Chapter 140: A Favor to Aunt

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Erik's next years were spent working on the new dimension. After showing his wives the place, he dived directly into setting protections against any unauthorized transportation to the dimension. Since Ophis had nothing against it, he was literally claiming the ownership of the dimension. And unauthorized people entering it was his main concern since nobody could wander accidentally in it because of the Dimensional Gap. Only Ophis and Great Red. Other kinds of protection would have to be set more locally after.

It was during this time that Ajuka Beelzebub launched a new technology to the underworld. Computers! The research division under the command of Ajuka Beelzebub had invented computers. Erik's first wife, Selena, had loved the thing so much that she wanted to know how to make one from zero. She talked to Serafall for her to arrange an 'apprenticeship' with Ajuka Belzebub, and the bubbly Satan did exactly that. After learning all that she could from Ajuka Beelzebub and his records on his new invention, she dived herself on her research on the subject. Erik even joked with Selena that she was becoming a computer wizard, giving the woman even more energy to do her research on how to implement even more magical components to the computers since the ones that were available now were a little sensitive to the concentration of mana in a wizards body if not shielded properly. Selena learned that the hard way when she fried an entire batch of the new computers that had not gone through the shielding procedure yet just by casting a summoning spell.

It was during this period that a very pregnant Valkyrie, Erik's aunt Galdun, arrived at his home desperately looking for him. He was working on setting his dimension spanning ward array when the alarms that he had set for his aunt, Galdun, went off. Quickly, the man got her location through the monitoring micro monsters that he had on everyone that he cared about and saw that she was in transit to his home in Norway. Three seconds later, Erik was gone from the dimension, having disappeared in the middle of blue motes of light.

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Ravens' Fort, South of Norway

June 1887

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As soon as Erik set his foot in his home, he receives the signal from the wards alerting him of incoming teleportation. Seconds later, his aunt Galdun appeared from a transportation magic circle. The Valkyrie, a very pregnant one, looked desperate. One could see it in her face that something had disturbed her greatly. As she turned to walk into the house, Galdun saw Erik standing in front of the door looking at her. A little relief passed through her eyes and she did a very quick walk to him.

"Erik! I need your help!"

Galdun yelled as she approached Erik.

"Calm down, aunty. Take a breath and tell me what happened. All this agitation is not good for my little cousin."

Erik said to his aunt. The woman, as desperate as she was, nodded her head to Erik and took deep breaths while closing her eyes to try to calm herself a little. When she managed to do it, she looked again at Erik while grabbing his arm with her hands.

"It's Frigga. She got attacked by someone and is in a coma. Please, I need your help, Erik! She is dying, Erik!"

Galdun said to Erik, her desperate tone coming back as she talked. After getting pregnant, Frigga had excused Galdun from her job as her bodyguard to stay at home and take care of her future baby, leaving the Queen of Asgard with a temporary squad of Asgardian warriors as her bodyguards, something that was not optimal. During one routine visit to the village of believers, Frigga's group got ambushed. The emergency teleportation artifact that she always carried with her, which was a gift from Selena, whisked her away and back to Asgard's Palace. But it had been too late. The assaulting force had managed to wound her on the back, and when she arrived at the palace, Frigga was already unconscious. When Galdun got news of what had happened due to an artifact that warned her about Frigga's health state, and after confirming the situation of the Queen with the Palace, she went after the only person that she thought could help her right now.

Erik immediately cast an emergency broadcast communication to all his wives. As a holographic circle appeared next to him showing the concerned face of all his wives, Erik and them didn't waste time with pleasantries since they knew that Erik would only use this method of communication in an emergency, even if they had been interrupted in the middle of something important.

"Frigga got attacked and is on the verge of death. I am going to Asgard to help."

Erik quickly said and closed the communication channel.

"Can you teleport us directly where she is?"

Erik asked Gandul while looking at her. Gandul nodded her head and started to cast her teleportation spell, making a light blue magic circle appear under them. Seconds later, both people disappeared from the place where they were standing in the middle of motes of light.

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Odin's Palace, Asgard

June 1887

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Erik entered the Palace in rushed steps while following Gandul. They had appeared in the teleportation entrance of the place and had been immediately stopped by the guards because even if Erik was recognized as a citizen of Asgard, he didn't have the authorization to enter the palace. Fortunately for the duo, Galdun had the authority to allow him inside.

As they reached the medical wing where Frigga was being kept, they saw a lot of Asgardian gods waiting by the doors. Between them was Thor, who voiced his thoughts about Erik's presence there.

"Gandul, what is the meaning of this? Why in this man inside the Palace?"

Thor asked in his booming voice.

"Lord Thor, this is my nephew, Erik Ravenclaw. I went to get him after I heard what had happened to the Queen. He is an amazing healer."

Gandul replied to Thor, voicing her confidence in Erik's skills. The god of Lightning and Strength scoffed at that.

"You think that he can do something that our healers can't do? I don't care who he is, he is not going inside."

Thor said and stubbornly stood in front of the doors, blocking their access.

"But Lord Thor, he-"

Gandul started to say, trying to argue with the stubborn god but was stopped by Erik's hand on her shoulder. Gandul looked back and saw Erik looking at her as if he was asking for the word. She gave him a small nod of her head and stepped aside. Erik walked to the front of Thor and looked directly at the god's eyes, something that most could not do without cowing.

"Thor Odin'son, are you prepared to face the consequences of denying your mother the possibility to be saved?"

Erik said to the god, shocking all the people around them.

"Because the more of her time you waste by barring us here because of some pettiness, the less are the chances of you seeing your mother again."

Erik added to Thor, who after some seconds moved out of the way to allow the duo to enter. Seeing that, Erik nodded his head to Thor, who nodded his head back. He then looked at Galdun, who walked to the door, opened it, and walked inside. Erik then followed after Galdun, closing the door after him.

As Galdun entered the room, some of the people who were inside looked at her.

"Galdun, what are you doing here?"

One of the people asked the pregnant Valkyrie. It was then that they saw Erik walking behind her.

"When I got news of Lady Frigga's attack and state, I went to get help. This is Erik Ravenclaw, my nephew. He is a very good healer."

Galdun said to the people who had asked, one of the healers that worked at the Palace's medic wing. The man looked at Erik and a scowl appeared on his face.

"You seem to have little confidence in our skills, Valkyrie Gandul, to go and search for outside help."

Galdun and Erik rolled their eyes at that reaction.

"It is not that I have little confidence in your skills, Healer, but the fact that I have total confidence in the skills of my nephew. That is why I called for his help."

Galdun replied to the man. The Healer was going to say something about it but was interrupted by Erik.

"Don't botter, aunt Galdun. They must be waiting for someone to come back with the antidote. I mean, if they have that much time to waste with useless banter, they must have already identified the venom that is attacking Lady Frigga's body and soul."

Erik said in a loud voice, shocking the healers who were inside the room. In truth, the Asgardian's healers were lost at what to do with Frigga. They had never seen a case like that. While in Erik's case, he had already seen something like that. In truth, he knew very well the creature who produced the venom flowing inside Frigga's body. At the moment that they had entered the room, Erik had focused his senses on Frigga, identifying the cause of her coma in the seconds that took for Gandul and the healer to talk.

"Oh? So you say that you know what is happening, young one?"

Said a very old-looking man that was sitting by Frigga's gurney's side. He was Frigga's husband and the King of Asgard, Lord Odin Borson. At the sight of the man, Galdun bowed her head a little.

"Forgive me, for bringing Erik here, my Lord, but when I heard of Lady Frigga's state my only thought was of what could I do to help her recover."

Galdun said to Odin, who give the Valkyrie a weak smile and then turned to look at Erik again, waiting for his answer.

"Yes. You can say that I am familiar with this venom. One of my teachers at magic school used to breed the kind of snake that produces it. In the magical community, it is considered the most powerful venom in existence. If one would put the entirety of the supernatural world, I would say that it is the second most powerful venom, only losing to Samael's."

Erik casually said. One had to know that not everyone knew of Samael's existence since the God of the Bible made his everything to erase the 'snake's' existence from history. Odin squinted his eyes at that.

"So, is there an antidote for this venom?"

Odin asked Erik, who nodded his head.

"Yes, only one. The venom belongs to a Basilisk. A magical creature that can only be artificially created. The only antidote for it is the tears of a phoenix."

Erik replied to Odin. At that, the healers in the room scowled and one of the more vocals and young ones couldn't keep his mouth shut.

"Ha! Can you believe in this? We have already administered Lady Frigga a dose of Phoenix's Tears and we had no result."

The man said with a look of contempt on his face. Erik looked at him like he was an idiot.

"Are you deaf? I clearly said 'tears of a phoenix' and not 'Phoenix's Tears'. The second is a special potion made by the Phoenix family in the Underworld. While the first is the raw tears of a magical creature called phoenix. The immortal bird that rises from its ashes, you know? Its tears are a dozen times more potent than the ones created by the Devil family."

Erik said to the healer. Odin, not wanting to waste more time, ordered in his booming voice.

"Enough. Go and order someone to gather the tears of a phoenix. We have no time to lose."

Odin said, shaking the healers from their state.

"No need, Lord Odin. I have some with me."

Erik said and put his hand inside his coat and from an internal pocket, grabbed a small vial that was half-filled with a transparent liquid. It contained about forty to fifty drops of tears. He then just threw the flask to Odin, who easily caught the item with one hand and eyes the flask with his only eye and then looked back at Erik.

"Are you crazy!? Why did you throw the antidote flask so carelessly?"

Galdun said, scolding Erik for his carelessness. Erik rolled her eyes at that.

"Who do you think that I am, aunt? Some kind of magicless person?"

Erik asked in a sarcastic tone.

"Calm down, Valkyrie Galdun. Young Erik had the item wrapped in his magic all time. It could have looked like for you that he had thrown the flask, but in truth, he levitated it to me."

Odin said while taking the stopper out of the flask, smelling its content and them looking at it again with his only eye. Galdun flsuhed at that. Then, without any more doubts, Odin turned the entire content of the flask in his comatose wife's half-open mouth, carefully massaging her throat to help her swallow the liquid after.

It only took a few seconds for the tears of a phoenix to show results. Frigga's color was quickly returning to her skin, together with the vitality of her body.

"Amazing."

Odin commented after seeing the results. The healers around were looking at the results with open mouths too. Soon after, one of the oldest ones, who had stood quiet during the debacle with Erik and looked like the leader of the group, called for their attention.

"What are you all gawking at? Go and check the Queen's state."

That seemed to wake the healers from their stupor, as they immediately ran to the gurney and started to cast their diagnose spells. Minutes later, they were all discussing the results in quiet voices with the leader, who, as soon as he had the results, walked to talk with Odin.

"Lord Odin, Queen Frigga's soul is slowly healing back while her body is back to its peak form. The tears seem to have neutralized the venom completely. She is only sleeping right now."

The healer said to Odin, who let out a sigh of relief at that.

*sigh*

The old-looking man then looked at Erik and gave him a wide smile. He walked to Erik and hugged him.

"Thank you, young Erik. I don't know what would have happened to me if I had lost my Frigga."

Odin said to Erik in a very emotional tone.

'You would have probably become a pervert.'

Erik thought inside his head. In his past life, he had read that it was Frigga's death that had made Odin turn into a perverted old man. With this action of his of saving her life, Erik had truly changed the future. This action of his could have consequences in the future, but he would deal with them since he didn't want to see their wives sad because of the death of a dear friend.

"Don't worry, Lord Odin. I just did what I could to help since my aunt had asked for help and because Lady Frigga is a good friend of my wives'. They would be very sad if something happened to her."

Erik replied to the old man, making him smile again.

"Basilisk venom normally kills a magical person in seconds. It is so strong that it can corrode through almost everything, including a person's soul. Lady Frigga just went into a coma instead of dying because her divinity was fighting the poison and slowing its action. She will probably be very weakened for the next decades or so while her divinity recovers."

Erik said to Odin, explaining what he knew about the venom. The old man nodded his head at that. He could be old and wise, but there were things that he didn't know about. This artificially created magical creature called Basilisk was one of them.

"Luckily for everyone, due to the nature of the Basilisk, its breeding was forbidden some centuries ago. To officially breed them today for potions' ingredients, one would need to get their hands on a lot of different permits. And it is worse if one would want to raise them beyond the hatching stage. You would need to be a parselmouth to do it properly."

Erik said.

"Good thing that was forbidden. Its venom is just too dangerous."

A healer commented.

"That is not the only reason why its breeding was forbidden. Basilisk has no size limits for their growth since they are not natural beasts. The older one is, the bigger it gets. The oldest one on record is a fifty years old Basilisk that was ten meters long and a half meter wide. The other dangerous thing about them is that they can kill with their eyes. If a person would look at a Basilisk's eyes without any extra protection, he would die instantly. Just looking indirectly at them is enough to petrify your body completely."

Erik said again, explaining a little more about the true dangers of the creature. Of course that he knew about Salazar's snake who was still sleeping under Hogwarts' Castle. The recorded Basilisk that he had told about was Salazar's one.

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