From Today, I'm a Player

Chapter 258. The Last Barrier Pt. 8

[Mistilteinn has been activated.]

It was the first message he had heard after the battle had begun.

‘Mistilteinn?’

The reason that Lee Jun-Kyeong had been flustered was more so the fact that Mistilteinn, not Surtr, had been activated. It was the branch of the world tree that Elfame had in his possession and had now become Surtr’s Spear. It clearly had tremendous mana and an incomprehensible strength.

After becoming one with Surtr, Lee Jun-Kyeong had assumed that its abilities had disappeared.

‘Mistilteinn still has special abilities?’i

CRACK!!

“Agh!”

As the ice cracked and Baldur’s rage spread, Lee Jun-Kyeong let out a small exclamation. Surtr, surrounded by swirling flames, began to change.

“Master… Is that?”

Within those flames, inside the ultra-high heat that would melt anything, tree branches began to extend. The extending tree branches consumed the flames and stretched back into the body of the spear. As the spear became permeated with aura, it flowed back into Lee Jun-Kyeong once again.

“Agh!!”

With it came the mana, strength and knowledge that Mistilteinn possessed. It was the incredible amount of knowledge contained within the World Tree. Unknowable and incomprehensible things began to flow through Lee Jun-Kyeong’s head.

That wasn’t the end of it, either. There was also an incomprehensible power that felt familiar. Lee Jun-Kyeong stood there with a blank expression with his arm held forward.

Crack!!!

The ice was breaking further.

"Master!"

Hyeon-Mu shouted at Lee Jun-Kyeong, who seemed to have lost his mind. Although he tried his best to maintain the ice, Baldur’s resistance was too strong. Moreover, his mana was depleting as well.

“Cough!”

He didn’t know what was going on with Lee Jun-Kyeong right now, but because of it, the bond between the Familiars and the master had been broken, leaving him in a situation in which he was unable to receive the enormous amount of mana needed.

“Oh.”

Although Hyeon-Mu tried to do the best he could with every fiber of his being, when Lee Jun-Kyeong exclaimed again, finally, the ice at the top of the seal broke, and Baldur shouted, “I’ll kill you, you dog bastard!”

Perhaps because of the pain that he had undergone in the ice, he screamed with bloodshot eyes, “I’ll kill you all! I’ll kill you all! You! The world! I’ll kill you all!!”

Baldur shrieked as if it was the last thing he would ever do and finally pulled his arm out of the seal. Hyeon-Mu couldn't hold on any longer and fell down.

“Cough, cough, cough!”

Hel, who still had some strength left, tried to restrain the Hunter as Lee Jun-Kyeong let out another exclamation and closed his eyes.

“Oh. Oh!”

"Master!"

"Master!"

When Hel and Hyeon-Mu shouted at the same time, a storm of heat erupted.

WOOOSH!

***

“…”

An unusual situation was unfolding at a place far away from the Association building.

“...”

The party stood, holding their breath while watching over their prisoner. Heimdall had said that he couldn’t speak about anything until the fight between Baldur and Lee Jun-Kyeong had ended. It was a restriction imposed on him by the Demon King.

As a result, everyone was holding their breath and watching.

“Can you see the situation, Merlin?”

The battle was at a place too far away to be seen. They could only guess what was going on from the changes in the mana. However, they had asked Merlin as they assumed she would be able to see over there.

Merlin replied, “There’s a veil, Arthur. It’s blocking all external gazes.”

“For now… The Underdog has the upper hand, right?”

A brightly shining veil blocked their gazes, but their senses were still able to uncover a certain amount of information about the situation there. Lee Jun-Kyeong’s mana was overwhelming Baldur.

“He’s even pulled out Hel and Hyeon-Mu… It looks like things aren’t going well.”

Considering he had even received help from his Familiars, they wondered if that meant that the situation wasn’t as good as they thought. But it couldn’t be.

“Immortality… He must just be looking for a solution.”

Heimdall had said that Baldur had also gained an Authority close to that of True Immortality. Lee Jun-Kyeong was most likely looking for a solution.

“Lee Jun-Kyeong…” Zeus said. “He considered many ways to deal with Immortals.”

They had discussed it together: methods to kill those who couldn’t die.

“If he’s brought out Hyeon-Mu and Hel, he must be trying a seal.”

Zeus remembered that one of those methods that Lee Jun-Kyeong had brought up had been how to freeze and seal their enemies.

“It’ll be over soon.”

Lee Jun-Kyeong had practiced that very sealing power on Zeus. It was an ice seal that was created through endless agony and experiments. Even though it had only been once, Zeus had experienced it properly. It was impossible to stop, and in a way, it really was a true form of sealing. Lee Jun-Kyeong would seal Baldur and move on.

“His mana is increasing.”

The mana of the area increased.

“The sealing must have begun.”

The group looked nervous as their senses were expanded to the max. They couldn’t miss what was to happen. They hadn’t even encountered the Demon King yet, so Lee Jun-Kyeong couldn’t be tied down by Baldur.

Sensing the mana explode and soar suddenly, Horus also commented, “It must be over now.”

There was a huge amount of mana. From where they stood, they saw what seemed to be the combined mana of three beings pouring into one. Even if Baldur couldn’t die, they could at least seal him.

However, Heimdall only said something cryptic with a worried gaze, "Indeed…”

The group tried to ignore him and concentrated.

Finally, the mana stabilized. It was over. The resonance of the remaining mana belonged to the Underdog.

“It’s a success.”

It was clear that Baldur had been successfully sealed. Merlin sighed as Arthur and Horus looked as though they had already expected this result. On the other hand, Athena had a complex expression. There was only one person who looked concerned.

“What’s with that expression?” Zeus asked.

Only Heimdall was looking toward the Association with concern, a face full of questions.

“Baldur is finished, so tell us everything.”

Now that Baldur had fallen, Zeus had assumed that he could hear everything.

“Yet… Not yet.”

“...”

Merlin suddenly shouted urgently, “The mana is soaring again! I’m starting to sense Baldur’s mana!”

"Just how…!!”

Not only could they feel the mana of Baldur that had previously disappeared, but his mana was also rapidly rising as well. Zeus looked urgently at Heimdall.

"What happened?! What sort of trap is this?!”

He knew what the ice seal meant because he had experienced it himself. It was the sort of thing that could never be escaped. However, Heimdall still seemed so calm.

“So you still don’t understand the meaning of True Immortality. Death to them isn’t something that’s possible even if they wish for it…” Heimdall said in a somewhat lonely tone. However, this wasn’t the time to be concerned about it.

“I’ll have to go, even if it’s late,” Zeus said.

The man who had stopped the others from heading towards the Underdog was about to step forward after fully recovering.

“Please take care of Heimdall.”

He would save the Underdog and handle Baldur. Lee Jun-Kyeong had to move on.

However, Heimdall called out, “Stop.”

“You…”

Zeus looked at Heimdall with eyes full of fire. Before long, he read the emotions in Heimdall’s gaze. It wasn’t that he didn’t worry about the Underdog.

“Trust in him. Jun-Kyeong will handle it.”

It was just that he trusted Lee Jun-Kyeong. This situation was stressful and frustrating.

“This…!” Arthur shouted.

A storm of heat blew over the sky.

“Finally…” Heimdall said amidst the palpable heat. It was a hot and searing wind. “So he woke it. That power.”

Lee Jun-Kyeong, that brat, had done it.

“That power…?” Zeus tried to ask Heimdall a question.

“Barrier!” Merlin shouted urgently.

Soon, everyone unleashed their mana with all of their might as the approaching storm turned into a typhoon.

***

The storm turned into a typhoon as Lee Jun-Kyeong stood in the eye, standing still with Surtr still extended forward.

"Master!"

"Master!"

Hel and Hyeon-Mu called out to Lee Jun-Kyeong and tried to approach him.

“Ugh!”

Unfortunately, the storm of heat emitted by Lee Jun-Kyeong refused to allow them to approach.

“Wait for me.”

As the storm grew, they heard Lee Jun-Kyeong and stopped struggling to reach him. Then, they got down on one knee and accepted the wave of heat.

“We pledge to the master.”

The wave of heat was so hot that it seemed as though it was about to melt them, but it soon became a warm breeze.

“AGHHHH!”

However, it was only a warm breeze for them as painful screams continued to reach them from a distance. Baldur had finally broken the ice seal and was shrieking.

Thud.

He took one step forward even though he was melting in the heat. Unfortunately, that was all he could do, as soon, two legs and two arms melted. Then, his lower body and upper body followed.

He shouted and began to regenerate once more, “I told you, I can’t die!”

It was a terrifying vitality—no, an Immortality Authority. As the Hunter looked up at the sky, screaming and yelling, he tried to run forward.

Bang!

Using his Authority of Light, he first and foremost tried to escape the storm of heat as quickly as possible.

“It’s no use.”

With Lee Jun-Kyeong’s voice like the messenger of death, Baldur was thrown to the ground.

BAM!!

He tried to stand up but wasn’t able to.

“I’LL KILL YOU! KILL YOU!”

Thud.

Spitting words of evil, Baldur suppressed his screams of pain and took another step forward.

BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM!

Unable to overcome the storm, Baldur flew up into the air and plummeted back down dozens of times. All Lee Jun-Kyeong had done was extend Surtr forward. That was it.

“It’s of no use. It’s all useless. I can’t die!” Baldur roared as he stretched out his fist. All of the mana he had at his disposal was concentrated into one point.

BANG, BANG, BANG!

It collided with the hot air and created an explosion. Light mixed into swirls, confusing everyone who was watching.

“This is impossible…”

Then, Baldur’s voice cut through the gale. Suddenly, the light he was emitting disappeared, his appearance revealed.

“I… I’m dying…?”

His entire body was flowing onto the ground, but it had stopped regenerating. He turned his head toward Lee Jun-Kyeong, his body motionless in the heat as his melted hair stuck to his face.

“I’m dying…”

At some point, he had stopped regenerating. He couldn’t do it anymore.

“I can’t survive anymore…” Baldur muttered in a low voice. “No!”

However, he immediately stretched out his melted fists as a light that couldn’t be compared to anything from before enveloped all directions. He tried to push his way through the typhoon of flames, but his footsteps couldn’t be heard.

“I refuse to die! I haven’t been able to do anything yet! Please! Please!!!”

The man who had said he wanted to die was now begging for his life. Despite his pleas, the typhoon didn’t stop.

Thud.

Finally, he fell to his knees.

"I’m going to die…”

He couldn’t escape the feeling of death. He couldn’t regenerate. Now, it was the death he had been waiting for for so long.

“…”

It was futile. Lee Jun-Kyeong couldn’t tell if what was falling from Baldur’s eyes were tears or melted flesh as he finally fell to the ground.

Thud.

Afterward, Baldur’s voice was transmitted to Lee Jun-Kyeong.

–Thank you.

The roaring typhoon of flames gradually died down as Lee Jun-Kyeong, who was standing in the eye of the storm, stood with his eyes closed. As he stood silently, a system message popped up.

[Your level has increased.]

‘Finally.’

[You have reached level 100.]

[You have achieved an incredible feat.]

He had reached level 100. Lee Jun-Kyeong still had his eyes closed.

[You have awakened the powers of the source.]

The notifications didn’t end there either.

[ has sponsored you…]

It was what he had been waiting for.

[A title.]