Ana glared at Menrva, fury blazing in her eyes, and challenged her at once.

  “He left us here alone—can’t you see that? He betrayed us again!” Ana shouted.

  Menrva turned sharply to the Roman goddess and yelled, “Bellona, show them!”

  “Yes!” Bellona cried with boundless energy. At that moment, a chain appeared in her left hand, bound around her wrist. The chain’s tip stretched outward, then vanished, as though slipping into an invisible phantom hole.

  “I told Bellona to bind this chain to Loki’s ankle,” Menrva explained. “Once he finds Yamocha, Bellona will simply teleport us to the end of the chain.”

  “Yamozha,” Anpiel corrected again.

  “Sorry,” the Etruscan goddess said sheepishly. “I’m terrible with names from this region.”

  “And how do we know Loki hasn’t already removed the chain?” Tania asked.

  “I can see through Loki’s eyes right now,” Bellona replied. “His eyes can see through illusions—that’s how he moves so freely.”

  “And if he notices the chain and removes it,” Menrva added, “we’ll teleport to wherever he is and capture him again.”

  “Well… thanks,” Epona said, finally calmer.

  “It’s my job, Epona. I told you that already,” Menrva replied with a smile.

  “So we just wait here?” Tania asked. “What guarantees that Loki will actually look for the god of this world?”

  “Loki wants to find Odin,” Menrva answered. “Even if he doesn’t want us following him, his objective hasn’t changed.”

  “Alright,” the Punic goddess said, dropping heavily onto the grass. “Then we wait.”

  The others nodded and sat down as well.

  Susanoo settled beside Epona in lotus position.

  “Thou must not harbour doubt towards Menrva-san, Epona-chan,” the eastern god said calmly. “She and Ishtar-san stand alone as the only warriors of true honour ever to have served Ares-sama.”

  Epona noticed that Menrva was speaking with Bellona and wasn’t paying attention to them.

  “On our way here, I felt a malignant presence in the direction Menrva wanted us to go,” Epona confessed in a very low voice.

  Ana and Tania moved closer, forming a small circle around her. Anpiel and Rodrigo joined them. Everyone spoke in hushed tones.

  “What do you mean, Epona?” Tania asked.

  “When we went into outter space,” Epona said, “and later in Asgard… she told me that there would be no Palas in the future.”

  “Are you certain?” Anpiel asked, frustrated.

  “Why would I lie?” the equine goddess replied.

  “Do you want me to talk to her?” Anpiel offered, but Epona shook her head.

  “I’m only saying this so we stay alert,” she said.

  “Pray be assured, Epona-chan, that Menrva-san harbours not a single iota of ill intent,” Susanoo said gently. “And should your heart require absolute certainty, why, you have but to make your entreaty to Palas. Did not the divine Athena-sama bestow upon Anpiel-san a crystal of communion for this very purpose??”

  “I tried using it yesterday,” Anpiel admitted, “but communications are blocked in this dimension.”

  Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

  “Maybe she plans to leave us trapped here forever,” Rodrigo muttered.

  “Should the circumstance demand it, we may certainly retrace our ascent and dispatch the wolves,” Susanoo said, trying to encourage them. “However, I remain thoroughly persuaded that all shall conclude most favourably. Place thy trust in her. She is, in every particular, a most admirable and virtuous young lady.”

  “You know her better than we do,” Anpiel added. “And for good reason, Lady Athena trusted her. I agree with Lord Susanoo—you may be exaggerating again.”

  “…Fine. I’ll trust her,” Epona said, covering her face with her hand.

  “Do you think you could defeat her if she became our enemy?” Ana asked Tania.

  “No. Not even remotely,” Tania confessed frankly. “I can only hope Susanoo is right.”

  More than an hour passed. Everyone rested on the grass while Bellona hopped over the hills like a child. Suddenly, the Roman goddess stopped and waved both arms toward the group.

  “Guys!” she shouted. “He’s stopped!”

  “That’s great!” Menrva cried, springing to her feet and rushing over to Bellona. The others followed, gathering around her.

  “Loki is staring at a massive mountain range right now,” Bellona said.

  “Do you think Yamocha is there?” Menrva asked.

  “Yamozha,” Anpiel corrected yet again. “You’d better learn that name before we meet him.”

  “I’ll… try,” the Etruscan goddess said, embarrassed.

  “I’m not sure,” Bellona admitted. “But we can go there and see.”

  “Then take us there,” Menrva ordered.

  Bellona raised her hand, and more chains emerged, positioning themselves before each of the gods.

  “Touch the tip, all of you,” she instructed.

  Epona glanced at Susanoo uncertainly. He nodded and touched the chain. Reassured, Epona did the same. Everyone grasped their respective chains.

  A powerful pull yanked them forward. When their senses returned, they were standing directly behind Loki, who was still staring ahead at nothing but green prairie.

  “We meet again, Loki,” Menrva shouted.

  In that instant, Bellona bound him once more in chains before he could even react.

  “Damn it! I knew you’d set a trap,” Loki snarled.

  “A trap? I knew you’d run again,” Menrva shot back angrily. “Do you think I’m stupid?”

  “Alright, alright,” Loki muttered.

  Tania seized him by the neck, her claw poised to strike.

  “I told you you’d experience hell if you betrayed us again!” she roared.

  “Enough, Tania!” Menrva interrupted, stopping the flaming arm with her bare hand.

  Then, before everyone’s astonished eyes, Menrva prostrated herself before Loki, pressing her face to the ground. Even the Norse god didn’t know how to react.

  “Loki, god of Asgard,” she said. “I beg you. We need your help. We are useless when it comes to mental powers. We survived the Cave of Dreams thanks to you. Please—let us work together.”

  “Don’t degrade yourself like that!” Tania shouted, but Menrva did not respond.

  All eyes turned to Loki. His face clearly showed discomfort. At last, he relaxed and sighed.

  “Fine. I’ll cooperate,” he said. “But I admit I don’t feel safe with those women judging me every second.”

  Bellona removed the chains.

  Tania, Ana, and Epona immediately assumed combat stances again, but Loki looked at them with weary eyes.

  “I won’t run,” he said. “I swear it on Father Odin.”

  Menrva stood and smiled.

  “Thank you for your support, Loki.”

  “Whatever,” Loki muttered, clearing his throat.

  He pointed ahead, where there seemed to be nothing but endless grass.

  “Yamozha is beneath those mountains,” he said.

  “Mountains? I don’t see anything. Remember the illusion?” Ana protested.

  Loki sighed and moved his hands as he spoke.

  “Stara í myrkrie (Sight in the Darkness).”

  The world revealed itself. Before them rose an immense snow-covered mountain range.

  They all gazed in amazement at the beautiful world that unfolded before their eyes. Loki's ability to grant them the power to discern illusions was astonishing.

  “Oh. So… do we just destroy the mountains?” Tania asked.

  “No!” Loki snapped. “Don’t touch the mountains!”

  “Why not?” she asked.

  “Because those mountains are just sediment,” Loki replied. “Yamozha is the mountain range.”

  Using telekinesis, Loki lifted the earth, stone, grass, and snow away. Beneath it lay a colossal naked giant, asleep—his body having shaped the mountains themselves.

  The titan was enormous, vast enough to form an entire system of peaks.

  “That’s Yamozha?” Menrva asked in disbelief.

  “I doubt there’s anyone else down here besides those flying rodents,” Loki said.

  The giant slept soundly, drool spilling from his mouth. He had long, wild dark hair, brown skin, and was completely naked.

  “We’ll have to wake him,” Ana said, staring at the colossus.

  “And what if he attacks us?” Epona asked, frightened.

  “We have no choice,” Menrva said, summoning her golden spear.

  “Wait,” Anpiel interrupted. “Don’t draw weapons or wake him violently. We need his favor—not to anger him.”

  “Then what do we do?” Tania asked.

  Loki laughed.

  “Honestly, how did you ever form a team without anyone with mental powers?” he mocked.

  “Alright, Loki,” Ana said sarcastically. “Show us how to wake the giant.”

  Loki raised his mistletoe staff and intoned:

  “Hugur sprengja (Mind Blast).”

  The spell disrupted Yamozha’s sleep.

  The giant, then, opened his eyes.

  If you’d like to support the story, a follow or rating helps a lot.

  The next part will be released Tomorrow.