Chapter 678 Odin's Machinations
"What do you mean, my King?! You truly… want this?!" A beautiful Jotunn with pale blue skin and long silver hair asked, her entire attire making her resemble a regal queen of ice and frost. Her sharp eyes, however, were filled with disbelief.
"I am merely asking you a small favor, Skadi." Sighed the God of Light.
"Skadi, is that the tone you should use against our King?!" The God of Lightning asked, in fury. His hammer thundering with powerful electric sparks.
Skadi, the Goddess of Frost and Ice, designated with supporting the world\'s element of Frost and even a part of the Element of Water. She regulated the temperatures of the world as well as a part of the seas.
Her standing amongst the gods was always of true neutrality, but things had suddenly changed now as she was suddenly being asked a ridiculous task by Odin himself.
"We all know that you\'ve left a defective artifact behind. However, a dungeon ended showing up and opening that place you left behind. And now a mortal has taken that Crown and is utilizing it for evil purposes." Odin said. "Do you think we won\'t hold you accountable for such a thing?!"
"B-But this is…! I could had never expected a dungeon to appear in the pocket realm where I sealed that accursed item! In fact… It is very odd that it even showed up to begin with, I always thought someone else orchestrated it." Skadi argued.
"That is enough." Odin sighed. "I dislike pointing fingers at one another. We are all Gods here, are we not? So, I am merely asking you a small favor in exchange for forgiving your terrible mistake."
"But… using the artifact to enchant the powers of the Frost Queen and then sending divine messages telling her to ally your church… Why would I do something like that?! What sort of plan do you have, my King?" Asked Skadi, completely flabbergasted by the utterly maddening request the King of Gods asked her.
"As you know, we\'ve failed to eliminate a really annoying pest, so we are thinking of better ways to do this without… You know, stepping up ourselves." Odin said with a smirk. "The "Frost Queen" is already a Calamity, is she not? She has been building her forces for a while now. Don\'t you think she would be a great threat to my people? Therefore, I am giving you a chance to turn her into the side of goodness! Of righteousness! Let us use her gifted power to eliminate that monster, before it is too late, Skadi!"
Skadi couldn\'t believe that Odin was faking his act of selfishness and hypocrisy behind "doing something for the greater good". Although she had always held a neutral side, she always secretly cared more for the Jotunn and the mortals than the Gods themselves, finding in Maria\'s actions nothing wrong.
"(Forgive me, father, brothers…)" She muttered to herself.
14:21
"V-Very well… But in exchange, I ask you to spare my children, the Giants." Skadi said, her eyes sharp.
"What are you even considering? Helping us, the Gods, your allies, should be as natural as breathing for you, Skadi. We\'ve forgiven the fact you\'re a Jotunn all these years and treated you equally." Thor sighed. "So please, just help us out, like the good ally you are."
"Skadi, I am awaiting your response." Odin said, his single eye glaring at Skadi with the brightness of the sun.
Skadi gritted her teeth, her flawless face distorting as she felt pained.
"(Forgive me, father, brothers…)" She muttered to herself.
"V-Very well… But in exchange, I ask you to spare my children, the Giants." Skadi said, her eyes sharp.
Odin smirked.
"Fine, they shall be spared." Laughed Odin. "Now, do as I said."
"Yes, my King…" Skadi submissively said, nodding and lowering her head.
She had no other option, she was strong, but not as powerful as Odin. She could only obey the King of Gods or risk all Aesir to hunt her down and simply assign a new God of Ice in her place.
Skadi had her own family as well, her own growing children, and a husband. To survive and live peacefully, for them as well as for the Giants in the surface, she decided to agree.
Her eyes closed, as her divine powers concentrated.
Within the southern area of Midgard, inside a deep dungeon where there was an enormous Frost Tower, a beautiful young girl wearing a crown and sitting over a throne of ice suddenly received an incredible power.
Ding!
[You have received {Skadi\'s Divine Protection}!]
[All your power is growing greatly due to the reaction of this divine protection with your abilities!]
"T-This power…!" She muttered. "Lady Skadi?! To think you would give me your amazing strength!"
[The Divine Being {Skadi, the Goddess of Ice and Frost} says that you must ally the Church of the Light God.]
[She says an army will soon come, grant them your power, and join their army with yours, and invade the Dwarven Country and the settlement of the "Accursed One" the Ghost named Maria.]
[You will be granted great rewards if you can manage to eliminate both threats.]
"Aahh! I was already planning that, milady! In fact, I am already beginning to do it! But allying the Church? Well, if you say so…" The Frost Queen laughed. "I will ally the annoying church, and then cover the entire world with an Eternal Winter…"
Her eyes filled with madness, as within her tower, she commanded her Frost Generals, incredibly strong beings she had Summoned utilizing her Divine Artifact possesing incredible powers.
A crystal ball emerged before her eyes, showcasing to her what was occurring in the outside world. An army of the Church of Light, led by a mysterious yet incredibly strong individual were nearing her dungeon\'s entrance, and meanwhile, in another place, faraway in the Ash Mountains, an enormous army of Monsters made of Ice and Frost walked, slowly nearing the Dwarven Country.
Commanding them there were two Frost Generals, a titanic being made of pure ice resembling a knight, and a beautiful Ice Elf woman wearing armor made of divine ice and holding a sharp ice spear.
"Frost, Zero, hurry up and get to them." She commanded them. "Lady Skadi herself has decided to grant us her divine powers!"
FLAAASH!
In seconds, she shared such power with her generals, as they felt their strength surging even more, their forms growing powerful and even evolving!
"Oooohoho! Yes, my Queen!" Laughed Zero, the Ice Elf Witch.
"It shall be a pleasure, your majesty." Frost said, the enormous Golem made of Ice in the shape of a titanic knight.
Their eyes quickly directed themselves towards the mountain peak, in the distance, the entrance to the Dwarven Country was growing closer…
-----