Leveling with the Gods

C294

"Is that so, Asura?"

Asura nodded in response to Son OhGong's question.

"If you kill him once, that's it."

"...?"

With a doubtful expression, Zeus looked at Asura.

Even if he was ignorant, it couldn't be that he didn't understand his words.

Moreover, Asura had been tracking Indra for much longer than anyone else and had gathered information about him.

Surely, he wouldn't be ignorant about Indra either.

Asura also knew that Indra wasn't easy to kill.

"He and I learned under the same master."

Swish~

Asura looked at the palm of his hand.

Blood flowed from his hand.

"We learned similar things too."

"Does that mean you have clues about immortality?"

Zeus didn't know much about Asura.

He only knew that he sought strong opponents, desired more power, and had a rivalry with Indra.

He didn't even know where he was born or who he had friendships with, even when he was the king of Olympus.

"Our sect was a small sect with only twelve members."

The Asuras opened their mouths.

That was the beginning.

"Indra was my Sahyung*." (Note: Sahyung means Martial Older Brother. That is, they are not blood brothers, but sect/school brothers)

"He was our Sahyung."

Swish.

Asura wiped the blood from his hand on his forehead as he spoke.

"The power we have gained and inherited is special. We devour each other, seize that power, and take away their lives."

Asura's gaze shifted towards OhGong.

"That's why Indra's life, unlike yours, is finite."

"Then, maybe..."

"Except for the three of us."

Asura's eyes turned red.

"That guy has taken everything from us. The reason why his life is ten times longer than ours is because of that." (Note: That is, out of the 12 members of their sect, Indra ate 10 members, leaving only Asura)

Ten lives.

It was something that was only possible by learning and mastering the same thing.

Thus, Indra gained ten lives and, through multiple deaths, became the immortal existence in this Tower.

But.

"We chose a different path."

Asura's choice was different from Indra's.

"Instead of having one life, I gained the power of three people. Thanks to that, I became what you see now..."

The Three-Headed, Six-Armed Demon.

He didn't like that title.

Having three people living in one body was something terrible for anyone.

"But this is enough..."

Chii-ii-.

Asura channeled his power through the blood on his forehead. The blood rose into the sky, creating a red vapor that then condensed into a form.

"Enough to put an end to that guy."

Hoo-doo-dook-.

Indra, who was lying on the ground, raised his head.

Chunks of rock hit him on the head. Dazed for a moment, Indra looked at his chest.

"This... doesn't look good."

He had a massive hole in his chest.

His heart and internal organs were blown away. Although his vitality was strong, a wound like this should have been fatal.

But he had one more chance.

Thump, thump.

His missing heart returned to its place. His vision, which had become blurry for a moment, returned to normal, and he slowly felt vitality returning to his body.

And right at that moment...

Drrrr.

Someone broke through the pile of rocks and approached Indra.

"......?"

Indra frowned at the sight of YuWon's face.

They were not the same people he had been fighting moments ago. Seeing an unfamiliar face approaching, he felt something strange in the first place.

It wasn't a chance encounter as they passed by.

Although it was the first time he saw that face, he had a sense that the opponent knew him.

"Who are you?"

YuWon didn't respond.

Instead, through the long spear he held in his hand, Indra could determine YuWon's identity.

He was the person who threw the spear, taking one of his precious lives.

"So, it was you who threw it."

An unknown name, an unfamiliar face.

The energy he felt wasn't as impressive. Although he seemed to be a high-ranking practitioner, compared to figures like Asura, Son OhGong, or Zeus, it felt insufficient.

"Just wait until I recover and..."

"You don't have any chance left."

"What?"

Before he could finish speaking, something unsettling happened.

Thump.

The regenerating heartbeats of Indra slowed down. In an instant, his heart seemed to stop, his chest felt tight, and blood rose up his throat.

"What the hell did you do...?"

"It wasn't me."

Fortunately, it went as he expected.

"It was Asura."

The reason why Asura was able to defeat Indra.

For a long time, Asura had been searching for a way to consume Indra's remaining lives.

"I just need to kill you once." (Asura)

Just once.

And the blood of Indra, obtained through the fight. That was the condition to consume Indra's remaining lives.

"The lives consumed by Indra have the same roots as the absorption method. The problem is that you can only steal the power of someone who masters the same technique. That's why the original purpose was for the master to pass on power to the disciple when retiring."

"Was such a technique existed?"

"I have heard of the absorption technique. It's a forbidden technique in the Murim World... But I had never heard that there were restrictions like those."

"If such a technique exists, you would become infinitely stronger as generations pass."

"This is the first time I've heard of it."

The absorption technique, a technique known only to a few players in the martial arts world.

However, Asura's roots were similar yet different.

"What he learned wasn't simply stealing Arcane Power."

"Then?"

"The opponent's lives. Including their blood and soul."

Asura knew the roots of the technique that Indra had learned.

"That's the reason why that bastard had multiple lives and the reason why I was able to kill him."

YuWon looked at Indra's wounds.

The wounds weren't regenerating.

Rather, they were growing larger, while Indra's life grew weaker.

"If it were possible, I wish things hadn't come to this."

"Kulk!"

Indra coughed up blood.

Feeling frustrated, YuWon continued.

"No matter how many lives he has left, I thought I could just kill them all with the spear."

Even if he had Nir, his opponent was Indra.

The method that worked before wouldn't be effective this time. Even if he reloaded the spear, it would probably be difficult to hit.

Therefore, Asura had no choice but to make the same decision once again.

"All it takes to take a life is another life."

The first head of Asura.

He was unusually talkative compared to the second and third heads. He was also the most active, usually occupying the body and moving around.

The three heads of Asura died in different places.

The first to die was the first of the three heads.

He had lost his life in the final battle against Indra.

The same now.

"Before you go, let me ask you something."

The light in Indra's eyes was gradually fading.

When he still had a thread of life.

YuWon had a question he wanted to ask him.

"Do you know Foolish Chaos?"

Indra, who was tilting his head down, raised his head for a moment.

It was only for a brief moment, but it was enough for YuWon to hear the answer.

"...I see."

It was a fact that no one else had confirmed.

Whether he knew it or not didn't make a big difference, but he still wanted to confirm it.

"You were also part of the plan he prepared."

Indra.

Why he was raised among the Dragon Race. Why the Dragons raised the Human who had destroyed them.

And how Indra came to harbor resentment against the Dragons and ended up killing them.

He began to understand a little.

And at that moment...

"So, as we agreed..."

Crack!

Kwak-.

A hand that had been waiting all the time reached out from behind Indra.

"I'll take this."

Had he come running hastily after hearing Asura's explanation?

Zeus squeezed Indra's fading heart in his hand. Unlike a normal heart, his heart looked like a bluish, round jewel.

Crack, zzzt...

The uncontrollable electric current due to Indra's death began to gradually diminish. It seemed that Zeus, who held it, was controlling the energy instead of Indra.

By obtaining Indra's heart, he could obtain his power.

It seemed that claim wasn't just a mere superstition.

"Did it become something like an Inner Core*?" (Note: Another Murim phrase, it's the Core found in special creatures in the Murim World that contains a large amount of Internal Energy)

A form found in ancient beings. First of all, most of the power Indra acquired wasn't his own, but rather part of his clan's or the Dragons' power.

Probably, through that, Zeus could regain his former power.

Or rather...

Perhaps he could obtain an even greater power than when he reigned as the King of Olympus in those days.

Twist...

Indra's body, which was about to die completely, moved at that moment.

"Once again, it's you."

The voice was the same.

But both YuWon and Zeus could tell that Indra was not the owner of that voice.

『Kim YuWon』

"Foolish Chaos?"

Foolish Chaos recognized YuWon.

Well.

It couldn't be unknown. So far, many of the things he had planned had been toppled by YuWon.

Still, YuWon wasn't very concerned about Foolish Chaos.

He only moved behind the scenes, and it would be a long time before Foolish Chaos could take the initiative.

"However, revealing an unexpected appearance probably means that..."

Through Indra's now violet eyes, YuWon looked at Foolish Chaos.

"It must be urgent."

He probably didn't appear for no reason.

He was an existence with the tongue of a snake that would lead this Tower into chaos.

"I have no idea what words or intentions he has in appearing, but..."

In comparison, Zeus was more impatient than YuWon.

"Just wait for me a little longer."

Padjit, Padjit-.

He squeezed Indra's heart in his hand and stared fiercely at Foolish Chaos.

"I will come to find you soon."

Zeus had two objectives.

To pierce through the ceiling of the Tower and ascend to a higher place, and to catch Foolish Chaos who had shaken Olympus using his own body.

And now, having obtained Indra's heart as planned, he was one step closer to those two objectives.

『Long time no see, great King of Olympus』

The head of Foolish Chaos, which had borrowed Indra's body, turned.

『My heartfelt congratulations to you, for you have lost much but gained something even greater』

How much of it was sincere and how much of it was false?

There was power in Foolish Chaos' words.

High-Rankers weren't so foolish as to be deceived and dazzled by his words. Faced with Foolish Chaos, the High-Rankers spoke in unison.

When you exchange three words with Foolish Chaos, you begin to believe in him, and when you exchange three more words, you begin to consider him as a friend.

That's why YuWon never intended to engage in a conversation with him from the beginning.

『But right now, I have business on the other side』

Shh.

A red line was drawn horizontally across Indra's body.

Naturally, Foolish Chaos' voice, which had borrowed his body to speak, also stopped.

No matter how much he wanted to speak, if he didn't have a means to communicate, he couldn't convey his will.

『Although you probably have matters to discuss with me...』

Crack...

Indra's torn-apart body split apart and collapsed to the sides.

『I don't have time for that』