Chapter 53: Odin

The following morning, in another part of Grauwald, a fierce battle was taking place between a Demonic Beast and a young boy.

The beast was a monstrous creature resembling a rhinoceros, although no ordinary rhinoceros possessed six massive legs, overlapping plates of black armor, or three enormous horns protruding from its skull.

Standing nearly four meters tall at the shoulder, its enormous body was packed with muscles powerful enough to uproot trees, while dark Vis pulsed beneath its armored hide.

Despite its enormous size, the creature moved with frightening speed, tearing through the rocky clearing as it repeatedly charged its opponent.

Fighting against this monster was a ten-year-old boy wielding a long spear. His pure white hair was cut into a neat buzzcut, and small arcs of golden lightning flickered around his body as he moved at blistering speed.

Each movement left a faint golden afterimage behind him, while his spear struck the beast’s armored body with tremendous force.

This child was Odin Wargrave Von Grandel, the young heir of House Wargrave, the first among the Eighteen Vassal Houses serving the Grandel Clan.

BOOM!

The beast’s enormous horn smashed into the ground where Odin had been standing a moment earlier, shattering the earth and sending fragments of stone flying in every direction.

Odin had already moved to its right, golden lightning crackling around his calves as he accelerated toward its exposed flank. He rotated his spear and thrust toward the narrow gap between two armored plates beneath the creature’s shoulder.

CLANG!

The spearhead struck black armor, throwing sparks into the air. Although the attack failed to penetrate completely, it left a visible crack across the plate.

Odin withdrew his weapon and twisted his body just as the beast swung its enormous head toward him. One of its curved horns passed inches from his chest before smashing into a nearby tree, reducing the thick trunk to splinters.

Odin landed several meters away and narrowed his molten-gold eyes. The creature’s armor was considerably tougher than he had anticipated, particularly around its shoulders and skull. Its six legs also made its movements difficult to predict, allowing it to change direction far more quickly than something of its size should have been capable of doing.

The beast snorted, releasing two streams of white vapor from its nostrils before charging again.

Odin tightened his grip on his spear and advanced to meet it.

Golden lightning flickered across his shoulders as he accelerated, closing the distance in an instant. The beast lowered its central horn toward his chest, but Odin shifted sideways at the last moment, allowing the enormous weapon to pass beside him.

His spear moved simultaneously, striking the same cracked armor plate he had targeted earlier.

CRACK!

The damaged plate shattered.

Dark blood sprayed from the wound as the spearhead penetrated several inches into the creature’s shoulder. The beast roared furiously and attempted to crush Odin beneath its enormous body, but he had already withdrawn his weapon and leaped backward.

Its six legs slammed into the earth, producing a violent tremor that spread throughout the clearing.

Odin landed lightly and immediately rushed forward again. He wasn’t interested in allowing the creature enough time to recover. His spear flashed repeatedly, striking the beast’s injured shoulder, forelegs and exposed joints. Each attack was delivered with remarkable precision, and although the creature’s armor absorbed most of the damage, the wounds gradually accumulated.

The Demonic Beast retaliated with a furious series of charges.

Its enormous horns tore through the air, smashing apart trees and boulders whenever Odin avoided them. At one point, the creature twisted its body and swung its armored shoulder toward him, forcing Odin to raise his spear horizontally while reinforcing his arms with Vis.

BOOM!

The impact sent him sliding backward across the clearing. His boots carved two long trenches through the earth before he finally stopped, dust rising around his body as he lowered his weapon.

Odin flexed his fingers.

The collision had been powerful enough to numb his hands momentarily, but he had suffered no serious injuries. He glanced toward the creature and noticed that its wounded shoulder was already affecting its movements.

A faint smile appeared on his face.

The beast roared and stamped its forelegs against the ground. Dark Vis began gathering around its three horns, spreading across their surfaces until they resembled enormous weapons carved from black crystal.

Odin immediately recognized the change.

The creature was preparing to use an ability.

A moment later, the beast lowered its head and slammed its central horn into the earth.

The ground erupted.

Jagged stone spikes burst upward in rapid succession, advancing toward Odin in a straight line. Each spike stood several meters tall, and their sharp edges tore through tree roots and shattered rocks as they emerged.

Golden lightning flashed around Odin’s legs.

He accelerated sideways, narrowly avoiding the first eruption, but the beast immediately redirected its attack. Another row of spikes burst from the ground along his new path, forcing him to change direction again.

Rather than retreating, Odin increased his speed.

He moved between the rising stone pillars, twisting his body through narrow openings while keeping his spear close to his side. One spike grazed his shoulder armor, tearing away a strip of metal, but he continued forward without slowing.

The beast raised its head just as Odin emerged from the stone formations.

He launched himself into the air. Golden lightning gathered around his spear as he descended toward the creature’s left eye.

The beast reacted instinctively, turning its head and allowing the spearhead to strike the armored ridge above its socket instead.

CLANG!

Sparks erupted from the collision.

Odin landed against its enormous shoulder, pushed off immediately and drove his spear toward the exposed flesh beneath its ear.

This time, the weapon penetrated deeply.

The beast screamed.

Dark blood poured down its neck as Odin twisted the spearhead inside the wound before tearing it free. He landed several meters away, narrowly avoiding another desperate swing of the creature’s horns.

The Demonic Beast staggered, its breathing becoming increasingly heavy. Blood streamed from its shoulder and neck, and several of the armored plates protecting its body had cracked beneath Odin’s repeated attacks.

Nevertheless, it remained standing.

Odin studied the creature for several seconds before adjusting his grip on his spear. His expression remained composed, but the golden lightning surrounding his body had become noticeably more intense.

He had already discovered the beast’s weaknesses.

Now it was time to finish the fight.

Small arcs of golden electricity began crawling across his arms, gradually spreading toward his shoulders and down the length of his spear. The surrounding air filled with faint crackling sounds as Vis surged through his body.

The beast sensed the danger.

It released an enraged roar and charged with everything it had left.

Despite its injuries, the enormous creature accelerated with astonishing speed. Its six legs hammered against the earth, sending tremors through the clearing as its three horns pointed directly toward Odin.

Odin lowered his center of gravity.

Golden lightning erupted around his body.

He accelerated directly toward the charging beast, his figure transforming into a golden blur as the distance between them vanished.

At the final moment, Odin shifted slightly to the right, avoiding the central horn by inches while driving his spear toward the wound beneath the creature’s ear.

The spearhead penetrated.

Golden lightning followed.

BOOOOM!

A tremendous explosion tore through the clearing.

The beast’s enormous head snapped sideways as golden electricity erupted from its eyes, nostrils and open mouth. Its armored skull cracked beneath the internal discharge, and a violent shockwave spread outward, uprooting several nearby trees and scattering broken stones across the forest.

The creature’s six legs buckled.

Its massive body crashed into the ground with a deafening impact, sending dust and debris flying in every direction.

Odin landed beside the corpse, golden sparks continuing to flicker around his shoulders before gradually disappearing. He withdrew his spear and stepped backward, watching the creature carefully for any remaining movement.

There was none.

The Common Rank Demonic Beast was dead.

Odin approached its enormous head and examined the damage left behind by his final attack. Most of the external armor remained intact, but the lightning had traveled through the spearhead and devastated everything beneath it.

Blood leaked from several cracks in the creature’s skull, while faint traces of golden electricity continued dancing across its horns.

After confirming the beast was dead, Odin crouched beside its body and began extracting the Demonic Core. He located the concentration of Vis within the corpse, then used his spearhead to cut through the protective flesh and bone surrounding it.

Several minutes later, he extracted a dark crystalline object roughly the size of his fist.

A Common Rank Demonic Core.

Ten points.

Odin examined it briefly before placing it inside his pouch. Combined with the examination markers he had collected the previous day, his score had increased considerably.

However, he had no intention of becoming complacent.

The Helheim entrance examination had attracted talented children from throughout House Grandel’s territories. The Main Line descendants, the Seven Great Branches, and the heirs of the other High Vassal Houses were all competing for the same prize.

And Odin intended to stand above them.

He rose to his feet and glanced toward the surrounding mountains. The morning sunlight illuminated the ruined clearing, revealing shattered trees, enormous cracks in the earth and the corpse of the Demonic Beast lying among the destruction.

Somewhere farther north, another roar echoed through the forest.

Odin turned toward the sound.

A faint smile appeared on his face as golden lightning flickered briefly around his fingers.

He cleaned the blood from his spear, adjusted the pouch containing his examination markers and Demonic Core, then began walking toward the northern forest.

There were still six days remaining in the examination.

And Odin was only getting started.