I Became the Guild Leader in Exile - I Became the Guild Leader in Exile chapter 89

89 – 3# Niflheim (2)

Niflheim.

In Norse mythology, Niflheim was closer to purgatory than hell. In the myths, Niflheim was a place where sinners who didn’t fall into hell received help from Hel and lived.

Real sinners fell into a deeper abyss. However, this Niflheim was literally a prison made for Hel. A desolate land and an empty sky.

Isaac walked endlessly in this place, which was like a vacuum. He didn’t know where Hel was hiding, but it was about time she showed up. Why?

“I brought enough food, at least.”

Surprisingly, food wasn’t necessary in Niflheim. It was as if time had stopped. He didn’t feel hungry or thirsty, but that wasn’t a good thing.

Instead, the eerie feeling that something was off was terrifying. Isaac felt an urge to escape as soon as possible, but he restrained himself every time.

Hel, who had been alone here until now, must be feeling lonely and struggling. So, Isaac couldn’t give up on her. That conviction alone kept him going.

“Ugh, those ghosts.”

What made Isaac even more tired were the ghosts of Niflheim. If you stayed in Niflheim for too long, you would forget yourself and eventually become a ghost wandering around.

But the instinct to survive remained, so when a living being appeared, they would try to grab onto it and suck the life out of it. Was that a desperate act to survive?

Or was it just envy towards the living? The original work didn’t provide an answer to this question, but Isaac, who experienced it firsthand, thought it was closer to the latter.

“It can’t be anything else, or they wouldn’t torment me like this.”

The ghosts, whochas lost their existence and left only traces, were at least good at tormenting living people. They were still doing it now.

First, they would lurk around and make Isaac nervous, and when he tried to sleep, they would detect it and interfere. They would slowly drain his energy away.

Isaac clicked his tongue. It was definitely hard, but he could endure it to some extent. No, he could endure it for his family. That was Master’s responsibility.

“I hope my family is doing okay.”

From the day I fell into Niflheim until now, Isaac has been recording the days without missing a single one. It’s because perceiving time is the same as perceiving one’s own existence.

Thanks to that, Isaac knew that it had already been two weeks since he fell into Niflheim. During that time, he had been consuming the minimum amount of water and food, and sleeping lightly.

If it weren’t for Hercules’ authority and Isaac’s strong mental power, he would have gone crazy already. But Isaac was worried about something else.

“No way. I told Cain, so he’ll take care of it.”

It wasn’t for nothing that Isaac had entrusted Cain. Besides, Isaac trusted Cain very much. His work was efficient, and his decision-making power was also impressive.

If the guild went out of control, he would be able to play a sufficient brake role. Then, he could put the problem on the other side for now and focus on resolving this side first.

Believing in family in critical moments.

That’s one of the Master’s virtues.

Isaac stood up immediately. It seemed like the undead had noticed him sleeping, as they were surrounding him. Isaac smiled faintly and opened his mouth.

“Do you think I’d lose to the likes of you?”

If he thought he could lose in a place like this, he wouldn’t have come here in the first place. As he thought that, he was about to swing his fist, but the undead did something unexpected.

The undead moved to the sides, revealing a single path. And at the end of that path, someone was walking towards him. A woman with pale skin, black hair covering her eyes, and tattered clothes.

It was obvious just by looking at her. She was Hel, the one who had been exiled to Niflheim. But it didn’t end there.

She had grown up alone in this place, learning many things. And now, she had an army of undead following her. She was the queen of death, and also the lord of the undead legion.

And finally…

The undead queen, Hel, who had arrived in front of Isaac, opened her mouth.

“Ah, hello…”

It was very timid.

* * *

Hel.

The goddess who was exiled to Niflheim after Fenrir was sealed, the second child of Loki. In Norse mythology, Hel is said to have a half-horrific, half-beautiful face.

But in this novel, the setting of Norse mythology was adapted in its own way. And the result was the timid goddess in front of him. At least, she seemed gentle for now.

However, Isaac didn’t let his guard down. After all, Hel was like a time bomb that could explode at any moment. But Hel guided Isaac to her home, looking shy.

“This, this is where I live.”

The direction Hel guided him to was a massive temple built with stacked bones. Isaac smiled wryly and nodded. Guiding him to a place like this…

“Maybe it’s a problem with her unique physiology.”

In the original work, this was considered a problem with Hel’s unique physiology. But to Isaac, it seemed like both of them were just twisted.

However, he couldn’t blame Hel for that.

If he were in the same situation…

Could he remain calm?

The answer to that question was no.

“What brought you here?”

“I came to take you out.”

Hel lost her words at Isaac’s confident answer. What kind of person is this? Is he a fool? Or a new kind of villain? But no matter how she looked at him, he didn’t seem like a villain…

“That person said so. They said that anyone who tries to take me out is a villain.”

Villain. Yes, villain. Villains must be caught, and then that person will praise him. Hel’s voice grew cold. Isaac, sensing her emotions, quickly stood up.

Whoosh! Clang!

If Isaac had stood up a little later, he would have shared the same fate as the chair made of frozen bones. Isaac frowned. The reaction was faster than he thought.

“So, villains must be killed. Right?”

In Norse mythology, Hel is said to have a face that’s half-horrific, half-beautiful. But in the original work, that was adapted differently. To put it in one word…

Split personality.

One was a timid and relatively weak personality of Hell. And the other was a personality that Odin had implanted in Hell when he sent her to Niflheim, using his own power.

Hell let out a fierce laugh as she quickly closed in on Isaac. Isaac narrowly dodged Hell’s hand, which was as swift as lightning. And at the same time, Isaac saw it.

The power to freeze anything her hand touched, even empty space. Hell’s power was to freeze everything she touched. It was far from the general image of hell.

If one thought of the Norse mythological underworld ‘Hell’ as a dark, cold, and desolate place, wouldn’t her power to freeze everything be the most fitting?

“Can I do as I please, villain?!”

“That’s right, I’ve been acting as Odin’s executioner against my will.”

Why did Odin implant another personality in her? The reason was clear enough, even to Odin. Odin sent those who rebelled against him to Niflheim.

However, there were cases where people escaped from Niflheim. This was already an established rule of the world, and even Odin couldn’t do anything about it. So, he left Hell here.

He needed an executioner to handle those who rebelled against him, under the name of punishment. To kill them more certainly in Niflheim. Isaac was speechless. What a great guy.

“You’re so great that you’ve sold your conscience.”

You’ve abandoned your family and left them in this desolate place, using them as collateral to give people hope. But in reality, you have no intention of giving them hope.

And you’ve entrusted all the dirty work to Hell. You don’t get your own hands dirty, but use someone else’s to take care of your enemies. Indeed, that’s the kind of character Odin has.

Isaac didn’t dodge Hell’s hand, which was approaching him. The moment Hell’s pale hand touched him, Isaac’s body froze instantly. Hell smiled as she saw it.

But.

It didn’t end there.

Crack.

With a loud noise, the ice cracked, and Isaac reappeared, looking at Hell with a fierce determination.

“Come at me with all your might.”

I’ll take all your hatred.