Chapter 183: A Method to Survive Through a Cataclysm Pt. 3

Lee Jun-Kyeong and Yeo Seong-Gu moved quickly through the mountain. Sangun’s ability to create a path for them was outstanding.

“This is incredible,” Yeo Seong-Gu said.

The whole mountain seemed to open a path for the two, almost moving like a living creature, clearing their way.

“...”

Lee Jun-Kyeong just moved even faster without having the time to admire it.

‘We have to hurry.’

He had to rush and pierce the veil, sending Yeo Seong-Gu to Seoul.

Only then could he join Sangun in the fight against Odin. Odin’s power and his soldiers were incredible. Lee Jun-Kyeong knew that it would only be a matter of time before Sangun and his party were defeated in a head-on conflict. He had to step in before then. Moreover, he wanted to see them.

“Fenrir… Ungnyeo…”

He had come all this way to Gyeonggi-Do, but he still wasn’t able to see them.

Jolt.

He wanted to hurry up and see the two of them so much so that sometimes even his heart ached.

“...”

Lee Jun-Kyeong moved even faster as Yeo Seong-Gu followed directly behind without another word.

***

Sangun and his party advanced on the other path. Unlike Lee Jun-Kyeong, who was racing forward, their steps were heavy and solid.

However, each step contained a powerful strength and conviction, filled with a rage that came from their very core.[1]

Caw! Caw!

As soon as they left Mt. Cheonma, they started to hear crows cry.

“…!”

Tension began to rise on the Hunters' faces. They were now out of their safe zone.

“Remember, there is no retreat.”

As Sangun said, they were no longer able to retreat any further.

In the past, they had moved carefully whenever they left their domain, but now they were currently openly leaving Mt. Cheonma. It could be said that with their actions, their base, which hadn’t been revealed until now, had been thrown wide open. There was nowhere for them to go back to now.

“We have to win.”

The only choice they had was to win this battle.

Sangun stated, “This is our road to survival.”

The Hunters began to run after that. In the Gyeonggi-Do of now, the crows were not just simply animals. They were all ominous signs.

“Odin’s pawns have found us! It’s time for us to draw attention over here!” one of the Hunters cried out.

Swish!

Alongside his cry, the Hunters capable of ranged attacks fired arrows and spells into the sky. Surprisingly, none of their mana-filled attacks were able to hurt the crows floating around in the sky.

Zzt!

A green veil appeared, blocking their attacks. In fact, it reflected their efforts back to them.

“Avoid them!”

A rain of mana poured down from the sky, and the green rain looked menacing as if it was filled with poison.

“F*ck off!”

Then, the army of Sangun burst forward. Although he was walking around in the form of half-human, half-beast, his current form was that of a complete beast. The green rain that was pouring down on them disappeared without a trace.

Caw!!

With desperate cries, crows from the sky began to fall.

Thud!

Everyone stopped and looked at Sangun in surprise.

“...”

They had just felt it: the enormous power that Sangun radiated. It wasn’t the first time that they had fought alongside him. In fact, it was a known fact that Sangun, who had even fought against Odin, had great power.

However, the current Sangun was different, much more intense and far more dangerous.

“Grr…”

Sangun growled low like a beast. He repeated himself once more, “There… is no retreat…”

It was time to release everything that had been hidden or suppressed until now. He was becoming a ruler and had a power he had been afraid to use.

“Hyeon-Mu. Hel.”

Sangun's blood-red eyes turned to Hyeon-Mu and Hel.

“I have something to tell you,” he said, speaking briskly.

***

“It started.”

Just like Yeo Seong-Gu had said, there was a huge storm of mana buffeting them from behind. It was a sign of the beginning of the battle. Sangun had started fighting.

‘It means that he has met an enemy.’

Lee Jun-Kyeong’ began to speed up a little. Before long, they were soon able to reach their destination.

“It’s the veil.”

They had been able to arrive quickly due the speed of their travel and the direct path that had been created through the power of Sangun.

Sssss.

The road behind them suddenly disappeared as the path created by the trees and mana vanished as if it had been waiting for the moment they arrived.

‘Even the power that created the road is being recovered.’

It was clear that Sangun had made his final decision and was completely determined.

Lee Jun-Kyeong turned his gaze over to the veil. He knew the divine beast would do what he had to do, so he would have to do what he was here to do as well.

“It’s been completely restored,” Yeo Seong-Gu said.

As he had said, the veil didn’t look like anything had ever happened to it. It was back to its original solid appearance, standing tall between the border of Seoul and Gyeonggi-Do. Lee Jun-Kyeong approached the veil.

‘It really is…’

The veil was still in its original form. In order to pierce through it again, it seemed he would have to use that strength once again. This put Yeo Seong-Gu in a difficult state as well.

“Don’t you have to go back?” he asked.

He was worried about Lee Jun-Kyeong. It wouldn’t be wise for the Hunter to use his strength to destroy the veil right before the battle with Odin. Even though the situation in Seoul was urgent, it wasn’t as if this place was any…

Crack.

Right at that moment, cracks began to form in the veil before them, even before Yeo Seong-Gu had finished speaking.

“It’s different from before,” Lee Jun-Kyeong said, breathing in sharply. “It hasn’t fully recovered itself.”

They had found a hidden crack in the veil. Following Lee Jun-Kyeong’s gestures, it began to unveil itself.

“Moreover…” Lee Jun-Kyeong turned to look at Yeo Seong-Gu with one hand on the veil, a faint smile spread across his lips. “We don’t have to pierce through the veil like we did earlier, anymore.”

“What is that supposed…”

“The veil…”

Lee Jun-Kyeong stared at the veil once more with mana billowing through him.

CRACK!

“I figured out how to destroy it.”

With an explosive blast of compressed air, the cracks that had been exposed widened and the veil began to crumble as Yeo Seong-Gu looked at it all in disbelief.

Crack! Crack!!

Lee Jun-Kyeong concentrated all of his strength with both hands laid on the veil. This destruction of the veil meant something incredible.

'I am…’

Lee Jun-Kyeong thought to himself as he watched the collapsing veil. The cataclysm had brought the new problems along. In the midst of it all, each person was looking for their own way to survive, and each was someone who had to survive this ordeal.

Even he also needed a way, and what Lee Jun-Kyeong had chosen was simple.

“I will destroy it all.”

Whatever stood in his way, whatever aimed for his back, whatever aimed for his companions, he would destroy it all, even the cataclysm itself. That was his way.

“That is the way I will survive,” he announced.

Crack!!

Swoosh!

As the cracks deepened and the veil broke apart, swirling mana suddenly shot toward Lee Jun-Kyeong.

"No!"

It was a powerful and fast aura. By the time he had noticed the arrow-like energy, it was already too late. Waiting for the right time, something had gathered its strength and attacked Lee Jun-Kyeong. Although Yeo Seong-Gu quickly raised his sword and tried to block it, it was already right before his companion.

“No!!”

The situation had reached a breaking point, and something shining green was trying to pierce through Lee Jun-Kyeong.

Boom!

However, at that very moment, an explosion occurred, with the crackling sound of air rapidly restoring a vacuum all at once. Yeo Seong-Gu took advantage of the opening and quickly approached Lee Jun-Kyeong.

In the spreading smoke, he anxiously called out to the Hunter, “Jun-Kyeong!”

“I’m fine,” Lee Jun-Kyeong said, responding soon after Yeo Seong-Gu’s cries.

It was a calm voice, as if he hadn’t been surprised at what had just unfolded. As Yeo Seong-Gu tried to look for the owner of the voice with anxious eyes, he heard more voices emerge from the smoke.

“We…”

–Will protect him.

***

“He underestimates Odin too much,” Sangun said as they proceeded on the trek to Yangpyeong. “Although he seems to know a lot about Odin, he's never really had a proper fight against that bastard."

“…”

“That bastard is like a snake. Cunning and meticulous.”

Sangun's voice simmered with hostility.

He had been the one to fight against Odin repeatedly, and he had been the one to nearly die every time, losing each battle.

‘If it hadn’t been for the cataclysm, then I most likely would have already died.’

Of all the people who had endured the cataclysm, if one asked if there had been any who had only benefited from it, Sangun would be the only one who could have answered yes. The divine beast had been able to survive because of the cataclysm.

He had been able to live through several battles with Odin, who was someone whom he would never have been able to deal with initially. However, that had been all he could do. He had never wounded Odin, not even once. It wasn’t just a simple matter of power, either.

“He must already be targeting Jun-Kyeong.”

That bastard’s mind was always working. If Sangun and the others saw the trees, then Odin was the one who would see the forest. He had always been one step ahead, messing up everything. Odin must have already figured out Lee Jun-Kyeong’s plans.

“This must be the time,” Sangun said.

Odin should have known that the moment when the veil had been pierced would have been when Lee Jun-Kyeong would have been the most vulnerable. Everything must already be going according to his plan.

“The news that Baldur has become the ruler of Seoul was also information that was from Odin.”

He had made it so that Lee Jun-Kyeong, who would one day come to Gyeonggi-Do with Yeo Seong-Gu, would have to head to the veil toward Seoul. Through that, he would force Lee Jun-Kyeong to be vulnerable once again by piercing through the veil a second time. It was clear what he was aiming for. It was a meticulously planned battle of the minds.

Thus, Jeong In-Chang responded with a question, “Did you send him Hel and Hyeon-Mu, then?”

Sangun had said that he had something to say to Hel and Hyeon-Mu, that they should not travel with them but instead go along with Lee Jun-Kyeong. Although he hadn’t told them the details of the insidious plans, they, who were members of Lee Jun-Kyeong’s Familiars, agreed to return for the safety of their master. Although the situation here would become worse, if Lee Jun-Kyeong were to be in danger, they would be very helpful.

Jeong In-Chang looked at Sangun. The Sangun, in his memory, had a terrifying appearance, but had still just been a small puppy in the end. But now, things were different.

‘He’s even having a battle of the minds with Odin.’

It seems as though the divine beast had completely changed. Jeong In-Chang forcibly swallowed down his rising anxiety. No matter what anyone said, he couldn’t doubt Sangun in the current situation.

Smirk.

Sangun smiled bitterly as if he could feel Jeong In-Chang’s inner turmoil, and finally, he said, “We’ve arrived.”

They, too, had been able to reach their destination. The city could be seen in the distance. It was different from the splendor of Seoul, but the buildings were all there. Moreover, there was a large building being built in its domain as well.

This was Yangpyeong, the place where Odin had made his nest.

“There are the Hunters.”

It was Odin’s army. They could feel the uncountable waves of mana, pressuring them from far away. The battle would begin soon.

“Mother…!”

“My baby…”

The Hunters each called out the names of who they had lost or a precious person that they had to save. Around them, the temperature began to soar.

“Ungnyeo…” Sangun said.

“Fenrir…” Won-Hwa responded in kind.

Caw!!!

Right now, at this very moment, the battle with Odin was nigh.

1. As mentioned earlier, East Asia has a philosophy that connects one’s inner organs with different emotions and strengths. In this case, their rage comes from their spleen, an organ that governs anger. 👈