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Chapter 170: Homebound Pt. 7

Mixed with blood, molten gold was flowing toward Aegir, who had breathed his last breath.

“Avoid it!” Lee Jun-Kyeong shouted at Yeo Seong-Gu, who was standing next to Aegir, full of fear as the unusual movement of the mana felt extremely threatening.

Then, just as expected.

Boom!!

An explosion occurred.

As if the blood and molten gold that flowed into Aegir’s body had caused some sort of volatile reaction, a blast of heat and mana exploded outward with thick smoke.

“Hyung!!” Lee Jun-Kyeong called out to Yeo Seong-Gu, who hadn’t been able to back away from the body before it exploded. Lee Jun-Kyeong then circulated his strength, dispersing the thick smoke.

“Whew…”

“I’m fine.”

In front of him stood Yeo Seong-Gu, who had blocked the explosion by forming a protective barrier just in time, a rainbow-colored shield.

However.

“Damn, it…”

The power of the explosion must have been greater than he had expected, as it had broken through and wounded Yeo Seong-Gu.

Although it wasn’t a big wound, the fact that the protective shield created by Yeo Seong-Gu had been pierced was important.

Then.

“Behind you!” Lee Jun-Kyeong shouted again.

Clang!

A resounding rusting sound and then...

–GRAHHHH!

…something resembling a grotesque cry blasted toward the party.

“Ugh,” Yeo Seong-Gu moaned as he blocked the sudden attack.

Against his blade was a golden arm, having swung toward him from the remnants of the smoke.

The rainbow-colored sword was being pushed back even though Yeo Seong-Gu was blocking the onslaught with all of his might.

The party looked at the man with the golden arm with bewildered eyes.

“How…!”

Aegir, whom they had been certain had stopped breathing, was attacking Yeo Seong-Gu with a body stained with gold.

However, it was only his arms and legs that were stained golden.

His face was the same as when he had died, and his eyes were dull and lifeless.

Clang!

Aegir swung his arm at Yeo Seong-Gu again.

Boom!

The sound of clashing iron was followed by an explosion. Yeo Seong-Gu was pitched back, hitting the wall, while Lee Jun-Kyeong stabbed forward with his spear.

Swish!

However.

Clang!

Aegir, who had definitely only had his golden left arm that was attacking Yeo Seong-Gu, suddenly turned and struck Lee Jun-Kyeong’s spear with his other arm, which suddenly also turned fully golden.

–GRAH!

As the lethal cries rang in their ears again, the Sponsors of the party\'s voices rose to attention.

[<The Sky of the Apocalypse>...]

[The Prince on a White Horse]...]

[The King of the Rainbows]...]

[They look toward ???.]

"What?"

“What did they just say?”

“...!”

Their Sponsors were watching the presence that was in front of their eyes.

What had been Aegir had now become something else.

–GRAHHH!

Aegir looked at the party again while screaming another guttural cry.

[??? looks over at you.]

Shockingly, he heard a notification.

***

"Kyah!"

Chaos reigned over the people.

They were screaming and running, but while they rejoiced that they were finally free from Aegir’s control, their escape wasn’t yet successful.

“Kill them! Kill them!”

While there were Hunters who helped people, there were just as many Hunters who had sided with Aegir instead.

–This way.

In this battle of Hunters, the people followed after a figure that looked like a ghost.

As they screamed, some held their children. All ran to survive somehow, holding each other’s hands.

“Hurry!” shouted the Hunters helping the people, urging the residents.

Shhh.

“Ugh!”

A cold aura encroached on the space. At the same time, all of the Hunters who were on the side of Aegir screamed and collapsed, grabbing at their necks while exclaiming in pain.

–I can’t hold them for long.

Hel was helping the Hunters aiding the people as it guided the survivors along.

The Hunters on Aegir’s side were suffering from Hel’s abilities and became defenseless.

“Regret your sins in the afterlife!”

Quite a few Hunters on Aegir’s side met death at the hands of the protecting Hunters. However, even with the widespread debilitating effects caused by Hel, the Familiar’s abilities were still quite limited against many of the Hunters that remained.

“How ridiculous,” the powerful Hunters that could withstand Hel’s power said, still standing and killing those that guarded against them.

“Are you trying to say that you’re innocent?”

“...”

“Regardless of your reasons, it’s disgusting that you have the audacity to say such things to us after having done the same things.”

The Hunters attacked those who guarded against them while ridiculing them. For some reason, they were gradually beginning to defeat those Hunters with ever increasingly powerful attacks.

Several people died in the aftermath of the clash, but even so, there were some who still wanted to keep order.

“Move! Quickly!”

“Protect the children!”

Although this was a horrifying place to be trapped in, they all knew that they had to concentrate even further and escape–to escape the gymnasium.

Soon.

“There’s our escape!”

The exit was nigh in front of them.

Due to the sacrifice of the Hunters, the people were on the verge of escaping.

“We’re disgusted by ourselves too.”

Then, the one who had the conversation with Lee Jun-Kyeong and the others, one of the guards that had approached their door, spoke as he aided those who were still alive to escape and looked over at the Hunters who criticized him.

“We, too, are sinners.”

His sword swung down and attacked the Hunter before him, the blade infused with mana.

“That’s why we have to atone for what we’ve done.”

The sword fell down, splitting through the other Hunter’s torso.

He had grown.

In order to protect the people and help them escape, he had been granted sponsorship.

[You have been granted sponsorship.]

Thus, the Hunter, who had been able to cut down his enemy due to his growth, then wiped at his blood-covered face.

“Move!”

He, who then shouted at the people, having relieved himself of his guilt a minuscule amount, smiled faintly.

Crack.

An eerie sound rang out, and as his gaze descended, he saw something flash in his eyes.

“G…gold…”

A golden arm caught his gaze as if it was a representation of his own guilt.

He carefully turned his gaze, and before his eyes, he saw a monster.

–Grunt, grunt.

The Hunter he had just cut down had turned into a golden monster and plunged his arm into his chest.

“Kyaaa!”

The people, who had somehow been able to keep order till now, finally began to descend into chaos.

–Grunt, grunt.

The Hunters who had stood on Aegir’s side.

The dead.

They were rising, becoming something else.

***

“What the hell is that…?”

Aegir, who was dead, had come to life.

.

His body had turned golden, but that wasn’t the problem at the moment.

–Grah.

The current problem was the aura that emitted forth from that thing that was making such a guttural cry.

Even at a glance, it was a strange flow of mana.

Especially.

“...!”

Lee Jun-Kyeong, who used his mana stream to examine Aegir, couldn’t help but be embarrassed.

The energy that was being emitted by Aegir was almost like…

“Eflame…?”

It was similar to what he had felt from Elfame, the Ruler of Incheon and the King of Alfheimr.

He was confused.

“Why is the Ruler’s aura...”

Elfame had been a being from another dimension. Why could his aura be felt by Aegir, who had been human?

Moreover, they had definitely heard a notification when that thing had stared back at them.

This issue wasn’t the only other problem that arose either.

Lee Jun-Kyeong chewed on his lips and spoke, having heard something.

“A problem has developed outside…”

“Outside?”

“The Hunters who died…”

Lee Jun-Kyeong, who was gaze-mingling with Hel, passed on the scenes he was watching to his companions.

“They are being revived with a golden body like Aegir.”

The party looked at Aegir.

That creature, Aegir, was watching them back with its head tilted, reminiscent of a newborn baby.

The aura it exuded seemed inherently dangerous, forcing the party to hold back on making their next move.

“Mr. Jeong,” Lee Jun-Kyeong called out to Jeong In-Chang.

“Can you fight?” he asked Jeong In-Chang, who had been the reason they had been able to defeat Aegir.

Jeong In-Chang readily responded in a steadfast voice, “Of course.”

The three stood together and looked over at Aegir, his–no, its body continually growing bigger.

They felt as though it should have stopped breathing at any moment before them, but it didn\'t. Lee Jun-Kyeong commented, “I don’t think we can mess with it just yet.”

The flow of mana running through it was strangely grotesque as if it would explode if they messed with that flow at any moment.

Currently, the people hadn’t been able to escape fully yet, so if an explosion happened here, everyone would die.

So, Lee Jun-Kyoeng quickly devised a plan.

“Then, Mr. Jeong, please go and help the people escape along with the princess.”

“...”

Jeong In-Chang’s expression hardened for a moment after hearing that.

“I will send only the princess,” he replied stubbornly. Because he had been the one who had to drop out of the main battle every single time.

“All right,” Lee Jun-Kyeong agreed to his response.

“Princess,” Jeong In-Chang called. His familiar, who had been watching quietly until now, appeared by his side. The princess, having materialized, had a slightly different appearance from before.

“Yes.”

The princess, who had looked like a doll made to be a small ogre, was talking like a person while its skin color had become paler.

Its appearance had changed, which was why it hadn’t been able to participate in the fight so far.

“You heard, right? Do you think you can do it?” Jeong In-Chang said to the princess in a warm voice, asking if it could save the people.

“Yes.”

The princess turned around after giving a simple answer, just like Fenrir had done at first.

The familiar’s body grew, little by little, shifting into the body of the ogre mage, the keeper of Madness.

However, the princess’ appearance was now different from before, revealing a slightly smaller body, lighter skin, and a slightly more human-than-ogre appearance, visually becoming a princess.

‘Evolution.’

The princess’s evolution had finished.

Her size may have changed, but the power she possessed was even more majestic than before.[1]

Thud. Thud.

With reddened eyes that left a trail of light, she left the room and the party behind.

“Now, it looks like that one is ready, too,” Lee Jun-Kyeong said as he looked over at Aegir.

The stabilization of its mana seemed to be over.

“There will be explosions.”

Thus.

Swish!

Crash!

Whirl!

All three attacked Aegir at the same time.

The spear thrust forward, the greatsword split the ground, and the rainbow-colored sword moved in an instant and struck down on the top of Aegir’s head.

There was nowhere for the creature to escape, and their incredible forces joined together, creating a windstorm around them.

However.

Clang!

There was an audible ringing sound. At the same time, all three of them retreated.

All three attacks had been successful, but only small scratches had been left on Aegir’s body.

It had a terrifyingly strong constitution.

–Enemy.

Aegir spoke in a human language for the first time again, and his body was completely bathed in a golden light.

Gurgle. Gurgle.

With a gurgling sound, the creature’s body began to swell.

“Wow.”

The gold that was all around them, the gold that had been melted by Lee Jun-Kyeong, began to move into his body.

It was no longer a shiny block of mineral, but instead the essence of mana.

–Enemy!

Aegir, who had absorbed the gold that had rushed toward its body, barreled at Lee Jun-Kyeong with an enlarged body. Even at that moment, it was ever-growing.

Crash!

1. If Jeong In-Chang can’t find a human wife, maybe his Sponsor really did set him up.