Family and Goddess 2.165

-Thank you, Grandpa- said Viggo.

At this time, they were on the edge of a cliff that bordered the volcano where Tyr's temple was, in Muspelheim. The kingdom of fire remained hot, the clouds of reddish and orange colors loaded with dangerous gases. The stone melting and the lava flowing in inexhaustible river flows.

Rosewisse was dressed in her golden Valkyrie armor. Her long silver hair fell to the back of her knees. She watched Muspelheim's spectacle in amazement.

At the same time, Viggo and Xiao were two meters away from her chatting.

-Okay, boy- Xiao said -to begin with, this was all my idea, so there's no downside. However, what we are talking about-

Viggo looked at Rosewisse's back, her long white wings covered by the bulky armor as her long silver hair fell between them. Viggo looked at Xiao and nodded -don't worry, we already talked about it and if necessary, I will intervene-

-That sounds good to me- Xiao said with a wise smile -once you complete Surtr's challenge, take what you want from the chests at the top. Above all, be sure to take Idun's apples. To you and that girl Rosewisse will do very well-

-I understand, Grandpa, again, thank you very much for everything and especially for the necklace. That makes things much easier for us if the challenge gets difficult-

-Difficult?- asked Xiao with a sneer. Viggo smiled and shook his head. Xiao pointed his index finger at him and said -even though you are not as good as your father, I must admit that you have your own methods. You must be proud Viggo, where others failed, you succeeded. Just keep improving and don't get tired-

-Thank you, Grandpa- replied Viggo, holding his golden wand in his right hand, which with the help of his father, made quick modifications and added what he and Rosewisse called "the stone of memory."

Xiao nodded, walked up to Rosewisse, a lovely girl just like her grandmother, and said -well, Rosewisse, I'm leaving. I wish you the best of luck-

Rosewisse stopped looking at Muspelheim's vastness and turned around. Then she smiled at the sight of the friendly-looking old man, large entrances and a tail of ashen hair raised on the top back of the head -thank you very much for everything, Grandpa- she said as she blushed -your help is very valuable, I will not forget this-

Xiao let out a wise giggle and said -it's nothing, just take care of yourself and wish you the best-

-Thank you very much-

Xiao nodded, turned around, nodded to Viggo, and vanished into thin air.

Rosewisse looked at Viggo, who was only dressed in his red robe and leather boots. She didn't like that he walked around without armor, much less thinking they were going to fight monsters, but he had said that no armor would help him. With him touki and the blessing of the sun was more than enough.

-Come on?- asked Viggo with a smile brimming with confidence.

-Come on- Rosewisse replied.

Viggo turned right and saw a path made of melted rock blackened by soot. He walks in that direction and Rosewisse followed closely. Rosewisse investigated the distance at the great volcanoes and how they did not stop spewing lava in inexhaustible flows that joined rivers of lava. She coughed as she felt the air a little thick, as if there was earth, but it was the gases flowing from the lava.

They climbed a steep slope for half an hour until they found the road cut by a river of lava that ran with the speed of the water. Rosewisse and Viggo watched the lava descend in a right-to-left flow and head for a lava cascade.

-Do we jump?- asked Viggo.

-Let's jump- Rosewisse replied with a smile -don't go down, I won't save you-

-I say the same thing- replied Viggo with a mocking smile.

The lava river was only three meters wide, so it doesn't represent a challenge. Then they continued walking along the slope until they reached a gate made with two huge pillars five meters high. Rosewisse and Viggo stopped in the middle and saw a slit in the ground.

Viggo crouched down, took his golden wand with his left hand, and brought his index finger from his right hand to the indentation -here is a fence- he said, then pointed to the training ground that began after the portal. In the center of the field made of molten rock and blackened by soot, there was a huge sword with a handle and gold handguards. It stood out a lot, since what was seen of the sword had to be four meters high. Viggo continuous -this fence will rise to close the escape route once we touch the sword and shout "I challenge you Surtr"-

-"I challenge you Surtr"?- asked Rosewisse funny

-That's how I did when I was ten years old. Don't ask me, I didn't set the rules. Well, I don't know if that's the rule either. Grandpa brought me in and said to shout that sentence. Now, the important thing is Do you want to try? Grandpa told me it's six swords, so I can wait to test my magic skills-

-Of course, I want to try- Rosewisse said with a big smile and put on her Valkyrie helmet with the two horns on her forehead and two wings back with the igneous red feathers. Then she materializes her katana and continue -I still don't know much, but if you tell me that it is possible to train here, it will be good-

-It's possible to train, just don't let your guard down- replied Viggo, standing up.

Rosewisse unsheathed the katana and passed the cover to Viggo. He received it and kept it in the leather bag tied to his waist. Viggo advanced through the portal, Rosewisse followed him, and they walked to the big sword in the center of the training ground. The entire area was surrounded by large walls of five meters obscured by soot from smoke. There were three caves ahead. A cave in front and one on each side. Each cave was sealed by a grille formed by thick iron pillars crossed diagonally.

Viggo pointed to the caves and said -once you place your hands on the sword, shout "I challenge you, Surtr". The sword will disappear, and the bars will come down. Your enemies will come out of the inside of those caves. Watch their distribution, do not let them surround you and keep in constant movement-

-I know how to fight, Viggo- Rosewisse said, crossing her arm as she held the katana with the blue blade.

-I know you know how to fight, but you fight at a distance. Now you're going to fight hand-to-hand, and it won't be the same- Viggo said -so shut up and listen to me. I listen to you when it's about magic, you listen to me when I talk to you about hand-to-hand combat-

-Okay, stop being so bossy-

-Do not start or I will tell you the same thing when it is your turn to explain about magic-

Rosewisse nodded and frowned but kept listening to Viggo's explanation. Once Viggo finished his explanation, he retreated to the bottom, where the cliff overlooking Muspleheim was.

Rosewisse kept holding her katana and put both hands in the center of the big sword buried on the ground. She looked back, saw Viggo with his red hair and naked torso, standing, thirty meters away. The Muspelheim sky covered with red and orange clouds was behind him. Viggo nodded and she nodded in response.

-Surtr- Rosewisse shouted with her hands on the big sword with the hilt and golden handguards -I challenge you-

The next instant the large four-meter sword disappeared, and the bars of the caves were lowered in front of it. At the same time, volcanoes erupted spewing lava and sediment. Rosewisse looked back, somewhat frightened by the sudden explosion of the volcanoes only to see Viggo with a stern look. He pointed his wand in his right hand forward. Rosewisse nodded, looked forward, and heard beastly roars. She took her katana with both hands and prepared for the attack, but when she saw draugrs coming out in groups from the three caves, she was frightened and began to retreat. However, soon regain its value and take a deep breath only to smell the scent of sulfur in the air, like rotten egg.

The draugrs with their cadaveric bodies, swords, and shields, pounced on Rosewisse and she responded by throwing some clumsy cuts with her katana. She noticed her mistakes and corrected them as she stepped back. Rosewisse blocked a sword with the katana and then deflected it. Then she cut his chest and opened his rib cage. However, that level of wound was not enough to kill the draugrs. So, in addition to the cuts, she started throwing kicks and pushing back the draugrs. No shelf, none of that was having results and only the number of draugrs in the training camp was accumulating.

-Occupy the mana to strengthen the katana blade- Viggo shouted from her back.

Rosewisse understood that she had stepped back several meters so that Viggo can only be heard a couple of meters from her back. She understood that it was the best and channeled her mana to the katana. The leaf went from being blue to a watery green with white glows as if someone had trapped the stars inside.

Rosewisse started throwing one cut after another and now cut the draugrs in half without giving them a chance to respond. Even if the draugrs raised their swords or shields to protect themselves, the katana still cut them off along with their weapons.

Ten minutes later, Rosewisse was breathing through every part of her body and feeling more tired than when she threw magic. Maybe it was because of the consumption of mana from the katana. Maybe because of its low efficiency in the use of katana. It didn't matter, but she was sure she was improving at a great pace. However, a powerful and beastly roar pushed her away from her thoughts.

Rosewisse looked forward and saw how a huge red ogre came out of the cave in front. He was the greatest she had ever seen in her life. It could easily measure between five or six meters in height. Rosewisse backed away involuntarily, but instantly regained her consciousness and gritted her grip on the katana. At the same time, the ogre ran to Rosewisse, stopped in front of her, and jumped up raising her arms to unload them like powerful hammers. Rosewisse occupied her wings to get away from him. Then she raises into the air and swooped to throw a cut with the katana in his throat. She passed by the ogre's side, landed on the ground, and turned to see how the ogre reacted. The latter put his hands to his throat to avoid bleeding, but it was useless. Blood slipped through his fingers and within seconds, he fell to the ground.