If Odin can be seen as the counterpart to Zeus in Greek mythology, then the malevolent god Loki holds a position at least comparable to Poseidon or Hades.
As one of the chief gods of Norse myth, Loki's personal strength as a deity isn't particularly overwhelming. However, what he lacks in raw power, he more than makes up for with his exceptionally formidable offspring.
As is common in mythology—especially in Norse tales—non-human lineage is practically the norm. Loki himself has sired numerous monstrous descendants. Among them, the most famous are the "End Dragon," Jörmungandr, and the "Demon Wolf," Surtr.
Jörmungandr earned the title "End Dragon" due to its sheer size. Legends claim that if it were to fully stretch out its body, it could encircle the entire world. As a member of the dragon race, Jörmungandr is also counted among the Five Great Dragon Kings.
The other four are: the Black Corruption Dragon King Vritra, the Golden Dragon Lord Fafnir, the Abyssal Cataclysm Dragon Tiamat, and the Western Sea Dragon Prince Gyokuryu.
Each Dragon King possesses combat power roughly equivalent to that of a standard Demon King. Loki himself operates at around this same level.
As for Loki's other child—the Demon Wolf Surtr—it is even more outrageous. In fact, even Loki, its own creator, is no match for it.
The Demon Wolf Surtr possesses strength rivaling that of the "Twin Heavenly Dragons" at their peak. Its body can shrug off most forms of magical attacks. Most terrifying of all, however, are its fangs—known as the "God-Slaying Teeth." These fangs ignore both rank and defense entirely, tearing through gods and demons alike.
No matter how powerful a divine or demonic being may be, if they fail to evade Surtr's bite, they are essentially finished in a single snap.
The members of the "Khaos Brigade" had indeed made contact with Loki and attempted to recruit him. However, Loki's pride as a god made him disdainful of associating with such a rabble. At present, their relationship is merely one of cooperation.
Loki despises Odin's interactions with other mythological factions and seeks to initiate "Ragnarök," returning the world to an age ruled by myth. Meanwhile, the Khaos Brigade aims to destabilize the global balance of power and uproot major factions entirely. In essence, their goals align, which is why they have joined forces.
Through the Khaos Brigade, Loki obtained the information he desired and located Odin's position. In return, he promised that while dealing with Odin, he would also take care of certain troublesome devils along the way.
Tokyo District — Ren Kuroda's Residence
Still half-asleep, Ren Kuroda was rudely awakened by the blaring alarm clock at his bedside. Groaning, he reached out to silence the irritating noise—only for his hand to sink into something astonishingly soft.
"Mmm… Ren-sama… please be gentle…"
The sensation at his fingertips, combined with the soft, breathy murmur beside him, jolted Ren awake instantly. His drowsiness vanished without a trace.
This wasn't the first time he'd experienced something like this. But ever since he had "disciplined" Yasaka, she'd been on relatively good behavior. She shouldn't have had the nerve to climb into his bed again so soon.
"So who the hell are you?! And why are you lying naked in my bed?!"
There was no mistaking it—the person before him was a girl. That much was obvious from her physique alone.
She looked around seventeen or eighteen, with long, silky black hair that flowed down to her thighs. Her eyes were strikingly unusual—one crimson, the other jet black.
Her features were flawless, her skin pale and luminous like polished ivory under the morning sun. And her figure… well, judging by the nosebleed Ren was currently struggling with, it spoke for itself.
"Must be the heat getting to me lately… no, wait—who are you really? Did Yasaka come up with another one of her ridiculous tricks?"
Staring at the unfamiliar girl, Ren felt a strange sense of déjà vu. Yet with a face this beautiful, there was no way he would have forgotten her if they had truly met before.
Naturally, he concluded that this had to be Yasaka's doing—and this time, she'd clearly taken things way too far.
At least last time, she'd had the decency to keep her clothes on. But this girl… was an entirely different story.
"Tch. I thought Ren-sama might prefer the gentle type, but I guess that didn't work either. Still, you really are exactly as I expected—a complete scumbag. We're together every single day, you clean my body all the time, and you've even said more than once that we'd keep fighting side by side… and now you've already forgotten me?"
Fighting side by side. Cleaning her body. And that unmistakably tsundere tone…
As the girl continued her outrageous accusations, something clicked in Ren's mind. His gaze slowly shifted toward the bedside—
—and sure enough, his sword was gone.
"You're… Kamiyori?! You can take human form now?! So this is what full release of a blade spirit looks like?!"
Ren blurted out a string of astonished exclamations, staring at the black-haired girl who was both familiar and entirely new.
This situation had completely exceeded his expectations.
He had, after all, used seven holy swords as materials to evolve Kamiyori—but that was only one of the requirements. The other condition… "divine or demonic blood"…
"It seems Ren-sama has already figured it out. That's right—the blood of the Dragon God, Ophis, fulfilled my second awakening condition.
"If it were an ordinary god or demon, I would have needed to consume a large quantity of their blood to complete my evolution. But Ophis is different. She is the Infinite Dragon. Even a small amount of her blood contains power far beyond that of most divine or demonic beings—more than enough to meet my requirements."
With that explanation, Ren finally realized why Kamiyori had seemed so familiar. It wasn't just her aura—her face now looked exactly like an older version of Ophis.
"So because you absorbed Ophis's blood, you ended up resembling her? But why do you look like a grown-up version of her…?"
Ren had to admit—the girl before him was incredibly alluring. But just as certain dangerous thoughts began creeping into his mind, he quickly reminded himself:
She's a sword. A sword.
"Appearance-wise, yes, I've been influenced to some extent by the Dragon God Ophis. However, aspects like a blade spirit's personality, age, and form are shaped by the deepest desires within its master's heart.
"In other words… the reason I've taken on this form is largely because of Ren-sama's innermost desires.
"While a loli form isn't bad… in the end, this is what you truly prefer, isn't it…?"