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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 74
Chapter Title: Necropolis
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The veil shrouding this world was lifted.
The brilliant sunlight that had been pouring down vanished in an instant...
The once-blue sky was stained entirely crimson.
This was the truth of this world.
Niflheim had, since time immemorial, been a desolate world composed only of 'ice,' 'cold,' 'mist,' and 'frost.'
An indescribably bitter chill bloomed, causing puffs of white breath to escape with every exhale.
The peaceful-looking town disappeared without a trace, leaving only ragged figures suffering from the cold and forced labor.
Hela, the master of this place, stared with a gaze tangled with various emotions, piercing the crimson-stained sky.
“Creator, why on earth...”
Her gaze then turned back to Kang-jun.
“You who are favored by the Creator...”
Kang-jun, on the other hand, silently surveyed the hellscape unfolding below the bone tower where he and the hunters stood.
Countless undead, summoned by her call, were desperately scrambling up the towering spire of bones.
Hundreds? Thousands? Tens of thousands?
Kang-jun, who had tried to count them, quickly gave up and clicked his tongue with a “Tsk.”
“Kieeeeek...”
“Kieeeeek...”
“Kieeeek...”
Just as a few of the undead climbing the bone tower in the heart of this hell were about to reach the 'summit' where they stood.
Kang Seong-hyeon, who had been calmly assessing the situation, looked at the hunters of the reclamation team and began to shout at the top of his lungs.
“Form ranks!”
But most of the hunters who had witnessed Hela's horrifying true form were already frozen stiff in place, as if turned to stone.
“How can we fight... that kind of monster...”
“It's all over...”
“We're all dead...”
Just then, 'Guide Jo Min-jin' spoke in a strained tone, her body trembling uncontrollably.
“N-No wonder...”
Hadn't she been suffering from a severe chill ever since she set foot in this place?
It must have been because her very existence, wielding a power based on light, was antithetical to this world.
“P-Please, step aside...”
Jo Min-jin stepped forward, tightly clutching the cross on her necklace...
“I'll try to handle this...”
A light so bright it could blind someone erupted from her.
For a moment, the undead that had been slowly closing in abruptly halted their advance.
The undead facing the light melted away helplessly like snowmen under the scorching sun...
But that was all.
'Hela' herself remained perfectly composed, as if she hadn't taken any damage at all.
“What a clumsy little trick!”
As Hela slowly raised one hand, Jo Min-jin's body also began to float helplessly into the air.
“Ghk, ghuheok...”
Her face turned blue as if someone were strangling her with all their might.
“S-Someone, help...”
Unable to breathe, she began to struggle desperately, but it was useless.
*Shing—!*
Yun Hui-su, the Swift Sword, belatedly came to her senses, drew her sword from its scabbard at her waist, and charged toward Hela...
“Insects!”
Hela merely glared, and a great wind suddenly rose, sending Yun Hui-su's body flying helplessly into the distance.
After tumbling wretchedly across the ground several times, Yun Hui-su groaned, “Kgh...” and began to glare at the motionless Hela.
“How on earth...”
Right now, never mind cutting her in half, it seemed impossible to even get near her.
Just as Jo Min-jin's eyes rolled back in her head and white foam began to trickle from her lips.
“Why is everyone just standing there gawking!”
Spurred by Yun Hui-su's desperate cry, veins bulging in her neck, the other hunters also began to unleash their attacks on Hela.
“I'll provide support.”
Hawkeye Lee Hwi-geun replied in a composed tone, glaring at Hela and murmuring softly.
“Aim.”
At the same time, a sniper rifle made of dense mana materialized in Lee Hwi-geun's hands...
*Shhk, k-chk, click—!*
Lee Hwi-geun quickly loaded a round, put his eye to the scope, and aimed the muzzle squarely at Hela.
“Eye of the raptor...”
As he recited the incantation again, a targeting reticle made of a 'crosshair' and a 'dot' appeared clearly on Hela's brow.
“Fire.”
The moment Lee Hwi-geun pulled the trigger, a massive gunshot echoed...
*BAAAAAANG—!*
The impact tore a large hole through Hela's forehead.
“How crude...”
But even that was useless.
“Go on, keep struggling...”
As if unaffected by the gunshot, Hela simply offered them words of mockery, a sharp smile playing on her lips.
“And in doing so, face your own 'incompetence'.”
Just then, Jeong Yun-chan charged toward Hela, but before he could even swing his sword, his abdomen was pierced.
*Shluuuuuurk!*
Hela's sharp, viciously blue-tinged claws had torn through Jeong Yun-chan's skin, muscle, and bone.
“Keoheok...”
Hela then laughed sinisterly.
“Oh, I thought you looked familiar. You're the human swordsman who wandered the snowy plains beyond the barrier for so long.”
“Heoook...”
“If it weren't for that 'Death Knight' protecting you, I would have made you my servant long ago.”
At her words, Jeong Yun-chan struggled to speak.
“Again...”
At the same time, as if time itself were reversing, everything that had happened in the last few seconds began to unfold in *reverse*.
His pierced abdomen healed completely, the wound vanishing, while Hela looked down at her hand in confusion.
“Hmm, you possess quite an interesting little trick.”
Jeong Yun-chan immediately rushed at her again, swinging his sword wide...
“How dare you—!”
This time, too, Jeong Yun-chan failed to cut Hela and instead had his sword hand severed at the wrist.
“Kuaaaack...”
Jeong Yun-chan reflexively clutched the stump with his other hand and muttered once more.
“Again...”
Once more, everything that had happened in the past few seconds occurred in reverse.
His severed hand, which had been rolling on the ground, flew back to his arm like iron filings drawn to a magnet.
“Again, again, again...”
Jeong Yun-chan repeated this cycle of charging Hela and being subdued until his mana was completely depleted...
“No matter how many times you repeat it, the result will be the same.”
Again.
“An uncivilized whelp like you can't even touch me.”
Again.
“Go on, try to your heart's content.”
Again.
“The more you do, the more your self-loathing will grow, uncontrollably...”
After repeated trials and errors, Jeong Yun-chan reached the conclusion that he couldn't even scratch her, no matter what he did.
“Dammit—!”
He had been confident that after awakening the secret arts of the sword, he could cut through anything.
Hadn't he been able to slice through giant soldiers with bodies as hard as rock as if they were tofu?
But not this enemy before him.
Beyond whether he could cut her or not, he couldn't even get within reach of his sword.
The countless scenarios playing out in his head all screamed 'impossible.'
Despair.
He, too, lost all will to fight in the face of the enemy's overwhelming power.
Jeong Yun-chan began to pound the ground with his fists, “Bang! Bang!” shouting in frustration.
“Dammit! Dammit! Dammit!”
Just as Jeong Yun-chan was venting his rage, unable to shake the heavy sense of powerlessness crushing his shoulders.
Kang Seong-hyeon, who had been silently watching the situation unfold, immediately shouted to the hunters.
“Retreat!”
Kang Seong-hyeon then took out a fist-sized stone from his coat that glowed with a mystical light.
A Hearthstone.
It was clear as day that if things continued, they would be annihilated, so he had made the decision to flee immediately.
At that moment.
Hela extended her hand toward Kang Seong-hyeon, and an aura in the shape of a sharp *dagger* shot forward like an arrow...
*Pshhhhhh—*
The Hearthstone, pierced by the dagger, instantly turned to dust and scattered into the air.
“H-How...”
Even the hunters busy fending off the undead climbing the bone tower were struck dumb by the sight.
“Is this it... annihilation...”
The hunters, who had been barely holding back the undead, began to inch backward one by one...
“Kieeeek...”
In an instant, countless undead swarmed the top of the bone tower, tightening their encirclement.
“It's over now...”
Seol Eun-bin, who had exhausted all her mana freezing the undead trying to climb the tower, collapsed to the ground...
“Why are you giving up already!”
Go Du-yeol roared, swinging his clenched fists fiercely to knock the undead off the tower.
“Don't give up until the very end!”
At his words, Yun Hui-su gripped her sword again and replied.
“That's right! Even if we die, we should be thinking about taking down one more of them!”
Just as fear and despair filled the air.
“Yes, and we'll all be going back alive anyway.”
Bong-gu said with conviction, electrocuting an undead with a mana shock before swiftly swinging his sword and lopping off its head.
“I guarantee it. No one will lose their life.”
At his words, the gazes of the hunters, who had sensed the end, all focused on Bong-gu.
“What kind of nonsense is that!”
Seol Eun-bin demanded, then shot back again.
“You see what's happening, and you can still say something like that so easily!?”
Bong-gu replied.
“Yes, as you can see, it comes out quite smoothly...”
Seol Eun-bin's eyes welled with tears as she muttered, “You're wrong,” then cried out in a terrified voice.
“We're all going to be wiped out here, and soon, Earth will be destroyed too...”
After speaking, her gaze turned to the 'overwhelming being' that seemed utterly unbeatable.
A great terror.
The source of the fear that had infected them all was licking its lips, a sharp and sinister smile directed at them.
“Now you're all making such cute faces...”
Hela then turned to look at Kang-jun.
“■■■, how long will you stand by and watch'?”
Everyone was certain that the moment that monster took its first step outside the Gate, the world would be filled with bloodstains and resounding screams.
“No.”
Bong-gu was unshaken.
“Maybe someday in the distant future, a tragedy or disaster like you described might happen, but not today.”
Seol Eun-bin asked again.
“How can you be so sure...”
Bong-gu replied.
“First, thankfully, the 'Boss' is here...”
“Boss?”
“And of all days, tomorrow is Seol-i's kindergarten entrance ceremony.”
Then he looked at Kang-jun.
“Right?”
At his words, Kang-jun, with an indifferent expression, gave a single nod and began to walk forward...
As Kang-jun finally made his move, Hela withdrew all her divine power and composed herself.
Jo Min-jin, who had been struggling in mid-air, fell to her knees and collapsed on the ground.
“Haa, haa...”
With bloodshot eyes, she clutched her neck, desperately gasping for breath.
“It seems you wield 'divine power'.”
Kang-jun stopped right in front of Jo Min-jin, and while staring at Hela, he asked her nonchalantly.
“What do you see?”
At his words, Jo Min-jin turned her head slightly and began to gaze at Hela, who stood in the distance...
“Look at her essence.”
When Jo Min-jin focused her mind, the true nature of the immense power dwelling within Hela became faintly visible, like a heat haze.
The foundation of the tremendous power she wielded was a terrifyingly deep darkness, the kind that might exist only at the edge of the abyss.
“Darkness...”
She continued, dazed.
“I see a deep darkness that reminds me of death...”
At that, Kang-jun asked again.
“Then what about me?”
The moment her eyes met Kang-jun's, her face instantly turned deathly pale.
Her teeth chattering with a “clack, clack” sound, she managed to speak, terrified.
“D-Death...”
Then she added.
“W-Why is 'Death' itself behind you...”
What she witnessed the moment she met Kang-jun's gaze was something that could only be described as 'Death' itself.
A fate that no one could escape stood firmly behind Kang-jun, as if it were his backer.
Its color was so deep it seemed it could swallow all of creation without issue...
And its form was so colossal it could consume the entire world and still have room to spare.
“You saw it quite clearly.”
“Do you think I'll lose?”
Jo Min-jin shook her head, her face filled with awe.
“No, never...”
As everyone else looked on, bewildered.
“All of you, back off and watch.”
After speaking, Kang-jun approached Hela again, and as everyone stared blankly at his back.
“Let's finish this quickly and go.”
Then he added.
“I have to see my daughter's entrance ceremony.”
Finally.
“Necropolis.”
Kang-jun chanted the incantation.
