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That was his title.

Gurgle.

There were no more notifications, but a boiling power flowed out uncontrollably from deep within him. The strength he had lost after dealing with Baldur had been recovered, but the power that flowed from within him wasn’t just limited to restoring the power that he had earlier.

No, it was an even more incredible power. Even now, at this very moment, Lee Jun-Kyeong’s mana was increasing, and his body was changing.

Crack.

His skin began to crack like the dead bark of a tree, with new skin sprouting underneath, seemingly pushing aside a dried shell.

Crack.

His breathing, his eyesight, and even his bones were changing. Everything about him was transforming.

‘Hunters who obtain a title grow all of a sudden.’

He recalled Jeong In-Chang’s rapid growth after being bestowed the title Siegfried, which was so fast that it was unimaginable. However, the changes that were going on within him weren’t simply growth.

He looked at his spread-out hands in disbelief. This wasn’t about his power suddenly growing and making him a Hero. Moreover, this change wasn’t possible with just a title alone.

‘World Tree.’

Mistilteinn was the branch of the World Tree that Elfame possessed. It had supernatural abilities that even the elf hadn’t known about.

In fact, even the Park siblings, who had forged it together with Surtr or Lee Jun-Kyeong himself, didn’t know much about it. It wasn’t until now that Lee Jun-Kyeong had even found out. Mistilteinn wasn’t a branch of the World Tree.

“World Tree…”

It was the entire thing, Elfame’s entire world. When Alfheimr had been destroyed, Elfame, the king of Alfheimr, had picked up a branch of the World Tree and became a Ruler. However, what he didn’t know was that in the invasion of the Sponsors, in Alfheimr’s cataclysm, the World Tree hadn’t actually been destroyed.

Everything had instead been condensed into Mistilteinn, and another World Tree had been born. Furthermore, there was another important thing.

“To think that there would be a fragment of the powers of the source…”

In Mistilteinn, the World Tree itself, the powers of the source were hidden.

‘That thing that was supposed to be inside of me…’

But it had also been hidden in Mistilteinn. Even after hearing what Saeynkaed had to say, he had no idea what the powers of the source were supposed to be. However, now that he had gained the power hidden in Mistilteinn, he was able to understand what it entailed.

“Life…”

It was the power of life, which was the essential factor that caused it to exist. That was how he had been able to defeat Baldur, who was infinitely near a true immortal.

Crack.

His transformation was coming to an end. His body didn’t seem to have changed. It simply felt like it had gained more strength and became more powerful. It felt almost like a transformation into a complete being.

RRRIPPP!

Within those changes, he saw a rift in space. Due to Lee Jun-Kyeong’s awakening and Baldur’s death, the indescribable mana that had been encroaching on space was disappearing. Then, at that point, he saw it.

"This…”

***

Thud.

Jeong In-Chang fell forward.

“Damn it…” he muttered blankly with a blank expression. “I don’t have any strength in my body…”

He hadn’t had a proper rest since the battle had started.

Not only was there the encounter with Odin, but he had also helped the ordinary humans retreat, protecting them. In doing so, Jeong In-Chang had used all of his strength with no way or time to recover.

“Damn it…”

He had even braved the heat storm in order to advance toward Lee Jun-Kyeong, and the thing he did in order to break through it had stripped all of the mana from him. Although he hadn’t died, he fell still and was unable to move.

“Is recovery not possible or…?” Jeong In-Chang said while clutching at the dirt.

He felt so pathetic, looking down at himself lying there like that. He had known from the very beginning that it was impossible, and that the smart thing would have been to stand by his companions, not forcing himself through the heat storm.

“How am I supposed to sit still at a time like this…”

He wanted to stand by Lee Jun-Kyeong. Regretfully, he seemed only to be able to reach this point.

Shhh.

But then, the mana in the air slowly started to flow toward him, and his empty mana reserves began to fill up again. It began to feel like it was overflowing.

“Hmm.”

When he stood with a puzzled expression on his face, he suddenly felt gazes upon him.

“Lord Zeus! Lady Athena! King Arthur! Lady Merlin! Lord Horus!” Jeong In-Chang shouted, greeting each face he saw in order.

“Heimdall…sir…”

Finally, his gaze fell upon a familiar yet uncomfortable face. Heimdall wasn’t tied up but, in fact, looked rather fine and was also heavily armed.

“As expected… I knew you didn’t betray us!” Jeong In-Chang shouted.

Clang!

A metallic sound rang out.

“Why is your head so hard?”

Zeus had hit Jeong In-Chang while Jeong In-Chang frowned and shook his head as if his head hurt after the blow.

“We fought. With Heimdall.”

“Then…?”

“Well, it’s all a little complicated.”

Jeong In-Chang’s expression also hardened. It was clear that something had also happened here when he and the others were returning from Yeouido.

“What about the others?”

“They’re coming.”

“Were you trying to get through the heat storm to reach Jun-Kyeong?” Heimdall asked, having been quiet until now. “How impressive.”

As it wasn’t clear whether or not he was a traitor, Jeong In-Chang looked like he didn’t know what to do. At that moment, voices came from behind.

“Mr. Jeong!”

It was the people he had left behind, and it seemed as though they were running toward this place.

"Hmm."

However, Zeus still seemed slightly gloomy even though their other companions were coming.

“What’s wrong?” Jeong In-Chang asked.

“I guess you didn’t see because you were on the ground,” Zeus responded while taking a step aside.

“That…!”

Only then did Jeong In-Chang catch sight of it—a dark and black gate. A huge gate had formed where the Association building had once stood.

“How did I not see that?” Jeong In-Chang said in embarrassment.

With a gate like that, there was no way that he wouldn’t have felt the mana that the gate gave off. However, even though he was looking at it directly, inspecting it here and there, he couldn’t feel any mana emanating from it.

“Is it an illusion?”

Considering they were facing the Demon King, it seemed possible that he might have done something like that.

“No.” Zeus’ response was firm. “I don’t feel any mana either. But, that’s still definitely a gate.”

Turning away from the companions running to them from behind, Zeus looked at the black gate. It had a form and size that they were seeing for the first time.

“Most likely…” Zeus began to speculate. “The mana emitted from the gate is too familiar to us, or it might even be emitting mana so enormous that we can’t feel it.”

“What do you mean by that?”

Zeus squeezed and opened his hand. “It means that the mana of this world and everything it contains is connected to that. Have you ever felt the air you breathe?”

There was a fear deep within Zeus' voice that even Jeong In-Chang could sense. “Something ridiculous has appeared.”

“Then that…”

Jeong In-Chang's lips slowly parted. Little by little, he moved his lips which were dried and cracked due to the heat storm. He called out its name, “Gehenna…”

***

“Okay. So Fenrir defeated Odin, right?”

“I told you, he slaughtered him,” Heracles said excitedly.

Finally, everyone but Lee Jun-Kyeong had gathered in one place, talking and sharing what had happened with each other.

Thud.

However, even as they spoke, their feet didn’t stop moving. They moved forward at a speed that was neither fast nor slow as they spoke to one another.

“First of all, it seems like most of the ordinary humans in Korea have been saved. Of course, that doesn’t include all of those that hid.”

“I see…”

“It seems like there have been quite a few of those who survived around the world,” Odysseus reported to those from Olympus.

“Mr. Jeong! Why would you run forward with such little care for your life?”

“That’s what I’m saying!”

On the other hand, Jeong In-Chang was meekly listening to Won-Hwa and Ungnyeo’s scolding.

BANG!

In addition, with every word, there was someone hitting Jeong In-Chang on the head.

“Ow, ow, ow… I’m sorry, Princess.”

The princess sat on his shoulders, hitting him again. Because she had been by Fenrir’s side, she hadn’t been able to stop Jeong In-Chang from advancing. She looked at him with tears in her eyes.

“Still…there’s nothing we can do about it now, right?”

As she looked at Jeong In-Chang pleading with her with a smile on her face, the princess snorted and turned around.

“Get scolded.”

“It looks like the princess is very upset?” Won-Hwa said jokingly as Jeong In-Chang only laughed softly.

“I’ll have to be good to her once everything is over.”

‘When everything is over…’

If Lee Jun-Kyeong were to win and defeat the Demon King, if all of the Sponsors were to die, then what would happen to the princess? What would happen to all of the Familiars?

"Princess…” No, Jeong In-Chang didn’t want to imagine anything of that sort. “Princess!”

He would just be faithful to the present. Jeong In-Chang, who was calling out to the princess, suddenly stopped. “Oh, that’s right. Did you all experience that, too?”

“What do you mean?” Won-Hwa asked with a puzzled look.

He clarified, “When the heat storm ended, that sudden influx of mana.”

“Ah.” Won-Hwa nodded. “Yes. We were all exhausted from trying to block the heat storm, but all of a sudden, our mana reserves were instantly filled.”

The others also experienced it. But it wasn't easy to understand. That level of recovery could only be achieved with the support of the Sponsors. However, none of them had heard any messages of such support, nor were there any hints of it. They couldn’t even begin to guess where that sudden recovery had stemmed from.

“Hmm.” Jeong In-Chang thought for a moment and hugged the princess.

‘Wait for us.’

Soon, they would meet with Lee Jun-Kyeong, a man who carried it all alone. Jeong In-Chang wanted to show him how everyone was gathered together. The end may be approaching, and there may still be the most difficult mission left, but everyone had worked hard to get this far.

“Guild Leader! When everything is over, let’s have a bout!”

“Do you think you can win?”

“I’ll lose! But still, I want to see how much I’ve grown!”

Everyone was laughing out loud, with a few awkward laughs here and there. They all spoke louder, relieving the tension. However, there was only one person who didn’t join in.

‘Mr. Yeo.’

Yeo Seong-Gu.

‘Athena…’

Heimdall had a nervous look on his face as walking next to him was Athena. The two were walking in silence. Jeong In-Chang had heard the gist of what had occurred between them, but it was too difficult for him to be able to tell anything just from that story.

Jeong In-Chang turned away from them and shouted vigorously, “Let’s hurry!”

However, Zeus’ laughing voice quickly quipped back, “That doesn’t seem to be necessary, though?”

“Mr. Lee!”

Lee Jun-Kyeong was walking toward them.