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Chapter 134: Horus Pt. 3
Chapter 134: Horus Pt. 3
Chapter 134: Horus Pt. 3
“I’m thinking about whether I should make you a sibling,” Lee Jun-Kyeong said, his eyes on Anubis.
His gaze then shifted to the bracelet on his wrist, moving over to the Skull that Contains Souls. Then, he looked toward the completely clogged ceiling of the pyramid.
[<The Sky of the Apocalypse> applauds you for the way you overcame adversity.]
Lee Jun-Kyeong was quite irritated.
‘Don’t just talk if you’re happy with this show. Why don’t you at least give me something?’
It really was impressive how much of a cheapskate that bastard was.
However, Lee Jun-Kyeong only grumbled for a moment before stopping. He knew that the things that he had been given by that bastard had been so amazing and incredibly helpful in times of emergency.
[<The Sky of the Apocalypse> is wistful at your response.]
Lee Jun-Kyeong slightly smiled in response to the reaction that came once again.
He was amused by the Sponsor. It wasn’t as if it enjoyed hearing bad reviews and complaints…
It seemed to have some strange tastes.
Then, there was another notification.
[<The Desert’s Sun> casts its gaze upon you.]
It was a voice he had kept hearing ever since he had woken Horus up.
‘Isn’t <The Sky of the Apocalypse> going to get upset?’
<The Sky of the Apocalypse>, the Sponsor that had been watching him so far, didn’t seem to have any sort of response to <The Desert’s Sun>’s interest.
Lee Jun-Kyeong was confused.
His Sponsor, barring the Sponsors of Lee Jun-Kyeong’s companions, such as <The Prince on a White Horse> or Won-Hwa’s Sponsor, hated it when any other Sponsor expressed interest in him…
‘What’s going on…?’
His easily irritable Sponsor wasn’t responding in any way.
“Whew…”
Even with his confusion, Lee Jun-Kyeong set his questions to the side, moving to address the already existing questions rather than creating new ones.
Anubis.
Lee Jun-Kyeong spoke to Hyeon-Mu as he looked back and forth at the Hunter and his bracelet.
“I need to know if that bastard is even more evil than we already know,” Lee Jun-Kyeong said, the skull nodding in agreement to his words.
While they spoke, before anyone realized it, the sound of sand falling had appeared around them.
Shhhh.
They could hear the sound of footsteps heading to the chamber where Horus had stopped.
Dozens of Hunters were coming.
And.
‘Set.’
They could feel it. He had come quite close.
"What is this place…?” Lee Jun-Kyeong asked Inebu while shaking his head to focus. He could feel something was different about the place they had arrived at after following Horus.
It was strange, slightly odd.
[Mana stream is being rapidly circulated.]
They had come to a place so full of mana that even his mana stream had reacted.
The walls were carved with dozens of murals and lined with statues of unknown figures.
[<The Desert’s Sun> casts its gaze upon you.]
At the very front, he could see a painted mural that felt as though it was the personification of the sun rising over the desert.
“This is the Temple of Ra,” Inebu informed him.
“The one who will be the King of the Nile, the Glory of Ra. The one chosen by Ra,” he continued, as if reciting a divine spell.
“He who holds domain over the Nile.”
“I will hold domain over the Nile.”
Two voices rang out simultaneously.
One was Inebu, and the other one…
"Set."
A man was approaching the chamber with heavy footsteps and his bloodied hands.
***
Set and Horus.
Uncle and nephew.
An uncle who killed the nephew’s father, and a nephew that stood as the uncle’s hurdle.
They faced each other.
“You look terrible,” Set said. He wiped the blood off his hands and then stood still, the remaining Jackals holding line behind him.
Set seemed to be waiting for something.
“You look terrible…too, Uncle,” Horus said, swallowing his anger.
Lee Jun-Kyeong and his party were honestly shocked at Horus’ calm response.
Whether it was regarding whose blood Set was wiping off his hands currently,
Or what Set had done just moments ago before coming here,
Or even why Horus was in the shape he currently was.
Everyone knew what had happened, and who was at fault.
Tremble.
However, Horus, who had the most right to be angry, was holding back with his hands clenched so tightly they were shaking.
“Is this what it means to be a ruler?” Jeong In-Chang said on behalf of Horus, his lips trembling with rage.
That man had killed his father.
Jeong In-Chang couldn’t begin to imagine how painful it must have been for Horus to bear with it.
“It seems like it. That seems to be what a ruler should be," Lee Jun-Kyeong said.
King.
A Pharaoh.
In this era, it was a term that was almost eradicated. Even if it did exist, its only value was in the title itself.
However, in Egypt, in the Nile, the term for King, Pharaoh, seemed to mean something entirely different: to quench one's anger and persevere.
The two contenders for the throne stared at each other as if they were waiting for something.
“Hunters are coming here,” Lee Jun-Kyeong continued.
That was what the two were waiting for: the Hunters of the Nile to gather toward this place they called the Temple of Ra.
“What have they been doing all this time to come now…”
“Don’t you think they would have fought and tried to survive in their own ways?”
Although Won-Hwa had tried to reason with Jeong In-Chang, Lee Jun-Kyeong responded with a different perspective, “That’s probably not it.”
For the Heroes of the Nile, who were supposed to protect Osiris and Horus, they most likely had a reason why they weren’t able to handle their parts properly.
“Most likely…they were handling the spies from the other organizations that were hiding within the Nile,” he explained.
“Huh?”
“The Nile is in a dangerous position right now. Set’s rebellion was something that had been scheduled, and everyone would have been preparing for it in their own ways,” Lee Jun-Kyeong said as he looked forward.
“They wouldn’t want to let any other organizations learn of the Nile’s crisis. Although Set rebelled, he didn’t do it to destroy the Nile.
“...”
“However, when the organizations find out what’s going on here, the Nile…may not be able to keep their name alive any longer.”
Therefore, the other Hunters would have moved to kill any spies they had uncovered in advance, and worked to delay the announcement of the internal issues as much as possible.
Still, Lee Jun-Kyeong knew, no matter how hard they tried, it was useless.
Because there was Asgard, and he was someone who had already come from another secret organization.
Moreover.
‘Baldur’s aura has disappeared.’
There was Baldur as well.
Although he most likely hadn’t run away, his aura had still disappeared.
That meant he was hiding somewhere.
Seeing that Set was perfectly fine, it appeared that the Hunter was much stronger than Baldur had expected.
“…….”
Though, Lee Jun-Kyeong could understand why Baldur was hiding. The energy he had felt earlier was beyond hideous and terrifying.
“It looks like you have some impressive perception,” Set said, looking beyond Horus at Lee Jun-Kyeong.
Set was relaxed.
"Thank you for saving my nephew."
“…”
The man continued genially, “I thought you would be able to succeed, but I didn’t think you’d actually do it.”
Lee Jun-Kyeong’s expression hardened. The Hunter’s implications were simple.
‘He’s not referring to himself.’
Set wasn’t the one who had thought he could cure Horus. It had been that being behind him that had said he could do it.
‘That being is?interested in?me.’
“Oh ho, your perception really is impressive,” Set said as if he had read Lee Jun-Kyeong’s thoughts through his expression.
“Did you intentionally…let us save Horus?” Lee Jun-Kyeong asked him, feeling the presence of the incoming Hunters.
Set’s answer was incredibly simple, “Yes.”
He turned back to look at Horus again.
"A true Pharaoh should be recognized by all," he said as if to declare to the entire Nile.
“...”
“...”
Before they knew it, the Hunters of the Nile had arrived.
Set wasn't just trying to kill Osiris, kill Horus, and then usurp power.
No, this was a challenge for the throne.
This was an expression of the determination of someone who was aiming for the throne to be seen as the legitimate ruler.
“Thoth, Sekhmet,” Set said as he looked at the Hunters who had formed a circle around them.
They looked back at Set as they murmured among themselves.
They could feel it too, the incredible power that exuded from Set and the overwhelming charisma.
"What is your choice?"
The man named Thoth took a step back, while Sekhmet took a step forward.
“...”
Horus and Isis watched as Thoth took his branch and withdrew from the battle.
“How quaint,” Set said.
“This is the last battle, Jackals.”
Finally, the battle would begin.
The Jackals, who were standing in line exhausted behind Set’s back, quickly adjusted their expressions and drew their weapons.
Horus also began to exude his aura as if he had been waiting for this very moment.
“It’s time to take away the throne.”
“Oooh! Oooh! Oooh!”
The time for swords to make sounds once more had arrived.
***
“Whew…”
The sound of a deep sign rang in a room.
A man was sitting in the empty conference hall of Asgard.
Hours had gone by after the meeting had ended, but Odin had still not left the hall.
He only sighed to himself and agonized about what had happened with a quiet gaze.
‘The Nile.’
He looked back on the choices he had made.
Asgard's meetings were special. Although they would hear everyone’s opinions, the final choice was always up to Odin. That was why the Heroes and Hunters of Asgard had put Odin as the ruler of Asgard.
Or even why they called him King.
‘Just what…’
The focus of this meeting had been the invasion of the Nile.
They were spread thin because of the special gates, but they had been able to decide on a future direction due to the existence of Lee Jun-Kyeong. In fact, the situation in Korea was gradually improving.
That was how he had been able to turn his eyes away to something else for a moment. To the Nile, where he had coincidentally found an opportunity.
It was a perfect prey for them to pick up and consume.
The Nile, whose power had diminished due to the rebellion, was a meal more than enough for Asgard to be happy feeding on.
Moreover, because of the character of Asgard and Odin, they were not entities who would leave an opportunity like this alone.
However, in the midst of a meeting that was just about to be concluded, he had stated: “Asgard will withdraw from the Nile.”
Odin remembered that he had said that Asgard would no longer be involved in the Nile.
There was only one reason he had changed his mind.
‘That power of Set…’
It was the strength that had been exposed by Baldur.
Set had torn through a territory and constantly emitted a dark red mana. Odin was reminded of something when he looked at him.
“To think I felt fear…”
It was a feeling he had forgotten.
Moreover, that wasn’t it either.
‘Excitement.’
It was an incredible joy at seeing such a great power, such an unknown power.
His inquisitiveness and desire to be strong shivered in excitement upon seeing that.
Odin was one of the world’s top Hunters and Heroes.
However.
‘It’s been a while since my Sponsorship has been cut off.’
That was why he didn’t go hunting, and instead spent his time reigning as president of the Association and ruler of Asgard.
Somewhere along the line, the sponsorship from his Sponsors had been cut off.
It didn’t mean he would lose any of his current power, but it still meant that the road to getting any stronger had become almost impossible to trek.
That was why he explored so much, and that was why he dug past so many secrets.
“I found a possible way.”
Before he knew it, a smile had formed around his mouth.
Set’s power was dangerous.
If Asgard got involved in the Nile’s conflicts, then the focus of that power would turn to Asgard, and that power would cause it great damage.
That was why it was only a possibility.
‘The Sponsors.’
His ultimate goal was to kill his Sponsor. He had found a new hope for that purpose in Lee Jun-Kyeong, and now, he had found another hope as well.
Asgard–no, Odin.
‘Although I washed my hands of the Nile, that doesn’t mean I’ll give up on Set.’
Once the Nile’s rebellion had ended.
Once the Nile entered stability.
That would be when he would intervene.
Set’s strength was powerful, but it wasn’t up to his level just yet.
Odin knew that Horus had awoken, but he still didn’t doubt Set’s victory. That was how strong the power Set had shown was, and why he considered it a new possibility that he had found.
“How fun,” Odin said, pushing away his chair and standing up.
Although he still had bits he was confused about, it was a pleasant sort of chaos that tumbled around in his head.
A possibility.
The unknown.
A quest.
The wellsprings of Odin’s purpose were springing up again.
It was then.
“...!”
Odin looked at the door of the conference room with surprise.
There.
"Who is it?"
Someone was standing.
This was his territory, but there was an unauthorized, unknown person intruding within it.
This was something that had never happened.
This was something that couldn’t have happened.
Odin felt joy once more.
The unknown.
This man, who had emerged while breaking common sense, was the object of his quest.
The man answered Odin's question belatedly.
"The one who will give you strength."
His black robe fluttered in the flow of mana.