Leveling with the Gods

C426

Valhalla Castle was in sight.

Just a few more steps, and they would arrive, but Vishnu couldn't move forward.

He was blocked by an intruder.

"Who are you?"

"I only have something to tell you."

It was Kim YuWon, whom Vishnu had met the day before.

As he looked at him, Vishnu sighed and shook his head.

"Whatever you say, this doesn't mean it won't happen."

"I know. Destiny cannot be changed."

That was an expression Vishnu used to say as if it were a habit.

Changing an already established destiny is impossible. The only way to change a predetermined future is by changing what has already happened in the past.

That's why, according to YuWon, the only way to change the future was through the Clock Movement. YuWon had heard that same phrase more than ten times.

"But that doesn't mean you know everything, does it?"

"What do you mean?"

"Anyway, since it's going to happen anyway, we can't just stand by and do nothing."

Fireee...

YuWon's eyes turned golden.

When his eyes met Vishnu's, the latter realized that YuWon had seen the same thing as him.

"Let's do our best to change things for the better."

"...Did you see it too?"

Eyes of Foreknowledge.

Eyes with transcendental powers to enter a different timeline and see the future.

If those eyes could see destiny just like Vishnu, then maybe they could do it much more accurately.

"Then, wouldn't you know even more? There's no other way."

YuWon didn't respond.

Feeling frustrated, Vishnu sighed deeply and looked at the sky.

"The Calamity is looming."

The sky was still blue up until now.

But who knew if it would remain so until the end of the day.

"To prevent it..."

"Isn't there another way?"

Click...

YuWon's head turned.

"You're here."

A small child who barely reached his waist.

With candy in his mouth, the child walked behind YuWon.

"Another way."

"Is he the one you mentioned?"

Despite his childlike appearance, he spoke with an elderly tone that didn't match at all.

When the last guest he had been waiting for finally joined them, YuWon finally said what he had been holding back.

"The three of you must not meet."

"As I heard, you're saying strange things."

Chuck, Chuck-.

Brahma approached YuWon.

He was such a small child, looking cute, but he was a presence that YuWon couldn't understand any better than Vishnu or Shiva.

"Why are you stopping us?"

"Weren't the three of you originally one?"

Brahma's eyes narrowed.

He didn't show surprise. From the moment he heard YuWon speak, he had anticipated this.

Swipe...

YuWon took out a Player Kit he had on his lap.

On the Kit's screen, countless names and numbers appeared. These were the rankings of the Rankers, managed by the Administrator.

[1st place: ?]

[2nd place: Odin]

[3rd place: Vishnu]

[4th place: Zeus]

And so on...

From the 1st to the 100th place, the names and rankings of the Rankers were displayed. Of all of them, YuWon expanded a specific ranking with his finger.

"This."

[1st place: ?]

The ranking that had never changed in the long history of the Tower.

The undeniable number one that not even the great King of Asgard could surpass.

"Aren't you three?"

They were the Three Main Devas.

"One and three. Three and one. An ancient story known only to the Administration and the Administrators for a long time."

"Two more people know it."

Brahma responded to YuWon's expression, asking who they were.

"Odin and Mimir."

"Really?"

So those two knew about the ancient Deva story.

"I don't know everything about everyone."

Anyway, it wasn't an important story. What was important now was the story of the three, including Vishnu.

"Did Odin mention it?"

It was Vishnu who told that story to YuWon.

"How did you know?"

"No, it's not important how you found out."

"No, what's important..."

"What's important now is who has control."

Brahma's expression distorted slightly at YuWon's words.

"Control?"

"How long has it been since one split into three?"

"What?"

Their initial reaction was as if they didn't understand why they were suddenly being asked that question. But then, slowly, they seemed to be lost in thought, trying to calculate a significant amount of time.

At that moment...

"It's been a little over ten thousand years," Vishnu answered after finishing his calculations.

Ten thousand years. Even for a Ranker without longevity restrictions, it was a difficult period to grasp. It was probably more or less the same time that Deva was founded.

"It seems like a long time."

"But what does it have to do with...?"

"What do you think Shiva did for thousands of years?"

YuWon's question left Vishnu and Brahma without an answer. It was natural.

"How much do you know about each other?"

They knew nothing about each other.

Odin, who arrived in the meeting room, fell silent for a moment. While looking for YuWon, he realized the other two were not present.

"Vishnu and Brahma are not here either."

"That's correct."

It wasn't an incomprehensible situation. They knew what would happen if all three of them gathered in one place. Still, they assumed that at least two of them would be present.

"What are you thinking about for so long?"

The seat closest to the podium. Zeus urged Odin to start as if he were an old friend. It wasn't the first time they faced each other and conversed. Odin and Zeus had had several interactions as guild leaders representing the Tower.

But, well, Odin had never seen him as an equal who was at his level. In the first place, he had never seen Zeus as a figure on the same level as him.

"He has changed a lot."

Now, however, there was no doubt that Zeus was not inferior to him. Or rather, according to Mimir's words, maybe Zeus might be looking to an even higher place than him right now.

"Alright, let's talk about the reason we've gathered here."

After Odin's statement, someone who had been patiently waiting to speak finally opened his mouth.

"Let's strike first from our side."

A man with a fierce look, sitting with his arms crossed.

Asura. He gave a gaze full of murderous intent.

"It seems this guy only knows how to talk about fighting. As if he wants to fight as soon as he opens his mouth."

"Exactly. We're not in the Murim World where he used to live."

"And the Chief of the Murim World is calm right now."

"Well, although Asura's rank is much higher..."

Asura's words stirred murmurs in the audience. While this might have been acceptable elsewhere, this was a gathering place for the Great Guilds. Even Rankers within the top 100 gathered here, like Asura, who had come in response to an invitation. It was not appropriate for him to cause trouble here, let alone on his own.

Furthermore...

"It's impossible."

The opinion expressed by Asura from the beginning was unacceptable from the start.

"You have no chance with your skills."

"My skills?"

Asura's eyebrows twitched at Zeus's words. There was clear hostility, and with a mocking gesture, as if licking his lips, Zeus shook his head.

"Those obsessed with fighting, like you and Diablo..."

"Once you fell from the throne, it seems you believe that everything in this world belongs to you."

Ssss...

One of Asura's heads poked out. A term used to refer to him for a long time. Samduyukbi (Three heads and six arms). One of his heads was now fully exposed.

"It seems you now have only two heads and are suffering."

"Come outside already."

"If you want to fight, I'll beat you up later."

"It's not a matter of later..."

"Do you really know nothing about him?"

Zeus's words made Asura, who had been about to rise from his seat, sit back down. An interesting topic had arisen, and it was confirmed that Zeus had no intention of fighting here immediately. After all, Asura didn't like fighting with opponents who weren't willing to face him.

"So, tell us. Who exactly is he?"

Most of the Rankers present in this room had not seen Shub-Niggurath in person. Most had only seen photographs taken by someone else and heard about him this way. Still, this was enough to arouse vigilance in them. After all, even Odin couldn't prevent this entity from entering the Tower.

"There's no need to go to such lengths to tell it."

Odin was the one who ended the confrontation between Zeus and Asura.

"Anyway, we'll get to know him soon."

"...?"

As if they were asking what was going on, all eyes turned to Odin.

Odin was looking at Zeus.

Their eyes met, and at that moment, Zeus realized that Odin was thinking the same thing as him.

And so...

"First, let me apologize to all of you."

Odin bowed his head.

Most of the people present were shocked. As the King of Asgard, known as the greatest Ranker in history, bowing to so many people was astonishing.

After raising his head again, Odin began to share what he had been hiding.

"Today, this gathering is not about 'Harmony'."

Growls and murmurs.

Seizing the opportunity, the ceiling of Valhalla's Castle trembled, and pens on the conference table fell to the floor.

"Today, I organized this event to fight alongside all of you."

"To fight?"

"Against whom?"

There were people whose eyes sparkled with determination. Rankers who had a thirst for battle, like Asura and Cheon Mujin. For those who were not particularly interested in the tedious reconciliation and harmony, Odin's words were quite exciting.

"I've been thinking about this since I fought against it. Great Sage, Equal to Heaven, Zeus, and even thousands of Rankers. How can we deal with that being that all we could do together was to cast it out?"

-Beeeeeeeh

Far, far away...

A distant and remote bleat was heard from the other end of the world.

Upon hearing the sound of that bleat, Odin's fist clenched.

"Asgard alone is not enough. Not even close. But here, with all of you, I feel like we could give it a try."

Shub-Niggurath.

A God that controls countless Goats in the outer world of the Tower.

To defeat him, they needed the strength of the Rankers outside of Asgard.

"I've deceived you all."