"You know the identity of the Great Serpent. He's from Asgard, the elder brother of your father, Odin."
"What happened next?"
"After the Great Serpent was defeated by my father, he was sealed on Midgard," Thor answered without hesitation.
Leon nodded, then his voice boomed like thunder. "I've searched the entire Earth, leaving out not an inch of land or a single corner, and I haven't found any seal."
Ophelia's eyes flickered slightly. Thor and Loki were even more shocked. "How is that possible?" Thor said, his voice full of disbelief.
"The Great Serpent is not on Earth." Leon turned, stretching out a finger. A blue-breasted quail that had been flying nearby seemed tired. It fluttered its wings without any fear of humans, its thin claws landing on Leon's finger. It then used its beak to preen its ruffled feathers.
Looking at the small, delicate creature, Leon continued slowly, "Where do you think she could be?"
Thor and Loki both had serious expressions. Thor was trying to figure out why the Serpent wasn't on Earth, but Loki was thinking more deeply. The information he had found clearly stated that Odin had defeated and sealed the Serpent at the bottom of Midgard. This man was saying he couldn't find it. Was the information wrong? Or was this man lying?
The former was a possibility, but if it was the latter, why was he lying? Was he connected to the Serpent? This man didn't have the mark of Asgardian divine power, but that could just be an illusion. For someone at this level, was it hard to hide their true identity from him and Thor? Could he be the Serpent himself? The more Loki thought about it, the more he panicked. The more he thought, the more he wondered if this man was part of some terrible conspiracy. He stared at Leon's back. In a trance, he seemed to see a terrifyingly large snake, its tongue flicking, its dark, greedy eyes staring back at him. He swallowed hard, a drop of cold sweat running down his forehead.
Thor, however, didn't think so deeply. He touched his chin, a puzzled expression on his face. "If my father really sealed the Great Serpent on Midgard, and even His Majesty the God King can't find it, could it be that he broke the seal early?"
"But if the seal is broken, with his cruel and tyrannical nature, he would definitely be spreading panic to increase his power."
"If the seal isn't broken, could it be that he's not on Midgard, and our records are wrong?"
Odin, this foolish oaf, stop talking! The more Loki listened, the more frightened he became. He was terrified that Thor, with his simple mind, would stumble upon the truth and they would be skinned alive. Loki wanted to sew Thor's mouth shut.
Thor, oblivious to his brother's murderous thoughts, continued his own analysis. "Or, the seal might have sent the Great Serpent to another dimension—a dimension that only my father can access."
This kind of seal wasn't unfamiliar to Asgardians. It was a powerful kind of seal that would transport a being to another dimension, leaving behind a very subtle and obscure medium at the original location. If that were the case, it would make perfect sense.
"Maybe you're right," Leon's voice came, melodic and calm. Loki felt a wave of relief. Fortunately, his foolish brother hadn't thought of the other possibility. But Leon's next words made him nervous again. Leon gently raised his hand, and the blue-breasted quail fluttered its wings and flew away. He turned and looked at Thor and Loki.
"But even if you knew where the seal's origin is, what could you do? Could you break the seal left by Odin? Or after breaking the seal, could you kill the Great Serpent? Can you do that?"
Thor froze, and Loki trembled all over. With his terrible suspicion still in mind, he felt the meaning of these words change, full of a murderous intent that suggested he would die if he gave the wrong answer.
Loki's mind raced, and he spoke before Thor could. "Your Majesty, what you mean is that this has nothing to do with the seal. Instead, someone is trying to break the seal in some way to free the Great Serpent."
"That's the only possibility," Leon nodded, as if agreeing.
Loki felt a sense of relief, then he frowned, adopting a serious and righteous expression. "It must be the believers who were bewitched by the Serpent. They're trying everything they can to unseal the Serpent and spread fear. I, Loki, will never let such a thing happen!"
"Well said, brother! Our duty is to maintain the peace of the Nine Realms!" Thor was inspired by Loki's words, his eyes firm. "The evil Serpent will be defeated by justice! And those evil bastards who want to subvert the peace of the Nine Realms must be beheaded, and their ugliness will be spurned by all!"
I beg you, stop talking, my foolish brother, Loki thought, exhausted.
Fortunately, Leon seemed to appreciate it. He smiled. "What do you plan to do next?"
Without waiting for Loki to speak, Thor answered. "We want to go back to Asgard. With you here on Midgard, I believe that even if the Serpent appears here, you will defeat him. I'm more concerned that the Serpent's seal is not on Midgard, but in another dimension, and that his followers will find it. If we can get ahead of them, we can protect the seal."
Loki glanced at Thor in surprise, not making a sound, finally happy that his brother had stopped being a complete idiot.
"A good idea. Go ahead."
"Yes. I believe that when the Allfather wakes up, he will definitely invite you to visit Asgard," Thor and Loki said respectfully, bowing. After receiving a nod from Leon, Thor shouted Heimdall's name to the sky. A dazzling, colorful beam of light fell on the terrace. The figures of Thor and Loki disappeared as the light dimmed.
Looking up at the two brothers leaving, Leon couldn't help but laugh. Ophelia, who had been silent, raised an eyebrow. "Do you think they're wrong?"
"Not entirely. Thor isn't lying."
"But the one called Loki is, isn't he?"
"He's the God of Mischief, naturally suspicious." Leon smiled, remembering Loki's nonchalant expression, which had been hiding his immense panic. Loki really thought he had concealed it well. In truth, the gap in their life levels was too vast. Though Loki was a god of mischief, he was still too young to hide his emotional fluctuations, which came from the soul and spirit.
"He suspected you were the Serpent?" A smile hung on Ophelia's charming face.
"He hid it so well. I didn't even notice," she said, teasingly.
"Under my pressure, his will was tempered, and he grew a lot. He can now control his mischief magic very well. It's normal that you couldn't detect it, as you can't capture fluctuations at the soul level."
"But according to the two brothers, will the Serpent bring disaster to Earth?" Ophelia was a little worried. Her mindset had changed. Earth was now her home base. Anyone who dared to destroy Leon's home was an enemy in her heart and had to be killed.
"The Serpent's level is too high. It can obscure the river of fate and hide all the information that could lead to it. No useful information can be found in a short time."
Normally, if a major event of this level was happening on Earth, it wouldn't be hidden from Leon, unless the other party's status was much higher than his. But the Serpent's level was not low—at least equal to his. Even the peak Odin couldn't kill it. Powerful beings of the same level can hide their actions by obscuring the secrets of heaven. Neither Leon nor Odin could detect it. This was why Odin only noticed the origin of the fear when the Serpent was breaking its seal. And the timing was impeccable, happening right when Odin was in his deep sleep. Perhaps this was a destined coincidence, a disaster that Thor, Loki, and Asgard were fated to experience.
But Leon's presence had now broken this "destiny." The Serpent probably never expected a freak like Leon to exist.
"So, the Serpent will inevitably be unsealed?" Ophelia asked, puzzled.
Leon shook his head. "Not necessarily. But why should we stop it?"
Ophelia's beautiful eyes widened slightly, then she understood. "Yes, why should we stop it? It has nothing to do with us. The Serpent was sealed and exiled by Odin. After being unsealed, the people he would hate the most are Odin, Thor, Loki, and all of Asgard." Why should they rush to help? They weren't anyone's vassals, least of all Asgard's.
Seeing that Ophelia understood, Leon pointed a finger. "We just have to wait and watch the show."
"Yes," Ophelia nodded obediently. She then raised her head and stretched out a slender hand to sweep her long green hair to the side. Her delicate face was charming, and her eyes, which captivated everyone, flashed slightly. "It's very late, my master."
Leon raised an eyebrow, looking at the beautiful snake-woman in front of him. "It is very late."
"The beautiful moonlight needs company, and gods are no exception." Ophelia was bold, walking around Leon with an elegant, cat-like step, showing off her charm. Finally, she stood behind him, pressing her body close, her hands wrapping around him. "You have given me a new life, and I will dedicate everything to you—my body and my soul."
Leon's eyes were dark. The wind was strong and the rain was heavy. A faint sobbing sound arose, like a cry, and like joy. The temple was very noisy that night.
Thor and Loki returned to the Bifrost center in Asgard. The moment they appeared, before Thor could speak, he felt a pair of hands grab his collar. It was Loki, his face contorted in anger. Thor was confused. The anger in Loki's eyes lessened when he saw Thor's dumbstruck expression. He sighed and let go of Thor's collar, speaking with all his might.
"Haven't you figured it out yet, my dear brother?"
"Figured out what?" Thor was confused by the question.
"Haven't you ever thought about the identities of those people?" Loki asked impatiently.
"Loki, you know that they are gods on the same level as our father. We have no right to overstep our boundaries." Thor's face was serious. As the son of a king, his etiquette was impeccable. He might be arrogant to mortals or those of a weaker life level, or he might drink and carouse with people without restraint. But this was all from a position of superiority. When facing a god whose life level was far above his own, as Odin's son representing Asgard, he had to be respectful. The arrogance they had shown at the start had already caused them trouble, and he wasn't about to let Loki make the same mistake again, which might bring unnecessary enemies to Asgard.
Loki weakly touched his forehead and shook his head. "Midgard has been ruled by Asgard since we unified the Nine Realms. We have been there countless times. How could such a backward and ignorant civilization suddenly give birth to so many gods, and even a God King on the same level as our father?"
"My dear brother, have you never wondered why?"
Thor was stunned by Loki's words. After a moment, he frowned and said hesitantly, "You mean... that was the Great Serpent?"
"Thank you, my dear brother. You've finally figured it out," Loki said, his expression like a father watching his son grow up, which only annoyed Thor.
"Is that even possible? The Serpent is an Asgardian, and he should have the blood of the Odinson family flowing in him, with a mark. But I didn't feel it," Thor said, puzzled.
"The Serpent is a powerful opponent that even our father couldn't kill. At that level, do you think it's hard for him to hide his identity from us?" Loki said with disdain.
(End of Chapter)
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