Chapter 23
“It’s been a while.”
Siegfried found Gunther standing in front of a small cabin in the forest, giving him a bitter smile.
“I spared you out of old friendship, and you dare stab me in the back?”
Siegfried growled, threatening Gunther with a face full of fury.
Gunther’s head still throbbed from Siegfried’s blow.
‘Out of the bond we once had, I showed you mercy—just a bit. And you betray me?’
He had completely forgotten the man, especially since Gunther had sworn never to show his face again.
He thought the guy would just grow old alone in some countryside shack.
“Doesn’t this path bring back memories? Like the time we walked through that beautiful forest road when I went to meet Brynhildr, thanks to your help.”
“Where’s Balmung?”
“That’s your first line after all this time? How cold.”
“Cut the nonsense. I’m not in the mood.”
Gunther leisurely turned around and opened his mouth.
“What if I told you I threw it into the sea?”
“You fox bastard…”
“You’d kill me if I told you, right?”
There was no longer any value in this conversation.
Gunther was toying with him.
The man standing before him would never give a straight answer.
“Even if you don’t speak, you’ll still die.”
“Then isn’t it better not to say anything? I’ll die either way.”
“Don’t worry. You’ll talk.”
Siegfried knew how to extract information from someone tight-lipped.
Torture, after all, was the most effective method to get a confession.
“Be careful. I’m sure he’s hiding something,” chimed in Kriemhild beside him.
But Siegfried couldn’t hear her.
His obsession with the lost Balmung had already shattered his reason.
He had searched for it tirelessly for what felt like forever.
If he could just retrieve that weapon, then he could become a god again—
“Hm?”
The moment he stepped forward, Siegfried felt a chill crawl up his spine.
Reflexively, he stepped back.
BZZZZT!
A magic circle activated, and roots shot up from the ground.
If he had taken one more step, the roots would’ve grabbed his ankles.
Only then did Siegfried notice the floor.
A magic circle drawn in white powder had been cleverly concealed under leaves.
“You slimy bastard… even laid traps?”
“As expected, this kind of trap won’t work on you.”
“Tch, what a pain.”
Siegfried gritted his teeth.
He realized too late that this whole place was a trap laid by Gunther.
The moment he heard Balmung might be here, he had rushed in without hesitation.
Even ignoring Kriemhild’s warning that it might be a trap.
‘This cunning bastard and his damned tricks!’
He was furious—but it didn’t matter.
Pystech, the material used for magic circles, was extremely expensive.
How a dethroned king with all his assets seized got his hands on something like this was unclear, but there couldn’t be many of these circles.
“Interesting.”
He pulled out a massive greatsword, almost the size of his own body.
It wasn’t as good as Balmung, but it could still tear through a dragon.
A withered Viking like Gunther should be an easy kill…
‘Wait, why does it feel so heavy?’
Another magic circle.
A weakening spell?
But Gunther looked fine.
“What the hell did you do?”
“Don’t ask me. I don’t know anything.”
“You little…”
No matter.
He still had enough strength to wield the greatsword.
He didn’t know what spell was in effect, but Siegfried strode toward Gunther.
Gunther also drew his axe in response.
“Once I cut off your arms and legs, you’ll want to talk.”
Siegfried growled and swung his greatsword.
BOOM!
Gunther hurriedly raised his axe to block the blow.
“Ugh!”
Even from a single clash, Gunther was sent flying five steps back.
“You’ve improved. You used to go down in one hit.”
“Cough… Not very heroic of me to waste words, huh.”
“Gunther… You really need more of a beating.”
Just as Siegfried raised his sword high—
CRACK!
Lightning crashed from above.
ZZZTTT!
“GRAAAH!!!”
As electricity surged through his body, Gunther swung his axe aiming for Siegfried’s neck.
“Not so fast!”
But Siegfried’s greatsword blocked it with ease.
Even while being electrocuted, he deflected the attack and even tried to counterattack—
Then, once again, Siegfried felt that chill run down his spine.
Different from when he saw the first magic circle.
A danger sense.
The same murderous intent he felt once, when he had nearly died.
‘Hagen?’
He twisted his body to dodge the incoming sword and elbowed the approaching figure.
WHOOSH!
The stranger ducked under his elbow and thrust a sword into Siegfried’s side.
‘Fool.’
The side the stranger targeted was covered in dragon blood—no magic blade could pierce it.
At least, it shouldn’t have.
“Ugh!”
A strange, ominous energy disrupted his senses.
Siegfried, who had survived countless battlefields, instinctively felt it—this strike could kill him.
He trusted his instincts completely.
Just as they warned him, he raised his leg and struck the attacker.
SMACK!
“Ugh!”
The man flew back.
Not Hagen—a stranger.
“…Who are you?”
The stranger, gripping swords in both hands, wiped the blood from his mouth and said,
“Me? I’m the guy here to kill you.”
Gunther, then this guy—why were there so many bold fools picking a fight with him?
“You bastards… I’ll kill you all.”
Siegfried raised his greatsword.
* * *
He hadn’t expected him to dodge the pre-laid binding spell.
The roots shooting up were just a decoy.
‘The real spell was the weakening enchantment spread across this entire forest.’
A special curse that only affected those with significant power.
Alchemists used it to take down boss-level monsters—he never thought he’d end up using it this way.
‘This is why people need to study.’
More than ten magic circles had been set up in preparation for this battle.
Not just binding and weakening spells—many hidden offensive magic traps as well.
One of them triggered: lightning rained down on the noticeably slower Siegfried.
‘Looking good.’
Hagen was hiding in the shadows, skillfully controlling the magic circles.
Gunther rushed in on the stunned Siegfried, and I used the opening to charge at his flank with the Dokmu (Poison Mist Blade) in hand.
Still, I guess he is a hero.
Not only did he dodge my blade, he struck my chin with his leg.
I twisted my head just in time—otherwise, I would’ve been knocked out cold.
‘He’s no pushover.’
I gripped Dokmu in a reverse grip in my left hand and held the Loner’s Sword in my right as I stood before Siegfried.
I never thought this would be easy.
Siegfried was one of the strongest heroes in all of Europe—even stronger than Beowulf, whom I had slain.
Caution was key.
A single mistake would mean death.
“Whatever reason you had for siding with that sneaky Gunther, it was a mistake.”
I answered his murderous tone by flipping him off.
“You arrogant brat.”
Siegfried swung his greatsword at me,
SHHHHHH!
One of the hidden magic circles activated, showering him with a barrage of ice arrows.
“That tickles!”
But he didn’t even flinch, swinging his sword at me once again.
I raised Dokmu to block.
CLANG!
Dokmu clashed with the greatsword—and was flung into the air from the force.
“Damn it.”
Siegfried’s overpowering blow forced me to retreat.
THUNK!
Dokmu embedded itself in the ground.
And just from that, toxic miasma spread, corrupting the nearby soil.
“You’ve got some potent energy in this. Doesn’t seem ordinary.”
Siegfried pulled Dokmu from the ground.
“Hoh… so this is what I sensed earlier. With such sinister poison, I might rot.”
He glared at me.
“How’d a guy like you get something like this?”
I answered by charging straight at him.
This was my one chance.
I couldn’t afford to fail.
Every battle until now had been building up to this moment.
I pulled out powdered werewolf bone—my trump card—and scattered it toward him.
White bone dust spread between us.
At the same time, I unleashed my mana.
CRACKLE!
The high-conductivity bone powder absorbed mana instantly.
Dokmu, in Siegfried’s hand, reacted—emitting a thick poisonous mist.
The poison filled the air, clouding the space between us.
Dokmu—the Poison Mist Blade—had unleashed its true form.
‘If I can’t pierce his skin, I’ll make the poison seep in instead.’
That was its purpose.
Dropping the sword, letting it embed into the ground—it was all part of the plan.
The mouth and respiratory system, untouched by dragon’s blood, were his weaknesses.
Even an immortal hero had vulnerabilities.
“Cough!“
Siegfried’s face turned pale after inhaling the poisoned air.
“W-What is this…?! Grrrkk!“
“Cough! Cough!“
My head was spinning.
I could feel the poison invading my body.
But this was Hydra’s poison—the beast I killed.
I couldn’t die to my own trophy.
[Nine-Headed Serpent – Rank A]
[Effect: Greatly increases resistance to poison. Significantly reduces chance of being poisoned.]
“You… bastard…”
Bloodshot eyes, Siegfried glared at me.
He cursed, but did nothing more.
Just stood there, resisting the spreading poison.
I staggered forward, one step at a time.
“Arrogance… it’s what killed you again.”
Gunther’s words from my past life echoed in my ears.
‘It wasn’t me. It was his own arrogance that killed Siegfried.’
Yes.
Arrogance.
The gods and heroes who thought they ruled over humanity would die because of their own pride.
“Stop! Wait! If—if you let me live, I’ll give you anything—wealth, fame, power—everything, once I become a god—”
THWACK!
“Shut up.”
I silenced him by stabbing Loner’s Sword into his shoulder blade.
Even as he glared at me, dying from the poison, Siegfried couldn’t resist when I pierced his heart.
“Cough…!“
He spewed blood and collapsed.
“Huff… huff…“
I twisted the sword lodged in his heart to finish him off, then leaned on it like a cane to stay upright.
It was hard to breathe.
My lungs—and even my heart—felt paralyzed.
Deep breaths didn’t help; the dizziness remained.
The Hydra resistance skill helped, but it wasn’t enough.
“Grrrkk…“
[Skill: Mother’s Grace]
[Effect: Restores 10–50% HP based on HP lost.]
I activated the skill I’d engraved into my chronicle from the Lake Witch.
I bought myself a moment—but the poison continued eating away at me.
“Here, a purification circle.”
Gunther activated the magic circle he’d prepared in advance.
To counteract the poison, we had created a purification spell beforehand.
A white light surrounded me.
And then, messages flooded my vision.
[You have slain Siegfried of Nibelungenlied.]
[As a reward, the skill “Dragon Grab” is engraved in your Chronicle.]
[Nibelungenlied – Rank A]
[Skill: Dragon Grab]
[Effect: Pulls the target toward you with the strength of a dragon.]
[Chronicle Level Up – Lv. 6]
[Skills Recorded: 3/3]
[To level up, defeat a mythological being – 0/1]
As my Chronicle leveled up, my body healed.
The poison still eating at me was suddenly neutralized.
With my passive Hydra resistance, recovery skill, purification magic, and now the Chronicle level-up bonus—I had barely managed to purge the poison.
If even one of these had been missing, I probably would’ve died.
“Whew…“
“You okay?”
But I couldn’t answer Gunther’s question.
[You’ve completed the set “Heroes of the North.”]
[Set Components: Nibelungenlied – A, Germanic Hero – A]
[Set Effect Activated: Heroes of the North]
A message I’d never seen before appeared before my eyes.
