Chapter 259. Ragnarok  

Merlin always spoke calmly, but now she shouted out of shock, "That’s impossible!"

Blowing aside the fading storm of heat, Arthur also shouted, “That’s impossible!”

The storm of heat had been caused by Lee Jun-Kyeong’s mana. Their previously suppressed senses had begun to be able to feel what had happened in the distance again.

“Baldur is dead…”

Baldur had been a being with near complete True Immortality, but he had died. His aura hadn’t just been hidden by a seal but had been completely erased. It was a complete end, the death of a True Immortal. However, that wasn’t why they were so surprised.

“This…is it even possible for a human to have this much mana?”

“The Underdog…his mana is magnifying.”

It continued to magnify to the point where the rapid increase created a sonic boom that could be heard over a long distance.

“It’s…it’s still growing!” Arthur said in horror.

Lee Jun-Kyeong had already passed the threshold of human power, which was something that they had all already expected. The fact that it was to this degree meant he was neither Human-level nor Ruler-level.

“He’s like a Sponsor…”

He had reached the power of the Sponsor that had only been conveyed through their messages—no, the power that they had imagined those beings controlled.

“It’s still…”

Nevertheless, his mana continued to increase without stopping. They all wondered whether it was even possible to grow to this extent in an instant. Outside of sponsorship, it was an absurd idea.

Unless…unless one was sponsored by a Sponsor in its entirety.

“There’s no way…could a Sponsor be taking over the Underdog’s body?” Arthur shouted in panic. That was the only answer he could think of. He thought that Lee Jun-Kyeong had finally surpassed his growth limit and was being encroached on by a Sponsor.

While he was worried about the possibility, Zeus shook his head. “No.”

What was unfolding before them was different from that. He couldn’t understand how or why he was feeling this way, but something was different.

Zeus said to Heimdall, “Heimdall. You know, right?”

Even in this chaos, all the bald Hunter did was look a little surprised. Furthermore, now that the restriction should have been lifted, he should have been able to tell them what he hadn’t been able to before.

“Jun-Kyeong…”

Crack!!

Slowly, he opened his mouth as the water container containing him broke open. Flustered, Athena and Arthur tried to stab forward with their spear and sword. However, a rainbow light suddenly appeared and blocked them.

“A rainbow…does that mean he’s already fully recovered his strength?”

They quickly tried to settle into a fighting stance.

“Didn’t I tell you? I only planned on making sure you didn’t pass here. That was it.”

They could only swallow their saliva as they looked at Heimdall’s face, which didn’t have any hint of hostility at all. It looked more like he just wanted to talk.

“My role has ended. I kept you all from leaving this place and…” As he spoke, Heimdall looked toward the Association again. “Jun-Kyeong succeeded.”

“Succeeded?”

Heimdall slowly nodded. “Yes, the power that he had from the very beginning…”

Crack!!!

Even though nothing stood before them, the sound of something breaking rang through the air.

“The powers of the source have been awakened.”

What awakened Heimdall was the mana that had filled the air—the invisible veil that it had created.

“That…”

Moreover, the things that had been revealed in the midst of it all were incredible.

***

“Fenrir! You can rest first!” Despite Ungnyeo’s cries, Fenrir just continued forward.

"I'm going…” Fenrir said in a weary tone. He wasn’t in a normal state as the injuries he had sustained during the fierce battle with Odin weren’t healing at all. It was all he could do to stay standing. Despite that, he was carrying everyone on his back in that kind of condition, heading towards the place where the Association stood and where Lee Jun-Kyeong would be.

“For now, let’s hurry!”

Those who could move carried those who couldn’t as they ran forward. Fortunately, the ordinary humans had already been evacuated.“I don’t know if we’ll be of any help, but we have to at least be by his side!” Jeong In-Chang shouted, urging the group on.

His place was right next to Lee Jun-Kyeong. However, he had to save the ordinary humans, and he had been left with no choice but to leave and carry out his mission. Now that he had succeeded, he wanted to hurry back to Lee Jun-Kyeong’s side.

“We’re coming!!”

Lee Jun-Kyeong was fighting, and it never crossed Jeong In-Chang’s mind that any of them would be able to aid the Hunter in the coming battles.

“You’re not alone!”

Regardless, he wanted Lee Jun-Kyeong to know that he wasn’t alone.

‘Since when has it been like this for me? No, it’s been like this since the beginning.’

He had felt this way even during the very first day he had met Lee Jun-Kyeong. The Hunter had a lonely face. He had always seemed bright and polite, but there was a loneliness hidden behind his expression. It was almost as if he couldn’t get along with anyone.

‘Mr. Lee was alone even in the timeline he had come from.’

Jeong In-Chang had heard, at least roughly, about the timeline that Lee Jun-Kyeong had lived through. It was a story of a strong man, a caring man, being alone. It was a life that was all about spending his days going through painful moments and lamenting.

‘This isn’t even his timeline.’

Such a pained and tormented man had returned to the past, and that was how he had gotten his strength. However, even if those events in his memories never existed in this timeline, that didn’t mean that the pain never existed as well. It was almost as if he had been exiled from the timeline he should have been in.

‘He carries too much weight on his shoulders.’

With the power that he had gained, he could have just spent this timeline in peace. Although the cataclysm and unavoidable disasters existed, he would have still been able to survive and enjoy wealth. However, Lee Jun-Kyeong was different. He had returned to the past and held up the burden of changing the future, never stopping in his goal.

‘He’s too strong.’

In fact, he had even become too strong and was continuing to get stronger still. There was no one who could properly stand next to him.

‘Even I…’

Jeong In-Chang had walked through the battlefield with him. Although it had always seemed that Lee Jun-Kyeong had help from himself and his colleagues, that was only what it looked like on the surface.

“Honestly, I already knew that you didn’t need us.”

But in truth, Lee Jun-Kyeong had solved everything alone. Jeong In-Chang knew that even if they hadn’t been there in the first place, he would have resolved everything just fine. Lee Jun-Kyeong was the man who had saved him from being tainted by the evil of the Northern Army Guild.

That was why he needed to be by his side now. Jeong In-Chang increased his speed.

“The rest of you can come slowly!”

Even if there were no one else left on Lee Jun-Kyeong’s side, Jeong In-Chang would be there. He had to be. However, soon, mana began to rush in, buffeting them.

WOOSH!

“Is this a heat storm?”

A hot wind pummeled him.

“Block it!” said someone from behind.

At the same time, Jeong In-Chang could feel mana unfolding, deployed in the form of a shield.

“Mr. Jeong! This way!” Won-Hwa shouted at Jeong In-Chang in the growing heat storm. The heat and mana in the storm became stronger. It stung as it tore through his flesh. Although he hadn’t known that it would have gotten so much stronger, he knew who was responsible for this heat storm.

“Mr. Lee…!”

Jeong In-Chang knew why the heat storm had arisen. He was fighting. Fighting alone. Thus, he had to move forward.

“Mr. Jeong! Don’t be reckless!”

Still, Jeong In-Chang kept moving, ignoring Won-Hwa’s worried shouts. The heat storm grew stronger.

–In-Chang.

The princess’ voice emerged from deep within Jeong In-Chang’s heart.

-It’s dangerous.

The heat storm was searing, hot enough to burn through even Jeong In-Chang’s strengthened body. The princess was separated from him as she was by Fenrir’s side.

"I’m sorry."

Jeong In-Chang ran forward, blocking the princess’ voice. His whole body became red-hot as if it was about to melt.

'Immortality.'

However, he wouldn’t die from this. Still, there was one issue.

“AGHHH!”The Authority Immortality didn’t have the ability to prevent pain. In truth, it made one feel pain that one didn’t need to feel, pain that would have normally caused someone to die, fading away into nothing. His eyeballs felt as though they were burning.

“Gram!”

Jeong In-Chang ran while summoning. He wondered how far he had run while enduring that hell. But then, the heat storm faded, ending. He was late again.

“Mr. Lee…” Jeong In-Chang had stopped running while his melted body regenerated and called out to Lee Jun-Kyeong, “You’ve become stronger.”

He could feel his friend becoming more lonely.

***

[You have reached level 100.]

The level that had been stagnant for a long time had risen. It felt like time had stopped.

[You have achieved an unbel…]

He heard notifications one after another that he didn't care about. But, at the end of it all was a notification that couldn’t be ignored.

[You have awakened the Powers of the Source.]

The massive amount of mana that had been consumed in the fight with Baldur began to be restored.

‘It’s actually rising.’

His mana was increasing without end, breaking the limits from before. The same went for his stamina and vitality. As his level increased, his stamina and mana had always recovered slightly.

“But this is a complete recovery…”

Not only that, but he was also being granted an indescribable strength. It wasn’t from any of the notifications that he had ignored. Instead, it was from the Powers of the Source. Apparently he had awakened it, and the crazy rise in strength had to have been because of it.

Moreover, the notifications coming in hadn’t ended.

[...]

This was something he had been waiting and hoping for a long, long time.

[...has sponsored you a Title.]

A title was what every Hunter dreamed of and something every Hero had. However, he was different. Even though he was a Hunter, he hadn’t been able to reach it, and even though he was a Hero, he hadn’t achieved it.

It was only given now that Baldur had been killed. He wondered why it had happened now. Was it due to reaching level 100? Or maybe from the experience he had gained due to Baldur’s death?

Or, maybe…

‘The Powers of the Source.’

Now that it had awakened, could it be sponsoring his title?

In actuality, it didn’t matter why. What was important now was that he had gotten his title right here and now.

[Your title is…]

He heard another message.

[Loki.]

He pronounced his title out loud, “Loki?”

However, at that moment, an unknown sense of discomfort came over him.

Zzzt.

[An…im…an…im…]

With a crackling voice, the notification kept repeating as if it were an error.

[An impossible…unbelievable…unfathomable…]

The voice just repeated the same thing whenever it tried to talk about his achievement. The system that had been created by the Sponsors seemed almost…afraid?

No, this was it being destroyed. The system was breaking apart.

[You will be given a second title.]

Then, as if a tape was being rewound, a notification was spoken in the same voice as before when the first tile had been given. It was gentle, calm, yet…hateful.

The system said it again.

[Your title is…]

ZZZT.

[Ragnarok.]

Space began to break apart.

[You have been sponsored a title.]