The Novel’s Villain

69. Disrespect (4)

When Jin-woo raised his hand slightly, the cheers and applause stopped.

Everyone on the battlefield had their attention on him.

So did Odin. His Eye of Insight revealed Jin-woo’s true identity.

“… God of Evil!”

His eye gleamed blue. It allowed him to see the past, present, and future in detail. Moreover, combined with the wisdom he gained from Mimir’s Well, he gained tremendous perception.

With it, he could see through the opponent’s weaknesses, attack methods, and every other important detail. Even Cronus’ power to manipulate time would be powerless against it.

However, Jin-woo was far beyond the level the Eye of Insight could grasp. Odin desperately used it on him, but all he could see was darkness. It enveloped his past, burned his present, and drowned his future.

The God of Evil.

‘What the hell am I supposed to do against such an existence?’

At that moment, it dawned upon him.

‘His weakness!’

If he could throw Gungnir at his weakness while it was still imbued with the power brought forth by 1.5 billion dimensional gold coins, he might just have a shot at victory.

Odin did his best to find it, but it only made his eyesight dimmer.

Jin-woo stared straight into his Eye of Insight, which still emitted blue light.

“You have a pretty eye.”

If he weren’t the opponent, its ability would’ve been considered quite fraudulent. Either way, it would’ve been more amazing if it were to be combined with his Magic Eye of Information.

As he slowly walked towards Odin, Odin backed away in hesitation. He refused to admit it since he had always been the strongest among the Norse gods, but he felt terrified.

“I-I am Odin! The king of Asgard! God of light and darkness, heaven and storms, magic, wisdom, and war!” He growled, concealing his fear with ambition. Channeling all of his powers, he threw Gungnir at Jin-woo, aiming to pierce through his neck.

It was all for naught, however.

Chuck!

Jin-woo casually raised his hand and caught Gungnir midair. It shook in his grip, almost like a fish flailing around in a desperate attempt to bring itself back into the depths of the sea.

It acknowledged Odin alone as its owner, though that didn’t matter for as long as it was in the God of Evil’s grasp.

“This weapon’s a bit tricky to usurp.”

It could only be truly obtained by going through the proper procedure.

If he were to use force, it would just automatically activate its power to return to its true master. In fact, based on its functions alone, it had the Mjölnir’s ability and the Golden Ring’s security.

If he used the Power of Domination to seize it against its will, it would most likely self-destruct instead. None of it mattered, however. The law was on Jin-woo’s side.

With a wave of his hand, a bunch of numbers appeared in front of him. It was incredibly long and was growing exponentially with each passing second.

“N-numbers?”

“What is that?”

Odin and the gods of Asgard pondered about it, but none of them could correctly guess what it actually signified. Soon enough, though, they finally noticed the letters floating above it.

[Odin’s Loan]

*Seizure of property possible

Odin’s eyes twitched. He hurriedly opened the dimension shop, finding the same amount covering it.

Its compound interest, which increased every second, was far beyond the level he could afford. At this point, not even selling Asgard would provide him with enough funds to pay his loan off, and it just continued to grow, completely ignoring his moment of disbelief. At this rate, he’d soon have more debt than there were stars in all of the universes combined.

Astronomical numbers.

That expression might just have been invented to perfectly describe how much in debt he was.

Jin-woo kindly provided an explanation.

“This is the amount of dimensional gold coins you owe me, Odin.”

“What are you talking about?!” Odin shouted, refusing to believe him despite already knowing deep down he wasn’t lying. His dimensional store itself confirmed the legitimacy of his words.

It was indeed the amount he had to pay.

“You scammed me!”

“No. You should have read the terms of the contract carefully.”

Odin borrowed finances to his heart’s content since he didn’t have any plans to pay them back in the first place. However, he didn’t think the God of Evil would come in person to collect his dues in the middle of a war.

He did notice the golden ring on one of Jin-woo’s fingers. He had heard that he had gained ownership over it but didn’t think he’d actually be able to use it.

‘Ah, if I were to defeat the God of Evil here and now…’

He’d be able to take everything he had and turn this disgrace into a blessing in disguise!

That was the only option he had left, anyway.

Odin stretched out his hand toward Gungnir, which was still in Jin-woo’s hand. It responded by trying to break free from his grasp, but all it could do was vibrate in place.

Staring at it, he came to a conclusion.

“Well, your weapon is quite valuable too.” He said. With a gesture from him, the dimensional store opened and conjured a red stub, its color symbolizing despair.

[SSS+] Seized Possession Tag

‘Sir, your payments are long overdue. If you cannot repay your debts through money, you’ll have to do so with your body if you’re in good health.’

He made it based on the dimensional store system using his golden ring and the Power of Domination. For as long as it was issued according to the proper procedure, it would justify seizing delinquent clients’ properties.

‘It’s time I show everyone what financial terror truly means.’

This level of authority had always been in dimensional stores, but it had remained dormant since its creation. Only after he gained ownership over the golden ring did it finally activate, and even then, utilizing it proved quite complicated. Fortunately, he still managed to trap Odin quite flawlessly.

Odin was ignorant when it came to finances, but that would soon change.

The moment Jin-woo put the Seized Possession Tag on Gungnir, it stopped vibrating. Startled, Odin stretched his hand out even more towards his weapon. However, it no longer responded.

“G-Gungnir?! Come back!”

Now labeled as seized property, it no longer belonged to Odin.

[The dimensional store has confiscated Gungnir.]

[Gungnir’s monetary value has been deducted from Odin’s debt. In exchange, its ownership has been passed to the creditor, the God of Evil.]

The red stub on the Norse supreme god’s former weapon fell.

The dimensional store cleaned Gungnir thoroughly, then transferred it to Jin-woo. It was worth quite a fortune, but it was less than a speck of dust compared to Odin’s exponentially growing debt.

He swung it around to test it.

Ji-ing!

Each time he did, it released energy incomparable to when it was in Odin’s possession. It was quite arrogant back then. Now, it simply obeyed his orders, never acting out of line.

It was as if he was its original owner all along.

“No, that’s absurd! This can’t be!” Odin raged, unable to bring himself to believe his new reality. He accumulated all of the powers within him, then fired it all towards his opponent.

The sky trembled, a typhoon broke out, and lightning struck. The gods of Asgard struggled, not knowing what to do.

Odin’s energy cut through the desert and swiftly made its way to the God of Evil. Since it contained enough destructive capability to be on par with natural disasters, it created a scene similar to the Red Sea parting.

Jin-woo admired the sight that could only appear in myths.

‘I’ve been meaning to test this.’

He took Astrafe from his subspace and paired it with Gungnir, equipping himself with the only two weapons that served as sources of lightning. Thor was the god of lightning, but he merely borrowed power from the armament Jin-woo now held.

Jin-woo swung both Astrafe and Gungnir at the same time.

Quaggagaga!

They fired lightning bolts that split the desert, turned the sand into glass, and severed Odin’s energy. By the time the thunderous flashes stopped, everything was already over.

Odin had been scorched black.

“Haaa…” Black smoke erupted from his mouth. His clothes and even his hair had all been burned to ashes.

Jin-woo overlapped Astrafe and Gungnir, unleashing a massive lightning bolt that blasted through the World of Gods and created a shockwave that reached the other dimensions. Fortunately, even though it also struck Earth, there were no casualties since it was far enough to prevent the impact from getting past the skies.

Koo!

The two godly treasures merged, taking the form of lightning itself, not an armament. Odin could only stare at it in astonishment, his Eye of Insight divulging just how great of a weapon it was.

It served as the source of lightning and all light in this realm.

Ironically, it shone the brightest in the God of Evil’s hands, the personification of darkness himself.

“Well, it’s not useless, at least,” Jin-woo muttered plainly. To him, it was no more than a somewhat useful item.

He turned his gaze to Odin and the Asgardian deities.

Light soon burst forth from the lightning he was holding, putting a Seized Possession Tag on everything it touched that belonged to them, including their clothes.

Unfortunately for them, Odin’s debt was considered a joint responsibility between his entire faction. Moreover, despite already having confiscated every belonging they had, their debt continued to grow.

At that point, Odin knew what was coming. He did ask if humans or gods could be used as collateral. In that regard, they were priced according to their rank.

Jin-woo smiled at them.

“If you have no money, you’ll have to pay your debt back with your body.”

The avatars swiftly ambushed the Asgardian gods and slapped Seized Possession Tags on their foreheads.

“O-Odin!”

“Frigg!”

Odin’s wife reached out to him, but he only looked at her with soulless, lifeless eyes.

Jin-woo blinked at the sight.

‘That looks way too weird…’

Regardless, he had to ensure their debt would be paid.

“Even if you give Asgard to me, you still won’t be able to clear your financial obligations.”

“God of Evil, you vile bastard!” Odin cried out, feeling as if he was about to vomit blood. “Why… Why?! I didn’t do anything wrong to you! I even gave you a letter and a present!”

“That and this are two different matters. You invaded Earth and kidnapped its inhabitants.”

He blanked out.

“That’s the only reason you’re doing this?!”

“What do you mean? You should be ashamed of yourself for breaking into someone else’s territory and abducting helpless creatures.”

He sighed and sat down, realizing he didn’t capture Earthlings but the God of Evil’s puppets.

However, he didn’t want to admit it at all.

Jin-woo walked over to him.

Nitocris and the Western World warriors couldn’t breathe properly. All the beings on the battlefield, including the gods themselves, were being overwhelmed by the God of Evil’s existence alone.

He looked down at Odin.

“The Earth is mine. You’re not allowed to take even a single insect from it.”

“I… I’m sorry. I accept my defeat.”

“Great. I will allow you to surrender.”

“Then…”

“But I still have to collect what you owe me.”

As his debt continued to rise, he noticed Jin-woo staring directly into the blue brilliance of his eye.

He put a Seized Possession Tag on his forehead.

“Aaargghhh!”

Odin’s eye popped out of its socket and appeared in the God of Evil’s palm in the form of a dazzling, glowing jewel. It had enough value to pay off a considerable amount of the supreme god’s debt, which was only natural since it was the combination of the Eye of Odin and the Eye of Horus.

Jin-woo absorbed it, causing the Magic Eye of Information to evolve.

[Unmeasurable] Devil’s Eye

The source of awareness.

It allows its owner to see everything and exercise power wherever its vision can reach. It also dramatically strengthens their abilities.

He felt as if his field of vision had expanded. The information he collected now was far more detailed than the Magic Eye of Information, and the way he used his power became a lot more efficient.

Jin-woo combined all of his weapons that contained demonic power—Gungnir, Astrafe, Mjölnir, and Triana— then used the Devil’s Eye on the resulting armament, immediately identifying what it was made for.

[SSS+] Demonic Key

The key to where the light and darkness of the beginning emerged, where the body of the Devil lay in slumber. By gathering sufficient amounts of its power, the door to the Eastern World will automatically open. In doing so, one might also reach the truth.

The Eastern World was a place no god had reached.

It was also known as the beginning of existence, for the first gods were born and raised there before they spread to different regions. Even Tartarus and Uranus, the primordial god of the skies, hailed from that realm.

The Southern World perished after coveting the Golden Ring.

‘The body of the Devil…’

Jin-woo wondered what would happen if he were to absorb it.

He decided to clear up the situation first.

“Hmm…”

Odin and Horus were now blind.

The gods of Asgard still needed to work hard to pay off their debts. Jin-woo liked peace, though. Even though Odin was an enemy, he intended to release him once he had cleared all of his financial obligations.

However, would working hard really be enough to one day pay off the loan he took?

“Prof. Kim Dae-jin.”

The head researcher immediately appeared, heeding his summons.

“Give them eyes.”

“Alright.”

He gave them each a pair, and although they were simply ordinary, they were still better than nothing.

Of course, he was going to make Horus pay for them.

Odin looked at Jin-woo. The wisdom he had gained by dedicating his eye to Mimir’s Well had already been transferred to him.

The Asgardian gods felt drawn to the avatars.

Jin-Woo turned his attention to Ah-young, who was staring blankly at him. When he gestured for her to come closer, she flinched, then slowly approached after.

“A-Are you really the God of Evil?”

“I’m sorry for deceiving you. It was pretty fun, though, wasn’t it?”

“… Thanks to you, I’ve done nothing but suffer a fate far worse than death. Is it really fun to watch me be so frustrated?”

Jin-woo smiled silently, and Ah-young simply stared at him, seemingly finding his actions absurd.

“You sold your soul to Cronus to destroy Odin.”

“Yes. I can’t forgive Odin. For his plans, he sacrificed all of my companions, my colleagues…”

“Your colleagues are all living normally on Earth right now. They never came here in this timeline. The humans around you are all fake.”

Ah-young’s expression softened upon hearing his words. Afterward, he handed her contract with Cronus to her.

“What do you want to do with Odin?”

“I want him to serve… the people on Earth.”

“That’s a great idea.”

He deployed Odin and the Asgardian deities on Earth, making them work for the humans until they had paid off all their debts. It was the perfect punishment for sacrificing Earthlings to appease their greed.

“If there’s any wish you’d like granted, tell me. If I can, I’ll give it to you.”

“I want to go back to Earth.”

“Alright. I’ll send you back to a time before you came here.”

Jin-woo gave Ah-young a dimensional store pass, allowing her to use it as she pleased. He also deposited a hefty sum of dimensional gold coins into her account.

Odin wasn’t in any financial state to give her her reward, so he decided to pay her in his place. Naturally, it would be added to his outstanding balance.

With a wave of his hand, Ah-young was absorbed by a portal. He then used his reign over time to revert her to before she was abducted and sent to Midgard.

She still had her abilities, but it didn’t really matter.

“Now, then…”

He turned his attention to Nitocris and Horus, and the avatars slowly positioned themselves in front of them.

It wouldn’t be strange if he were to wipe out the Western World now. He could also just get rid of Horus and his warriors then claim his territory as his.

But he had no intention of doing that.

“What?”

Horus broke out in a cold sweat. When he saw Odin’s wretched misery, he thought he would be suffering the same fate as well.

The God of Evil enjoyed torture, after all. He tormented even Nitocris and her soldiers.

He didn’t have many options to choose from.

“O’ God of Evil! Please, I beg you to negotiate with us!” Horus’ beak trembled.

He had the face of a bird, but terror was still evident on his face. He ruled over a poor region, his people barely able to make a living since they were in the desert. Moreover, dehydration was still one of the major causes of their death.

Humans had always suffered under the rule of gods.

The avian-headed god slowly went down to his knees as Jin-woo’s stare dawned upon him. However, though he didn’t particularly like Horus, he didn’t particularly hate him either.

“Alright. I accept your proposal.” He agreed, to which Nitocris could barely breathe a sigh of relief.

“Well, before that…”

He wanted to solve the people’s hunger and dehydration problems first.

Jin-woo, as always, was on the side of humans.

Asgard was quiet since all the combat-capable gods had been sent to war against the Western World. Those that remained behind enjoyed peaceful days, at least until the avatars arrived.

Their invasion made the Aesir gods panic. Witnessing Loki leading them only worsened their reaction. They already knew they came to conquer Asgard under the God of Evil’s command.

“The dimensional store has issued an order to seize Asgard.” The avatars collectively announced, their tone rigid and strict.

“W-what?!”

“How is that even possible?!”

The Valkyries supposed to protect Asgard opened the gates and welcomed them instead of retaliating against their invasion. They were only pretending to be Valkyries, after all.

The avatars all had Seized Possession Tags in their hands.

“Hey! Stop! Don’t-”

A goddess tried to stop them, but her resistance proved futile. They all stormed into the palace, confiscated every single item they could find, and sent them to the dimensional store. They also seized the gods living extravagant lives in Valhalla.

In an instant, they had covered Asgard in red stubs.

They did the same with the halls of Valhalla and all the treasures that Odin had collected. Lastly, they claimed possession of the realm of Asgard itself.

Loki looked at Asgard, which had been riddled with tickets, and planted his face on his palms.

“What the hell have I done?”

There was a time when he wished that the gods would all fall one day, but not like this.

Loki destroyed the deities of the Northern World by bringing the truest form of Ragnarok to Asgard: Loan debt.