The heavens rained down countless lightning strikes.
It was not just ordinary lightning, but an attack filled with Zeus’s true intent. Even Kang Hye-rim could not avoid this.
‘Yeah, if it’s about evading.’
She felt a warmth supporting her back. At the same time, her vision spun rapidly.
Her position shifted as she was pulled forcefully.
Michael’s wings shielded her, moving her to a safe place away from Zeus’s deadly heavenly punishment.
‘Fast.’Nôv(el)B\\jnn
Her vision spun wildly as the sky and ground flipped repeatedly.
Her head felt dizzy from the high-speed flight, incomparable to when she used the Wings of Icarus. All she could manage was to fend off dangerous bolts of lightning with her sword.
She had thought she couldn’t be faster than when she used Thunder God Transformation, but there was more beyond that.
“Get a grip. If you pass out, everything ends here.”
“I know.”
She replied, barely calming her churning stomach.
She understood as well. Receiving Michael’s help now allowed her to meet the minimum conditions to confront Zeus.
Her role was solely to swing her sword, leaving the mobility and defense to Michael.
If she couldn’t even do that one simple thing right, what face could she show Yu-hyun?
“Ah.”
In this dire situation, on the brink of her limit, Kang Hye-rim muttered to herself.
“I miss Yu-hyun.”
“You miss that man so much?”
“Yes, I do.”
Truthfully, just missing him wasn’t enough.
If she met him, she would share many things she hadn’t been able to say so far. She would tell him honestly that meeting him had made her happy.
She wanted to hold his hand, live with him.
She wanted to joke around like before.
And she wanted to be closer than ever.
Because they had promised.
When this battle was over, they’d go somewhere together again, just like before.
She thought it would be nice to go to a place with a beautiful ocean view this time.
“It’s funny, isn’t it, that someone like me, who’s already broken beyond repair, says things like this?”
“...No. Not at all.”
Michael replied in a voice that seemed to wrap around her gently.
“You have a future where you can definitely move forward again.”
“Do you think so?”
“Yes, of course. I was too foolish, living without realizing true happiness was close by... but you’re different.”
“Do you think I can meet Yu-hyun again?”
“You definitely will.”
Unlike Michael, Kang Hye-rim knew exactly what she cherished.
She hadn’t forgotten it, and she took up her sword to fight for what mattered to her. She was already prepared for death.
Michael found himself envious of her.
For him, even if he wanted it now, he could no longer have it.
So, in this moment, he decided to fight for her. To ensure the sacrifice of the dead Satan was not in vain.
As a remnant of a world that had now disappeared, he would become the flame that protected this world.
“So focus solely on cutting down the enemy before you.”
“Michael, you...”
“I’m fine.”
Kang Hye-rim wasn’t unaware. She had long sensed that Michael held secrets he hadn’t shared with her.
Yet she hadn’t asked, partly because the urgency of the situation hadn’t given them time, but mostly because Michael didn’t want her to.
“What are the two of you chattering about?”
Surrounded by lightning, Zeus hurled a torrent of lightning spears.
It was a massive, oppressive force, filling every space around them as if allowing no room for evasion.
Michael put strength into his remaining pair of wings, defending against Zeus’s attack.
“Haha. Archangel Michael. Where are your once-proud twelve wings? Now you’re left with only one pair. Do you think you can stop my lightning with just that?” Ṙ
Zeus intensified his assault, determined not to let them escape.
Michael gritted his teeth, flying at full speed. His target was, of course, Zeus’s closest range.
Creating distance would be foolish. Zeus, wielding Astrape, could strike his enemy’s head with lightning from thousands of kilometers away.
To win, he had to close the distance until his sword could reach.
‘The opportunity is now, while Zeus is off-guard.’
Even in this situation, Zeus didn’t seem to attack her life directly, as if he didn’t want Kang Hye-rim dead.
It was a truly incomprehensible display of vanity, yet it was also distinctly Zeus-like.
Thanks to this, they gained a temporary reprieve.
A mercy brought about by the enemy’s lowly desire. A reprieve they loathed, even on the brink of death.
‘If it’s enough to win.’
“Don’t be ridiculous!”
Odin swung his spear, prompting Kwon Jia to retreat, increasing the distance.
Whether it was the sense of crisis from Zeus’s death or if her provocation had hit its mark, Odin’s aura was dangerous.
“So you’re coming seriously, I see.”
Kwon Jia considered if her provocation was perhaps unnecessary, deciding she’d have to reveal her own hidden cards.
Ah, really. She hated using this, even if it killed her.
“But, I can’t exactly die here, can I?”
Resolute, Kwon Jia unleashed both the power of Fenrir and her beastly strength.
Thump!
Her heart beat wildly, and her blood ran hot. Her fangs lengthened, teeth grew sharper, and her hands and feet extended with beast-like claws.
She lowered herself, no longer standing on two legs but crouched on all fours.
“So that’s your hidden card? Becoming a beast and crawling on all fours? How amusing!”
A red light emanated from the mist in Odin’s left eye. It transformed into a massive magic circle above his head, pulling the divine spear Gungnir into its center.
Gungnir, a spear that, once thrown, pierced its target without fail, transcending perception.
He mounted it within the magic circle, turning it into a giant cannon.
Flash!
A cross-shaped flash rotated like clock hands within the magic circle above Odin’s head.
Kwon Jia leapt. The moment after, Gungnir pierced the spot where she’d been crouching.
It was so fast that it bored a circular tunnel into the ground, melting the edges of the hole from the heat.
‘So this is the divine spear Gungnir. A single hit would end me.’
However, Gungnir doesn’t stop until it hits its target. The red flash emerged again from the hole that bored down tens of kilometers.
Kwon Jia twisted her body midair again. Though lacking ground to support her, she maneuvered freely, as if stepping on invisible footholds.
Gungnir pursued her relentlessly, and Odin narrowed his eyes.
‘She’s dodging a spear that transcends perception? It’s not speed; she’s evading by reading its trajectory with animal instinct.’
Indeed. She hadn’t transformed into a beast for nothing.
But it didn’t matter.
“My spear won’t stop until it pierces your heart. How long can you evade this attack?”
Kwon Jia had no time to answer Odin’s taunt, her eyes following Odin’s position quickly.
Her body recoiled like a spring and launched toward Odin like an arrow, with Gungnir closing in from behind.
“You don’t seriously think to use my spear against me, do you?”
If that was her thought, she was greatly mistaken.
Odin raised his index and middle fingers with a slight flick. Gungnir vanished midair, reappearing above his head.
“I can retrieve my thrown spear anytime I wish.”
Just as Kwon Jia approached, ready to swing her sword, Gungnir fired again.
This time, she couldn’t evade, nor could she block it with her sword. Even if her instincts sensed it, she was already too late.
“Pierce and die.”
Thud!
Gungnir struck Kwon Jia’s body, scattering crimson blood.
Odin bared his teeth in a grin at the sight, but his expression quickly changed.
He thought he’d pierced her forehead, but Gungnir had only impaled her forearms.
This misaligned trajectory had Gungnir piercing not her forehead but both forearms and her left shoulder.
‘Did she dodge death? No matter. Failing to kill her outright was unexpected, but with those arms, she won’t wield her sword properly...’
All that remained was to meticulously hunt the wounded beast.
However, defying his expectations, Kwon Jia kept moving despite being impaled by Gungnir.
‘She’s... still coming?’
Even after suffering a mortal wound, what more was she aiming to do?
Odin’s eyes widened as he saw Kwon Jia slowly descending toward him.
‘She’s not holding a sword.’
Blood flowed as she crossed her arms in an X shape, but there was no sign of the sword she’d been using.
Then where was her sword?
At that moment, her arms parted, revealing her face.
‘She’s... holding the sword in her mouth!’
Odin’s thoughts ended there.
Kwon Jia, with the sword in her mouth, sliced through Odin’s remaining eye.
His vision vanished, pain surging through him as he screamed.
“Aaaaargh! You... you wretched human!”
“If you can’t see, even that vaunted spear can’t aim at me.”
Kwon Jia spat out the sword and, upon landing, lunged at Odin.
Crunch! She bit into Odin’s neck with her sharp teeth.
“Grrr. I, I...”
Odin, flailing blindly, helplessly surrendered his life to Kwon Jia.
His white god-blood spurted like a fountain, and soon Odin’s corpse dissipated into text, scattering like dust.
“Ptooey. See, you should’ve known your place. Not even tasty.”