Chapter 105: Who Summoned the Old Man of the Mountain?
They had already won three matches, meaning they were nearly halfway to fulfilling the victory conditions of [Ragnarök].
And she still had two trump cards left—no, counting Adam, it should be three.
If they could win these as well, humanity's victory would be within reach.
Only the seventh and final match was troublesome. Brunhilde still hadn't found someone she felt particularly confident about for that round.
Wait, no—she actually had someone in mind, but she wasn't sure if that person would answer her summons.
Never mind the seventh round for now. First, she had to decide who to send for Round Four.
Which one would be the best counter to the opposing god?
"Sister, what's that?"
Reginleif noticed a strange little icon on the Akashic Records interface.
The icon kept flashing, like a chat program in the corner of a human computer screen when a new message arrived.
But this icon was shaped like a skull, giving off an ominous vibe.
"Hmm? This?"
Brunhilde was also puzzled. What was going on with this icon?
Oh, she remembered now. This icon was a warning that a summoned individual was in critical condition—possibly on the verge of vanishing.
And by "vanishing," it didn't mean returning to history, but truly dying, turning to cosmic dust.
So, who was about to disappear?
Xiang Yu?
After all, of the three matches so far, only Xiang Yu was still alive. Was this a warning that something had happened to him?
No, that couldn't be. Xiang Yu's summoning slot was in a different section, and that was still intact.
This icon was signaling someone else.
Actually, there was an error—and a big one at that. There were far too many people, so many that she had no idea how many she had summoned.
These were the people in the audience seats.
And this warning was indicating that the human spectators were in grave danger?
Had the gods started picking fights with them?
She clicked on it, and a window popped up—
"Uh—"
Brunhilde was slightly taken aback. The figure displayed was rather interesting.
"The Old Man of the Mountain?"
Reginleif also murmured the name in surprise.
Correction—that wasn't the person's name, but their codename.
This individual was quite a famous figure during the human Middle Ages, an assassin who established an assassination organization.
So, is this person also watching these three matches as part of the audience?
That wouldn't be surprising.
Although a considerable number of humans have been summoned as spectators, the seating in the arena is limited—it's impossible to accommodate every single person from human history.
Thus, aside from some ordinary humans, quite a few notable figures have also been summoned to observe.
"Huh?"
Brunhilde was momentarily stunned. She couldn't pull up the current scene of this person's situation—it was as if the feed was being interfered with.
Moreover, this assassin was wearing a skull mask. At first glance, it seemed unremarkable, but in reality, there was something odd about it.
Because Brunhilde couldn't see his true face.
That was strange. Normally, the archival information wouldn't omit the subject's appearance.
So, Brunhilde adjusted the person's age slightly, but the skull mask remained, as if it were fused to his face, obscuring his true visage.
This was intriguing. Historically, this assassin was shrouded in mystery—no one had ever known his true appearance.
"Oh?"
She also discovered search log entries related to the Old Man of the Mountain. Someone had once investigated him within the Akasha System, even directly entering the historical records to observe him.
It seemed someone else had been curious about this person, eager to see his true face, and had gone to witness it firsthand.
But if that were the case, why was he still wearing that eerie skull mask now?
Did that mean the person who went to observe him failed to see his real face?
Or had that individual altered the archival images to maintain the mystery?
Wait—upon closer inspection, the search logs weren't specifically targeting the Old Man of the Mountain.
Instead, someone had been investigating another matter when they stumbled upon records related to this assassin.
Hmm? According to new feedback from the Akasha System, it appeared this assassin wasn't in mortal danger but was instead outside the signal range—as if he'd been isolated.
In other words, was some god bored enough to do something like this?
Unless the Akasha System forcibly summoned him again, he might remain trapped indefinitely.
And that earlier flickering alert—if she hadn't noticed it, he might have been left behind when the spectators were sent back.
"Was he summoned only recently?"
Brunhilde noticed another anomaly in the records. It seemed the Old Man of the Mountain had only just been summoned to the arena.
He was summoned after the third match concluded.
This raised a question: although the human spectators were rotated between matches—usually those connected to or from the same era as the current combatants—she hadn't yet finalized the lineup for the fourth round.
Meaning, she hadn't adjusted the audience for the fourth match. So, who had summoned the Old Man of the Mountain?
It was almost as if he had appeared on his own.
Appeared on his own? That was... thought-provoking.
Just then, a figure accidentally bumped into her.
"Sorry, Sister Brunhilde!"
Göll's loud apology was accompanied by a deep ninety-degree bow.
She had accidentally bumped into her sister because she lost her balance after being pushed by Sister Hlökk.
However—
Brunhilde ignored her younger sister, as the collision had caused her hand to accidentally tap a section on the control panel.
It was a selection for immersive historical viewing, and she needed to cancel it immediately—but it was too late.
Everyone was pulled into the experience. After their vision was briefly filled with an inexplicable light, it cleared again, revealing—
Huh?!
Brunhilde was stunned—again!