Leveling with the Gods

It was right then, just as Odin was about to throw Gungnir...

"Grow-."

A voice resonated from somewhere.

Odin turned his head. Just like him, Vritra was also puzzled by the sudden surge of Arcane Power.

"Ruyi."

Bang!

Boom!

Vritra's chin lifted as he attempted to unleash a breath of fire, and a white-haired man with a giant staff appeared.

"Great Sage, Heaven's Equal?"

Odin's face was filled with doubts about why he was here.

In the face of Odin's questioning gaze, OhGong spoke up.

"Don't be so impressed. It's not that big of a deal."

"I'll pat your back later."

Fwoosh!

Heat built up in Vritra's mouth.

"He's coming again."

Boom-.

Then, a tall man leaped toward the breath. He swung a blue fan he held in his hand with all his might.

"Palm Leaf Fan (芭蕉扇)-."

Fwooosh!

A great air pressure pushed the hot air back. Odin recognized the man's identity thanks to the familiar item and skill.

"Great Sage, Who Pacifies Heaven (평천대성)."

The blue fan held in the hand of the Bull Demon King. It was an item that symbolized the Great Sage, Who Pacifies Heaven, just like Sun Wukong's Ru Yi Bang (여의봉).

Palm Leaf Fan (파초선).

An item that could create a typhoon and control the weather with a single fan strike.

The Bull Demon King had brought down the Celestial Realm and reclaimed all of its items.

"Why are you here?"

Great Sage, Heaven's Equal, and Great Sage, Who Pacifies Heaven.

Although they weren't related by blood, they were said to be closer than true brothers.

The sworn brothers who caused a mess in the gigantic Celestial Realm Guild. Their appearance made Vritra hesitate for a moment.

When Vritra's movements momentarily halted, the Bull Demon King turned to Odin.

"Long time no see, Odin."

Kihikihing-.

The celestial horse Odin rode whinnied in fear.

Even if it was just Vritra, he was a being difficult to withstand for a celestial horse. Furthermore, when Son OhGong and the Bull Demon King also appeared, it seemed completely terrified.

"Ah, yes. Long time no see."

Odin and the Bull Demon King.

The two had met during the suppression of Uranus a long time ago. Of course, there was no personal friendship between them, but they knew each other's abilities well.

They exchanged a brief greeting.

"Were you also summoned by Kim YuWon?"

Odin realized that this entire situation had been created by one person.

Kim YuWon.

Even the fact that he called him to Muspelheim, the return of Surt here. And blocking the Heavens with Zeus too.

It was all done by one person.

So, it was likely that these two were also the same.

Of course.

"Yes."

The Bull Demon King nodded and looked at Vritra.

"The Demons and the Dragons fought together in Muspelheim. Now the Demons and the Heavens are in completely opposite positions..."

The Bull Demon King glanced at Vritra.

"The Dragons are much more troublesome."

The power of the dragons was strong. Not only Briteira, there were beings among the Dragons that were comparable to the top High-Rankers.

"Were there other dragons?"

"Fafnir."

"Did Fafnir also participate in this battle?"

His brow furrowed.

If Fafnir had joined the war, it was no longer just Vritra's involvement.

The entire Dragon race was involved.

Indeed, the Giant Demons and the Dragons had joined forces.

"The scale of Ragnarok is larger than I thought."

Odin considered himself someone who had lived in a vast world.

But even Odin had never experienced a war of this magnitude.

If, only if, YuWon hadn't appeared and accelerated this fight...

"How much bigger would the fight have been?"

Suddenly, he seemed to understand why YuWon sought to provoke Ragnarok.

"What happened to Fafnir?"

"I drove him away. Luckily, it seems we were able to communicate with him."

"You drove him away..."

"Now is not the time to worry about that."

Cutting off Odin's words, the Bull Demon King looked at Vritra.

Suddenly, Vritra bared his teeth again and gathered his breath in his mouth. The fight was in full swing, and now it was his turn to attack.

Furthermore, this fight would not end in just one place.

"Go to the rendezvous point. What you have to do is there."

The Bull Demon King's words made Odin furrow his brow with an ambiguous expression. It felt as if he were being manipulated in a well-orchestrated game. And this was no different for the two individuals in front of him. Although that guy Kim YuWon's ability was there, from where and to what extent had he seen things?

"Terrifying."

Thanks to coming to the past using the Clock Movement, but still... Anyone would find it impossible to create a game like this.

Time flows equally for everyone, and even if it can be rewound, there are few people who can change the future.

This was a well-known fact to Odin, who had been thinking and studying time for a long time.

So what about Kim YuWon?

"The Gigantomachy, the Three Precious Children, the Celestial War, Ragnarok..."

Solving large and small incidents, he changed the Tower as he advanced.

Why?

At first, he thought it was just the result of the Clock Movement he himself had created in the future, but...

"I have to know."

He was also a little curious.

Odin grasped the reins of his words when he realized what he had to do now.

"I'm sorry, but I'll have to leave it to you."

With the Great Sage, Heaven's Equal, and the Great Sage, Who Pacifies Heaven, they should be able to handle Vritra well enough.

Now he had to defeat Surt, the culprit of this incident.

Kee-hee-hee-hee!

Odin's mount began to move.

Vritra did not pursue Odin.

Now he had to focus on the other two people who appeared before him.

-Fafnir has gone?

Vritra's voice resonated along with his bright red eyes.

He held his breath, ready to exhale his fire breath at any moment.

When he exhaled, the fight would begin again.

-As expected, he was a coward.

"He may be a coward, but not a fool."

It was Son OhGong who spoke.

Vritra opened his mouth as if he didn't care, preparing to unleash his fiery breath.

But then...

"Are you relying on Foolish Chaos, aren't you?"

Upon OhGong's words, the enormous amount of magic that had been building up in Vritra's mouth began to disperse.

And then he spoke.

-How do you know that?

It was quite a surprised reaction.

Son OhGong thought to himself that it was only natural.

"I guess that means you're ready to talk..."

He then recalled YuWon's words: "Don't fight them, but persuade and convince them."

OhGong grumbled, feeling dizzy in the head.

"Why are you making me do this?"

"The Dragons need to be persuaded."

Vritra and Fafnir.

Knowing that the two dragon leaders would participate in Ragnarok, YuWon turned to the Bull Demon King and OhGong.

"That will be your task and the Bull Demon King's."

Kwang-!

Surt fell to the ground after being struck by Hercules' club.

After a moment of stunned disbelief, Surt reached out for Hercules' club, which flew in front of him.

Kwang-.

Fwoosh!

Blocking the club with the palm of his hand, Surt quickly created a flame.

Hercules was able to withstand even lava with his bare body, but Surt's fire was different. Hercules quickly stepped back and regained his balance.

"The fire doesn't work."

Surt's gaze turned back to YuWon.

"Is it because of the 'Fire'?"

The Fire that YuWon had stolen.

It was Surt's secret weapon to defeat Odin.

As such, the power of Fire was something Surt was familiar with.

So he shook his head.

"That won't be enough."

First of all, he didn't understand why YuWon had stolen the Fire. The Fire he created was impossible for normal Rankers to approach.

It was not simply something that could be resisted with fire attribute resistance.

It was something that only Surt, who had the highest fire attribute resistance and a gigantic body, could obtain.

"Well... it seems it doesn't matter."

Thump.

Surt stomped on the ground.

"There are many ways to kill insects."

Crunch, crunch.

His feet split the ground.

Fire is also fire, but it was the moment he could feel Surt's power.

"I will step on you and kill you, and take that Fire back."

Boom!

Surt flew towards YuWon.

It's incredible that someone with a body as large as a mountain can move so fast. It was a movement that didn't match the characteristics of giants, who were naturally big and clumsy.

Goo-goo-goo!

Upon landing, a deep hole appeared in the ground. Not feeling anything under his feet, Surt turned his head.

"Do you think you can escape?"

Bang-.

Surt reached out his hand towards YuWon.

If fire doesn't work, he'll simply engage in close combat. In fact, fire was just one of the many abilities Surt possessed. Surt's physical abilities were comparable to those of Hercules.

However...

Kwaang!

The problem was that Hercules was currently assisting YuWon, deflecting Surt's arm and swinging his club.

Bum-.

Hercules, who had struck Surt's arm, brandished his club once again.

"Weren't you fighting with me before?"

"You..."

Fwooosh-.

Surt ignited flames all over his body.

"Arrogant, Zeus's abandoned son!"

Surt punched Hercules.

With the sound of the ground trembling, Surt's punch, which was being driven into the earth, stopped. Hercules stood on both feet, resisting Surt's punch with strength.

The veins on Surt's forehead bulged.

One couldn't be hurt by fire, and the other couldn't be defeated in close combat.

It was a challenging combination to deal with.

And it was YuWon who devised that combination, looking at Hercules, who was enduring Surt's power.

"If it's that guy, he can handle it."

Luckily, he wasn't mistaken.

That's why he had given Hercules the Yggdrasil Branch.

Now there was only one thing he could do.

"Opportunities are not many."

Maybe just one chance.

Surt was focused on Hercules. Apparently, to steal the Fire from YuWon, he needed to trample Hercules first. As long as Hercules was alive and well, he would continue to protect YuWon.

And now, with Surt's gaze momentarily fixed on Hercules, it was his chance.

Swoosh-.

YuWon took an item from his inventory. A shining mirror composed of thousands, even tens of thousands of faces. It was the Yata Mirror, one of the Three Sacred Treasures.

[The 'Yata Mirror' is activated]

[Move to the designated place reflected in the mirror]

Surt's head was reflected in the Yata Mirror.

In that moment, YuWon's body flashed before Surt's eyes.

Surt, who had been fighting Hercules, was momentarily confused. But then the corners of his mouth turned up, as if he was glad for the opportunity.

If anyone would be glad to see distances shortened, it would be him.

"Your fire can't harm me anyway."

Surt had spent all those years in lava. His resistance to fire was unparalleled. Therefore, even if YuWon had taken the Fire, Surt had no fear of YuWon's fire.

But...

Chk-.

What YuWon was aiming for was precisely Surt's "eyes."

"Do you know how much moisture is in your eyes?"

Hwaruk-.

Through Surt's pupils, purple flames began to burn.

"If you don't know, you'll probably find out soon."