Chapter 443: Ragnarok (1)

"Odin..." Oh Kang-Woo mumbled in anger.

He clenched his fists as he looked down at the weeping Gaia. He did not expect that Odin would not do such a thing; after all, sending an envoy to enemy lines came with its risks. However, he did not think the honorable warrior Odin would go this far.

'Fucking scumbag.'

Kang-Woo bit his lip. Tracing back human history, envoys were rarely harmed. It was not just a matter of courtesy but a form of common sense.

'Even in history, a war started just because delegations were sent back with their beards shaved.'[1]

And in this instance, it was not a beard but a mustache.

'It can no longer be avoided.'

The war between gods, Ragnarok, had already begun.

"H-how could Odin..."

Gaia wept with blank eyes, still unable to take in the fact that Zeus was dead. Kang-Woo's heart felt heavy as he stared at Gaia embracing Zeus's head.

"It certainly is incomprehensible." Kang-Woo set aside his sorrow and continued, "Even if they are in an opposing faction, they must know that justification is a crucial part of war. Despite that..."

Kang-Woo could only think of one possibility of why Odin had made such a radical decision.

"Could he be... associated with the Demon of Prophecy?"

"What are you talking about?"

The crying Gaia looked up at him with quivering eyes.

Kang-Woo calmly explained, "Who benefits the most from this war?"

Gaia remained silent. The answer was obvious even without her answering.

"The one who would benefit the most from instigating a war between Olympus and Asgard is... the Demon of Prophecy."

"W-wait. That means..."

"Yes. I think it is safe to assume that Odin has joined forces with the Demon of Prophecy."

If that was not the case, there was no way that Odin, who knew very well how much Gaia cherished her children, would send Zeus back to Gaia as just a head.

"That is impossible. Odin cares deeply about the world's security to the point that he even faced the Demon God by himself in the past. There is no way he would make such a—"

Kang-Woo interjected, "Then do you think Odin beheading Zeus is for the sake of world peace?"

Gaia remained silent. She could not refute Kang-Woo's words. Although she had made a radical decision, she knew that there was no way Odin would not know that it was all for preventing chaos from ensuing in the physical realm. There was only one explanation why, despite all that, Odin would form an opposing faction and send back Zeus's head to her.

"A-Aaaahh." Gaia's expression turned pale. A thought that she did not even want to imagine popped up in her head. "Odin... joined forces with Bael...?"

Her shoulder trembled as rage and sorrow stormed within her. Kang-Woo grabbed Gaia's trembling hands and helped her up.

"Lady Gaia."

"Ah." Gaia stood up as she staggered.

There was no reason to ask Kang-Woo what he wanted to say to her or why he helped her up. She also knew that this was not the time to be wallowing in despair.

"I'm sure Odin will come up with some sort of excuse to deny that fact," Kang-Woo said.

There was no way that all the Asgardian gods joined forces with the Demon of Prophecy. Odin had likely been the mastermind for the entire situation. If that were the case, Odin would frame Gaia for a crime that she did not commit to justify his actions while covering the truth. For example, an absurd excuse that Gaia beheaded Thor and sent it to him.

'There's nothing more impossible than that.'

Kang-Woo frowned, feeling displeasure just from imagining it. It was unthinkable that a gentle goddess like Gaia would send Odin Thor's severed head.

'I'm sure he joined forces with Bael.'

Kang-Woo couldn't think of any other reason. He quelled the overflowing emotions that he felt as he looked down at Gaia and turned around as golden light enveloped him.

He then looked toward Uranus and said, "Now that it has come to this, we also have to prepare to go to the divine realm."

Uranus fell into thought in silence for a moment and then nodded slightly. "If war is unavoidable, it is better for it to be held in the divine realm than the physical realm."

Ragnarok in the physical realm would result in irreparable destruction.

"Lady Gaia. I will command the gods of Olympus to gather," Uranus mentioned.

The gods of Olympus had scattered throughout Earth to make sure that no god had manifested on Earth without Gaia's permission. Gaia nodded with a heavy expression. She could tell that war was now unavoidable and that it should not be avoided.

"Tell the gods of Olympus." Gaia, the goddess with the Deific Essence of Parental Love, pushed her sorrow aside and stood up.

White light poured out from her and lit the Hall of Protection. Zeus's head in her arms turned into white light particles and dissipated into the air. The God of Splendor licked his lips as if it were a waste, but no one happened to see it.

"Zeus's lightning has lost its light... at the hands of Odin." Gaia stood tall as she bit her lip. Intense rage filled her gaze in place of sorrow. "We will not take this lying down. We will... fight. We will make them pay for waging war against Olympus and brutally murdering my child."

They would set aside their sorrow and fight as they burned with rage.

"It is time for Ragnarok," Gaia declared with blazing eyes.

***

While the gods of Olympus gathered at the Hall of Protection one after another, Kang-Woo took the time to tell Layla, Kim Si-Hun, and other members of Guardians what was going on.

"We will go with you," Si-Hun replied without hesitation.

His eyes were blazing with passion as he clenched his sword.

"No." Kang-Woo shook his head.

Si-Hun could not fight against those with Deific Essence yet. Not just Si-Hun, but most members of Guardians were powerless against those who possessed Deific Essence.

'That's just how overpowered Deific Essence is.'

It didn't matter how much Deific Essence one had; even a being with Lower Intermediate-rank Deific Essence could damage beings of high ranks. The problem was the difference between those who possessed Deific Essence and those who did not.

'The broken thing about Deific Essence is how it allows one to become almost completely immune to physical and magical damage.'

For those who did not possess Deific Essence to break through this barrier, they needed to pour extremely inefficient attacks at the enemy to no end.

'I'm fine since I have the Demonic Sea.'

However, if someone like Si-Hun were to do such a thing, their Qi would bottom out before even five minutes.

'Gods like Zeus and Thor would be no match for Si-Hun simply in terms of martial arts level.'

To make a comparison, Deific Essence was like a piece of equipment that allowed one to earn great power just by having it, regardless of individual power. It was an absurdly unfair fight like someone with a tiny tree branch against someone with full-plate body armor.

'I should figure something out.'

The enemies that Guardians would be facing from now on would mostly possess Deific Essence.

'But not now.'

Kang-Woo was not leaving without them only because they would be of no use in this battle. They had something else to do.

"Layla. You said that there have been abnormalities about the Gates lately, right?" Kang-Woo asked.

"Ah, yes. That's right." Layla, who had been staring at Si-Hun in worry, turned to Kang-Woo and answered. "Giant monsters swarming out from C-rank Gates, the interior of Gates that had only been the size of a mountain suddenly expanding to the size of an entire city... There have been various abnormalities."

There was no need to wonder about what was causing it.

"It must be due to the collapse of the Gaia System," Kang-Woo stated.

"I think so as well." Layla nodded.

Kang-Woo was easily able to guess something like this would happen just from the fact that Gates had been the first thing to experience abnormalities when Kang-Woo returned to Earth for the first time.

"Layla, please take care of the changes in the Gates... while I'm gone."

Layla nodded in silence and stared at Kang-Woo in worry. "... You'll come back, won't you?"

Kang-Woo had become an irreplaceable asset in Guardians, even taking out the fact that he was extremely strong.

Kang-Woo smiled. "Of course I will."

Layla and Si-Hun smiled faintly at how Kang-Woo answered without hesitation like always.

"In that case, I will leave things here to you," Kang-Woo stated.

"Okay, you can count on us." Layla nodded with a strong will.

Layla had not been able to show off her leadership skills lately, but the leader of Guardians was not Kang-Woo but her. Kang-Woo smiled after seeing her reaction.

'I can trust Layla.'

She was several times more trustworthy than Gaia. Kang-Woo had witnessed Layla's competency many times over.

'And Lilith will be with her.'

Lilith would be far better at figuring out the impacts that each change in the Gates would bring than Kang-Woo. After all, his specialty only shone when he was facing enemies.

"That aside, to think Odin and Bael joined forces... I still can't believe it," Si-Hun mentioned.

"I'm more surprised by the fact that gods like Odin and Zeus even exist," Cha Yeon-Joo replied as she stared at Si-Hun in deep thought.

Kang-Woo smirked and nodded. He had the same thought.

"Anyway." Yeon-Joo crossed her arms and glared at Kang-Woo. "Don't get hurt after doing shit by yourself again and just stay put in a corner somewhere. Gaia's gonna be the one fighting Odin, isn't she?"

The ones in the spotlight of this war were Olympus and Asgard, not Kang-Woo, or at least that was what Guardians thought.

"As you wish, my lady." Kang-Woo playfully bowed and turned around.

Clack.

He left the meeting room and closed the door behind him.

'I should let Darling know as well.'

Han Seol-Ah would make even more of a fuss than Si-Hun, but it couldn't be helped; he couldn't afford to take her to the divine realm. No, he couldn't take anyone since in this war, he would...

"Slurp." Kang-Woo wiped the drool flowing down from his mouth.

"My king," someone called. Kang-Woo turned his head to see Lilith with a pile of documents in one hand. "I heard you were participating in the war between the gods."

"Yeah. It just happened." Kang-Woo calmly nodded.

Lilith stared at Kang-Woo with narrowed eyes and asked, "But my king, I have something to ask you."

"Yeah, what is it?"

"Did Odin really kill Zeus... because he joined forces with Bael?" she asked as she tilted her head, not being able to fully understand.

Kang-Woo smiled and turned around. He walked past Lilith and answered, "Of course."

Kang-Woo smiled. The corners of his mouth tore hideously to his earlobes.

"Why else would he kill Zeus?"

The demon smiled as he licked his saliva-covered lips.

Lilith turned to Kang-Woo in silence. The smile of her king that she had seen all the time felt awkward and unfamiliar to her, like a piece of a puzzle or a cog that didn't fit.

1. This is referring to the bible story of David sending men to Hanun, who succeeded the throne as king of the Ammonites, to show him goodwill, but Hanun shaves off half their beards and sends them back to David. ☜