Dungeon of Niflheim-Chapter 882: Threatened by Shivali
As Shivali's dominating voice rang like a bell in the hallway outside Frost felt an eery pressure surround his heart, a sense of doom plaguing him.
It wasn't Shivali's usual tone, at least not the one he normally used towards him so instinctively Frost hesitated and gauged the situation that may be awaiting him.
He couldn't remember doing anything that would have ticked his uncle and future father in law off. Their previous chat was overall rather pleasant, the occasional heated confrontation but in the end an equally benefitting bargain was struck.
He even went on a date with Khione, a date that went marvellously well in his opinion, something Shivali should have been over the moon for given his desire to see the two of them hitched. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶
Alas despite not being able to come to any logical conclusion he still had to enter the tiger's den; the Primordial Ice King was not someone who could be rejected.
Therefore with a deep breath and a quick shake of his body to embolden his confidence Frost opened the door to Shivali's personal study.
Awaiting him sunken deep against the back of his chair, his elbows resting atop his desk, fingers tightly interlocked and bearing a gaze that saw through one's soul was Shivali the great Primordial Ice King and the ruler of Niflheim.
It only took an instant for Frost's entire body to develop an ice cold sweat and shiver in abject terror. The moment his gaze made contact with that of his uncle's he felt miniscule, like a solitary ant placed in the path of a mammoth. No matter how strong it was, an ant could never hope to compete with a mammoth.
Shivali even without the use of any aura, divinity or anything really just through a natural presence borne from his vast experiences was able to intimidate every one of his S-rank royal guards let alone a pitiful mid B-rank like Frost.
"Sit." He spoke but a single word, but it reverberated within Frost's head over and over again until he obeyed, a dissonance that he was quick to escape, practically teleporting to the nearest seat. Confusion and no small amount of fear flashing in his eyes as he struggled to look up at this massive man.
'What did I do to piss him off?' He asked himself.
"So I look pissed to you huh?" Shivali sharply parried shocking Frost to his core, the old man could read his mind. "Now why might that be FROST?" With Shivali putting emphasis on his name Frost's fear levels ballooned, a reaction that had the scary old man smirking, he enjoyed instilling fear in this damn brat that dared to steal his baby girl's heart oh just thinking about it made him want to destroy everything in sight.
The high and mighty God completely ignored the fact that it was he himself who offered that so called baby girl to him on a silver platter, practically begging him to enjoy the feast before he left Niflheim.
Such facts however needed a rational and calm mind in order to be properly understood, something Shivali clearly did not have at this moment in time. Consumed by his fierce doting love for his youngest daughter all he could think of when he laid eyes on Frost, and his annoyingly charming face was thief. A man whose sole goal was to pilfer Khione from her family home.
He glared down at the instinctively cowering Frost, relishing in having him under his thumb but at the same time feeling that it wasn't enough. A growing desire to scar the young boy, to permanently imprint himself as a despairing threat in his heart festered within and in response his divinity started to react.
The weight Frost felt upon his frame and the tightness around his heart and now also his neck clamped down making even breathing an ordeal. This was the same effect he endured when he requested one of Shivali's private chefs, the same sense of anger that promised to bring his young life to a quick end.
Shivali submitted him to this punishment for several seconds, his gaze closely observing every bead of sweat dripping down his neck, each one dissipating his -highly unjustified- anger somewhat.
By the time Frost was gasping for every breath and the blood vessels in his eyes had started bursting from the pressure the vindictive old man was smiling, believing that in Frost's heart he was now no longer just a friendly uncle but someone to be very much feared, someone he should never ever antagonise.
'Now he'll think twice no thrice about making my baby girl cry.' Again he ignored the fact that he was the one who encouraged them to enter a relationship and also that his so called baby girl was a woman at the peak of A-rank, someone who could easily crush Frost with a single attack.
"Hu hu hu hu….Am I supposed to guess what that was all about uncle or are you going to kindly tell me?" Frost asked gruffly through tightly clenched teeth feeling pissed off upon seeing that amiable demeanour he had come to know returning to his uncle's face, an effect that literally erased the vast majority of his earlier efforts.
"….Hoh look at the balls on you, was I perhaps too gentle?" The smile disappeared and the pressure returned with a vengeance, knocking the air out of Frost's lungs without even so much as a warning. He was forced to bow his head under the weight, his desperate struggles to push against it proving meaningless.
"I…I…I'm fine occa…sionally being a pu…nching bag b..but I at least w…want to k..now why." Frost couldn't raise his head nor move but he could still squeeze out a few words in defiance. The expression on his uncle's face earlier giving him the courage to fight back against this impossible enemy. The actual danger here was miniscule, perhaps he'd even respond well to a show of resistance.
"Damn brat!" Shivali roared, his voice so loud that Frost nearly lost consciousness. His vision darkened and a loud ringing sound echoed in his skull, causing no small amount of pain but stubbornly he kept his eyes open and fought against the urge to pass out. Until he heard the reason why he was being subjected to such treatment he refused to submit to Shivali's one way tyranny.
Not expecting such strong resistance from him Shivali was at a loss, anymore pressure and Frost would collapse, he may even suffer injuries, something he didn't want. His aim was to put the fear of a father in law into the boy and help himself feel better about this loss he was feeling in the depths of his heart, wounding Frost was never in the cards, he liked him too much.
This whole scenario was a kind of rite of passage; a necessary experience that the toads who lusted after his swan daughters had to go through in order to be granted his blessings for their courting -this also only being after a very thorough and very strict pre-evaluation.
And normally the rite would pass without issue, even those at the S-rank would submit to him, cower in abject terror and always hold a significant trepidation towards him from then on, a system he found that worked well given the happy marriage statistics amongst his daughters. But now there was this damn bastard who's looks rivalled his own and who's background wasn't any less than one of his own children.
The standoff continued for another second or two before Shivali pulled back the pressure and sighed deeply, fondness and respect blooming in his eyes.
'A damn fine catch that Frost.' He couldn't help but feel gladdened by the prospect of Khione's future love life. A man who despite being so miserably weak refused to give more ground than necessary when under assault from a being far superior to himself…how could he not appreciate such a lad for his little firework of a daughter.
"It was a test, a rite of passage that I put future partners like yourself through whenever their relationship with one of my daughters develops proper….Fearing me helps ensure a more…. honest relationship." Shivali explained his reasonings, reasonings that sounded logical and almost understandable, but Frost wasn't buying it, he'd heard enough sophistry to know when someone was spouting bullshit.
"Bullshit Uncle, I saw that smile on your lips you don't do this for your daughters you do it because it makes you feel good. Seeing the ones who clamber after your treasures cowering in fear probably makes the loss more bearable right." He hit the nail on the head, so accurately in fact that Shivali's jaw hung agape.
"Can you also read minds?" That was the only logical conclusion Shivali could think of.
"No it's obvious given your expressions and personality old man." Frost fumed while cracking different joints along his body, trying to erase any lingering discomfort.
"…..So what shouldn't I be entitled to a little fun, you are taking away my darling baby girl after all." Like a child Shivali simply dug in his heels, doubling down on his poor behaviour, refusing to admit any fault.
"You're the one that served that baby girl of yours on a silver platter, foisted a sudden marriage on us the first day we met and forced me to spend time with her. What did you expect was going to happen?" Frost wasn't buying into this nonsense, arguing with the realm's ruler, caring not a single ounce about respecting his elders. A squabble between family didn't need such restraints.
