IBHJ Chapter 765

"So what if it's a spear left behind by Odin? There's nothing to be proud of. Be a good boy and stay put!" Demonic Bodhisattva's eyes flashed with a crimson glint. In an instant, countless more hands extended from her shadow, their pale fingers reaching out to grab and tear at him. They attacked him from all angles, their movements swift and relentless, threatening to overwhelm him with their sheer numbers.

Shirou froze in his tracks, his eyes widening as he took in the sheer number of hands surrounding him. The pale hands seemed to multiply with each passing second, their numbers growing exponentially until they formed a sea of grasping, clawing fingers. To make matters worse, a sinking feeling settled in the pit of his stomach as he suspected that Galahad had continued fighting with the Fire Giants, causing his Noble Phantasm to continuously and rapidly drain his mana reserves at an alarming rate.

Skadi absorbed the lingering mana around Asgard and used them to slowly raise her crippled hands. The mana flowed through her body like a raging river, empowering her with each passing second. Then, looking at the overwhelming numbers of pale hands that kept spawning from the shadow, her eyes suddenly flashed with an otherworldly light.

Whoosh! The earth itself seemed to respond to her will, unleashing a massive snowstorm that engulfed everything in its path. Within the swirling vortex of snow, lightning crackled and flashed. The storm surged forward, pressing against the Demonic Bodhisattva's overwhelming number of hands, freezing them in place.

The Demonic Bodhisattva stared in disbelief. "How is this possible? How can you still have enough divinity left to do this?"

Skadi's gaze shifted to the Demonic Bodhisattva, her eyes cold and unforgiving. In the blink of an eye, a sharp cracking sound filled the air as both the Demonic Bodhisattva and Svadilfari were encased in ice, transformed into ice sculptures.

"Let's go," Skadi spoke, her voice weak and exhausted. "That thing is about to come out. We need to hurry and leave."

Shirou, already running towards the teleportation circle, glanced back at her, "What thing?"

"The concept of the world itself that will lead this world to destruction - the World Tree Yggdrasil."

Suddenly, a deep, ominous rumbling filled the air, as if something had awakened and stirred the very foundations of Asgard. The ground beneath their feet began to crack and split open, the earth trembling violently. With a deafening boom, temples crumbled and collapsed, falling into the gaping fissures that now scarred the land.

The people of Asgard stumbled and swayed, struggling to maintain their balance amidst the chaos. Even the most skilled valkyries found themselves forced to crouch down, desperately seeking stability. The three Valkyrie sisters, Ortlinde, Hildr, and Thrud, who had been locked in a fierce battle, had no choice but to temporarily cease their fight. They knelt, bracing themselves against the shuddering ground.

As the ground continued to crack and splinter, the sound of the earth tearing apart filled the air like a cacophony of destruction. Suddenly, massive vines burst out from the fissures, their green tendrils surging towards the sky with an unstoppable force.

The vines were thick and gnarled, their surface covered in sharp thorns that glinted menacingly in the light. They quickly spread across the once snowy landscape of Asgard, their rapid growth transforming the land into a lush, verdant garden that seemed to only exist inside a dream. However, this dream was nothing short of a nightmare, a twisted vision of nature gone horribly wrong.

The vines emerged from the cracks like a sinister fishing net, their tendrils reaching out to ensnare all living beings in their path. They moved with a speed and agility that defied belief, their movements almost serpentine in nature. Some of the Valkyries, sensing the impending danger through the Valkyrie Network, immediately took flight, their wings beating furiously as they desperately tried to escape Asgard. Yet, even with their incredible speed and agility, they were no match for the relentless pursuit of the extending vines.

The moment the Valkyries were caught by the vines, their fate was sealed. The vines wrapped around their bodies like a vice, their thorns digging into their flesh with a sickening crunch. Almost instantly, their bodies began to wither and shrivel, as if every ounce of flesh and blood had been sucked out of them. Their skin turned a sickly gray, their eyes sinking into their sockets as their features became gaunt and skeletal.

Within seconds, they were reduced to nothing more than lifeless, desiccated husks, their bodies resembling deadwood more than the once proud warriors they had been. Their vibrant souls were devoured and absorbed by the relentless vines, their essence drawn out of their bodies like a siphon. No trace of their existence was left behind, their lives snuffed out like candles in the wind.

Ortlinde looked around at the vines spreading everywhere and gritted her teeth. "I can't believe you actually went and released Yggdrasil! Have you forgotten how Odin had to cut it down just so the world could thrive? And what about the great war two thousand years ago? Our allies - the fairies, dwarves, and every living thing in this land - they all disappeared because of this tree!"

"This is the path to our freedom," Thrud replied calmly. "We came from the origin, and to the origin we shall return."

Ortlinde let out a cry of grief and anger, gripping her spear tightly. She charged towards her two sisters, fury burning in her eyes. As destruction rained down around them, the three sisters clashed again, fighting viciously, each trying to destroy the others.

Shirou's mind suddenly clicked as the pieces fell into place. The Father, or Ogelmir, they'd been talking about all this time was actually Yggdrasil itself. The giants knew it as Ymir, the Primordial Giant from Norse mythology! But there was even more to it - Ymir's true identity was even bigger than the giants themselves. He was the origin of everything, the father of all life, the World Tree Yggdrasil!

But there wasn't any time to dwell on this realization. Yggdrasil's roots hadn't reached them yet, and the Demonic Bodhisattva and Svadilfari were still stuck in Skadi's ice. Shirou saw his chance and hoisted Skadi onto his back, dashing towards the teleportation circle. With a quick motion, he activated it, hoping to get out of there before it was too late.

"You're not getting away!" The Demonic Bodhisattva broke free from Skadi's ice and chased after him, her hand reaching straight for his head.

"You're really starting to get on my nerves." Shirou placed Gungnir and the Spear of Endless Light in front of him, forming an X to block the Demonic Bodhisattva's grab.

"I just don't understand. I seduced you three times, and you refused every single time, without even batting an eye. Why? You have desires, and my body is the perfect way to fulfill them. How come your heart didn't even waver?" She asked loudly. This was the thing that confused her the most, the one thing she couldn't wrap her head around. How could someone with desires resist her temptation?

"Isn't it obvious? Wisdom is not found in the company of fools!"

Hearing this, Demonic Bodhisattva was completely stunned. Shirou seized the moment and knocked her away.

Using the teleportation circle, he felt the familiar rush of energy surging through his body as he was instantaneously transported from the crumbling chaos of Asgard to the calm forest and snowy ground outside.

The contrast was stark, the sudden silence almost deafening compared to the thunderous collapse he had just escaped. His eyes scanned the surroundings, taking in the scene before him. The brass pipes, once proudly standing on the snowy ground, now lay shattered and scattered, their fragments glinting in the pale light.

Shirou gazed up at Asgard. Boom! Boom! Asgard continued to collapse and crumble, as countless green vines burst out, enveloping the entire realm in a massive, green sphere. The tendrils of vegetation seemed to have a life of their own, wrapping around every building, every pillar, and every stone, as if nature itself was reclaiming what was once its own. Asgard was done for. With this realization, he turned and ran. Skadi was already safe, and lingering here any longer would be unwise!