Chapter 252. The Last Barrier Pt. 2

“Ugh.”

Horus, who had been knocked flying far into the distance due to the blow, forcefully stopped himself in mid-air. A piece of the bandage wrapped around his arm came loose and fluttered in the wind, simultaneously flying toward Heimdall like a whip.

Woosh!

In the moment that Arthur and Merlin jointly worked together to block an attack, the bandage that wrapped around Heimdall’s arm began to burst into flames.

Flicker!

“The Wrath of Ra.”

Before the flames that rapidly surged from Horus reached Heimdall, the bald man struck the bandage with his iridescent sword.

Clang!

At that moment, an opening emerged.

“I’ve been waiting for this,” Arthur said. “Ha-a-eup!”

He took a deep breath and swung his sword, and a blade light of enormous power flew toward Heimdall’s heart.

“Pierce him!”

Arrows of light erupted from both of Merlin’s hands and shot toward Heimdall’s legs. It was an unavoidable attack, and it was a barrage that they were all sure no one on the planet could dodge.

“Defend me.”

Woosh!

Thus, Heimdall prepared himself. Just before Arthur’s blade and Merlin’s magic landed, the rainbow floating high into the sky shone.

CRACK, CRACK, CRACK!

The green and purple lights from the rainbow glittered down upon the attacks, mutually destroying the blade attack and the arrows. However, that didn’t mean that the rainbow had become ruined, as the five-colored rainbow soon floated in the sky once again, restored to its original seven-color glory.

“Damn it.” Arthur said in frustration, “Merlin, is there really no way for us to get rid of that?”

There was no one on the planet who was more knowledgeable about magic than Merlin. Skills that used mana were also a type of magic, and thus, they hoped that Merlin would have a way to deal with that rainbow.

“It’s not magic,” Merlin responded firmly. “It’s an Authority…or something even greater.”

It wasn’t that she hadn’t tried by now. The battle with Heimdall had begun, and, as expected, Heimdall wasn’t strong enough to keep them all here by force. However, that didn’t mean that they were able to take him down, either.

“That damned rainbow is canceling out all of our attacks!”

The rainbow floating in the sky was protecting Heimdall like an iron dome.

‘There’s just too little information about him.’

Heimdall was a widely known Hero, but conversely, there was very little information about his abilities. While he was the leader of the League Guild, he had hidden his powers during their expeditions. No one had ever seen his full strength. They were only able to evaluate his skills based on the fact that he was an excellent swordsman and that he had never been defeated.

“But to think his strength was to this degree…”

They had never imagined that he would be this talented. Above all, he also had a rainbow that could cancel out all attacks. Unfortunately, Merlin was worried about something else.

“I don’t think that can only be used for defense.”

Her fear was that the rainbow’s only function wasn’t just to protect Heimdall from harm but could switch between acting as a shield or a spear. It would be nice for it to have only been a concern, but when she looked at Heimdall's relaxed face, her doubt soon turned into dread. The rainbow could definitely be used for offense as well as defense.

“How ridiculous. You’re saying he's still relaxed, right?” Arthur said as if chewing on each word. “Then, let’s see how long he can hold that demeanor for.”

Finally, his sword began to change.

Crackle.

Soon, a thin and long longsword appeared, and it was the blade that had lifted the curse of Merlin and Arthur. Zeus had brought it to them.

“Excalibur.”

The brilliant holy sword finally broke away from its sealed state. Now a regal longsword, a wild power surged within Arthur. Heimdall wasn’t the only one fighting in a relaxed manner.

“I was planning on capturing him alive. But it seems we won’t be able to.”

Arthur’s voice was full of cheer, and the aura of a king that radiated from him supported that confidence.

“Then, I’ll be fighting properly, too,” Horus said, standing behind him.

Sss.

The bandages all over his body began to come off. It had been the same for him, too.

“Dear brother.”

Lee Jun-Kyeong was someone who had done him a great favor, and he was also a noble person who sacrificed himself for humanity. Horus had been reluctant to kill Heimdall, who had also been like a brother to Lee Jun-Kyeong. But things were different now.

“Please forgive me for my sins.”

Shing!!

The bandages loosened, but still, no one was allowed to see Horus’ true form. The fierce flames spewing out from him covered him and enveloped him like a cocoon. At the same time, wings of flame rose out from behind him.

Flap, flap!

“Me, too.”

Merlin’s figure began to blur as she transformed into the appearance of the Queen of the Lake. Everyone was fighting seriously now.

Smack!

The sound of slapping one's cheek was heard in everyone's ears as Athena slapped both of her cheeks with her hands before drawing her weapon. Although she faltered for a moment, even with her weapon in hand, she turned her spear forward and settled into a perfect stance.

Shing!!

“Settle yourself, Goddess of the Battlefield.”

Her figure suited that title well. The hesitation in her eyes disappeared, replaced by a fierce will that flickered into being.

“I’ll make you explain everything after we defeat you.”

“Good,” Heimdall said, looking at them all. “Then I’ll do my best to keep you here, too.”

He pointed his rainbow-colored sword up to the sky. However, the others weren’t there to just watch him as he readied himself.

BANG!

As Arthur dashed forward, attacks poured towards Heimdall from all sides. There were flames and water, and a sword and a spear.

At that time, when every blow mixed together to create a strange, almost singing sound, a bright light emerged along with the sound of weapons being deflected.

CLANG!!

Woosh!!!

Within that light stood Heimdall, fully armed in his golden armor with both hands on his sword.

“Bifrost.”

***

Thud.

Lee Jun-Kyeong focused on conserving his strength as he moved forward. He would soon arrive at his destination.

‘Baldur…’

The one that the Demon King had created with all of his might and the Demon King himself, the cause of all of this hell, would be there. Since Odin had appeared where Fenrir was, Lee Jun-Kyeong was sure that the Demon King would show himself before him. Thus, he moved forward little by little, taking advantage of this time to absorb the power that Fenrir had given him.

Ssss.

One step.

Two step.

With every step, everything changed around him. The enormous energy contained within him was gradually being brought into order as the dense mana spreading throughout the space around him began to press down.

Ssss.

When he took another step forward, things changed once again.

BANG!

Behind him, the sound of explosions that came from far away had stopped somewhere along the way, too.

“...”

The fight probably hadn’t ended yet. It was just that the dense mana spread throughout the space was probably isolating this place in a form similar to that of the veils.

‘Seong-Gu Hyung… I’ll leave him to you.’

It wasn’t an easy situation to figure out, but he had no choice but to believe that his comrades would win.

‘Seong-Gu Hyung…’

Lee Jun-Kyeong couldn’t believe it. There was no way that Seong-Gu Hyung would have betrayed him.

“Concentrate!”

He had no choice but to believe that Heimdall had a reason. Only then would he be able to focus on the fight ahead—a fight where he didn’t know if he could win.

No, a fight where he would have to risk death. Everything was at stake in this coming battle. If, if he were to lose… The world itself would lose.

It was an insane thought. To think he would represent the world. It really was ridiculous.

He had been the dregs of humanity, living a life where he couldn’t even become a Hunter and couldn’t do anything because he couldn’t become a Hunter.

He had been someone who had been skeptical, assuming life wouldn’t get better no matter how hard he tried, assuming that he would have spent his entire life working as a part-timer at a convenience store.[1]

“Pfft.”

To think of all people, he represented the world. Lee Jun-Kyeong smiled for a moment before his face distorted. An invisible burden had fallen on him, weighing him down with a gravity of mana.

His past had changed.

No, what had changed was his life. Every part of him had changed.

If what Seong-Gu Hyung had said was true, if the memories of his forgotten past that Odin had shown him were true…

‘If everything had been planned from the beginning…’

Could the outcome have also been predetermined? The further he walked, the more distracting thoughts he had. He knew that he wouldn’t be able to think anymore once the fight had started, so he was spending this time sorting out all of his random thoughts.

What would be left when this fight was over?

What if he won?

What if he lost?

Incessant questions continued to rise as he found himself constantly trying to come up with answers to them. However, there was only one thing that was certain.

“There’s nothing else that’s important.”

There was nothing he could be sure of.

“I have to survive.”

He had to win and survive. Only then would he be able to complete the dream he had in mind.

“Only then will I have the courage to see everyone.”

He didn’t know the Demon King’s purpose. The man may have had a noble purpose, or maybe he was just a remnant of time that had gone mad. Lee Jun-Kyeong didn’t know anything about his identity. Thus, all he could hold onto was his conviction that he had to win alone.

“Hoo…” He took a deep breath, deep into his lungs, and exhaled. “Whew….”

His preparation was over, and before he knew it, he had arrived at Gangnam and the Association building.

‘There’s no aura of anything around me.’

Hunters, monsters, ordinary humans—he couldn’t feel anything. In the distance, he could sense one aura clearly.

“How amazing.”

It was shining so brightly that it engulfed everything, including Odin. Even Zeus didn’t have this much power. Lee Jun-Kyeong realized that it seemed almost comparable to him now, who had received Odin’s power from Fenrir.

Moreover, the aura was terrifying because…because he knew this aura. It wasn’t the Demon King.

“Baldur.”

It was his aura. He had clearly reached the level of the Apex Heroes, standing on par with the Kings of the secret organizations. Baldur had even caught up with himself. The fact that all of this had been accomplished by the Demon King—Lee Jun-Kyeong was terrified of it.

While Lee Jun-Kyeong looked up at the Association building, he heard a voice.

“You’re here.”

Thud.

Stepping on the ground in front of the main gate of the Association building, touched by the beginnings of frost, a radiantly handsome man walked forward.

“Baldur.”

1. Note that part-timer means something different in Korea than in most of the world. In Korea, a part-timer can also refer to someone who can’t get a “respectable salary” job and thus works a job that some people see as menial labor. ☜