footing.

Dust filled the corridor, and Jayd rose to his feet, spitting out the blood in his mouth.

"So this is the level of a Lich."

Naj slowly walked through the cloud of dust, he was now wary of this human, “I wonder what that witch has fed you?” He frowned.

Instantly, Jayd vanished, appearing directly above him. It was too fast for Naj to react.

The golden sword descended like a falling star, slamming straight into the Lich’s body and it sent him crashing down at a heavy speed, creating a huge dent in the ground.

Before Naj could recover, Jayd dove down, slamming the side of his sword into the Lich's abdomen.

Naj slid backwards across the stone floor, carving a deep trench through solid rock.

For the first time, His smile disappeared.

"Alright time to get serious, before you actually kill me."

Dark mist gathered around his staff, and. He tapped its base against the ground, causing black chains erupted from the earth.

They burst through the stone like enormous serpents, twisting around pillars before converging on Jayd from every direction.

Jayd calmly inhaled, and thrust his sword forward.

Golden lightning exploded from the blade.

The entire prison became a sea of light.

Every chain shattered into black fragments before they came within a metre of him.

Naj froze and his grey eyes narrowed ever so slightly. He had seen this technique before, so they came from the same teacher "That technique. To think you'd use it too. So she taught you as well."

The words lingered in the air.

There was only one person Jayd had learned that technique from. The Valkyrie.

Before he could ask, Naj lifted his staff.

A strange ripple spread through the air.

The movement was simple, and elegant, but it filled the entire prison with a serene darkness.

Jayd's eyes widened, and he clenched his fists. The Valkyrie had also taught him this

"River Break."

He recognised it immediately.

It was one of the legendary techniques belonging to Asterion, an Olympian general who had died during the Titan Wars over a thousand years ago.

Naj completed the movement.

The air itself split apart.

A crescent of black energy swept across the prison.

Jayd met it head-on, his sword raised with immediate reaction, and their attacks collided.

The explosion destroyed half the underground prison.

Jayd landed several metres away, sliding backwards until his sword pierced the floor.

"That technique belonged to Lord Asterion," he said, staring at Naj. "He died centuries ago. How did a dead thing like you have your hands on it?" A frown appeared on his face.

According to what the Valkyrie taught him, Olympic techniques couldn't be transferred and that was why she was unable to teach him this technique.

Naj's smile widened, without saying a word.

"How are you using the techniques of a dead Olympian? They can't be learnt." Jayd pushed, raising his sword. The best choice was to kill such a dangerous man right now.

Naj lightly spun the staff between his fingers.

"You're asking the wrong question." He looked directly into Jayd's eyes. "Why do you assume death is enough to erase knowledge or ownership?"

A chill ran down Jayd's spine, “So how did you get it then?” Jayd asked, then he remembered something else.

Naj had recognised his lightning technique, and even spoken as it he had seen it before.

"How old are you?" Jayd aakedd slowly, "that you have seen someone using the same technique I used?”

Naj laughed. "Isn't it rude to ask a person their age? But I'd tell you, it was the previous Guardian of Midgard.”

Jayd's pupils shrank, the previous guardian of Midgard was chosen ages ago. It was a topic the Valkyrie always hesitated to visit.

Did something so bad happened?

Naj's expression became nostalgic.

"A fascinating woman. A female goddess who was previously banished into the Abyss. She nearly ruined everything we had spent centuries preparing."

He sighed. "You remind me of her."

The fortress suddenly shook, and large cracks spread across the ceiling, while chunks of stone fell to the ground

Naj glanced upward before smiling. "It seems we've been fighting a little too seriously."

He snapped his fingers, and for a few seconds, nothing happened.

Then every imprisoned woman cried out in pain, even the ones Ria had rescued and brought out of their cages.

Black markings surfaced beneath their skin, spreading like veins filled with ink.

Jayd immediately turned. "What did you do to them?" Golden light spread around his sword, and the blade of the sword lengthened. It was time to finish this once and for all.

Naj calmly rested both hands on his staff.

"The marks were already there. I simply needed enough cursed energy in the air to awaken them. Our battle provided exactly that."

Dark mist rose from every woman's body and they began disappearing one after another.

Jayd rushed forward, his hand reached the nearest prisoner, but she dissolved into black mist, causing his hand to go through her.

One after the other, they all vanished, their screams remained like echoes in the building.

Only Ria remained.

Naj glanced at her before nodding with genuine surprise.

"The divine energy you transferred into her must have erased my seal. How unfortunate, she would have been a good vessel."

Ignoring the comment, Jayd exploded forward, and his giant sword tore through the prison in a blinding flash.

“You are not going out of my sight.”

Naj didn't bother blocking. His body dissolved into darkness just before the blade reached him.

The attack continued through the mountain, leaving a canyon hundreds of metres long.

Naj's laughter echoed from every direction.

"We'll meet again, Guardian of Midgard."

The cursed energy disappeared, and Jayd stood perfectly still.

He felt like he had won the battle after killing Kraden but somehow, he had lost something bigger.

Now he had so much questions, that he would have to visit the Valkyrie soon enough.

A deep rumble echoed beneath their feet.

The cliff supporting Blackstone Fortress finally began collapsing.

Ria grabbed his arm. "Brother!"

Jayd looked at the empty cages, and his jaw tightened, as he took an oath, "I'll bring them back."

He lifted Ria into his arms and leapt from the collapsing fortress moments before the entire mountain gave way.

Behind them, Blackstone Fortress disappeared beneath an avalanche of stone and dust, as though it had never existed.

Only after they had reached a distant ridge that Ria opened her lips.

"I'm sorry about the battle but it's not the end, I think Naj needs more women,” She said, looking towards where the Blackstone Fortress had been, “I overheard the guards talking while they were moving us between cells."

Jayd turned towards her.

"They weren't keeping all the women in a single place. Naj needs more women so he has other pawns around this region.” Ria continued.

Jayd furrowed his brows, this was a lot deeper than what he expected. “And they would probably be opening up different gates of the Abyss.”

Ria didn't stop talking, "They kept mentioning someone sleeping beneath Tartarus. They said once enough suitable vessels were gathered. Naj would awaken a true warrior of the corrupt god which is the Forbidden Titan.".

Jayd silently looked towards the western horizon.

A Titan.

If that was truly Naj's objective, then everything that had happened so far was merely the opening move.

“I'd have to move then.” Jayd said, exhaling deeply, “But how do I find the leaking of the cursed energy of the places. I need to have chances to enter Kingdoms without any suspicions.”

He thought, it would be hard to walk in through gates as a stranger.

“You can become a Golden Knight.” Ria suggested, looking at him. “Since the Abyssal Gates have been forming quickly, the kings of kingdoms gathered together to create the Golden Knighthood, to recruit capable warriors to help fight the beasts, and some of them carried the blessings of gods and goddesses.” She continued.

Jayd's mind went back to the group of soldiers he had seen fighting those beasts. If those were the Golden Knights, then they were pretty much weak, and it would be easier for him to get recruited.

“Okay, I think that's a good idea. Once I get my status, I should be to quickly find Naj, and put an end to all this once and for all.”