Chapter 169: Homebound Pt. 6
Siegfried was the Hero of an era.
And Gram was the ability that had killed the dragon of the Demon King.
The ability, Gram, wasn’t just about an incredible attack power. It also had another ability, something that perfectly matched with Siegfried's nickname of the Immortal.
“AGHHH!”
A scream that echoed through the room burst out from Jeong In-Chang’s mouth.
A golden light was pouring down over him. Originally, the light should have shone down on the people in the gymnasium, but for some reason, everything was focused on him instead.
“No!” Aegir shouted in bewilderment.
As an experienced Hunter, he was able to see how the situation was unfolding.
He muttered, “The…the hostages…”
He had held the people in the gymnasium hostage, trying to use his ability to exploit the possibility of absorbing the people’s life force at any moment. However, at this moment, his hostages had become meaningless.
There was only one person who was suffering the torment that the people should have been suffering.
“AGHHHHH!”
Jeong In-Chang was enduring it all.
This was the second ability of Gram.
As long as Jeong In-Chang wished to do so, he would be able to absorb and endure any enchantments or spells that were around him.
Since Siegfried was als known as the Immortal, he had used those qualities and abilities together to save many of his comrades.
However.
“M… Mr. Lee…”
The Jeong In-Chang now was different from the Siegfried he had heard about.
Although he had been bestowed the title Siegfried and had uncovered how to use Gram, he still hadn’t completely grown into the Hero he would eventually become.
For now.
‘He’s too lacking for the nickname, the Immortal.’
While Jeong In-Chang’s body was dyed in golden light, Lee Jun-Kyeong could feel the Hunter’s vitality rapidly escaping his body.
“Mr. Lee!!”
As the brilliant golden light filled the room, Lee Jun-Kyeong had to make a move.
Jeong In-Chang couldn’t endure for long.
Thus.
Now, when his hostages were useless, it was time.
“Ha-a-eup!”
It was a golden opportunity for them to kill Aegir, who had committed great evil.
At the same time as Lee Jun-Kyeong’s cry, Muspel’s Spear was thrust forward.
“You dare!” shrieked Aegir. In anger, he stretched out both his hands. From his palms burst out a radiant golden light.
Clang!
A huge golden shield had appeared in front of him all of a sudden, blocking Muspel’s Spear.
Swish!
As Aegir waved his hand, the golden shield then disappeared. In its place, a golden sword fell from the air.
Clang!
In turn, Lee Jun-Kyeong blocked Aegir’s blow, but he wasn’t Aegir’s only enemy either.
“Die!” Yeo Seong-Gu said, finally bursting out in anger.
Even his sword, which one normally couldn’t easily see, was held in his hand.
Flustered, Aegir held out his other hand, and another golden shield appeared, blocking the blow.
Clang! Clash!
Resounding crashes filled the room.
Although it was only a brief clash, Aegir realized he was being overwhelmed. If things continued in this manner, then it wouldn’t be long before it turned out as Yeo Seong-Gu and his companions wished.
Thus.
“What are you doing?!” he shouted at all of the surrounding Hunters.
“Kill all the bugs in the gymnasium!”
“…!”
“Kill them!” he shouted again.
The Hunters hesitated at Aegir's command.
Eventually, they drew their weapons.
Clang!
“AGHHH!!!”
“Ugh.”
In the midst of Jeong In-Chang’s screams, Lee Jun-Kyeong groaned.
Countless golden swords adorned in the air were pouring down toward Lee Jun-Kyeong and Yeo Seong-Gu like rain while their attacks that were made in the gap between falling blades were blocked by a golden shield that was as sturdy as an iron wall.
“Just how many lives have you taken?!” Yeo Seong-Gu shouted at Aegir.
Aegir’s ability was to turn people’s vitality into gold. In that process, he also absorbed some of that vitality as well, allowing him to enhance his abilities for a short period of time.
Seeing how Aegir had grown incomparably from before, it was clear to see just how many lives he had consumed.
“You son of a bitch!”
“Hehehe.”
At Yeo Seong-Gu’s words, who was shouting again, Aegir looked over at Lee Jun-Kyeong and his companions with a ghastly smile as if he was proud of having defended himself better than he had thought.
“Of course, I’ve killed a lot. Didn’t you notice the lack of people when you came here?”
The golden light grew even deeper.
“Soon, the Hunters blinded by gold will kill people. And once that happens…”
When the brilliant golden light grew brighter to the point where it blinded Lee Jun-Kyeong and his party like a flashlight.
“I’ll get even stronger!”
Flash!
A bright light burst out, filling the room.
***
“Kill them! This is Overseer Aegir’s order. Kill them!”
The Hunters who had escaped the commotion inside shouted toward the gymnasium. Aegir had already placed Hunters around in case of an unexpected situation. Hearing the order, they were all flustered by the commands they had been given, finding themselves scrambling to look around their surroundings.
“...!”
“What are you doing?! Draw your weapons!”
“I told you, kill them!”
The Hunters who had escaped the room shouted nonstop as they headed for the gymnasium.
“W…what…?!”
“No!”
“Don’t do this!”
The people in the gymnasium caught notice of the situation and started screaming. The throng of people began to push against each other.
“Out of my way! Someone save me!”
They all shoved among the crowd, struggling to live in any way possible.
Eventually, one of the stronger, better-built men who was closest to the Hunter tried to force his way through the line of Hunters to try to preserve his life.
However, his actions were a mistake.
Click!
The Hunter that had been shoved aside drew his weapon out of an involuntary reaction, and the man who had shoved him was then slashed through by his weapon.
“AHH!”
Streams of blood flowed from his body. The man screamed terribly.
“Kyaa!!!”
Along with that, desperate screams began to echo through the gymnasium.
The people started running wild.
“We’re going to die! We’re going to die!!”
Convinced that they would die anyway, they started to move without care, and the gymnasium soon devolved into a complete mess.
Then, finally.
Shing!
All of the Hunters drew their weapons.
Even though the people were afraid of the Hunters.
“Out of the way!”
“Please, move…”
“I’m begging you, move!”
“Please…”
None of them stopped moving.
If they backed down at a time like this, they would all die.
Moreover, it was not only just themselves but also their families.
Tense emotions filled the gymnasium.
“You bastards! What do you think you’re doing?”
Eventually, the Hunter who had delivered Aegir’s order came close to the crowd and raised his sword. He was one who had killed countless people, blinded by Aegir’s gold.
He was known as a notorious man-Hunter among the trapped people, and he wielded his sword at the crowd.
“Kill them all!”
His sword swiftly cut down on a man who had escaped their enclosure.
Clang!
However, the sound that he heard from his blow was different from what the man-Hunter expected.
It should have been the sound of flesh cleaving, but instead, there was the sound of weapons clashing.
Then.
Squelch.
Soon after was the sound of flesh cleaving that he had been expecting.
The only problem was.
“You… you…”
What had been cleaved was his own flesh.
The Hunter raised his head and looked directly in front of him.
There was a man holding a sword with a trembling hand.
“You bastard.”
He soon pulled out the sword he had thrust into the man-Hunter's chest.
Squelch!
Splashing blood gushed out like a fountain.
This was a Hunter who had killed his own comrade.
The confusion suddenly increased, and the Hunters didn’t know how to solve the escalating situation.
Then.
“Everyone, run away!”
“This way”
“Move aside, you bastards!”
The Hunters started helping the humans.
They pushed aside the Hunters who were blocking the way of the people, wielding their weapons if necessary.
The Hunters, who had always pushed people aside, were now helping people.
“We’ll help you!”
They were the Hunters who had come looking for Lee Jun-Kyeong.
They had had no choice but to follow Aegir before, but now, it was the right time for them to make their move in this confusion, in the unstoppable screaming and chaos.
–This way.
A hazy astral figure then began to guide the people.
***
Aegir’s expression was one of bewilderment.
Drip.
Moreover, it was covered in blood.
Not much time had passed.
Although he had thought he could try to hold his ground, the ones in front of him were truly monsters.
Swish!
They were labeled monsters on the merits of their strength alone.
Lee Jun-Kyeong’s flames were melting through the gold that Aegir had conjured, and the tip of Yeo Seong-Gu’s sword seemed to skip through space as it attacked him.
To be frank, he was in a situation where just being able to hold on until now was something that could be called luck bestowed by the heavens.
Swish!
A spear flew forward again, aiming for his life once more.
Squelch!
Unable to cast any more gold, Aegir had blocked Lee Jun-Kyeong’s spear with his bare hands.
“Agh!!!”
This time, it wasn’t Jeong In-Chang screaming, but Aegir.
Jeong In-Chang, who was devouring all of Aegir’s power away from him, looked a little exhausted by this point, but he had a much better complexion.
“Gasp…gasp…”
He was continuing to prevent Aegir from siphoning the people’s life force. Although Jeong In-Chang’s own life force was still being drained as he was still holding Aegir back, Lee Jun-Kyeong wondered if he had grown during this short time.
The speed at which his vitality was restored was unusual, and his recovery rate was much faster than when he had first activated Gram.
It was evident that he had grown stronger in the midst of this battle.
Moreover, that wasn’t the only thing that was different.
Shhh.
Something pale and white continued to flow into Jeong In-Chang.
It was Hel, the Familiar who was supposed to be guiding the people out. It was aiding Jeong In-Chang from a distance. Since it was a Familiar who handled souls, it was aiding in restoring Jeong In-Chang by converting the souls of the numerous living things that had died in the vicinity into vitality.
Everything was falling into place.
“Damn it! My kingdom…!”
Aegir was being driven back without any ability to retaliate.
As it had become difficult for him to siphon off any more life force, Aegir had been strengthening himself with just the life force that he had been able to absorb so far.
However, now, he reached his limit.
“This is your karma.”
Before he realized it, Yeo Seong-Gu had moved behind him.
Squelch!
A brilliant rainbow-colored sword struck Aegir in the back and pierced through his chest.
“Keheuk!”
With a scream, Aegir vomited handfuls of blood.
His eyes trembled in disbelief as he stared down at his pierced chest.
He looked over at Yeo Seong-Gu, who had stabbed him, his face determined and gaunt.
Although Yeo Seong-Gu had just killed someone, Aegir couldn’t find any sadness or guilt on his face.
“Are you afraid of dying?” Yeo Seong-Gu whispered to Aegir again as he held the blade that had pierced the Hunter’s chest.
Aegir tried to push away his sword with trembling hands, but it was useless.
It was a Hero’s weapon, and it was the sword of a Hero who was in charge of the upper levels of Asgard.
Yeo Seong-Gu hadn’t revealed his full strength until now.
Yeo Seong-Gu continued, “I’ll say it again, but…”
The sword began to be pulled out, little by little, drawn out not by Aegir’s will but through Yeo Seong-Gu’s wishes.
“This is your karma.”
Swish!
The sword was fully drawn from Aegir’s chest, and red blood gushed out like a fountain from the hole left behind.
Gold and blood flowed from his body, mixing into a stream.
“...”
Lee Jun-Kyeong had already put Muspel’s Spear away by this point and was looking over at the fallen Aegir. It was the futile death of a man who had tried to become a king by taking people hostage.
He was looking down on Aegir, who had collapsed to the floor and was trembling as he looked back at the two, his face mixed with anger and resentment.
‘This bastard is…’ Lee Jun-Kyeong thought to himself as he looked down at Aegir.
He thought about the rulers who had appeared in the world alongside the cataclysm, beings that could easily have been considered monsters.
He looked down at Aegir.
This bastard, too.
‘How is he any different from them?’
Although he was a human by race, his actions were no different from those of the rulers.
His actions were no different from that of a monster.
Lee Jun-Kyeong felt an indescribable emotion as he stared down at the fallen Hunter.
At that moment, Aegir had let out his last breath.
When he stopped breathing, his mana ceased to flow.
It was a certain death.
“Let’s go. We have to save the others,” Yeo Seong-Gu said, the brilliant sword in his hand disappearing as he let go of its hilt.
“Whew…”
Once Aegir had died, Jeong In-Chang, who had been holding all of the Hunter’s powers at bay, gasped as he stood up from the ground, using his greatsword as a cane.
Still.
“Mr. Lee…?”
“...Jun-Kyeong?”
Lee Jun-Kyeong hadn’t put away his spear.[1]
For some reason, he had an ominous feeling.
At that moment.
Shhhhh.
The blood that began to gush out from Aegir’s body began to mix with the gold on the ground that Lee Jun-Kyeong had melted during the battle and began to flow back into Aegir’s body again.
“Avoid it!”
1. Earlier in the chapter, it says that he had put his spear away before Yeo Seong-Gu had dealt the final blow, so one of the two seems to be an error. 👈
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