Leveling with the Gods

Three gazes hovered over a pond.

In the midst of the silence that had been quite long, a small voice was heard loudly.

"Lost."

It was Apollo who broke the long silence and spoke.

Above the pond, he saw Athena throwing Aegis to the ground and Cheon Mujin holding a sword to his throat.

The fight was over.

It was an outcome no one had expected.

"Now why don't you tell us why you called us."

"...."

Zeus was speechless.

It was the most terrifying silence.

Zeus, whose expression never changed, frightened those who were always near him.

"Father?"

Artemis called.

At that moment, Zeus raised his head.

"We'll have to wait another 3000 years."

"What?"

The answer had nothing to do with the question at all.

Apollo tensed. He asked again, ready to leave at any moment.

"What do you mean, three thousand years?"

"I'll go back to having a batch of several sons, raising them and turning them into Rankers..."

Zeus blurted out his words as if in thought.

"That's how long it will take to rebuild the power of Olympus after it has been cut off." ("That's how long it will take for Olympus to regain its power.").

The words sent shivers down Apollo's spine.

It was also the answer to his first question.

"Are you going to cut us too?"

"Don't you know better?"

"Because you don't need us?"

"Yes."

Against Zeus' wishes, Apollo and Artemis did not participate in the Gigantomachy.

From then on...

Apollo and his sister were out of Zeus's sight.

'I wondered why now...'

Apollo's gaze strayed to the pool that, moments before, had illuminated the battlefield.

'It was to keep us tied up.

Did he know that Hargan and they had made contact?

Before the full-scale destruction of Olympus, the two were contemplating whether to join the fight.

But apparently Zeus knew.

"It's all screwed up."

Zeus stood up.

Pak-!

A huge bolt of lightning exploded around Apollo and Artemis. As if in a fit of rage, Zeus' mana crackled and crackled around them.

'We must flee.'

The decision was clear.

Apollo's eyes drifted upward.

He was unprepared for such an occasion as this, but he had brought the Chariot of the Sun with him.

'If only I could ride in the chariot...'

Not even Zeus would be able to keep up.

Just then...

Flash-.

High in the sky, more specifically, in the dark clouds.

A bright beam of light emanated from them.

"It's been a long time since we've had a family reunion, and it's a shame it's already over."

Huddle, huddle, huddle.

The charred remains of something fell from the sky.

The moment he saw it, Apollo's eyes widened like saucers.

Apollo knew immediately what this wreckage was.

'The Chariot of the Sun...'

The best vehicle in the Tower, created by Hephaestus over many years.

It had been reduced to ashes by the power of Zeus.

"I'll ask them one more time."

Clack-.

Zeus approached Apollo and his sister.

"Whose side are they on?"

* * *

Athena and Hermes were imprisoned in the deepest prison of the Murim. Their Mana was suppressed and they were bound with a rope that even a High Rank could not break.

The Heavenly Mountain had fallen.

The battle was won, but the Celestial Demon Cult had lost their home.

"We'll have to relocate."

"To where?"

"How about to Hefei, where the Namgung Family is located?"

"There are still many who fear the Heavenly Demon Cult, and it would be premature to move our base."

"But we can't stay here forever, can we? It's time to ask for their cooperation."

"I agree. Hah, to think it would come to this..."

The strongest members of the Heavenly Demon Cult gathered in the villages near Heavenly Mountain or in simple barracks to hold meetings.

There were two topics.

The treatment of the Rankers of Olympus, including the captured Athena and Hermes, and the migration of the Cult.

Both were important, and the meeting lasted a whole day.

And at that moment...

YuWon sighed, lying in a barracks he had acquired from the Celestial Demon Cult.

"This is taking forever."

Clunk-.

Another crack.

The Egg looked like it was going to crack if he gave it a firm blow.

Of course, if he was going to hatch it like that, he would have smashed it a long time ago.

[It's hatching]

Same boring message.

YuWon took out the egg, not knowing when it would hatch, and watched it.

Perhaps thanks to the full hatching rate, the purple pattern was nowhere to be found. Instead, the surface of the Egg was filled with a purple color and other parts were missing.

'It's amazing.'

[The 'Ash Eyes' look inward.]

Just in case, YuWon used his Ash Eyes again to examine the inside of the cracked Egg.

But.

'I can't see anything.'

He still couldn't see anything in the Egg.

Even using the Ash Eyes, the Egg still only looked like a purple sphere.

'That side is also just as perplexed.'

YuWon turned his head and looked at the woman sitting on the bed in front of him.

Pandora.

She was looking at the Egg with the same blank stare as YuWon.

Unlike when they first met, she didn't show the slightest hint of emotion.

'The only thing that was eaten was the power of the Outsider. There wasn't even the slightest scratch on his body.'

It was a strange thing.

It looked as if the Egg was eating it, but Pandora was fine on the outside.

The only thing the Egg ate was really the 'Outside' that was nestled in Pandora.

"A hollow, emotionless beauty'.

That was the current state of Pandora that YuWon concluded.

Having been consumed by a huge, uncontrollable mass of emotions, she seemed literally hollow/empty.

"What are you doing?"

Just then, Hargaan, who had removed the cloth and poked his head into the bunkhouse, asked YuWon.

In response to that question, YuWon pointed to the Egg with a nod of his head.

"Why, are you going to eat it?".

"No. It looks like it's about to break."

"What, is it going to hatch?"

Hargaan's eyes twinkled with curiosity and he stepped inside.

And then...

"W-Whoa!"

Hargaan shouted in surprise at the sight of Pandora inside YuWon's barracks.

He was an enemy until just a day ago.

Besides, Hargaan was afraid to see Pandora, as he felt so bad that he wanted to kill himself just to be around.

"W-W-What? Why are you here?"

"Even if you tell me to leave, I won't leave. Don't talk."

"Then why don't you kick her out?"

"I'd like to."

Shrugging, YuWon looked at Hargaan and asked.

"But can you?"

"......No."

Pandora stuck to YuWon's side and didn't move.

There was no point in pulling her hand, and she had no intention of leaving on her own.

It was impossible to force her out.

Not only was her Holy Fire no longer working, but simply in terms of strength, she was stronger than Athena.

'Unless Hades himself comes, there is no one on this side who can get her out.'

For that reason, Pandora stayed close to YuWon.

Actually, there was no need to throw her out.

Because she really wasn't thinking of doing anything bad to YuWon.

"I guess I can't stay here. I'm leaving."

"Why?"

"Unlike you, I don't have much courage, and I'm still a little upset."

Hargaan walked out of the barracks as if he were running away.

Just as well, because even if he had gone in, I was going to take him out.

Clunk-.

Another gieta.

It really seemed like the time had come.

Thrrrrrr-.

A human figure stepped out of YuWon's shadows.

An Undead with the face of Lancelot.

"Arthur."

Arthur knelt down in front of Yu-Won.

- Tell me.

"Guard the entrance to the barracks. Don't let anyone in."

One never knew what would happen from now on.

The power of the Outside, from what they had learned, was beyond the reach of this small barracks.

Maybe someone would get in and get trapped in it, or a really dangerous monster could come out.

That was the reason YuWon called Arthur to protect the barracks.

-Yes, I understand...

Eek-.

One step ahead of Arthur, there was a person who had heard YuWon's words and stood in front of the barracks.

"Pandora...?"

Pandora, who was sitting in front of YuWon a moment ago, was guarding the entrance of the barracks with her back to YuWon.

"What are you doing?"

"You said to guard the place."

"I wasn't talking to you."

"I heard you."

He was stuck.

He thought she wouldn't hear him when he asked her to leave, but now she heard him just fine.

"Oh, right."

YuWon knew from what had just happened that there was no point in arguing.

Besides, he had no reason to refuse.

As long as Pandora was on guard, no opponent, be it the Heavenly Demon or Athena, would be able to enter.

'I don't know what happened, but.......'

Something had changed on Pandora.

What it was would have to wait until later.

'Now this side comes first.'

Crack, crack, crack.

Cracks spread across the purple surface of the egg.

Purple light seeped through the cracks, and he felt a familiar aura.

'Mm.'

The head of Yamata no Orochi, Lancelot and Pandora.

It was a creature that fed on the remains of the Outers and increased their hatching rate.

Naturally, he had suspected that its identity was also related to the Outers, and with this, his suspicion became certainty.

Now there was only one problem.

The Outer Gods.

Among those who call themselves Outer Gods, what kind of God is the one inside?

Creack, creack, creack

The Egg was cracking faster and faster....

It spread all over the Egg and cracked the surface, which was very fast compared to the long wait.

Bang-!

Hwaahhhh!

A swarm of light emanated from inside the Egg.

Yu-Won gazed at it helplessly.

And at that moment...

[The 'Egg of ?' is hatching]

['...Begin contract with ?'.]

"...What?"

I could understand hatching, but a contract?

This was unexpected.

The swarm of lights did not disappear easily. The energy emanating from it was getting stronger and stronger, until it became difficult to be near it.

Suddenly, Pandora turned and looked in this direction.

Tsureu, Tsutsu-.

Clusters of light and energy emanating from the broken Egg enveloped YuWon and began to enter his body.

The inscrutable power that exists outside the tower.

The moment he accepted that power, YuWon realized....

'So this is a contract?'

This power was originally possessed by the Egg.

Sharing that power, or rather, sharing it together, was the process of the contract.

Kwak-.

The power emanating from the Egg gradually diminished over time.

The light also gradually faded, revealing a little of what was inside.

And then...

['...?' hatched successfully]

['...?' has a growth rate of 0%]

['....?' may have a name, please indicate it]

['...?' has a level of 1]

"Level?"

A strange message floated in front of YuWon.