Chapter 130

Ah, fuck, this hurts like hell.

That was the first thought that came to me the moment I regained consciousness.

It felt as if someone had beaten my entire body with all their strength. Every inch of me ached—no, it went beyond aching. It was pure pain.

It was probably because I’d pushed myself far too hard during this mission.

I’d used Astrape twice—something exhausting even to use once—and on top of that, I’d burned through every last drop of my mana and aether.

“Ugh! You awake now?”

A loud, boisterous voice rang in my ears.

I didn’t even need to see the face to know who it was.

“…Brother.”

“Yeah! Eighty‑Second! You’re finally awake! You were out cold for two whole days—I thought you were dead!”

When I spoke in a cracked voice, Chiyou responded excitedly.

I opened my blurry eyes and looked at him. Surprisingly, he looked mostly fine.

The burns covering his body were wrapped in bandages, his face had regained its original form… and his arm—

It was there?

“Brother… how did this happen?”

“Oh, this?”

Chiyou glanced at his left arm.

It was clearly shaped like a normal arm, though still wrapped in bandages.

No matter how monstrous Chiyou was, restoring a severed arm—especially one lost on a filthy battlefield—should’ve been impossible.

The one who answered my question was someone unexpected.

“I fixed it.”

Someone entered the room, closing the door behind him.

A man with a goat-like beard and a somewhat gentle appearance.

It was the Flame Emperor.

Until not long ago, he’d been our enemy.

Just as I was about to tense up, Chiyou spoke.

“No need to be on guard. The Flame Emperor is on our side now.”

“The Emperor is dead. I had no intention of dying with him,” the Flame Emperor said calmly. “I’ve decided to teach these barbarians agriculture and medicine.”

So that was it.

He’d never been one to enjoy battle in the first place.

A god who was friendly to humans, who taught them farming and healing.

With the Emperor dead, there was no reason for him not to side with Chiyou.

“He stuck with the Emperor, then with me—an old man like a bat. But he’s useful,” Chiyou said.

“I believe I told you not to insult me?”

“You were the one who called us barbarians first. Want your head cut off like the Emperor’s?”

“……”

Well, their relationship still wasn’t great.

But it would be stranger if people who’d just fought a life‑or‑death battle suddenly became friendly overnight.

Chiyou continued.

“I’ll say this now—thank you.”

“…Huh? For what?”

“You commanded everything. Without you, we would’ve surely lost this war.”

As he spoke, Chiyou bowed his head.

Why was he suddenly doing this?

Just as I panicked and tried to stop him, the Flame Emperor chimed in.

“It’s an obvious fact. Why act so modest? Without you, we—not Chiyou—would be celebrating victory right now.”

“Well…”

He wasn’t wrong.

If I hadn’t caused a solar eclipse with Zeus’s Astra and Black Death, and if I hadn’t sniped the Emperor, Chiyou wouldn’t have won.

But this war hadn’t been won by me alone.

“That may be true, but if Brother Chiyou hadn’t protected me, I would’ve been captured by the Flame Emperor and accomplished nothing.”

“Oh? Such deep brotherhood for people who’ve barely known each other,” the Flame Emperor said mockingly.

But I meant it sincerely.

If Chiyou hadn’t protected me, hadn’t trusted me with his life, I would’ve left the tower long ago.

I’d probably be laughing with Lee Woo‑jae and the others, saying it was harder than expected.

The one who made me take this mission seriously was Chiyou—him alone.

“So I want to ask. Why did you risk your life to save me, even when you weren’t fully convinced of my plan?”

“To be honest, I had my doubts. Extinguishing the sun with some strange weapon? It sounded absurd.”

I nodded.

Right up until the battle began, Chiyou admitted my weapon was powerful, but he wasn’t certain it could blot out the sun.

That was why I was confused.

If I were Chiyou, when I got captured by the Flame Emperor, I would’ve launched an all‑out charge.

One of the two Supreme Gods was right in front of me.

It would’ve increased the odds, even slightly.

But instead of going for the Emperor, he came for me.

Someone he’d known for barely three or four days.

Chiyou smiled without a hint of doubt and spoke.

“Does trusting your brother require a reason?”

“……”

“A brother is like your own limbs. What could be more foolish than doubting your own hands and feet?”

I was speechless.

To protect me—even losing an arm and burning his entire body—for such a simple reason.

He was foolish. Reckless.

And yet, that was exactly why he’d won the war.

“I believed you because you became my brother. And you succeeded. What’s the problem?”

“Brother…”

Chiyou was a born leader.

Someone who could stake his life for those he acknowledged.

That sincerity had turned eighty‑one people into his brothers.

And now, me—the eighty‑second.

“From now on, I will treat you as my brother. You should treat me the same.”

“Yes. Of course.”

As I bowed my head, a system message suddenly appeared before my eyes.

[The War God Chiyou acknowledges Kim Nam‑joong as his 82nd brother.]

A message confirming that Chiyou had accepted me as his brother.

The timing was strange.

He’d already accepted me long ago—why did the notification appear only now?

Was the real Chiyou watching me from somewhere?

I subconsciously looked out the window, but no further messages appeared.

Still, it wasn’t a pointless gain.

I learned that there were gods beyond Greece, and that the gods were watching me as I carried out my missions.

Most importantly—

I had truly become Chiyou’s brother.

Chiyou spoke again.

“Good. Now that you’re awake, it’s time to distribute the spoils.”

“Now that’s music to my ears.”

“Your companions are waiting outside. Let’s go together.”

And so, the long‑awaited distribution of spoils began.

* * *

Honestly, this mission had cost me far too much.

While clearing the mission Prometheus’s Fire, I’d used up the most important of the rewards I’d obtained.

I’d wasted two uses of Astrape.

Sure, by consuming Astrape as an elixir, the rank of Horte’s Lightning had risen to Mythical.

But Astrape itself was like a life insurance policy—something that could extend my lifespan, even a little.

And I threw it away.

I’d effectively lost nearly half of what I’d gained from the previous mission.

And it wasn’t like this mission’s rewards were particularly amazing either.

Chiyou and the Emperor’s weapon blueprints, and a slight increase in command ability—far from enough.

That’s why it was crucial to extract as much as possible from these spoils.

“Boss, you sure you’re okay? What if the Flame Emperor poisoned you or something?”

“Come on, I’m fine. If he poisoned me, Chiyou would’ve killed him.”

“Still, I’m glad you’re safe, benefactor. Otherwise, I’d have had to return my new bow right away.”

“…Is the bow more important than my life to you?”

“Haha—just kidding.”

…It really didn’t sound like a joke.

Kim Yuyeon was extremely satisfied with her new bow.

After all, it was none other than the bow of Heracles, the hero of Greek mythology.

I wondered if the draw weight might be too much for a woman, but a Hunter’s strength was on another level.

In fact, it suited her—someone simple‑minded who disliked complicated things and only cared about shooting arrows.

“…You just thought something rude, didn’t you?!”

“Huh? No, no.”

“Doesn’t feel like it…”

“Ahem. Let’s focus on picking the spoils.”

I quickly changed the subject and turned toward Chiyou.

He nodded and began explaining.

“Since you contributed the most, you’ll choose first. Pick two items.”

“What about everyone else?”

“Only you and Rita will have the right to choose spoils. The others fought hard too, but we can’t distribute everything.”

That was fair.

Rita had played an enormous role.

Without her, this strategy wouldn’t have even been conceived.

Night‑vision goggles, real‑time mapping—she’d displayed information in front of every soldier.

It was unfortunate for the others, but spoils were limited.

As we moved forward, the Emperor’s vault came into view.

Calling it a vault was an understatement—it was essentially a massive warehouse.

Gold and treasures were scattered everywhere.

Powerful weapons, mysterious tools, all stacked neatly.

The sheer number of artifacts dazzled my eyes.

But I already knew what I would choose.

My gaze went to the center of the vault.

A massive pile of the Emperor’s weapons and tools.

Including the ones he’d used in this very war.

I strode over and picked one up.

“I’ll take this.”

“The Netherworld Thunder Halberd, huh.”

The spear the Emperor had wielded in battle.

A weapon that summoned lightning.

Strictly speaking, it was closer to a halberd like Lü Bu’s Sky‑Piercing Halberd than a spear.

Of course, unlike Zeus, the Emperor wasn’t a god of lightning.

Its raw power was inferior.

He governed weather phenomena, not lightning itself.

Even as a genuine artifact, the mythology contained within it was different.

There weren’t many myths about the Emperor wielding lightning, after all.

Compared to Zeus—who struck down Phaethon’s solar chariot, defeated Cronos with lightning, and became king—it was a world of difference.

Despite its grand name, the Netherworld Thunder Halberd couldn’t compare to Zeus’s Astrape.

Still, the Emperor was a Supreme God.

This would be a huge help to me.

At the very least, it was better than an ordinary Mythical‑grade lightning item.

“A good choice. And what will you choose next?”

Chiyou nodded in satisfaction, as if it were only natural for me to take the best item.

Now I had one choice left.

The halberd had been decided long ago, but the second item wasn’t.

Should I take the Flame Emperor’s fire… or something else?

One of the reasons I’d come here was to obtain both the Emperor’s lightning and the Flame Emperor’s fire.

But my thoughts had changed.

I already had plenty of offensive options.

Black Death, my trusted gun.

Horte’s Lightning, various other skills, and even my transformation into V.

And now I’d just acquired the Emperor’s weapon.

On top of that, I already possessed the reward from the Prometheus mission—an eternal flame as a skill.

Did I really need the Flame Emperor’s fire as well?

It would help, sure—but it was excessive.

What I needed now wasn’t more firepower.

It was something else.

Something like medicine.

“Flame Emperor, you’re the god of medicine, agriculture, and fire, correct?”

“That is so.”

“Then do you have medicine that can heal an injured soul?”

I asked him.

At those words, Lee Woo‑jae’s eyes widened in shock.

“I do. Is that what you want?”

“Yes.”

In Chinese mythology, the Flame Emperor was known as the originator of medicine—the Medicine Immortal.

A god who poisoned himself over seventy times a day in pursuit of medical knowledge.

From him, I would claim the greatest medicine as my spoil.

For Lee Woo‑jae.

For the recovery of his true body.