The castle commander looked at the guards, knights, and mages spread across the walls.
Deep inside, he knew that they all… would die with him in this battle.
He sighed silently, then thanked his luck that he had not brought his son to this castle.
He had left him at home… to take care of the family affairs if something happened to him.
Then he raised his gaze once more toward the battlefield.
The snakes were still increasing.
They were approaching the castle walls at a terrifying speed… despite the arrows… despite the fire magic… and despite the rocks falling on them without stopping.
The commander suddenly shouted in anger:
"Where is the magical barrier, mages?!"
Then he added:
"Didn't I tell you to activate it?!"
One of the mages looked at him with a trembling voice and said:
"It has… already been destroyed, sir."
The commander froze for a moment.
Then he ran toward the mage, grabbing him violently by his luxurious robe.
"What do you mean it was destroyed?!"
Then he continued sharply:
"I haven't even seen it yet… how was it destroyed?!"
The mage swallowed nervously…
then pointed with his trembling hand toward the sea.
"That… sir."
The commander looked in the direction he pointed.
There he saw a massive five-headed snake advancing through the swarm.
Then the mage said:
"It destroyed the magical barrier… before we could even activate it."
He added fearfully:
"I don't know how it did it."
When the commander saw that—
his anger ignited.
He shouted loudly:
"Then what are you waiting for?!"
Then he said:
"Forget defensive magic now!"
He pointed toward the snakes and shouted:
"Rain fire magic upon them!"
Then he added angrily:
"I want a sea of fire over those snakes!"
He continued with determination:
"I want them to know that our deaths will not come easily!"
But—
before he could finish—
a sudden scream erupted from one of the guards.
A scream filled with pain and terror.
The commander turned quickly…
and saw that one of the snakes had climbed onto the wall…
and had bitten a soldier's arm.
The commander immediately drew his sword.
He rushed toward the snake…
and cut it in half with a single strike.
Then he turned toward the soldier to order him to retreat…
but the soldier was rolling on the ground in agony.
Before anyone could help him—
the soldier suddenly stopped moving.
Then… he died.
The commander stared at the scene in shock.
He said with a trembling voice:
"Is the venom of these snakes… this powerful?"
Then he added:
"We didn't even get a chance to treat him."
But before he could finish—
more screams erupted.
One scream… then another… then another.
The commander looked at the wall.
He saw that the number of snakes climbing the walls was increasing at a terrifying rate.
He immediately shouted to the knights:
"Kill the ones that reach the walls!"
Then he turned to the soldiers and said:
"Step back from the edge!"
He added:
"Fire your arrows from behind!"
Then he ordered the mages:
"Stand behind the soldiers!"
He said seriously:
"You are the most important element in this defense!"
Quickly—
that defensive formation was established.
Because of it—
the commander gained a few moments of time.
Only a few brief moments…
to try to think of a way to kill as many of those snakes as possible.
But—
the commander did not know…
that one of the four-headed snakes possessed a terrifying ability.
Mind-control magic.
Quietly—
it used that power.
Suddenly—
the soldiers who had been firing arrows turned around.
Then they aimed their arrows at… the mages.
The mages did not expect that sudden attack.
Within moments—
more than half of them fell dead before the mind-control spell broke.
When the castle commander saw that—
he shouted in shock and fury:
"How could you—?!"
But before he could finish—
he saw a six-headed snake open all its mouths at once.
Suddenly—
a strange gas burst from them.
The gas spread at a terrifying speed… surrounding the soldiers, knights, and mages within moments.
The commander tried to retreat…
but before he could—
his muscles suddenly seized.
He felt the air disappear from his lungs.
He tried to breathe…
but his body no longer obeyed him.
He could not even scream.
Within only a few seconds—
the castle commander died.
And with him… everyone inside the castle.
Silence fell.
Then—
millions of snakes began moving again.
They crawled calmly over the corpses…
unbothered by what had happened.
Then they began moving toward the sea.
From there—
they spread in all directions toward the continent of Mira and beyond.
They had only one mission:
To find Forn… the princess of the Human Empire.
Several long hours passed.
After the last of the snakes left the island toward the continent of Mira—
Odin's raven looked at the destroyed castle.
The ground was covered with the dark trails left by the snakes' crawling for hours.
Odin sighed tiredly through the raven's eyes.
He thought:
"It seems I won't find those ravens."
Then he added irritably:
"I wasted my time here for nothing."
He was about to order his raven to fly away—
but suddenly…
he saw a strange shadow in the sky.
Before he could understand what was happening—
the raven informed him through their link:
"I found a raven like me."
When Odin heard that—
he smiled with joy.
"Good."
Then he immediately ordered:
"Hide in the shadows."
He added:
"I want you to watch… and tell me how many ravens are in this place."
The raven quietly obeyed its master's command.
It hid among the shadows.
After a few minutes—
five strange ravens appeared in the sky.
They were black… larger than ordinary ravens… and their eyes burned red like embers.
Then they rushed toward the castle at a terrifying speed…
to seize the corpses and begin devouring them.
When Odin saw that—
he released a portion of his spiritual power toward his raven.
Then he completely took control of it…
and fed it with his energy.
After several seconds—
the raven's form began to change.
Suddenly—
Odin's form appeared in its place.
It was a dark spiritual body… but it carried his features.
Odin looked at his temporary body.
Then he smiled coldly and said:
"In this spiritual form… I can only use a quarter of my power."
Then he added calmly:
"But that's fine… it's more than enough."
Odin suddenly raised his hand.
At that exact moment—
the five demonic ravens froze.
Their bodies stiffened in the air…
then they fell unconscious in a strange way.
Odin looked at the scene…
then smiled mockingly.
"Of course."
Then he added:
"Demonic ravens that have not been fed with my energy… will never become as powerful as my raven."
Odin smiled coldly.
He was thinking about how useful these ravens would become…
after feeding them with his power…
and turning them into his eyes in this dangerous world.
He raised his hand again and waved it.
The five ravens moved in the air…
and gathered in one place.
Then he gave an order to the raven he was controlling:
"Take them."
He added:
"Return with them to the island of Asgard immediately."
The moment he said that—
Odin's spiritual form disappeared.
The raven returned to its original shape.
Then it grabbed the five demonic ravens with its strong claws…
and flew back toward the island of Asgard.
It flew with great silence…
hiding among the clouds and shadows…
so that no one would see it.