From Today, I'm a Player

Chapter 248. A Horrifying Battle Pt. 8

Bang, Bang, BANG!

Alongside the explosions, Odin’s gasps could be heard.

“...Ugh…”

All of a sudden, Fenrir and Gleipnir’s positions were switched. Although the two had circled around him, Odin had been completely unable to see their movements.

At this moment, Odin wasn’t holding anything back. But for him to be unable to follow their movements even after doing so could only mean one thing.

“Does this mean the two of you are faster than even my senses?”

Odin took a second to look down at himself. A long laceration circled around his body, digging deep into his chest and around to even his back. Still, due to the nature of Apex-grade Hunters, he was beginning to heal slowly.

“This is…”

–Only the start.

However, as the two of them said, this was only the beginning of their true assault.

Odin drove his mana one level higher. Although it was true that he wasn’t holding anything back, that didn’t mean that he had been able to unleash all of his mana output at once.[1]

As if he was an engine warming up, the mana in his system gradually increased.

Slash!!!

His senses became clearer, but before he knew it, his two opponents had switched positions once again.

“Ugh!”

More intense pain than before made him tremble. Although he had concentrated his senses to the utmost degree and tried to counter their attack, he was only left with deeper lacerations for his efforts.

Drip, drip.

Moreover, the wound, its edges more clearly defined than the previous one, began to flow with blood.

Odin realized it now.

‘I’m not even recovering anymore.’

It seemed as though Fenrir’s and Gleipnir’s attacks were imbued with a mana that reduced recovery.

Odin looked over at them again who were standing expressionlessly. Even though they both looked like humans, the bloodlust that emanated from within those gazes were like they were from beasts, reminding him of starving wolves.

“Whew…”

Odin exhaled again and raised his mana one level higher as mana flowed from him in a green hue.

Crack!!!

At that moment, as if they couldn’t wait any longer, they moved.

Clang!

However, after a single cracking sound, a series of metallic clashes rang out.

“Ugh!”

“Cough!!”

Two moans of pain rang at the same time.

One was Odin’s.

“Gleipnir?! Are you okay?”

The other belonged to the boy made of steel. Odin had hit him. It had only just been for a moment, but he had been able to see their attack.

“This… this is becoming dangerous.”

Odin’s expression became even more stony.

He had thought that now that he had unleashed every last drop of his power, he would be able to see their attack. In part, he had been right, as after being able to see Gleipnir’s blow, he had even been able to counterattack. But, that was all he had been able to do.

‘That brat…’

He couldn’t see that silver-furred wolf in the appearance of a human teen, so it was dangerous. He could feel the true gravity of the situation.

Woosh!

A gust of wind began to stir. The green wind filled the air as a gale consumed the space where Odin stood and began heading towards Fenrir and Gleipnir as well.

“I admit it.”

The two took a small step back, floating into the sky, as they felt as though they would be consumed by the coming gale.

“You two are the ones in danger though.”

Odin's voice cut through the gust of wind.

BANG!

Soon after, the gale swirled and scattered along with an explosion of wind. Where it had been, Odin stood.

“…I never thought I would have to show you this.”

Unlike before, when he had been wearing an ordinary coat, now, he was outfitted like a true warrior. Wearing a golden armor and holding a golden spear, there was not a single part of him left uncovered.

Fenrir and Gleipnir moved, judging that they couldn’t leave Odin to complete his transformation.

Clang! Clang!

However, the sound of metal clashing came one after the other. But it wasn’t Odin who was the one who had blocked the blows.

“...!”

What stood in Fenrir and Gleipnir’s path were other humans—no, they looked too…cold to be called humans.

“Valkyries.”

They were female warriors who looked as if they were forged weapons, like Gleipnir. They were covered entirely in bandages, and the wings that sprouted from their backs flapped menacingly. But, what was even more surprising was that these so-called Valkyries were able to block an attack that had been strong enough to wound Odin.

Odin winked.

“These Valkyries aren’t meant to deal with you.”

At the same time, the wings on the backs of the Valkyries flapped hard, their figures disappearing.

Squelch!

Fenrir quickly tried to chase after them, but his eyes widened as he felt a sharp pain in his arm. Something had moved at a speed that even he didn’t notice—the golden spear that Odin had been holding was pierced into his forearm. Nevertheless, he raised his head and chased after the Valkyries.

“No, In-Chang!”

He knew they were going after Jeong In-Chang and his companions. If they were weapons powerful enough to block his attacks, it would be dangerous for the others.

“How exciting,” Odin said.

What he wanted was to put pressure on Fenrir and Gleipnir and make them impatient.

“If you want to save them, you’ll have to defeat me faster.”

Odin was a master of psychological warfare. As he smiled, a terrifying wave of mana was emitted.

BOOM!

***

Clang!

With a terrible screeching noise, Jeong In-Chang grit his teeth as hard as he could. A tremendous amount of power was coursing through Gram. Even though Won-Hwa and the others were helping him, he had no choice but to scream.

“AGHHHH!”

That was how ruthless their attack was. The Valkyries looked like winged angels that were covered entirely in bandages, but their attacks were no different from those of the devil.

Shhhing!

They raised their swords and stabbed in his direction. Seven blades struck at the same time.

“Gram…!” Jeong In-Chang shouted, then somehow mustered up his strength to fend off the blow.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Several swords collided with Gram and bounced off.

Ssssss!

However, the rest phase shifted as if they were ghosts, passing through Gram to reach Jeong In-Chang. Just as they passed through his weapon, the swords also passed through Jeong In-Chang. While it seemed like nothing had happened, a terrible pain came over him.

“UGH!”

The swords that had passed through Gram didn’t tear flesh but cleaved mana, blocking the flow of the mana stream and causing immense pain.

“Jeong In-Chang!” Ungnyeo shouted, shaking the bell.

Ring!

With the ring of the bell, the Valkyries, who were swinging their ghost swords, retreated. It was only for a moment as they readjusted their stance once again and prepared to attack. All he could do was wait for the next attack.

‘What can I do…’

Was that really it?

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to try to attack the Valkyries, but rather, the moment he stopped holding them back and pulled Gram out of the magic formation to swing it about, his companions would suffer.

The companions had exhausted their strength in battle with Odin, and they were also fighting the Valkyries by his side—if he attacked the Valkyries himself, they would just flap their wings, dodging to move towards his companions.

‘I am the shield.’

Fenrir had told him that he was Lee Jun-Kyeong’s shield. But judging by what was going on around him, it was different.

In the sky, Odin, Fenrir, and Gleipnir were fighting. Fenrir, who had been pushing Odin back, was facing a counterattack at the same moment the Valkyries appeared.

‘His focus is split on us.’

Fenrir was a wolf, and Gleipnir, having taken on Fenrir’s characteristics, was also a wolf. Wolves were beasts who chased down their prey and slaughtered it.

Unfortunately, at this moment, the situation was the complete opposite. Odin had made the wolves impatient by attacking Jeong In-Chang and the others, and as a result, the wolves had turned from the Hunters to the prey.

Fenrir was the spear while Jeong In-Chang was the shield. However, a shield that kept a spear from being able to thrust forward properly was a useless piece of trash.

Crack.

Even though the Valkyries hadn’t attacked yet, Jeong In-Chang bit down hard again. He felt resentful. Not only could he not even participate in the fight against Odin, but he also couldn’t even handle the Hunter’s creations properly.

These bastards weren’t weak. The Valkyries were, in fact, so powerful that he wondered just when in the hell Odin had even hidden something like this. Seeing these living weapons that were as strong as the Rulers made him think that if Odin hadn’t joined the other side, Korea would have been alive and well.

However, no matter what, right now, he had to stop them.

Grit.

He was the shield and that was something he couldn’t forget. Even though he may not have been able to attack the enemy, he had to protect what needed to be protected.

Split!

When he had finally affirmed his convictions, there was a sound of clothes being torn as, at the same time, the Princess, who had been waiting for an opening within his bosom, disappeared.

“Princess?"

Woosh!

As if they had sensed something changing, the Valkyries quickly tore through space and approached. Jeong In-Chang tried to block them once again, raising Gram.

Clang!

Now, that same metallic clang from before had become different now.

BOOM!

There was an explosion. Although he was sure that he had only tried to block the blow, he could see smoke rising from the first Valkyrie that attacked him. Moreover, at the same time, in both of his arms and from the Gram that was held in his hands, he could feel an incredible force.

"This…”

It was something that seemed familiar yet unfamiliar. Almost as if it was his but, at the same time, someone else’s.

[ blesses you.]

His Sponsor.

[The Princess has merged into you.]

[Due to the excellent assimilation rate, the Princess’ strength can be used.]

[ has awakened the true power of the Princess.]

His Sponsor, who had been quiet until now, had come forward. His questions about the Sponsors and his doubts—Jeong In-Chang put them off. For now, he would only be faithful to his role as the shield.

“You will not pass!”

***

Fenrir, who had knocked off Odin’s spear, looked at the ground and said, “In-Chang…?”

The explosion that he had felt right now had definitely been a change that had helped to calm his impatience. On the contrary, it was something that instead made Odin’s impatience grow.

“A Sponsor…?”

Fenrir hurriedly looked at Gleipnir, making eye contact with the boy, who looked exhausted. Thinking that they had to take Odin down quickly to keep Jeong In-Chang from dying, they had overexerted themselves, causing them to take a lot of damage. But things were different now.

Their gazes met as the wolf and the boy nodded their heads. They hadn’t been together for that long, but the time that the two had spent together had been as one. That communion grew even stronger with their singular desire to destroy Odin.

‘We’ll kill him.’

They were ready to kill the person who had caused Fenrir to suffer and who had created Gleipnir. They would do this to end him.

–Let’s go.

Now was their opportunity. Jeong In-Chang may have gained strength, but it was an incomplete one. There was no more time; their only chance was now.

Odin had felt it, too, as the mana emanating from him became explosive. He had also realized that Fenrir and Gleipnir had decided to end things.

“Asgard.”

He took out the last card that he had as a brilliant golden light embroidered the sky: His Territory, the secret organization behind Korea.

A golden castle began to appear in the air over Yeouido.

1. There’s a concept in Eastern philosophy that essentially boils down to your full power output actually only being 80%, where the last 20% is only accessible when there is no going back or on the verge of death. ☜