Chapter 263. Ragnarok Pt. 6

“Although he had thought that the end had finally come, it was just another beginning,” Heimdall said.

His voice was filled with deep despair and sadness. The group was immersed in Heimdall's story. It was almost like a fairy tale—no, like they were hearing a great tragedy.

“They had cleared Gehenna, but that had just opened another gate to another hell.”

Although they had heard about what had happened from Saeynkaed, all of them had had their doubts at the time.

“Three thousand years. That’s not a short time at all. During that time, he must have met many Rulers and may have even encountered Saeynkaed.”

Lee Jun-Kyeong wondered whether the Demon King could have encountered Saeynkaed. After all, he himself had found out the secrets of the Sponsors in one lifetime. On the other hand, the Demon King had lived for three thousand years. Could it really be possible that the Demon King hadn’t gathered any information at all during that time?

“It makes sense you’re curious about it,” Heimdall said. “But it seems like there’s something you still don’t realize.”

Heimdall looked at Lee Jun-Kyeong with a bitter gaze.

“The Demon King and you are different. You…you received more help than anyone else and grew in a better environment than anyone else.”

They were different, but Lee Jun-Kyeong wondered just how. The Demon King also had his companions, too.

“The Sky of the Apocalypse…and…” Realizing this, Lee Jun-Kyeong slowly said, “The Book of the Demon King.”

Heimdall affirmed, “Yes. Your life path wasn’t something you had chosen for yourself. Everything you’ve ever done is with his help. The reason Saeynkaed and you were able to meet was a part of that.”

Lee Jun-Kyeong felt as though he finally understood.

“In the first place, the Demon King wasn’t able to communicate with Saeynkaed or any of the other Rulers because his Sponsor—no, all of the Sponsors of the world interfered,” Heimdall said.

“That means…”

“You, now, have no such interference. That was why you were able to get so much of the information you currently have.”

Merlin also seemed to have noticed something and fell silent. The secret was being revealed.

“Anyway, he cleared Gehenna without knowing the circumstances. His companions all lost their bodies to the Sponsors while…”

Lee Jun-Kyeong interjected, “He succeeded in resisting.”

“Exactly. Even his Sponsor never expected it. During the span of so many time regressions, the Demon King had already grown into something that couldn’t be called an ordinary human or even an ordinary being of this plane.”

He had resisted his Sponsor and even won. Just thinking about it gave them goosebumps. How many painful times did the Demon King have to go through until he had been able to reach this point?

However, like Heimdall had said, even that was another beginning. The tale had now circled back to where they were now.

Heimdall continued slowly while reading Lee Jun-Kyeong’s expression, “The era of Eden had come, which was a world brought about by the Sponsors who stole human bodies.”

“...”

“While he was resisting his Sponsor, the Demon King had been mortally wounded and imprisoned in Gehenna. When he had come to his senses…” Heimdall said, gritting his teeth. “A long time had already passed.”

***

‘No…’

He thought he had saved them all. He thought everything was over. But, when he came to his senses and exited Gehenna, the world had already changed.

‘No…’

𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

It was now a world called Eden. People believed that the Rulers of Eden, who called themselves Gods, were Hunters who had been Heroes. However, their true selves were something completely different.

‘We waited for you.’

He had been together with his companions for three thousand years and had continued forward alongside them even after seeing their deaths dozens of times over. They were precious to him.

‘You scum-like human. Your abilities may be high…but we will take care of everything.’

They were now pointing their swords at him. The changed future had brought him an even more dire reality. What he had to fight now wasn’t a monster, but his companions.

‘Gasp, gasp…’

At first, he wasn't confident about dealing with them. He ran away as he had been unconscious for a long time, and in the process of defeating his Sponsor, he had lost a lot of strength. The chase was relentless as he barely survived by suppressing his presence. Unfortunately, it was impossible for him to avoid the gazes of the fully resurrected Sponsors forever since they had risen to become the masters of the world.

‘Die.’

Thus, that was how the battle began.

‘Gasp, gasp…’

Although he had become the strongest Hunter through his three thousand-year journey, he was left helpless as he was stabbed by their swords in despair. In the first place, he wasn’t a match for them.

‘Is this what it means to be a god?’

As they said themselves, they held power close to that of gods.

The Sponsors spoke as they looked down at the fallen Demon King.

‘Because you killed your Sponsor, that damned ability won’t work anymore.’

The face of the one smiling and cursing at him was one of his treasured companions.

‘Go. This is all thanks to you.’

Even this one, who spat on him while looking down, was also a companion.

‘Now die.’

Those whom he had saved ended up killing him. That was how it had ended. What he had been pursuing for three thousand years wasn’t the salvation of mankind. No, it was an even more desperate defeat. Total destruction.

‘What did I…for so long, what did…’

Squelch.

Laughing at himself, he died. Even though he had a near-immortal vitality, it wasn’t enough to stop the blades of those who had reached the level of gods. Thus, he had died, thinking it was the end.

“But like I said, that was just the beginning,” Heimdall said. “The Sponsors were mistaken in thinking that the Demon King had killed his Sponsor.”

“...”

“He hadn’t killed his Sponsor.”

Lee Jun-Kyeong wondered whether Heimdall knew the sorrow of the Demon King. Was he there? No, anyone who heard this story would make the same expression.

Heimdall continued with a look of despondency, “He had absorbed his Sponsor. Now, the Demon King had possessed the ability to regress back in time himself, a power that he had stripped from his Sponsor.”

“...”

“However.” Heimdall looked up at the sky. “He didn't have the ability to control that power. If he could, then he would have stopped the regression and given up then.”

But fate had not let him go.

“His regressions continued…”

“Oh my god…”

“Again and again, he returned to the start. Everything was the same. Humans under siege while he had returned to his companions, who, at that point, hadn’t yet been taken by the Sponsors.”

That must have been hell worse than Andlangr.

“When he had first regressed after succeeding for the first time, he had wanted to end it all. He destroyed the world with his own hands.”

Everyone wondered if they had the right to curse him. Was there anyone among them who could truly understand his despair?

“When he first destroyed the world, even then…”

“He regressed.”

“That’s right.”

It wasn’t a hell he could have escaped from, even if he wanted to.

“In his next life, he said he didn’t do a single thing. He didn’t destroy the world, nor did he make any moves to save it.”

“A bystander…”

“Yes, a bystander. He watched everything go by, living hidden from the world without making any contact with his companions or encountering humans.”

However, the end was destined to be the same.

“Yet, he regressed again. Again and again, over and over. He spent more than a hundred years like that, unable to escape despair.”

Who among them could blame him? Who among them could fully understand him?

‘If it were me….’

‘No, if it were any of us…’

Could any of them have survived through three thousand years of that hell? It was absolute darkness, surviving through an endless hellscape.

“Eventually, he realized—that he had to end it all.”

There was no other solution. It wasn’t because of any grandstanding or achievement, wanting to save the world. No, he just wanted to escape and had a singular desire to escape from this hell.

“He tried to do everything on his own, fueled by a desire to get it over with. He didn’t even find his companions, putting everything he knew into his own growth.”

“Then, what happened?”

“He succeeded. He cleared Gehenna on his own.”

They had reached it: the climax.

“Hmm…”

Lee Jun-Kyeong took a deep breath. This was what he had been waiting for.

‘He had cleared Gehenna with just his own strength.’

The Demon King hadn’t led any of his other companions to Gehenna.

‘Just like what I’m trying to do.’

Lee Jun-Kyeong wouldn’t go to Gehenna with his companions; he would raid it alone. But now, he was hearing that the Demon King had done that too.

‘What happened?’

“In the end, he failed.”

As expected, it was another failure.

“That’s what I had assumed,” Lee Jun-Kyeong said, walking forward and leaving behind his companions, who were silent in shock. “Because the Demon King still exists.”

The Demon King’s presence served as proof of the outcome. Because he had failed, history was repeating itself once again.

“That’s right. He cleared Gehenna alone, and his body wasn’t stolen by his Sponsor, who had already disappeared by now…”

Despair appeared on Heimdall's face again.

“But, when he emerged, the other Sponsors had already taken away the bodies of the powerful Hunters.”

***

'It's over.'

His gaze was empty as if the long years had eroded away his soul. He had won, but he wasn’t happy. All he could think about was that he could finally rest now. He looked at the monsters he had defeated. There weren’t any bodies for the Sponsors to take away alongside him. If he left here now, then it would all be over.

But, it was right when that thought had crossed his mind.

[How pointless.]

No. This…this was a voice he shouldn’t be hearing as it was a voice that couldn’t be heard. His Sponsor’s voice was ringing in his head.

‘H…how…!’

In the midst of his panic, the voices in his head faded as he shouted. Had it just been a hallucination? He stood still for a while before slowly moving and exiting Gehenna. Waiting for him were his companions.

‘Thank you. To think we could be resurrected like this thanks to your actions…’

His companions, who had been getting stronger and stronger with every passing regression, hadn’t entered Gehenna with him.

‘I’ll make sure you die as painlessly as possible.’

But, the Sponsors had already taken their bodies outside of the gate.

‘Ha…’

Only then did he realize that Gehenna was just a window. The moment it opened, the outcome was already decided. The end result wasn’t something he could change. Rather, trying to do so simply made it easier for the Sponsors to take over.

‘Ha…’

He sighed. He couldn’t change anything. No matter how much he regressed, he couldn’t change it. There was only one thing that could actually change anything.

‘What…!’

He needed to put an end to all of those bastards they called Sponsors. He needed to slaughter them all.

‘Only then would it be over.’

With a blank expression, he, with a broken soul, began to make his move.

‘Hehehe.’

Although the hostility of the Sponsors was fierce, he himself had already gone insane. The Demon King, who had been worn out to the point of falling apart, tore them to pieces, ignoring the pain horrid enough to be felt in one’s bones. There was something that the Sponsors had gotten wrong.

‘Hehehe…’

The Demon King had already been through a long series of regressions, and he had already consumed even his own Sponsor.

‘Things will end now…’

Even the Sponsors who had taken over human bodies and were reborn weren’t able to handle him. But, the problem was that it was also just another beginning. The Demon King, after defeating them all, still existed in an endless hell.

He was surviving in an endless tragedy.

“That’s insane…”

It was a tale that would sap the spirit of even those who heard it, let alone someone who had to live it. The real story of the Demon King was utterly different from what Lee Jun-Kyeong had read in the book.

If he were to compare what he was hearing from Heimdall with what was written in the book, the Book of the Demon King, the latter was just a fairy tale.