"Finally found me, have you?"
Minos floated calmly in the air, one hand clasped behind his back, the other holding the thread of the Star Puppet. His expression was composed, almost serene.
Every Underworld Fighter was once an ordinary human being — resurrected by Hades, granted the memory of their past life, and chosen by a demonic star to become one of the ultimate warriors of the Underworld.
Thus, Minos was no stranger to the legend of the World Serpent — Jörmungandr.
According to Norse mythology, when Ragnarök arrives, Jörmungandr awakens from the depths of the ocean, resonating with the evil forces of the world. It thrashes beneath the waves, causing tsunamis that return the world to a time of flood and chaos.
Together with Loki, Hela, and Fenrir, the serpent declares war upon the gods.
During that fateful battle, the great serpent spews venom upon Thor, its fangs gleaming with death. Thor, understanding the threat, fights with unmatched fury. Three times he hurls Mjölnir at the serpent — yet even that magic hammer, which never misses its mark, is evaded by the monstrous creature.
Only on the final strike does Mjölnir find its target — but the serpent's venom seeps deep into Thor's body. The god of thunder and the serpent perish together.
And now… Jörmungandr has awakened once again.
The world trembles as fear descends — a darkness deeper than night, cold and suffocating.
Darkness. Fear. Despair.
These emotions erupt from the hearts of all humans — hero or commoner, rich or poor, all are equal before terror.
Snakes are cold-blooded creatures — and Jörmungandr is the coldest of them all. It is not merely a beast, but a divine calamity — the embodiment of fear itself.
Minos could clearly sense the aura of dread radiating from the serpent's colossal form.
Even he — the noble Star of Nobility among the three Judges of the Underworld — felt a faint tremor of unease from the creature's abyssal power.
"Minos! You are Minos of the Noble Star! You carry the honor of the Army of Hades!"
But before he could act, a torrent of venom shot through the air toward him!
"—!"
The serpent's tail lashed out, faster than lightning, and coiled around Minos' body. He had no time to react before he was hurled through the sky.
Crack!
A sharp pain shot through his body — his arm bone shattered under the force. Only the protection of his Surplice armor kept him from being torn apart entirely.
The power of the World Serpent was truly beyond comprehension.
Meanwhile, in the distance, Thor awoke from unconsciousness. With a roar, he lifted his divine hammer high, lightning coursing through his veins.
"You will not bring Ragnarök again!"
Thunder raged across the heavens as Thor summoned the storm. The sky itself cracked open, and bolts of lightning rained down upon Jörmungandr.
On the sea's surface, Minos gritted his teeth, forcibly setting his fractured arm back in place. His cosmos surged violently through his body.
Even so, he wasn't sure if his Star Puppet Thread could restrain a creature vast enough to encircle the entire world.
The hammer of Thor came crashing down again — yet Jörmungandr's immense form twisted away with serpentine grace. It moved through the ocean like a god in its own domain, unharmed.
The scene was identical to the ancient myths.
"You serpent!" Thor shouted. "Did you know? The prophecy of Ragnarök has already been erased by Hades himself!"
He raised Mjölnir once more. Thunder roared as divine lightning enveloped the serpent's colossal body, and the sea exploded into a blinding white tempest.
Waves towered like mountains — but even this divine strike left only faint scorch marks on Jörmungandr's scales.
Its body was simply too vast.
Unless Thor had awakened the power of the Rune King, he could not destroy the serpent so easily.
Then, with a furious sweep of its tail, Jörmungandr sent Thor hurtling through the air again, smashing into the distant sea.
Behind Minos, the Underworld Fighters began to mobilize.
"Let's go," Minos commanded.
At once, the Underworld Warriors charged forward.
The Skyhammer Venerables were nothing compared to this foe. Only Jörmungandr, the serpent that defied even the Earth Palace, could be called a true opponent.
As Minos watched the chaos of the battlefield, his eyes flickered with a mysterious brilliance — the spark of the Cosmos.
He did not move. He was studying the flow of energy within the serpent, observing its fluctuations, waiting for an opening — for the faint cracks that might lead him to awaken the Eighth Sense.
Gordon and Pharaoh were the first to strike.
Gordon, whose barbaric power could tear mountains asunder, smashed his fists into Jörmungandr's scales, cracking them open.
Pharaoh, master of deathly music and illusion, unleashed attacks that tore into the serpent's insides. His goal was simple — to distract the beast long enough for others to strike.
Among them, Quinn thrived the most. As an Underworld Fighter attuned to plants and toxins — akin to the Pisces Saint — he delighted in analyzing the serpent's venom and crafting counters for it.
The warriors' Cosmos flared like countless stars, their fists striking in unison against the endless body of the serpent.
But their combined might was still nothing compared to the abyssal dread that emanated from Jörmungandr.
Suddenly, lightning burst from the serpent's eyes — not divine thunder, but a corrosive, hellish energy that annihilated everything it touched. The blast tore through the Underworld ranks.
This was Jörmungandr, the ultimate monster of Norse mythology — the bringer of apocalypse, the devourer of gods.
Its scale was so immense that only cosmic entities — like the Planet Devourer himself — could rival its presence.
(End of Chapter)
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