Chapter 20 –
A world where the Abyss has opened, and monsters pour out.
Not only Korea but the entire United States and Europe were overwhelmed by the sudden appearance of monsters.
The European Union suffered the most, largely because it had relied heavily on the U.S. for its defense.
Although humans fought back with conventional weapons, they couldn’t withstand the relentless hordes and massive monsters that even shrugged off artillery fire. The front lines inevitably began to collapse.
Smaller European nations had already fallen to the monsters, and their displaced populations became refugees, scattering to Germany, France, the U.K., and elsewhere.
Even relatively stronger nations like Poland, Germany, and France, which had their own self-defense forces, couldn’t hold out against the relentless waves of monsters—their front lines began to falter.
Then, a new kind of gate opened—different from the Abyss—and gods and heroes from human history descended upon the earth.
“Charge!”
Warriors of Valhalla, the many heroes of Greece, various Eastern deities, and forgotten gods of ancient myths all fought to lead humanity in the battle against the monsters.
The front lines were restored almost instantly, and riding that momentum, humanity’s army—with gods and heroes at the forefront—succeeded in reclaiming all of Poland.
Thus, Europe was freed from the threat of the Abyss.
When the brutal war ended, the remaining Abyss became a new growth engine that revitalized the European economy.
Mana stones and various items that came from the Abyss became the backbone of new industries and helped the EU recover in the post-war period.
Naturally, the ones leading the charge in clearing the Abyss were the gods and heroes.
Humans blessed by them also became hunters and followed in their footsteps.
Among them, the one who conquered the most Abysses was Siegfried—a hero who once led the vanguard on the Polish front.
He became known as the “Dragon Slayer” after killing an otherworldly dragon threatening the Polish capital.
He rose to fame as one of the most beloved heroes in both Poland and Germany.
“Protect One: Ensuring Your Safety.”
Siegfried’s face often appeared in television commercials.
A wholesome, virtuous, upright hero—he knew well that his image was exactly what advertisers and corporations craved: a symbol of trust.
He used that image to model for various ads and supplement his income.
Boom!
Maybe that’s why—
“Die, you son of a bitch!”
Even when Siegfried swung his dragon sword Dragonia while cursing and brutally slaughtering his enemies—
“He’s a hero, alright.”
“Did you see how that Drake’s skin split in one strike?”
People still saw him as a bold, valiant warrior.
“Skreeeech!”
Swinging a massive greatsword—taller than most adult men—like it was a toy, Siegfried tore the monsters of the Abyss to shreds, leaving behind cold corpses.
Boom!
With a mighty downward strike, his sword triggered an explosion.
Even the Abyss’s boss monster, the formidable Drake, couldn’t withstand Siegfried’s blade.
He clicked his tongue as he surveyed the battlefield he had cleared.
“Tch.”
The area was littered with the corpses of large and small lizards.
None of them could withstand the destructive power of Siegfried’s greatsword—they were all smashed to bits.
‘These hides are too damaged to even be used as loot.’
Siegfried grumbled inwardly as he looked at the hunters who had accompanied him.
Is there not even one of them who can fight properly?
This time, the Abyss he had cleared was the Drake’s Nest.
Thanks to his mythological record of slaying the dragon Fafnir, he received an absurd damage boost in battles involving dragons.
A hero undefeated against dragons.
That was how he had slain the one in Poland, too.
And yet, Siegfried was far from satisfied.
“If I had Balmung, this fight would’ve been over in seconds.”
Balmung—his beloved sword, and the legendary blade that made him a hero.
But Siegfried didn’t have Balmung now.
Unlike himself, who had descended into this world from his epic, Balmung had vanished—disappearing completely without a trace.
In the meantime, he heard from Kriemhild and Gunther that Hagen, the one who had killed him, had buried all the treasures beneath the Rhine River.
He took that to heart. After the war against the otherworldly monsters, he settled in Germany and searched the entire Rhine region—but came up empty.
“Haaah, just thinking about it pisses me off.”
Boom!
In a fit of rage, Siegfried swung his sword at the Drake’s corpse, reducing the already-mangled body to chunks.
“I should’ve killed that bastard Hagen.”
When Gunther had knelt and begged for mercy, pleading for his and his subordinate’s lives, Siegfried should’ve shown no mercy.
He might have spared Gunther, but Hagen—the one-eyed bastard—should have died.
He should’ve been tortured until he revealed the exact location of the treasures he had once owned.
If only he had the treasure Hagen tossed into the Rhine, he wouldn’t need to live among humans, pretending to be nice.
He wouldn’t have to play the hero just to earn money.
“Shit.”
He approached a fallen hunter, who had been pierced by a lizard’s spine and was bleeding out.
“L-Lord Siegfried…”
“What, you’re still alive?”
It was the hunter he had used as a shield during the Drake fight.
He thought the guy was already dead from the impalement, but he was still breathing.
“P-Please… help…”
“That wound is already too deep. Living would be more painful.”
Siegfried rested the greatsword on his shoulder, muttering to himself before clicking his tongue again.
‘The potion to save him would cost more than he’s worth.’
Thud!
“Gahk…”
Siegfried finished off the fallen hunter with the same sword that had killed dragons.
Then he raised his head and looked at the other hunters.
“Anyone got a problem with that?”
No one dared to raise a hand.
All bowed their heads in silent obedience.
This was Siegfried’s favorite moment.
Contrary to his TV persona, Siegfried was hot-tempered and deeply emotional.
He also viewed ordinary humans as insects.
Perhaps that arrogant, dragon-like temperament had been infected into him when he bathed in dragon’s blood.
“Hero, what should we do with the loot?”
One of the hunters hesitantly asked as they began cleaning up the scene.
Wasn’t he a member of Thor’s guild?
As expected from those blessed by the god of war and battle, they showed up to every conflict just to fight.
They were the only ones in Germany who didn’t fear Siegfried’s actions.
No, they even justified them.
“If the Absolute Hero wishes to act, he must do so. Isn’t it natural for the strong to rule the world?”
Exactly the kind of thing you’d hear from a follower of a mad god.
Siegfried liked that way of thinking.
‘The gods from the same mythologies always seem to understand each other.’
That’s why he didn’t bother the members of Thor’s guild.
Not because he feared Thor, but because there was no fun in killing people like them.
‘No reaction.’
“Half goes under my name. The rest—split according to individual merit.”
“Understood.”
Even though he claimed half the loot for himself, no one objected.
As they shouldn’t.
Unless Thor himself showed up, no one could question Siegfried’s decisions.
‘Who would dare?’
Pretending to be a good guy? Not when money was involved.
He needed lots of it to search for his lost treasure beneath the Rhine.
“Balmung… Balmung… If I could just find my sword and slay another dragon, I could become a god.”
He clenched his teeth, haunted by thoughts of his missing blade.
He had to find it.
No matter what.
“Then you intend to kill Siegfried with me?”
Gunther, who had brought me to an old, crumbling house near the coast of Incheon, asked.
The walls were so dilapidated the cement beneath was exposed. There, we began plotting Siegfried’s assassination.
“Yes. Of course, officially, it won’t be me. It will be King Gunther who kills him.”
All the glory would go to Gunther.
“Then why do you want him dead?”
“The death of a hero—and the birth of a new one.”
Outwardly, Gunther would become the new hero.
That didn’t matter to me.
Fame wouldn’t make me stronger—it would only draw more enemies.
What I needed now was to write a new heroic tale into history—
‘And gain a skill by killing Siegfried.’
That was the final piece required to slay Hephaestus.
Letting Gunther take the credit was far more fitting.
For someone like him, fame would become a force to strengthen his faction.
“I’ll kill Siegfried myself. Just help me set the stage.”
Gunther’s jaw tightened as he looked at me.
After a moment, he spoke.
“I owe you a great debt. I see no reason to refuse.”
Sometimes, you don’t need words to communicate.
At least between Gunther and me, that kind of connection now existed.
We had the same goal: killing Siegfried.
The reasons didn’t matter.
There was no need to justify using each other.
“So, are we in this together?”
“Fine. Let’s do it. I have no reason to say no.”
“Good. Then let’s move quickly.”
“You want to act immediately?”
“There’s nothing to gain by waiting.”
“But I don’t have the power to kill Siegfried.”
He glanced at Hagen.
Hagen lowered his head in shame.
“I’m sorry.”
The spear he used to kill Siegfried had long been buried beneath the Rhine with the rest of the treasure.
They were hiding now, likely to buy time to grow strong enough to kill Siegfried.
“That’s fine. I have a way.”
“You won’t tell me what it is?”
“No. Just make sure his left shoulder blade is exposed. That’s his weak point.”
“…I see.”
After a pause, he asked:
“What do you need me to do?”
Gunther’s eyes gleamed.
“Summon Siegfried—bring him from Berlin to Incheon.”
Right now, Siegfried would be obsessively searching for Balmung and the treasure hidden in the Rhine.
“You seem confident I can lure him.”
“You have the perfect bait.”
“…You’re like a ghost.”
He sighed, locking eyes with me.
A sigh of defeat, realizing I had read every one of his moves.
He had hidden this far away to build a trap—far beyond Siegfried’s reach.
And that trap only worked if he was confident he could bring Siegfried here.
He must’ve had a bait Siegfried couldn’t resist.
“How long will it take once you call him?”
“He’ll be here within a week.”
“Then we have one week to prepare to kill a hero.”
“Are you sure this will work? That man is an immortal hero. Even his original back weakness might not apply anymore. A lot could go wrong—maybe you should share your plan…”
An immortal hero.
Just like Achilles, who became invulnerable after bathing in the river, Siegfried had dragon’s blood that made his skin impenetrable.
But even the greatest of heroes have weaknesses.
In every legend, his left shoulder blade remained vulnerable—and that hadn’t changed.
‘If I can strike that spot…’
I didn’t need a poisonous mist to kill him.
“I have a way. Just trust me.”
“Then one last question.”
“Go ahead.”
“How did you know?”
That one question held so much weight.
Gunther had hidden his ambition and gone underground in secret.
He deceived everyone, waiting patiently for the right moment.
Then I appeared—exposing everything he had planned.
Of course, he’d be afraid of how much I really knew.
“I have my ways.”
I smiled.
There was no need to explain.
Keeping it vague would only cloud Gunther’s mind more.
Gunther was a valuable chess piece.
A cunning snake—but one that wouldn’t act rashly if it believed it faced a stronger foe.
‘The smarter someone is, the more time they take to find answers.’
So just make things more complicated.
If I didn’t give a clear answer, if he couldn’t pin me down—he’d start to revere me.
‘And that reverence will keep him from turning against me.’
That way, I could keep using Gunther.
This operation to take down Siegfried was the perfect moment to instill that awe.
Even though I already earned his trust by handing him the belt, fear-born obedience was far more effective than gratitude.
A man with this much potential must be locked into my camp for good.
“Contact Siegfried. I’ll prepare in the meantime.”
“Understood.”
And so, the plan to kill a hero began.
“A letter came for you, dear.”
Siegfried’s beautiful wife, Kriemhild, with her shimmering platinum hair, handed him a letter.
Her brother…
“Gunther? Why would he suddenly send me something?”
“You should read it yourself.”
Her jaw was clenched.
She tried to appear calm, but it was clear—she was angry.
Siegfried took the letter and read it.
His face twisted with rage.
“I have Balmung.”
A photo was attached.
There it was—his beloved sword, Balmung.
“That bastard… Gunther dares lie to me?”
He cursed, wearing the expression of a demon.
“I’m going to Korea. Right now.”
