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Volume 5 Chapter 4 Part 3

Since it appeared in Iceland, then {The Giant of Demise} most likely referred to Surtr, the leader of the Fire Giants from the fiery realm of Muspelheim, one of the nine worlds located on the branches of the World Tree Yggdrasil from the Norse Mythlogy. Homura remembered thar because Edward Grimmnir, the director of Everything Company’s Department of Development sometimes spoke of it because of his broad geopolitical interests.

In the Norse Mythology, Surtr is one of the major figures in their equivalent of the end of the world: Ragnarok, otherwise known as Gotterdammerung, 「The Twilight of the Gods」. In the Poetic Edda, it is said that he is going to lead the other Fire Giants of Muspelheim to do battle against the Aesir, the Gods of the realm of Asgard, and that he is going to use his fiery sword to set the roots of Yggdrasil ablaze, causing all of the nine realms to be engulfed by the flood of fire and lava.

Even though Iceland is primarily known as a cold region filled with ice and snow, but it is also one of the regions of the world’s most famous regions when it comes to volcanoes and volcanic activity owing it to its unique positioning both in the northern and western hemispheres of the earth. As for the region’s origins, Iceland became a volcanic region because of the movements of the huge North American tectonic plates and the Eurasian tectonic plates that collided with one another along with the depth abyss of the stars that supported both continents. Over the course of the ages, these tectonic plates and the underwater volcanoes came to be both feared and revered or even deified, and at one point they have been personified and immortalized in peoples conscience as the mythical Fire Giant. Looking at it from such a perspective, it would be no exaggeration to tell that {The Giant of Demise} or Surtr could be interpreted as Iceland itself. And because it is located on the Aorta of the Stars located between the northwestern and southeastern continents, it eventually led to the materialization of the Fire Giant Surtr for real.

「I heard that it managed to maintain and cultivate both its time density and Divinity for about three hundred million years starting from the Permian period, but as expected, that did not amount to much when it was attacked right after it has been awakened from its long slumber. Before it had the chance to be fully awakened with the entirety of its power, The Chief God of Norse Mythology send it to Little Garden where it was promptly defeated, and the scattered remains of his spirit seem to have manifested themselves as the rock giants that now wander all around Little Garden. 」

「Hmm . . . in short, is it really okay to leave them to wander around like that? Are they not going to pose a problem further down the line? Or are you saying that now that it has been split into so many pieces it no longer poses a threat big enough to destroy the Outer World?」

「Yes, he no longer possesses such a threat to the Outer World, but the biggest problem right now. . . . . is that the {Youngest Child of Gaia} is different from Surtr. Originally, it was supposed to be one of the decisive factors responsible for mankind’s destruction. It is a monster that was supposed to be born by breaking the Aorta of the Star, and after being born and emerging from the depths of the earth it was supposed to be so big as to cover the entirety of the heavens above with its massive body, becoming the largest and deadliest monster in the history of the planet with but a singular purpose in mind: the one of baring its fangs against humans and using them to tear them apart.

「But since you are speaking in past tense, then I presume. . . that it was not what ultimately happened?」

Arjuna nodded his head strongly at Homura’s question.

「Throughout the entire history of the Planet Earth, there were only two beings who were capable of changing the course of its history with their own hands, and they were both Divine Spirits. They were Zeus, The God of Lightning and the King of the Gods of Mount Olympus from Greek Mythology. . . and the other was Indra, The Strongest God of War and the King of the Gods from Indian Mythology, but he had nothing to do with bringing {The Youngest Child of Gaia} down, that achievement goes to Zeus alone, and this land we are currently on, the Lost Continent of Atlantis. . . is the corpse of the {Youngest Child of Gaia} that was supposed to have been born.」

「A… A CORPSE?!!!! The entire continent of Atlantis is actually a giant corpse?!!!!!」

This time, Homura was so shocked and surprised tat he had to stand up from his chair and almost let go of the teacup he was holding.

So what Arjuna is saying that everything that is under their feet and around them. . . that this entire mass of land was once a live, functioning life form?! If a monstrosity of such scale was to ever appear in the Outer World, there would really be nothing that could have been done about it, not with the technology and weaponry that the current humanity possesses at least. No matter in which era or time it would have chosen to appear, mere mortals would never be capable of inflicting even a single, insignificant scratch on it.

「And that is all the information that I know about. Well, how was it? Was it of any help to you at all?」

「Y-Yeah, I guess. . . . no, it certainly is going to be of great use to me but . . .why did you tell me all of that in the first place?」

Homura asked him, unsure if his intentions were really as simple and straightforward as he was claiming them to be. Besides, in their current situation, it cannot even be said that what they had was an exchange of information, because Homura was the only one here who obtained some useful knowledge from Arjuna, who was doing the talking the entire time while he kept on asking questions. Since such a one-sided exchange would give him nothing, then he was probably expecting him to agree to Krishan’s demands as a price and hand the Albino girl over to them, and if he still refuses to do that. . . .  in the event of Homura’s refusal to cooperate, it is more than likely that Arjuna was ordered to attack him outright if the negotiation and coercion tactics both failed to achieve the desired results. But instead of emanating a hostile killing intent, all that Arjuna did was smiling with the same kind of self-deprecating smile as before as he looked at Homura with calm eyes.

「Do not try to think about it too much or attach some broader context to it, because there really is not any at all. It was just my own, selfish whim. Or, if you want me to put it in other words, it was just my own way of rewarding the bravery of an ordinary human boy who has agreed to talk with someone like me one-on-one, even though he suspected that if things go wrong such a conversation might as well come at the expense of his own life. Ahh, if only all battles could have been avoided with just the courage to actually listen to what those on the side other than your own have to say, maybe there would be no need for us to shed so much innocent blood in the needless conflicts, and then maybe thing could have gone differently. . . I am sure that is what Arjuna would have thought if he heard you right now. Yes, that would be very much like him.」

And he continued to laugh in self-deprecating tone. It is something that his usual, cold-hearted and calculating self would not even think about. But if it was not for Arjuna’s tears that he saw and if Saigo Homura did not express his willingness to talk to him one-on-one without anyone getting in their way, he would never have chosen to use such lenient means.