Leveling with the Gods

C511

Stars were falling in buckets.

To Hercules' eyes, it truly seemed so.

The purple waves forming the sky, with stars embedded like jewels, wrinkled, twisted, and becsmaller and smaller. Expanding, contracting. Twisting as the sky distorted over and over again.

And as the sky ccloser and closer...

'Do we have to fight...?'

Hercules felt despair.

'Against that?'

Despair descended upon them.

That was Hercules' impression.

Glancing sideways, Pandora was about to collapse. Her tremors were so intense it seemed like she would crumble at any moment.

"Get out of here."

Surprised by YuWon's voice, Hercules turned his head.

At that moment, he wasn't the YuWon Hercules knew.

"Don't worry too much. It's just because there's no other choice for now."

YuWon knew Hercules' concerns.

The gaze that had been watching the stars falling from the sky had completely shifted to Azathoth.

"...Are you okay?"

"Don't worry about me."

He knew.

That concern was just "audacity."

There was no one in this world who could worry about Azathoth.

"The fact that it moved means they've also started over there."

YuWon's words made Hercules' eyes widen.

"There" referred to inside the Tower, of course.

In other words, the other Outers, excluding Sothoth, had also started to move.

Thump-.

Pandora's knees touched the ground.

As that sky approached, Pandora couldn't move.

She was the most affected by the influence of the Outers.

"For now, I entrust her to you."

At YuWon's request, Hercules hesitated for a moment before nodding.

Hercules, with Pandora on one shoulder, began to run hastily.

YuWon's gaze momentarily followed Hercules' back.

It was a concern that Sothoth might intend to target Hercules and Pandora.

But fortunately...

Swooosh-.

The falling stars didn't have them in their sights.

It was natural.

"He's not that foolish."

Because Azathoth was here.

The purple waves falling down suddenly began to gather into one.

And to fight him.

Swoosh-.

Black chaos began to gather around YuWon.

"You don't have to be so anxious."

[Amorphous Chaos bares its teeth at the "everything that exists as one."]

The chaos that had gathered around YuWon took a form. YuWon calmed the figure of a blurry adult standing behind him.

"Danpung."

Thud, thud, thud, thud-.

Pshh-!

Hercules' feet moved quickly.

He didn't look back. If he did, the faint sound of Pandora's breathing on his shoulder might shatter at any moment.

"Stop...".

Thud-.

Pandora's hand struck Hercules' back. The tremors of her body spread through Pandora's hands. Of course, Hercules couldn't turn his body.

"This is also urgent."

"Just... let me...".

"You're just a nuisance."

Hercules' venomous words made Pandora's eyes waver.

"You don't want to be a nuisance, right?"

"..."

Pandora bit her lip.

She knew it too.

There was nothing she could do in the upcoming battle. Just by approaching that sky, she staggered and fell.

She understood, but she couldn't help but feel disappointed.

"We finally got to be together..."

Hercules' running speed slowed down a bit. His mind recalled the words Pandora had told him about three months ago.

"I'm getting married."

Pandora was sincere.

Perhaps due to the influence of the cursed box she received as a gift from Zeus, she seemed emotionless most of the time.

But there were exceptions. It was when she was with YuWon.

'In my heart, I also want to turn around and go to that bastard, but...'

There was no tto console the lamenting Pandora.

There was no time, and the situation wasn't favorable.

Stop~

Hercules' steps cto a halt.

It was because of the Outers he encountered while running to overcthe Wall.

[Rough Desert Wind Volume]

[Predators of Worshipers]

[Source of Unclean Pollution]

[...]

Perhaps it was because he had coexisted with them for so long and had heard so many Names through YuWon?

The Names of the Outers unfolded before him.

"I won't let them pass so easily, huh?"

Squish-

Hercules lowered Pandora, whom he held on his shoulders, clenching his fist.

"I have to break through them. Stay here and rest."

Kwang-

A Lightning Bolt burst from Hercules' fist.

There was no tto waste. If the battle had already started inside the Tower, he had to join quickly.

There was no room to save Arcane Power.

Crack, crack~

[The power of Lightning accumulates in the arm.]

[The power of a Giant accumulates in the body.]

A Lightning Bolt emission accompanied the activation of Gigantification.

Woong, woong~

Dozens of Lightning spears rose around Hercules, and his eyes, along with his hair, turned golden.

Now Hercules was a divine being and a Hero.

What Zeus had tried to create, the ideal existence.

"I too..."

Clack-

And before that Hercules.

"I'll help you!"

Pandora, who finally managed to open her eyes, began to move as if she had made a decision.

Fortunately, the trembling stopped, and she didn't say she wanted to go back.

Besides, Hercules needed at least one more hand. There was no reason to reject her.

"I didn't tell you in advance, but I won't be able to protect you if you decide to fight."

"No need."

"Alright. Then..."

Kung-

Goo, goo, goo-

Taking a step forward...

Kwa-gwa-gwa-!

The desert sand flipped as Hercules lunged forward.

"-Let's go."

-...They're coming.

Odin, who was watching Son OhGong at that moment, quickly reached out at his murmur.

Squish-

Odin grabbed Gungnir, which had been leaning on the ground.

He raised his voice.

"The enemies are coming."

Odin's voice echoed beyond the horizon through Magic.

And as soon as Odin's voice subsided...

-Oh-oh-oh-oh!

-Aaah, aah-ah!

Kaaaah-!

Cries, wails, screams. All kinds of sounds cfrom beyond the horizon.

"Finally..."

"Is it starting...?"

Gulp-

The Rankers who had gathered at the site due to tension clenched their fists.

They too, having lived as Rankers for hundreds or even thousands of years, had faced countless battles.

The threat of death didn't scare them as much, as they had overcthat crisis several times.

However...

They couldn't understand.

They still couldn't see the creatures blending and approaching in those waves of purple.

Swiish~

Gigantic and magnificent creatures coming from outside the Tower.

They were so incomprehensible that they couldn't even see and understand them.

"No... even though I've heard the rumors..."

"Seriously... how the hell are we going to fight against that?"

Overwhelmed by the atmosphere, Players began to sit one by one.

To secure as much power as possible, Players from higher levels were brought in, but they seemed to have trouble even maintaining this distance.

Fear of the fight.

Regret for coming this far in vain.

The internal conflict of whether they should flee now.

All sorts of complicated thoughts began to intertwine in their minds.

And among them...

The dissatisfaction of those who were brought here largely by Son OhGong was even greater.

"Having to fight against things we don't even know...."

"Seriously, is it a fight we can win?"

"It might be better to fight against The Great Sage, Heaven's Equal...."

Blink, blink-.

Odin's expression turned serious at the Rankers' looks exchanged with each other.

'This is serious.'

From the beginning, the atmosphere was not good.

It was natural, an expected reaction. Especially for those facing the Outers for the first time, it wasn't unreasonable to show such a reaction.

However, despite everything, they had to change the atmosphere.

For that...

Swooish-!

A strong wind swept across the battlefield at that moment.

Sof the Rankers who were nervous raised their hands to protect their heads.

What was happening?

Fortunately, it was simply the natural wind that had risen due to the fast movement of something.

"What just happened...?"

"There, there!"

The Rankers pointed to the sky in shock.

A straight line of white light cutting through the sky.

It was the Flying Nimbus, ridden by Son OhGong.

The Flying Nimbus quickly disappeared from view in an instant.

At the stime...

Baang-!

The gigantic Ru Yi Bang repelled the approaching Outers. Son OhGong's determined spirit, who jumped alone into the chaotic and dangerous battlefield, resonated far away.

"This is our last chance!"

There was no trace of laughter; it was a voice completely different from Son OhGong's.

"So don't be scared and fight, you bastards!"

Thuud-!

The distance reached by Ru Yi Bang was so great that it was barely visible from there.

But even at that distance, Son OhGong's desperate shout resonated clearly.

"That Monkey...."

The corner of Odin's mouth lifted.

There were Rankers harboring complaints towards Son OhGong, Players who had been more or less forcibly dragged here.

But Son OhGong jumped into the battlefield before anyone else, largely erasing their complaints.

'Our last chance, huh?'

Odin knew Son OhGong.

He had fought with him in the future alongside Kim YuWon and was ultimately defeated.

That was why he was here now.

To overcthem. To turn defeat into victory.

"You did well with a fresh start."

The fight began, courtesy of that guy.

From now on, his role was to lead the flow of the battlefield.

Steeep~

Odin's foot resonated on the ground.

A large amount of Arcane Power transmitted through the ground. First, the presence of Son OhGong, then that of Odin, was engraved in the minds of all the Rankers present.

At the stime...

[The power of Yggdrasil takes root in the earth.]

[The power of all 'Asgard' is amplified.]

A bluish light spread across the land of Asgard. The tree that was the source of Odin's power. The world itself that formed this land.

The power of Yggdrasil merged with the land, rooted in the bodies of the Rankers present.

Additionally...

[The King of Asgard leads the battlefield.]

[Successfully resists negative effects.]

[Damage reduction for allies is 20%.]

[Partially substitutes damage for allies.]

The King of Asgard.

The Myth Power and Divinity that Odin had written for many years, obtained after passing the 100-floor Trial.

"Trust me, everyone."

Odin's words resonated as loudly and majestically as Son OhGong's.

It wasn't just the size of a voice that represented all the power.

"From now on, you are all Asgard."

With Odin's continued words, the battlefield joined as one.