"Thank you for freeing me from that vile curse." Once the Nibelung Ring's curse was broken, Hilda's entire aura and personality changed dramatically.
In an instant she went from a rough‑voiced, overbearing madwoman to the soft, frail girl‑next‑door she had originally been.
Even her voice turned small and sweet.
The Norse God Warriors really must have had their brains eaten by dogs—or maybe they'd just trained all their intelligence into muscle. How had they not noticed such an obvious contrast? Or did they just like this kind of gap moe? It was classic "outer personality vs. inner personality."
So this was Odin's Cloth, huh? Not bad at all. And this so‑called Balmung Sword that could cut through all evil actually felt quite handy in use.
Meruem completely ignored the now‑restored Hilda and instead played with the Balmung Sword, his hand constantly brushing over the Odin Cloth summoned by the seven Odin Sapphires.
In the end, Saori couldn't stand it anymore and went over to talk to Hilda herself.
As expected of a god's armor—compared to a Gold Cloth, its coverage might be slightly lower, but its hardness and the boost it gave to Cosmo were both superior. Feeling the faint Cosmo emanating from the Odin Cloth, Meruem gave his verdict.
Incidentally, among divine armors, Odin's Cloth ranked near the bottom in both coverage and splendor.
Not to mention the main gods; even Hades's subordinate twin gods of Death and Sleep, and their own subordinate dream gods, all had Surplices that far surpassed the Odin Cloth in both coverage and ornamentation.
As for practicality… let's leave that aside for now.
For a god, what matters most? Obviously the level of "drip"—how flashy the gear looks.
"To think that among the rough Viking brutes of the Norse Celestial Palace there's actually someone who understands music. Unfortunately… your opponent is one of Lord Poseidon's seven strongest warriors, the Sea Generals: me." Sea Sorcerer Sorrento lightly tapped his shoulder with the flute in his hand, dodged a punch from Siegfried, then glanced at Mime, who was plucking his harp, and commented.
Mime's music could induce illusions. Normally, even those equal to him in power, if only skilled in frontal combat, were no match for him.
But Sorrento had a point: against an opponent who also wielded music as a weapon, mere illusion might not be enough.
Norse God Warrior Mime, Sea General Sorrento, Saint Orpheus, and Specter Pharaoh of the Heavenly Beast Star were all warriors who used music as their weapon.
Each had unique strengths.
With all four onstage at once, it really wasn't clear whose music had the greater killing power.
Every one of them had a signature technique. Mime specialized in musical illusions, while Sorrento's melodies could shred an enemy's nerves regardless of distance.
It was worth noting that, aside from the Sea Sorcerer, the other three all shared a bad habit: using their harp strings as weapons.
"Athena, since you've already seen through our plan, so be it. Lord Poseidon has sent me to invite you to the undersea temple. What is your answer?" Sorrento raised his flute to his lips. A beautiful yet faintly sinister melody flowed out.
His blatant disregard for everyone else infuriated the assembled warriors. The Sanctuary side handled it a bit better—Shura still wore his "seen‑through‑the‑world" corpse face, and Deathmask just grinned like he was watching a show, as if Sorrento's words had nothing to do with him.
The Five Bronze Boys and the Black Saints and Enforcers looked anything but pleased, but since Meruem hadn't spoken, none of them moved.
The angriest by far were the Norse God Warriors.
Mime took everything calmly, having long since accepted death in his heart.
But Siegfried was another story. Sorrento was blatantly slapping the Celestial Palace in the face—again and again. What did he take them for? Trash to be used and thrown away?
Not only had the Celestial Palace been thrown into chaos, but the God Warriors had fought the Sanctuary tooth and nail, suffering heavy casualties… and now they learned their Queen Hilda had just been a puppet?
Siegfried could no longer sit still. He charged straight at Sorrento, and Mime, sensing something wrong, was a beat too late to stop him. "You're courting death! Dragon Bravest Blizzard Fist!"
As Siegfried closed in, Sorrento didn't dodge at all. He only played faster, a wildly bewitching melody pouring from his flute.
"This is bad! Funeral Dirge of the Strings!" Hearing the tune Sorrento was playing, Mime reacted instantly, plucking his own best piece in an attempt to interfere.
But Sorrento's music crashed over him like waves. Not only did Mime's melody fail to affect the other man, it even began to sink into Sorrento's rhythm.
Siegfried, at the very front, suffered the worst. He was the first to face that demonic music head‑on.
If they had clashed head‑on, Siegfried would likely have ranked just below Kanon and slightly under Sorrento among the Sea Generals' level of power. Even the Sea Emperor's own son might not have been able to crush Siegfried outright.
Unfortunately, Sorrento's music‑type techniques were Siegfried's natural bane. They bypassed his so‑called immortal body and struck his nervous system directly—an utterly terrifying power.
"Requiem of the End of Death!"
At the sound of this piece, even the two Gold Saints who had been watching the show turned pale.
Wave after wave of Cosmo‑laced sound crashed straight into everyone's minds.
No matter how they tried to block it, even covering their ears, the infernal melody still invaded their brains and echoed endlessly inside.
Their vision went white; dizziness and vertigo were the least of their problems. Several Black Saints even had their Cloths begin to crack and shatter on the spot.
"These are Athena's Saints? These are the Sanctuary's vaunted Gold Saints? Pathetic. They're not even as good as the sea's lowly grunts." When the piece finally ended, Sorrento lowered his flute and glanced at the warriors sprawled on the ground, his voice dripping with contempt.
He then walked over to Saori, who had passed out beside Hilda. "Athena… since you won't come willingly, I'll personally escort you."
With that, he hefted Saori over his shoulder and leapt into the massive whirlpool that had appeared by the shore.
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