From Today, I'm a Player

Chapter 185: Odin’s Familiars Pt. 2

“It’s open!” Lee Jun-Kyeong shouted.

The veil was opening. No, to be more specific, it was being broken through and forming a path through its barrier.

“Ha-a-eup!”

Yeo Seong-Gu drew out an explosive blast of energy and shot it toward Muninn. Brilliant rainbow colors embroidered the sky and poured over the Familiar in a torrent.

Flash!

The massive green raven emitted a burst of light.

Boom, boom, boom, boom!

As a roaring sound resounded through the sky, Lee Jun-Kyeong’s voice cut through the air, “Hyung!”

The way that he had pierced through the curtain this time was different from before. He couldn’t keep it open for that long.

“Please hurry!”

Yeo Seong-Gu had to cross through the veil at this very moment.

Step.

Yeo Seong-Gu could be seen vaguely in the light. Lee Jun-Kyeong could see it, he was definitely hesitating.

“I’ll be fine…!”

Yeo Seong-Gu found himself in a dilemma. As an enemy was knocking at the door, he had to leave the front on his own.

“Damn it…!”

In the end, Yeo Seong-Gu threw himself into the light, toward the veil where Lee Jun-Kyeong stood. However, Odin’s Familiars refused to let go of Yeo Seong-Gu this easily.

–Caw!!!

–Howl!!!

Although Yeo Seong-Gu had managed to bind Muninn by gathering his strength through the Restraint of Asgard, there were still two Familiars left.

“Hel! Hyeon-Mu!” Lee Jun-Kyeong shouted toward his Familiars to aid Yeo Seong-Gu in passing through the opening.

Shhhh.

Blue waves suddenly came crashing down from the sky as a gloomy aura enveloped them and strengthened the deluge. Yeo Seong-Gu continued to run toward Lee Jun-Kyeong as the two wolves continued to chase him from behind.

Crash!

As the waves hit the wolves, Lee Jun-Kyeong thought that the wave of mana would have been enough to sweep the two wolves away.

“...!”

However, Odin’s Familiars were stronger than he had thought.

Two wolves with massively oversized muscles pounced through the blue waves, their tendons almost bursting through their skin.

Crash! Crash!

Somewhere along the line, as the deluge continued to flow and crash over the wolves, their bodies almost doubled in size.

-Master!

"Master!"

Hel and Hyeon-Mu urgently tried to reach Lee Jun-Kyeong’s side as Yeo Seong-Gu called out to him once again, “Jun-Kyeong!”

However, Lee Jun-Kyeong only firmly shouted, “Just go!”

Seeing that, Yeo Seong-Gu’s hesitation only lasted for a brief moment more, as any continued hesitation would only serve to be an insult to Lee Jun-Kyeong’s actions.

“I’m…I’m sorry…” Yeo Seong-Gu said, his voice barely reaching Lee Jun-Kyeong’s ears.

“It’s fine, so please take good care of Seoul,” Lee Jun-Kyeong responded.

Something crossed through the veil. Yeo Seong-Gu had finally been able to pierce through the veil of Gyeonggi-Do and head toward his destination, Seoul.

–Howl!!!!

However, there were still two wolves rushing toward Lee Jun-Kyeong.

Caw!!

In addition, Muninn soared through the sky and was diving toward Lee Jun-Kyeong. Its target had shifted in place of Yeo Seong-Gu, who had gone beyond the veil.

“Soldiers, rise!”

As Hyeon-Mu shouted, a skeleton army numbering in the hundreds tried to stop the charge of the wolves.

Crack!

However, the skeletons were still weak so they were unable to slow down the wolves’ steps. Moreover, Hel was working to stop Muninn, ordering the spirits to bind the raven.

–Tie them up!

Caw!!!

Muninn simply rose higher into the sky as soon as the deathly aura rose toward it, before diving back down toward Lee Jun-Kyeong, scattering the gathered souls with a flap of its massive wings.

Crack!

Finally, Lee Jun-Kyeong was able to remove his hand from the veil, feeling a break in the connection between his body and the veil. However, he was left in a fragmented state. Due to the aftereffects of breaking the veil, a huge sense of exhaustion dominated his body for the moment.

Unfortunately, the Familiars had reached him.

Boom!

The two wolves, Geri and Freki, ran right in front of Lee Jun-Kyeong and swung down with their huge paws. However, before they were able to hit Lee Jun-Kyeong, something appeared to block them.

Shhhh!!!

Hyeon-Mu refused to let them attack Lee Jun-Kyeong, spewing forth a barrier of water with all of its might. Although it was only flowing water, the giant, fast-moving torrent eventually was able to succeed.

Caw!!!

Simultaneously, Hel continued to summon spirits to attack Muninn as the raven dove down, plummeting from the sky. Dead Hunters, Humans, monsters, all sorts of souls joined forces.

Caw!!

However, everything was scattered with Muninn’s heart-piercing cry.

–No!

Hel shouted loudly, screaming. The Familiar threw its body forward, trying to use its own body to block Muninn, but the raven was too fast for Hel to intercept.

“Gasp…gasp…”

Lee Jun-Kyeong, who had been forcibly holding himself together, picked up Muspel’s Spear.

“Come.”

Caw!!!

He clashed with the raven. Then, the moment that the green and red light burst out, the moment he had clashed with Muninn, Lee Jun-Kyeong looked behind the raven with widened eyes, surprised.

“...!”

Something had appeared.

‘Something has crossed the veil.’

Caw!!!

“Master!”

–Master!

That moment of carelessness, where he had been taken by surprise, produced disastrous results.

***

Smirk.

The eerie laugh sounded out again, and Ungnyeo, still trapped in the room, felt goosebumps.

‘Something’s happened.’

At the same time, she could feel an overwhelming sense of anxiety wash over her. Odin, who seemed to be watching everything, was looking out of the window with an eerie grin. However, what was going on outside didn’t elicit this response from her.

‘Is there something else…?’

Odin wasn’t looking at the battle. No, it was further away than that. He was looking elsewhere.

'Why would he…?'

Ungnyeo quickly racked her brains to find out why. Outside, she could still feel the roar and vibrations of mana, even the screams of the Hunters and the cries of Sangun. Everyone should have been gathered there.

“It couldn’t be…”

Ungnyeo made a sound without even realizing it.

In response, Odin’s voice drifted over, “Looks like you noticed now.”

The Hunter looked over at her with his mouth still curled up into a smirk.

He continued, “Lee Jun-Kyeong is not here.”

“…!”

Ungnyeo had thought that Lee Jun-Kyeong had been next to Sangun right outside the window, but she had finally noticed that things were different from what she had assumed. The aftershocks of the battle outside were so great…no, that wasn’t it. She hadn’t noticed because she had just taken it for granted that he would have been here. However, Lee Jun-Kyeong was gone.

"He's gone somewhere else,” Odin said, his words full of allusions. “He’s finally achieved what he had wished for.”

"What are you talking about?" she asked.

“He wanted something from me… And what he had wanted just happened,” Odin continued, his words completely incomprehensible.

Ungnyeo felt even greater anxiety.

Boom!!

Then, there was a huge roar that hadn’t been heard before, accompanying the aura that was right outside the room. If Lee Jun-Kyeong wasn’t here, then that meant that the aura could only have belonged to one other.

‘Sangun!’

“And…” Odin looked out the window again. “It looks like what I want will also come true.”

Odin smiled again.

'I have to help.'

Ungnyeo incessantly looked for a way out.

***

While Yeo Seong-Gu was leaving through the veil, the battle was fully underway where Sangun and the Hunters were making their stand.

“Ahhh!!!”

Odin’s subordinate Hunters and the furious Hunters of the White Tiger Clan were engaged in slaughter. The Hunters realized as they had arrived at this battle that there was no room for compromise.

The Hunters who had become Odin’s subordinates were already out of control, and the blood on their hands included not only the families of the other Hunters but also countless ordinary people. To the Hunters on the side of Sangun, they were sinners who deserved punishment. They were no longer human.

“Punish them!”

“Kill the monsters!”

They were no better than monsters. Thus, the Hunters made justifications for themselves, killing each other with trembling hands. In the midst of their battle, Sangun roared to the sky

Faced with a giant green raven, Sangun continued to gain the upper hand. If Jeong In-Chang or Won-Hwa had been able to help him, then the raven, Huginn, would have already become a corpse.

“Ha-a-eup!”

However, Odin’s men weren’t without Heroes.

“Just where did he find…!”

Rather, there were quite a few unexpectedly strong members hiding among the Hunters. They were Heroes with no names or faces, no reputation. These Heroes had numerical superiority and were pressuring Jeong In-Chang, Won-Hwa, and the princess from helping Sangun.

“Princess…!”

Unfortunately, the princess’s condition was not good. Before Sangun and Huginn had collided, the raven had dove toward Jeong In-Chang, and the princess was heavily injured by the raven’s attack, bleeding profusely.

“I’ve done the emergency treatment!” Won-Hwa shouted.

Although he had performed the emergency treatment using his medical skills, the bleeding continued to increase as time went on.

Caw!!

“Roar!!”

In the midst of this urgent situation, the two beasts were exerting their strength toward each other. A green raven collided with a figure of orange and black light. The mana emitted by Sangun was like that of a tiger. Although Sangun fought in the form of a half-human half-beast, each of his attacks had the full ferocity of the king of the mountain.

Clang!

Flesh met flesh–no, claws collided with claws as explosions and roars dominated the battlefield. However, at some point, the green raven began to barrage Sangun even more fiercely.

Caw!!!

Green power burst forward as, in response, Sangun roared painfully.

“Keugah!!”

Although the Hunters wanted to find an opportunity to help Sangun, it was difficult for them to even keep up with what was before them.

Clang!

‘Maybe Gram…’

Jeong In-Chang continuously wanted to use Gram all throughout the battle, but he knew he couldn’t. Gram was still an imperfect force. Moreover, that bastard still hadn’t appeared yet.

“Odin..!”

He would be stronger than all of these Hunters put together. Jeong In-Chang knew he wouldn’t be able to aid Lee Jun-Kyeong at all if he used up Gram right now, let alone be able to match Odin. Time continued to pass in this odd stalemate. Even in the midst of all the blood and sweat, the hands of someone’s watch continued to tick, never stopping.

Tick. Tock.

At some point, Jeong In-Chang looked up at the sky.

“...!”

Although it was disgraceful to turn an eye away from a battle when it was in full swing, he still looked up at the sky as if something was overwhelmingly attracting him.

Drop. Drop.

There was a sudden drop of rain, and dark clouds appeared in the blue sky.

Caw!!

The green raven, Huginn, plunged its beak into the nape of Sangun’s neck.