Editing Toaru Majutsu no Index:Crossover Chapter 4 (section)

===Part 15===

Othinus’s delaying tactic ended before long.

She vanished and Odin returned.

He grabbed Gungnir and silently left the throne room. Once he arrived on the edge of Asgard, he silently raised the spear.

He did not hesitate.

He threw that divine spear straight into the center of the black vortex and at the base of the black tree.

It fell to the surface surrounded by orange light.

This divine power would destroy whatever was necessary whenever necessary to maintain order, so no one should have been able to defend against it.

Hel should have been killed, a portion of the world should have been destroyed, and everything should have been resolved.

However…

“What?”

With an ear-splitting sound, a single palm stood in the way of Gungnir.



“I can’t believe it.”

Waltraute’s eyes opened wide on Bifröst.

The owner of that right hand was not Kamijou Touma.

The power that had stopped it was not Imagine Breaker.

Even Loki stared in disbelief at the massive light on the surface.

“What is this? That’s…that’s the boy who committed suicide earlier, isn’t it!? How did he come back to life!?”

“More importantly, isn’t that the power of Baldr?” asked Brynhildr. “It’s said that god of light can deflect any attack and not even Odin can harm him, but I thought he had already died in one of Loki’s schemes. …No, wait. He died? And went to the underworld?”

“That’s right,” said Waltraute in a trembling voice. “That boy did not kill himself because he could not take the pain and suffering. He intentionally ended his own life to take a trip to the underworld and borrow the power of the god of light imprisoned there!! And he made sure to use a method that would send him to Niflheim and not Asgard!!”



A little earlier, the boy (technically, just his soul) arrived in Niflheim, that white world of snow and ice.

Normally, the great guard dog Garmr would manage the souls of the dead like a sheepdog, but his master, Hel, had left and her role as queen of the underworld was gone.

To help Hel, Garmr had guided the boy’s soul to the ice palace of Éljúðnir.

Deep, deep, deep inside was a room that resembled a luxurious prison cell more than a guest room and a young man waited there.

He was Baldr.

His death had been prophesied shortly after his birth, so a contract had been made to ensure no objects, phenomena, or life forms could harm him. The one exception was mistletoe which had been considered too young to kill him, but Loki had killed him using a spear of mistletoe and Höðr, Baldr’s blind brother.

Even so, it was prophesied he would be resurrected like a phoenix from the rubble left over after Ragnarök where he would rule over the new world.

“Oh? You don’t see this every day.”

Baldr emitted light as he welcomed the human boy.

“Things are quiet outside and the sin filling Niflheim has vanished. …I suppose Hel has finally run out of patience.”

“Are you Lord Baldr?”

“I am. But let me be clear about something: don’t expect much from me. I’m praised as the god of light, but I wasn’t able to do much of anything before I was killed in one of Loki’s schemes. My brother Höðr was set up as the murderer, so he was killed for my death. I couldn’t save anyone and even led to my twin brother’s death, so don’t assume I can live up to any of your expectations.”

“Nn!”

“You don’t like it? But my voice will not reach Hel. If I was truly a god of light, Niflheim’s darkness would have been dispersed much sooner, but I could not even accomplish that. Hel has gone, hasn’t she? What more proof could you need?”

This god had been unable to save anyone.

He had been the cause of his blood-related brother’s death.

That may have been why he ended up in the underworld after dying. He may have sealed himself in the depths of the earth out of shame for what he viewed as his greatest sin.

But…

“That’s not a reason.”

“For what?”

“I’m saying that’s not a reason to give up on Hel!!” declared the boy. “She wasn’t listening to you, but that’s no reason for you to stop speaking to her. She didn’t want to be saved, but that’s no reason to stop reaching out to her! If you give up here and everyone lets go, she’ll be left all alone. She’ll lose her way out!! I can’t let that happen. You were trying to call out to her because you understood that, right!?”

“…”

That god emitted his own light, yet something seemed to dazzle him.

But the boy did not notice.

“I want to save her, I want to see her smile, and I want to play with her! So help me. It doesn’t matter if she wants it or not!! Lend me your power to open up a whole list of options before she reaches a dead end with no way back!! Then we can let her choose again what path to take! ''I need your power''!!”

“Fine then.”

That was all Baldr said.

He saw this puny boy as an equal, so he held out his right hand for handshake.

“Let’s save her. First, you need to return to the surface. …I am the god of light, so I will protect you as long as something shines in your heart.”