Chapter 274. The End of a Tragedy Pt. 10
“Just how…” Lee Jun-Kyeong could only mutter to himself with a blank expression.
A blue current of electricity was flashing before his eyes. It was a current that clearly belonged to Zeus. Then, he remembered.
‘I didn’t see Zeus’ body…!’
He had seen the others, but he hadn’t seen Zeus’. He couldn’t find any sign of the Hunter who had fought with him alongside the Demon King and made it possible for him to deliver the penultimate blow.
“Zeus!” Lee Jun-Kyeong shouted. He could still see the current flowing around him.
“...”
In addition, the surrounding landscape caught his eye. The Flames of Genesis that burned as if they wanted to consume the world…
“It stopped…?”
The flames had still been burning fiercely earlier, but they just…literally stopped?
“No, time has stopped.”
Lee Jun-Kyeong stood up with a blank expression. A strange change had occurred just when he had been about to give up on everything.
“Time has stopped…”
It was inevitable that he would be flustered. Although he controlled the powers of the source, he wasn’t able to stop time. If he had been able to, then his companions wouldn’t have been sacrificed in such a manner.
This was a power close to that of the powers of the source
‘No, is it on an even higher level?’
His mind was racing as the current of electricity in front of him continued to gather and flicker in the midst of the stopped time.
ZZZZT!
A flash of light blinded him. When Lee Jun-Kyeong blinked, he saw someone standing before him.
“Zeus!”
However, Lee Jun-Kyeong felt a sense of discomfort and took a step back.
“...”
It was definitely Zeus, but it also wasn’t. Zeus wasn’t in the form of the giant that he had used when fighting the Demon King.
Thinking about it, Lee Jun-Kyeong realized there was something strange going on. There hadn’t been any time to talk due to the urgent situation and the ensuing battle. However, there had definitely been something strange about Zeus.
‘His Sponsor hadn’t been here in the first place.’
When Zeus had fully awakened after absorbing Chi-Woo’s power, his Sponsor had supposedly been long gone. Moreover, Lee Jun-Kyeong hadn’t seen his Sponsor in Gehenna.
“What the hell was that…?”
Just how? What was with his figure, and why was Zeus now standing before him in his human form? Lee Jun-Kyeong slowly tried to lift Surtr even as his entire body felt as though it would fall apart.
‘Do I have to fight…?’
The Demon King had died, and the world was disintegrating. He himself would die, and only then would everything return to its original form. Therefore, there was no reason to fight the figure in front of him. He just needed to die.
However, there was the ability to stop time and the secret that Zeus seemed intertwined with that he had no answer to.
“And you are…”
He couldn’t quit like this, not now.
“Whoa, Bessie, whoa,” said Zeus.
Although it was definitely Zeus’ voice, it only conveyed an awkward feeling now.
“Calm down and put your weapon away,” the figure continued. “Because I am not your enemy.”
“Then…?” Lee Jun-Kyeong asked while still being vigilant.
Zeus had always been handsome, but at this moment, his appearance looked so noble that Lee Jun-Kyeong almost mistook him for a god of beauty.
‘This isn’t Zeus.’
Lee Jun-Kyeong was confident that something had borrowed Zeus’s body.
“My name is Jupiter.”
“Jupiter…!”
That was the new title that Zeus had obtained after absorbing Chi-Woo’s power. It was the one who had replaced his dead Sponsor, and the one who had appeared to him in his dreams and had told the Hunter to help Lee Jun-Kyeong.
“You can consider me…the God of this world.”
“...”
Thud.
Jupiter approached with long strides and spoke while standing directly in front of Lee Jun-Kyeong.
“Would you like to make a deal with me, Candidate for Godhood?”
“Pardon?”“Let’s make a deal. A sort of transaction.” The figure laughed. “I’ll fulfill any one of your requests. Thus, let’s have a simple transaction, and you also fulfill something that I want. What do you think?”
Lee Jun-Kyeong couldn’t sense any dishonesty or deceit from the playfully speaking figure.
“...”
Lee Jun-Kyeong found himself lost in thought for a moment.
“There isn’t much time. Even for me, it’s impossible to keep time frozen for a long time.”
“Please tell me what you can do for me and what you require from me.” When Lee Jun-Kyeong heard what the figure had to say, his tone became more polite.
‘After all, he said that he’s God.’
The figure had called himself God, and the ability that he was showing right now was by no means a farce. Thus, Lee Jun-Kyoeng decided that it was okay for them to at least speak first.
“Good,” the figure said, waving his hand. “If you agree to the deal, I’ll freeze you in this state and preserve your powers.”
“Freeze me…?”
“I’ll keep your current form the way it is…” Jupiter laughed. “While you turn time back to your regression point.”
“Is that even possible…?”
His smile grew even deeper. “I mean, of course, it’s not possible for me. However, as I said, regression is your ability. All I can do is freeze you in this state.”
“However, that’s not enough.”
It still wouldn’t have been enough. Zeus, or rather, Jupiter, who had borrowed Zeus’ body, laughed even harder when he heard those words.
“Are you talking about the Sponsors?”
“...”
“I’ll freeze them in this state too.”
“That’s…”
It was an unbelievable statement. Although Lee Jun-Kyeong tried to express how ridiculous it sounded, Jupiter continued even faster, “These brats aren’t Gods or anything. They’re just mortals like you are. Just mortals who gained a little power.”
Lee Jun-Kyeong wondered if anyone else would have been able to explain Sponsors like this.
“You’ll understand later. It might just be confusing right now because you haven’t fully awakened yet.”
“...”
“Oh, that’s right. There’s one more thing left.” Jupiter pointed at something with his finger, gesturing to the great burning pillar of the Flames of Genesis that had formed. “What did you call him? The Demon King?”
It was where the Demon King lay.
“I can freeze him too.”
“...”
“You’ve already drained him of all of his power. I’m not referring to mana or anything like that. What did you call it? The powers of the source? Yeah, that.”
Lee Jun-Kyeong felt his entire body drain of strength.
“How is everything so easily…” he said as if everything he had done was in vain.
“Easy?” Jupiter seemed rather bewildered. “You’re talking crazy talk now.”
His cold voice rang in Lee Jun-Kyeong’s ears. “What you did…that is not something that should be belittled.”
“...”
“All I have to do is preserve things at a certain point, like I froze time. But something like that is useless without the power that you hold.”
Lee Jun-Kyeong looked straight at Jupiter as the God continued, “The powers of the source that you possess are the essence of this universe and the dimension in which you exist. If you hadn’t taken it from that brat…”
“If I hadn’t?”
Jupiter shrugged. “I wouldn’t even be here.”
“…”
“It was thanks to you that I was able to involve myself with this brat you call Zeus. You did everything. I’m just helping you a little.”
Lee Jun-Kyeong clenched his fists at the sound of Jupiter’s smirking tone. Now, he had figured out what the God could do. Then, there was only one thing left.
“What’s the price? What do you want in return?”
“That…” Jupiter responded slowly, smiling at Lee Jun-Kyeong’s question. “It should be something that you want as well, so why don’t you do it for me?”
***
The stretched tape became taut again as the things that had already passed returned to where they had been. Time rewound itself. Behind a pale curtain, he watched everything reverse backward with the figure named Jupiter, who had borrowed the body of Zeus.
“I can’t believe it.”
Everything was going back to where it had been, and Lee Jun-Kyeong realized that he most likely should have had to go through that reversal as well. However, he found himself remaining the same as he watched everything.
“You’ll be able to do this later, too,” the figure replied simply.
The flames of Gehenna extinguished as his fallen companions began to move, retreating toward the outside world through Gehenna’s gate with screaming and shouting expressions.
“If the Sponsors disappear…then what would happen?”His regression point was clear: the day he had been saved by the League Guild from the gate where the goblins had appeared. He would be going back to that gate, back to where he had appeared after his first regression.
He wondered, without the Sponsors, wouldn’t everything be in vain?
“Your regression isn’t a perfect ability,” Jupiter said. “The Sponsors will disappear. However, what they have done would be imprinted on the dimension and be carried out similarly.”
Jupiter’s face looked a little serious. “There will be mana and gates. The people you know will already have powers, too.”
“Oh.”
Lee Jun-Kyeong realized it would all be the same. Even though the Sponsors would disappear, the monsters and the gates would not. It was almost like a scar that the Sponsors had inflicted on the world over a long period of time. Since it couldn’t be erased, he would have to handle it himself.
“And the memories of my companions…”
“I can’t be sure about that. If their willpower is strong…” Jupiter laughed again. “If it’s strong, then they’ll remember you. However, if your impression on them was lacking, then you’ll have to build that bond again.”
“...”
“If there’s anything you want to ask, ask it now,” Jupiter said. “When all of this is over, I’ll disappear. I can’t exist like this for long.”
Lee Jun-Kyeong nodded and began to ask, “About the regression…what would happen to it?”
“Well, I mean, you shouldn’t have anything killing you, but regression isn’t as perfect of an ability as you think. If you can fully awaken your abilities, then you’ll be able to erase it.”
Lee Jun-Kyeong then thought of another question. The Demon King had been stronger than he was. However, even he hadn’t been able to escape the regression. Then why did Jupiter think that he could do it?
“I told you. It’s because of your powers of the source. That brat you called the Demon King was unable to obtain the complete essence of it. However, you were able to obtain the biggest piece.”
Before he knew it, the scenery had changed. They had left Gehenna, and before them was a destroyed Gangnam.
“All of the powers will now slowly come to you. You’ll become a God. You can also consider it as you becoming the entire dimension, too.”
It was difficult, too difficult for him to comprehend.
“If it’s too hard right now, there’s no need to try to understand it right away,” Jupiter said with a smile. “What I’m saying is that you won’t have to suffer like you do now any longer.”
Lee Jun-Kyeong nodded. He couldn’t rely on the god any further. He had made a deal with him. Jupiter had restored his world to its original state and had taught him many things while he, himself—he would pay the price he had offered.
“You will return my favor one day.”
"Really… Is that all?”
“Yes.”
The price that Jupiter had wanted was simple.
“And all you want… is my memories?”
However, Jupiter didn’t want to take his memories away. Instead, he wanted a copy. Lee Jun-Kyeong didn’t want to ask how copying memories was even possible.
“It’s a bigger favor than you think,” Jupiter explained. “Your memories are a history of struggle. A record of the will to fight without succumbing to great power.”
“A history of struggle…”
“Moreover, it’s a record of the damage inflicted on a world by an absolute being who had gone crazy.”
“Why would you need that?” Lee Jun-Kyeong’s face stiffed a little.
“The real God of our world was a human, just like you. Well…it’s a little difficult to explain it like that, but just know that brat was similar to you.”
Lee Jun-Kyeong looked at Jupiter curiously.
“That brat also worries the same way that you do. You know, the fear that the world could be led to destruction if you can’t handle your power and go crazy,” the God explained. “He wanted to warn himself not to lose his heart and mind. He wanted to reminisce back through his life by watching your memories.”
Although Lee Jun-Kyeong didn’t understand it much, he still nodded.
“There’s something that he said. That the absolute ones must not become beings of fear.” Jupiter laughed. “It means you have to become the strength of humanity.”
Before he knew it, Gangnam had returned. Not only was it not destroyed anymore, but it had also returned to how it used to be. However, there were some things that also looked a little different.
“It’s over now. I have to leave. Pay the price.”
When Lee Jun-Kyeong nodded and held out his hand, he felt something stir within himself for a moment.
“We’re done.”
However, that was it. That was all he had to do in return for such an impossible task.
“Just who…?” Lee Jun-Kyeong said, looking at a face that held so many of his questions.
Jupiter just responded with a smile, “Just think of it this way.”
His form began to blur. For a moment, it felt as though Lee Jun-Kyeong could see his real face.
“I’m just here, helping a brat who is just about to become a God so that he doesn’t get ruined…” He laughed. “Like a tutorial guide. That’s one of my jobs, too.”
Lee Jun-Kyeong looked at him with a confused expression.
Thud.
Zeus collapsed after Jupiter disappeared, but he, too, soon faded and disappeared. Most likely, he had returned back to where he should have been in this timeline.
Lee Jun-Kyeong exhaled. The God of this world who had helped him had disappeared, and now, it was time for him to stand up on his own.
“At the end of the tragedy…”
He had thought that at the end of a tragedy, there was naught but another tragedy. But, it was different now.
“There is hope.”
Shing!!
A light that illuminated the world began to exude from him.