Leveling with the Gods

C488

Kwaaang!

The golden glow pushed back the darkness. From within it, hidden fangs sank into Hercules' shoulder.

Buwoong...

That's when the club moved.

As if it had been waiting.

The club precisely broke the fangs.

Crack!

Fragments of fangs shattered.

Brushing them away with his palm, Hercules advanced forward.

In the deepest shadows... towards "Foolish Chaos."

Bang!

The lightning-wrapped fist thrust forward. The shadows cleared, revealing Foolish Chaos.

"I got you."

Baaang!

The fist struck Foolish Chaos.

For a moment, he thought he had him. But Foolish Chaos's body dispersed, turning back into shadows that enveloped Hercules.

With no time to be surprised, the body reacted first. No.

The electricity reacted.

Buwoong...

Hercules' club struck the ground.

Bum!

From the ground struck by the club, lightning burst in all directions. The fangs aiming at Hercules from all sides were eliminated by the lightning, revealing Foolish Chaos hidden among them.

Tsutsu, tsu...

Hercules, wrapped in lightning, stared intently at Foolish Chaos.

In the golden eyes, Foolish Chaos's figure was reflected. Despite its threatening power, it seemed unwilling to fight seriously.

"Are you going to keep running away?"

"You're not The Great Sage, Heaven's Equal. You're Hercules."

An unexpected response.

But that response distorted Hercules' expression.

"The Giant Slayer. A powerful warrior with the strongest body in the Tower. And the blood of Zeus."

Limited but crucial information.

Foolish Chaos was trying to convey something: I know you well, so this fight is in my hands.

"It's been a little over a year since you started handling that power. Always relying on that single body."

Flash!

A flash passed by Foolish Chaos.

"It seems you're in a hurry."

"You talk too much."

"Yes, but there's no other choice. You don't have the overflowing Arcane Power like The Great Sage, Heaven's Equal."

Baaang!

As if with no intention to listen more, Foolish Chaos's body was covered in Golden Lightning Bolt.

The shadows flew as Foolish Chaos split into multiple forms in front and behind Hercules.

"You seem quite angry. Jumping around without considering the front and rear."

"I said it clearly. I'm not angry."

"I know more than you think. Both The Great Sage, Heaven's Equal, and Kim YuWon."

Foolish Chaos's next words were conclusive.

"And also Zeus."

Tsput...

The distance between Hercules and Foolish Chaos narrowed.

Boom, the club reduced the distance and crashed into the ground.

Kwaaaah!

The shadows surrounding the area tore apart as Hercules leaped like an angry beast.

Despite his threatening movements, Foolish Chaos didn't stop his provocations.

"Thanks to you, it was easy to kill him. Because I thought he would make such a foolish choice."

To say he killed him easily was a lie.

Foolish Chaos originally planned to use Zeus to provoke the Gigantification and annihilate the Giants.

However, that plan backfired, and Zeus became a powerful enemy who stabbed him in the heart with a spear.

'I lost dozens of Names and was damaged again.'

Due to the aftermath of that battle, Foolish Chaos couldn't fight as usual in this situation.

That was the reason he didn't face Hercules head-on.

'I'll eliminate Hercules here too.'

Hercules was a tough opponent.

His strength, endurance, and mobility were astonishing.

If there was a flaw, it was that, unlike Zeus, he couldn't use Golden Lightning Bolt for a long time.

But even that problem would surely be resolved over time.

"That mouth..."

Flash~

Hercules shook his fist.

"Shut up!"

The thread of reason was gradually breaking.

Hercules was clearly vulnerable to provocation. Foolish Chaos continued to distance himself from Hercules, devouring his Arcane Power.

'If this continues a little more...'

Drops of sweat began to emerge from Hercules' body.

Although his endurance was strong as steel, his body and Arcane Power couldn't withstand the constant use of Lightning Bolt if he didn't rest.

'I can cut his neck.'

A little more.

Just a little more.

In that brief moment.

["Foolish Chaos" faces an even greater chaos.]

["Amorphous Chaos" faces "Foolish Chaos."]

Stop~

A message that momentarily halted their movements resonated.

"It can't be..."

And then, in that brief instant...

Boom!

Hercules' fist struck Foolish Chaos's face.

Crack!

The Nibelung Rankers who were in the midst of battle stopped for a moment.

The Outers fighting against them also paused.

They had no other choice.

Probably, there wouldn't be many people who could take this calmly in the face of the scene before their eyes.

The massive whale covering the sky, Ubbo-Sathla, was completely shrouded in black shadow.

"What the hell is that?"

"Has Hades arrived?"

"It's not that... Hey! Wake up!"

Thud.

The Rankers who were watching the scene one by one lost consciousness and collapsed. Some of Son OhGong's copies lost part of their Arcane Power and vanished, and the tentacles of the Outers twisted until they collapsed to the ground.

Thus, the fight entered a brief state of truce.

The knights lowered their weapons and looked at the sky.

"Seriously, what's happening?"

Amidst the confusion on the ground...

"...."

Silence~

Son OhGong stood on Ubbo-Sathla, which was being devoured by the jaws of the shadow.

He felt a creepy sensation. Not only was it piercing through the tough skin of Ubbo-Sathla, but it was also puncturing the hard skin of Ubbo-Sathla, which couldn't even be penetrated by Ru Yi Bang and Gungnir.

The most chilling part was that the scene unfolding before him didn't feel unfamiliar.

'Kim YuWon, that bastard...'

This shadow...

And this familiar yet ominous energy...

It was like when Shub-Niggurath was first revealed in the Tower.

Right after the fight, when Son OhGong tried to eat the purple egg that YuWon had.

"Before that, let go of the egg."

"Oh, right."

At that moment, OhGong didn't consider it so dangerous.

Even though he bit Shub-Niggurath's neck, that was it.

OhGong thought that jaw was just a small, sharp pin.

"Enough now."

"Isn't it fun?"

He did it for that reason.

It didn't seem dangerous.

It seemed like he could beat it even if that jaw came at him.

But now...

Crack.

That egg-shaped toy from back then was biting into Ubbo-Sathla's body.

Gulp.

Son OhGong involuntarily swallowed saliva due to the tension. It's not like those fangs were coming at him right now.

No...

This was terror...

'Could I die... too?'

A question mark floated in his head.

Son OhGong didn't easily feel fear. That wasn't just because his nature was brave and fearless.

After devouring all the Immortal Peaches and becoming immortal...

Son OhGong could fight with the best weapon, which was "never dying."

Only once before had he felt the threat of death.

But today...

That one moment doubled.

Thud.

Steps that fell silently.

Son OhGong's ears perked up as his head turned.

On Ubbo-Sathla's back, covered in shadows.

YuWon was walking slowly.

‘The job is done...’

Son OhGong, who tried to call YuWon by waving his hand, stopped with his mouth open.

No sound came out. Even though he was sure he had spoken.

A creepy presence was felt.

No, it wasn't exactly a presence.

It was a chill.

Crunch, crunch.

The ground under his feet froze.

It was like being at the center of the universe. Although YuWon looked like he was walking away somewhere, he felt a strange sense of eeriness.

Surely, on the outside, it was the Kim YuWon he knew.

'But... he seems... different.'

They had fought together and shared many moments; OhGong considered him a companion and friend. Unlike his carefree appearance, OhGong boasted that his sharpness was the best in the Tower.

But in OhGong's eyes, YuWon seemed different from usual.

“Sathla…”

A chill ran down his spine.

Kwaaah~

The moment he heard the voice, OhGong almost aimed the Ru Yi Bang he held in his hand.

The voice undoubtedly belonged to YuWon.

He couldn't forget that voice.

His face was also the same.

He was surely using YuWon's appearance.

But...

'That bastard Kim YuWon...'

OhGong was completely sure.

Frrr~

‘What weirdo got into your body?’

Behind the YuWon reflected in the Golden Cinder Eyes, a white-haired man dressed in black appeared.

Who the hell is that?

YuWon's lips moved.

"I don't remember giving you that Name."

He had a thoughtful expression on his face.

And OhGong furrowed his brow, not understanding the meaning of those words.

'Name? What Name?'

Meanwhile, the teeth continued to pierce Ubbo-Sathla's skin.

Ubbo-Sathla's body writhed and screamed soundlessly.

It could be felt that Ubbo-Sathla's body was slowly falling downward.

'This lunatic...'

Muttering a curse, Son OhGong called for his cloud.

It descended before Ubbo-Sathla fell, and together with his clones, he pointed the Ru Yi Bang upwards.

"Grow, Ruyi-."

Baaang-!

OhGong and his clones extended the Ru Yi Bang to lift the falling Ubbo-Sathla.

If Ubbo-Sathla fell here, the Rankers below probably wouldn't survive.

Grg, grrr-

While OhGong and his clones lifted Ubbo-Sathla, YuWon at the top finally sneered.

"Is that guy also starting to create Names?"

Although the distance was long, YuWon's expression was clearly visible to OhGong.

However...

What that expression meant couldn't be determined.

Was he happy or angry?

But one thing was clear.

'That's not Kim YuWon.'

"Entrusting my record to that dirty thing... Hey, you."

Then it happened.

The incomprehensible words YuWon was muttering changed, and out-of-context words slipped through.

"Stop fooling around and finish it quickly. Don't tire people out."

Clearly, the face and voice were the same.

But the tone, the atmosphere, and the expression suddenly changed as if it were a completely different person.

"Eh?"

The tensions and fear that had taken over his body until now disappeared completely.

OhGong, who was looking at YuWon from afar through the Golden Cinder Eyes, scratched his head.

This was also something new.

Seeing two people in one.

"Now, is it Kim YuWon... right?"