After the dragon had flown away and disappeared from their sight, Thor remained standing in place for a while, watching the sky through which the dragon had departed.
His body was still affected by the battle, and the lightning surrounding him had gradually begun to fade.
Thor took a deep breath, then closed his eyes for a few moments, trying to regain his composure after the fierce battle.
After taking some time to calm down, he opened his eyes and looked at Sol and Ran.
Then he said:
"Let's return to Asgard so we can heal and recover our strength. Asgard is currently vulnerable, since there aren't many Rulers there."
Sol and Ran nodded in agreement.
There was no reason for them to remain there after the battle had ended.
Especially since the battle against the dragon had drained their strength.
They needed to rest and recover their energy.
Sol said:
"I agree with you. We should return to Asgard."
Ran added as she looked toward Asgard:
"Then let's hurry."
The three of them immediately set off toward Asgard at tremendous speed.
Sol and Ran were in good condition.
Neither of them had suffered any significant injuries, aside from some fatigue caused by the fierce battle.
The two of them had fought the dragon from a distance, while Thor had confronted it directly.
Therefore, they had avoided the injuries Thor had received.
As for Thor...
He had suffered a few injuries.
They were minor and not dangerous, but they still required treatment, especially if he had to fight at full strength again.
He could be summoned into battle at any moment.
Or something new could happen that would require him to unleash his full power.
Therefore, they needed some time to rest.
They had to recover and regain their strength before entering another confrontation.
And so...
Thor, Sol, and Ran left the battlefield behind, heading toward Asgard.
But somewhere else...
Far away from Thor, Ran, and Sol...
Medusa had already reached the Demon Continent.
She had infiltrated the continent without anyone noticing.
She did not want anyone to see her while she was injured and in such a weakened state.
There was another reason as well.
She wanted to reach her daughter without anyone knowing about it...
Or sensing her arrival, especially Odin's raven.
The moment she reached her territory...
Snakes began emerging from all directions.
They moved around her as though they had come to welcome their queen back.
But Medusa paid no attention to them.
She was exhausted and injured.
She had no desire to cause chaos or attract attention.
She quietly gestured to them, as though ordering them not to make any noise.
Then she continued on her way.
She wanted to reach the cave where she and her daughter lived.
But this time...
Her goal was not to rest.
But it was the raven.
The raven posed a threat to her daughter's life.
Therefore, Medusa had decided to get rid of it as quickly as possible.
Medusa quietly slipped into the cave.
Her footsteps were light, and every movement was carefully calculated so she would not wake her sleeping daughter.
After a few moments...
She reached the place where her daughter was.
And there...
She saw her daughter sleeping.
But what made Medusa stop for a moment was the sight of her daughter embracing the raven in her sleep.
Medusa silently looked at the two of them.
Then she slowly approached.
She did not wake her daughter.
She carefully reached out and took the raven from her arms.
Then she carried it out of the cave.
Medusa wanted to deal with the matter away from her daughter.
But...
The moment she left the cave...
The raven opened its eyes.
It had not been asleep as Medusa had believed.
It calmly looked at her.
Then spread its wings and flew away.
Medusa stopped.
She looked at it.
Then realized that it had been awake from the very beginning.
Even so...
Medusa did not kill the raven.
She decided that it was not worth it.
She also did not want to fight the raven, which carried that person's power within its body, especially while she was injured and in such a weakened state.
Medusa knew very well that entering another battle while weakened could be a terrible decision.
Therefore...
She allowed the raven to leave.
Medusa watched as it flew away from the Demon Continent.
Her gaze remained fixed on it until it disappeared into the distance.
Then she said in a tired voice:
"Hah... So my battle with that person was destined to happen."
She fell silent for a few moments.
Then she began remembering the past.
She remembered the warning of the Demon Saint.
He had warned her about the black-winged individual...
The person she would eventually face, and whose battle would pose a great danger to her.
She remembered the black feathers of the raven.
Then she sighed and said:
"The Demon Saint was right about this once again."
She remained silent for a few moments.
Then continued:
"He truly was a terrifying enemy."
Medusa let out a deep sigh.
Her exhaustion was obvious.
Her wounds were still painful, and the previous battle had drained a great deal of her strength.
She was no longer capable of moving around for very long.
She looked around.
Then found a cave near the one where her daughter was staying.
She headed toward it and quietly entered.
Then she lay down inside.
She needed to rest.
She needed to treat her wounds and recover her strength as quickly as possible.
She did not want to remain weak.
She had to regain her strength...
Because she wanted revenge.
And because she wanted to be ready to join the war her king was waging against the angels.
Therefore...
Medusa closed her eyes and began resting inside the cave, while the Demon Continent remained quiet around her.
Outside...
The war continued.
And events were moving toward another confrontation.
No one realized that what had just happened was merely the beginning of another chain of events.
(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]