Chapter 218. A Single Serpent Pt. 5

“Whew.” Heracles whistled as he surveyed the scene around him.

“Does this make you excited?” Odysseus asked.

“It’s better than sighing, no?”

Odysseus, who was scolding Heracles, had the exact opposite reaction to what was around them as compared to the large Hunter. Everything was dark and desolate.

“In the end, this place also fell.”

Tokyo, the capital of Japan that had been fine, was now a mess. Fortunately, compared to other countries, the situation here was much better. Still, it was never a good thing to watch as another great city that had held stalwart through the cataclysm be destroyed.

“The residents are slowly coming out.”

The people who had closed their doors and windows were now slowly making their way to the street. Their expressions were terribly withered as they were frightened by the two-day battle. They opened their doors and rushed out to look at the aftermath.

“And the Hunters?”

“They’re probably moving by now.”

The surviving Hunters were left to comfort the surviving residents. Fortunately, only Tokyo was destroyed. The rest of Japan still seemed normal.

“Well, at least things seem to have ended in Japan like this.”

“What do you mean ended?” Odysseus said, scolding Heracles once again.

“Although we came to get aid from the Hunters here in preparation for the battle…it’s like we destroyed it all with our own hands.”

“What do you mean, our hands? You saw it, too,” Heracles barked, his expression hardening.

There had been a non-human Ruler, and a world ruled by monsters. Just from saying those words, it was like Heracles had returned back to what they had seen.

“Most of them would have died anyway if we had left unnoticed.”

Many lives had been used as the price to bring Orochi down as an incarnation. They had even heard from Lee Jun-Kyeong that Set had tried to make use of this to steal Orochi’s powers.

“Even if it had been Set that had taken those powers, all that would have been left for these people would have been despair.”

The disappearance of Orochi hadn’t solved everything either. The countless Hunters that had been created by Orochi–no, Yashin, would have lost their powers. In a world where the cataclysm was still underway, having no one to protect them would lead to their deaths, one way or another.

Heracles was sure that the result would have been the same either way, and the only difference being a discrepancy in many lives would have been lost.

“Well…yeah, I guess you’re right.”

In the end, Odysseus had no choice but to acknowledge Heracles’ point.

“That’s that...but what about him?” Heracles asked cautiously.

Normally, Heracles would have called him the Underdog or that bastard, but the expression of the Underdog after emerging from defeating Orochi and Set was stoic, as if he had learned of a secret he never should have been privy to.

The two Hunters gave him space as neither knew how to comfort him or alleviate Lee Jun-Kyeong’s worries.

“Someone’s approaching.”

One of the Underdog’s Familiars, a humanoid named Hyeon-Mu, was going towards them. This had been the first time that they had seen the Underdog’s Familiars fight, but he had truly been amazing. With the Death Knights under his command, Hyeon-Mu’s control over water was no less than the now-deceased Poseidon, a famed Hero of Olympus.

“Ho, there!” Heracles said, waving his hand to Hyeon-Mu as if acknowledging him as his colleague.

Hyeon-Mu greeted him in return with a small nod and requested their presence, “The master is calling.”

***

As they followed Hyeon-Mu, Heracles and Odysseus walked forward. They eventually saw Lee Jun-Kyeong and Hel in the distance, who were waiting for the Familiar to return.

“Huh?”

Heracles frowned as he felt the unusual flow of mana, strong enough to make his entire body tingle.

Before he could even ask what was going on, Hyeon-Mu responded, “There were many casualties on the battlefield.”

He then continued, “Hel is gathering strength from those who have died.”

“Oh, really?”

“...”

Unlike Heracles, who just accepted Hyeon-Mu’s words calmly, Odysseus frowned. While there were obviously those who had obtained power from Orochi and tormented people using their corrupted souls, there were also many who hadn’t committed any atrocities. Moreover, there were even ordinary people who had no connection to the battle itself and had just been caught up in the mess and died.

“Are all of the souls being reborn like those soldiers?” Odysseus asked Hyeon-Mu.

Would all of the dead be reborn as soldiers? If so, would their souls… Would they be denied salvation even within death?

“Are you thinking of Hades?” Heracles asked Odysseus.

One of the strongest members of Olympus, Hades, had possessed abilities similar to Hel. He was a Hunter that handled the soul and used its power. Although he had incredible ability, the Hunter was not on good terms with Odysseus.

‘Hades had gone too far.’

Hades was fascinated by the raw power of the soul. He desperately desired the enormous amount of mana contained within souls and was especially interested in the potential power imbued within the souls of Hunters.

To Hates, the souls of Heroes were like precious jewels.

Odysseus bit his lip and said, “Hades… He asked me to give him Penelope’s soul.”

Penelope, Odysseus’ lover, had died in battle, and Hades, shockingly enough, had tried to extract the mana from her soul.

“But Penelope didn’t want to fight anymore…”

The Hunter had decided to violate Penelope’s soul without asking for any consent from the deceased, so Hades had collided with Odysseus and Heracles in an attempt to steal away Penelope’s soul. Fortunately, Zeus had been able to intervene in time and avoid internal strife, but Odysseus still could not let it go.[1]

“Don’t worry.” Hyeon-Mu had been listening to the two of them and remarked, “Master is not a barbarian.”

“...”

“Our master has obtained the consent of the soul.”

“Really?” Heracles said in disbelief.

Rather than feeling better after hearing that, Heracles instead furrowed his brow.

‘It’s not like many would agree to something like this.’

This was a situation where even one more hand would be life changing. Unlike Odysseus, Heracles felt that it was right for them to mobilize all the power they could. In this sort of situation, to think Lee Jun-Kyeong would still ask for consent.

There was no way that the ordinary people who hadn’t even fought while they were alive would be willing to help them after death. However, he couldn’t help but be puzzled after hearing Hyeon-Mu’s next words.

“The majority agreed.” As if reading Heracles’ expression, Hyeon-Mu continued, “Master…told them that he would give them a chance to protect their family.”

“Ah.”

“...”

“As you both have mentioned, most of them died without being able to do anything. However, from this point on, things will be different.”

Sssss.

Translucent whitish things were continuously sucked into Hel’s hands. Even without saying it, they were sure that they were souls.

“They’ve been given a chance to take their family and the world’s protection into their own hands.”

“Whatever works as long as the results are good,” Heracles said indifferently. However, although he gave off an air of indifference, a slight smile still appeared on his face.

Smirk.

Of course, it was the same response for Odysseus as well.

“I apologize,” Lee Jun-Kyeong said, his voice coming from afar to the two who were watching everything happen with wide eyes.

He slowly approached the two as he continued, “The souls of Japan that Hel absorbs will be used to protect Japan.”

“...?”

“Are we not going to use them in the upcoming battle?”

Lee Jun-Kyeong nodded in response to their question. “Exactly. Their strength needs to be used to protect Japan.”

“Ah. Is that what the souls wanted?”

"No."

Lee Jun-Kyeong looked over at Tokyo, which was in ruins. Although the city had been in the middle of a great battle and was destroyed, it was still rare to find a land that currently still maintained such a level of structure and humanity. It was so much so that he had made a decision after looking at the opportunity before him.

“The people who won’t be a part of the battle, the ordinary people, will be moved to Japan.”

***

Lee Jun-Kyeong had felt it as he fought Set: Set’s immense fear. The Hunter of great renown, who would have nothing to fear in this world, had been absolutely terrified of the Demon King. Lee Jun-Kyeong had uncovered more and more about the Hunter’s fear as they battled.

‘He will destroy the world.’

Set had uncovered that the Demon King’s purpose was the destruction of the world. That was why Set had abandoned all he had been aiming for and instead turned to devote all he could to Lee Jun-Kyeong.

“Andlangr was…”

It didn't make any sense. Set’s Territory, where the ceremony had led to, was a space where Set should have been able to exert more power than was permitted. Therefore, it should have been an unfavorable place for Lee Jun-Kyeong.

Although it could be said that the gap between Lee Jun-Kyeong, who had fully matured, and Set was incredibly vast, that gap had been extremely shortened inside Andlangr. It hadn’t been a fight that should have ended so easily. To be frank, it was a fight where Set could have easily pushed him aside as he did the snake, devouring him and his power.

‘I had won.’

However, the fight still ended with Lee Jun-Kyeong’s victory. At the last moment, Set had seemed to give up on everything. No, it was almost as if he had wanted to give everything to Lee Jun-Kyeong. He wanted to transfer over the burden of the end of the world and his fear of the Demon King.

Now, Lee Jun-Kyeong had to focus on the next battle, the final battle.

“It will be in Korea.”

Baldur, Odin, and the Demon King, now having lost Set, were all in Korea. The final battlefield hadn’t changed. The era had changed and he himself had come back to the past, but his homeland was still fated to be the final battlefield.

In the end, many of those who had survived to this point were guaranteed to become unavoidable casualties in that battle. If it was the Demon King, who had even caused the entire continent of Europe to sink to the ocean floor, then he would be able to crush the small peninsula with just a wave of his hands.

That was why Japan was the perfect solution. This place still retained a semblance of civilization, so it would be perfect as a shelter.

“I will be opening the gate,” Lee Jun-Kyeong said.

“Something like what Merlin did, right?”

Lee Jun-Kyeong nodded at Heracles' question. He had already mastered the secret art of the gates that Merlin had used. Although it wasn’t something that Merlin had taught him, he had still memorized the secret art in his head, almost as if he had recorded it down in his book.

As he had more than enough mana and had adequate control of the technique, he would also be able to open the gate on his own as she had done.

“I will work as quickly as I can. Once I open the gate and stabilize the dimension inside…”

“So you’re planning on keeping it open and continuously bring people to Japan.”

“Yes.”

Heracles nodded.

“It’s not a bad idea. Even if we win, it would have been a meaningless battle if everyone dies.”

“Unlike Merlin, it’ll take me a while to open the gate. Roughly about six hours.”

“Then what should we do?” asked Heracles.

Lee Jun-Kyeong just shook his head. "Nothing."

There was nothing for them to do.

Even if there was something they could do right at this moment that would guarantee them more Sponsorship, it wouldn’t be enough to change much of the situation right now. The people here were already beginning to create homes for the others right now.

Lee Jun-Kyeong had already finished speaking to the ordinary humans of Japan, and they had all just nodded in agreement, as if they were okay with whatever their new conqueror had to say.

No matter what anyone had to say about him, Lee Jun-Kyeong was still their savior, and they all seemed satisfied with just the fact that there would be no more ceremonies.

Shiiinggg!!!

Runes formed as Lee Jun-Kyeong stretched out his hands, continuing to pulse with mana as he moved on and continued to form new runes.

“Is there really only one last fight left?”

“It seems so.” Lee Jun-Kyeong nodded and continued, “As long as everyone else has completed their part, all that would be left is…”

Lee Jun-Kyeong paused as he looked at the runes written in the air. “To go to Seoul. The Demon King is definitely there. Odin as well.”

“...”

Even Heracles’ breath seemed to catch at the mention of that name. One could see it in his eyes, his realization that this was the end.

“I guess I’ll go prepare for it, then.”

Although he wasn’t given an order to do so, he planned to make his preparations on his own.

“Also, I have a favor to ask of you…”

Lee Jun-Kyeong paused. ‘A favor?’

Heracles had never asked for anything before. He caught Lee Jun-Kyeong’s full attention with a request, something he had never done before.

“If we end this battle victorious… I had wanted to give Odysseus a present… if it’s possible…”

Lee Jun-Kyeong smiled at Heracles’ nervous demeanor. “I wonder if there would be anything impossible for us after this battle.”

Heracles relaxed his expression and nodded.

It was just like he had said. After this final battle, the death of the Demon King wasn’t the only result they would obtain. Lee Jun-Kyeong knew that at the end of this battle, the winner would be defied just as the greatest of Eden had been.

‘Gods.’

They would gain the power to call themselves Gods: the twelve Gods of Eden. Lee Jun-Kyeong hurriedly set aside the jumbled past from his memory. All he could afford to think about at this moment was the battle that remained before him.

“Also, by the way,” Heracles said, speaking up once again. “Can you tell me that thing’s name?”

Unlike his earlier request, it seemed that this one had come from simple curiosity.

“I’m not sure how to refer to it,” he said with sparkling eyes, as if the topic had sparked his interest.

Lee Jun-Kyeong responded simply, “Jormungandr.”

***

Boom!

Although it had just put its head on the ground, the ground shook as if there had been an earthquake. It made sense. It would be impossible for anything but a great tremor to happen considering how large of a head it was that had laid down on the ground.

Lee Jun-Kyeong slowly approached it as it lay with its head down. It was a stark white, completely unblemished. With pure white scales that covered its head, its elongated body continued with no end.

Pulse!

Part of its seemingly endless body was still hidden within the pillar of darkness as it continued to move forward, revealing itself. Although the pillar of darkness still stood, it felt different from the pillar that had been formed for the ceremony.

It was, almost as if…it was a nest? The easiest way to describe it would be to call it the giant snake’s home.

“Jormungandr.”

Hearing its name, the snake opened its eyes.

A golden pupil the size of a building looked directly at Lee Jun-Kyeong.

[Speak, Master.]

The mana contained in the voice he heard was strong enough to make Lee Jun-Kyeong's body tremble. This was a true monster that contained the power of Orochi, and it the being that was no less than the personification of a Sponsor and the powers of the two Sponsors that Set had possessed.

Alongside Jormungandr’s voice, Lee Jun-Kyeong heard a notification.

[ looks down upon its final child.]

[.]

[...]

However, there was no sponsorship that followed.

1. The term in Korean roughly translates to a battle to the end between those of the same blood. ☜