An Unwanted Reunion
The snake in the Bible is portrayed as a wicked, cunning creature. That makes sense—real snakes are fast, agile, and dangerous. But the food chain doesn't play favorites. Even the strongest predator has a weakness to whatever hunts it. And so the greatest weakness of the colossal void serpent before us was its speed.
No matter how much raw power it possessed or how thickly it spewed void energy, to a quick-footed hero it was nothing more than a lumbering target. Look at it—someone with familiar blond hair had already sliced through its scales and taken its head in a single clean stroke, right?
I felt the electric thrill travel up the blade and landed lightly atop a boulder. The Viking warriors had already worn the thing down, which made the cut easy. The giant had latched onto the beasts, pinning their movements and buying me time. We'd only killed two of them so far, but morale was soaring.
The one who radiates light in front of shadows. The one who spreads hope to everyone. That's what a hero is. And right now, that hero was me. Honestly? It felt pretty damn cool.
“Uahahahaha! Guess my worries were pointless after all!”
“You think I'd actually die to trash like this?”
If anyone thought that, they were dead wrong. We might have really cut ties for good. Who the hell did they think I was? Kim Taesik—the hero who'd faced down countless legion commanders in the Demon Realm. A mere oversized snake wasn't going to be my end.
And now I was certain of one thing.
“This confirms it. Hel intends to swallow the entire world.”
“She's planning to rebel against the gods themselves.”
“You already suspected as much, didn't you? It was strange that someone with this much power never invaded Midgard for hundreds of years.”
“So it's definitely the prelude to something big.”
I could only pray that something wasn't Ragnarok. Hel's move to repay the karmic debt caused by Odin's actions would drag both gods and humans into death. When humans fight each other, the body count is already horrific. If the gods went to war? Oh man, that would be apocalyptic.
Would I have to step up again? Would running away be the answer a second time? No—the surest solution was to kill Hel before any of that happened. The hero must kill the Demon King. Only by killing her could I, the hero, return home.
Her story was undeniably unfair and tragic. Abandoned in the land of the dead simply for being born Loki's daughter, simply because half her face was monstrously hideous. But I couldn't stomach how her hatred for Odin had spilled over onto us humans. She'd committed a sin far too great to be forgiven.
How many humans had she slaughtered while raising her army for revenge? And she'd done it for hundreds of years! Even if I felt a shred of sympathy for Hel, I could never understand her choices. A son of a bitch with a tragic backstory is still a worse son of a bitch. Having a sad past doesn't justify anything. If you're going to take revenge, at least aim at the right target. Going full edgelord and killing everyone just makes you a rabid dog.
I could understand the feeling, but I could never condone the actions. If it weren't for her, I would never have been summoned to this world. I wouldn't have spent two years in that hero's party being treated like garbage. I was the hero. I was the party leader, damn it.
If this were Korea, I'd have reported every last one of them and pinned their asses on every gallery until they learned their lesson. Their faces, names, and personal info would have been doxxed across every SNS platform. What era did they think this was? Treating someone like an outcast or a slave? Ah, fuck. I'm getting pissed off all over again just thinking about it.
“Aaaaaagh!”
“Why the hell are you throwing a tantrum, Taesik!”
“Gyaaaaaaaagh!”
“...He's finally lost his mind.”
Aaaaaagh!
The void energy appeared clearly in my vision. The purple aura rose like damp morning fog over a river, yet it burned hot as flames. The fires of hell, the Demon Realm, Helheim. It possessed the property of driving humans insane.
“Take them out before we destroy the nest!”
“Form ranks! Shields up!”
“Do not let the void energy corrupt you! Block it!”
“Fall back!”
U! U! U! U! U!
The Vikings' war cries echoed. The mighty giants encircled the serpents, axes and swords extended. The Vikings chanted runes, raising blessed shields high to repel the void energy.
To think these were just hatchlings. Just how enormous was Jormungandr if these were his offspring? Ten baby serpents had emerged from a single scale. When I'd visited this nest a year ago, there had been no trace of them.
...Had they grown? Then the correct answer was still to handle this quickly.
The massive tail lashed out violently. The Vikings' shields would never withstand that brutal pressure—they'd shatter in an instant. I charged.
KIIEEEEEEEEEK!
The tail rose above the water, dragging a colossal wave with it. I sliced through the water. I ran. Becoming a sonic boom, I split the 'terror' descending upon them cleanly in two.
Slash!
The severed cross-section of the tail spun through the air. The wind pressure was ferocious. The split waves were hurled even farther apart. It flew through the sky exactly like Moses' miracle.
The serpent's tail, infused with void energy, began regenerating. I wasn't about to sit back and watch that shit. It was fucking disgusting. Regeneration? That's straight-up cheating. A single monster acting as tank, DPS, and healer all by itself? The correct answer was to dice it into pieces before it could recover.
“Odin. Grant me your blessing.”
Pure white light enveloped my body once more. It flowed down the holy sword like sticky, dripping blood.
Honestly, wasn't the buff cooldown way too short? Once you bless someone, you should keep it active until the fight's over. I'm not asking for the moon here. Odin, I'm the one cleaning up the mess you made. Can't a so-called god at least manage that much?
“Tch.”
I clicked my tongue and spat on the ground.
Banaheim. In the distant past, it was the blessed land where the Vanir gods once lived. Now it had become the home of humans who worshipped the chief god Odin. It was rather fascinating that the land of the Vanir now served the Aesir. Of course, so much time had passed that it hardly mattered anymore.
Banaheim was divided into two major powers: the Banaheim Kingdom, which inherited the region's spirit, and the eastern Ludrick Kingdom, a land famous for its hot springs and resorts.
The massive castle walls of Banaheim Kingdom. This structure, blessed by Odin, connected the castle and the town while serving as a barrier against outside invasion. The World Tree Yggdrasil cast its light upon Banaheim.
With a calm, composed heart, Seria stepped down from the carriage with her maid's assistance. Wearing a blue dress that prominently displayed the lion emblem, she followed the knights' guidance into the royal castle.
“The warrior order isn't coming out to greet us?”
“The warrior order has departed for the Demon Realm on His Majesty's command.”
“I see. Is the hero's absence truly that severe?”
“Yes… The hero has left the party. To speak honestly, the damage has been immense. The people's anxiety is growing by the day.”
Whose fault did they think that was?
“Tsk.”
Seria inwardly hurled curses at Fina and Lunaris. The words were so filthy and vulgar she couldn't possibly speak them aloud. If no one had been watching, they would have flown from her mouth without hesitation. Naturally, she excluded Ragner. Even if that man approached the hero, he could never steal his chastity. The hero was not homosexual.
The only ones Seria needed to guard against and despise were the mage and the saintess. Setting the saintess aside, Seria was no fool—she knew exactly what kind of emotions the mage harbored toward him. The girl herself might not realize her own heart yet, but the desire Seria had witnessed that day had instantly elevated the mage to her number one target of vigilance.
Following the knights inside, she was greeted by the fresh scent of flowers and a chandelier swaying in the gentle breeze. Her eyes fell upon a white-haired elder seated on the throne with a seer at his side. His beard was braided magnificently, and countless scars marked the corners of his eyes. The evidence of his days as a warrior who had rampaged across battlefields was plain to see.
“Seria Lionblood. It is an honor to meet the great warrior.”
“…Yes. You said you had something to tell me?”
“It concerns the hero.”
She revealed everything: the incompetence of the saintess, mage, and warrior; the discrimination they had inflicted upon him; how they had used him as a tool to accumulate honor and wealth; and every word she had heard from his own mouth. She also told them that the hero had set out on a solitary journey to find new comrades. It was the obvious truth—he had not stolen the holy sword.
“Hmm. So it is true.”
“Yes. I heard it directly, and you know better than anyone that he is not a man who would lie.”
“Hahaha! That may be so, but Taesik—that fellow is quite cunning.”
He was good at using his head and acted in ways unbecoming of his age. That earned him extra points.
“I see… so that’s how it is…”
The king nodded, showing his understanding. He ordered the story to be spread across every region. At the same time, he declared that the former members of the hero's party were to be expelled on the charge of tarnishing their honor.
Seria's expression brightened. She secretly giggled at the thought of the praise she would receive from him when he returned.
They said Jormungandr's movements caused floods. The venom he spat could kill even gods. The void hatchlings that Hel had incubated using Jormungandr's scales were eerily similar to their progenitor. While they were tiny compared to a serpent large enough to encircle the continent and bite its own tail, the void energy they spewed from their maws was horrifically toxic. It felt exactly like stepping into the Demon Realm.
But that had nothing to do with me. I'd spent nearly two years in the Demon Realm. I wasn't going to start complaining about it now.
Look—I'd already slaughtered them cleanly.
“What should we do with these things?”
“Corpse disposal isn't my specialty.”
“Hmm… We destroyed the nest, but I'm not sure what to do with the bodies. If we leave them, bugs will swarm.”
One Viking raised his axe, asking if they should eat them and preparing to tear off some flesh. I clicked my tongue.
“Don't eat it and get corrupted, you idiot.”
“Uahahahaha! So it's a test subject!”
“Go ahead and eat it. If you go berserk, I'll kill you myself.”
In other words, it was silent pressure not to eat it. Even if they weren't the brightest, they shouldn't be stupid enough to miss my meaning.
…The one who was stupid was me for thinking that.
“Ueeeeeek!”
“You moron! I told you not to eat it!”
“Huk… huk…”
“And it's not even cooked!”
To think he'd slice off a chunk of monster flesh that even a giant refused, using a blood-soaked axe, and shove it into his mouth. Was that guy brain-dead? Even Tirgar stood with his mouth hanging open in shock.
“Hey, what's that guy's name?”
“…Uh.”
“Isn't he your guest?”
“I'm seeing him for the first time.”
Really? Then why did that appearance feel so familiar?
Even the surrounding Vikings tilted their heads in confusion.
“You. Which tribe are you from?”
“Uahahahaha! How disappointing that you don't recognize this body!”
That speech pattern. Where had I… I frowned, concentrating hard as I tried to remember. Where the hell had I met him? That familiar back, that familiar hair, those familiar tattoos. Even that annoying, boisterous laugh.
In a way, his personality resembled Tirgar's, but it was utterly irritating.
Fuck. Why the hell are you showing up here of all places…?
“Taesik. This isn't edible!”
“Kids, kill that bastard.”
Ragner waved his hand at me with a bright smile.