Otherwise, you can find another savior.

"Could it be that Tianxi's body has shrunk, and her spirit has become fragile like that of a child, longing for a mother's embrace?" Skadi hugged Xijian's body tightly with affection. "I am the last goddess of Norse mythology and the mother of all things in Norse mythology. If you don't mind, I can take Tiamat's place and hold you in a mother's way."

"Just hold me tight as the bride." tide Jian laughed, amused by her thoughtfulness.

Then, he got up a little from Skadi's arms and lay down on the pillow, looking into Skadi's eyes.

“Tianxi is quite particular about certain things,” Skadi said, grabbing his hand. “So, would you mind telling me what you dreamed about?”

“Uh…that’s strange.” Shio rubbed her forehead. “Mother rarely looks like she’s been in a fight, like she’s been in a brawl. When I asked what happened, she said something like, ‘I had a fight with a bad god over custody…’”

Then, he was startled awake.

Even though it had only been a short time since I woke up, the dream had become very ambiguous, even carrying a hint of pure dreaming, without any sense of real encounter in the spiritual world.

“What a strange dream.” Skadi was also surprised, sharing the same feeling as Shiomi. “Perhaps it really is a side effect of your body shrinking. After losing your powers, having a godhood but no power is no different from returning to the state of being a human.”

"That might be true?" Shio said, noticing that there was no one else in the room.

Skadi noticed his gaze: "Everyone has washed up and gone to eat, and is getting ready to leave. You're still sleeping, so I stayed to keep you company."

“It’s okay if you leave me alone.” tide Jian said, both amused and exasperated. “Although you don’t need to eat, it’s a family rule that you have to eat breakfast if you can. It’s so nice to have the whole family sitting at the table together.”

“But you’re not here.” Skadi gazed at him gently. “You are my only support here. If you think about it, even your wife can’t compare to me.”

After thinking about it, Shiomi felt that Skadi made a lot of sense.

After all, besides him, Ash also had close friends like Habertlot and a daughter, Bawan Shi, with whom he shared a blood relationship.

But Skadi only has him.

Neither the Valkyries nor the surviving villagers are equals to Skadi; ​​rather, they are important beings she needs to protect, bearing her responsibilities.

"You're making it sound so serious." Shio reached out and smoothed the hair that fell in front of her chest. "I'm going out to meet with Tepeu today. Do you want to come along? It's a bit hot outside, not your favorite weather, but you don't need to stay in Storm Border, what do you say?"

Skadi didn't hesitate: "Since we're not fighting, there's no need for me to maintain the barrier here. Although it's hot, there are solutions."

"Then it's settled." tide Jian patted her shoulder. "Get up and change your clothes. How about that purple dress? It's loose enough and will keep you cooler."

Skadi opened the wardrobe: "Actually, you just wanted to see it, didn't you?"

“Yes, it’s what I want to see.” tide Jian looked at her. “Ever since I pushed the things at home to you, we’ve rarely gone out together.”

“It can’t be called pushing. Since Ash is going to fight alongside you as a unified god, overseeing the Storm Border in the rear, manipulating the veil-sealing weapons, and maintaining the barrier—” Skadi said with confidence, “when it comes to meticulousness, I am even better than your master.”

"Hahaha—" tide Jian laughed heartily, "You know what, although my master is proficient in magic, she still prefers to engage in close combat with a gun. After all, the sound of weapons clashing is a more suitable symphony for my master."

"You got up so early this morning and started arguing with Skadi about who your teacher is." Scáthach appeared at the door carrying food. "I was even thinking of saving time by bringing you breakfast."

"Good morning, Master." tide Jian greeted him with a smile. "I didn't say anything bad about you, Master. Is it also bad news that you prefer warriors to magicians?"

Scáthach snorted and put her plate on the table: "Still so eloquent."

Only then did tide Jian notice that her master had a set of neatly folded clothes in her hand, which she had just been carrying with one hand.

"New clothes? Mine?" tide Jian asked.

“That’s right. Habertlot spent all night working on it and is catching up on sleep in the workshop right now.” Scáthach ripped off Shiomi’s undershirt without saying a word, and was about to help him change his clothes.

tide Jian had no choice but to obediently comply, letting her master torment her like a child, while constantly complaining.

"Master...please be gentle. If I were really a child, these two blows would have killed me...Ouch—!"

Interspersed among them were Shio's cries of pain.

"I tried to be as gentle as I could..." Scáthach was also a little embarrassed and could only mutter her explanation.

"It's amazing that you can still take care of two children like this," Skadi said after watching Shiomi for a while, only after she had finished getting dressed.

tide Jian shook her head as she straightened her clothes and collar: "It was a headache at first too. I went to a childcare school and looked up information. Fortunately, my master gave me a good foundation, so I learned quickly."

"Does this have anything to do with what I taught you?" Scáthach asked skeptically.

"Yes, of course. If you don't learn it, you'll get a beating. That's how we teach in the Land of Shadows, isn't it?" Shiomi said calmly.

Then, for the first time ever, Shiomi received the punishment of having Scáthach grind his fists against his temples, making him wince in pain.

Skadi tried to save her, but Scáthach was too resolute, giving Shiomi another lesson.

Chapter Twenty-Five: Miktland and Tepeu (1)

From the Storm Border landing site to the secluded Dinostepeu residence, it's about a ten-kilometer walk.

Fortunately, Sakura and the others had already figured out a usable path during their initial exploration, so Shiomi and the others only needed to follow this path to reach their destination more quickly.

To avoid confusion, Bavan Shi also went along and climbed the horn-shaped rock mountain.

Knowing that the Chaldeans would visit again, Tepeu did not hide himself this time, but waited directly in the cave where he lived.

Upon hearing Bawan Xi's greeting, he came out from inside to greet them and invited them into the cave.

“It’s still incredible. Even though our vocal cords and the wavelengths of our sounds are completely different, we can still have a normal conversation with you,” Shiomi said. “This is something that Dinos’s civilization can’t explain.”

“As explained before, this is a cognitive correction that Maiar made to this world. In the past, a new culture came to our world, and it was an existence called the Hidden Ones. Maiar analyzed the language and cognitive benchmarks they used and tuned them so that they could communicate on the same level of meaning,” Tepeu explained methodically to everyone.

The "hidden one" he was referring to is likely Debit Zem Void.

“Maia?” Skadi asked, puzzled.

However, what others were more concerned about was the being called Maya.

“Maia isn’t human… although she is a life form, how should I put it… she is ‘goodwill’ in your world, ‘emotion’ that makes the world run better.” Tepeu’s explanation was somewhat forced.

Just like explaining why humans need to breathe, it's because the world needs it, because survival is essential, and therefore it's something that objectively exists.

"Is it the primate suppression power of this Lostbelt?" Ash asked.

“It’s not a suppressive force, but it is indeed the foundation of this underground world of Miktland, the source and direction of everything,” Tepeu said.

tide Jian nodded at this moment: "It should be the 'god' here."

"God?" Tepeu was a little surprised by Shiomi's statement.

“To be precise, it is the things that originally existed that naturally transformed into gods,” Shiomi said. “Although there is no such thing as the Maiar in pan-human history, there are things similar to them.”

“What do you mean by ‘beloved disciple’?” Scáthach asked.

“Master, have you forgotten? They are some of the gods from South America,” tide Jian said. “After obtaining godhood, I also gained the corresponding vision of the gods and learned many inside stories about them. This includes the truth about some of the South American gods.”

His words caught their attention.

Tepeu was equally interested: "Could you elaborate on this part?"

"Actually, there's not much complicated inside story. The gods of South America are largely similar to the Greek gods; they are also extraterrestrial life forms from the universe. However, they are not machine gods, but rather groups that parasitize plants and fungi to expand their survival networks, generally referred to as 'fibers of the gods,'" Shiomi said quietly. "Of course, they themselves do not possess the ability to think, but they can engage in intellectual activities while parasitizing other life forms."

"When did they arrive on the planet?" Bavan Shi asked curiously.

This is unknown knowledge that Father has never mentioned before.

“In terms of pan-human history, they mostly came to this planet following the meteorite that crashed on the Yucatan Peninsula 6600 million years ago. After that, they mainly parasitized plants and expanded across Central and South America,” Shiomi said. “When they parasitized humans, they were worshipped as a kind of ‘god’.”

He smiled as he said this.

"The feathered serpent god we once met, Quetzalcoatl, belongs to the Aztec gods, and this is how the lineage was formed."

That's why Quetzalcoatl was so opposed to Tiamat at that time.

"This planet finally managed to nurture life forms capable of utilizing their individual talents, only to have them abandon their individuality and return to the group..."

Looking back now, it might have been a consensus reached by the Aztec gods as they watched over humanity's ancestors from antiquity, observing their evolution and reproduction until they became the planet's primates.

These Aztec gods may have had different attitudes toward humans, but their underlying logic was basically the same.

"So you think that the Maiar are the unique way in which the Aztec gods, who failed to become gods because there are no humans in this Lostbelt, Miktland?" Tepeu pushed up his glasses. "Well, that makes some sense, but I can't say for sure or deny it. Please allow me to reserve my opinion."

“That’s not all,” Shiomi continued. “Before we entered the underground world, we confirmed that the world continent of this Lostbelt is a single entity.”

He manipulated the Chaldean instruments and projected two land maps.

The seven continents of pan-human history, and Pangaea of ​​the Lostbelt.

“Considering the nature of the Maiar, perhaps because the dinosaurs in this world did not go extinct 6500 million years ago, the Maiar chose the Dinos instead of mammals. That’s why you became the ‘humans’ and ‘primates’ of this world.” Shiomi pointed to the two maps. “And the reason why the continents of the Lostbelt have not split and migrated is mostly due to the influence of the Maiar, which prevented continental drift from occurring.”

"From the information provided by Mr. Tepeu alone, one can deduce the essence of the formation of this world." Ash said with pride, "As expected of my husband."

Skadi pouted, "I am also a god, so why don't I have such vision and know the truth about other myths?"

"Well..." tide Jian couldn't answer for a moment.

It mostly comes down to the issue of one's own background.

However, Skadi did not dwell on this point and hugged Shiomi like a doll.

“However, these are all minor details and things of the past. It’s hard to say whether they fully reflect the reality of the Lostbelt,” Shiomi said. “The reason we came here this time is actually to ask Mr. Tepeu about this world called Miktland and to gather as much useful information as possible to prepare for future exploration.”

Tepeu nodded, his expression thoughtful despite being a dinosaur: "Mictland is the world of Dinos, which was divided into nine layers, and it was only recently named Mictland."

"recent?"

This surprised everyone.

“Yes, this is a term popularized by Iscari, the captain of the Oselottes. Unfortunately, it didn’t originate from Dinos,” Tepeu added.

Chapter Twenty-Six: Miktland and Tepeu (2)

Upon hearing the word Oselot, Shiomi immediately thought of the leopard-man who had fought alongside Chaldea in the Uruk singularity.

In Nahuatl, a language spoken in Central and South America, this word means "leopard man".

He is also known as the "Leopard-Headed Warrior" in the Aztec Empire and Aztec mythology.

Legend has it that it is the avatar of the war god Tescatlipoca, a terrifying elf dwelling in the dense forest.

“Oselotte…”

Shiomi retrieved another part of the data.

Previously, in the dense forest, the information on the leopard-faced thieves that Shiomi and the others had fought against, as well as the other two exploration teams, was presented to Tepeu.

“That’s right, that’s it.” Tepeu understood Shiomi’s intention and immediately replied, “These warriors are Oselotte, it seems you have already encountered them.”

Tepeu organized his thoughts before adding:

"They are a race that appeared alongside the Hidden Ones. They are skilled in combat and have begun hunting us humans. Now, it seems they have built a huge city on the fifth level. Oselot's captain, Iscari, seems to intend to eradicate us humans. Many Dinos have died at the hands of Oselot. Some were captured and died from their injuries, while others were poisoned and lost their minds, becoming ferocious. In any case, there are very few wild Dinos like me left."

"Hmph..." Shiomi murmured unhappily, "Why would Oselot commit such a massacre? Is it because of territorial disputes?"

“It’s less a territorial dispute and more like resource gathering, driven by profit,” Tepeu shook his head. “They strip us of our flesh, process our bones, and circulate our hearts as treasures. Although the Maya do not approve of this behavior, they have cleverly and skillfully conducted these transactions without the Maya’s knowledge.”

Oselot is both a violent organization and a distribution organization.

“It sounds like… the pioneers of North America.” Shiomi clicked her tongue. “It’s really unbearable to watch them go this far. Mr. Tepeu, I promise you that no matter what the final outcome for Miktland is, I will make Oselot pay for his actions, especially their captain Iskali.”

Upon hearing Shiomi's promise, Tepeu gave a somewhat helpless smile: "No, no, no, although we are facing a survival crisis because of Oselotte, there is nothing to hate if we perish."

"Don't you care about the death of yourself or your species?" Ash was quite shocked.

"After all, even if we, Dinos, disappear, the world won't be affected much," Tepeu replied calmly. "Of course, if the world were to perish because of our disappearance, that would be a different story."

It's as if one is simply a part of nature, and life and death are part of the natural cycle.

Dinos's way of life, which is already integrated with nature, is a concept that humans can never reach.

“It has nothing to do with hatred, nor with personal grudges.” Shio shook her head. “Just as Dinos has his own values, we have our own values, that’s all.”

"Heh heh, you all from Pan-Human History are truly incredible," Tepeu said with a laugh. "Whether it was those children yesterday or the few here today, you all exude a wondrous atmosphere that doesn't exist in Miktland. Such an encounter is a kind of fate, though I wanted to say it yesterday, but it's not too late now—"

Tepeu tidied up the things in the cave and put on some clothes.

Even if Dinos himself were completely naked, he wouldn't give them any strange impression.

Just like how humans view cats, dogs, and even large wild animals.

After all, they are a race completely different from humans in the broader history of humankind, and existing values ​​cannot be applied to them.

“I cherish this connection with you all. If you don’t mind, I can guide you on your journey to Miktland,” Tepeu said enthusiastically.

Shio and the others were also surprised by Tepeu's friendly attitude.

However, this is not a kind gesture that can be appreciated without understanding.

With such a wise man familiar with the situation in Miktland as a guide, the exploration of Chaldea will be much easier.

"Of course. However, we have another mission this time: to find supplies to replenish our food supply and to get closer to the ring of water surrounding this underground world—"

Tepeu immediately understood: "You must be talking about the First Underworld, Terrataugi. It has recently become difficult to pass through, as if it has been occupied by someone. You can approach to get water but cannot cross it. Normally, it is a place that can be passed through freely."

"Specifically, when did it become like this?" Ash asked.

“It should be around the same time as when Oselotte begins her activities.” Tepeu thought for a moment. “Also, if you need food, I remember there’s a large cornfield on the way to the First Underworld that might come in handy.”