Dungeon of Niflheim-Chapter 914: Racial hatred

Schwing!

Frost lashed out with such speed that all Valend was able to see was a brief flash of azure flames before he felt a searing agony in his right shoulder, it wasn’t a minor flesh wound this time but something serious. Frost had put his all into this swing, overextending his stamina so as to punch through that thick skin and wall of dense muscle. His blade only stopped when it reached bone. He even targeted scar tissue for his point of entry determined cause maximum damage.

"Ahhhhh!" Valend roared as pain flooded his brain, like a wounded animal he retreated from his attacker and held his wound.

"Tsk what the fuck are you giant’s made of?" Landing elegantly back on the ground after his dismount Frost couldn’t help but mutter. He put a great deal of strength into that swing, the timing, location and even the angle were all perfect yet still he failed to cut the bone.

With his arm slightly trembling from the impact he reevaluated the tenacity of his opponent as well as his plans for taking him down. Time was an important factor here, the longer he took to kill Valend the worst Neve and her Lunar maidens situation became.

"Y...Y....How can you move so fast!" With a fire burning in his eyes Valend yelled, his mind failing to understand how Frost could play with him like a mere child. Their strengths were supposedly similar no. He may be faster, but this difference was....unreal.

"Hmm oh that I’m not necessarily moving that much faster than you rather I’m reacting quicker, often before you’ve even finished thinking about how you want to move." The [Lunar eyes] didn’t increase his speed it only slowed down his perception of the world thus allowing him to make rapid decisions and instantly begin any movements. Through the eyes of his enemy however it would certainly appear as though Frost was capable of a speed far beyond his own. Someone in the mid stages of A-rank could easily replicate the same thing without the use of the [Lunar eyes] so Valend’s conclusion was understandable.

"What!...that’s....the glow in your eyes...no....I thought it was just a rumour." Valend’s face contorted between rage, confusion and even sometimes fear. This was the first time since his exile that he’d been wounded so thoroughly. Even the two B-rank monsters he defeated during his ascent to ruling tyrant over this small domain didn’t manage to reach his bones. The pain was excruciating and he could feel a sharp decline in the amount of strength he could summon, the hammer in his hands felt heavy for the first time in years. However he was in the midst of battle and thus couldn’t allow himself to wallow in the pain.

He listened to Frost’s words believing them completely because what reason did he have to lie at this point. But what he said sounded so farfetched and beyond his common knowledge that he couldn’t help but frown and feel ignorant in the face of it. Eventually though something tugged at his mind, a whisper of a supposed legend flashing as he looked back on the strange phenomenon present in Frost’s eyes.

"Niflheim." He spoke but a single word but it was enough to explain everything and then some, Frost even widened his eyes in surprised recognition. He didn’t reply though merely tapping the side of his nose.

"....You’re from the realm of Niflheim." Believing this to be true Valend visibly shivered, a cold sweat dripped down his back and fear and another hidden emotion pulsed in the depths of his heart.

Niflheim could be considered the greatest font of power within the Glacial mountains with dozens perhaps even hundreds of S-ranks in its employ even the mighty frost giants were wary of them but unlike the other nations dwelling within the mountains they viewed Shivali and his realm as their greatest enemy. The majority of frost giants grew up under the yoke of the temple of Ymir and because of that they had an ingrained hatred towards him. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

The crevasse of Ymir was an act of defiance by their God, a statement of his power and desire to rule a bigger piece of the pie but since his actions greatly influenced the mortal world he was.... Punished and Shivali was the one who carried it out. The mighty Ymir was beaten like a dog, humiliated, shamed and even imprisoned for centuries as penance for his crime and thus began the rivalry between these two Gods and their servants.

"No... but my teacher is, so you can attribute your death to her if you’d like." Khione’s training did play a rather big part in his victory so placing the blame on her wouldn’t exactly be wrong.

"..." Strangely and somewhat disconcertingly Valend said nothing further. His body stopped convulsing from pain and the aura surrounding him became denser and far more bloodthirsty.

Frost took firm hold of his glaive entering a defensive stance, just because he wounded Valend’s shoulder didn’t mean the fight was over. He assumed Valend was readying himself for reckless warfare, but he was wrong....his words had awoken something.

"Niflheim....Niflheim....Niflheim!" Valend started repeating the word Niflheim over and over, his voice growing louder and more angry with every repetition. Then within moments his aura that was already intimidating to begin with exploded, feeling at least three times as dense and far more bloodthirsty than what Frost had been dealing with so far.

The young Dungeon core felt an instinctual fear creep within him, unconsciously he took a step backwards and noticed his hands slightly trembling.

’So it was too easy after all.’ He should have expected as such, Valend was hiding his strength.

Frost narrowed his eyes, taking the situation very seriously, the chakra armour covering his body thickened and his royal aspected aura minimised its coverage so as to maintain its maximum strength. He wasn’t as adept at it as Valend but thanks to Khione and her aura resistor he had learned how to sufficiently employ his aura within his body, enhancing his strength, speed and regenerative powers. A slight blue hue also started to form in the centre of his eyes, the second stance of the [Lunar eyes], it’d take just an instant for him to unleash the third stance and slow down his perception of his surroundings.

Crack!

Valend who had been muttering and then screaming Niflheim as his aura grew in strength suddenly stopped. He rose to his full height which was now closer to 12 metres rather than 10, raised his hammer so it rested upon his shoulders and stared straight at Frost with an eery glare.

"Niflheim, ancient enemy of Ymir, spawn of the evil Primordial Shivali." He swung his hammer round, holding it perpendicular so the head was pointing straight at Frost. "As dictated by the teachings of the temple I will eradicate you. I will grind your bones into dust and scatter your flesh amongst masses of low born beasts....though it may not release me from my exile it is a step in the right direction." His aura finally finished growing and by this point the colour of his skin had grown darker and his veins pushed against it as his muscles swelled to their maximum output. The deep wound on his shoulder even stopped bleeding and showed signs of closure. His current state was not so dissimilar to that of a barbarian’s rage, a state only a select few were able to enter or that magic could artificially induce. While under the effect of rage one’s strength, durability, regenerative capabilities and even magical resistances all increase greatly but it was a time sensitive effect and one that also resulted in the subject becoming increasingly violent and aggressive, sometimes even attacking their own allies.

’Fuck!’ Frost couldn’t help but curse internally as he realised it was likely no longer possible to take down Valend quickly. If he struggled to reach bone before then it was going to be almost impossible now.

"Ok I don’t think you heard me properly, my teacher is from Niflheim not me." Perhaps words could put a stop to his rage or at least downplay it a little.

"Matters not, you are a sinner by association." The hammer that was pointing at Frost was then raised high above Valend’s head. "Die!!! [Dynamic freezing, rending of the frost giants]" The massive frost giant roared to the high heavens and in response white and blue coloured energy formed around his hammer before morphing into the form of an intimidating frost giant but not just any frost giant, this was a reflection of Ymir.

"Shit I was wondering when you’d use that." Frost immediately grimaced, he witnessed him use this move against Hamon during the Furano war. Back then he ended up getting swept up in Valend’s superior aura, feeling as though he had actually summoned a vestige of Ymir onto the battlefield. Instinctively he clutched the teleportation talisman hidden in his robes aiming to usher himself to safety at a moment’s notice but thankfully Hamon who was the target of this imposing attack didn’t falter for a second. He responded with a move no less terrifying called [War god’s eruption]. For someone who’d just entered the realm of B-rank all Frost could feel in the wake of such a devasting exchange was awe.

But now after months of training the onus was on him to endure Valend’s wrath but was he up to the challenge?