The Sword Emperor Transmigrates

Chapter 140

“Is this the fourth one? We only need five more to fully restore the ancient relic capable of restraining the mythical beast Fenrir.”

Leonard carefully inspected the cord with a doubtful expression. “It doesn't look impressive at all. It certainly doesn’t look like it can bind a mythical beast.”

“There’s a theory that the Aesir gods intentionally made Gleipnir look unremarkable. The enmity between Fenrir and the gods began when they were playing a game to see if the beast could break free from this binding tool.”

As Demian had explained, the stories of the old era were quite obscure, so unless someone had studied mythology within their family, they wouldn’t know the details. Demian, as the White Dragon Commander, was well-versed in the tales of Fenrir and Gleipnir.

The story served as a reminder of the folly and hubris of the old gods.

“The mythical beast Fenrir wasn’t malevolent from the start.”

Though it possessed tremendous strength and immortality that even the gods feared, at that time, Fenrir was weak enough to be subdued by a few martial gods, let alone Thor, the God of Thunder. Even though the beast couldn’t be killed, few feared something weaker than themselves, so it wasn’t considered a major threat.

However, a shamaness, who could see far into the future, prophesied that one day, Fenrir’s jaws would grow so large it would reach the ends of the sky and earth and would devour the Chief God Odin. The gods, horrified by this dreadful prophecy, created a shackle to restrain Fenrir.

“Gleipnir was a restraint tool that no one would believe could serve its purpose. The Aesir gods took Gleipnir with them and proposed the usual escape game, but Fenrir was suspicious.”

Seeing the silk cord, unlike the world’s toughest ropes or chains, Fenrir suspected it was a trick by the gods and demanded a guarantor to place an arm in its mouth as assurance for playing the game.

“The god who placed his arm in Fenrir’s mouth was the very Void Deity we saw earlier, the original form of Tyr.”

“So that's how Tyr lost an arm.”

With Tyr’s arm bitten off, the outcome was predictable. Unable to break Gleipnir, Fenrir demanded its release, but the gods mocked its foolishness and abandoned it. The enraged Fenrir devoured Tyr’s arm but ultimately failed to regain its freedom.

Deceived and bound by this trick, Fenrir remained chained until the day of the God-Slaying War, growing larger with hatred and anger until it finally devoured Odin. In the end, the prophecy of the shamaness came true.

“According to some legend, Tyr apparently regretted having taken part in the deception of the Aesir gods and renounced his authority of justice, even refusing to regenerate his lost arm. Of course, losing one arm wasn’t a big deal for the gods.”

“...Trying to avoid a prophecy only to make it come true.”

Demian nodded in agreement. “A self-fulfilling prophecy, right?”

This legend wasn’t unique to the Aesir gods; it was common in many mythologies. The Olympus pantheon, famous for its twelve gods, were often ensnared in their own prophecies. Once the future was known, every effort to avoid it proved futile; ultimately, every prophecy was inevitable no matter how much the subject struggled.

Leonard was almost overwhelmed by the complexity of the laws of causality, which were beyond a mere mortal’s understanding.

“If not even gods can defy their fate, then humans are certainly powerless against it. How strong must one become to break free from such an unfair destiny?”

Demian, inspecting the treasure vault with his Dragon Eyes, responded, “Well, I don’t entirely agree with you.”

“Why so?”

Despite being a Demigod Tier knight, Demian was still a mortal compared to the True Gods of the old era. And so, he was naturally powerless against the inescapable cogs of fate.

However, Demian remained unfazed as he continued, “I believe the prophecy itself caused the ruin. They say ignorance is bliss. The gods tried to manipulate the future with shortcuts, and thus sealed their downfall.”

“Are you saying the prophecy didn’t foresee an inevitable event but created one that might not have happened?”

“Exactly.”

Demian’s firm response carried weight.

“The future is unknown because it’s the future. Once you lift the veil of ignorance, you can never go back, whether it was a prophecy or not. Not knowing what will happen or what will come allows us to do anything. Leonard, don’t let anyone or anything dictate your future.”

As someone who had transcended the limits of mortals and stepped foot in the realm of gods, Demian had a different perspective from those who had been born as gods.

Leonard was deeply impressed by Demian’s perspective—that even a demigod-level warrior was ultimately insignificant in the grand scheme of things. Despite not being particularly interested in Buddhism, Leonard’s experience of reincarnation suggested that the future might be kinder to those who avoided seeking it out.

Perhaps that was why those who tried to reveal or read the secrets of the heavens often met tragic ends.

“Oh? There are even two Golden Apples here.”

While Leonard reflected on his past life, Demian returned from the inside of the treasure vault holding two apples.

“These are called Idun’s Golden Apples.”

“Do they act as an elixir?”

“Essentially, yes... but they’re more commonly known as the Fruits of Rejuvenation.”

Leonard’s eyes widened. Naturally, the allure of eternal youth had caused countless powerful individuals to covet these fruits.

“These are the fruits obtained from the basket created by the authority of the Goddess of Youth, Idun. Not even the gods could completely avoid aging, despite being immortal. That’s why these apples were created.”

Demian then tossed one of the Golden Apples to Leonard.

Leonard reflexively caught the apple and examined it closely. Unlike Gleipnir, the Golden Apple, viewed with the Dragon Eye, revealed magical patterns shimmering around it, probably from Idun’s authority.

The Wickeline family would have likely wanted to research the Golden Apple to replicate the authority of the gods through magic.

...That would be challenging.

Even Leonard, with his Dragon Eyes, capable of discerning the flow of the world order, and his Dragon Heart, capable of optimizing magical patterns, found it difficult to grasp more than ten percent of the authority imbued in the apple.

It would take centuries of research to guarantee results.

“Thank you for the lesson.”

When Leonard handed back the Golden Apple after examining it, Demian blinked in surprise and then burst out laughing. Despite being under twenty, Leonard returned the Fruit of Rejuvenation without any hesitation whatsoever. Demian had expected at least some reluctance from him.

“I gave it to you as a souvenir. Use it however you please.”

“What?”

“Idun’s Golden Apples are indeed valuable, but there are over a hundred of them stored in our family’s vault. I have the authority to give away one or two.”

Before Leonard could respond, Demian left the treasure vault, mentioning that Mimong, the gift from Wade, was worth many times more.

It seemed there were no more noteworthy relics to be found. Leonard glanced at the Golden Apple in his hand, then quickly tucked it into his subspace pouch and followed Demian toward the exit of the Divine Territory.

Did the law that stabilized the spatial distortion weaken...? It must be because Tyr disappeared, weakening the power that maintained this Divine Territory.

Even if the Divine Territory didn’t collapse immediately like a Rift, the disappearance of the god would inevitably lead to its dissolution. Even a group of Wickeline Archmages could only delay the collapse slightly, since magic alone couldn’t fully substitute divine power. This was clear to Leonard’s Dragon Eyes, which could perceive the flow of the world order.

The two men retraced their steps, walking for several minutes until they finally came out of the cave. There, the Wickeline mage, sitting on a stump and reading a book, greeted them, “You’re back.”

Demian approached him first, grumbling, “Hey, you said it was low-rank, right? It was actually mid-rank. There might’ve been casualties if it hadn’t been me on the mission.”

“Mid-rank? Really?” The Wickeline mage frowned.

“Ugh, there must have been an error in the measurements again. I’ll give the person in charge a talking-to and adjust the distribution rate for this Divine Territory.”

“We found a fragment of Gleipnir and one Golden Apple. The Divine Territory is mostly intact except for the hall, so there should be plenty to research. Make sure it's properly organized and send it our way afterwards.”

“Understood. If you have any additional requests, please send them directly to my laboratory.”

The mage, jotting down notes with a quill, asked, “Which authority did the Void Deity Tyr use? The authority of the sword?”

“No, he used decree declaration. He issued three decrees in a row to try to win, so I had to put in some effort.”

“Three...? That’s certainly mid-rank. I’ll make sure it’s recorded in the report. For now, let’s return to the Cardenas estate. You’ve done a great job.”

The mage guided them to a pre-drawn magic circle, then channeled his mana through his staff.

Flaaash—!

That marked the end of Leonard’s first experience with a Void Deity subjugation mission.

* * *

Returning to the Cardenas estate, they reappeared near the Forest of Swords, just like when they had departed.

Despite the long distance, the Wickeline mage showed no signs of fatigue. After exchanging a few words with Demian, the mage gave a short bow to Leonard and then teleported away.

Demian, accustomed to this, remarked, “That’s the result of the Wickeline family getting rid of elitism and instilling pragmatism in ordinary mages. Now they always use teleportation for long distances.”

Recalling what he had heard before, Leonard asked, “Isn’t long-distance teleportation without a spatial portal dangerous?”

“They believe the benefits far outweigh the risks.”

Even for Archmages, distorting space wasn’t simple or easy; they were mortals after all. Even a slight error in spatial coordinates could tear apart a Transcendence Tier being. As such, Leonard was baffled by the idea of using such dangerous magic frequently just to save time. It was like using a dangerous martial art prone to qi deviation because it was convenient.

“Well, it's their problem to handle. It’s none of my concern. You shouldn’t worry about it either.”

Demian, taking a few steps into the Forest of Swords, turned back to Leonard with a thoughtful look, “Leonard, do you have any plans for today?”

“Not really. I had no idea how long the mission with you would take, Commander.”

“In that case, how about visiting the Order of the White Dragon? I’m planning to send them on the next mission without me. It might be good for you to get acquainted with those you’ll be accompanying.”

Naturally, Leonard wouldn’t refuse such an offer.