Chapter 211: Two Serpents Pt. 6

“I thought my level would go up…what a shame.”

Lee Jun-Kyeong had thought that his level would have risen after wiping out a hundred and twenty Heroes, but unfortunately, he didn’t hear the notification that he had been waiting for. It was the same when he checked his status window. His level was still stuck at level 99.

‘I wonder if it’ll go up when I get a title.’

Lee Jun-Kyeong still had yet to be granted a title. He predicted that his level up and title would come at the same time.

“...”

It wasn’t until he finished worrying about his level that he noticed the gazes directed at him. Heracles and Odysseus looked at him with wary gazes, babbling nonsense.

“I can see why people are so afraid of you.”

“So that’s why they call you a god…”

“But, back then, I was sure you were at a level where I could beat you up…”

As they spoke, Lee Jun-Kyeong just smiled at them.

‘How do you feel, are you satisfied?’

At the same time, he spoke to Hyeon-Mu and Hel.

–Thank you, Master.

Lee Jun-Kyeong’s two familiars seemed to be happy with their newly acquired power. Through the collaboration between Hel and Hyeon-Mu, the one hundred and twenty skeleton soldiers could no longer be called skeletons.

–Ughhhh

“Have they all become Death Knights…?”

They moved around moaning as if they were trying to say something, so it was obvious that they had become Death Knights, one of the top-level monsters among the undead species. Death Knights were monsters on the level of occasionally appearing as Bosses in gates.

“That’s insane.”

“...”

Heracles and Odysseus just laughed blankly as if the current situation was absurd. This was more than enough for them to enjoy their victory on this battlefield.

“The force is getting stronger,” said Lee Jun-Kyeong as he looked at the center of Tokyo.

The aura that had risen dimly had now become visible, spreading toward the sky like an ominous pillar of darkness. They all could clearly feel it growing.

“We have to hurry,” said Lee Jun-Kyeong.

The party also quickly came to their senses and nodded.

Tadak!

They set off toward the city center. As they moved, they could feel gazes from all over, perceiving the gazes of the people through the closed windows and the gaps in the curtains.

“...”

Although they immediately closed their curtains in fear, Lee Jun-Kyeong clearly saw their eyes.

‘Hope…and fear.’

Their eyes were filled with a mixture of emotions. Lee Jun-Kyeong then moved along, not concerning himself with them any further. He wouldn’t be able to take care of everyone on his own. All he could do was hope that they would adapt to the changes ahead and survive through them.

‘There’s nothing else I can do other than hope.’

Lee Jun-Kyeong's steps quickened. The party headed toward the center of Tokyo as fast as they could toward the towering pillar of darkness that spread through the sky.

***

Tremble.

The shaking mana seemed to overwhelm everything in its path.

“Agh!!”

At the location of the ceremony, fueled by the screams of the people, the pillar of darkness grew ever stronger. Soaring high into the sky, the Hunters were throwing the prepared offerings at the pillar one after another. The pillar of darkness was like a brazier that was meant to cultivate great power.

“Kekeke…” Yashin laughed lowly inside the pillar.

Every time a sacrifice was made, it felt like he was being filled with strength. Each time a person was sacrificed to the pillars of darkness, a great feeling of pleasure ran wildly through him.

He remarked, “It feels like I’m being born again.”

Although it was accompanied by the pain of having his body torn apart, even that was still enjoyable. He could see before his very eyes new flesh growing underneath every tear, rebuilding his body as it tore itself to shreds. It was at this moment that he felt as though he was truly escaping from the shackles of his humanity.

“Hurry up!” Yashin shouted and commanded, to which the Hunters responded loudly and increased the speed at which they presented the offerings.

No matter how much the sacrifices resisted, there was no recourse for their freedom. Though some rebelled, all that occurred was their limbs being cleaved off, leaving only their torsos to be thrown into the pillar of darkness.

There was nowhere for them to escape, and even if they did, their families would be sacrificed in their stead instead. To leave was to subject what they held dear to be sacrificed instead. For the sake of Japan’s peace, they were those who had been sacrificed and given as offerings for the nation.

“HAHAHA!”

Yashin laughed madly, descending into revelry, when all of a sudden, the Hunter’s expression hardened.

“The samurai were wiped out.”

The Heroes he had created were human weapons that he had created by strengthening Hunters and granting them the powers of Heroes. He had felt them, who had been sent to catch the Underdog, being annihilated. Yashin staggered for a moment with a great sense of loss.

“Their power was taken…?”

Yashin’s pupils dilated in surprise. His eyes had already completely changed over into snake-like slits. For a moment, he was overcome by loss and anger, but he soon settled his emotions, smiling again.

“The last rites have begun. That kind of loss is worth it for this.”

There was more to gain here than he had lost, and it was enough that the samurai had stopped them for a moment. In the midst of the ceremony was when he was at his most vulnerable as Yashin had to repeatedly cycle through death and rebirth in the pillar of darkness.

“All Hunters will go and stop them,” Yashin declared abstractly.

However, soon after, he shook his head.

“No, no, that’s not it.”

As if remembering something he had forgotten, Yashin turned his head. “Don’t you have a debt to settle with the Underdog?”

There was a card right next to him for him. It was more certain to work than the Hunters so he had better make use of it. In fact, it was the one who had helped him obtain such strength.

Yashin had asked for help from the Underdog, but when he had been rejected, he had reached out to the man. Although the man was like a benefactor, he, who seemed weaker than himself, was no longer worthy to be deemed an equal. To Yashin, he was just another plebeian for him to give orders.

“Why don’t you go and deal with them? If it’s you, I don’t think it’ll be impossible for you to take the Underdog down.”

Ssss.

Something rose out of the shadows, and Hunters and ordinary humans alike trembled like an aspen in the wind. Unlike Yashin, who was restraining his power for the sacrifices, the man who had appeared at this moment was exuding a horrifying terror to everyone.

“Hmmm,” the man said, almost as if he was yawning.

“Are you ordering me?” he continued in a small voice.

Tremble.

Yashin suddenly shuddered.

‘I’m… I’m afraid?’

What he had just felt was the feeling of fear. He had taken off his human facade and was becoming a god, so it was unbelievable to even think that he would have felt something like that. As his state of mind began to crack, Yashin came to his senses as the voice in the shadow spoke once more.

“Still, that’s not a bad suggestion.”

‘No, there must have been something wrong just now,’

Yashin thought to himself.

It was only because the final rites were currently underway and that he was momentarily vulnerable, which was why he had randomly felt so strange.

‘Good. After the ceremony, I will become a God.’

At that time, he would be the one who wouldn’t have to fear anything anymore. Yashin convinced himself it was okay for him to swallow his pride for now.

“Please.”

The shadow agreed, “Good, as the success of your ceremony is something I’m looking forward to as well.”

Ssss.

The shadow soon collapsed and disappeared, and where it had just been, only sand remained.

“HAHAHAHA!”

The shadow disappeared, and Yashin laughed to himself loudly. As the ceremony progressed, he could feel his power begin to burgeon, and it was a mighty power that didn’t require him to rely on any sponsorship from a Sponsor.

“No, no, that’s not quite right,” he said, shaking his head. He already knew the true meaning of this ceremony. This was a ceremony that would make it no longer need sponsorship at all.

“Because I will become the Sponsor.”

***

“This really is disgusting. There’s no end to them.”

“I think I understand now why Japan didn’t suffer any damage during the cataclysm.”

“If they’re able to maintain this level of power even after the cataclysm ends…”

“Even conquering the world is possible.”

Heracles and Odysseus were talking as if they were just gossiping back and forth. However, they weren’t just sitting around either.

Boom!

When Heracles’ fist struck the ground, Hunters would be catapulted into the air.

Squelch!

Then, Odysseus, not missing a beat, sliced the Hunters, cutting them in two.

Not only were the two of them a fantasy duo for gossiping, but they were also a primetime combo for combat. However, just as they had said, Lee Jun-Kyeong was also frightened by the sheer number of Hunters flocking toward them.

“It really is disgusting.”

Since the number of ordinary humans increased as they went toward the center of the city, Tokyo, it wasn’t possible for them to use any wide-area attacks. He was attacking by sweeping through the Hunters as much as possible, but there was still a limit to what he could do.

Finally, Hyeon-Mu, who was standing alongside Lee Jun-Kyeong, spoke up, “I will step in, Master.”

Hyeon-Mu’s soldiers had merged with the souls of the Heroes, and finally, their transformations had been completed.

“Good. Hyeon-Mu, I’ll leave it to you,” Lee Jun-Kyeong said to the Familiar while nodding. If the enemy was pushing forward with numbers, then they had no choice but to match their push with numbers.

Lee Jun-Kyeong turned his head and shouted, “We will be pushing forward again!”

“What about here?”

“This place has…”

–Groaaaaan.

Hyeon-Mu’s soldiers, which had disappeared for some time, now emerged from the battlefield, now fully transformed into the blue undead knights, the Death Knights.

–Groaaaaan.

The knights moved at an incomparable speed and drew their swords. However, Hyeon-Mu hadn’t even started yet. The Familiar stretched out both of his hands and called out, “Rise.”

𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

One hundred and twenty Heroes had attacked them, each one riding a horse that was also unusual. The horses had also been killed by Lee Jun-Kyeong, and…

–Neigh!!

…all of them had been revived as blue ghost horses.

Each radiated a bluish light mixed with the dark aura of death, exuding a mysterious feeling.

“Mount!” Hyeon-Mu commanded as the Death Knights began to ride their steeds.

“This is your first battle.”

A smile forms on the corner of Hyeon-Mu’s mouth. Now, the expression on the Familiar’s face, which had been completely indecipherable when he had been a skeleton, was clearly visible.

“Show your strength to the Master.”

–Neigh!!

The horses started to gallop as the Death Knights riding them raised their swords with heavy expressions, as if they had been given the order of a lifetime.

“Sweep them all!”

At the same time, Hyeon-Mu’s spell exploded over the Hunters. Although he specialized in wide-area magic, his mana control was extremely precise. Therefore, the Familiar was able to control his spell to hunt only his desired targets. A path was opened on the battlefield.

“Let’s go!”

“How great!”

Lee Jun-Kyeong ran forward, followed by Heracles and Odysseus. Now, the Headquarters of the Association was right before their very noses.

A gigantic pillar of darkness that soared high into the sky, piercing the heavens, exuded an even darker aura. They could feel that the ceremony had reached its climax. Once it was over, it would be dangerous.

They didn’t know what sort of situation would unfold. However, they knew that Yashin would be stronger than when he had met with him before.

“Because it's the last ceremony…he’ll be incomparably stronger than before.”

It was dangerous, so they had to hurry.

“Dodge it!” Lee Jun-Kyeong suddenly shouted. Heracles and Odysseus threw themselves to the side without questioning him.

Thud!

Something had appeared where they had just been standing, and it was deeply embedded into the ground. Moreover, another one of the projectiles was also flying over to Lee Jun-Kyeong.

Clang!

Lee Jun-Kyeong deflected it off to the side.

Tremble!

However, in doing so, he could feel Muspel’s Spear tremble furiously as the projectile had a tremendous amount of force behind it. It was an incredible amount of power, and the shock vibrated through his whole body, almost as if he had just collided with a mountain.

Lee Jun-Kyeong looked over to what he had just deflected.

“A Kopesh…”

Embedded into the floor was a Kopesh, a traditional Egyptian weapon, a curved scimitar shaped like a sickle. At that moment, Lee Jun-Kyeong’s gaze turned back to where the kopesh had come from.

“There’s no way…”

As far as he knew, there was only one group of Hero-Grade Hunters who wielded the kopesh.

“The Jackals…and their captain Set.”

“Long time no see. Underdog.”

The shadow visible in the air slowly took shape. It was definitely the same Set that he had faced once before, the one who had followed the person they had presumed to be the Demon King.

Set had fled instead of dying during the battle between Lee Jun-Kyeong and him, but he was now standing right before Lee Jun-Kyeong.

“You cannot go past this place, Underdog.”