Chapter 222. The God of Thunder
“Zeus has returned!”
Hearing the news brought by the Japanese Hunter, Heracles and Odysseus warmly welcomed the news as they were on the side of Olympus.
“Oh! It’s the Guild Leader.”
“As expected, he’s the first.”
Lee Jun-Kyeong was also excited to see him as well.
Zeus wasn’t someone that Lee Jun-Kyeong had been moving on the same path with until just recently. Still, although it was still difficult to say for sure if the Hunter was a companion or not, he was still the first one to return from his mission.
“So, where is our Guild Leader?”
The three Hunters were currently in Japan. After hearing from the Japanese Hunter, they were told that Zeus had returned to the Korean area. The Hunter had been informed by the people that were traveling through Jormungandr. Zeus had asked them to convey that he would be taking a break in Korea.
“He must have found the location of the Demon King, right?”
"If it’s the Guild Leader, he might have captured Odin, too.”
As expected, Zeus really was a trustworthy leader as Heracles and Odysseus chattered about as if they were children after hearing the news about their leader.
It made sense. The world they were in was a battlefield where one wouldn’t know when they would die. A mayhem in which even the strongest couldn’t easily predict their own life or death.So, they were just happy that Zeus had returned.
However, on the other hand, Lee Jun-Kyeong wondered if the others hadn’t returned as well.
“What about the others? Any other news?”
Although he had already heard that Ungnyeo was still on her mission, he still didn’t have any news of his most treasured companions.
‘Mr. Jeong and Mr. Won-Hwa.’
“Siegfried and Hua Tuo are also back.”
The Japanese Hunter only had good news to deliver.
“Also…they returned with the Giants and the Chinese Hunters.”
“...!”
Lee Jun-Kyeong opened his eyes wide with a happy expression.
“Keke. It looks like everything's turning up well,” Heracles laughed.
“Siegfried. Well, that brat grew up too, hasn’t he.”
Leaving the chattering party behind, Lee Jun-Kyeong clenched his fists. His companions had returned safely, and it seemed that their mission to get the help of the Giants and the Chinese Hunters had been completed successfully.
Although they may not be of big help in the great battle, Lee Jun-Kyeong was also considering the smaller skirmishes that they would have to undergo, so he was sure that their presence would be of great help.
However, while those reasons were all true, and while he was still happy about their mission, in truth, he was happy for a simple, more fundamental reason.
‘They returned alive.’
He had clenched his fists because he was afraid he would show too much joy in front of the devastated citizens of Japan.
“What a relief…” Lee Jun-Kyeong said, his only verbal response to what he had been told.
“Then are we going to go back right away?” Heracles asked.
Lee Jun-Kyeong shook his head.
“Not yet. If we’re going to leave, we’ll need Hunters that will take care of this place. Because there are so many people gathered here, there will definitely be problems that arise. We’ll need someone to direct the situation in case of any emergencies.”
“Then, should we leave Odysseus behind?”
Odysseus’ eyes narrowed into blades. However, Lee Jun-Kyeong just answered with a smile, “I have someone in mind.”
Kim Su-Yeong would be the person that would rally the people here.
“Now that we’ve made our preparations, let’s plan to go back tomorrow.”
“Good. Great, even.”
“I’ll look forward to it.”
The party split apart, genuinely happy for the first time in a long time at the thought of meeting those who had returned from their missions.
***
“So this is Jormungandr’s belly?”
“It just looks like a cave…”
Lee Jun-Kyeong had already traveled between Korea and Japan several times, but it was the first time for Heracles and the others to enter Jormungandr’s belly. Jormungandr was the connection between the far-apart gates and Heracles and Odysseus found the entire situation so strange.
‘Well…’
It wasn’t like it wasn’t the same for Lee Jun-Kyeong too. This was the first time Lee Jun-Kyeong had seen a monster like Jormungandr—no, a Familiar like Jormungandr. He had never heard of even the Demon King having such a Familiar. Moreover, Jormungandr was still growing.
“It almost seems like it’s consuming all the gates.”
“What…?” Heracles exclaimed in surprise.
“Does that even make sense?”
The snake consumed gates, and the situation was exactly as described.
“Wait, then…”Odysseus responded similarly, and the two opened their mouths at the same time.
“Then is it possible to remove the gates altogether?”
“Would it be possible to destroy all the gates completely?”
What if, using Merlin’s magic, they could connect all the gates once more and have Jormungandr devour them? Then, the gates would no longer break with a deluge of monsters, and the Hunters would no longer have to enter those dangerous places in order to close them.
“All the danger would be gone, and…”
Right now, at this very moment, there could be an era of peace. The key to it all was this huge snake, a power unique to Jormungandr.
“I’m not sure as of yet.”
“What does Jormungandr say?”
When Heracles asked Lee Jun-Kyeong, like a system notification, Jormungandr’s stomach rumbled loudly with the message.
[I do not know either.]
[I am currently the same as a blank paper. All I do is try anything that seems possible and inform the results to my master.]
It was a voice that was as grand and deep as the snake was vast.
“Oh ho…”
Heracles nodded, delighted that they had possibly found another solution.
“But…”
He seemed curious about something else at this moment.
“These walls look quite sturdy. It’s something similar to your digestive tract, right? What do you think, can I try hitting it once?”
Whether it was from his unique sense of pride or machismo, or possibly remembering the fierce battle he had against Orochi, unexpectedly, Heracles suddenly made a strange request.
[Then, let me ask you something as well.]
Jormungandr calmly responded, its terrifying words juxtaposing with its even tone.
[Can I eat you?]
As silence descended awkwardly, Heracles suddenly changed the subject, “Oh ho…the… there’s the exit.”
Drip.
Lee Jun-Kyeong still clearly saw that a drop of cold sweat had fallen from Heracles' forehead.
***
“Guild Leader! Guild Leader!”
Having now arrived in Korea, Heracles hurriedly sought out Zeus, possibly as he thought that Jormungandr might actually eat him.
Lee Jun-Kyeong stood at the entrance to Korea and looked around. Most of the people here had already moved to Japan, and the only ones left were the Hunters, who were there to guide any stragglers that would come to Gyeonggi-Do.
The empty appearance of the landscape predicted the fierce battle that awaited them. However, seeing Heracles so excited, Lee Jun-Kyeong thought to himself that it would be nice for him to meet the others as well.
“Zeus! Zeus! Hurry up and come out!!!”
It was then that a Hunter approached, bowing his head deeply and speaking politely.
“You’ve arrived, sir.”
It was the courtesy and respect that these Hunters had toward Lee Jun-Kyeong. In this place, he was no different from a god. Even if he didn’t want them to, they were nearing the point of worshiping him.
“Ah, yes…”
Lee Jun-Kyeong nodded with an uncomfortable expression.
“Siegfried is waiting for you.”
As if he didn’t want to make Lee Jun-Kyeong any more uncomfortable, he started guiding the Hunter immediately. However, in truth, there wasn’t much guiding to be done, as far away, he could see the frost giants towering over the land.
Smirk.
The giants in black were the forces of Thrymr, the Nar, and the giants in blue were the forces of Thjazi, the giants of Utgard.
‘So they’ve gotten stronger then.’
Although there weren’t many, perhaps because they had only brought their warriors, the aura they radiated was definitely different from before.
"However…”
The Hunter, who was guiding the group, hesitated before opening his mouth, “Lord Zeus’ condition isn’t very good. He said that he didn’t want to meet anyone, and…”
“The Guild Leader?”
“What happened?”
At Heracles and Odysseus’ question, the Hunter replied meekly, “Ah, well, I also don’t know any details. It’s just that everyone seemed to be in a depressed mood, so I thought it was prudent to let you know.”
“Thank you,” Lee Jun-Kyeong said, sending the Hunter back.
It was obvious from where the others were gathered.
‘He must be over there. Zeus, what happened to you?’
The Leader of Olympus was giving off an aura that seemed to show that he had grown stronger—no, not just stronger, but several times stronger.
In the same time, Lee Jun-Kyeong had obtained Jormungandr. Thanks to the Sky of the Apocalypse, Hyeon-Mu and Hel were recognized as the bastard’s children, which led to Lee Jun-Kyeong growing even further as the power of a Familiar was the power of the owner.However, even with all that, Zeus seemed to have grown just as much. What happened?
‘Could he really have caught Odin?’
Could it be that his Sponsor, wanting him to do so, was willing to provide such a huge amount of sponsorship?
In the midst of his curiosity, he had to soon move on as Jeong In-Chang called out to him when he noticed them approaching.
“Mr. Lee.”
Lee Jun-Kyeong quickly shifted gears, forgetting about his innocent curiosity as he soon realized something was wrong.
“Was there a problem?”
Jeong In-Chang, his expression was ominous.
“Well…”
The party followed him as he beckoned them to follow, guiding them far away from Zeus.
***
Lee Jun-Kyeong could never have thought of it. To think, Chi-Woo and Zeus were brothers. Moreover, Chi-Woo’s strength was more terrifying than he had imagined.
‘To think, not only did he have Multiple Sponsorship… but he also shared a Sponsor with Zeus.’
Zeus’ Sponsor was a special Sponsor that could only sponsor one person. It was one of the unique Sponsors, like the Sky of the Apocalypse.[1] It was bad enough that such a Sponsor had broken the rules and sponsored two people, but it had also given such a vicious mission.
What Jeong In-Chang had to say about Zeus and Chi-Woo was shocking to Lee Jun-Kyeong as well. In the end, as a result of what had happened, Zeus had gained Chi-Woo’s power. It would be of great help in the battles to come.
‘We can’t leave him like this.’
There was no way that Zeus would be of the right mind right now. Just then, Heracles and Odysseus came this way.
Shake.
When Lee Lee Jun-Kyeong gave them a look, they responded with a simple shake of their heads. They had gone to see Zeus, but he had refused to see them.
“When the Guild Leader is like that, there’s nothing we can do.”
“I think for now, we’ll have to leave him alone.”
Jeong In-Chang also lowered his head. He had been the one to see everything firsthand. Although Olympus Guild had complete notoriety in Europe, the real Olympus was completely different according to what he heard from the guild members.
“I will go.” In the end, Lee Jun-Kyeong stepped in.
“What are you going to do?”
“When the Guild Leader is like that, even if it’s you, Underdog, he won’t meet with you.”
Although they tried to dissuade him, Lee Jun-Kyeong took a step forward. “I can’t just leave it like this. I’ll go visit Thjazi, Thrymr, and Liu Bei after meeting Zeus. For now, please help them so that they can rest properly, Mr. Jeong.”
“U…understood. For now, Mr. Won-Hwa is treating their injuries.”
Lee Jun-Kyeong nodded and stepped forward. He couldn’t imagine the mental pain Zeus was going through. The despair of losing a brother, and on top of that, having been the one to have done the deed.
Lee Jun-Kyeong had never lost anything as he had been born with nothing. So, he had no intention of offering the Hunter any comforting advice or anything of that sort.
“Just what does he plan to do…”
Heracles looked at Lee Jun-Kyeong worriedly, as for some reason, it seemed like the Hunter was going to a battle. Still, Lee Jun-Kyeong walked away without saying a word.
***
Knock, knock.
A knock rang out, but no answer came.
Knock, knock.
The knocking continued incessantly, but an answer couldn’t be heard either way.
“Screw off.”
Eventually, a cold voice, like frost, came through the door.
Knock, knock.
“I told you to screw off…”
When the voice sounded again-
BOOM!
The door was suddenly thrown open as if it had been hit with an explosion. This was a door that even Heracles had been unable to open from the sheer amount of mana that Zeus had instilled within it. Standing in front of the broken door was Lee Jun-Kyeong.
“Are you really going to continue acting like this?”
“...but I was sure I said I didn’t want to be bothered?” Zeus’ gaze, looking back at Lee Jun-Kyeong was cold, mana oozing out of his startling blue eyes.
Bloodlust emanated from the Hunter as if he was ready to kill someone at this very moment.
“How about fight a little right now?” Lee Jun-Kyeong said.
However, Zeus was cold.
“I have no intention of playing with a child. Leave me alone for now…”
BOOM!
As Zeus lowered his head as he spoke, suddenly, an explosion ruptured again.
“Are you fucking insane?”
The explosion this time was directly next to where Zeus was sitting. A spear was now embedded into the chair next to the Hunter. Zeus was left startled, looking back and forth between the quivering spear and Lee Jun-Kyeong.
. And the Desert’s Sun. ☜