Meanwhile, the braided-haired one was looking at him with a blush on her face, leaving Cao Cao puzzled.
Alexandre gave a charming smile that made the loose-haired Valkyrie's face even redder.
"We were just passing by and saw you unconscious, so we decided to help. I'm glad to see you're okay. Though I admire your effort, overworking isn't good. Take the rest of the day off."
"W-We thank you for your generosity."
The older Valkyrie smiled as she stood and pulled her companion, who, as she left, Cao Cao swore winked at him.
"What the hell just happened?" Cao Cao asked, confused.
"To those two Valkyries, we were important people like friends and lovers…" Alexandre said, smiling.
"You rewrote their memories?"
"It's only a temporary effect. Once they notice inconsistencies in their memories, they'll return to normal, and the memories created while under my magic's effect will be erased."
Cao Cao was speechless at his brother's explanation.
"By the way, the older one saw you as someone important and me as her childhood love, while the other saw me as a friend and you as her secret boyfriend."
"What?!"
"Don't be a prude, Cao Cao. You're almost sixteen; you've gotta lose that virginity soon," Alexandre huffed as he walked.
Alexandre cheerfully walked to one of the walls, where he extended his hand, creating a magic circle that revealed a secret passage he stepped through.
"I hate you, Alex."
"I love you too, Cao Cao."
"How the hell did that door lead to this?!"
Cao Cao looked incredulously at everything before him.
It seemed they were in a devastated land, devoid of plants and vegetation, with snow falling continuously. Looking up, Cao Cao saw a colossal tree of impossible size to calculate, and the space around it was completely black.
"We're more specifically at the roots of the World Tree. I linked a door in Asgard to this place. If we had gone the normal way, it would've taken thirteen days of walking."
Alexandre explained calmly.
Cao Cao watched as his brother took a few steps forward.
"Looks like someone's waiting for us…"
"Never thought I'd see your ugly face here."
Guarding the passage ahead was a familiar blonde woman with blue eyes, wearing black and blue armor with a saber at her waist.
Brunnhilda, the leader of the Valkyries.
Her blue eyes were filled with rage as they focused on Alexandre.
"To think that while I was patrolling this remote place, I'd come across your loathsome existence."
The sheer rage and disgust in her voice surprised even Cao Cao.
The Valkyrie's eyes narrowed.
She was Brunnhilda, the Strongest Valkyrie and their Queen, who served directly under Freya, known as one of the greatest warriors of the Nine Realms and a vehement man-hater.
The mere sight of a man made her want to vomit… except for him.
His constant appearances in her isolated realm and incredible resilience had weakened her belief that men existed only to help women reproduce and nothing more. Otherwise, they should be hated, avoided, killed, and deemed unworthy of love.
The feelings he had stirred in her, the subsequent reluctance to execute that man multiple times, and her leniency toward him hadn't questioned her leadership but had caused unrest among the Valkyries.
All because of the man before her.
"Come on, I don't want to fight such a beautiful woman…"
The Valkyrie wasted no time, extending her hand as dozens of magic circles appeared in the sky, bombarding Alexandre with spells of ice, fire, water, lightning, wind, and light.
It was an overwhelming assault; the magical power of the Valkyrie Queen was between Ultimate-Class and Maou, and she also had divine blood running through her veins.
"If you insist…"
But to her shock, as the spells were about to hit Alexandre, they were repelled and destroyed.
"Lesson number one…"
Brunnhilda's eyes widened when she saw that the Hakuryuukou was no longer in front of her, and she felt a breath at her ear.
She quickly tried to punch, but one hand caught hers while another snaked around her waist, and before she realized, she was face-to-face with the man she so despised.
"When facing a stronger mage, you should always have your grimoires ready."
Brunnhilda narrowed her eyes as she saw the man smile gently and quickly pulled away from him, who didn't even try to resist.
The Valkyrie quickly extended her hand, creating a circle that shot dozens of chains, completely surrounding Alexandre's body and binding him.
"Oh, a binding spell… it seems based on the conceptual weight of Gleipnir's magical chains, which restrained the monstrous Fenrir…"
Alexandre looked on with interest but continued to smile.
"Very well, lesson number two…"
Brunnhilda's eyes narrowed at those words as she increased the binding strength of the chains.
"If you're going to bind someone, you'd better know what kind of mage you're up against."
A smile spread across the man's face.
"Reading."
A golden magic circle appeared beneath Alexandre's feet, to the Valkyrie's surprise.
"How can you cast spells in that state?!"
The chains had restrained all his body's movements; he shouldn't have had time to even prepare a magic circle.
"Lesson number three: Some use movements or gestures to cast spells; some need to create formulas," a smile was on the man's face. "Others need only a thought."
"And I'm the latter."
Despite the chains around his body, Brunnhilda watched as Alexandre raised a hand, and the chains couldn't hold him, as if they were losing power. Then he snapped his fingers.
And the spell she had developed with the help of Asgard's gods to bind even the monstrous Fenrir was destroyed.
"Lesson number four: If you can analyze the composition of the magic, break down its formula, and uncover its secrets, with just a little magic, you can destroy it."
Alexandre smiled as he crushed a remaining link of the magical chain capable of binding even the God-Devouring Wolf with just two fingers.
"Lesson number five: If you want to defeat a stronger enemy, you must aim for their weakness. Trying to fight me with magic is a very foolish thing."
Alexandre commented with a smile as he looked at Brunnhilda, who made a bitter expression.
"As expected of the man who received the title of 'Paladin' and took the position of 'Maverick,' the man who defeated the Goddess of Magic at her own game."
For the first time, Alexandre's cheerful and frivolous expression vanished, replaced by a serious one.
Cao Cao, watching, wondered what that meant.
"You found out something interesting, didn't you? Well, I think we'll end this game."
Alexandre looked into the Valkyrie's deep blue eyes, and before she could realize, she had fallen unconscious.
Alexandre smiled as he caught the woman's body before it fell, gently placing her on the ground.
"What did you do?" Cao Cao asked, approaching his brother.
"When I got close to her the first time, I left a bit of my magic on her and used it to manipulate her nervous system, forcing her to fall asleep."
Alexandre said as he stood and continued on his way.
"Hey, Alex, what was that about 'Paladin' and 'Maverick'? I didn't understand."
"Well, 'Paladin' is a title, but you could also say it's something to indicate strength, just like Ddraig and Albion were called Celestial Dragons, and Sirzechs Lucifer and Ajuka Beelzebub are called Super Devils."
"It's something that can only be granted by a God to someone who meets certain requirements. As for 'Maverick,' let's say it's my name among the 'Paladins' and a position. Whenever the current 'Maverick' dies, the position remains vacant until someone claims it."
Cao Cao listened to his brother's explanation, but he could easily tell it was very superficial. Alexandre only gave the basic details, as if he wanted to keep the rest to himself.
Who held that position before him? What needed to be done to achieve such a rank? Who named them as such? And what did it represent?
Pushing those thoughts aside, Cao Cao followed his brother to a small shrine where, surprisingly, a head was attached to a tree.
And Cao Cao thought he'd seen it all.
The head slowly opened its eyes, focusing on the two people before it.
"Oh, it's been a while since I've had such illustrious visitors… the wielder of the Holy Spear."
Cao Cao's eyes widened as he realized the head knew him.
"And the Hakuryuukou… a Paladin, no less. Those of your kind don't mingle much…"
"Is it that easy to recognize?" Alexandre asked with interest.
"My wisdom knows all, boy. You can disguise yourself, but I can tell. Those golden eyes must have seen the abyss. Besides, I've met two of you before—the Christian King and the Perverted Mage—and I've heard of the one who made a contract with a demon and the other who uncovered the mysteries of the Lemegeton."
"Well, I wouldn't expect anything less from Mimir, the wisest god."
Cao Cao's eyes widened slightly as he finally realized who stood before him.
The Wisest God and the Guardian of the Well of Wisdom.
Alexandre's eyes slowly shifted to the well in front of him, the Well of Urd.
"I see, those of your kind always have a thirst for knowledge," Mimir spoke softly. "If you wish to drink from the well's water, go ahead, but it requires something in return."
"From what I know, Odin left an eye, so what would be needed?" Alexandre asked curiously.
"Odin left an eye because he didn't want to pay the original price…"
Mimir's eyes slowly drifted to the middle of Alexandre's legs, who quickly followed his gaze.
"Whoa, boss, you're not serious, are you?"
"I'm very serious."
Alexandre narrowed his eyes. "There are things even I won't do for knowledge."
"I think it's a good idea," Cao Cao commented, earning a betrayed look from Alex. "That way, your dick can stop getting us into trouble."
"Then give yours; you don't use it anyway!"
Cao Cao just huffed as Alexandre grumbled.
"Is there something else that can be offered to the well besides my dick?"
"Hahaha," Mimir laughed heartily. "That's up to you, boy. The more you sacrifice to the well, the greater the reward. Odin sacrificed an eye; what will you give?"
The golden eyes turned to the guardian of the well.
"You know, Mimir, I've always wondered something. Why do beings like Gods, Demons, and others let themselves become so stagnant with life?"
"They don't seek knowledge, and their desire for power is weak. They're beings who live for centuries and millennia, but they never change."
"I see how humanity has evolved over all these centuries, from creatures that feared the darkness to becoming the dominant species."
"I wouldn't call humans the dominant species; they're not the strongest," Mimir said casually.
"But it's not humanity that's hiding its existence."
The human's golden eyes fixed on the god's.
"They have no fangs, no claws, no venom, and yet, with so many dangerous creatures on the planet, humanity still perseveres and survives. I see a time coming when humans will definitively separate from supernatural beings, when with their intelligence alone, they'll surpass the gods."
"If humans have so much potential despite being so weak, what stops other beings? Why have they stopped seeking power, stopped seeking knowledge, stopped wanting to evolve, stopped harnessing their potential?"
"I don't understand," Mimir said, looking at the human. "You want to see humanity explore its potential, but you also want other beings to do the same. What exactly do you want?"
A massive smile formed on the human's face.
"I want everything."
A chill ran down the spines of the god and the human who witnessed the Hakuryuukou.
"I want to witness everything, see everything, feel everything. I want to see the future each one can achieve, the potential they can reach, all the unknowns generated by each. I want to experience it, I want to see it all."
A distorted smile formed on the young man's lips.
"Sacrificing one eye wouldn't be enough; that wouldn't satisfy my desire. You said the more sacrificed, the greater the reward. My desire is to see everything, so…"
The two golden eyes focused on Mimir in a way that made the god resist the fear beginning to stir.
"I will sacrifice both my eyes to you."
Seeing the young man's words and terrifying determination, the other two shuddered.
Seeing that distorted gaze, Cao Cao recalled the first time he felt fear of his brother.
The place was an entirely white space stretching to the horizon, even the ground he stepped on was so white it couldn't quite be called ground.
Cao Cao turned, his holy spear in hand, looking at the person who brought them there.
The blonde-haired, red-eyed Dhampir with a chalice emitting holy energy in her hands.
The wielder of the Longinus [Sephiroth Graal]—Valerie Tepes.
"Where are we?" the Chinese boy asked the half-breed girl.
"Inside the Holy Grail," she said in a neutral, monotonous voice as she looked at him.
"Not entirely correct, but not wrong either."
Another familiar voice emerged in the white world.
"This is the place where souls are formed and go after death. We can call it the 'Origin of Life,' but also the 'End of the World.' I think the latter is particularly cooler."
Cao Cao listened to his brother's explanation while sighing.
"So, what are we doing her—"
Any words he was about to say died when Cao Cao looked toward Alexandre.
And saw what stood before his brother.
He could only stand there, eyes wide.
The thing had seven heads and ten horns, a "beast" far too powerful. Its gigantic body was easily hundreds of meters long, even larger than Great Red.
Each of its heads belonged to a different creature: one was like a lion, one like a leopard, one like a bear, and one like a dragon, with no sense of unity. Its body had a variety of features from different creatures, emitting a strange sensation.
The beast had seven heads and ten horns, with ten crowns on its horns. And on each head were blasphemous names of God.
With the number 666 on its seven heads, it was an excessively powerful beast.
The terrifyingly dark aura emanating from its body was enough to drive a man to madness, and Cao Cao felt he could resist only thanks to the spear in his hand.
Alongside the Dragon of the Apocalypse, Great Red, it was the legendary beast recorded in the Book of Revelation—
The Imperial Beast of the Apocalypse.
Trihexa - 666.
Extending from within the beast's body were countless chains firmly restraining the creature. All its heads were asleep and didn't seem conscious…
Cao Cao shifted his eyes to his brother to see what he thought of this.
But the terrifying smile forming on the human's lips made him freeze.
"Now I understand why some said the God of the Bible was all-powerful, to be able to seal this beast, thousands of forbidden-level seals…"
Alexandre observed the chains and seals swirling around the monster. Even with all his skill, it would take considerable time to analyze this seal.
"It's said the three Holy Relics could break seals, but even with all three here, it would take a good while to free this beast…"
"You want to free that monster?!?!"
Cao Cao shouted at his brother. He knew Alex's quirks, but this was madness on another level.
"I'm kidding, you idiot," Alexandre laughed, seeing his brother's shocked face. "I may be an idiot, but I'm not suicidal."
"Great Red was born from 'dreams,' Ophis from 'infinity.' I wonder what Trihexa was born from."
The golden eyes were completely focused on the beast before slowly turning to Cao Cao and Valerie.
And both froze upon seeing those eyes.
"Don't be scared, folks; it's just curiosity… but well, it was out of curiosity that Pandora opened the box containing all the world's evils, and it was out of curiosity that Eve ate the Forbidden Fruit…"
The golden eyes seemed filled with joy.
"Don't worry, nothing bad will happen to you; that, I guarantee. All for the sake of reaching that…"
"The End."