CHAPTER 316: DESTINED BATTLE

"Promise, are you okay? Promise, I’m here with Slude and Lord Thor, the God of Thunder, to save you!"

Man, ah, that’s not right. It should be said that the bird hasn’t arrived yet, but its voice has arrived first.

There was eagerness, concern, and a hint of showing off in Little Birdie’s voice.

After all, the one she had brought to help was none other than Thor, the mightiest of the Norse gods after the king of the gods, Odin himself! And she, a little bird, had been the one to call him!... Well, to be fair, Thor had come more out of respect for his wife, Sif, the goddess of harvest, and his daughter, Thrud, than for Shini.

But that didn’t matter at all.

She was also involved in bringing the God of thunder to save Promise, that’s all that mattered.

It’s just even as the little bird spoke with a look of pride on her face, she was not the main character so, no one listened, and no one cared.

Despite hearing Shini’s calls and Thrud’s swift arrival, Promise didn’t respond, instead, at this moment, his emerald eyes stared fixed on the scene above the abyss.

With the arrival of Thor, the god of thunder, the thunder that lit up the world and the massive serpent, Jörmungandr, churning the seas with its colossal body, created a spectacle that seemed to shake the very foundations of the nine realms.

The serpent roared, and the thunder raged.

The fated battle recorded in Norse mythology seemed to be playing out ahead of time, all because of Promise’s presence.

Moreover, even before the battle began, its impact had already sent shock waves through the nine realms.

At this moment, countless gods, giants, and other beings turned their attention to this place.

Following Promise’s gaze, Shini and Thrud also couldn’t help but look toward the abyss.

Thrud’s expression grew serious as she saw her father, Thor, the god of thunder, standing on the goat-drawn chariot, lightning in hand, facing the massive serpent churning the depths below.

But when she turned back to look at Promise, who was still sitting in front of his easel, she breathed a sigh of relief.

’Thank goodness he’s safe. Otherwise... how could I ever face Sister Brynhildr again?’

With this thought in mind, just as Thrud stepped forward to persuade Promise to leave, or to knock him out and take him away by force, he eyes casually swept across and fell on the painting.

And the moment she touched the painting, the Valkyrie was stunned and stood there in a daze.

Because in that instant, she entered the painting without any surprise.

In the painting, everything about Jörmungandr was shown to Thrud.

His birth, past, and accumulated hatred from the gods.

And that horrible hatred instantly attacked Thrud, and at that moment it seemed to devour her.

"Stop looking." With a soft snap, Loki, the trickster god who had been hiding all this time, finally stepped forward.

He gently patted Thrud’s shoulder, pulling her attention away from the painting.

Then, he turned his gaze to the canvas in front of him, his eyes narrowing as he finally understood what Promise’s painting truly represented.

"That is Jörmungandr in its entirety. You cannot bear to see it,"

As Loki spoke, his eyes couldn’t help but turn to looked at Promise again.

At this moment, looking at the boy in front of him, even the God of Trickery couldn’t help but feel surprised.

Because the boy in front of him was just a human being.

He was neither a god nor a demigod hero.

In fact, he was only alive today thanks to the golden apple given to him by the Goddess of youth.

But it was this person who, at this moment, had managed to capture the essence of Jörmungandr in his painting.

Moreover, Loki also understood one thing, the fact that this painting could be drawn not only just a testament to Promise’s skill—it was also a sign of Jörmungandr’s approval.

’Perhaps, apart from his siblings, Hel and Fenrir, Promise is the only one my children have ever acknowledged in this world...’ Loki thought so in his heart.

From these one can imaging the unease in his mind at this moment

After all, even he, their father, was likely only met with hatred by his three children.

As Loki pondered this, Thrud finally snapped out of her daze.

Realizing what had just happened, she froze in place, her eyes instinctively darting back to the painting in front of her before landing on Promise, who was once again absorbed in his work.

At the same time, Jörmungandr and Thor moved.

The mysterious sense of destiny between them meant that there was no room for words—only battle.

Thus, the sky filled with thunder as lightning crashed down, intertwining with the roaring waves of the deep sea.

At this moment, the once-dark waters turned a sickly green, and wherever the corrosive droplets fell, they ate away at everything on the shore.

"Ah!" The little bird Shini, who had been too scared to speak since Loki’s appearance, immediately hid in Thrud’s arms at the sight of the chaos.

Thrud, who had just came back to her senses from the scene, got shaken by the shockwaves of the battle, quickly pushed aside her confusion and rose to her feet, ready to pull Promise to safety.

But before she could act, Loki reached out and stopped her. With a wave of his hand, he drew several runes in the air, creating a ring of fire that surrounded and protected them.

"If you want this to end peacefully, don’t disturb him," Loki said calmly to Thrud. "Because right now, only if he finishes the painting in his hand can the battle between Jörmungandr and Thor be calmed down."

Hearing this, both Thrud and Shini were stunned and the little bird instinctively turned her gaze to Promise’s painting.

Though Thrud quickly moved to cover Shini’s eyes, the little bird had already seen it.

However, just as she was expecting Shini to suffer the same fate as she had, Thrud was surprised to find that Shini remained completely unaffected.

In fact, Shini even flapped her wings subconsciously, brushing Thrud’s hand aside, and stared at Promise’s painting with wide, amazed eyes.

"She is the messenger of the Norns," Loki explained, noticing Thrud’s confusion. "The youngest and most mysterious of the Norns of Fate has already bestowed her with a blessing. In fact, she might be the one who understands Promise best, aside from Odin himself."

As he spoke, Loki couldn’t help but turn his gaze toward Asgard, the highest of the nine realms.

At that moment, Odin, the All-Father, seemed to sense his gaze and looked down, their eyes meeting across the vast distance.

The two gods stared at each other from the distance, a silent understanding passing between them.

"The painting... it’s so beautiful..."

The tense silence was broken by the little bird, Shini.

Though she hadn’t fallen into the painting like the Valkyrie Thrud had, nor had she been eroded by Jörmungandr’s mere presence or nearly died from gazing at the painting, the moment her eyes landed on the canvas, she was stunned and captivated by Promise’s work.

Actually there was no special reason for this—it was simply because Shini that the his painting was really beautiful.

Under dark, stormy clouds, a furious god with fiery red hair raised his hammer, summoning the thunder that filled the sky.

Below, the massive serpent Jörmungandr rose from the churning sea, its colossal body coiling and thrashing, creating tidal waves that seemed ready to engulf the world.

The painting perfectly captured the divine majesty of Thor, the God of Thunder, and the terrifying presence of Jörmungandr.

And unlike Promise’s usual works, which were filled with vibrant colors and flowers that left the gods in awe, this one exuded such a raw, violent beauty that even this little birdie, who had no appreciation for art, couldn’t help but be mesmerized.

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