In Asgard…
Forn still didn't know about the catastrophe that had struck the imperial capital.
She was sitting beside Odin alone…
Shyly watching the celebration in front of her.
A large group of children were running and laughing, dancing joyfully…
Even Athena and her siblings were joining in the fun.
Forn observed the scene silently…
She didn't know what to do.
Everything felt different from what she was used to.
Before she could fully process what was happening…
The celebration suddenly ended.
She looked around in surprise and said without thinking:
"Is… that all?"
Odin looked at her with slight confusion:
"What is it, Forn?"
She lowered her gaze shyly and said softly:
"In the human empire…"
"Celebrations were long… and sometimes boring…"
"Not this short."
Poseidon approached them and said calmly:
"No, no, Forn…"
"We don't care about such formalities."
"It's true we enjoy celebrating and having fun… but not all the time."
Then he added quietly to himself, unheard:
"And this… wasn't even a happy occasion to begin with."
Forn looked at him suspiciously…
She felt like he was mocking her or belittling her.
So she turned to Hades and suddenly said:
"Oh, Hades… do you know what I heard Poseidon say by accident a few days ago?"
Hades looked at her curiously:
"What did you hear?"
Before she could say a word—
Poseidon rushed toward her quickly, laughing nervously:
"No, no! It's nothing!"
"Forn is just joking… right?"
Forn looked at him…
She saw clear pleading in his eyes, as if he was begging her to stay silent.
She sighed softly…
Then laughed and said:
"Yes, yes… you're right."
"I was just joking."
Poseidon handed her something strange.
Forn took it and looked at it curiously:
"What is this?"
Poseidon burst out laughing proudly:
"That thing in your hand…"
"I made it myself!"
"I combined the metal I gave Odin with a strange shell I found by chance…"
"And added a part of my power to it!"
He lifted his head arrogantly and added:
"And so… it became the first rare magical item ever made on the island—by me!"
Odin looked at the object carefully…
And immediately felt something strange within it.
A power…
Similar to Poseidon's.
He asked Forn to give it to him.
She agreed instantly and handed it to him shyly.
Odin held it and stared at it deeply…
Then thought to himself:
"Is this… really your work, Poseidon?"
Poseidon looked at him and said in a strange tone:
"Do you doubt me, brother?"
Before the atmosphere could tense—
Hades struck Poseidon lightly on the head and said in annoyance:
"Stop your nonsense!"
Then he looked at Odin and asked:
"What is it, brother?"
"Is that shell really that unusual?"
Odin shook his head calmly…
And handed the shell back to Forn.
Then said in a calm tone, though doubt was clear:
"No… but I didn't expect you to craft something like this, Poseidon…"
"Especially from metals I personally stored… and denied others access to."
Poseidon looked up at the sky…
Then said coldly, as if avoiding the topic:
"Oh… it seems it's time for me to sleep."
"Goodbye."
In an instant—
He disappeared.
Athena glanced at the spot he vanished from with faint sarcasm…
Then approached Forn and handed her a strangely shaped whistle.
Forn looked at it in confusion:
"What is this?"
Athena replied casually:
"It's a whistle."
"If you use it… one of your personal flying horses will come."
"And it will obey your commands."
Forn's eyes widened in surprise…
But before she could ask anything—
Athena suddenly disappeared.
Hades stepped forward calmly…
And handed Forn a strange bone.
Forn looked at it in shock:
"What is it for?"
Hades said in a chilling calm voice:
"As long as you carry it…"
"No creature on the island will dare attack you."
As soon as he finished—
He vanished as well.
Forn looked around…
And found everyone beginning to disappear one after another.
Even the children…
Stopped playing and went into their homes.
She felt something strange…
So she turned to Odin shyly and asked:
"What are the children doing, Odin?"
"And why did your brothers suddenly disappear like that?"
Odin didn't answer.
Instead, he gently took her hand…
Then lifted her into his arms.
He carried her into his home without saying a word.
At that moment…
Forn understood that something serious was happening.
But she couldn't speak.
📜 Scene — The Demonic Continent (Medusa's Cave)
Elsewhere…
Far from Asgard…
Inside a dark cave in the demonic continent.
Medusa was looking at a little girl in front of her…
Playing innocently with her tail.
Medusa murmured as she watched her:
"This girl…"
"Will become my successor."
She paused for a moment…
Then suddenly shook her head:
"No…"
"She will become a ruler of demons…"
"And stand by my side."
A prideful smile appeared on her face.
She had realized something important—
This child…
Possessed the potential of the Demon King himself.
She remembered that the Demon King…
Had a daughter who had already become one of the nine demon rulers.
She looked at the child again, happily playing…
And said with a cold smile:
"I must make her… stronger."
But before she could continue—
She suddenly froze.
She felt something strange…
Something shaking the entire world.
She tried to use her power…
To ask the snakes she had sent whether any demonic crows had appeared…
But she stopped.
The aura she felt was terrifying.
An aura of death.
She immediately stood up…
And picked up the child.
Then placed her beside a massive nine-headed serpent and said:
"Protect the child."
In an instant—
She disappeared.
And she wasn't the only one…
All the demon rulers moved at the same moment.
Because they all felt the same thing—
A catastrophe coming from the continent of Mira.