Karnilla had a look of pure shock on her face; her strongest attack had not even fazed me. She was certain now that she couldn't win in pure destructive power.
"You are indeed strong… Magnar Odinson, but my strength lies not in destructive power, but in my magic. If you think you can win just because you have more destructive powers, then… you're simply courting Death." Her words put a grin on my face.
"Courting Death? Indeed I do that, quite often actually, it's awesome, she's quite the squirter." I said with a devil-like grin, a pure look of smugness.
"HEY!! DON'T BRING ME INTO THIS!!" Hela shouted as she threw her sword at my face, her face bright red from embarrassment, acting like a tsundere from some romance anime—but hey, this is the Marvel world.
"Sorry about that, love. Don't mind me, continue fighting!" I just waved her off. As for her sword, I grabbed it and sent it back to her, hitting the opponent she was fighting, impaling him and ending his life on the spot.
"Anyways, as I was saying, the thing is, it does not matter what you do, you can try, nothing would change the result of our fight today." I went back to taunting Karnilla.
"Humph." She proceeded to close her eyes and cast her spells—what she was best at.
Now, even I had to agree that she was a tricky opponent to fight. If I were as weak as my father, defeating her would have been quite the headache. I could understand the reason why Nornheim had remained independent up until now.
Karnilla was an expert in illusion magic, mind trickery, and magic overall. She had good physical stats too, but right now, even a common Aesir warrior was physically stronger than her.
Overall, she came under the type of people who were not extremely strong but hard to kill. She could use illusions and run away.
Then there was her trump card—the Norn Stones. Nothing too special, a power booster, but the Aesir now had the Asgard Force, which was much better.
Unfortunately for Karnilla, I was just a very bad matchup. Her specialty was illusion, and with the presence of Eva, there probably wasn't any illusion in the multiverse that could affect me.
Her raw strength wasn't enough to damage me, meaning I could just stand here, and she wouldn't be able to harm me.
And running away? Not an option. I had done extensive study on the Space Stone and Time Stone after becoming king. Well… Eva did, but same thing.
So, I could manipulate both space and time at a conceptual level.
This surpassed the stones themselves, because they were only effective within a universe, but I understood how they worked and made them function anywhere. It was a neat power.
It also made me think of collecting the rest of the Infinity Stones to study. Although the Mind Stone would not be of much use, so that could be ignored.
Anyways, back to the fight.
So, Karnilla used her illusions on me, and the only thing that changed was her reaction. That pure, unadulterated look of shock was comical to look at.
"You… how are you immune to illusions?" she asked, her voice a bit shaky.
"Please, as if something as puny as some illusions can affect me." I chuckled. Though, I wondered what level of illusions Eva could build if she worked at it at full capacity.
[I can give it a run right now if you want to…]
'My my, now I am really excited. Impress me—make such an illusion that in the next second, she practically begs to surrender.' I asked smugly, giving Eva a little challenge.
[Oh, you think I can't do it, Master~]
'I believe you can do it, that's why I asked, dear Eva.'
[Sure, prepare to be surprised then. I assume I have the rights to use your powers for a while?]
'You have the rights all the time.'
[Watch and learn then.]
And Eva went into action. My energies flared for a microsecond, and Karnilla's body went stiff.
A mere second later, she fell to her knees, gasping loudly.
She then looked at me, her expression full of panic and desperation, and she started begging,
"P… Please, I beg you, I accept your surrender, please, let me be your slave, I… I promise, I won't even think of betrayal, please, I just don't want to be here anymore, take me away, please…"
What the fuck?
'Eva, what did you even do?'
[Hehe.]
'Don't hehe me, tell me.'
[Oh, why don't you watch for yourself then.]
-Movie mode-
-Karnilla POV-
Magnar Odinson was strong, stronger than I imagined. I thought he would be around Odin's level… but this was something else entirely.
And that doesn't even begin to describe how infuriating he is. He didn't just ask for my surrender, he asked for me to become his slave—to lose my free will, and maybe become an object for his debauchery.
As if that was possible. I was determined to end his life right then and there, but reality was different. I was too weak to even hurt him, and even my most prized illusions—he was immune to them.
I took a deep breath and activated the power of the Norn Stone. I was at my strongest strength now. Maybe, I could do something.
"You think using a stone would change the outcome? Why don't we compete then?" He chuckled and raised his spear, pointing it at me. The implications were clear, but his laid-back expression was enough to say that he wasn't serious.
Maybe this was an opportunity. I gathered every bit of magic power within my body, and the entire energy of the Norn Stone, aiming to unleash a super-concentrated beam that would overpower his attack and impale him, ending his life.
This attack was dangerous. Using all my energy at once and drawing this much energy from the Norn Stone was bound to have its effect. I would lose my powers for months to come. It was like Odin's Odin Sleep, which left him weaker than even a common soldier for about a year.
The risks were far too many, but this was my only option right now.
Taking a deep breath and preparing myself, I concentrated the entire energy in the form of a sphere in my hand. An unprecedented wave of weakness filled me all over.
He also gathered some of his energy at the tip of his spear, a bright golden and dangerous energy—but I was in no state to consider anything. I could not hold on much longer.
I unleashed it all, hoping for the best. The mightiest attack I had ever unleashed—it was so powerful that the very space around the beam seemed to disintegrate. Surely this would kill him.
The golden beam he unleashed collided with my green-colored beam, and not even a second later, my attack was torn apart.
'What??...'
Is that it? Is this how I end?
I watched with fear as the attack neared me. I didn't think I could survive this. My powers were exhausted, and even if they weren't, I still didn't think I would be safe from an attack that powerful.
The attack fell upon me, and it all went blank.
A searing pain spread all over my body. I could feel my life seeping away, but a golden energy bound it soon. It didn't heal me completely, just ensured that I didn't die.
I opened my eyes—it was difficult—but I still needed to see the situation.
"You're even weaker than I had imagined… Here I thought you would make a good slave, but you are too worthless to even bring along…" He said, disappointment apparent in his voice.
"You have still bound me in some spell… So, am I to assume that I am already your slave?" I asked, my voice barely coming out.
"No, that is just a mark of a defeated queen, and it is the thing which has bound your life currently. It ensures that you live until I wish you to." He said calmly.
"My life and death are in your hands, along with my pride. How is that any different from a slave? Isn't that what you wanted me for? To satiate your beastly debauchery?" I chuckled, but ended up coughing out blood.
"To satiate my debauchery? Please, you overestimate yourself. I have much more beautiful women spreading their legs for me. What do I need you for?" He chuckled.
"So, what happens to me now?"
"Nothing. Rule over your little shack. What happens here is none of my concern. A backward place with a defeated queen is not worthy of my attention." He said, and walked away.
A level of humiliation I had never felt before hit me. Am I not even worthy to be his slave?
It was a strange thought—I couldn't understand how I could have such thoughts—but I wasn't in a state to pay it much mind.
With a self-deprecating laugh, my body finally gave up, and I fell unconscious.
When I woke up, I could feel myself bound, chained completely, in a kneeling position, barely any clothes covering my body.
I looked up, and what I saw shocked me.
"Ulik, what is the meaning of this?" I asked with anger. Ulik the Rock Troll, the strongest in Nornheim after me, was sitting on the throne, and I was bound here like a prisoner.
"Why don't you look around and understand it yourself." He chuckled.
And I just did what he said. It was a full court, and here I was, chained, with clothes barely covering my privates. It was shameful…
"Skuld, Urd, Verdandi… what's happening?" Even though I understood, I still asked, clinging to that last glimmer of hope.
"A slave is unfit to be a queen. You're just that now—a discarded slave, yet still a slave." Skuld said, speaking the words for all three Norns.
My blood turned cold…
So, in the end, the Norns even betrayed me.
All I wanted was to protect them…
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