After Loki fainted, the Fenrir offspring and the mass-produced Midgardsormr he had brought with him sensed the loss of their master's control. Their combat strength instantly plummeted.
The mass-produced Midgardsormr were dealt with by Rias, Akeno, and the others working together.
Meanwhile, just as Xenovia was about to cut Sköll down, she heard someone shout from afar,
"I'll handle it!"
Rod, who had only just finished beating Loki, rushed over from a distance. In the blink of an eye, he appeared near her, forcing Xenovia's Holy Sword to stop abruptly in midair.
Then everyone watched as Rod tossed a rice dumpling, one still giving off an unbelievably fragrant aroma, into Sköll's mouth.
The demonic wolf's massive body jolted.
Immediately afterward, its scarlet eyes became clear and innocent.
Rod then repeated the process, rescuing the battered Hati from Vali's hands and tossing a Momotaro Dumpling into its mouth.
The demonic wolf that had been preparing to unleash a giant whirlwind one second earlier instantly sat down obediently.
Everyone was stunned by Rod's miraculous method.
What exactly had he thrown at them? How could eating it make such vicious god-slaying demonic wolves so obedient?
"Um, what exactly was that thing you threw?"
Xenovia asked curiously after putting Durandal away.
"A rice dumpling. Humans can eat it too, but it won't have any effect. Also, there's only one left, so you don't get any."
"Oh..."
Xenovia wiped the drool from the corner of her mouth.
She had been so close just now that her mouth had already started watering.
It smelled far too good.
Seeing that, the others stopped asking questions.
Still, they were secretly shocked that Rod had such a miraculous item.
Loki had raised these monsters for so many years, only for someone else to tame them just like that. Once he woke up, he would probably want to die.
At the same time, the system notification sounded again.
[You have completed the mission: Ragnarök.]
[Mission Objective: Defeat Loki and Fenrir while ensuring Odin's safety.]
[Calculating rewards.]
[Odin and Rossweisse Affection +30, Senzu Beans x100, Poké Balls x5.]
[Item: Poké Ball. After using it on a target, there is a chance to capture and subdue them.]
[Note: Poké Balls only work on non-human intelligent creatures. Of course, you may also throw one as a projectile weapon.]
"?"
What the hell?
Momotaro Dumplings were one thing, but now even Poké Balls had shown up?
So not only could he tame wild beasts in this world, he could even catch Pokémon now?
Still...
Interesting
Rod also noticed one extremely ridiculous point.
The Poké Ball only stated that it would not work on humans.
Since they were not human, did Devils, Angels, and Fallen Angels count?
And gods probably were not human either, right?
At that thought, Rod's eyes immediately lit up.
If that was the case, there was plenty of room to operate.
He then looked toward Odin, who was lowering his head and studying Loki.
If he could capture Odin, wouldn't that make him the new master of Norse mythology?
At that moment, Odin, who was currently examining Loki and wondering how to deal with him, suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.
He instinctively turned his head, only to see Rod walking toward him while casually tossing a red-and-white ball up and down in his right hand.
It had to be a coincidence.
Odin thought to himself.
Of course, it was also possible that some diehard faction within Norse mythology was using a secret technique to curse him.
"This time, I truly owe you my thanks."
Odin paid the feeling no mind, and his expression turned solemn.
"Don't tell me you're planning to refuse payment."
"Ahem... Don't worry. I am the god-king of Norse mythology. My word is my bond."
Odin coughed twice and looked at Rod with a rather complicated expression.
At that moment, Loki slowly regained consciousness.
However, his expression looked as awful as if his own father had died. Even though Rossweisse had bound his entire body with dozens of layers of magical chains, he did not struggle.
He was completely exhausted, body and soul.
After all, this was already the second time he had been beaten this badly.
And this time, it had been his real body.
Seeing Loki glare at him with venomous hatred, Rod could not help asking,
"Want me to humanely dispose of Loki for you? Don't worry, I'm very quick."
Loki's face instantly turned green when he heard that.
But Odin shook his head.
"No need. Next, I will have him brought back to the Norse divine realm to stand trial."
"Fine."
Rod shrugged. Faced with Loki's glare, he simply glared right back.
Since that was the employer's request, he, as the hired help, could not say much more.
But if there was a next time, Loki would not be so lucky.
"Rossweisse, let us go. Everyone, you have all worked hard tonight."
At that moment, Odin finally showed some rare dignity as a god-king.
Rossweisse lifted Loki up and summoned Sleipnir.
Rod waited for a while, only to find Odin still standing there.
"Not leaving yet?"
"...Fenrir and its two descendants must come with us as well."
Although Loki had betrayed him, he was still a god of Norse mythology. Naturally, Fenrir, who belonged to him, was also property of the Norse divine realm.
Moreover, Fenrir's performance in this battle had been overwhelmingly powerful.
Odin felt that even if he had personally joined the fight, he might not have done any better than Rod.
Hearing that, Rod shook his head with a blank expression.
"Fenrir? I don't know anything about that. Is there a Fenrir here?"
Everyone around them looked utterly confused.
What?
There was an enormous wolf sitting right beside them, and he was saying he didn't know?
Then they saw Rod turn toward Fenrir and ask,
"Gray-chan, do you know anyone here called Fenrir?"
Fenrir originally seemed about to respond.
But after seeing Rod's kindly gaze, it immediately shook its head. It even let out a soft whimper, indicating that it had no idea who Fenrir was.
"Then is anyone here called Sköll or Hati?"
Under Fenrir's gentle gaze, its two children also shook their heads in perfect unison, indicating that they had never heard those names before.
"Then they are...?"
Odin's expression turned strange.
"Oh, the big one is called Gray-chan. The two smaller ones are Gray Gray-chan and Gray-chan-chan."
After Rod said that, the three wolves cooperatively let out a howl in response.
Everyone: "..."
When it came to lying with your eyes open, you really were something else.
Even robbery wasn't this fast.
In the end, Odin still failed to take Fenrir back.
After all, even if he did take them back, they would not listen to him. If left alone, they might even throw Norse mythology into chaos.
So in the end, he simply gave them to Rod.
"Let's head back too."
Rod yawned.
After fighting Fenrir and then Loki back-to-back, the moment he relaxed, drowsiness immediately caught up with him.
Rias and the others had no objections.
Although their score this battle was only about 3.0, this was their first time joining such a high-end match. Their backs ached, their legs cramped, and they urgently needed to go home to recover and receive treatment.
Lavinia had originally wanted to ask Vali to come along as well.
But when she turned around, she realized Vali and Bikou had already vanished without a trace.
"Sigh, honestly. Va-kun is always like this..."
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