No matter how one looked at it, the incident had been resolved perfectly thanks to Rod's intervention.
Before noon the next day, everyone from the previous night gathered at Rod's house once again, with the exception of Vali and Bikou.
Of course, there were also a few new arrivals.
Azazel and Baraqiel were both present.
None of the Maou came from the Underworld, but Grayfia attended in their place.
However, before they even met Rod, the sight of the three "dogs" tied up in the yard immediately put them on high alert.
When Azazel learned that one of them was Fenrir, his brain practically stopped working.
Baraqiel tightly gripped the Spear of Light in his hand. The aura concealed within Fenrir made his instincts scream with danger, causing him to become vigilant immediately.
But when Asia, who was feeding the dogs, told them that Rod had simply picked up the three of them as strays, his expression completely fell apart.
Just what kind of luck did someone need to possess to bring home several terrifying "dogs" like these while out for a walk?
Grayfia's lips parted slightly, her eyes filled with equal astonishment.
"How exactly did he accomplish this?"
As an expert in magic, Grayfia could not detect any seals or barriers on the three demonic wolves.
But that only made the situation even stranger.
Loki was Fenrir's master. How could anyone else possibly make it obey?
If Fenrir were truly this easy to handle, someone in Norse mythology would have stolen it away from Loki long ago.
Furthermore, according to their intelligence, Fenrir possessed advanced intelligence.
Although it could not speak, it had a powerful sense of self just like a human.
Ordinarily, powerful beings like this were extremely proud.
Even Loki probably could not order Fenrir to obediently wear a collar and leash.
The only explanation Grayfia could think of was that Fenrir's reputation had been exaggerated.
At the very least, its personality did not seem to match the information they possessed.
"Honestly, I don't know what that kid did to make Fenrir so obedient either. You can sense it too, can't you? There isn't a single trace of any restrictive power on Fenrir."
Odin had arrived together with Rossweisse, and he was equally shocked by Rod's methods.
"I heard Rod made Fenrir obedient by feeding it something resembling a rice dumpling, but that doesn't make any sense either... does it?"
It was not only the others who found the situation absurd.
Odin found it even more ridiculous.
After returning the previous night, he had spent the entire night searching through all the knowledge of Norse mythology at his disposal, yet he still could not understand what had happened.
The abilities possessed by this mercenary, whose identity and origins remained a complete mystery, were simply beyond his comprehension.
"That kid's abilities are bizarre," Azazel complained. "When I first met him, I didn't think he was anything particularly impressive. But now, even Loki has been defeated by him."
"Ever since God died, what exactly has happened to this world?"
First, Longinus capable of killing gods had appeared.
Now there was Rod, a mere human.
Grayfia withdrew her gaze.
"At the very least, he has chosen to stand on our side for now. That is enough."
After that, everyone gathered with Rod's group in the first-floor living room to summarize the events surrounding Loki's attack.
Speaking of which, Odin and Rossweisse had not rested at all since the previous night.
After parting ways with Rod, Rossweisse had contacted Asgard's headquarters and used a teleportation circle to transport Loki back before imprisoning him.
According to Odin, Loki would remain sealed in that prison for all eternity.
The moment Rod heard that, he could already guess that Loki would eventually escape without much trouble.
After all, seals existed to be broken.
Rod did not bother warning them, however.
If Loki escaped, he might come looking for trouble again.
And if that happened, another mission might be triggered.
The leaders of the major factions held a very brief meeting inside Rod's home.
Aside from determining how to properly handle Loki's attack, they also discussed communication, cooperation, and strategic planning between their factions, as well as the Khaos Brigade, which had recently been launching continuous attacks against various mythological powers.
"There's something else i've discovered."
Azazel then shared the intelligence he had gathered.
"Recently, my subordinates captured several people who claimed to be members of the Hero Faction. However, while they were being detained and studied, they began dying one after another."
"They were being experimented on. Of course they died because they couldn't endure the humiliation."
Rod spread his hands after hearing that.
The others nodded in agreement.
Azazel, however, immediately objected with a solemn expression.
"The research conducted by us Fallen Angels is entirely normal and humane. All those rumors about slicing people apart are misunderstandings."
"Those words aren't very convincing when they come from the Governor of the Fallen Angels."
Xenovia looked at him with a complicated expression.
"Forget it. Believe me or don't. I'm only responsible for explaining the facts."
Azazel sighed.
"The Hero Faction members we captured were all Sacred Gear possessors. Their deaths were caused by Ophis's snakes."
"However, these weren't the type that directly increased their strength. They were a new type of snake."
"They wrapped themselves around the wielder's Sacred Gear and appeared to use Ophis's power to draw out the Sacred Gear's hidden potential, allowing it to display the functions of a Balance Breaker."
"But because there are too many uncertain factors involved, the Sacred Gear is easily damaged."
Everyone could already guess what happened afterward.
For a Sacred Gear possessor, the most important thing was the Sacred Gear itself.
Once a Sacred Gear was damaged, its wielder would suffer a backlash as well.
In less severe cases, they would become completely paralyzed or fall into a vegetative state.
In severe cases, they would die on the spot.
The group continued talking for a while longer.
Azazel explained that the purpose of their visit was to accompany Odin during his upcoming negotiations with the gods of Japan. They would also take responsibility for protecting him during the remainder of the journey.
Odin originally wanted to invite Rod to continue serving as his bodyguard.
But after waiting for a while and seeing that no new mission had appeared, Rod immediately rejected Odin's invitation and demanded the payment he had previously been promised.
Odin was helpless.
Why had Rod agreed so readily before, only to refuse just as decisively now?
Still, he could not force Rod to accept.
He therefore instructed Rossweisse to hand over Rod's payment.
It was a pile of books.
"These books contain records of every form of Rune Magic. Each grimoire also contains detailed annotations, making them extremely useful for magical training."
Lavinia's eyes immediately lit up.
As a professional magician, she naturally understood how precious these grimoires were.
"That's it?"
Rod looked deeply dissatisfied.
"I knew you were greedy, kid, so I specially requested a valuable treasure from the divine realm."
Odin reached into empty space.
A short-handled hammer then appeared in his hand before everyone's eyes.
"What's that?"
Rod asked.
He could sense an ancient and profound aura emanating from it.
"It's a hammer."
"?"
"Why are you insulting me?"
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