Bloodlines of the Ancient Pantheons

A chilling scream echoed in the city of Klorr and the warriors who were witnessing the battle were amazed to discover that it did not come from Dag, but from his enemy, who had never felt physical pain in all its existence.

As the spines entered the enemy's body, Dag came closer and closer to him, proving to everyone, including himself, that the time of fear was over and that a new era was about to begin: that of rebellion that would lead to the breaking of chains that were imprisoning the human race.

"Which of my parents was a Xis?! My mother or father?! Tell me, you bastard!" Dag yelled as the alien tried unsuccessfully to wriggle out of the stingers that pierced his body and the first layers of the ground below, continuing deep for a couple of meters.

From the Xis came no answer, only moans of pain.

"Tell me! Confess the truth and then die, you son of a bitch! Your long existence ends here and now! I will make you feel what we human beings feel when our lives are taken from us by force! I will never forget all the children you have killed on Earth and all the cruelty you have forced us to endure! Aaaargh!" Dag shouted, as his dark spines shattered the enemy's rib cage and shredded his torso, engulfed in flames and electricity.

"You... you're just scum..." the Xis replied, with a thread of voice, knowing that those would be his last words.

Dag's demonic expression became so angry that his face started to vibrate with rage and without unnecessarily continuing to ask questions for which he would never receive an answer, he raised the Giantbane and looked for the last time at the face of that Xis.

"I'm not scared anymore" he exclaimed, quickly moving the divine axe down and hitting the enemy's neck, cutting off his head.

A river of magenta blood gushed from the enemy's newly severed neck, spreading to the ground and joining that of the warriors who died during the bloody Battle of Klorr, almost reaching the feet of Odin, who continued to look impassively at the scene.

The flames and electricity that enveloped Dag's dark arms abruptly ceased to exist and the three stingers returned to his back.

The dark matter trapped inside his body and limbs slid away slowly, also focusing on the young Master's spine, whose appearance gradually returned to normal.

Due to the rapid de-strengthening of his body that had reached the limit of the stress it could endure, Dag was forced to kneel and rest Magni's hammerhead on the ground, so as not to fall.

The two demonic horns were absorbed into his skull making a noise similar to that of the moving dark fluid and one of his eyes returned to its original color, while the sheen of the other faded.

Finally, his blonde hair and beard also popped out of his head and face again, giving him back his human appearance.

For about ten seconds, no sound other than that of the wind.

When Dag's eyes reopened, each of the Soldiers of the Giants Of Ymir and the Claws Of Fenrir screamed his name, jumping with joy and moving their arms and weapons, in a sign of happiness and gratitude for the exploits of Dag, the only human being capable of killing a Frostsinner.

Reidar and Kranus, who had lost hope, were side by side, both with tears in their eyes, incredulous at what they were looking at.

...

"Captain... you made it once again! Captain!" the archer yelled, trying to overcome with his voice the volume of the soldiers' screams around him.

The ice mage approached him, helping him get up and together they walked towards Dag, while Kron had run inside the castle to retrieve Atran's body, hoping that his fellow General was still alive somewhere under the rubble.

...

"Dag..." Freydis whispered, almost as if that name had come out automatically from her mouth.

Dag's gaze, lost in the void until that moment, immediately turned towards her. 

A God lay before him in all his magnificence, but Dag's eyes still remained on Freydis, his lover and best friend, the woman who had done nothing but stand by him and help him, the one who had just put her life at risk to save him, defying the most powerful of enemies.

The Shieldmaiden, without thinking further, snapped at Dag and jumped into his arms, clutching him tightly and kissing him on the face, neck, and hands, wherever her warm lips could fall.

Enjoying those moments of well-deserved peace, Dag still could not realize the importance of the feat he had just accomplished and knew that when he stood up and Freydis' hug was interrupted, he would have to argue with Odin himself.

During the bloodiest of battles he had ever fought, he had managed to cede his entire body to the dark power that lived within him, coexisting in his mind and managing all his anger.

He had been able to unleash energy so powerful that he surpassed that of a Xis, one of the strongest beings in the Galaxy and perhaps in the Universe, one of the aliens who had enslaved him and his childhood companions and who were responsible for everything that was wrong in their world.

The white body covered by that black dress reduced to worn and torn rags was there, lying on the ground in front of him, deprived of his head and with a huge hole inside his chest, failing to heal the wounds caused to him by the fire of the Giantbane, which derived from that of the Sun itself.

Regularizing his breath again, Dag tried to strengthen his legs and with the help of Freydis and his arm still resting on Magni's hammer, he managed to get up, staggering

In front of him, the imposing figure of the Alfather had never diverted his wise gaze and was stationary with his spear in one hand, as if he was a statue.