The little girl quickly raised her head toward the sky, and the moment her eyes fell upon Odin, her small body trembled slightly.
It was not ordinary fear, but a deep instinctive sensation that told her one clear truth:
If she even thought about attacking this being... she would die instantly.
She sensed an overwhelming power emanating from him, a force so immense that she understood, without any explanation, that she was standing before a being far beyond anything she could imagine.
Odin noticed the caution reflected in her eyes.
But he also saw that what she felt was not pure fear, but natural alertness and sharp intelligence.
His smile widened, and he said with admiration:
"You truly deserve my attention."
Then he looked directly at her and asked in a calm voice:
"What is your name?"
The little girl stood in silence for several moments.
She seemed to be searching through the depths of a distant and fragmented memory.
A relatively long time passed before she whispered in a low, strange voice:
"I think... I think my name is Elina."
Odin repeated the name in his mind.
"Elina..."
He showed no concern about how long it had taken her to remember her own name, as if that were entirely expected.
Then he said as he walked calmly toward the massive bear's corpse:
"Now, use your power on it."
Elina looked at him with obvious confusion and asked:
"My power? What do you mean by that?"
When he heard her question, Odin quickly realized that she knew nothing about the power hidden within her.
He gave a slight smile, then descended from the sky with blinding speed.
Elina could not even comprehend what had happened.
One moment he was far above her in the sky.
The next, he was standing directly in front of her.
The little girl took several steps back, not out of fear, but because of his towering height and overwhelming presence.
She raised her head and asked cautiously:
"What race are you?"
Odin chuckled softly when he saw her wariness.
Then he waved his hand calmly.
In an instant, Elina's small body rose effortlessly from the ground and was lifted into his arms.
Odin paid no attention to the blood covering her body and staining his clothes.
All he cared about was the fear and tension filling her heart.
He held her gently and said in a reassuring voice:
"Do not worry."
Then he added, stroking her head with surprising tenderness:
"If I had wanted to harm you, you would have been dead long ago."
A brief silence followed before he continued:
"I came here because I sensed your power, and it seemed a terrible waste to leave you wandering in the wilderness without proper guidance."
Elina listened carefully to his words.
She began to sense the truth in what he was saying.
If he had wanted to kill her, he would not have needed to do any of this.
So she raised her head and asked with greater confidence:
"What is the power you were talking about?"
Odin smiled, then placed his hand over her chest, above the heart that had stopped beating long ago, and said:
"There is a terrifying power inside you, little one."
His eyes widened as he continued:
"If you learn how to use it, you will become capable of killing whomever you wish... and taking revenge on anyone you desire."
Elina froze.
Although her expression remained as cold as ever, shock was clearly visible in her eyes.
Then she asked in astonishment:
"How did you know that I want revenge on someone?"
Odin shook his head and replied with a mysterious smile:
"That does not matter right now."
He gently set her down on the ground and turned toward the bear's corpse.
Pointing to it, he said:
"What matters now is that you learn how to use your power."
He stopped beside the body and said in a calm, confident voice:
"Close your eyes."
Elina waited silently.
Odin continued:
"Feel the power within your heart... then use it on this bear."
He gave her a reassuring smile and added:
"It is easier than you think. Your power has already awakened. All you need to do is reach out and grasp it."
Elina listened to Odin's words in complete silence, then slowly closed her eyes, trying to sense the power he had told her was dwelling within her dark heart.
At first, she felt nothing but profound silence.
But after a few moments, she began to perceive an immense energy hidden deep within her—a cold and shadowy force that nevertheless felt strangely familiar, as though it had always been a part of her.
She extended her awareness toward that power cautiously, then grasped it.
And when she felt that it was under her control, if only slightly, she suddenly opened her eyes.
She quickly raised her small hands toward the bear's corpse.
The moment she did, the atmosphere around them changed completely.
An icy wind swept through the forest. The trees trembled, and the sky darkened for a moment.
Then a terrifying black energy erupted from her hands, like a mass of living shadows.
It surged toward the bear's corpse and devoured it savagely, consuming flesh and bone within seconds until not a trace of the body remained.
When it was finished, the black energy returned to Elina.
The moment it reentered her body, something astonishing happened.
The wounds she had suffered during her battle with the bear began to heal at incredible speed.
The bite marks and deep scratches on her face and arm vanished.
Even her older injuries disappeared as though they had never existed.
Elina looked down at her body in amazement and whispered:
"So... this is my power?"
Odin smiled broadly, then burst into booming laughter that echoed throughout the forest.
"Well done! Well done, Elina!"
Then he continued in a voice filled with pride:
"This is exactly what I expected from the one I chose to become a great warrior."
He kept laughing so thunderously that it seemed the forest itself trembled with the sound.
But after a few moments, he stopped abruptly.
His smile faded, and he frowned as he looked toward a distant point on the horizon.
Then he said in a low voice:
"It seems several powers are hunting you, little one."
The moment he finished speaking, he and Elina vanished in an instant, as though they had never been there at all.
They left no trace behind.
Elina was overwhelmed with shock.
Only a moment ago, she had been standing in the forest, listening to Odin's thunderous laughter.
Now she found herself flying through the sky at tremendous speed, surrounded by clouds and fierce winds.
She could not even process what had happened.
After a few moments, she looked ahead and saw a vast ocean stretching endlessly before them.
Only then did she realize that she had already left the continent of Mira.
Her small body trembled slightly, and she looked up at Odin and asked:
"Where are you taking me?"
Odin looked down at her calmly and said in a reassuring voice:
"Relax. I will not harm you."
Then he continued in a serious tone:
"I did not force you to submit to me or to follow me. But if you had remained on the continent of Mira, many powers and races would have come for you. Some would try to kill you, and others would force you to join them."
Elina considered his words.
Although she lacked the experience to know who might be pursuing her, she felt that his explanation made sense.
If no one were searching for her, Odin would not have disappeared so quickly.
She also sensed that his concern for her was genuine.
So she gradually calmed down and allowed him to carry her away from Mira without resistance.
As for Odin, he laughed inwardly with great satisfaction and thought:
"We took the treasures from Mira..."
"We obtained the sacred spear from foolish Forn..."
"And now we have taken this gifted child as well."
His smile widened as he continued thinking:
"It seems that the continent of Mira is truly filled with hidden treasures and powers."
Then he remembered the demonic continent and smirked to himself.
"Unlike that land, which is filled only with demons... and contains no treasure worthy of my attention."
(Author's Note):
Hello everyone! Thank you for your continuous support of this novel; your comments and interactions mean the world to me.
Stepping away from our story here for a moment, I wanted to share another project I've been working on with great passion. I have started publishing a webtoon (comic) on the Webtoon platform titled "Me and the Wolf."
It is a [Comedy / Fantasy] story about a miserable young man and a cunning wolf who is constantly getting him into trouble! If you enjoy my writing style and the way I build scenarios, I promise you're going to love this comic.
I would be so grateful if you could go check it out, subscribe to the series, and let me know what you think in the comments there!
🔍 Search on the Webtoon app for: [Me and the Wolf]