Chapter 221. A Single Serpent Pt. 8
There was a bright flash that obscured the entire world.
Tremble.
Jeong In-Chang shook with excruciating pain. The houses of the residents were nearby.
'If I don't stop this, everyone will die!'
He had plunged Gram into the ground, forming a protective barrier around the colony. The fallout of the battle was being completely absorbed by Jeong In-Chang as he took on the burden of mitigating collateral damage.
Zzzt.
His entire body crackled as electricity flowed incessantly into him. Holding onto Gram for dear life, he balanced precariously on the line between unconsciousness and consciousness. After fainting and awakening dozens of times, his entire body was incinerated as his dead flesh was scorched black.
Zzt.
However, the sound of electricity crackled again as new flesh began to grow over his blackened bones.
[Authority, Immortality, has activated.]
Lee Jun-Kyeong had told him that Siegfried in history was said to be immortal. Although he did have certain weaknesses, the Hero was said to never die unless those weaknesses were specifically exploited. Now, Jeong In-Chang had awakened the power of immortality for the first time.
‘So this is Immorta…’
Although there had been times when he had used bits and pieces of his Immortality Authority, this was the first time that he had ever used it to this degree. Every single cell in his body felt like it was alive. It was as if each was talking to one another and the surviving cells banding together and resisting.
They were united against an external enemy that destroyed them. It was a completely new experience for Jeong In-Chang: death, and the concentration of countless wills that rejected it.
The burned cells resisted and multiplied, his body repeating cycles of destruction and regeneration. Jeong In-Chang now could understand why Lee Jun-Kyeong had said that immortality wasn’t a perfect power.
It seemed wrong to call it immortality.
‘No, it’s ultra regeneration.’
It was an ultra regeneration where even if only a single cell was able to survive, the body could be revived once again.
In the eyes of others, it made sense that it would be seen as an immortal power that revived one even if one was beheaded, or the heart was pierced through, but it was something completely different from what they imagined. One would have to be torn apart and destroyed even down to the last cell. That was the only way one could kill someone with the Immortality Authority.
“Ugh…”
Jeong In-Chang groaned involuntarily. The pain had long since disappeared. This was a guttural expression of the wonder at how every cell within his being was alive, understanding that every cell had its own will.
‘My mana is…!’
Moreover, the mana stream that he had learned from Lee Jun-Kyeong had merged with the will of the cells and was condensing palpably. He could feel a massive current flow through his body.
The collateral powers and the fallout that seemed almost like natural disasters ravaging the world emitted by the Heroes with multiple titles like Zeus and Chi-Woo, or Thor—he was accepting it all. Jeong In-Chang approached death and regenerated, over and over again.
‘I’m accepting it all.’
He was absorbing all the mana contained in the aftermath of the Hunters’ battle. He could feel everything completely filling up and becoming fully saturated.
“Ah…”
When Jeong In-Chang moaned again, he could feel that something had changed. He was a completely new self. It was an incredible gift, given to him by the experience of reaching the edge of death and rebirth.
“Ha…”
When he breathed out, the flash of light that blinded his vision was fading. As he was born anew, the fight came to an end in utter silence.
“...”
He raised his head and looked ahead as his eyes, having been destroyed and regenerated, were letting in more and allowing him to see more than ever before. However, even with all the new sights, there was only one thing that he was currently looking at.
He was staring at the two brothers facing each other. Zeus and Chi-Woo stood at exactly the same spot that they had been before the flash had blinded the world.
Jeong In-Chang wondered what had happened. He knew that they definitely had an invisible battle from the fallout that he had to deal with, but seeing both of them standing upright made it impossible for him to guess the outcome.
Thud.
On his knees, Jeong In-Chang turned over to the source of the sound. Someone had stepped forward: Chi-Woo.
He approached Jeong In-Chang. In the silence, in the quiet rainstorm, Jeong In-Chang heard Chi-Woo speak.
“I thought many times about taking my own life. Although the mission was just to select the stronger person, I knew that if I died on my own, you would resent me for the rest of your life.”
His voice was wet as if drenched in rain.
“So, I tried to follow the mission. I became stronger and stronger, trying to become strong enough to sacrifice myself for you. Only then would you understand.”
Zeus’ voice was hidden in the gravity of Chi-Woo’s words.
“But…”
Thud.
“You’ve become even stronger…”
Then, the one to fall on his knees was Chi-Woo as red blood flowed from his mouth. It was a wound so severe that it wouldn’t have been strange for him to die even right at this moment.
“Also…”
Jeong In-Chang could clearly see it as his vision was maximized by his regeneration. There were cracks, almost like spiderwebs, all over Chi-Woo’s body. It seemed like his entire body would be torn apart at any moment as the Hunter seemed to be barely holding himself together using his vast mana reserves.
“You’ve become the strong one.”[1]
Zeus had become stronger and had even become the strong one.
Jeong In-Chang just listened to the two speak.
Finally, it was time for Zeus to speak, “I didn’t want to burden you anymore, Hyung.”
As if his entire body had been bound, he couldn’t even look over at Chi-Woo, and Zeus just raised his head and moved only his lips. “Although the mission was for the strong to be sacrificed for the weak, as you said, Hyung, as long as one of us died, the mission would naturally be erased.”
His upright head fell.
Drip, drip.
“I will no longer be a burden on you, Hyung. I’ll take care of the rest. Even your death… I just, the system…”
In the pouring rain, Zeus looked up again toward the sky.
“I didn’t want you to be taken away by that damned Sponsor.”
Was it a tear?
Something mixed with the raindrops that fell down Zeus’ cheek. It only showed for a moment, but Jeong In-Chang saw it. Zeus smiled over at Chi-Woo once again.
“You’ll forgive me, right?” he said, his voice choking up.
“Thank you,” Chi-Woo said, one last time.
Chi-Woo’s shattered body finally began to crack into pieces as his heart stopped and gravity began to reverse around him. The raindrops that cascaded down stopped in the air.
“I will definitely kill that bastard that made us like this, Hyung.”
Jeong In-Chang wondered who he was talking about. Although he couldn’t say it easily because he didn’t know their circumstances, for some reason…
‘The Sponsors…’
The place where Zeus’ anger was directed seemed to be high within the heavens. Jeong In-Chang could guess that it was because of the Sponsors. A blue electric current began to emerge from Chi-Woo’s crumbling body.
The current, floating around like dandelion seeds in the wind, fluttered in the air as it all floated in the reversed gravity.
CRACKK!!!!! CRACK!!!!!!!
A true lightning god was being born.
***
“By the way…”
It was the first time that Lee Jun-Kyeong had realized that Heracles was so talkative.
“Can I ask you something?”
Lee Jun-Kyeong found it more interesting than annoying that Heracles would ask him something every time they met.
‘In history, he was only ever known as a tyrant, a little demon king.’
He was only in history for a brief moment, but it had been a moment so intense that even someone who had been like him back then had heard of.
The power that he had exhibited, his Madness, was rumored to be equivalent to that of Chi-Woo at the end. To think that monster could have changed like this. Furthermore, he was here, speaking to Lee Jun-Kyeong.
“Then, can I ask you something, too?”
Since Lee Jun-Kyeong usually had few questions, Heracles opened his eyes wide.
“What’s the occasion?”
“It’s just something I’m curious about.”
“How good. It was a bit strange to be the only one asking questions, so you go first,” Heracles said, crossing his arms as if getting ready to answer.
“Let’s hear what our dear Underdog-nim is curious about,” the Hunter teased, even going so far as to summon Odysseus to join in.[2]
“Chi-Woo.”
However, his mischievous smile soon disappeared in a flash at a single word from Lee Jun-Kyeong. “When we first met, you had been disappointed that I was a Hero from Asgard.”
“That’s true…it’s because of some stupid occurrences in the past.”
“It seemed as though you had been waiting for Chi-Woo at that time. Is that right?”
Heracles cautiously nodded.
“That's right. I was waiting for Chi-Woo.”
“Have you ever met him before?”
As events passed quickly, Chi-Woo could have been said to be the only Hero in History that Lee Jun-Kyeong hadn’t met in this rapidly changing world.
Since the Hunter was also from Korea, he was very interested in him. However, not only had they never met, there was little he could uncover even from Odin.
‘Although Chi-Woo belongs to the Association, that’s all there is. The only time he listens to any orders from the Association is when we have a strong enemy we have to deal with.’
That was all Heimdall had to say about the Hunter as well. So, Lee Jun-Kyeong asked Heracles, who must have met Chi-Woo as well.
“A monster.”
Heracles only had one thing to say about him.
“He’s the real deal, a complete monster. I’ve fought him once before. I wasn’t even able to throw a punch before I was destroyed. Moreover, at that time, I had even gone crazy with uncontrollable Madness, but…”
Heracles shook his head in disgust.
“He literally beat some sense back into me.”
“...”
“I didn’t die back then for a reason. Because his purpose had been to subdue me, not kill me. The reason I had been disappointed when it had been you who came was because I thought that it would have been an opportunity for me to face Chi-Woo again and get revenge.”
“So then he was only to that level? Where could you possibly get revenge?”
“Well…”
Heracles exchanged glances with Odysseus.
“Even now, I don’t think I can beat him. To be honest, it gives me goosebumps just thinking about how much stronger he must have become.”
“However…”
Odysseus, who had been sitting still to the side, finally opened his mouth.
“It seems like he has some sort of story with our Guild Leader.”
“What?”
“Pardon?”
“The Guild Leader said something like that in the past. What was it again? Remember, you said that you definitely heard him say something about Chi-Woo and clearing that hellish gate when he was drunk.”
“Well…”
A moment of silence enveloped the group.
‘Chi-Woo…’
Lee Jun-Kyeong adjusted his evaluation of Chi-Woo. He wasn’t just some mysterious Hero.
‘We have to get him on our side.’
Now that the battle with the Demon King awaited them, they had to recruit the Hunter, whose side wasn’t yet clear.
His potential was beyond imagination. Moreover, he was even acquainted with Zeus.
‘I need to talk to Zeus when he returns.'
As Lee Jun-Kyeong was imagining the addition of a new Hero, Heracles opened his mouth to speak.
“Then, is it my turn?”
Heracles spoke in a bright voice as if he was trying to revitalize the atmosphere that had become heavy with the mention of Chi-Woo’s name.
“Your Familiars. Their names are so unique. There are names based in Hanja and names that are European. Is there a reason for it? There’s supposed to be a specific reason for Familars to be named.”[3]
It seemed he was curious about the reason behind the difference.
As he said, the names of Lee Jun-Kyeong’s Familiars were definitely unique. They were called Hel, Hyeon-Mu, Jormungandr, and Fenrir.[4]
They were all names that no one would have heard of normally. Jeong In-Chang had also wondered about their nomenclature.
Lee Jun-Kyeong’s response was simple, “It seems as though that’s what they had to be.”
“Huh?”
“In the first place, while it was a coincidence that I met my Familiars, isn’t the process still the same?”
Lee Jun-Kyeong’s hand pointed at the sky.
“Familiars come from the Sponsorship of the Sponsors. It just seemed as though the Sponsor had wanted their names to be what they are.”
It just felt like that this was the way it should be, and it was a feeling that these were the names they originally should have had. He had a bracelet that contained souls, and a feeling that came from having to name those who were originally his Familiars to begin with.
That feeling, even if it wasn’t for the will of the Sponsor, also came from the book within him. There was a chance that this may have been because of someone’s influence, almost as if the book of the Demon King would have brainwashed him into naming them that way either way.
Still, the Sky of the Apocalypse had said it, that these Familiars were its lost children. That was why Lee Jun-Kyeong felt as though the names were still, not from the book of the Demon King, but instead from his Sponsor, the Sky of the Apocalypse.
“Oh ho.”
Heracles nodded in admiration. It seemed as though his curiosity had been sated.
“...!”
At that moment, someone ran toward the party while shouting.
It was a Japanese Hunter. Urgently, he shouted in Japanese.
"Zeus! Zeus is here!” he cried frivolously.
1. The idea of gap and eul was explained in earlier chapters, but you’ll find in Korean society this idea of juxtaposition, the idea of power, is repeated quite frequently. In this case, there is a significant distinction in the relationship that’s been expressed all this time, where Chi-Woo was always the strong one while Zeus was the dependent. Now, Zeus has risen to the same level of power, and it symbolizes a shift in their relationship, a shift that doesn’t translate as eloquently in English that it does in Korean. ☜
2. -Nim is a term similar to the Japanese -Sama, where it’s a polite suffix one uses when speaking to someone with great respect. Heracles is using it ironically. ☜
3. Hanja is formalized Korean Script using Chinese characters. Related to Hanmun, which are Chinese Characters written in Hanja, meant to be used in Korean contexts. However, generally, the terms are used interchangeably lately. ☜
4. Didn’t mention this before, but because they are mentioning the Hanja, Hyeon-Mu is the Korean word for the Black Warrior (Tortoise) of the Four Divine Beasts, otherwise known as the Guardian of the North Sky. His domain is over the North and Winter, and he holds power over water. ☜
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