Chapter 234. To Advance  

‘Is it possible to receive the powers of the source from a Sponsor? No, that’s impossible.’

Saeynkaed’s voice rang in Lee Jun-Kyeong’s head. She was definitely right.

‘If a Sponsor had gained the powers of the source, everything would have already become a land of their own. If Saeynkaed was right, the powers of the source are what they want most, and the powers of the source are the very foundation that would allow them to achieve anything they wanted.’

However, what would happen if the one who had these powers were hostile to the other Sponsors? What would happen if they were dissatisfied with how the other Sponsors acted?

No.

‘What if a Sponsor who pitied us was the one to obtain that power?’

However, Lee Jun-Kyeong knew that wouldn’t have been the answer. If it had been, then everything would have been much simpler. If such a Sponsor really did exist, one who had gained the powers of the source, then it would have already put an end to everything.

Although many questions had been resolved by their conversation with Saeynkaed, more questions still remained.

“We’ll be arriving soon,” Zeus said to Lee Jun-Kyeong.

They were heading to Seoul again.

They had taken the normal humans to Japan, and gathered all of the remaining resources they could with the Hunters. Additionally, as all of the Rulers had been defeated, they were also actively searching the North American continent for traces of survivors as well.

As everything had stabilized by this point, the group had set off once more, heading back to Seoul.

“Will everything be completed once the Round Table completes its mission?” asked Zeus.

Lee Jun-Kyeong nodded.

“I know what your question is,” Zeus said again..

Lee Jun-Kyeong had remained silent since leaving the United States, and Zeus knew that the Hunter had many questions.

“Your Sponsor definitely is special. Your Sponsor is, well, a being that is impossible to understand even after hearing Saeynkaed’s explanation…”

Zeus continued, making the motions of staring off into the sky, looking for something, “It really is the Sky of the Apocalypse.”

During the conversation with Saeynkaed, Lee Jun-Kyeong had asked about his Sponsor.

Saeynkaed was a Ruler with a greater level of intelligence than they ever could have expected.

Was it because she was of a race that had inherited the powers of the source?

Although she had lived as a Ruler for countless eons, she had always dreamed of freedom. Even while her mind had been taken over and her body their puppet, she had made every attempt to get information somehow.

Thus, she knew the names of countless Sponsors, and that was why Lee Jun-Kyeong had asked about the Sky of the Apocalypse.

“It’s my first time hearing a name like that.”

Her response was disappointing. Saeynkaed had explained that she knew about the Sponsors of Zeus, Athena, and even Jeong In-Chang. However, she knew nothing about Lee Jun-Kyeong’s.

That was why he felt so strange.

“It might just be that I don’t know myself. While there has never been a case where a Sponsor has been able to obtain a body for itself, I have heard of one or two cases of the opposite happening.”

As a dimension was attacked and the beings within received sponsorship, a select few among them became strong enough to be called the strongest in their dimension.

Once that happened, it was almost guaranteed that one would undergo the final test where one’s body would be stripped away from them to be used as the flesh for a Sponsor. However, there were rare cases where this didn’t happen.

Some of the Hunters would realize something after gaining strength through sponsorship. There was also the case where someone would become an absolute being through the use of a special item or another.

Then there was a third method.

‘One can inherit Sponsor’s position because the Sponsor wishes to pass it on.’

That was most likely what Elfame had been aiming for—to make contact with a Sponsor and become one himself.

However, Saeynkaed had said that there had only been a few such cases throughout the eons. Even if someone were to become an absolute being in one way or another, that being wouldn’t be much different from the other Sponsors.

“In order to create the system, the Sponsors linked together their thoughts and consciousnesses. The system isn’t just a simple tool meant for control.”

Their purpose and their desire was to come back to existence and rule over everything.

In order to make sure that didn’t disappear, in order to keep each other accountable and not give up, they were linked together.

Lee Jun-Kyeong finally opened his mouth and said, “It’s complicated.”

However, Zeus just smiled at him as if to ask why he was worrying so much. “Just think about the simple things.”

He was right.

“Whatever the truth is and whatever it is that we have to know doesn’t actually matter. For us, the main thing that matters is that those who had taken over Seoul, the Demon King and his companions, are dangerous.”

“...”

“Those bastards have already crossed the line. I’m only asking because I have to, but if those bastards have some sort of grand goal, do you think you would stand on their side?”

Lee Jun-Kyeong had respected the Demon King and saw him as his idol. But, he had already crossed the line.

He had sunk the island of England and killed some of its strongest Hunters. As a result, many people who should have survived this era had died.

‘It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to state that half of the world had been destroyed because of the Demon King.’

It wasn’t wrong to say that he was the root of nearly all of the destruction in this current cataclysm.‘...if he has memories of the future like I do…’

He theorized that the Demon King was causing so much chaos because he wanted to cause a ripple effect. But it wasn’t easy for Lee Jun-Kyeong to imagine.

How could a Hero who had wanted to save Humanity against the Sponsors make such a choice?

‘A great purpose…’

As Zeus had said, if the Demon King had some sort of grand goal in effect, would he… Lee Jun-Kyeong was torn on what he should do. If he could understand the goal and agreed with it, was he supposed to follow him and leave behind all the sacrifices, deaths, and pain he had caused?

Lee Jun-Kyeong shook his head.

"You're right,” he said. “They are an evil that must be dealt with.”

That was the conclusion he had come to. As for the other issues, he would take it step by step.

Yes, it was fine to do things like this.

***

Jormungandr had become even larger, especially because of what he had done so far.

The snake spoke in a booming voice.

–I am absorbing the surrounding gates.

Even if Lee Jun-Kyeong didn’t connect the gates himself, the snake was finding and devouring nearby gates on its own.

He had become a huge passage—no, it could now be said to have become a gate of its own. The snake grew as he continued to consume gates, and those effects had even spread over to Lee Jun-Kyeong.

“Thank you.”

—Ahem.

Jormungandr responded to Lee Jun-Kyeong’s thanks awkwardly, as if it was embarrassed. Although Lee Jun-Kyeong wanted to speak to it some more, before he knew it, the gate leading to the outside was shining before them.

Zzt.

He looked back.

There were Zeus, Athena, Hercules, and Odysseus. Then there was Liu Bei, his two brothers, and the giants. Of course there was Jeong In-Chang, Won-Hwa, Hyeon-Mu and Hel. In fact, even Saeynkaed quietly followed alongside the North American Heroes who were strong enough to be useful.

‘They’re quite dependable.’

They were all walking forward while looking at Lee Jun-Kyeong’s back.

By this point, Merlin should have arrived as well.

Now, the preparations really were coming to an end.

‘Advance to Seoul.’

It was time for a face-to-face with the Demon King.

Zzzt.

Lee Jun-Kyeong passed through the gate first, after which everyone else exited in turn.

A bright light obscured his vision, and what followed were loud noises in several different languages.

He slowly removed his hand that was covering his eyes.

He was in Gyeonggi-do, and this was the route to Seoul.

“Come, come.”

Before him, he saw Horus, his entire body still wrapped in bandages.

“Dear brother.”

The glow in Horus’s eyes that peered through the bandages was still enough to signify his growth.

Next to him stood Isis, his mother, who appeared to have come directly from Egypt.

Alongside them were Thoth and Sekhmet, who were the heads of the Hermopolis and Heliopolis branches.

Beyond them were even more welcome faces.

“Lord Underdog!”

“Lord Underdog!”

There was Inebu and Numek.

Even Bastet looked at him with a bright expression.

“It looks like everyone is safe.”

Egypt seemed unscathed by the cataclysm, more so than expected, by the looks of those who had traveled from the country.

A laugh came out, after which Merlin, Arthur, and the surviving Knights of the Round Table emerged.

They had returned after successfully completing their mission.

“We’re late because of that thing,” said a beautiful woman, Merlin, as she stepped forward.

Her expression was filled with laughter that stemmed from deep inside. She pointed toward the gate through which Lee Jun-Kyeong and his group were exiting.“I didn’t know something like that even existed.”

She was referring to the belly of Jormungandr.

“Because of it, the gate wouldn’t open whatsoever.”

“...?”

“As expected, you didn’t know it either. The gates that I can open are limited, and the one that I opened when I sent you all on your respective journeys was the key gate.”

That path was one that she had paved in advance. However, that very gate had been opened up and fed to Jormungandr by Lee Jun-Kyeong.

"Ah…!”

“That huge creature… What did you call it? Jormungandr? Is it a he or a she… Anyway, it wouldn’t allow me to open the gate at all. So, I tried to bypass it, but…”

“He ate all the gates in the surrounding area, too, didn’t he…”

“Exactly. It took us quite a while to circle around.”

A deep look of fatigue marred her face as she spoke and shrugged. However, her expression was also full of playfulness. Whatever had happened, the result was good.

Lee Jun-Kyeong scratched his head in embarrassment.

“Welcome back,” he said to everyone.

***

The Middle East region is finding stability,” Horus said.

He was the King of the Nile, which was the secret organization and hidden ruler of Egypt.

In the previous timeline, it had been unable to overcome the cataclysm and had to go into hiding after suffering near-catastrophic damage, but things were different in this timeline.

Rather, they had actually spread their wings. Due to the awakening of Horus, they had gained a reliable commander.

“All of the Rulers of Egypt have been slaughtered.”

They had been able to achieve a great victory.

Lee Jun-Kyeong had thought that they wouldn’t have been able to survive the cataclysm due to Set’s betrayal and the resulting carnage and destruction.

He commented, “Everyone seems to have become much stronger.”

Just as he said, the Nile’s power itself had increased dramatically. They stabilized Egypt and immediately went on an expedition to stabilize the surrounding areas as Horus personally participated in all of the battles.

“I tore the Rulers to death with my own hands. Although it had been a bit disconcerting to see that the Ruler I had killed first came back to life while on an expedition...” Horus’ eyes turned to Isis. “My mother came forward herself.”

Lee Jun-Kyeong looked at Isis. She had been a despondent empress who had lost her husband.

However, she had always seemed more of a warrior than an empress.

In the midst of her grief, she had been able to regain her son, who eventually became an outstanding warrior. It was the same for her as well. Lee Jun-Kyeong could feel the magnificent power sleeping within her.

In any case, as Horus had said, the Middle East region was on the path to stability thanks to the Nile's activities.

“How many survivors?”

Lee Jun-Kyeong was referring to the ordinary humans.

“Although there are more than a few of them… It’s still not a lot. Most of those who survived were those who were already under the protection of the Nile. Everything unfolds in the meaning of Ra…” Horus said with a reverential attitude.

The situation was much better than expected.

“However, it seems you didn’t decide to bring the Hunters and Heroes from the Middle East to this battle,” the leader of the Nile commented.

“It’s only natural,” Lee Jun-Kyeong replied.

He didn’t think they would be of much help.

He explained, “We have to protect the survivors. Yes, the cataclysm is coming to an end. But that doesn’t mean all of the danger has disappeared.”

Everyone nodded.

Of those who stood alongside them, the weakest among them was still a Hero. Those who had gathered here were the greatest Hunters in the world, strong enough to hold the entire planet in their fists.

Every one of them could feel that the cataclysm was coming to an end. They could feel the change in mana around them because those changes were affecting them, making them more powerful.

“We’re becoming stronger,” Horus said worriedly.

“Even without any further sponsorship, all of us are growing stronger. Even you and I.”

This increase in strength might be seen as a good thing from one point of view in this situation, but they all understood that there was no change without any reason. The fact that they were all getting stronger could only mean that something else was coming.

“By chance…” Horus began to ask worriedly. “Is another cataclysm going to occur?”

The Underdog had first warned them of the cataclysm. Thus, Horus asked because he felt as though Lee Jun-Kyeong might also know what would happen next.

“There will be no more cataclysms.”

Lee Jun-Kyeong’s answer was something that the others had desperately wished for more than anything else, and the other Hunters all sighed in relief. Horus, in particular, looked as if he was truly relieved by it all.

“However, one final hurdle remains before us. It will be completely different from what we had seen before, and the very survival of this world as we know it will depend on it.”

“More than a cataclysm…?”

“That’s right, dear brother.”

Horus asked calmly, “What is it?”

Lee Jun-Kyeong’s response was simple.

“Gehenna,” he said gravely. “It is the last gate and…a place that you can never enter.”