Bloodlines of the Ancient Pantheons

Chapter 567: DLXVII. Putting The Pieces Together

"Can't you smell it?" the young Master asked, reopening his eyes and looking at Hakon, who did not answer. 

"I can smell your fear" Dag replied, continuing to look at his opponent, ready to fight against him and commit himself to the maximum, at the cost of dying in an attempt to kill him.

"Your insolence talking to you in person is even more annoying than what I've felt over the last 10 years watching you" the Lies Of Loki leader replied, too smart to fall into such a trivial provocation. 

...

"Dag is getting more and more amazing! He just insulted the second strongest warrior on the planet, making fun of him!" Atran intervened, who had not met Dag from the beginning and did not believe he was so impulsive and confident.

"He's been waiting for this moment all his life long, but... I don't like what Hakon just said... I have a bad feeling about it..." Freydis said in a low voice, expressing her fear and continuing to remain silent in order to listen to the speech between the two rivals.

...

"What did he say?! Ten years! Ten years ago I just got here on Skjold! Has he been spying on me since then?! It's not possible!" Dag thought, who could not hide his amazement, who after that statement transpired from the way he opened his eyes.

"What? Is it possible that you haven't figured it out yet? Hold on... I give you a little clue... does a little white rabbit remind you anything?" the enemy leader asked, who was behaving as if all that talk was just a sick game for him.

Dag's body got paralyzed as if he had just been struck by sudden lightning and his eyes opened completely, failing to react calmly to that shocking news.

"The... the white rabbit..." he stammered, taking a step back and recalling exactly what Hakon was talking about.

"That rabbit... that rabbit that convinced me to join the Hammers Of Thor! Like a fool I believed it was sent me from the God Thor, who was trying to communicate something to me, instead, it was his work! It was Hakon! But why?! Why force me to change my choice?! What would have changed if I joined the Crows Of Odin? Lots of things actually, that's true... but what advantage did he gain?!" Dag thought, who was in a total panic, not knowing how to react. 

"You never wondered what a little white rabbit was doing in Jernhest arena? Did you really think it was a divine signal? Hahaha! What a fool! Hahah... okay... maybe I exaggerated a little, I took advantage of your youth and naivety... but your face right now... you should see it! Hahaha!" 

Hakon burst into a restrained laugh, unable to resist the fun he felt watching Dag realize that almost his entire life had been maneuvered by his bitter enemy.

"Okay, stop acting... I know everything. I know about the Bjelke Sphere and I know about Egill's vision. I know you saw me fighting against Brann and I know about the Red Executioner, which you transformed into the Giantbane. I looked at you every single time, as you faced your enemies and in your moments of weakness while saving helpless maidens and increasing your dark powers! I know you better than you do, boy!" Hakon continued, who lost control and raised his voice so much that he screamed. 

"Those animals... the crows, the fawn, the rabbit... the undead! None of this makes sense... they all had the same power as the Xis, like... oh, no... don't tell me that..." 

Dag's gaze rose again towards his interlocutor, at a time when the curiosity to know if he understood everything prevailed over the fear of looking straight in those frightful red eyes.

"However... it was not my initiative. I never felt the need to know everything about an unknown kid, I had other plans, more important things to do. Let's say I was recommended by..." 

"The Frostsinners. They forced you to do it!" Dag interrupted, spitting out the truth.

All those in the square remained petrified and Hakon also remained silent for a few seconds, realizing that Dag's intelligence had led him to reason and that the young and talented warrior had already found the solution to his dilemma.

Just when the leader of the Lies Of Loki had decided to answer, Dag preceded him.

"I'm sure they offered you something... something you couldn't refuse... they gave you the power to control Skjold's animals and use their sight and senses to spy on me, but not the powers those animals were imbued with... isn't that right, Hakon?"

With his fists clenched, Dag continued to stare at his interlocutor, while the fear he had felt up to that point slowly turned into anger.

"I could only control those beasts, but their every attempt to attack your life, every time they put you to the test... well, I had nothing to do with it, they did it, you know who" Hakon replied, who almost seemed willing to justify himself as if confessing to Dag the truth removed a huge weight from his stomach, a heavy burden that for years he had been carrying in silence.

"I... I..." Dag stammered, not knowing how to respond, as thoughts overlapped in his mind, trying to dig into the past and get some other useful detail out of it.

"I acquired amazing knowledge thanks to them and they made me realize how special you are! Your powers, your body, everything about your genetics... it's all by chance, the result of a chaotic combination of chemical elements! All of this makes you an extremely rare being, but it's obvious that you're not able to handle all that power... you need someone to do it for you" Hakon continued, making a clear reference to himself.

...

"Wait, that means... the Frostsinners waited for Dag to fully develop his powers and then order Hakon to kill him and steal the dark matter from him?!" Reidar exclaimed, asking Freydis and the other two Generals if he understood correctly.

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