Particles gather together.
With the pounding heartbeat, the god who had just perished returns once more.
Only then does our Solitary Hero realize.
What the existence of “God” truly means.
No, born as a mortal.
What significance lies in a being who, through sheer willpower alone, has transcended the limits of being a pawn and has been reborn with an immortal body?
He didn’t die.
Even after taking that hit, Lord Jörmungandr did not perish.
Although his flesh was shattered down to the cellular level and scattered across all space, he remained unscathed.
“…Hah.”
So what does that even mean?
I’m still alive.
In that case, I’ll just swing my sword.
The sword strikes out.
It is a slash meant to scatter the particles that were beginning to gather.
However.
——KAAANG!
It bounces back.
Surely, it was still just particles, yet he deflected my attack.
In a delayed reaction, I finish my technique.
Space Slash.
Technique Number 4.
——Void.
The pitch-black slash shoots forth.
It must have contained enough intensity to slice through even Lord Jörmungandr’s scales like tofu.
However.
[…What a peculiar feeling.]
He vanished.
It wasn’t merely ineffective.
The moment I approached him, his slash twisted and completely disintegrated. As if he hadn’t been granted permission to exist in this world.
“What the….”
The eyes of the sword-wielding hero, Lee Ji-hoon, waver.
He blankly stares at the being hovering before him.
He was on an entirely different level than before.
The dark scales and blue eyes had disappeared completely.
Instead, pure white scales enveloped him.
They glowed softly, like armor imbued with radiance, protecting Lord Jörmungandr without the slightest seam in sight.
His blue eyes were different too.
What had once been clear and sky-blue now resembled the eyes of a goddess.
Golden light gleamed within those eyes.
He looked like a dragon.
After living for a thousand years, it was as if the once-serpent had finally ascended to become a dragon.
Such was the transformation.
He had changed dramatically.
The hero understood.
His current status was so elevated that he could no longer fathom its true essence.
And for him, such an existence could only be one of two things.
“Demon God….”
The Goddess and the Demon God.
Even he couldn’t grasp the full extent of their power.
And now.
That existence had become threefold.
It was unbelievable.
Could it be that, at this moment, Lord Jörmungandr…?
“Is equal to the Demon God…?”
It couldn’t be.
The hero’s eyes shook.
I fought tooth and nail to reach that level.
And yet, he comprehended it just like that?
“What nonsense!!”
The tip of the sword trembled.
The hero roared and swung his sword.
Space Slash.
Technique Number 5.
——Nothingness.
The dark blade, as if roaring, surrounded Lord Jörmungandr from all sides.
Swords rose into the sky.
A slew of pitch-black blades formed from dark mist flew toward Lord Jörmungandr like a judge passing sentence.
However.
———KUGOONG!
The heavens warped.
In this bizarre void where no natural phenomena existed, unexpected dark clouds appeared.
The ground cracked, rising as a volcano erupted, while massive waves rolled in, bringing towering hail.
That much didn’t matter.
These mere natural disasters would not stop my onslaught.
But.
It couldn’t connect.
The moment his blade touched the natural disaster, it vanished as if submerged in water, erasing all traces.
Only then did I realize.
That within that natural disaster lay the essence and divinity Lord Jörmungandr had grasped.
His divinity had surpassed the level that the sword-wielding hero could awaken.
Once again, his status elevated far beyond.
“Hah, haha….”
It felt empty.
I thought I gained enlightenment.
Once again, I believed I had broken through a new wall, inching closer to victory.
I wanted to boldly declare to the Goddess.
That you were wrong. That after fighting for thousands of years, I was much stronger than this being you poured your heart into.
I wanted to prove that.
I thought I had done just that.
In my final enlightenment,
I believed I could finally kill even gods forever.
But.
[That was a mistaken enlightenment.]
It meant nothing.
His enlightenment was trivial to the gods who resided in those lofty heights.
“…Shut it.”
What do you know anyway?
What do you know about me, mumbling nonsensical drivel?
Sure, you might understand a lot.
After all, you were born with the potential to become a god.
You were born of Lord Jörmungandr, a god in Norse mythology!
So!!
It was easy for you.
Therefore, therefore…
“I am not wrong!!”
The technique erupts.
The three techniques he had completed through enlightenment launch endlessly toward Lord Jörmungandr.
It didn’t connect.
The moment it neared his shimmering golden divinity, it disintegrated.
Natural disasters rain down.
He swung his sword toward the lightning that blanketed the sky.
He swung his sword against the erupting volcano, the endlessly spewing magma and ash.
He swung his sword against the relentless hail sweeping toward him, ready to wipe everything away.
It didn’t connect.
Surely, the enlightenment he attained was profound.
No assault could strike Lord Jörmungandr.
Panic surged.
This couldn’t be real.
My enlightenment couldn’t be wrong.
Yet.
[……. ]
Lord Jörmungandr merely watched me with calm eyes, high in the sky.
Anger welled up within me.
I swung my sword wildly.
And then, once again,
I unleashed the technique I had been painstakingly pondering.
Space Slash.
Technique Number 1.
——Divine Punishment.
The sword is swung.
This was a technique crafted to punish a god.
Surely, I thought it wouldn’t deal any damage.
After all, this technique’s destructive power paled in comparison to the new enlightenment I had just attained.
I figured it wouldn’t affect him, falling down from the sky amidst chaos.
However.
——CHAACK!
“…Huh?”
The hail split apart.
The hail that had aimed to obliterate everything was now sliced down the middle by his sword strike.
“…Why?”
I couldn’t believe it.
That technique should have been weaker than my newfound enlightenment….
[Not every technique is defined by sheer power.]
The hero’s gaze blankly turned to Lord Jörmungandr.
He spoke calmly while hovering in the sky.
[What were you thinking when you created the third-tier technique?]
“……To kill a god.”
Born as a human.
He endlessly sought techniques to slay the Demon God.
Those techniques had, for a moment, allowed him to stand against the Demon God.
[Then, what were your thoughts when creating the other three-tier techniques?]
“…….”
He tried to abandon everything.
He thought it was okay as long as he could protect her, sacrificing all of himself.
He believed he could break the cycle of endless suffering.
He resolved to share the same fate with the Demon God by sacrificing all the accumulated karma he had built up.
The last three techniques were meant to unleash their true might only at the cost of his own life.
Thus, I thought of those three techniques as my trump card against the Demon God.
But…….
What did I embed within those three techniques?
From way back already…….
[Did you not consider giving up?]
“……!!”
[Every technique carries the will of its creator. But what significance does the resolve of one who has already given up hold?]
It might work on moderately tough opponents.
It certainly worked earlier against Lord Jörmungandr.
But.
That couldn’t be a trump card.
Against an entity with a complete divine status, an attack without meaning is better left unlaunched.
[Now, accept this.]
Golden divinity descended from the sky.
The sword-wielding hero inadvertently caught it in both hands.
As it did, the divinity transformed into glowing particles, permeating the hero’s body.
[Swing your sword again from the beginning. And swing it when you have certainty in yourself.]
“Why… are you giving me this…”
I had only been thinking of killing you.
Then Lord Jörmungandr smirked at the hero.
[Isn’t there someone you need to protect?]
“Princess Eliserde….”
His lover.
Remembering the bright woman like the sun, the sword-wielding hero clenched his fist tightly.
And at the same time.
“…Thank you.”
He bowed his waist.
He sincerely offered his respect to Lord Jörmungandr.
Only now did he grasp why the Goddess had chosen him.
It was because there was no chance for enlightenment for him, who had long lost his humanity after honing himself for thousands of years.
Enduring countless cycles.
He had carved away all the potential within him to gain strength.
Thus.
The Goddess chose him, not me.
[Stay strong.]
Both felt it.
The world crumbling around them.
When they opened their eyes again, it would be in their original world.
Their gazes met.
Both harbored the same thought.
“[Protect it.]”
At last, as the world crumbled.
[……. ]
Lord Jörmungandr opened his eyes.
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