Angel Monarch

They walked for a few seconds in awkward silence. They left the three Valkyries sleeping calmly atop the mountain.

Melinda led the group down towards the city known as Asgard. A tiny smile stretched across her lips, which would've looked quite disturbing for most. However, fear wasn't the cause of the awkwardness...

"Melinda..." said Will from a few steps back, a wide grin alighting his expression. "Remind me never to piss you off after seeing how you handled those Stellars alone!"

A few people giggled and nodded in agreement, while Joan simply stared at her girlfriend with pride and love. The lady in question just rolled her eyes and giggled.

"Only the Captain was a Stellar, and a quite weak one. She didn't even notice when our hands bumped together and I transferred those diseases... Anyway, don't worry. I only knocked them out because their egos were too high... Until you know your place, we won't have a problem!"

The dignified woman winked at Will, which made him pale and caused Lucy to chuckle. But while everyone was having fun, the level-headed David thought through all the consequences Melinda's actions could cause.

Those Valkyries didn't seem too high in rank, and since they hadn't caused permanent damage, they shouldn't suffer any serious repercussions. Especially since they attacked first!

It took the group a good ten minutes of walking to finally reach the moat surrounding Asgard. Along the way, they saw many strange creatures hiding in the flowery fields. They watched the group pass with curiosity, yet none dared approach them.

Eventually, the group arrived at a long bridge, which stretched over the moat. Under the late evening sunlight, the whitish stone's surface shimmered, creating a rainbow-like effect.

Melinda stepped onto the bridge and touched the stone railing with curiosity. The rainbow shimmers formed an unknown writing, which seemed to be carved into the bridge's essence.

"Those are Runes, a form of magic," said Astrid after walking beside Melinda.

The entire group glanced at her in confusion, but the giantess simply leaned forward and brushed her hand along the writing.

"These Runes are a warning spell, which notifies the city-guard and the writing's owner about any intruder with ill intentions."

"Astrid, my love! Could you elaborate on how you can read that gibberish?" asked Yvonne while latching onto the Valkyrie's arm.

The giantess blushed in embarrassment and glanced towards the group...

"I'm not sure. When I glanced at the writing, all information about Runes appeared in my head, and I could suddenly translate them... It's related to my race, probably..."

The group members glanced at each other and shrugged. They weren't geniuses or too knowledgeable about race change, so nobody questioned Astrid's sudden epiphany.

After a minute of looking at the strange Runes, they moved along the rainbow bridge towards the enormous gateway at its end. A glistening golden portcullis blocked anyone from entering, and the guards also raised the bridge in anticipation of the unknown group's approach.

Bright silvery metal made up the tall walls, which looked both magical and sturdy against sieges. Gigantic towers stretched high at uneven intervals, with large siege engines attached to each.

Windows covered the walls and towers, and through them thousands of heads glanced out at the approaching group. The guards' eyes glistened with excitement and violence.

Melinda led the group without glancing up at the gathered guards. However, she did glance back at Yannick and motioned with her head.

"How many do you feel?" asked Melinda in a whisper once Yannick reached her side.

"About ten thousand. Nobody weaker than Transcended... We should avoid fighting, even if it'll disappoint these people." answered the lanky man with his eyes covered.

The tall walls were also carved with Runes, but they couldn't stop Yannick's void vision.

Melinda nodded in understanding and stopped two dozen meters away from the portcullis. Finally, she glanced up at the Valkyries staring down from the gateway's roof.

"We're envoys sent by the Angelic Order! The Allfather already expects us, so could you open the gate?"

Everyone else stopped a step away from Melinda, silently appointing her as the group's leader. She wasn't the strongest, smartest, most powerful or most charismatic, yet somehow she earned such a grand position.

"Nice to meet you, envoys. My name is Captain Sivir. Unfortunately, we haven't received a notice of your arrival, and since at least one person in your group bears ill intent towards us, we can't let you inside!"

Upon hearing Captain Sivir's words, everybody sighed simultaneously and stared at the same person...

A deathly pale woman wearing a dark-green short dress, which revealed her thighs and shoulders. Her shoulder-length black hair danced in the gentle breeze, while her dark eyes glanced between the group members.

"What? Why're you staring at me?" asked Lucy in faked outrage.

Leslie took the liberty of stepping forward and slapping the back of Lucy's head. She yelped in surprise and gave the Demon a death glare. However, the people continued staring at her, annoyed.

"We know you're the only one with actual ill intent!" said Sarah with an exhausted roll of her stormy eyes.

Lucy puffed out her cheeks as she tried to force denial, but since she couldn't hide it anymore...

"Fine, yes! I want to kill all these battle-horny pricks! I want them all to squirm in pain and beg for death!... I hate when a weakling thinks they're strong and pretends they're my equal!"

The Demon slapped the back of Lucy's head again, which made the Reaper bare her white teeth in annoyance, like an enraged animal.

"Okay everyone! Stop bullying my girlfriend! We all know her self-control sucks, so let's just break down the gate and find this Odin guy!"

Will's words made a few of the hotheaded people nod in approval, while David and Melinda just sighed and shook their heads in frustration. They couldn't believe their friends were so aggressive and thoughtless!

However, before either could've called their friends out on their stupidity, a loud crackling noise interrupted their thoughts. Reality shook as the sound of thunder echoed across Asgard.

Suddenly, a giant lightning struck the bridge right before the portcullis. A loud cheer went up from the walls as the smoke gradually settled.

A giant, powerfully built man stood straight. His long, fiery red hair and beard danced to the gentle breeze's rhythm. He wore nothing but fur pants and shoes, and a pair of gloves that glowed with iridescent blue light.

He carried a one-handed hammer, which looked ridiculously small in his hand. Its metal head glowed with the same blue light as the gloves, illuminating the hundreds of Runes carved into its surface.

Electricity danced through his entire body. His empty eye sockets glowed with unbound lightning as his face stretched into a wide grin.

"You finally arrived! You really took your time! My father has been waiting for weeks!"

The giant man closed the distance, which further showed off his enormous height. He stood about three meters tall, which meant he dwarfed even Astrid.

He stopped before Melinda and reached out his hand with a jovial expression...

"Nice to meet you, Ms. Envoy! I'm Thor, God of Thunder, or whatever these people like to call me. Hey, if anyone wants to have a friendly duel, I'm always available!"

The same thought appeared in everyone's mind as Melinda grasped Thor's giant hand... 'This person is weird, but I kind of like him!'

Maybe Thor didn't wear a mask of deceit like most Evolved, making him trustworthy and genuine.

"Nice to meet you, Thor! My name is Melinda, and we're the Envoys sent by the Last Angel, as you already know... We would've arrived sooner, but your people wanted to keep your father waiting!"

She didn't use any honorifics before Thor's name to gauge his reaction. However, the God of Thunder didn't care in the slightest about how Melinda called him. Instead, he glanced towards the gate with fierce, annoyed eyes.

All the Valkyries flew away, while the regular guards scrambled away from the gate. Melinda and her group stared ahead in confusion, not understanding why everyone ran off... That's when Thor moved...

Blinding brightness absorbed everything as the giant man pointed his hammer at the golden portcullis. The only person who could 'see' what Thor did was Yannick, since she felt the change in the gate's material structure... He felt the entire portcullis disappear...

A second later, the bright light went away, and the entire group gazed at the now open gate in awe. Thor's lightning didn't just break the gate; it destroyed everything so thoroughly that not even a speck of dust remained.

With a joyous giggle, he tossed the hammer up in the air. It spun a dozen times before landing back in his enormous hand.

"Come on, everyone!" said Thor while walking towards the open gateway. "I'll show you around Asgard and lead you to my father afterward!"

He didn't wait for anyone's rejection or acceptance, which forced them all to fall in step behind his wide back. Melinda even stepped beside Thor, acting as an equal.

Thor glanced down at her. He smiled and nodded in approval.

As they walked, Melinda smelled honeyed alcohol and cooked meat coming from Thor, as if the scent was embedded in the giant's very being. She couldn't help but lick her lips at the pleasant fragrance.

Transcended didn't need to eat, yet they still got hungry, which felt like a curse. Only after acquiring Stellar Rank do people lose their sense of hunger and thirst.

The God of Thunder noticed Melinda smelling the air and swallowing her saliva. A wide grin spread across his face as he declared, "Don't worry everyone! We'll visit Valhalla, the Hall of the Slain and you can eat and rink your fill!"