From Today, I'm a Player

Chapter 254. The Last Barrier Pt. 4

Crack. Crackle.

Looking at the electricity gathering in the dark clouds, Heimdall shouted urgently, “Bifrost!”

However, a voice rang out as if God was speaking from the heavens.

–It’s too late.

A sound as loud as thunder fell down.

“Zeus!”

Zeus’ voice descended upon the world. At the same time, a blue Thunderbolt fell down where Heimdall stood.

BANG!

It was a thick and giant bolt of lightning that couldn’t be compared to any ordinary bolt as the world shone white as if it were blinking.

CRACK, CRACK!

When the unstoppable current seeped into the ground and dispersed, as the smoke caused by the lightning slowly disappeared, Zeus was standing in the crater that formed, his white hair flowing and his face expressionless.

Ssss.

“...”

The smoke dissipated further into the air, and only then did Heimdall also appear.

Hiss.

His golden armor was charred black as he stood, his two swords held in a defensive stance.

Clang!

His purple sword disappeared, shattering into the air.

“Did you do this?” Zeus coldly said. His gaze was on his fallen companions. Heimdall kept his hand out as if still grasping the missing sword, waiting as a sword of a different color appeared in his hand.

Ssss.

Zeus slowly looked toward him.

***

“Baldur,” Lee Jun-Kyeong said to the man approaching him.

Baldur had been waiting for him inside the Association building, approaching him while crossing through the front door. He was a radiantly handsome man.

“You look so gloomy.”

He was the Hero of Light, the One Who Always Smiles. He had been called by many such nicknames, but his appearance now made it impossible to tie any such names to him. He seemed…dark, as the shadows on his face seemed to make the world even darker.

“Underdog,” he said, approaching slowly. His voice had also changed. His powerful voice had been strong with conviction, but it was now somehow burning with ambition, an ambition as dark as the shadows on his face.

“What on earth has happened to you?” Lee Jun-Kyeong asked. They had last met in Egypt, where Lee Jun-Kyeong had rescued Horus and fought Set.

While Baldur had traveled there with him, due to Odin’s disappearance, Baldur had returned first, after which they hadn’t met again due to the cataclysm’s advent. Moreover, news had come to him after that.

“I heard that you had become a Ruler…”

Baldur had become the Ruler of Seoul, oppressing everyone with a power that went beyond that of humans.

“It’s true.”

No, the rumors said that he had become a monster. Now that Lee Jun-Kyeong could see it, it was clear that it wasn’t a rumor but an actual fact. Baldur really had become a monster.

“Odin…no, did the Demon King make you like this?” Lee Jun-Kyeong asked. His change was nothing short of a fall as the one who used to shine has lost his luster. His eyes, which had always been chasing something, had lost their desire.

"No," Baldur finally answered. “It’s what I wanted.”

The corners of his mouth rose into a smirk. It was a strange sort of smile, but to Lee Jun-Kyeong, it was an actual scream. He was a figure writhing in pain.

“I wanted to gain power, Become Odin’s… I just wanted to become the successor.”

He looked at the Association building with a blank gaze, a place where nothing could be felt any longer.

“I wanted that. And I got it.”

He looked over at Lee Jun-Kyeong with a deeper smile.

“...”

Lee Jun-Kyeong didn’t know how to respond, just looking at him with a pitiful gaze.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“You’re…”

“I got everything I wanted. Incredible strength. Odin’s position,” Baldur said. Looking at Lee Jun-Kyeong, instead of his smile deepening, it had all but disappeared. “Don’t pity me because it’s all I’ve ever wanted.”

Lee Jun-Kyeong slowly nodded.

Thud.

Then, a small sound spread as before he knew it. Lee Jun-Kyeong, who had been on the ground, was soaring high into the sky.

Crack, crack, crack!

The land on which Lee Jun-Kyeong had jumped off cracked and ruptured into pieces seconds later. The force from which Lee Jun-Kyeong had jumped was so strong that it left a cavity in space, causing a rupture after the cavity collapsed.

Lee Jun-Kyeong was floating in the sky as he looked down at Baldur.

“Don’t look down on me.”

As he heard Baldur’s voice, Lee Jun-Kyeong thought to himself.

‘Quickly.’

He had to pass by this obstacle quickly. He had to deal with the Demon King, so he couldn’t afford to spend much time or much power on Baldur. Thus, his hand grew enormously into a giant figure of flame.

“I’m sorry.”

BOOOM!

It flew down, crushing the spot where Baldur stood.

Crack.

Underneath his palm, he definitely felt something, the distinct feeling of something being crushed in the Palm of Surtr.

Flicker!

At the same time, the Arm of Surtr, a pillar of fire so unbelievably large, ruptured forth from the impact. Lee Jun-Kyeong felt a sudden change in temperature, as if the seasons had changed.

***

“Damn it…”

Arthur stood up, clutching his chest. When he had been attacked by Heimdall, he had thought that he would die on the spot. Not only was he not healing, but it also felt as though he had lost all strength.

“As expected…” Zeus said, looking at the standing Arthur. “It seems that if you get hit by a sword from that rainbow, you’ll experience something similar to that of a magic seal.”

Athena.

Merlin.

Horus.

Arthur.

The attacks that they had received from Heimdall would have been fatal for any ordinary Hunter. However, they were all of a caliber where it was impossible to defeat them with just a single fatal blow. Still, when Zeus had arrived, they had all fallen, unable to stand. It was only after Heimdall’s purple sword had broken and another created that Arthur had been able to stand.

“It looks like we can only win by destroying that rainbow, then,” Zeus said as if things were that simple.

There were three destroyed lights in the rainbow. If they were able to break the other four, it’d be their victory

Heimdall called out, “Jun-Kyeong… Where is Jun-Kyeong?”

Zeus had clearly gone with Lee Jun-Kyeong, and yet he had returned alone.

“Has he met Baldur?”

Zeus just answered in a mocking tone, “I’ll give you an answer after you take back the rainbow from my companions.”

Heimdall slowly nodded, yet it wasn’t an agreement to Zeus’ request. He lifted his sword once more.

“No, it’s the opposite.”

Mana surged from Heimdall, and only then did Zeus’ face harden. It was no fluke that Heimdall had defeated his companions. It wasn’t even a special ability or something he had held hidden.

‘This is true strength.’

A force appeared that made the hairs on his entire body stand up. Heimdall was a true powerhouse.

“I’ll be taking you down as well and getting my answer.”

Woosh!

Heimdall moved as fast as lightning.

“Then, I guess you won’t be able to hear one.”

However, Zeus had already arrived behind Heimdall as a flickering blade of lightning hit the Hunter’s back.

BANG!

Finally, a telling blow had landed on Heimdall.

***

Crackle.

In the midst of the falling thunder, blood flew like water.

Drip, drip.

Totally devastated—there seemed to be no more appropriate word to describe their appearance. They were all in total disrepair. Everyone was covered in deep wounds, and one of Horus’ arms was trembling as if it had been nearly cut off, barely holding on.

Cough, cough!

Merlin had fallen back far away as she had spent all of her mana while Arthur, perhaps because of the massive wound he had received in the beginning, was constantly coughing blood up throughout the battle.

Athena looked just as miserable. Aegis, her divine weapon and the strongest shield in the world, was thrown to the floor with severe cracks. Her armor was also torn and shattered, unable to stop the blood flowing from her.

Heimdall and Zeus were the same, too.

“How impressive.”

Finally, there was no longer a rainbow left in the sky as the last remaining color was being held as a sword in Heimdall’s hand. In order to destroy all remaining defenses that Heimdall had, in order to force him to that state, Zeus had put himself on the line, overcoming crisis after crisis.

Crack, crackle.

Blood flowed from his neck as he put an electrified hand to the wound.

Zzzt.

The blood stemmed along with the smell of burning flesh. The wounds inflicted by Heimdall’s rainbow were difficult to heal, even with the regenerative strength of someone stronger than a hero. Thus, this was the only way to stop the bleeding.

“Let’s finish this.”

Finally, there was only one shade of the rainbow remaining.

‘Among us, the only one who can move is…’

Zeus realized he was it. Arthur had already been pushed to the limit, and so had Athena. Although she must have had many distracting and conflicting thoughts, she still had pushed Heimdall to the utmost. Whereas Heimdall still seemed to have more strength leftover than Zeus did.

‘The rainbow is gone, though.’

Zeus thought quickly.

There was definitely a way to defeat Heimdall. There was definitely a way to take him down. Then, the answer came surprisingly quickly.

“Plasma.”

Everything would be included in this single move, and he would defeat him.

“Ha…”

At Zeus’ transformation, Heimdall also settled into a stance with both swords held aloft. As Heimdall’s mana rose, Zeus thought that the bald man’s shift in power was similar to what he felt in Lee Jun-Kyeong.

“A mana stream…?”

The mana stream that Lee Jun-Kyeong mentioned was the ability to control the flow of mana and mana itself directly. Thus, it can help one demonstrate more efficient and destructive abilities.

Then, at that moment, Heimdall also looked surprised, too.

“...!”

“That? I learned it, too.”

It wasn’t perfect, which was why he hadn’t been able to use it properly while fighting Heimdall. He had still learned the basics from Lee Jun-Kyeong, and he had made every effort to learn it in his own way.

At this moment, he activated the mana stream, albeit imperfectly. One unstoppable force was going against another, and they were two forces that could destroy cities. They had gathered in one place.

“Damn it!!!”

Zeus could hear Arthur swearing.

“Avoid it on your own because I can’t control it.”

“So that means he still has that much strength left…?! DAMN IT!”

As if he was angry that he couldn’t fight until the end, Arthur shouted, resentful of the fact that all he could do was flee. However, he was quickly moving away from the battlefield with Horus in one hand and Athena in the other.

“You better win!”

When Arthur's voice came from far away, a blue electric current and a brilliant rainbow mixed together.

“Then let’s start.”

BOOOM!

In the feast of colors mixing together, the sound of an explosion erupted. However, it wasn’t an explosion they had caused—it came from a little further away, where the Association was.

“Jun-Kyeong.”

A pillar of fire rose in the air.

Heimdall suddenly called out Lee Jun-Kyeong’s name, the surprise shifting his stance. At that moment, the two uncontrollable forces stopped mixing and began to push one another.

BOOOOOOOOM!

A magnificent explosion occurred like a flash of light as the ground crumbled and the clouds faded away.

“...”

Amid it all, a man wearing broken golden armor walked forward.