Hunter felt like his entire being was shaken and nearly pulled apart as he was suddenly and unexpectedly pulled off course mid transit to Idavoll. The experience was extremely jarring and left him nauseous, dizzy, and in great pain. He had just enough strength in his body to not fall into his own sick after getting I'll as soon as he crashed in his new location. His vision blurred and everything went black.

Michael struggled to get up after hitting the ground. "I'm not sure what the fuck that was, but it wasn't me."

Hel groaned as she used her staff to help herself onto her feet. "Something grabbed us mid flight. I didn't get a solid look but that net looked like it was made from fibers taken from Yggdrasil itself."

"I still don't understand that. If the realms are just layered and out of phase with one another, how is there a space between and why is there a tree there?"

"It's hard to explain in any way that makes sense, so I'm just going to say it's magic."

"Cool, cool. So if this isn't Idavoll then where are we?"

Hel looked around her. They were on a street in a city. The buildings were large pillars of white elegant marble and gold metal. They looked like one solid piece that was either carved or grown. The buildings lacked any hard angles and often had bits of arching material hanging off in arches on the sides of buildings. The aesthetics of the buildings combined with the use of colorful stained glass windows were more art than architecture. If she had the point of reference she would likely compare the city to a piece of modern art. "Uhhh…. I'm not exactly sure but I'm guessing this is the capital city of Ljósálfar."

"Can you say that again in a way someone who knows very little about Norse myths can understand?"

"We are smack dab in the center of the Light Elf empire. I think. The banners look right for it and the architecture matches what I've read about." She points to a banner on a building. It's white with gold stitching. It has an outline at the edge and three images one on top of the other. At the top of the banner was the image of the sun, under that in the middle of the banner the image of an eagle, then at the bottom of the banner the image of wheat.

"Oh cool, Hunter said something about making elf friends earlier right? That means we should be fine right?"

"No, no it fuckin doesn't. As far as I know from what he told me, until recently he's had to shift into the equivalent location to where he is. So although he's been to Alfheim, he's never been here. We have no idea what to expect." She does her best to lift and carry Hunter who is still completely out of it.

"Okay, so what's the plan?"

"I don't know. Lay low and wait for Hunter to recover? Honestly I'm surprised he survived that. Even with his durability he was still using a human body and there's only so much a human body can handle. It might take him a while to wake up."

"We are in the middle of a street and I doubt ducking in a building is an option. So where do we hide?"

Hel looked around then moved to the wall of a building. "Find an alley or something? I haven't left Helheim in like five thousand years and I've never visited Alfheim. I'm completely out of my depth here."

Michael also moved to the wall. "Great, just great. I'm going to guess the elves don't speak English so we have no way of talking them down if we are spotted."

"I know how to speak elvish, but I don't know if they'll even listen to me given my reputation. Hel, daughter of Loki, sided with her dad and the Jotun during Ragnarok. My armies were responsible for a solid number of deaths and although that was a bit over five thousand years ago elves have a tendency to hold grudges over generations."

"Probably a lot easier to do so if they live longer than humans."

"Humans have the shortest lifespan in the realms. Elves and dwarves naturally live ten times longer. Jotun and Aesir live ten times longer than that. Not to mention many nobles from various kingdoms in both my realm and Asgard have access to ways of extending their lifespan indefinitely."

"You can stop aging but you can't do anything to help my brother?"

"There isn't exactly a cure for death. Once you are dead that's basically it. Not even I know what comes next."

"That's reassuring and terrifying in equal measure."

"I'll see what I can do to prevent his death but unless we ourselves look into the possible futures there is no way of knowing if we even can."

"You lost me there."

The two move around staying close to walls and avoiding people the best they can.

"Basically there is this well of knowledge, the urd well or something like that. If you dunk yourself into its water while hanging from a rope by your neck it'll give you whatever knowledge you speak. For a price."

"So hanging by the neck isn't a price?"

"Nope. Odin gave up an eye and my father…. Gave years of his life? Anyway, it always takes something you value or take pride in. Good eyesight, your youth. It's not something to take lightly."

"No shit. There is no way in hell I'm giving up these good looks for knowledge. I'm not some nerd."

"Your brother's life could depend on it."

"He seemed really chill with the idea of dying."

"How selfish can you really be?"

"I'm going to be honest, looks and charm are kinda all I have. Looking good and having charisma can get you really far in life. However, that's all I really have going for me. I'm not that smart, and I don't really have any special skills. I'm just above average intelligence, enough to know just how little I actually know."

"At least you're honest about it."

"What would you have to sacrifice to the well if you used it?"

Hel had to think about that for a bit. "I honestly don't know. The thing I value most is my realm and the safety of my people. I couldn't sacrifice them to save Hunter. It wouldn't be logical to risk multiple people for just one man. How I feel about him wouldn't matter because even if I was willing to make that sacrifice he'd probably hate me for it."

"Yeah, considering the entire deal is him giving his life to protect others."

Hel nodded as the two stealthily dodged a light elf patrol. It is at this moment Hunter started to babble incoherently.

"Damn it brother, now is not the time to half wake up and make random noises."

"I don't think it's entirely random. I'm only picking up bits of it but he's speaking in elvish."

"Did taking that hit fry his brain, or maybe at least the translator?"

"No, I think he actually bothered to learn it the hard way. Not sure why he's speaking it though. Unless he's somehow already figured out where we are."

"What is he saying?"

"I'm only picking up bits and pieces but it sounds like a light elf prayer. I heard it once before a long time ago. If I remember correctly it's a prayer for the sun to come out of the clouds. Often used during heavy rains."

"You mean like 'rain rain go away'?"

Hel chuckled "I mean kinda. But he changed some of the words or something because it's not how I remember it.'

"Okay, so how does it go and what has he changed? The wording could be important."

"I'm surprised someone like you would think of that."

"Hunter used to love word puzzles and stuff as a kid."

"I'll do my best to translate. Originally it goes something like: "Oh mighty Solus, there's no need to be so shy. Somewhere above the clouds, why is it you hide? Please come out, and stop this excessive rain. It's drowning out our crops, and bringing lots of pain." It's sung by children. But the way he's singing it translates to: "Oh mighty Yggdrasil, touching all the realms. Somewhere across the Bifrost, a living bridge to me please send. Please send help, I'm in excessive pain. I'm drowning in great suffering, and fear my life will end." I'm shocked that he can get it to fit in the rhythm and even have it worded to still rhyme in both languages."

"Maybe he's not the one who altered the prayer. The altered song mentions a living Bifrost. Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't that what Hunter is?"

Hel was surprised by Michael's intelligence in this moment. "You're right. It sounds more like a prayer someone would say to try and summon Hunter. Maybe whoever did this had no idea what they did would cause a backfire effect and nearly kill him. This suggests that we are here because someone who knows of Hunter is nearby and needs help. Though it would take some skill with magic to pull something like that off. I'm talking either on a level similar to me or multiple casters in a joint ritual."

Hunter suddenly stopped singing the prayer and babbling something else in elvish really loudly.

"God damn it Hunter, shut the fuck up. What is he saying now?"

"Uhhh…. I'm only catching some of it. Something something army of madness, something something crownless king, something something choose sacrifice or selfishness. It's probably connected to what my dad told him."

"That still bothers me. I'd personally take anything a god of mischief told me with a grain of salt."

Just then a group of guards checking on the noise sees the three. "Intruders? Get them!" The light elves then charge at the three.

Hel and Michael try to run with Hel.still carrying a rambling Hunter but since elves can fly the trio is quickly surrounded.

"Okay Lady Hel, now what? Fight our way out?"

Hel put her hands up. "It's best we not turn to violence right now. Once Hunter is recovered he can bust us out."

"I really hope he counts this as an exception to his promise to never bail me out of jail again since it's kinda his fault."

"How can you even joke at a time like this?"

"It's a coping mechanism."

The guards then escort the three to cells for processing. When Hunter finally comes to, he's behind bars with Michael and Lady Hel is nowhere to be found. "The hell?" He then makes a gagging sound. "Why do I feel like someone force fed me twelve shots of tequila then set me on fire? Everything hurts and the room is spinning."

"Something grabbed us mid transit and now we are in the capital city of the light elves. Hel said she thinks whoever did it wanted help and didn't mean to hurt you. They put her in a different area. I'm not sure if it was because she's female or because of how powerful she is. Also, they took Light-bringer and Hel's staff. They didn't take your ring though, so I assume they don't know what it is. That or they aren't worried about it."

Hunter blinked for a bit. "There's some minor level of what I guess could be called anti-magic. I can see normally but I can't use my sight beyond sight."

"Fuckin nerd. We are in a cell and your ass is making god damn Thundercat references."

"Ugh…. I still want to throw up." Hunter wobbled to his feet. "Just give me a minute and I'll figure something out."

"You better, this is your mess."

"How is it my fault someone did something to scoop me mid transit?" Hunter makes another gag sound as he walks around. "Ugh, I really hope something like that never happens again."

"You got anything in your ring that can get us out?"

"I honestly don't think we'll have to escape. I can probably just convince them to let us go after a short talk."

"You didn't see how rough those light elves got with us. Luckily Hel was translating what they said and it wasn't very nice."

Hunter rubbed his head. "What did they say?"

"That the only thing worse than a Dark Elf was an outsider. I don't think these guys will be as friendly as the elves you encountered. Witch, by the way, look nothing like I expected of elves. Are all the races from the mythology that different from the stories?"

"Actually everything else has been fairly close to what you'd expect. It's mostly minor things." Hunter then sits on the floor cross-legged and closes his eyes.

"What are you doing?"

"Concentrating. If whoever grabbed us wanted my help then maybe I can track them despite the interference."

"So you are just going to pass the time until you figure something out?"

Hunter nodded. "Might as well have a seat, we'll be here a while."

Michael sat down and together the two waited. After a while a group of five light elves came to the gate. One grabbed a key to open the cell. "I'm going to open this and take you to an interrogation room for questioning."

"You're going to find questioning my companion difficult as he can't understand you."

"You speak elvish. We'll just interrogate you both at the same time. Now come with us."

"I'd like to know where my other friend is. Tall, pale, wears a half mask. Impossible to miss."

The cell is opened. "Just follow us and don't start anything."

Hunter nods to Michael and they both follow the elves without complaint.

In the interrogation room the two are sat down on one end of the table with two male light elves on the other. "We are going to ask a few questions, the better you cooperate the smoother this will go. Let's start simple. I'm going to assume by how you look that you are both originally from Midgard, is that correct?"

Hunter after repeating the question to Michael responded. "Yes, we were both born in Midgard."

"Do either of you, to the best of your knowledge, have any blood relation with any Aseir, Vanir, or Jotun?"

Hunter again after repeating the question responds. "As far as I know I don't have any otherworldly ancestors and since this other human is my brother by blood the same is true for him."

"For the record, what are your names?"

Hunter explains to Michael the cops want their names and Michael gives his. "I'm Michael Erickson."

The cops look at Hunter waiting for his name. "I'm Hunter [Steel-Bone], honorary citizen of [the village over the rapids]."

The two cops look at each other and the one that had yet to speak stands quickly and slams his hand on the table hard. "Don't you dare lie to me human. No outsider has been given a name of virtue since the great unification."

The first cop, who is clearly older put a hand on the younger cop and sits him back down. "He is speaking elvish rather well, and since he was knocked out on the way in and spoke in elvish before the guard even spoke he had to had learned it before hand. Since this is the biggest case we've had in a long time it's important we do this by the book."

"Also I have no reason to lie. You haven't even accused us of a crime yet."

"Well Lady Hel has protections under a treaty signed long ago and effectively has diplomatic immunity. Since you are an honorary citizen the worst we could charge you with is entering the city without using the front gate and going through the proper protocols. You did have a legendary weapon on you so that makes it a bit worse but even then since you didn't physically harm anyone or damage anything you'll likely be let off with a warning. Your brother however is a complete outsider and the punishment is more severe."

"He's only here because of me, I'll take full responsibility."

"Unfortunately for you it's up to a tribunal now as to how to handle your case. They will determine if you'll be charged with a crime and the punishment for it."

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

Hunter explains everything to Michael before continuing to talk to the cops. "Okay then, I'll then demand an advocate to aid me in my case."

"You have the right to an advocate. Just name them and their home village. Keep in mind it has to be someone the Light Elf Empire would recognize."

"I call for Dawn Solladotter if [the village over the rapids]."

The two cops look at each other and the older one then looks back to Hunter and nods. "She's actually in the city on a diplomatic mission. She'll be informed right away." The two cops then have the two escorted back to the cell and left there alone again.

"So…. We're going to court?"

"Yeah, I'm not to worried it. If they decide to be dicks and play hard ball I can always demand a trial by combat."

"But you hate fighting."

"I'll do it if nessisary. It's been nessisary a lot more often lately, so I've gotten a bit more accustomed."

"Okay l, so who is this Dawn Solladotter?"

"A light elf I met in a mixed village that lived like an equivalent of Amish people. Though it having members of the different kinds of elves is an improvement from this place. Too much white. It hurts my eyes to look at, even if the buildings are pretty."

"Nice, cool, real great." Michael spoke sarcastically. "We get in a jam and your first move is to call your elf girlfriend."

"She's not my… wait, I mean I think technically she is. I'm not exactly sure because dating is different in elf culture. You're aloud to court as many people as you want until things get serious and you become exclusive."

"So while I've been doing my best to stay out of prison you've been living it up in another world with a elf girl harem."

"Hey man, it's not all sunshine and roses. I've nearly died like a half dozen times."

"I think the funniest part is, all that elf booty and your lame ass is still a virgin."

Hunter pinched his temples. "Just shut the fuck up man. I'm not wired like you. I can't just cum and go as I please without feeling bad about it."

"I'm just saying, if you were a little less stuck up on stupid shit you'd probably have found a woman before you started shifting realms. What ever happened to that girl in highschool?"

"She…. Moved out of state? I was going to join the military straight out of highschool so I doubt it would have worked out anyway."

"Excuses excuses."

After a bit of waiting eventually a guard walked over with a female elf in tow. "Alright Hunter, your advocate is here. You'll be given some time to talk before you appear before the judge." He unlocked the gate and took Michael out. "Since you've taken responsibility for all crimes in this case your brother is being released to the custody of Lady Hel. Good luck."

He then locks the door again and walks away with Michael. "Awe come on man, I at least wanted to see Hunter interact with his girlfriend."

"Just shut up and go Michael, I've got this handled."

Dawn was a bit confused but waited for it to just be them before talking to Hunter. "Okay, what is going on? How did you even get here?"

"So you don't know? Nothing is going wrong in the village?"

"I've only been gone a couple days but everything was fine when I left. Why?"

"Because while I was trying to taxi Lady Hel and my brother to Idavoll I got grabbed by a magic net and dragged here. Apparently summoned by a group who desperately wanted my help. Who outside the village would even know about me?"

"I have a brother who lives in the city who I told about you. Also I didn't know you had a brother. Is he like you?"

"He's nothing like me. Do you or your brother know anything about a Crownless King or a Living Bifrost?"

Dawn thought for a bit. "I remember my brother saying something about an old prophecy involving a Crownless King. Something about him being a bridge between realms like a Living Bifrost. It involved a person that would choose between their own happiness and the well being of the realms. There is a cult group that worships him like a hero they think will bring about a new golden age if he chooses the path of martyrdom."

"Well I spoke to someone who had seen the future. I am the Crownless King, and I've already chosen martyrdom. I've probably got a decade at best before my final battle."

"That's…. Unfortunate. Your lifespan is already short enough as is. Is this person a reliable source?"

"Normally I'd say no, but given how my life has been up to this point it kinda fits. At least I get the satisfaction of knowing my death will have meaning. If you want to give up on trying to be with me I understand. It's hardly enough time for a relationship."

"I… I'll have to think it over. I'll also tell the others. This'll narrow down the field even more. Dusk found a partner since the last time you were here. His second in command. His father was a bit upset that his first born son chose a man at first but he settled down when he saw how happy they were together."

"That's good. Good for him. On to business, what's my best move here?"

"Honestly I wouldn't be surprised if the tribunal ordered both you and your brother executed, especially if they found out you are the person the cult has been waiting for. At best you are looking at time for trespassing with them ignoring the fact you've taken on the crime of your brother and locking you both up.and never letting you out. You'd never be able to come back to any major city of the light elf empire."

"I'm going to have to go trial by combat again aren't I?"

"Probably. But here they'd give you three challenges each harder than the last. They'll find something they think is impossible for the final challenge. Also, the rules prevent outside influence and they will count Light-bringer as an individual rather than a weapon in order to hamper you."

"I'll be able to use any non magical weapons they have on hand as well as any equipment I brought with me besides Light-bringer right?"

"Yeah, but you'd probably need a legendary weapon to make it through. Something on a similar level to Moljinr, Gleipnir, or Ymir's club. Even then you'd need the physical ability to match an Aesir."

Hunter nods. "Then I'm ready, I can manage both. I've gained quite a lot since my first fight in Alfheim."

"You'll definitely have to catch me up when you have the time."

The guards came to escort the two into the tribunal chamber where three judges sat ready to hear the case on hand. One Judge who was sitting a bit more forward than the other two spoke. "You stand here accused of trespassing, entering a city illegally, and violation of the Alfheim Asgard treaty that clearly states among other things that Einherjar are not to be sent directly into a population center. You may not enter your defense if any."

Dawn spoke first. "Your honors, neither human that was transported here are Einherjar. Also, Hunter has expressed to me that his appearance here was not something he did intentionally. He was knocked off course while trying to go to a different location."

"During questioning, Lady Hel admitted that the defendant had partaken of an Ibdunn apple. Although not recruited into an army officially it is clear with the gift of a legendary weapon that Asgard has accepted him as a warrior and ally. This qualifies him as Einherjar. Intent, or lack thereof, does not absolve one of crimes."

Dawn looked to Hunter. "I'm going to need context for the sword and as well as the apple."

"The sword was given to me after entering combat with Vidar. It was a gift under the understanding that there would be a rematch in the future. The apple was given as an emergency life saving procedure after the previously mentioned fight, it was administered by Lady Hel and not Vidar."

"Was Vidar present during this procedure? At any point did he verbally approve or disapprove of it?"

Hunter responded. "Vidar agreed with it since I needed to be alive if he wanted a second fight with me. There was no suggestion that I would be conscripted as a warrior for Asgard or Helheim as payment for the apple."

"What matters here is that the apple was given with the approval of King Vidar. Training with the royals themselves though rare was not unheard-of for Einherjar."

"I wasn't given the apple till after the fight."

"The order of events is irrelevant in this matter. The fight could have simply been what impressed him enough to be willing to allow you an apple."

Dawn slammed her hands on a table. "A tribunal is intended to be fair and impartial. You are to judge without bias, yet here you are making excuses to find him guilty and even adding worse crimes that should not even apply simply because he is a human. Need I remind you he is an honorary citizen?"

"He is an outsider. Need I remind you of what happened with the last outsider to be given that privilege. Freyr abandoned us after the unification as if we wouldn't separate again without guidance. I would also like to submit that the legendary weapon in Hunter's possession is the sword that once belonged to Freyr. I won't risk history repeating itself."

This time it was Hunter who slammed his hands on the table. "What the hell is even the point of a tribunal when it feels like you've already decided to declare me guilty?! Why not just execute both me and my brother in our cells? I'll tell you why, because you wanted to play pretend. Fake that you are a just and fair people and be able to tell yourself that proper justice was upheld so you can be free of guilt. If you are just going to order to have me executed anyway I might as well make a show of it. I demand trial by combat if you are just going to look for an excuse to have me killed."

The tribunal judges move away from the podium and huddle for a bit before returning. "Fine then, you will be given trial by combat. You will face three rounds in the arena. If you survive all three then all charges will be dropped." The judge slams something on the podium. "Take him to the arena right away."

Hunter is escorted to the arena grounds as Dawn is moved to the spectator area with Hel and Michael.

Michael held out his hand to Dawn. "Hi again, I'm Michael. Hunter's older brother."

Dawn just looks at the hand before speaking English. "Hunter never mentioned you. I'm Dawn." She sits on the other side of Hel from Michael.

"You know English?"

"Hunter gave some books to my village, and a few of us devoted ourselves to learning."

Further conversation is interrupted by an announcer speaking in Elvish. "Greetings everyone, thank you for arriving on such short notice. Today we have an extra special show. The trial by combat of Hunter [Steel-Bone] who has been charged with various crimes including but not limited to the violation of several laws from the Alfheim Asgard treaty by proxy. Our judges have arranged three trials that this human must overcome. If he somehow lives, which let's face it no one here wants that, he'll be cleared of all charges and set free. Failure means death. Hunter is not allowed outside help but is allowed any equipment he brought with him outside the sentient sword that is being counted as a person. He is also allowed use of any primitive basic equipment kept at the arena. Hunter has chosen the heavier gladiator armor that would normally restrict flight as well as a sword and shield to take in addition to what he had with him. Normally I'd wish the accused luck, but let's be honest. There's not a single light elf here that doesn't want to see this human dead."

Hunter was handed what looked like a microphone and told he could give a few words. "Hello Ljósálfar of Ljósálhiem Alfheim, I'm going to get straight to the point and be as blunt as possible. I have no intention of dying here. After a long time of feeling lost I've finally found something worth living and even dying for. I want you all to know that since I have the ability to travel the realms mostly freely that I could have escaped at any point but chose this instead."

The announcer takes back the microphone. "With the formalities out of the way let's get started." He flies out of the arena. "The first round chosen by our judges will be Hunter versus three Dreki!"

A gate opens and three alligator-like lizards the size of school buses enter the arena and slowly move around aiming to surround Hunter.

Hunter raised his shield and readied his sword, clanking it to his shield. "Come on you ugly ass dollar store dragon."

Hel chuckled "Technically speaking Dreki are a type of drake or lesser dragon. Like all drakes they lack wings. This is different from wiverns who are small and have wings merged with their front claws and basically glide rather than fly. Both are considered a sort of lesser dragon." She was explaining this mostly for Michael who had no idea what was going on.

All three Dreki charge at Hunter and he jumps up causing them to snap their jaws at empty air. Hunter managed to land on the back of one of the Dreki but when he slammed his sword to it it bounced back having chipped off some scales. The monster then bucked Hunter off it and tried to slam its tail on him but Hunter managed to roll out of the way. Hunter quickly got up and charged at the Dreki that was furthest away.

When Hunter got to it he slid under its belly dragging the sword along the much softer underside gutting the monster with relative ease. Unfortunately Hunter lost some amount of spatial awareness by focusing on the one allowing a second to get a solid chomp on Hunter's arm. The armor held somewhat but he could still feel the teeth puncture flesh as electricity coursed through Hunter's body. Hunter used his other hand to punch the beast in the schnoz making it back off in shock as the electric charge it put into Hunter was used against it.

Hunter did his best to ignore the pain and keep fighting, focusing only on the task at hand and not the crowd or announcer. He still had two Dreki to deal with after all.

This time when one went to chomp him, Hunter put his shield in its mouth and freed up his hands. He then jammed his thumbs into the creature's eyes, blinding it before digging deeper to destroy its brain. The third Dreki whipped Hunter with its tail, sending him a distance away.

Hunter got right back up and charged the monster, punching it in the face, grabbing it by the head, and stabbing it through its pallet in its mouth to kill it. While a group cleaned up the corpses Hunter picked his now somewhat bent up shield and put it back on.

The announcer spoke in a shocked voice into his mic. "T-the human did it? He actually did it! He won. That….. is definitely a surprise. This human must be quite the warrior back home."

Hel grumbled in the crowd.

"What up, something wrong?" Dawn asked.

"Hunter is trying to conserve his energy. He hasn't channeled Bifrost energy to enhance his abilities yet. He just did all that as a normal human. Does he think they won't let him rest between fights?"

Michael made a confused face. "You'll have to explain more about my brother having super powers later."

Dawn chuckled. "Anyway m, I don't think they will let him rest. They'll go right into round two."

The announcer confirmed this. "Okay then, unexpected but let's move on to round two. Hunter will face one of our generals and five of his top men."

Hel slammed her fist on her chair. "They aren't even trying to pretend to be fair anymore. What's next, a fuckin dragon?!"

Dawn rubbed her arm and looked away. "Considering the size of the gate…. It's a real possibility."

The general and his men walk in, they are donned in thick fabric resembling modern kevlar with bits of metal armor tacked on. They are armed with different varieties of what look like guns.

Hunter cursed under his breath as he realized his joke about the village living like the Amish was more accurate than he knew. These guns looked to Hunter like something out of a sci-fi movie and likely shot energy rounds. "Alright then, I guess let's do this."

Hunter did his best to either dodge or block the shots but took a few hits as he rushed one of the elves. He grabbed it by the head and one hit k.o.ed it by giving it a really hard headbutt. Then he roundhouse kicked the gun out of a second elf's hands before punching it repeatedly, knocking it down as well. Five elves left counting the general.

Hunter takes a hit to the chest, blowing a hole in his armor and burning his skin. He throws his shield at the face of the elf that shot him before running up and kicking him in the face to knock him out. Hunter takes a few hits to his exposed back as he picks up the shield to block some hits. The dented shield, not made to take energy bullets, is looking really rough. Hunter pulls the sidearm from the elf he kicked and starts taking shots at the knees and feet of the remaining four elves.

Hunter is left with no option but to start drawing on Bifrost energy do to the damage he's received. His body starts glowing slightly. Bloodied and bruised, he quickly takes out three of the remaining four elves. Only the general is still standing. Hunter huffs with fatigue. "It's just you and me now general discomfort. All you are is a minor inconvenience and a speed bump on my path. I've been holding back so much for so long, trying really hard not to kill anyone. It's taking everything I have right now to not just simply smash all of your skulls on the ground and painting the floor with your brains."

The General scoffed. "You may be a great warrior by human standards, but I am the greatest warrior of Ljósálhiem. You are no match for light elf supremacy." The General takes flight and switches to kiting tactics.

Hunter does his best to dodge, he starts moving before attacks are even made suggesting he's predicting them somehow. Even with this and some enhancement his human body can only move so fast and he takes multiple grazing hits while failing to land any of his own. "Great warrior? More like coward. Come down here and fight me like a man you squirrelly fuck."

"How about you come up here and fight me like an elf? Oh wait, you can't. Because you are an ugly wingless human!"

After a bit of this almost stalemate Hunter's gun jams. "Crap." He looks at the pistol, it's still reading a charge. He fiddles with it a bit and it starts humming. The pitch getting higher, he tossed the gun at the General trying to hit him on the head with it.

The General dodges with ease. "What kind of desperate tactic-" the General is interrupted by the pistol letting out a scream just before exploding behind him and sending him to the ground.

Hunter quickly takes advantage and rushes in, grabbing the General's head. "Go to sleep bitch!" Hunter then slammed the elf's head on the ground creating a divot and knocking the guy out, likely giving him a concussion. Hunter then tossed his now useless shield and armor to the floor. He stands there ragged, bloodied, bruised, and half naked. Panting from exhaustion.

The arena is silent, for what feels like a small eternity when Michael notices a male elf with a resemblance to Dawn talking to someone. He only catches a few words, most of them not understood. One word, however, is clear as day. Bifrost. Hunter notices an elf, the same elf Micheal was looking at, then stand.

The elf starts stomping a foot on the floor in rhythm and slowly chanting. "Steel-Bone. Steel-Bone. Steel-Bone!" More elves around him join him in standing and stomping. The chanting picking up pace. "Steel-Bone, Steel-Bone, Steel-Bone, Steel-Bone!" More of the crowd joins in, eventually more than half the crowd has joined in.

The announcer taps the mic and everyone stops. "We still have one last challenge for our accused to overcome, even harder than the last. Is such a simple display all it takes to change your hearts about this…. Disgusting human. I mean, just look at that half naked form of his."

Dawn then shouts out from the stands. "I don't know man, I think he's kinda hot!" And a few of the ladies agree.

When the clean up crew comes Hunter prevents them from grabbing the guns and takes all six of them. "Are you at least going to give me a break first?"

The announcer taps a device in his ear. "The tribunal has told me we will be entering the next and final round without an intermission."

The crowd boos. Lady Hel shouting ."That's some [bull shit], you call this justice? This is just an execution with extra steps!"

"Now without further adieu, the final challenge. Hunter Steel-Bone of Midgard must face the most fierce beast ever captured by our brave men. A monster whose name is the storm and whose voice is thunder." The gate opens and a fully adult dragon with blue scales and jagged yellow stripes walks out. "The legendary dragon, Hurricane!"

Hunter managed an "oh, well fuck." Under his breath before the fight started. The guns he grabbed doing very little to the massive beast. He even overloads them to use as grandes like he did that first pistol. Eventually all Hunter has is a sword and barely the clothes on his back. He knows he won't have any option but to go all out but he still insists on doing as much as he can as a human.

Hunter runs in to cut at the dragon, knowing that even its belly would likely be too tough for his sword since it was just a mundane loner. The dragon roars at him, and the sound alone is literally like thunder. The sonic blast sends Hunter back and causes his ears to ring. By the time Hunter stands, Hurricane already has its breath weapon charged. Electricity arcs in its death and when it opens a thick bolt of lightning shoots at Hunter. Even a grazing shot hurt like hell as electricity coursed through his body. Hunter still ran up and punched the dragon with the energy collected but it only seemed to piss the dragon off.

Hurricane, in its anger, slammed its tail on the ground shaking part of the arena and huffed air out its nose. With a crack like a whip and a sonic boom the dragon's svelte tail swung at Hunter with immense force. Even having seen the attack coming Hunter didn't have time or room to dodge. He heard a loud thud and cracking on the impact and was sent into the arena wall blasting a chunk out of it. Hunter got to his hands and knees, still alive, and coughed up blood. "Fuck."

Hel's body began to shake seeing Hunter in this state, she stood up and leaned over the edge shouting at Hunter. "Hunter. Hunter! You can't keep this up, you don't have any choice here. You are going to have to show them… show them who you really are!" Hel watches and Hunter moves and coughs blood but doesn't respond verbally. "Hunter! Hunter!!!"

Hunter lets out a groan. "You don't need a Hunter when your prey has already been caught. It's time for a Butcher to get to work." Hunter had used some energy, so he was unable to start a clean transformation. The crowd gasps as they hear even more snapping of bones as Hunter's body shifts and changes. His body got taller, more muscular, and his skin and eyes changed color. Horns grew out of his forehead curving up. In the end he looked like a mostly blue skinned Oni with the skin shifting to red from his elbow to his hand and his knees to his feet. The monster that is where Hunter was hunched stands up. "Welcome to the slaughterhouse." He said in a deep, booming voice.

Michael watched as Hunter transformed into a monster. He couldn't stand to watch the bones snapping and adjusting but he couldn't look away. The grotesque display was like a trainwreck. When all was said and done Michael wasn't sure if the thing now in that spot was even his brother let alone human. Michael could feel a sort of pressure in the air, a primal fear of sorts. Looking around he could tell others felt it too. Then the entity that took his brother's place spoke, finishing the sentence that Hunter had started. It was a cheesy one liner sounding thing. Corny as hell and definitely a little silly for something intended to sound intimidating. All fear washes off Michael in that moment. Regardless of the form he had now taken, the person now standing in that arena was still Michael's dork of a brother.

Once back on his feet, his injuries healed as part of the transformation, Hunter (or should I say Butcher) rushed at the dragon. Ready to once again trade blows with the mighty beast. His punches having a clear effect were still not enough, although Butcher could easily dodge or tank most of the attacks dealt by Hurricane. The dragon then prepared itself for another tail attack, one that even in his current form, could still hurt Butcher significantly.

It was clear that once again there was no time to dodge. Butcher crossed his arms in front of his chest and clenched his fists. The ring on his right hand started to glow just before impact. In a blink and you'll miss it moment Butcher was covered in a bright light and the dwarven built armor surrounded him. Though sent some distance back, Butcher was mostly unscathed. Butcher stood his ground and shouted out. "I think I've had enough with being tossed around like a ragdoll. Time to bring out the big guns." Butcher clenched his right fist once more and the ring glowed again. "Come forth, legendary mobile fortress weapon. Skið-garðr!"

In a flash of light seven objects came from the storage space ring. Large tower shields, two on the arms and the other five floating in evenly spaced distance from the main shields. The shields had in the middle part what looked like large navel cannons as part of the shield. Mobile fortress weapon was a fairly accurate description. As Butcher moved his arms the floating shields responded. He aimed all seven at the dragon and yelled "Eat flack you scaly fuck!" before launching projectiles that burst into shrapnel. He then ran around the arena firing regular cannonballs at the dragon. When Hurricane made a swipe with its claws Butcher perried the slash then blasted the lim with a buckshot of shrapnel that came out of the weapon in a shotgun like attack. These weapons were self reloading.

The cables turned and Butcher now had the upper hand it seemed. He kept running around shooting and punching Hurricane who was definitely feeling it now. However this new dynamic only lasted so long. Hurricane slammed its tail hard right next to Butcher causing the ground to crack and sending Butcher into the air. Hurricane took advantage of this to claw Butcher farther into the air. Once in the air Butcher had limited movement and couldn't dodge the open maw of the dragon. Instead he moved himself to dive right down the monster's gullet.

When Butcher landed in its mouth the crowd gasped. After a short moment of silence the announcer cheered. "It's about damn time. I have no idea what that was or where the human pulled that out of but it looks like he's finally finished."

The crowd murmured a bit but then Hurricane made a strange noise and took a step back. It gagged then threw up some blood. The announcer said "what in the Helheim-" before the mighty dragon let out a mighty thundurus roar before collapsing on its side. It touched a few times before its belly burst open from the inside and Butcher climbed out covered in bial and viscera.

The crowd was still silent for a bit before finally cheering. "Woohoo! Hunter, Hunter, Hunter!" Butcher does a few bows before pulling a gallon jug of water out of his ring and using it to wash some of the crap off himself. The announcer stammers into the mic. "It l-l-looks l-like Hunter Steel-Bone wins. That means he's clear of all charges in this case." The crowd cheers even louder. Michael states in shock. "He did it, the absolute mad lad fuckin did it."

Then the area gate opened and in place of a clean up crew what looked like the entire standing army of Ljósálhiem came out and surrounded Butcher aiming guns at him. Butcher put his hands up. "What in Helheim is this shit? I've won, I'm cleared of all charges, you can't-"

The General interrupts him. "You were cleared on the charges of that case, but I regret to inform you that under the authority of the Tribunal on behalf of the Empress of Ljósálhiem, you are hereby under arrest for inciting rebellion and insurrection against the Empire."

"That's an absolute load of crap. It's natural to cheat for someone that managed a victory over such overwhelming odds. I'd hardly call that a rebellion."

The voice of one of the judges came over the intercom. "What you think doesn't matter. We hereby find you guilty of crimes against the Empire including inciting rebellion and insurrection. You are to be executed on the spot. General, I order you to kill that…. Thing. Get that abomination out of my sight."

The General shakingly raised his rifle at Butcher, clearly hesitant to fire. "Sir, that storage ring was not confiscated when he was taken into custody. If he really wanted to hurt the Empire he could have done it long before taking up this trial. He could have easily killed me and my men but chose not to. Clearly he is a man of honor who-"

"Are you disobeying a direct order? I said kill him." Strange dragonfly-like machines start to hover over the arena in a similar way to police helicopters.

"N-no sir. Good soldiers follow orders." He raised his rifle again. "Nothing personal." His finger moves to the trigger as he readies to fire.

"ENOUGH!!!" A booming and commanding female voice echoed throughout the arena. Everyone looked to see an elegant looking light elf in elaborate robes that matched her in elegance. She had wrinkles on her face, a sign of age and wisdom. The moment she started magically hovering down every light elf stopped to bow. "Would someone care to explain why such a high profile case wasn't brought to my attention? Why I, the Empress of Ljósálhiem, had to learn of the trial of Hunter Steel-Bone via broadcast?!"

The main judge spoke up, stuttering as he spoke. "I did not want to bother your majesty. The tribunal was given powers over the legal system by you so you wouldn't have to handle it yourself."

"Do you have any idea who this man is?!" She gestures to Butcher. "This Midgardian has the ability to freely travel realms and is an honorary citizen of our realm. He is the equivalent of a diplomat under the treaty with Asgard. Not to mention he is my granddaughter's [word used doesn't have a direct English translation. Means someone who is in the early stages of courtship]."

Butcher looks at Dawn and mouths "Granddaughter?" A bit confused.

"Sure she may be the child of my youngest daughter who has no inheritance and yeah that daughter left to live in a mixed village. Dawn Solladotter is still the flesh of my flesh. If my daughter Solla has given her blessing, then so do I. Thus, any assault on Hunter will be considered a crime against the Empire. You are all ordered to stand down."

The General lets out a sigh of relief as he points his gun down but the Judge tries to object. "But your majesty, just look at this abomination. He's not even human let alone elf. How could you possibly-"

The Empress gives him a death glare. "Did I stutter?"

"N-no ma'am."

"Consider yourself unemployed. Get out of my sight before I declare you deceased." She waves her hand and the judge walks away. The Empress then smiles at Butcher and puts her hand on his shoulder, having to reach up to do so. "You're not exactly what I expected, but I'm happy to meet you Hunter. I am Empress [High-noon] Ljósálfar. I apologize for the way you've been treated."

"I've had worse. As for my relationship with your granddaughter…. I uhhh…. Only have a decade to live tops."

"Strange, you still look young. Are human lives that short?"

"There's a sort of prophecy that has me getting killed in battle basically."

After a pause the Empress gives a simple "oh" and there's an awkward silence for a bit before the Empress looks at Dawn. "So uhhh…. Are you going to discontinue courtship?"

"I don't know. How does one enjoy something that only lasts that long? I've had relationships last longer than that where I hadn't even kissed the guy. To be honest, probably. Besides, I'm far from the only elf that's interested in him."

Michael after getting the translation chuckled awkwardly. "Watch everyone that was interested in my brother change their mind now because he's got a decade tops and that's not that long even by human standards."

Hel and Dawn lightly glare at him. Though it's hard to say he's wrong it was still rude to say so loud enough for Hunter to hear it.

Butcher sighed. "It's fine, to be honest I had expected to die alone before all this started anyway."

Dawn shuffled around a bit. "Do you want to tell the others in person or…?"

"I guess I might as well. After that I'm on my way to Idavoll. Tell your brother no more summoning rituals unless it's life or death. That shit hurts."

Dawn nods and the four of them hop.in a dragonfly-like machine that takes them to the village. Hunter reverts to normal on the way there as he naps in the vehicle. After explaining the situation the only one of the elf females that didn't consider backing out was Lilac. Then with a quick goodbye Hunter, Michael, and Hel all teleported to Idavoll.