Leveling with the Gods

C424

Zeus looked up at the sky.

A clear sky with not a single cloud in sight. The moon's rays shone on the clouds gathering on his back.

Swoosh...

His eyelids, which had been half-closed, opened slowly.

As if he had been waiting for a rendezvous.

The guest he had been waiting for had come to seek him.

"You've arrived."

Despite his friendly tone, his eyes were filled with hostility.

Craack, craaack-le...

Golden currents began to flow around him.

Boom!

Thunder rumbled from the clouds, and a heavy rain began to pour down.

One way or another.

Zeus ascended above the clouds. As he did so, he realized that someone else was standing in the clear sky, where no one should be.

"I thought you wouldn't come."

A faceless figure, a hooded robe covering its head.

Foolish Chaos.

He bowed with clasped hands in a greeting gesture towards Zeus.

"Interesting, you've really grown."

"And you seem smaller."

"Because this is the only way to approach at this moment."

Foolish Chaos looked small and disheveled in front of Zeus. It was an ephemeral presence, one that seemed like it would disappear with a simple gesture, like a candle, without the need to create a Lightning Bolt or something similar.

"Still, isn't it enough to keep up appearances? After all, I didn't come to fight."

"How long do you plan to hide behind that false appearance?"

"When I really have to fight..."

Swiish...

Foolish Chaos approached Zeus and pushed his head forward.

"Are you sure you'll have the confidence to handle it?"

"..."

Within the black robe.

Although the occasional existence peeked out there, it wasn't visible at all.

Even though it was within arm's reach.

"You'll find out when the time comes."

"Confidence is something you have in abundance."

"I wonder if your mouth would float in the water if I cut it off."

"Hahaha."

With an uneasy laugh, Foolish Chaos passed by Zeus.

"Do you have any wishes?"

"If I didn't, I wouldn't have waited to see you again."

"So, that's it. It won't be easy to talk for long then. Please, hurry up and let's talk quickly."

The two faced each other as they turned their backs and conversed.

So, a few minutes passed.

When Zeus finished speaking, Foolish Chaos opened his mouth with a voice that mixed laughter, as if he had expected it to happen.

"Both you and he have very interesting stories."

"He?"

Quickly...

Zeus turned to look at Foolish Chaos.

There was someone else who had had similar conversations as his. Only one person came to mind.

"Is it Kim YuWon again?"

"It seems you've become close to him. It appears you even refer to him in a friendly manner."

"It seems so."

"You must value the person who made you fall from the throne you once valued so much. You truly are a saint..."

Boom!

Foolish Chaos's speech was drowned out by the roar of the Lightning Bolt.

In the blink of an eye, Foolish Chaos's body was torn apart into bright vapor by a brilliant Lightning Bolt.

A simple finger movement by Zeus.

With that single movement, Foolish Chaos's already imperfect form became even harder to maintain.

"Stop talking nonsense. Tell me if you're going to do it or not."

"If both of us desire the same thing, it's natural."

"Are you agreeing?"

"Yes."

He received an affirmative answer.

So, there were no more negotiations to be had.

Zeus's finger moved once again.

Flash!

Foolish Chaos's body was enveloped in a golden light.

"If you've finished talking, leave and don't open that filthy mouth again."

"...You act similarly."

"Keep your promise."

"As you wish."

With that whisper...

Foolish Chaos, who no longer had a reason to maintain his manifest form, disappeared completely.

After that...

"These guys are quite annoying, aren't they?"

It wasn't worth going up to the clouds, as a new client had arrived.

"I had a hard time finding you thanks to them."

Huff...

YuWon stepped on the clouds and ascended.

Zeus looked beneath YuWon's feet, wondering how he could stand on the clouds as if they were solid ground.

Icy white clouds.

Thanks to that, YuWon, as well as Hercules, who accompanied him, could stand on the clouds as if they were solid ground.

"Were you looking for me?"

"Yes."

"Why now? If you intended to greet me, you should have done so earlier."

"We're not so close for that. You two should greet each other."

YuWon said this while looking at Hercules. Hercules, as if wondering why he was talking about unnecessary things, frowned and nodded slightly.

It was during that brief moment when YuWon and Hercules locked eyes.

"That guy is gone."

Zeus brought up the topic suddenly.

As close as they might be, Zeus had no intention of exchanging trivial greetings with YuWon. Although he could be a reliable companion for fighting together, they were still not close friends.

Only for important matters. That's what YuWon desired as well.

"What kind of conversation did you have?"

"He said you also talked about the same thing."

"...So you too?"

YuWon's eyes narrowed. He had no idea how many times Zeus had been reassessed in his mind.

How many minds gathered to plan this operation?

Even colleagues spent a long time thinking before coming to this thought. Moreover, how many people were involved in reviewing and confirming the plan?

Zeus, on the other hand, was alone.

He was the only one who had succeeded in devising this plan to this point.

But...

"Although we seem to have the same thoughts, our timeline is a bit different."

"Different?"

"I was thinking of a much more distant future."

YuWon said this while looking toward where Foolish Chaos had been before.

"But it seems that was not the case with you."

The transaction with Foolish Chaos was based on the same purpose.

However, no agreement was reached about the process.

"It seems the agenda suddenly advanced."

"That's right."

"Is it my fault?"

YuWon shrugged.

"Not necessarily. Anyway, even if it wasn't you, that guy would have moved in the same way."

With the same plan in mind, Foolish Chaos separately met with YuWon and Zeus.

It seemed that he knew their general intent.

"However, I guess he was trying to confuse me about when to start."

Interference of information with time differences.

And the aggravation of damage through it.

Foolish Chaos wanted YuWon and Zeus to prepare and divert each other, even if they knew when it was going to happen.

"It seems he failed."

"That's right."

"So, what are we going to do? Should we delay the moment as you wish?"

Zeus's question made YuWon shake his head.

The future seen through the Eyes of Foreknowledge.

He didn't think he could change that future with such a simple method right away.

'If we can't change the future right away...'

YuWon had a resolution.

"We'll go according to plan."

If they can't avoid it, they will face it.

That was his philosophy, and YuWon had always survived that way.

"Are you sure?"

"Of course, if we want to minimize the damage on this side, we must prepare."

After saying that, YuWon squinted at Zeus.

Unlike him, who was thinking about the future, Zeus was ready to face it immediately.

That meant...

"Do you have a contingency plan too?"

Zeus already had an alternative plan prepared.

And, as expected...

"It's him."

Zeus pointed to Hercules, who stood on the side, with a nod of his head.

"Him?"

YuWon furrowed his brow with an expression of disbelief.

There was no explanation.

Zeus simply nodded as if he wanted YuWon to understand it that way.

"Now, pay attention to your own matters. Your face looks half-worn."

YuWon's face was considerably paler than usual, perhaps due to the excessive use of the Eyes of Foreknowledge.

In this condition, he was so tired that he wondered if he could properly fight the next day.

"I had a bit of a tiring day."

"Are you okay?"

"I'll recover after a night's sleep. It's just that my power was drained for a moment."

"I understand."

Zeus's concerns ended there.

Slowly, his body descended below the clouds. He had completed his task, so there was no reason to stay here any longer.

"Well, we'll see each other at the meeting tomorrow."

"Of course."

And so, YuWon watched as Zeus slowly moved away beneath the clouds.

"We'll see each other tomorrow at the meeting."

Beeeeeeeh~

Beeh~

Inevitably, the sound of sheep's bleating resonated in the forest.

For those who entered without permission, hearing that sound was enough to drive them mad.

However, Foolish Chaos advanced without paying attention to the threatening looks of the sheep.

Goooh...

Within the lush forest, even the light seemed to be absorbed. Amidst that, two golden cinder eyes opened and shone brightly.

A gigantic sheep raised its head.

"You should have thought twice before coming back here."

Foolish Chaos didn't flinch at Shub-Niggurath's warning gaze.

"I've warned you, right?"

Foolish Chaos courteously saluted Shub-Niggurath's threat with clasped hands.

He was the king of this forest. Although Shub-Niggurath was a dominant figure everywhere, in this forest, it was even more so.

"Don't be too cautious."

"Cautious? Of you?"

Beeeh...

The other sheep began to bleat, as if openly mocking Foolish Chaos. Faced with such blatant contempt, Foolish Chaos barely smiled beneath his robe.

"Didn't I say that from the beginning?"

Pointing to his own face with his fingers, Foolish Chaos uttered a word that struck Shub-Niggurath to the heart.

"Ever since I got this name."

Shub-Niggurath remained silent.

In that silence, Foolish Chaos felt deeper anger than in any other words.

Had he said something unnecessary?

Shub-Niggurath raised its head and roared into the purple sky.

-Beeeeeh-.

Gugugugugu-.

Foolish Chaos felt like his body was going to be crushed. He stood his ground, barely bending his knees.

Undoubtedly, it was Shub-Niggurath, undoubtedly, it was the Black Woods.

In this place, the world changes with only its bleat.

"Why have you come and said something like that?"

"I want to make a request."

"A request? Do you have something to tell me?"

"Yes. But in return, I will give you what you desire once everything is finished."

It was a bold proposition.

The only thought that crossed Shub-Niggurath's mind upon hearing those words was one.

"You don't know what I want, do you?"

"Yes, I do."

Foolish Chaos squinted his eyes at Shub-Niggurath.

Now was the time to bow his head.

"I will give you this name."

"Name..."

Shub-Niggurath's voice trembled.

Beeeeh-.

Beeeeeeh-.

Beeeeeeeeh-.

As if in tune, the Black Goat of the Woods began to howl.

The goats were another aspect of Shub-Niggurath.

Through their bleats, Foolish Chaos could understand how much this proposal had affected Shub-Niggurath.

And the offer that Foolish Chaos had made a moment ago...

"It's okay."

It was an offer that Shub-Niggurath couldn't refuse.

"Accompany me for a while."