Chapter 15: Beginning of Ragnarok
"Did you lose, brother? What a regrettable turn of events indeed; it seems you're too old, Odin," Loki chuckled as she saw Odin return with Thor, accompanied by only a few Valkyries behind him. They appeared messy and bloodied, and everyone in Asgard could see that the Allfather had suffered a terrible defeat.
"Mind your own business, Loki," Thor snorted.
"Ah, yes, I should mind my own business. I shouldn't accuse our king; I should praise his greatness for how wise he was. Very wise Odin, who couldn't even defeat a vampire. Hahaha," Loki laughed as she disappeared.
"We should teach Loki her place, brother. How dare she disrespect you?" Thor, who knew his brother's plan, understood that the defeat Odin suffered in the North was far from what it appeared on the surface.
"She will learn soon," Odin chuckled darkly.
"Now, Loki knows that I am a 'weak' ruler. Not only did I lose in war, but I also couldn't save my own Valkyries and lost my Gungnir in the process. I lost terribly at the hands of the King of Vampires, and I lost my territory to him. But... Loki seems to forget that everything is not always as it seems. Her greed for the throne of Asgard blinds her."
"She will make mistakes. Her arrogance will bite her soon," Odin said, then began to sit on his throne.
"And when the time comes, I will be the one who takes Loki's head," Thor vowed.
Odin chuckled at Thor's loyalty as he reclined himself on his throne. Everything was part of his plan. He had deliberately lost at the hands of Titus Brunestud. If he wanted to go to all-out war with him, he wouldn't just bring Valkyries; he would bring all the Norse gods and Viking warriors, plus the heroic spirits he owned from the Hall of Valhalla.
He had wanted to abandon the North long ago and focus his march westward instead, but he never had any excuse to do so. Now, he had one, and he did it in the name of saving Brynhildr.
Then he lost in disgrace, showing everyone that Titus Brunestud was not someone he could fight. This strategy not only painted Titus Brunestud as the greatest threat they should face but also made everyone less wary of Odin, especially since his aggression against the Nine Realms made everyone afraid of him and always on guard. The bright record of Titus Brunestud was a breakthrough for Odin. As long as he was defeated at Titus's hand in a reasonable manner, everyone would begin to lower their guard. When they did, he would get rid of traitors like Loki and begin his conquest again in Celtic mythology.
The Queen of Shadows was one of his agents on the Irish side. Her actions of killing gods in Celtic mythology were very reasonable, considering she was very close to Odin in the Lostbelt lore despite being from Celtic mythology, not Norse.
It can be said that Scathach was Odin's agent from the beginning to the end, a spy he had implanted in Celtic mythology. He wanted to weaken them from the inside by making Scathach, who was supposed to belong to their myth, kill them and become a Godslayer without making them wary of it. It was their culture, after all; as long as it was not an outsider who killed them, they would turn a blind eye and let Scathach slaughter them.
If they were weak, they would perish. If they were strong, they would thrive and gain a great reputation for killing the Queen of Shadows. The duel of life and death was common for them, and Odin didn't mind exploiting this twisted sense of honor to weaken them at the same time.
Not only the Queen of Shadows, but he was also secretly allied with Vortigern. This already showed his ambition toward the West. After he took the West, he would march to the New World continent.
But guess what? Loki seemed too blind to his defeat and didn't see the whole picture of his plan.
It was very convenient for him to get rid of all the traitors once and for all by making Loki gather them in one place. As much of a king god as he was, he was a wise god, not a tyrant. After all, even though many of his rank were disgruntled and displeased about his leadership, no one dared to say anything, and he couldn't do anything against them as they didn't rebel against him.
But now they would, and he would have an excuse to execute them.
After he got rid of all the traitors and dissidents in his ranks, he would march westward, then he would go east and take back his Gungnir from the hands of those insolent vampires.
Everything was within his plan.
He deliberately lost to Titus Brunestud, the King of Vampires, not because he was weak but to set the stage for something far greater.
The defeat was a gambit, the kind only a true god of wisdom could conceive. As the pieces fall into place, it becomes clear: Odin's game is far from over.
...
"Our time has come, everyone! Odin has been defeated; he's just a weak ruler. Now, it's time for us to show Odin his place!"
"Loki!"
"Loki!"
"Loki!"
Everyone roared as they showed their support for her.
"Father, I have just brought all the True Ancestors from the North. They have accepted your terms to help you ascend to the throne and become the God-King, on the premise that you will help them take Rome. They want Rome and will take it as their base," Hella, the Goddess of the Underworld or you can call her the Goddess of Death, whispered.
"They don't want revenge? I thought they wanted to fight that disgraceful prince," Loki frowned as she wanted to take this opportunity to take back the North with the help of the True Ancestors under the pretext of helping them.
In her mind, they should hold a grudge and want to eat that disgraceful prince's flesh and tear him to shreds for kicking them out of their home. It can be said that they took the initiative to migrate to Midgard, the current location where Loki is now after she offered them a place to stay.
Most of them chose to migrate with her, while the rest were just lambs waiting to be slaughtered by Titus Brunestud.
"No, they don't," Hella answered simply.
"Don't ask me; I don't know anything, father. They demand your answer, whether you want to accept it or not."
"Will do," Loki nodded.
Anyway, as long as they agreed to support her cause, she agreed to any of their conditions.
Odin may think that everything is under his control and that the threats to his rule are just discontented gods. But Loki isn't a slouch either. She knew that fighting for Odin's throne had a low chance of success. Don't look at her as reckless for insulting Odin and humiliating him in front of his subjects. She knew Odin conquering the Nine Realms was not without backing. Although she mocked him and sounded like she underestimated him, she did not. It was just part of her plan to make Odin think that everything was under his control.
She smirked wickedly at the thought.
"Now, let's meet our allies."
Unknown to them, it's not the beginning of their conquest, but Ragnarok waiting to be happened.
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