Episode 213 Nastrond (3)
[Pass by. Adversary of the prophecy.]
‘The one who broke the oath’ said so and sent Jaehyun through the next gateway.
Jaehyun took a light step towards the inside.
‘Have I passed the two gates now?’
only one thing left.
Two days had already passed.
Jaehyun intended to quickly break through and go back in time for the ordeal.
Anyway, what I’m going through right now is nothing more than a weapon enhancement quest.
In the end, the reason he arrived in Niflheim was to undergo the third ordeal.
There was no time to delay for this.
“The third gateway may be against you.”
“A polarity?”
Jaehyun looked at Hella who explained that and asked again.
However, she didn’t say more, just shrugged her shoulders.
Jaehyun felt it.
‘It must mean that the final gateway is not easy.’
Greung!
Poppy poked at Jaehyun’s trouser hem and comforted him as if to cheer him up.
I remember seeing it a little while ago. This was making Jaehyun’s expression darker than ever.
Jaehyun let go of his hardened expression and walked forward again.
In any case, we must move forward.
It was a fact that, if not deeply recalled, would soon be forgotten.
* * *
[Ahhhhh…!]
[Ahhhh…! Ahhhhh … !!]
The last gateway to Nastrond, waiting for reproduction, was the hell of wolves tearing humans.
Blood-stained leather clothes and raging wolf teeth were strewn about.
Most of them are bladed, such as swords or spears.
“They are sinners who have committed murder. They are the ones who kill the innocent.
They will be constantly torn by wolves here at the third gateway.”
It is a place where murder is punished.
After all, killing a person in any place seemed to be the greatest sin.
Jaehyun looked around for a moment and then moved forward, ignoring the rows of dying dead.
Greung…!
Because of Hella, there were no sinners running into her, but it wasn’t a nice view anyway.
The dead tried to block their path from time to time, and Jaehyun had no choice but to frown.
Poppy was also crying low, wary of them.
Jaehyun stroked Poppy’s head for a while as if he was okay, then arrived at the last gatekeeper.
As expected of the theme, a man wearing a wolf’s mask was standing in the seat.
“He was the ‘taker of life’. He is the eldest of the triplets and the gatekeeper of the final gateway.”
Hella gave a brief explanation this time as well. Jaehyun nodded and walked towards him.
‘The one who took life’ opened his mouth.
[It’s been a long time since a human has come to the final gateway. No… I’m not a human anymore.]
‘The one who took life’ glanced at the reenactment as if it were interesting.
He seemed to know well about himself, the antagonist of the prophecy.
As a representation, that wasn’t too bad. There will be less to explain.
“I want to go through the last door. What should I do?”
At Jaehyun’s question, ‘the one who took away life’ looked at him for a moment, then shook his head.
[Hmm… You must have killed quite a few people.] For
some reason, the unshakable face of the ‘those who took lives’ looked stiff.
Jaehyun’s eyebrows narrowed, and an annoyed voice came out from him.
“so. Are you saying you can’t let me in?”
[No, that’s not it. The motives behind your murder are clearly different from those of the other evildoers. All those killed were either evil or irreparably damaged.
But that doesn’t make your sins go away. It’s definitely my fault for not even worrying about whether there was a way to save them.]
“I was more urgent to protect the things around me than to care about those guys.”
[I understand.]
‘The one who took life’ said that as if he really thought so.
He stared straight into Jaehyun’s eyes.
[I also lost a lot. Ragnarok… Because that long war was hell itself more terrible than Nastrond’s prison.
It would be natural to protect colleagues rather than strangers.]
“Can you tell me what I must do to get past the last gate?”
[One thing.]
The head of the ‘those who took life’ suddenly turned and the voice continued.
[Unconditionally affirm what I say. If so, let me pass you by.
Instead, if you give a negative answer or fail to answer my question, I will kill you here.]
“Listen and decide.”
At Jaehyun’s words, ‘the person who took away life’ immediately asked.
[Can you swear never to kill anyone again?
If you go back to before you committed the first murder, can you correct your decision at that time?]
At that, Jaehyun’s expression hardened for a moment.
However, he soon smiled and raised his speculation.
Can you not kill others?
“No, you can’t do that?”
Jaehyun remembered the first person he killed, Jung Woomin.
He was a trash that couldn’t even be treated as a human who tried to kill himself after his mother.
Jaehyun asked himself.
Can I really not kill him if I go back to the past?
Could I have made a different choice?
no no
“Even if I go back then, I will make the same choice. I have no regrets.”
[Kill.]
With Jaehyun’s voice, the order of ‘the one who took life’ came down.
Kreurreung!
The wolves surrounding them all rushed towards Jaehyun.
Poppy quickly stood in front of Jaehyun.
It was an instinctive posture to protect the owner.
Hella smiled and looked at Jaehyun.
“As expected, it’s your ending. It would be a road that could pass if you lied once. Are you going to turn everyone in Nastrond into enemies?”
“If you have to.”
Hela couldn’t help but admire Jaehyun’s actions from the bottom of his heart.
‘As expected, I’m a big enemy. Jaehyun always moves in the direction he thinks is right. Don’t get discouraged, just stay calm. That’s great power.’
From the beginning, Hella knew what the gatekeeper of the last gate, the ‘those who took life’, would ask Jae-hyeon.
Can you never kill people again?
It was a kind of test.
There are countless sinners who pretend to be remorseful just to escape this situation.
However, they are eaten by Nidhogg as soon as they pass the last gate.
It was because the person he hated the most was a person who falsely pretended to reflect and deceived himself.
Nidhogg waits beyond the last gate and preys on those hypocrites who come to Hvergelmir.
Those who deceive people and only take advantage of their own interests always bring disaster.
Nidhogg is working to tear those souls to pieces so they can never be reincarnated again.
However, Hella never explained this to Jaehyun.
Then, why did Jae-hyun decide to fight against the ‘those who took their lives’ instead of deceiving them?
In her opinion, Jaehyun just didn’t want to lie.
He just didn’t try to deceive himself and avoid his sins.
Jaehyun was aware.
What he had to do from now on could never be done without blood on his hands.
You cannot kill Odin by starting to run away to escape the situation.
You cannot destroy Asgard and stop the second Ragnarok.
Hella looked at Jaehyun with a satisfied expression.
The previous ‘those who took life’ didn’t have a bad expression either. He seemed to be enjoying himself again.
Do not deceive yourself and fight with force.
How many people are you talking about?
Even Jaehyun was strong.
He neither overconfided nor overconfided himself.
He was just certain.
that you will win
“I will help too. This is not an ordeal.”
Hella raised her magic power. Poppy also grew in size with a short grunt.
The battle between the three beings against the wolves at the last gateway to Nastrond has begun.
Jaehyun grabbed the sword he had made without hesitation.
Awesome!
Then, the cool sensation of slashing the wolf spread through his hands and through his whole body.
I wouldn’t kill someone needlessly.
but.
‘If anyone gets in my way, I’ll get rid of it.’
That was Jaehyun’s course of action.
* * *
Deep in Hvergelmir. There is one existence watching the battle of Jaehyun.
Nidhogg, a venomous dragon with a huge body.
He was the guardian of this spring and the dragon that gnawed at the roots of Yggdrasil.
[An interesting guy came to see me after a long time.]
Behind Nidhogg, countless corpses were piled up like a mountain.
Murderers who passed the last gate with hypocrisy. They have been degraded to Nidhogg’s dining street.
[Did you say it was Min Jae-hyeon…
He will definitely reach this place.] Nidhogg knew well that Jae-hyeon was strong.
No matter how strong ‘the one who took life’ is, it is difficult to defeat an existence that has completed the 2nd stage of godhood release.
Already, Jaehyun proved himself every moment and overcame his limitations to gain the strength he has now.
At the very least, it had been a long time since the gatekeeper was able to deal with it.
Nidhogg nodded and stretched his long body.
“Then, he will come to see me in the evening at the earliest, so get ready soon…”
The very moment he turned off the magic of the crystal ball he was using to observe the reappearance.
Quaang!
With a roar that erupted from the front, the door to the last gateway opened wide.
The corners of Nidhogg’s mouth rose mercilessly.
His party, including Jaehyun, was standing there.
They arrived at Hvergelmir many times faster than they expected. This was unexpected.
[That’s interesting…! The adversary… It’s beyond imagination!]
“Thank you for the compliment, but… why don’t you strengthen your weapon first? You know, I’ve come a long way.”
Jaehyun’s clever words.
Contrary to what I said, Jae-hyun got rid of the wolves in an instant and arrived here.
At a speed that even Nidhogg would be amazed at.
[Sorry, but that won’t work.]
Nidhogg continued as he raised his mana.
[I was looking forward to it quite a bit. Fighting against you, the antagonist of the prophecy.]
At that moment, Jaehyun’s ears suddenly started ringing loudly.
-caution! For the first time, I encountered a mythical being with full character.
―The difference in class is extreme!
―Stop fighting immediately.
―Stop fighting immediately.
However, Jaehyun did not back down.
He laughed and raised his mana to the fullest.
“I think I met someone worth fighting for after a while. Do you think so too? Hella.”
“You know what? Jaehyun is just as insane as Idoon.”
Of course, she was smiling as well.
Jaehyun caught his breath and looked ahead.
Needhog.
The owner of Hvergelmir in mythology and one who is described as the strongest among those with poison.
Right now, Jaehyun was about to battle against such an existence.
Nidhogg moved his huge body and took a combat stance.
[Don’t worry. I won’t do my best.]
“Of course I should. If you kill me here, you will lose too, right?”
Nidhogg smiled at Jaehyun’s bold words.
He looked at Jaehyun, exposing sharp white fangs.
[O antagonist of the prophecy. From now on, I will test you.]
Jaehyun couldn’t help but laugh at those words. He shrugged his shoulders and accepted the words.
“However much.”
