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Yggdrasil had absorbed Loki’s chaos for years, twisting into an eldritch-like tree.

Fueled by her furious personality and overwhelming aura, Yggdrasil clashed against Maria, forcing her back.

"Hah, as if that’s going to work!"

Maria pressed forward regardless of the odds.

Path of Nihility!

SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!

A storm of silent slashes tore through every obstacle in her path!

In that instant, Maria severed all the branches and roots surging toward her.

She charged the monstrous tree and began carving it apart with her sword.

"IF YOU DON’T WANT TO COOPERATE, THAT’S FINE!"

Right after, Maria invoked Path of Genesis. Her sword blazed with bright golden light, fusing with the darkness of Nihility.

A blade of pure light and shadow sliced into the World Tree.

The world itself trembled—everything felt as though it were once again hurtling toward collapse!

SLAAAASH!

"...!"

The World Tree shuddered violently. Its countless eyes bled sap, and its wood frantically tried to regrow!

But Maria was simply faster.

Hel struck Yggdrasil from the opposite side. The two joined forces; Hel merged with Maria once more.

By channeling Touch of Death into Maria’s swordsmanship, their attacks accelerated dramatically.

SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!

Hundreds of Nihility-infused slashes pushed Yggdrasil to her absolute limit, tearing her apart at terrifying speed.

Chunk after chunk withered away.

Her plan to devour the world ground to a halt; the tremors now came purely from her suffering.

Yet Maria and Hel did not stop even after she surrendered.

No—they pressed on.

"Maria, are we really doing this?!"

"I’ve got this. Trust me!"

Together they carved downward, splitting Yggdrasil’s trunk all the way to her roots and shattering the enormous crystal core at her center.

BOOOMMM!!!

A colossal explosion of divine spirit energy erupted as the mountain-sized core fractured into countless pieces.

"...!!!"

Yggdrasil released a faint, voiceless scream of agony. Her gigantic divine soul withered as cosmic spirit energy poured out uncontrollably.

Maria swiftly gathered every scrap of wood, sap, cosmic energy, and core fragment she could reach.

RUMBLE!

The world shook again. With Yggdrasil’s death, wouldn’t the world end too?

And yet...

Maria absorbed the core fragments she had collected, drawing in their Mana and Spirit Energy, and then—

"Arise!"

FLAAASH!

Brilliant golden light enveloped the corpses of Yggdrasil, Fenrir, Jormungandr, and Loki.

Their bodies rapidly regenerated. Their souls returned to their renewed forms.

At the same moment, Yggdrasil regrew from nothing, stretching fresh branches into the sky and driving deep roots into the world.

Her renewed existence quickly stabilized everything once more, flooding the land with fresh lifeforce and spirit energy.

"...?!"

She opened her many eyes in shock, scanning everywhere, realizing she had somehow been revived after dying. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

Meanwhile, Loki and his two children stood stunned to be alive again.

"W-What happened...?!" Loki stammered in confusion. "Huh? What...! Hel? Maria! What...! Fenrir! You’re alive! What’s going on?!"

"I’m as confused as you are, father...!" Fenrir said.

"S-So it was true...!" Jormungandr exclaimed. "Maria really revived us?!"

"Yeah," Maria nodded. "But unless I prepare a specific set of Runes inside a body and soul, I think I can only revive you once. If I try again, your soul might dissipate."

"B-But why..." Loki trailed off. "Hm?! Wait—Yggdrasil too?! You killed Yggdrasil?!"

"We did," Hel confirmed with a nod.

"It was pretty easy—just a giant tree to chop down, that’s all," Maria said with a casual shrug. "Anyway, still feeling like ending the world now?"

"...!" Loki glanced at his children and Yggdrasil. "I... suppose there’s a catch, huh?"

"You’re smart, Loki," Maria said. "You’ve been revived through a reversed spell I often use to raise undead. So you’ve gained the same eternal subordination effect that my undead receive."

"W-What sort of...!" Loki’s face twisted in disbelief. "So we’re your slaves now?!"

"No—just don’t try to destroy the world. That’s all I’m asking," Maria sighed.

"Sounds reasonable to me!" Hel nodded enthusiastically. "You’re all going to get used to this world whether you like it or not!"

"And you, Yggdrasil," Maria said, pressing her hand against the giant tree’s bark. Yggdrasil trembled in fear. "If you ever dare destroy the world you helped create, you’ll pay dearly. You heard me? Next time I’ll simply cut you down, use you as firewood, and make my own World Tree. Maybe Root would be a better replacement anyway. He’s kind—unlike you."

"...!!!"

Shocked and terrified, Yggdrasil hastily grew a small branch and produced a single beautiful golden apple.

"What’s this?"

Maria examined it. A Divine Ambrosia fruit—one bite extended lifespan by a hundred years, permanently boosted stats, and leveled up skills.

"Oh, are you trying to bribe me?" Maria laughed. "Okay, make more though—this is too few!"

She started punching Yggdrasil. The tree desperately produced a hundred, then two hundred, three hundred, and finally five hundred fruits before collapsing in exhaustion.

"Maria, please stop asking her for fruits—this is her limit!" Loki protested. "All the energy we accumulated for the new world is gone, damn it..."

"Oooh, really? Well, nice effort!" Maria laughed heartily, pocketing every fruit in her inventory. "Anyway! I should share these with my family... Loki, Fenrir, Jormungandr. Now you know who’s boss here, right? So from now on, behave. And if you ever dare do something funny, there won’t be a third chance."

"..." Loki glared at her, clicking his tongue in fury. His two sons mirrored the expression.

Hel flew over and tried to calm their minds, but they were too angry.

In the end, they returned to Helheim while Hel accompanied Maria back to the Empire of Light.

They slipped back into the festivities as though nothing had happened. The tremors everyone had felt were mostly dismissed amid the music, dancing, and flowing liquor.

"Did we just sneakily save the world?" Hel laughed.

"I guess so," Maria laughed along. "Looks like nobody even noticed... well, that’s for the better."

"I agree..." Hel nodded. She sat beside Maria and gently rested her head on her shoulder. "Thank you for helping out, Maria... it means a lot."

"Don’t worry about it," Maria said softly, taking Hel’s hand in hers.

"...!" Hel noticed the touch. A faint blush crept across her pale face. "Maria...?"

"Hm?" Maria looked at her curiously.

"Close your eyes... please?" Hel asked quietly.

"...?" Maria closed her eyes.

Then she felt a small, cold kiss on her lips.

"H-Hel?!"

Maria’s eyes flew open. Hel was blushing furiously, looking away.

"W-What?"

Maria touched her lips lightly.

"What was that?! Did you...?"

"...Must’ve been your imagination!"

"..."

Maria sighed, a small smile tugging at her lips.

She wrapped her arms around Hel from behind and kissed her cheek.

"Y-You! Who do you think you’re touching like this?! I am the Queen of the Underworld! S-Show some respect—muh?!"

Before Hel could finish protesting, Maria stole a deeper kiss—this one with tongue.

"A-Ahhh!"

Hel gasped, turning bright red like a tomato.

Maria giggled.

"W-Why?!"

"Well, you started."

"Ugh...! Y-You idiot..."

Hel crossed her arms, glared elsewhere, and pouted adorably.

Maria had always admired and loved Hel—her beloved patron and goddess.

Their relationship might never go further than this.

But just for this moment, she wanted to steal at least one little kiss.

"I have to return to the Underworld..." Hel murmured. "Um... let’s talk later about what we’ll do regarding the tower. I want to help."

"Really?" Maria refused to release her hand.

"Yeah..." Hel nodded. "It’s the least I could do... geez, stop looking at me with those eyes!"

"What’s wrong with my eyes?" Maria giggled. "Is it a crime to use them to look at this cute goddess?"

"C-Cute?!" Hel sounded half-offended, half-embarrassed.

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