Leveling with the Gods

C432

After the fight began, Odin's goal had been singular from the very beginning until now.

Boom!

He struck the goat blocking his path with his fist. Another goat bit his calf, and he raised his leg, slamming it into the ground.

Gruuu!

Thud!

The solid ground sank deeply as the goats running towards him were thrown in all directions. Odin lunged at Shub-Niggurath.

But...

Beeeeeh...

Suddenly, another group of goats blocked his way.

"They're persistent."

Wuuu!

A massive magic circle appeared in front of his fist.

Just as Odin was about to unleash his magic...

Kwuuu!

Kaaw!

The goats blocking his path scattered and flew away from Odin.

A type of explosion magic that focused on bursting the surrounding magic. As far as Odin knew, there was only one High-Ranker who primarily used this type of magic.

"You've aged as well."

A small, elderly figure floated above Odin's head.

It was Mimir.

Beeeeeh...

The goats sensed the threat and bleated toward Mimir. Mimir frowned at the goats' reaction and snapped his fingers.

"Tsk, tsk."

Kwuuu!

Magic compressed around the goats.

"Running to their deaths unknowingly, they're no different from wild beasts."

Hwaaaaa!

Poow!

The high-density compressed magic was prone to igniting. The goats were tossed about by consecutive explosions.

"Now it looks cleaner."

Mimir rubbed his hands as if satisfied.

The Rankers who had been battling hard were stirred by the sight of Mimir, floating in the air and pushing the goats away in the blink of an eye.

"Who is that?"

"Does anyone know him?"

"It's the first time I've seen that face..."

"Mimir? Isn't that Mimir, friend of King Odin?"

Mimir's name was famous. Alongside Odin, he founded Asgard, and there was hardly any Ranker who didn't know that he was Odin's closest friend.

However, that didn't mean Mimir's face was widely recognized. He could only emerge from the Curse of Knowledge once a year, for a hundred years.

Furthermore, Mimir didn't even use that single year for external activities; he spent it with Odin.

In other words, he wasn't publicly known.

"I guess his Rank is much lower than King Odin's..."

"This fool! How do you expect to increase your Rank if you don't do any activities?"

"Oh, really?"

"So who's the number one in the Ranking, then?"

"Why are you asking me that?"

"Anyway, Mimir is great!"

Mimir's appearance lifted the spirits of those on the battlefield.

A significant morale boost.

Mimir created a path between Odin and Shub-Niggurath.

"Now, do what you have to do."

As the goats blocking the path withdrew, Odin looked at Mimir.

"Yes."

How long had it been since Odin had fought alongside Mimir like this?

It felt good to have a reliable ally at his back after so long. Perhaps that was why Odin could fully concentrate on advancing.

Yiing...

A long spear formed in Odin's hand.

Gungnir.

Odin held it firmly and thrust it into the ground.

Boom!

The distance closed.

Shiiiing!

Kwaack!

With a brilliant explosion of white light, the tip of Odin's spear seemed to pierce Shub-Niggurath's neck.

At that moment...

Swoosh...

Shub-Niggurath's hand reached forward.

Crack!

"...!"

Shub-Niggurath's hand grasped Gungnir.

No.

It wasn't a hand.

"A goat...?"

With no eyes or nose, just goat teeth with two small horns. Shub-Niggurath's hand had that shape.

Odin's head, which was looking at Shub-Niggurath's hand up close, tilted upward. At that moment, when Odin came face to face with Shub-Niggurath, he could see the shape of a massive goat behind her.

And at that moment...

A shiver ran down Odin's spine.

"You don't know me."

Shub-Niggurath's voice, with purple eyes.

That voice was completely different from the calm and beautiful voice of the woman Odin had heard a moment ago.

It had no highs and lows in its voice, and he couldn't even tell if it was a sound or a writing. Moreover, the moment he heard that voice, Odin could partially glimpse the true form of Shub-Niggurath.

Gugugugu...

An overwhelming pressure crushed Odin's body.

Ujik... Crack!

The ground collapsed, and Odin's veins burst in his body.

He lacked the strength to support himself with his body.

No, it wasn't simply a lack of strength.

It was the loss of will that crashed to the ground at that moment.

The otherworldly monster that had broken through the walls and entered the Tower.

Odin and Mimir had prepared the "Day of Reckoning" to stop it.

If they had scattered, they wouldn't have known what to do, but if they all joined forces to fight as they were doing now, they had a good chance of winning.

But...

"What I saw then..."

It seems he had thought wrong.

Deep underground with no end in sight.

As he fell, Odin looked at Shub-Niggurath, who was looking down at him.

"It wasn't all."

Odin realized that the gigantic male goat he had seen at that moment was not the only one.

Crack... Craack, craaack-le...

Black sparks flew between YuWon and Shiva.

The collision happened right after.

Flash... Kwaaang!

In the blink of an eye, YuWon and Shiva vanished from their positions and collided in the air. After a single clash, they separated from each other and drew their weapons.

YuWon drew his usual sword.

And Shiva pulled out a long scythe similar to the one Hades wields.

Shiiiing...

Jwaeeeeong!

The two weapons, imbued with dark magic, clashed. Shiva looked at YuWon with bright eyes as she wielded the same kind of magic.

"It's different from what I had heard."

"What's different?"

"The way you fight and the nature of your magic."

"I'm naturally quite versatile."

In the world, YuWon was primarily known as a lightning magic-type fighter. He was also famous as a summoner who controlled Susanoo.

Since he was an undead summoner, it was natural for him to use dark magic, but he had never shown such free control of it.

Shiiik, shyaang...

Axes flying from two different directions.

YuWon's sword met one of them.

Jjeoeung...

Chik...

Shiva's axe barely grazed his cheek. Dark magic was corrosive. Blood ran down his cheek, and a sharp pang of pain shot across his face.

Swoosh...

YuWon wiped the blood from his cheek.

He was faster than he had heard. This level was comparable to Satan in his prime.

YuWon looked at the axe that Shiva was twirling in her hand.

From the beginning until now, Shiva had a triumphant expression on her face.

"I know you have skill, but this is my space."

"Did you steal the power of Brahma and Vishnu?"

"Weren't you expecting something like this?"

Kwong...

The axe she had been twirling stopped in Shiva's hand.

"And yet, you dared to enter here on your own?"

Kwaaat...

When the axe swung once, YuWon's body split in half.

For a brief moment, Shiva saw him like that.

However...

Swooosh...

YuWon's figure disappeared from the spot.

For a brief moment, Shiva's scythe followed YuWon gently.

Jjeojung, jjeojeojung...

The two axes and swords clashed relentlessly. YuWon's eyes were always on Shiva's pupils, not on the axes.

Fireee~

Eyes burning with a red color.

Shiva realized how YuWon could avoid and block her axes, despite her notably slower speed.

"Is that what they call Golden Cinder Eyes?"

Despite his slower speed, YuWon seemed capable of blocking and evading her axes without too much effort.

But that was it.

In his current state, he could only defend himself. He couldn't win by rushing into the defense alone.

Furthermore, this was his space.

"The fight is already over."

Sshh...

The corner of the mouth twisted upward.

Kiiiing...

With an unpleasant sound, Shiva's axe crossed in an X shape.

YuWon's eyes, burning intensely with red, flickered.

"This is a bit... dangerous."

Sometimes, knowing was not enough to deal with something.

What he needed now was one.

Craaack-le...

It was a much greater power than before.

['Uranus Heart' is activating]

[The 'Tartarus' gate is opening]

Woosh!

The Arcane Power of Tartarus emanated from the ring he wore on his hand.

That Arcane Power collided with Shiva's scythe.

Claaang!

When Shiva swung the scythe, a long X-shaped crack appeared.

In an instant, an attack meant to split YuWon's body into four parts.

But in the next moment, Shiva's pupils dilated as she swung her axe.

"Can you block this too?"

The power gradually returning from Vishnu and Brahma, strengthening her axe, was neutralized by YuWon's sword.

Until just a moment ago, she hadn't been so worried.

After all, Vishnu and Brahma had already been defeated, and their power was returning to her.

Although YuWon was a High-Ranker, he ultimately believed he was just an insect before him.

However...

"Isn't this enough?"

Although he couldn't kill him, this attack should have at least caused him injuries.

But despite that, he managed to block her axe tightly.

It meant his calculation was wrong.

What could be the reason?

He felt a little frustrated.

Crack...

He gritted his teeth at his wounded pride.

"You're doing unpleasant things."

Kwaaat!

Shiva's axe once again cut into YuWon's body.

Jjeoeung...

Again.

He managed to block the axe he thought he couldn't stop.

The amount of magic flowing from his ring was unusual. Shiva gritted her teeth as she pressed YuWon.

"Die."

Kwaaat!

Relentlessly, she kept pressing.

With his eyes wide open, Shiva gradually cornered YuWon.

"Die. Die."

Kwaaawwng!

Pit...

YuWon's body began accumulating wounds one after another.

It seemed that just a little more would be enough.

This time...

Kiiiiing!

The amount of magic flowing through the two axes was overwhelming. The increasingly intense attacks made YuWon's expression contort.

"It won't work."

Had he finally given up his strength?

It was at that moment that Shiva finally smiled.

"If you keep this up, you might die."

"What?"

What was he saying?

YuWon's voice sounded as if he had been looking down on him all along.

Shiva, who was about to swing her axe, stopped for a moment. It was only then that she realized YuWon hadn't taken a single step for a while.

"What has happened?"

He was sure he had given it his all.

Even if he was Kim YuWon, he couldn't afford to be so relaxed in front of him.

This made no sense.

"Hey, you two."

And at that moment, YuWon spoke unexpected words.

"Can you stop pretending to be asleep and help?"

Pretending to be asleep.

Shiva didn't understand what that meant and furrowed her brow for a moment.

And as she did...

"No way..."

Shiva's head turned following YuWon's gaze.

And there...

"It's so noisy; my head hurts."

"I wasn't pretending to sleep; I was actually sleeping."

Undoubtedly, Vishnu and Brahma, who should have been unconscious on the ground, were staggering as they stood up.