Chapter 52
When I returned to Seoul with Jormungandr, the first person I contacted was Lee Suyeon.
The Witness of Myth—Lee Suyeon.
She knew more about myths than anyone else, and in my previous life, she had heard countless stories from the gods.
Of course, in this life, she had only awakened as a Witness of Myth a few weeks ago, so she had not yet recorded any of the gods’ stories.
‘All those memories are inside my head.’
What mattered more now were the new stories she would record from here on.
The Ink of Truth, and her title as the Witness of Myth.
No matter how suspicious a god might be, if she wrote down what she saw and experienced with that ink, no one would dare think it false.
‘Considering my future plans, I need to keep working with her.’
She would be the one to prove that my achievements were true.
Knock, knock.
“Mr. Dojin, you’re here?”
“I called you the moment I got back.”
She entered my home carrying a huge backpack.
The pack looked even bigger than her own body, and she staggered as she walked in before sitting across from me. At once, she pulled out notebooks and pens from her bag.
“Alright, there’s no time to waste. Do you know how long I’ve been waiting for this? I told you, didn’t I? When you said you were going alone, I made you promise to tell me everything the moment you got back.”
“Suyeon, calm down.”
“How can I calm down? Do you realize how badly I wanted to go? If it were just the ocean, fine, but this was the place where the world-serpent Jormungandr appeared! I’ve only ever seen it through footage, I wanted to see it in person….”
She clenched her pen and paper with fiery passion.
A pen?
Shouldn’t she be using the Ink of Truth? Why bring a ballpoint pen?
“What’s with that pen? It looks unusual.”
“Oh, this? I had that dwarf craftsman make it for me. It lets me use the Ink of Truth much more efficiently.”
“You had blueprints for it?”
“Well… I just explained the idea, and he made it perfectly.”
So she had made her own request while I was off dealing with Jormungandr.
She hadn’t been idle after all.
And yes, using the ink through a pen would definitely be easier and more efficient. Dipping the nib over and over was inconvenient.
“Then, since you went alone, it’s time for you to tell me the whole story.”
“Alright. I’ll tell you everything, from start to finish. It began with the heretics and their human sacrifice….”
I recounted everything: how I was tested by Jormungandr, how I opened an Abyss, defeated an otherworldly god, saved the mermaids who lived there, hunted down the remaining heretics, and even met Loki.
It would likely be on tomorrow’s nine o’clock news anyway, so there was no need to hide it—though no one would know I was the culprit.
It was enough if she knew the truth: that the one behind the heretics, the Abyss, and Jormungandr’s appearance at the East Sea was me.
When I finished, Suyeon looked at me in awe.
“Is that all real? Everything you just said?”
–It is truth.
From within my embrace, Jormungandr poked his head out and spoke.
“Kyaaah! A-a talking snake!”
–A talking snake? How disappointing.
“A talking snake… W-wait. Don’t tell me this snake is…?”
“Yes. Jormungandr.”
Suyeon stared at him in fascination, her eyes burning with curiosity. It was only natural—she was a lifelong mythology fanatic, and now she was facing the real thing.
“This little snake is Jormungandr? But in the myths—”
–Insolent human female. I can change my size at will. I only remain small now to avoid notice.
“Size manipulation…? So you had that ability as well? As expected of the world-serpent who encircled Midgard.”
–Hmph. At least you know something.
“Then, O mighty Jormungandr, do you have other great powers you could show me?”
–My venom. Anything I touch with it melts away. Even that thunder god you know well perished from my poison.
“Oooh!”
She scribbled furiously with her pen, jotting down every word.
“Is there truly no way to resist that venom?”
–Of course not. Who could survive poison that even kills gods?
Jormungandr, as if enchanted, spilled story after story about himself.
‘Now I see.’
I understood how Suyeon had won the gods over in my previous life.
She was a born myth enthusiast, armed with the Ink of Truth. Her boundless curiosity and thirst for knowledge fed perfectly into the gods’ desire for recognition.
“Alright, let’s leave Jormungandr’s tales for later….”
She smacked her lips with regret, then pouted at me.
“Hearing it all like this makes me even sadder. Seeing it in person must’ve been a spectacle….”
“Were you disappointed?”
“Honestly, yes. I got to join you for the lava giant, after all.”
“Haha.”
“But I know why you went alone this time. I’m weak, and I had my librarian job to worry about, right?”
“That’s correct.”
Even though I needed her to grow stronger, I hadn’t taken her along because she had no real means of defending herself.
The lava giant had been fine, since her Witness of Myth skill, Spatial Separation, was enough to keep her safe. The lava giant wasn’t on the level of Azure or Jormungandr.
But this time was different.
Even Gunter, who went with me, had to split up for the fight against Jormungandr.
Azure had been the same.
The only reason I dared to face Azure was because Jormungandr was with me.
If even I couldn’t guarantee victory, how could I take her along?
“So it really was like that.”
“Yes.”
“Then you don’t need to worry anymore.”
“…What do you mean?”
“I quit my librarian job.”
“……”
I stared blankly at her.
“You quit?”
“Yes. I found my true calling. I couldn’t just hide away in a library. Don’t you agree?”
“……”
She pushed her backpack toward me.
“It’s filled with my resolve.”
Inside was gear of every kind: a tent, camping supplies, magic stones, and items useful for dungeon raids or hunts.
She had bought everything she could think of.
“You’re serious about this.”
“Of course. From now on, I’ll be right there beside you, recording everything myself.”
“…You didn’t have to quit your job, though.”
“Hehe, too late. What’s done is done.”
“Alright. I understand your resolve.”
If she was that determined, I couldn’t stop her.
And it was actually a good thing.
Experiencing events firsthand would awaken her power more quickly than just hearing my words.
In my previous life, Suyeon had awakened special abilities through recording the gods’ stories.
It would be the same this time. The more she witnessed and wrote, the faster she would find her trigger.
But she also needed a warning.
“Just remember, this isn’t a game.”
With Azure’s Blessing of the Currents that I obtained, and Jormungandr by my side, I could protect her.
‘But not forever.’
She needed to learn to stand on her own eventually.
“I know. I’ll work hard to be of help.”
She pressed her lips tightly together. I could feel her determination.
There was no need for the Ink of Truth—she had quit even her stable job for this. She was serious.
“That’s enough for me.”
Then, Jormungandr’s voice echoed in my head.
–Is that woman the proxy you mentioned?
‘Yes. Watch over her, make sure nothing happens.’
–Understood.
With Jormungandr, she would have solid support.
“Then, O Jormungandr, could you tell me more? I’d love to see even a glimpse of the grand history you were part of.”
Suyeon raised her pen again, her eyes shining.
There was a kind of madness in her gaze.
‘At this rate, she’ll be close to him in no time.’
Meanwhile, far away…
Horus had always believed himself chosen.
The son of Osiris, god of the dead and resurrection, and Isis, goddess of water, of the sky, of the underworld.
The successor of Ra as the sun god, the god of the sky, the god of vengeance.
The greatest sorcerer in the world, Pharaoh of Egypt, avenger of wrongs, unifier of two continents.
He might not have been the most revered of Egyptian gods, but he was certainly among the most powerful—or so he had thought.
At least, until he descended into this world.
If not for the unwritten rule among the Egyptian gods—that each could only carry one divine epithet.
That rule had been imposed by Ra himself, so that he alone could monopolize the title of Sun God.
When Horus descended to this world, most of his divine authority was stripped away.
The sun went to Ra, the air to Shu, the sky to Nut.
Because his forebears claimed the higher domains, the power left to Horus was pitifully small.
All he retained was the title of “greatest sorcerer.”
He held onto “sky god” only thanks to the mercy of Nut, who yielded the night sky and took the title of Starry Heavens instead.
From then on, Horus felt gnawed by inferiority, driven to self-loathing.
‘I was supposed to be the chosen one.’
‘The rightful ruler of Egypt.’
‘So why… why am I….’
Admiration for Ra, and bitterness at his fate—those feelings twisted him.
He became the rebel of Egyptian myth.
A troublemaker who picked fights everywhere, stirring up problems big and small.
Not because he lacked ability—far from it.
He was faster in the sky than even Hermes, and as the greatest sorcerer, no other god could match his breadth of magic.
For someone of such caliber, being treated as a mere mid-tier god was intolerable.
“Your battle with Ares is not to the death. You are simply to investigate him and the others suspected of killing Hephaestus.”
On the screen, the voice of Ra resounded, his face hidden by a blazing halo.
But the anger in his tone was unmistakable.
“I have grown weary of forgiving your arrogance. My patience has limits. This time, you will atone by resolving the problem yourself.”
“Grandfather! Ares is treated as a high god, while I am but a mid-tier. How can I…?”
“Then what—were you going to do nothing, and simply wait to become greater?”
Horus seethed.
Wasn’t it because they had stolen what should have been his?
He had defeated Set in battle and earned the right to be the next sun and sky god.
Some hailed him as a god of war, others as a god of vengeance.
Yet all those powers had been carved away by others, leaving him stripped of his rightful name.
–No good comes from multiple gods sharing the same epithet. The sun never sets on Egypt, and thus each god shall hold only one title.
That was Ra’s decree after descending to this world.
Everyone knew it was only so he could hoard the title of Sun God, but none among the Egyptian gods dared oppose him.
‘It’s your fault.’
But Horus could not voice it aloud—not out of lingering respect, almost faith, for his grandfather.
Though even that respect was now fading.
“Prove yourself worthy of your epithet. Do so, and by my authority I will grant you the title of God of Vengeance.”
“…Understood.”
Horus bowed his head.
It was the only response he could give.
He concealed his true feelings well—his burning ambition to become the Sun God.
One who can hide his ambition can also hide his vengeance.
“I thank you for the Sun God’s grace.”
And so, once again, the avenger hid the blade in his heart.
