日本爽爽爱爱片

The entire road before the party was suddenly filled with a flash of blue currents. There had been an explosion of mana from afar. From there, a deluge of monsters poured out. So, Zeus walked forward and opened the way.

“Thunderbolt.”

He didn’t make any flashy moves. He just lifted a single bolt of lightning in his hand and threw it forward in a straight line. It was a simple action akin to aimlessly tossing a javelin, but the resulting effect was absolutely shocking.

Crackle.

Everything within a straight line of Zeus was reduced to ashes.

CRACK!!

The bolt of lightning hadn’t just incinerated everything in a straight line, but instead the current then spread out to all the monsters in the vicinity and killed any that fled as well.

“If he’s this strong…”

Heracles’ jaw dropped. “Can’t all the monsters in the formation surrounding Seoul be roasted all at once?”

“No, that’s not possible. Because those monsters are protected by magic,” Zeus responded calmly.

The attitude of the person who had just shown them all such an overwhelming display of power was somewhat muted and lackluster.

However, that was just Zeus in his perfected and completed state.

The God of Thunder had obtained the power of Chi-Woo and had become complete, and he had now descended on the United States, which had become like a hell. On the road opened up by Zeus’ Thunderbolt, the group quickly ran into a group of people fighting monsters as they raced down the path.

“It’s Hunters!”

Even at a glance, it was easy to see that the Hunters had considerable mana—it was clear that they were all Heroes.

There were about ten of them engaged in a clash against hundreds of monsters.

“What do you plan to do?” Zeus asked Lee Jun-Kyeong.

It was a recognition of Lee Jun-Kyeong as a leader and Zeus’ willingness to abide by his choice.

They could either save or simply watch.

“Save them, of course,” Lee Jun-Kyeong said as if it was an obvious decision.

Smirk.

Zeus raised a corner of his mouth as he spoke.

“Thunderbolt.”

Again, blue currents began to bloom like flowers on the black asphalt.

***

“Thank you for saving us…”

The group of Hunters that had been engaged in the battle against the monsters bowed their heads. They seemed to recognize Zeus, Lee Jun-Kyeong, and the others.

Well, it didn’t really matter whether or not that recognized them either way.

It wouldn’t be unreasonable to call the power that Zeus had just displayed as divine, and it was only natural in the current situation for them to show such consideration toward a Hunter with that much power.

“And who are you?” Zeus asked on behalf of Lee Jun-Kyeong.

Crackle.

The circle enveloping them was crackling with a bluish electric current. Beyond the boundary were the corpses of monsters piled in all directions.

Gurgle.

Although it was a little difficult to stomach it, the delicious smell began to waft around them.

“My name is Edward from the American Association. We are all Association members.”

“Edward… and that was…”

“I know him. He’s one of the Heroes of the Association,” Jeong In-Chang came out and said.

Although he had studied many various subjects in order to go on trips with Lee Jun-Kyeong, he had focused even more heavily on learning the names and faces of Heroes than anything else.

“So, then, why are you here? It’s not like we see any survivors or even an intact city around this area.”

“Well…”

It was strange that the Hunters seemed to be randomly in the middle of nowhere. None of the party could sense any aura of survivors, and there weren’t any intact cities in the vicinity, either.

It really felt as though they had just been dropped onto a remote island filled with monsters. Considering their relative strengths, there was no way that they could have survived in a place like this for this long if they had been here all this time.

“Then why are you all here?”

“Well…”

Edward spoke as he clenched his fists.

“We are a specialized unit sent out to save Lady Athena.”[1]

“Save Athena?”

As if they had all set out on a noble, great expedition, the Hunters all shouted loudly in response.

"That\'s right!"

“Lord Zeus! We knew for sure that you would definitely come to rescue Lady Athena! We beg of you!”

Possibly because Zeus was Korean, but the group of Hunters, bowing their heads deeply, shouted once again, “Please save Ameri…! No, please save Lady Athena!”

***

Unlike Korea, where the cataclysm had begun, only a few Rulers had appeared in the United States. A total of five Rulers had been birthed, and most of the United States’ famous Heroes and Hunters had been annihilated while taking down just one of them.

A handful of survivors had begun to live in the areas where the Rulers had been defeated as they gathered other survivors and Hunters. If there was something to be happy about, it was that, fortunately, many Hunters had been born alongside the cataclysm.

Moreover, the Hunters that belonged to the American Association had survived.

After the cataclysm, the United States had lost its title as a Superpower as the gates continued to appear.

However, that didn’t mean the United States had just stood still and watched it all fall apart.

The United States had proceeded to intensively study the methods of obtaining Sponsorships and the training methods of Hunters in order to systematically nurture Heroes. That research soon became their greatest advantage.

Essentially, they had created a method that would stably train the early stages of a Hunter after they awakened.

“Still, all that amounted to was us barely being able to hold on.”

Even if the newly awakened Hunters were able to grow quickly and stabilize, the situation itself was too horrid. Gates were breaking everywhere, and monsters were flooding the country. Just defeating the Ruler hadn’t ended anything.

As the veils continued to grow and widen, they began to overlap with the Rulers of other districts. They had a time limit.

There was nothing else that could better express their approaching destiny, whether they had wished for it or not.

They held onto faith in the midst of their despair, but there was no salvation from the God that they were waiting for.

“The fallen Ruler has been resurrected…”

As Edward said those words, a thick look of despair and pain passed across his face as the party also went silent as he saw his expression.

‘Rulers will be revived.’

Unless you were Lee Jun-Kyeong, the Hunter chosen by , the Rulers couldn’t be destroyed.

They were the worst type of monsters, one that would revive even if they were killed. For these Hunters, for America, the Rulers were their Demon King.

“Half of those who had survived died on the first day. We were barely able to fend it off after putting our lives on the line.”

The wounds of a Hunter would generally regenerate with time. However, many scars still littered the bodies of the Hunters before them.

They were all wounds that had been inflicted recently, and these Hunters had barely been able to continue living through harsh struggle.

“Fortunately, the Ruler didn\'t seem to want to exterminate us. So, we thought we would find peace again.”

They had regained their hope in the midst of despair.

“Then, an even greater despair came.”

However, that was only just the beginning.

“The veil completely overlapped, and the Rulers of two districts met.”

“...”

It was something that Lee Jun-Kyeong and the others hadn’t seen in any of the other areas. No, to be honest, it was something they had no knowledge about because the places where Lee Jun-Kyeong and his party had reached out were only a small portion as compared to the rest of the world.

The two Rulers had met.

“So, how did it go?” Zeus also seemed curious about what had happened to them.

“It was a war. The two Rulers fought for multiple days and nights over their combined territory.

“Then, it must have been horrible for you all,” Lee Jun-Kyeong commented.

“Well, no… For us, it was actually the most peaceful time. The Rulers didn’t pay any attention to us whatsoever because they were too busy fighting each other.”

The others nodded after hearing that.

“Because of the battle of the Rulers, we obtained a short break. However…”

“What, one of the two won?”

“Yes. The battle of the Rulers has ended.”

At that time, the party\'s eyes turned to Lee Jun-Kyeong. The only person among them who knew much about the Rulers was him, so there was something that they all wanted to ask him.

“What happens if a Ruler is killed by another Ruler?” Zeus asked on behalf of them all.

However, Lee Jun-Kyeong just shook his head. He didn’t even know himself. He hadn’t heard about or even seen any battles between Rulers. He also wondered about what had happened.

Therefore, he looked over at Edward, who continued, “It didn’t come back to life.”

“...!”

Lee Jun-Kyeong was the most surprised out of all of them. Then, Zeus silently looked over.

“...”

Following, the quick-witted Jeong In-Chang and Won-Hwa also looked over at him as well. The only one who still had to take a moment to think was Heracles. Lee Jun-Kyeong knew why they were staring at him.

‘The Ruler that I killed hadn’t come back to life either.’

Moreover, there was the information they had just obtained as well.

‘And, a Ruler that is killed by another Ruler doesn’t come back to life.’

Only he was the one who was special to the point where even he questioned himself.

‘Then, am I supposed to be a Ruler or something…?’

However, that was too far of a leap, and the implications of it were too severe to say out loud. Moreover, if Lee Jun-Kyeong had the power of a Ruler, Zeus would have realized it earlier anyway. So, he then had a different question.

‘But, if the mana of a Ruler isn’t what serves as the proof of a Ruler, then…?’

“This is taking too long. Let’s just continue and finish this. So, one Ruler didn’t revive again and the other one was victorious. What happened after?” Zeus interjected, changing the subject from the unspoken question in the air.

Edward came to his senses once again and continued, “There wasn’t much of a change for us at that point, just that the Ruler itself had changed. However…the issue was what came next. The rest of the veils also merged together.”

“...!”

“So five, no, four Rulers had gathered into one district then.”

"That\'s right."

Edward\'s face showed the endless despair he felt. The situation was one where that despair made sense.

‘The only thing left for the people to hope for was being able to see the next day.’

In the end, all the survivors in the United States had left was despair for the coming apocalypse.

“We…” Edward continued, his voice breaking with complete desperation. “We all thought that the best way would be to die on our own terms.”

“...it’s understandable.”

Even Heracles nodded with sympathy. Although he would have fought till the very end, others were different. Living in endless despair would eventually destroy people. They would have thought it would have been better if that next day wouldn’t come.

However, there was still one person who hadn’t yet appeared in Edward’s story.

“Then, Lady Athena appeared. She pierced through the monsters besieging us and came to rescue us!”

Edward spoke of Athena as if he worshiped her. Because of their poor perception in Europe, Athena, coming from Olympus, most likely didn’t have a good reputation in the United States. However, at this point, did that really matter?

To them, Athena would have been a ray of hope and a light of salvation.

“She annihilated the monsters and rescued us. She didn’t even need any help from us. Just…”

“So then she must have fought alone,” Zeus said as if he had expected it from Athena.

“Yes, but…”

Before Edward could speak, Zeus and Lee Jun-Kyeong looked at each other.

Zeus was the first to speak, “The Rulers still remain.”

“Her mission had been to gather the American Hunters and bring them back.”

Due to her personality, she was the type to risk her life to carry out any mission.

“Then she must have gone to catch the Rulers.”

“She must have clashed with the Rulers,” Zeus and Lee Jun-Kyeong said at the same time.

Edward had begged them to please save Athena earlier.

“Then, where is she?” Zeus said to Edward with eyes aflame. “Tell me where she is headed.”

***

One Ruler had died in a battle between Rulers. Excluding it, the other four Rulers were still more than enough for the party to feel enormous pressure.

‘She hasn’t clashed with them yet.’

Athena had left a few days ago. However, there were no signs of any battles yet. The party was sure of it as there was no way that Zeus or Lee Jun-Kyeong wouldn’t have noticed it if that amount of power had clashed together.

Athena hadn’t yet encountered the Rulers.

‘She’ll bump into them soon.’

They could sense a huge amount of auras gathering in one place. Either because they had already acknowledged Athena as a strong enemy or because they wanted to fight among themselves, the Rulers had all gathered in one place.

“Even if it’s Athena, it’ll be difficult,” Lee Jun-Kyeong said to Zeus.

“I already know. And she knows it too.” Zeus also had a serious expression.

Even if it was Athena, one of the strongest Hunters in existence, there was no way she hadn’t realized what the result would be from fighting four Rulers at once. It was simply death.

‘No matter what.’

There was absolutely no way for her to survive that battle. Even for Zeus, it was guaranteed that even he would have died in that position if it was him prior to obtaining Chi-Woo’s powers and becoming whole.

“What could Athena be thinking?”

No matter how much she was willing to risk her life to complete her mission, this was beyond reckless.

“She might just have a death wish,” Zeus responded to Lee Jun-Kyeong.

As the two talked, people began to gather behind them—the Hunters that could still be useful that Edward had mentioned.

1. Black ops units. Back in the Korean War, they were essentially secret units of troops sent on national security missions with over 60% fatality rates. Some of these missions were so dangerous that they were awarded posthumous medals of valor before even embarking on the missions. ☜