Leveling with the Gods

C501

In the dark space between the rocks...

¡Thuud-!

A long arm pushed through the rocks.

Even though the broken rock fragments quickly repaired to stop him, it was useless.

¡Clang-!

Another arm broke the rock that was being repaired. White hair slid into the rocks and fluttered.

"Ah, let's go in a bit!"

Though he was unlikely to understand the words, Son OhGong kept muttering. With the hand holding Ru Yi Bang, he looked into the dark space opening before him.

It wasn't a small space.

Daoloth's interior. Given his great stature, the space inside his body was by no means small.

¡Thud-!

Ru Yi Bang struck the ground.

With intensely burning eyes, he gazed beyond the dark cave.

Step by step...

He walked through the cave. The flames emanating from his eyes brightly illuminated his surroundings.

The end of the cave...

"As I thought, he hides well."

There was a small and strange shape visible to OhGong's eyes.

A doll with a human head, and the shapes and positions of the eyes, nose, and mouth were highly distorted.

The doll had an appearance that did not make it clear whether it was made of stone or iron.

That figure was Daoloth.

Everything seen from the outside was a massive shell to conceal him.

Thud-.

Son OhGong walked towards Daoloth.

This was the second time they met.

Recalling that moment, ferocity bubbled up, and strength instinctively accumulated in Ru Yi Bang.

Creak-.

He was a creature made of rock harder than steel.

Only Son OhGong, with his Golden Cinder Eyes, could properly see Daoloth. Other companions, even Odin, couldn't see Daoloth correctly and threw Gungnir at the illusions surrounding Daoloth.

As a result, Son OhGong lost half of Ru Yi Bang during the fight with Daoloth at that time.

"Now it will be different."

Thud-.

Son OhGong walked towards Daoloth.

Creak-.

Daoloth made a sound like rusty metal as he looked at Son OhGong.

"I already fought you once, and..."

Boooom-.

Ru Yi Bang elongated at the same time Son OhGong swung it.

Crash-!

Ru Yi Bang struck Daoloth's head. Daoloth's head tilted to the side and trembled.

"I can fight better this time."

Fwoosh-.

Son OhGong's eyes widened from side to side.

Insisting on fighting one on one was not merely stubbornness.

He lost many companions in the fight with Daoloth. With the help of companions who could not properly see Daoloth's true nature, Son OhGong managed to break Dallos's heart.

It was a half-victory.

Swoosh-.

Son OhGong's body turned towards Daoloth's back.

Creak-.

Daoloth, whose head had bent to the side, straightened up again after being struck by Ru Yi Bang.

Towards Daoloth's chest, Son OhGong advanced with a punch.

"That guy-."

Punch~

The punch connected lightly.

"Is this how he did it?"

[Hundred Steps Divine Fist (百步神拳)]

Swoosh-!

Quad, quaddrddd-!

Daoloth's body, thrown against the wall, opened as if splitting apart. The immense sound resonated like an earthquake, making the vast cave shake.

Hundred Steps Divine Fist. (百步神拳).

The best Shaolin Martial Art, once used by Tathagata, who once possessed Son OhGong's body.

"Oh, it worked. I did it."

After displaying it with his hand, Son OhGong twirled his arm with enthusiasm.

Although he practiced a few times when he fought against Hercules, succeeding in a real situation was a completely different experience.

Of course...

If Tathagata had been alive to witness this, he might have gone crazy with indignation.

"What are you doing? Rock."

So, towards Son OhGong, pointing with his fingers.

"Aren't you going to fight?"

Daoloth, lifting his head, quickly approached.

Thud, rumble-.

The sound of the trembling earth did not stop. Screams and the sounds of battle mingled, and the smell of blood stung the nose.

"Asgard!"

"For Asgard!"

Asgard.

The Great Guild and the country founded by Odin.

Many Rankers were fighting for it.

'How long do we have to wait?'

Odin thought as he punched the approaching Outers with his fists.

This fight was not enough with Asgard alone.

More companions were needed. Just like when they fought against Shub-Niggurath on Reconciliation Day, everyone had to join forces.

Clang-!

It was at that moment...

A golden Lightning Bolt pierced the battlefield. The Outers turned black and turned into ashes that scattered on the ground.

'Zeus?'

Swish-.

Odin turned his head and saw a large, muscular man.

With golden and black mixed hair and golden eyes. It was the High-Ranker who punched from a distance, releasing a Lightning Bolt.

It was Hercules.

'Right, Zeus is no longer with us.'

Zeus disappeared from the ranking.

It was not a difficult situation to understand. He knew he had been in danger for a long time.

It was a pity.

Because there would be no one who could show their presence as much as Zeus on a battlefield on such a large scale.

He had a large amount of Arcane Power that even Odin respected, and the Lightning he spread across the sky had a range wide enough to encompass the entire battlefield.

On the other hand, Hercules, who obtained the Lightning Bolt, was more specialized in melee combat than Zeus.

"Aren't you looking too much in that direction?"

¡Step-!

Through the path Hercules opened.

There was a group of people walking on that path.

The man leading the way was quite familiar.

A man in a red dragon robe, leading countless warriors.

Chun Mujin, the Heavenly Demon.

Chun Mujin's followers, including the Heavenly Demon Cult, stepped onto the battlefield.

Now, they were reinforcements from the prominent "Murim" Great Guild.

"I couldn't bring many. In a battlefield like this, those who aren't Rankers won't be very useful."

"You did well. Thank you for coming."

Odin extended his hand to shake hands with Chun Mujin. Meanwhile, he examined the faces of the followers accompanying him.

They were Ranker Martial Artists from the Murim Guild, mostly leaders of their respective Martial Sects.

'The Heavenly Demon is undoubtedly a great force.'

Although Murim was composed of many Martial Artists, high-level experts were rare. However, Chun Mujin, from the start, was a High-Ranker with exceptional skills even among Murim people.

Therefore, despite not being very active, his ranking was slightly above Brunhilde's.

Of course, it wouldn't be easy to turn the situation around even with Chun Mujin's help.

"I brought a good friend."

"Friend?"

"He said he won't make the same mistake again-."

Fireee~

A burning heat was felt from afar.

The presence, initially seeming small, quickly grew larger. It was a quite familiar feeling, not new to him.

"I got a very old disciple in my last days."

'Surt?'

Surt's figure briefly crossed Odin's mind.

He had thought he had forgotten it, but apparently not.

Fortunately, the confusion didn't last long.

Fireeeeee-!

Flames shooting towards the sky.

And among those flames, two horns were revealed.

'Devil, perhaps?'

It was confusing.

Surt was born as a Giant and turned into a Demon. Besides using fire, Diablo looked very much like Surt.

-Euhahaha! Finally, the day has come! Today!

A Demon with a gigantic body, wielding a red sword towards the sky, jumped onto the battlefield.

The flame-wrapped sword cut and burned the Outers.

Undoubtedly, a sword.

It was a fighting style that was nothing like Diablo, who had always fought barehanded.

"I taught him to use the sword."

"The sword? You?"

"He despised the sword as a mere item. I taught him it wasn't like that."

Slash-!

Diablo, wielding a flame-wrapped sword, swept through the battlefield.

Watching his figure, Chun Mujin smiled slightly.

"That's all I did."

Although Chun Mujin said it as if it were nothing, Odin didn't see it that way.

Changing someone's perception is often harder than any learning. And that was even more difficult for someone like Diablo, who had lived for thousands of years.

Yet, Chun Mujin had managed to change Diablo's perception in just one year.

Moreover...

"Oh, and..."

The news Chun Mujin brought didn't refer only to Diablo.

"Everyone is gathering here."

"Everyone?"

"Heaven, Veda, Lemegeton, Zodiac, Demon Kings, Celestial Realm, and..."

The Guilds mentioned by Chun Mujin. From the Great Guilds to the medium ones, and even small Guilds he barely remembered.

"Everyone is coming here."

Murim just arrived first.

The Tower was moving.

¡Kwaaah!

Diablo swung his sword, cutting the tentacles of the Outers. Then, he turned his body and delivered several blows.

Kwiiit-.

It was a different sensation than when he struck with his fists.

Diablo's eyes shone with excitement at the electricity he felt in his fingers. For this day, he had learned Martial Arts that didn't even interest him during the last year.

- Is there no decent opponent around here?

In the madness of the fight, Diablo wasn't falling behind Son OhGong.

Naturally, his attention was drawn away, towards Daoloth, who was fighting with Son OhGong.

Thump-.

His steps naturally headed there.

And at that moment...

"I don't think you need to go in that direction."

There was a voice that stopped Diablo's steps.

Grrrr-.

Diablo, who had already transformed into a Demon since his appearance, turned his head with a beast-like roar. There was Hercules, dragging the snake-like tail of an Outer.

-Why?

"Because that Monkey doesn't like others meddling in his fights."

Son OhGong deeply hated someone interfering in his fights, and it would probably be the same this time. Diablo might end up fighting Son OhGong due to his intervention.

-Should I care about that?

Diablo looked at Daoloth while laughing.

Through his eyes, Daoloth looked like a massive angelic figure with wings made of rock.

-I will fight him.

A year ago, on that day.

Diablo felt a helplessness he hadn't experienced in all his previous fights.

Shub-Niggurath.

A presence that seemed impossible to reach.

To pursue her as a target, Diablo set aside his pride and went to the Heavenly Demon Cult to learn to use the sword from Chun Mujin.

Therefore, he needed to face the strongest opponent on this battlefield.

-That guy is the strongest here...

While saying that.

Diablo raised his head and looked at the sky.

A purple sky.

The sky always changed to that color when there were Outers nearby.

The corner of Diablo's mouth curled up as he looked at that sky now covering the entire 63rd Floor.

-Well, that's okay.

"Is it okay?"

Contrary to expectations, Diablo withdrew too easily.

The reaction caused greater unease in Hercules, who looked at him with a furrowed brow.

But...

-I will fight him.

Kwic-.

Diablo sank into the ground where he stood.

¡Kwaaah!

And with all his strength, he jumped high into the now purple sky.

And at that sudden movement of Diablo, Hercules was surprised.

"That stupid lizard..."

Bang-!

After hesitating for a moment, as if having made a decision, Hercules jumped following Diablo.

About a month before.

He remembered the conversation that took place after the meal with YuWon and Son OhGong.

"What the hell is in that sky?"

Tock-.

Son OhGong, seemingly puzzled, dropped the meat he was holding. Hercules saw Son OhGong's surprised reaction for the first time that day.