Chapter 255. The Last Barrier Pt. 5

A man donning a shattered golden suit of armor walked out of the hazy smoke.

“Damn it…!”

Arthur quickly raised his sword and tried to run forward. The owner of the shattered golden armor was Heimdall, and his emergence could have only meant one thing: Zeus had been defeated. However, that didn’t mean that Heimdall would have been fine.

“I’ll kill you!”

Thinking now was his chance, Arthur kicked the ground and shot forward like an arrow as he pumped all of his mana into the dangling Excalibur. As he was just about to deliver the strongest blow he could manage, he heard a soft thump.

“Whew…”

Heimdall had fallen forward, and behind his slumped back, Zeus appeared, electricity exuding with every breath. Zeus was also in a horrid state. A large gaping wound was on his chest, and blood was flowing down his leg.

“What are you doing? Hurry up and heal me, Merlin,” Zeus called out to Merlin.

Thud!

Arthur urgently halted himself and stopped mid-rush as Merlin and the others quickly went to Zeus.

“This…” Merlin said in disbelief. “This means we’ve won, right?”

“Yeah.”

They had won. Heimdall’s strength had been shrouded in secrecy and was beyond that of common sense. In particular, the rainbow that he had used was more powerful and harder to handle than any other ability that they had ever faced. But now, that terrifyingly strong Hero was lying on the ground.

They had defeated him.

“Ugh, now I feel like I’m not going to die anymore.”

Heimdall really had fallen, and Zeus’ wounds were quickly recovering. The moment that all of them were able to move easily again, Zeus told them all to get ready.

“Prepare for?”

“I’m going to wake this bastard up.”

“Huh?” Arthur asked with a puzzled look on his face.

Zeus ignored him and continued. “The Underdog has already begun his battle. I have to find out what’s going on. So, I’m going to wake him up, so get ready to restrain him.”

Arthur complained, “Are you crazy? This bastard was serious about everything. We wouldn’t be in the wrong if we just killed him like…”

“No,” Zeus interrupted Arthur. “When we had clashed just now, his sword cleaved into my chest just half an inch to the side,” he said, pointing to his chest. “He held back after he saw the pillar of fire rise behind me.”

“And what the hell does that have to do…”

“Look at yourself, too. They’re near fatal wounds, but they’re only near fatal, right?”

They nodded.

“This bastard never meant to kill us in the first place. As for what he mentioned earlier…”

Crackle.

A blue flicker of electricity appeared in Zeus’ hand, which he slowly applied to Heimdall. “His only goal had been to hold us back. That’s more than enough reason to listen to what he has to say.”

Crackle!

“Either way, there’s no point in us going to the Underdog right now. With injuries like this, even if we go to help him…”

CRACK!

Heimdall trembled as he was hit by the electric current.

“We’ll just be his burden.”

***

There had definitely been a feeling in his hand. Although the Arm of Surtr was a manifestation made of flames that were created through mana, Lee Jun-Kyeong could still feel sensation through it.

He was sure of it. ‘It’s over.’

He had felt Baldur being crushed in his palm. Lee Jun-Kyeong slowly raised his hand, and underneath it, all that remained was the ashes of Baldur.

“...”

The fight had ended so easily, but…

“Things have become much different.”

When he had reached Baldur, Lee Jun-Kyeong had taken a close look at the Hunter. He had clearly become incredibly strong. Nevertheless, he was still stronger.

Lee Jun-Kyeong just stood there and muttered to himself as if he were bowing to Baldur. Baldur was a pitiful person and was someone who had worked hard to be recognized his whole life. However, the father who was supposed to give him the recognition he deserved had just betrayed him instead, throwing him to the wolves.

He had lived a Hero’s life, but his hands were stained with the blood of countless humans.

‘I won.’

Lee Jun-Kyeong had finished it with just a single move—he himself had grown just as much. No matter what anyone else said, his real enemy still awaited him.

“The Demon King.”

The Association building was still intact despite the aftermath of the recent explosion. Lee Jun-Kyeong glanced at its structure. He had honed this power to deal with the Demon King, and thus, he didn’t have the time to wrestle with himself about morality or other concerns before meeting him. Or so he thought before he turned around and knocked aside something that flew toward him.

Bang!

“Baldur…?”

The object that had flown toward him had been a wave of mana in the shape of a fist formed from a condensation of light.

“How…!”

As Lee Jun-Kyeong looked forward, he saw the Hunter standing there, looking just the same as when he had walked out the front door of the Association building. The only difference was that now, he was standing there without any clothes on. Lee Jun-Kyeong was sure of it, he had definitely felt Baldur being crushed and saw the subsequent pile of ashes, a testament to his death.

But…how??

“Because I can’t die even if I wanted to,” Baldur said with a twisted smile.

"Immortality?"

That was the possible explanation.

“True Immortality? That’s impossible!”

Jeong In-Chang also possessed the Immortality Authority, and Lee Jun-Kyeong himself did as well. Moreover, the Authority that they had artificially obtained from the Dragon’s Bloodstone was more than worthy of being called immortal.

“There’s no Immortality that would let someone survive even after their whole body was turned to dust!” Lee Jun-Kyeong shouted in astonishment.

True Immortality did not exist in this world. It was a topic also discussed by the Demon King in his book. While the Immortality granted by the Sponsor could essentially be considered immortality when compared to human standards, for those with higher levels of power, there was still a stark difference between the concept and the Authority. If there weren’t any mana left to sustain one’s life, they would die just like anything else.

What Lee Jun-Kyeong had just done wasn’t only to burn Baldur’s body, but also the mana that he had. Everything that had made Baldur exist had been erased in an instant. However, Baldur had still survived.

“Just how?!”

When Lee Jun-Kyeong shouted again in shock, before he knew it, Baldur had appeared right in front of Lee Jun-Kyeong, kicking downwards.

BANG!

He had even become as fast as light.

"I don't know either." On the other hand, his voice drawled slowly, “I… I want to die, Underdog.”

When his voice, which was almost like a scream, lingered in Lee Jun-Kyeong’s ear, Lee Jun-Kyeong responded as he dodged the blow, “Your wish, I’ll fulfill it.”

He soared into the sky and cast the Arm of Surtur again.

‘Mana.’

Regardless of how Baldur’s immortality worked, it was still fundamentally based on mana.

“I’ll just burn it all.”

Where they stood, all of the mana in that area would be incinerated.

BOOM!

The arm of the flame giant struck once more as the pillar of fire that rose up swirled into one much larger than before.

***

The Arm of Surtr emitted the Flames of Muspelheim. They constantly burned, consuming mana like air. The pillar of fire swirled even greater in size, engulfing the surrounding mana as it multiplied in volume. At the center floated Lee Jun-Kyeong.

“Ha…”

He was still waiting right over where Baldur had stood, his arm firmly pressed into the ground.

Although the mana in the area was disappearing in ebbs, he had to make sure to finish it. If he could end things like this, it wouldn’t be that big of a loss.

There was only one thing that worried him: The Demon King still hadn’t shown up. Considering that a battle of this scale was happening right before him, if the Demon King truly were in the Association, then he would have had to show up.

Moreover, if the Demon King really were planning on killing him, now would be a golden opportunity. However, the Demon King was nowhere to be seen. He couldn’t feel the Demon King’s aura, or anyone else’s aura for that matter, in the Association building.

“HA!!”

Thus, Lee Jun-Kyeong put more and more effort into his skill, wanting to end what was before him and find the Demon King. Eventually, it all disappeared, as finally, all of the mana in the vicinity had been consumed. For an instant, it had even become a mana vacuum.

When Lee Jun-Kyeong withdrew his arm, the pillar of fire slowly began to shrink.

‘That would have been impossible to survive even for a true immortal.’

All of the surrounding mana had been burned away. Even if Baldur were to have been revived in the midst of the absence of mana, the only result was for him to just burn again once more in the pillar of fire. Baldur had to have died; Lee Jun-Kyeong was sure of it.

“...”

But, his feet did not move. He felt as though he had to check it out. Because the mana had been incinerated, Lee Jun-Kyeong had no way to sense his presence. Then, when the pillar of fire gradually subsided, Lee Jun-Kyeong sighed.

“Oh my god.”

BANG!

He knocked away the fist flying at him, a fist that had clearly flown out of the pillar of fire. It was Baldur’s fist of light.

“...”

Lee Jun-Kyeong was unable to say a single word, just quietly staring at the clearly visible appearance of Baldur. He was still melting in the midst of the remnants of the pillar of fire.

‘He’s regenerating.’

The horrible sight before him was so cruel that even Lee Jun-Kyeong, who had undergone all manners of atrocities, gagged. It was said that one of the greatest pains a human could experience was death by fire.

‘If Baldur is an immortal, does that mean he can’t feel pain?’

“...”

The sight of Baldur’s melted face regenerating as he looked over at him seemed so jaded. It looked so sad.

“I told you, I can’t die.”

***

“Have you woken up?”

Heimdall woke up with various mana restraints binding him entirely. As he opened his eyes and looked down, thanks to Merlin’s abilities, he saw dozens of magic circles surrounding him.

“Don’t you think…this is a little much?”

He had been placed in a transparent container that seemed to have come out of nowhere.

Crack. Crackle.

Water filled the space up to his chest as on top of it, Zeus stood, generating an electric current in his hand. Looking over to the side, Horus was setting up a barrier of fire while Athena aimed her spear at his head. Directly in front of him was Arthur, his Excalibur plunged deep into the container, pointed directly at Heimdall’s heart.

“Hmm…”

“Try to move, even a little,” Arthur blustered.

“...”

“We’ve only gone to this degree because of the abilities you showed.”

There didn't seem to be even a single opening he could use to escape.

Heimdall chuckled.

“You’re laughing?” Arthur spat sharply.

“It’s just funny,” Heimdall leisurely answered in response. Although some of the gathered party were dissatisfied with his attitude, Zeus brushed it off and moved on.

“Drop it,” he said, continuing their earlier conversation. “Where is the Demon King?”

The questioning had begun.

“Why did you only let the Underdog go forward?” Zeus rapidly questioned him. “Just what the hell is going on over there?”

Finally, Zeus had gotten to his last question. “Tell me who you are and what your goal is. Heimdall, you were a Hero of Asgard. I knew you were strong, but…to think it was to this extent. I know you have many secrets like the Underdog does, but…”

Zeus stopped speaking as Arthur took over, “If you don’t answer us, you’re going to die right here. We don’t have time to waste and have to go help the Underdog.”

Heimdall shook his head as if he had no choice. “I’m not afraid of dying. I’m just afraid of you all going over there.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“Everything is going according to plan. No matter what…everything has to end the way it has been planned.”

Heimdall slowly turned and looked at everyone, his eyes clear and shimmering with conviction.

“That’s the only way…” However, what was hidden behind the outer layer of conviction was a deep sadness. “That’s the only way the Demon King can die.”