“Get them!” Håkan roared, his scarf fluttering as he split himself into three copies and charged. A dozen Vikings joined him from the bonfire.

  “So much for the free food,” Ratatoskr said from Karl’s shoulder as they bolted down the dark alleyway.

  Karl was halfway through when he froze—only Mýra was beside him. “Kara!” he shouted, spinning around.

  Kara had activated her Valkyrie rune, launching into the air. Her sword blazed with fire as she crashed down on several Vikings, roaring with might before blasting four others in one shot with her Baldr light beam.

  “Foolish girl,” Mýra said, as she and Karl ran back to help.

  By now, Kara was deep in the fray, her burning blade sweeping in wide arcs to hold back the horde. She severed the leg of a shield-maiden, who screamed in pain. The three versions of Håkan darted through her spinning strikes, each trying to stab her with a wicked, purple-glowing knife.

  Karl and Mýra were surrounded as more Vikings advanced.

  “This is for the lack of food!” Ratatoskr yelled, leaping from Karl’s shoulder and clawing out the eyes of the first attacker. The Viking screamed, but Karl ended him with an arrow to the throat.

  Strength (+10): lvl 12 (20/130)

  Glory (+20): 1,880

  Level: 34 (180/350)

  Wealth (+5): 12,472

  Karl fired another Dual Shot, catching two Vikings wielding lightning-charged axes. His aim was off, and the arrows hit like a scattershot, wounding but not killing. He dashed between them toward Kara.

  “We need to go!” Karl shouted, loosing an arrow into the groin of a heavyset Viking who struggled to rise from a log.

  Karl didn’t want to kill more of them than necessary. Most were just under Viktor’s control.

  “I can take him!” Kara yelled, dodging a strike from one of Håkan’s copies and cleaving it in half.

  “Round one!” the other two Håkans said in unison before one threw a knife at her. It bounced harmlessly off her armor, but the mob around them was closing in fast.

  “Kara!” Karl shouted again, grabbing her arm as he ducked under a blade. “We need to⁠—”

  Before he could finish, Kara transformed. The slash from a shield-maiden’s sword triggered her curse, and she exploded into her werewolf form.

  Now several times larger, Kara spun in a blur, her claws sweeping through the Vikings around her, killing several instantly.

  Karl noticed Mýra was struggling nearby, binding enemies with her vines. But when the sharp scent of formaldehyde and cherries hit him, he realized she’d used an invisibility potion to slip away.

  That gave him an idea.

  Kara was too deep in her beast state to drink a potion herself. Sliding across the ice he’d conjured beneath his feet, Karl dodged the Vikings closing in and pulled out his own invisibility potion.

  “I’m sorry!” he yelled, throwing it at Kara.

  The glass shattered across her fur, coating her in the potion. She vanished instantly.

  “That should do it,” Karl muttered. The now-invisible Kara ripped through the Vikings, who had no idea where the next strike was coming from.

  The only real threat left wasn’t Håkan—but a Hel-blessed Viking summoning fallen warriors to rise again. Ratatoskr hurled an acorn that struck the man square in his raven-black hair. Karl followed with an arrow to the face, ending the spell before it began; he had enough experience with Draugr to last a lifetime.

  Strength (+10): lvl 12 (30/130)

  Glory (+20): 1,900

  Level: 34 (200/350)

  Wealth (+3): 12,475

  “What a way to ruin the party,” Håkan said in unison with his duplicates. “Good thing we prepared with Mímir’s Well while you were slaughtering Signe.”

  Håkan snickered to himself, then shouted and released a magical burst around him, causing more than twenty Håkans to appear.

  “What are you going to do now, huh?” the Håkans said in eerie unison.

  “I don’t like that,” Ratatoskr muttered, jumping back onto Karl’s shoulder.

  Karl began rapid-firing arrows at the incoming clones. Thankfully, they didn’t have the full Health of the original Håkan and vanished in clouds of smoke with each hit. Still, he knew every one of those illusions could deal real damage—and if twenty stabbed him at once, he wouldn’t survive.

  Not wanting to lose control to his werewolf side or be torn apart by the horde of Håkans and Vikings around the bonfire, Karl vaulted onto the nearest longhouse. Using his divine speed and enhanced strength, he scaled the building with ease.

  From the rooftop, he had a better view. He aimed to snipe Håkan, though he knew the man could likely summon more copies, being further advanced in his Loki blessings.

  Karl dodged arrows fired from hostile Vikings below and instead focused his shots on those surrounding Kara. She slashed and tore through dozens with ease. Through their Pack Link, Karl could feel the rising pulse of her glory—it filled her with exhilaration. With each kill she made, his own satiation and Health climbed. Even when arrows grazed him, her kills healed the damage.

  A few Vikings began climbing the walls toward him. Karl stepped back, firing arrow after arrow to hold them off. His arms trembled from exhaustion, and his shots grew sloppier under the rush of adrenaline. The bowstring snapped against his forearm, though his bracer absorbed the blow.

  There were simply too many. Kara wasn’t getting any closer to finding the real Håkan. A bloodbath sprawled across the snow—villagers likely innocent, defending their home from three intruders with a record of destruction.

  Karl cursed, knowing what he had to do. “Mýra, run back to Glær!” he shouted, unsure if she heard. He sprinted across the roof and leapt, using his divine patron’s strength to launch himself high into the air before crashing down into the chaos below.

  He rolled through the snow, ice spraying around him, and ducked and weaved through several men until he reached Kara. She had her claws locked around Håkan’s neck, even as multiple copies slashed at her.

  “We need to leave!” Karl yelled, grabbing her invisible arm and dodging another sword strike. He prepared to use his Elf Leap or his rune to blast them out, but with a sickening crunch, Kara crushed the Håkan in her grasp. The scarf smushed beneath her claws.

  Karl turned, stunned. The real Håkan hung limp in her hand. At once, every remaining apparition dissolved into mist, including all of the food nearby at the bonfire. Kara howled in triumph and hurled the corpse into a group of nearby Vikings, knocking them down like bowling pins.

  Eliminate Håkan Vrid (1/1)

  Glory (+20): 1,920

  Level: 34 (220/350)

  “Kara, we need to go,” Karl said, backing toward the flames at their backs.

  “I received so much glory from that,” Kara said, her voice trembling with hunger. “I want more,” she growled, breaking free of Karl’s grip to continue the slaughter.

  “Karl!” Mýra screamed, snapping Karl’s attention skyward.

  A lightning storm exploded through the dark blizzard above them.

  “Oh gods,” Karl muttered as he rolled aside, barely dodging a berserker Viking’s warhammer. Kara, now released from Karl’s grip, continued her invisible slaughter through the ranks, cutting down Vikings without mercy.

  “That doesn’t look like a natural storm,” Ratatoskr said from Karl’s shoulder.

  “Kara! Take your lightning potion!” Karl shouted, shooting one Viking through the arm before dodging three more that tried to swarm him. There were simply too many.

  Kara didn’t listen.

  The lightning bolts above grew into a blinding white flash, as if a bomb had gone off in the sky. Karl downed his own lightning potion—assuming Mýra had done the same—and gave the last drops to Ratatoskr.

  Then, like something from a nightmare, Karl saw him.

  He could have sworn he saw Thor flying through the wintry heavens—until the figure became clear. The man’s body pulsed with power, wrapped in a crackling aura that spat tendrils of lightning around him, searching for an enemy to strike.

  It was Viktor.

  Karl didn’t know how it was possible. Viktor had always been huge, but now he looked monstrous—his muscles swollen to godlike proportions, his strength amplified by countless divine quests and kills. Even his skull helmet looked more terrifying if that was even possible.

  As he hovered above the burning village, even the Vikings who had been trying to kill Karl, Kara, and Mýra stopped to gaze in awe at their new god.

  “Such a coward, as always,” Viktor boomed, shaking his head in mock disappointment. “You murdered all my friends while I was away.”

  Karl’s knees nearly buckled. Viktor was one step from godhood—and he already looked the part.

  Through the Pack Link, Karl urged Kara again to take her lightning potion. This time, thankfully, she obeyed.

  “I’m going to enjoy beating the crap out of you,” Viktor said, grinning as lightning crackled from his skin—even his mouth glowed with it.

  Viktor roared, activating multiple abilities at once. Raising his warhammer high, he summoned a torrent of lightning that filled the sky, then dove like a living meteor charged with electricity.

  Karl froze time.

  In that instant, he dashed toward Kara, sensing her invisible form. He grabbed her hand, then pivoted toward Mýra—who was backed against a wall, drinking a Health potion during the pause Viktor’s arrival had caused.

  Karl threw a snowball at her position, teleporting all three of them across the battlefield. They reappeared beside Mýra—just in time.

  The moment time resumed, Viktor struck.

  A lightning storm detonated around him, obliterating his own army. The explosion flattened the battlefield, vaporizing the nearest Vikings. Waves of lightning rolled outward like shockwaves in water.

  Then dozens of bolts rained down from the sky, chaining through the ranks, leaping from body to body, vaporizing them in seconds.

  Karl and his companions weren’t caught in the initial blast, but the force still launched them through a nearby longhouse—blasting through both walls and out the other side.

  Health: 30/140

  Karl felt the lightning burn across his chest, dropping his Health dangerously low. His entire body buzzed, his hair standing on end, his skin reeking of ozone.

  Thankfully, the potion had absorbed most of the damage—but it still felt like he’d been struck by Thor himself.

  “My fur…” Ratatoskr muttered, staring in horror at his singed coat, patches burned away. It might’ve been funny in any other situation.

  Karl wasn’t laughing. His Stamina was gone—spent from freezing time. He was near death, out of food, and completely drained.

  He doubted they could take Viktor down anytime soon.

  “Everyone, hold on,” Karl coughed, grabbing Kara and Mýra. But as he grabbed Kara’s arms, he realized she was still in her werewolf form, though invisible.

  “I can take him,” Kara said, shoving Karl off and getting to her feet.

  “Don’t be insane,” Mýra said, holding her side in pain.

  But Karl could see through Kara’s mind just how much she wanted to take down Viktor. A System message had promised her a new side quest if she personally defeated him.

  The red letters burned in her vision, declaring that she would receive 50,000 Glory for killing Viktor. She had already gained hundreds of points from the battle, and that reward would push her far toward her goal of becoming a Valkyrie. But it was suicide. How could she possibly think of doing that now?

  “Kara, wait!” Karl shouted.

  Kara snarled and slashed his arm, dropping his Health again.

  Health: 2/140

  Karl screamed in agony as she tore through the collapsed longhouse and charged toward Viktor.

  “She’s going to get herself killed,” Ratatoskr said.

  Karl cursed, limping after her. Through Kara’s mind, he saw her smash through Vikings in her path with no plan except to reach Viktor. It was folly, but she wasn’t thinking logically. All she could see was the promise of glory.

  Karl, barely alive, wasn’t fast enough to reach her. He could hardly hold his bow as the system worked to repair his shredded flesh. Even with healing buffs, one flick of Viktor’s lightning could kill him instantly—and another would end him for good. The thought of dying and facing whatever afterlife waited for him made his legs tremble. Still, he pushed through the ruins, trying to reach Kara before she killed herself.

  But he was too late.

  Viktor stood amid the corpses of his own men, smiling with glee. The lightning around him sparked like a living storm. When Kara leapt at him, lightning erupted from his body, throwing her backward into the horde of incoming Vikings. His aura deflected her like a shield.

  “There you are,” Viktor said, lightning flashing across his teeth as he raised a hand to summon a bolt to finish her off.

  Karl, too weak to stand against him as a man, roared in fury. His body snapped and swelled as his werewolf form erupted. Karl bounded forward through the snow, tearing through debris. He slashed four Vikings apart and bit into one, regaining a sliver of strength.

  Alpha Path (+1): lvl 6 (20/160 Reiði)

  Reiði Points (+1): 4

  Moonlight Meter is now 110/110

  Glory (+20): 1,940

  Level: 34 (240/350)

  A split second before Viktor cast his lightning bolt at Kara—her body visible again as she neared death—Karl grabbed a shattered chunk of the longhouse and hurled it at Viktor’s face. The lightning zapped the debris to ash, but it stunned him long enough for Karl to dash in, seize Kara by the wrist, and yank her away.

  Viktor roared and threw the lightning anyway. The blast struck behind them, exploding through the snow and launching them forward. Karl’s Health plummeted to near zero.

  “Come here!” Viktor bellowed, charging forward, crushing his own men with each swing of his lightning-infused warhammer.

  “We need to go!” Karl said desperately, wheezing. He tore through four more Vikings that were blocking their path.

  Alpha Path: lvl 6 (60/160 Reiði)

  “You don’t understand,” Kara said, her voice frantic. “I need to⁠—”

  “Are you literally insane?” Ratatoskr yelled, clinging to Karl’s shoulder. “We need to go, princess!”

  “I’m sorry, Karl,” she said, her voice breaking as she shoved him away to take on Viktor alone.

  36

  GET YOUR HEAD IN THE GAME

  Kara grabbed the corpse of a fallen Viking and hurled it at Viktor. He blasted it apart instantly, reducing it to ash.

  Karl knew then that Kara was going to die. Her blind determination was going to consume her. Viktor raised his warhammer to deliver the final blow. She was close enough now that Karl could see exactly what would happen—she’d be crushed and burned to ash in an instant.

  But as Viktor swung, Kara’s transformation ended. She collapsed into the snow, human once more, and the hammer struck another Viking who had rushed in to aid Viktor. The blow sent the man flying backward—dead on impact.

  Viktor’s bloodlust froze as he beheld Kara’s naked form, lust flickering in his eyes. “I might just keep you as a pet after all,” he said.

  That did it for Karl. He roared and charged, hurling himself at Viktor in a suicidal rush.

  Viktor smirked. “Let me deal with your beta boyfriend real quick,” he said.

  But Karl’s distraction gave Kara the opening she needed. With a furious cry, her armor rematerialized through the system, and she summoned her sword. In one desperate, savage swing, she severed Viktor’s right hand.

  “Ah—!” Viktor’s curse was cut short as Kara bashed her face into his. The lightning around him zapped her instantly, hurling her backward. Viktor clutched his cauterized stump, his warhammer falling from his grasp.

  Karl tackled him, activating Moonfang Strike. His bite tore into Viktor’s neck, ripping out a chunk of flesh and applying a bleed effect for twelve seconds.

  It wasn’t enough. Viktor’s Health pool was monstrous. The lightning backlash struck Karl, dropping his HP to zero.

  System Message: “Tattoo Mark of Sæhrímnir Activated.”

  Karl exploded into bacon—spectral shards of light flaring outward in all directions. The blast knocked everyone within ten feet to the ground, except Viktor, who braced himself by driving Kara’s sword into the earth.

  Karl’s Health was restored to only 25%, barely enough to stand. He knew Viktor could end it with a single hit.

  “I’m done with your little games,” Viktor said, spitting blood as he raised Kara’s burning sword with his remaining hand.

  “I want you to watch her die,” he snarled, stalking toward Kara. Mýra was helping her up, but neither could defend against Viktor’s storm of lightning that surged around the blade.

  “I’m going to put her head in a jar after I’m done with her,” Viktor said, his voice breaking into a manic cackle. “I’ll look at it every single day.”

  Karl’s werewolf form had faded, leaving him human again. The System reclothed his body, but his strength was gone. He tried to summon his Hungering Freeze Rune to trap Viktor, but he was too slow.

  He muttered helplessly as Viktor prepared to strike.

  Then a long, hornlike call echoed behind him.

  A heartbeat later, Glær came crashing through the storm. The great white elk rammed his glowing horns into Viktor’s side, impaling him. Lightning surged over Glær, but the elk pressed on, driving Viktor backward with sheer force.

  “What the hell!” Viktor shouted, nearly dropping the sword as Glær bulldozed him like a snowplow through the bloodied field.