Chapter 548
Crash! Boom!
A greatsword and a spear clashed like a storm.
Each attack was so fierce, it was hard to even call this a spar anymore.
Holes opened in the ground, and trees were sliced up like toothpicks.
Slice!
Thunk!
As time went on, Frey and Behemoth grew more attuned to each other’s spacing, making their combined assault several times stronger than before.
But—
Despite relentlessly attacking, Behemoth and Frey didn’t look satisfied.
‘Damn it, is this even possible?’
‘…We’re getting stronger, but our master is getting even stronger.’
They were giving it everything.
No, the better their coordination, the more they kept growing.
Even so—
The gap was only widening.
Now, Jinhyuk could read the trajectory of every attack.
It was unbelievable, even as they collided with all their might and saw it with their own eyes.
“Damn it, are we just going to keep getting dragged around like this?”
“…Yeah, I know.”
[Frey activates Lv30 ‘Dance of the Doll’!]
[Behemoth activates Lv?? ‘Colossal Draw’!]
A stabbing thrust leaving afterimages. A slash sharp enough to cut through anything.
Both attacks came at once.
Jinhyuk spun lightly counterclockwise.
As long as you know the exact trajectory and where the flow of magic weakens…
…No matter how strong the attack, it can be neutralized.
Clang, clang, clang!
The spear and the greatsword were deflected at the same time.
Their best attacks were effortlessly blocked.
‘The synergy between them is really no joke.’
A gentle smile played on Jinhyuk’s lips.
This was better than he expected.
There couldn’t be many on the 30th floor who could face this combo.
Tap.
Jinhyuk came to a stop.
His sword tip dipped, signaling the fight had peaked.
Normally, this would be the right time to call it.
He’d gauged their skills well enough.
But—
Reason and emotion gave completely different answers.
He wanted to go even harder, loosen up with a more intense fight.
“This time, it’s my turn.”
[Unique Ability ‘Grave of Swords’ is activated!]
Whoosh!
Crimson flames erupted along Crimson Lotus.
[Unique Ability ‘Earthquake’ is activated!]
Jinhyuk launched his attack as the ground split apart.
A martial art from ‘Heavenly Demon Divine Art’ unleashed power unimaginable from a dagger.
“Haha! Looks like you’re really going all out. Good! That’s how it should be!”
Behemoth raised her greatsword straight up.
She had no intention of backing down, choosing to meet the attack head-on.
At the same time—
Jinhyuk’s sword completed its technique.
Crash, crash, crash, crash, crash, crash!
‘Thousand Demon Sword.’
A horizontal slash that seemed to slice through space itself.
“…That’s dangerous. Yeah.”
Frey sensed the killing intent and leapt back.
Behemoth, on the other hand, only got more fired up in the face of that murderous aura.
Boom!
“Graaaagh!”
Behemoth’s body was sent flying.
She’d poured every bit of her magic into the attack, but the shock she received was far beyond expectations.
There was no way to win in this form.
Letting go of her last bit of restraint, Behemoth began redistributing magic throughout her entire body.
She was about to reveal her true form.
Sparks flew in every direction as a storm swept across the entire mansion.
Whoooosh!
The fierce wind threatened to blow everything in sight away.
Without intense focus, it was hard just to keep your balance.
What the hell—
Was she serious?
“Hey! Wait… Hold up, there’s a line! A line!”
Jinhyuk shouted desperately.
Of all things, if Behemoth—one of the ancient beings specialized in floor destruction—manifested here, the painstakingly rebuilt Asgard could be reduced to ashes again.
This was disaster level.
But at that very moment—
“What do you think you’re doing while I’m eating?! My whole meal is ruined!”
A scream packed with the fury of the world rang out.
It was Alice, who’d been in such a good mood just moments ago.
[Unique Holy Spear ‘Apocalypse of Revelation’ is activated!]
The sky darkened to black.
And from above—
Red spears pierced the clouds and rained down mercilessly.
Crash! Boom!
“The True Ancestor’s Unique Holy Spear… Yeah. Survival chance: 0%.”
“Aaaagh!”
“Kyaaah!”
It was hell.
It almost made Behemoth going full power seem preferable.
So began Alice’s rampage, fueled by her ruined meal.
One minute, three minutes… five minutes.
As time passed, the mansion became unrecognizable.
Even the cliff was shredded like an old rag.
Vwooom!
Finally, the long-awaited saviors arrived.
[The deities of Ragnarok appear.]
Heimdall opened the gate connecting the spaces.
As the portal opened, familiar faces stepped out.
“My, you all really went wild.”
Heimdall pressed his finger to his temple.
Beside him stood Thor, Loki, Baldur, Freyja, and finally Hela.
They’d made such a ruckus, there was no way all of Asgard hadn’t noticed.
“Thought there was a war going on.”
“Haha! For strong warriors, even missing a day of training isn’t allowed. Let me join next time.”
“Please, spare me the jokes. At this rate, this place might really disappear.”
“Hm. That might be fun in its own way.”
“Loki… One troublemaker is enough with Thor.”
Each deity threw in a comment.
Odin was the only one missing—otherwise it was practically an all-star gathering.
“We might’ve gone a little overboard. We were planning to stop here anyway.”
“Oh, ending already? Since it’s come to this, I was hoping to assess the famous Veteran Corporation members a bit more.”
Loki clicked his tongue in disappointment.
“Keheh. I feel the same, but there’ll be plenty of chances ahead. This friend will be working with us for a long time.”
“For now, let’s focus on wrapping up the meeting. Kang Jinhyuk, you do have a plan, right?”
Baldur asked cautiously.
A plan…
Of course he had one.
A delicious carrot, a fiery stick, and even a hidden card to flip the table if needed.
“I wouldn’t disappoint you after being entrusted with this.”
Jinhyuk smiled leisurely.
At that moment, the clock struck midnight.
[The postwar summit begins!]
[The four deities gather in one place!]
[High-level and mid-level Administrators are observing this meeting.]
The curtain rose on a turning point between war and peace.
⁕⁕⁕
At the center of Asgard.
A huge crowd gathered at the lake where Yggdrasil’s roots lay.
The Norse deities, the Celestials, and Eden’s angels all eyed each other warily.
It was only natural.
A postwar summit in name only—these were enemies who’d been at each other’s throats just days before.
Given the chance, they’d draw their swords at any moment.
And at the very center stood the only person whose words could sway every faction.
The one who decided the war’s outcome.
Kang Jinhyuk of the Veteran Corporation.
“Thank you all for coming such a long way. It’s been rainy and chilly lately—have you all been well?”
Jinhyuk steadied his voice and opened with a routine greeting.
“……”
“…As if we care.”
“We’re not here for pleasantries.”
Of course, the mood was icy.
“Ahem! I know we all still have hard feelings, but we can’t keep growling at each other forever, right? Time to move on and look ahead.”
“He’s right! We want to end this damn war too. But those unworthy of being called warriors refuse to accept the outcome and keep stabbing us in the back!”
Bang!
Thor slammed the table.
His bulging muscles and the Mjolnir in his grip only added to the force.
“When did we ever stab anyone in the back?”
Uriel’s brows twisted sharply.
“You’re spouting nonsense.”
“My, if you’re going to make wild accusations without proof… Well, maybe it’s too much to expect the Thunder God to use his brain.”
Athena and Aphrodite from Olympus shrugged.
‘This isn’t going to be easy.’
Trying to forge a ceasefire among these tigers in one place—
It already made Jinhyuk’s head spin.
And—
‘…Something’s off.’
Jinhyuk narrowed his eyes.
He’d felt a subtle unease since entering the meeting.
Normally, the barrier around Yggdrasil would completely seal this area.
No unauthorized beings should be able to enter or eavesdrop.
But with his sharp senses, Jinhyuk noticed some gaps.
They were so subtle that no one else would notice.
But Jinhyuk, who’d even personally raised a Yggdrasil sapling, could see the difference clearly.
‘…Someone’s been tampering.’
It wasn’t Olympus, the Celestials, or Eden.
No outsider could manipulate Yggdrasil’s system that easily.
In that case—
There was only one possibility.
An enemy on the inside.
Someone with enough information and access to directly interfere with Yggdrasil.
⁕⁕⁕
At the same time.
Unusual events were unfolding outside the Tower as well.
“Huh…?”
Manager Kim Wonseok and Deputy Cha Seongho of the Korea Awakened Association doubted what they were seeing.
“Seongho, that’s… right?”
“Yes. I checked again. It’s definite.”
A tall man with long red hair and a bodybuilder’s physique had emerged from the gate.
That alone wasn’t too strange.
With so many people passing through the Tower of Trials, a big man wasn’t a problem.
But if that person was an unregistered, unauthorized entrant, it was an entirely different matter.
Whether by accident or on purpose—
He had to be stopped.
But—
“Wait…”
Bang!
With an explosive sound, Deputy Cha Seongho’s upper body vanished as he tried to call out.
Only his lower half remained, collapsing to the ground.
“What filthy human dares to lay a hand on me?”
Ares’s eyes filled with disgust as he looked down.
Then, recalling Athena’s advice, he clicked his tongue.
“Tch! That nag told me not to kill anyone if I could help it, but I slipped. Oh well. As long as I wipe out all the witnesses, there’ll be no problem.”
He resolved to kill everyone in the building.
[Ares summons the ‘Sword of War’!]
Vwooom!
A double-edged sword 60 cm long appeared through subspace.
“Sound the alarm… contact the guild…!”
Kim Wonseok tried to shout, but it was too late.
The blade had already sliced his neck.
With a mere gesture, not only did he cut through a man, but also the pillar and wall behind him.
Crack, crack, crack!
The building shook.
Then the whole place began to collapse.
“Aaaagh!”
“It’s collapsing!”
“Everyone out!”
Screams and shouts mixed together.
“Hm. So this is his hometown…”
Amid the falling rubble, Ares thought to himself.
He would turn this city—no, this whole country—into a battlefield.