Leveling with the Gods

"Who did it?"

"......."

"......."

The question went unanswered.

Instead, there was only a long silence.

It was a situation where no one could easily find an answer.

Lee Rangjin crossed his arms and waited for a response. If they didn't know, they didn't know, if they knew, they knew, someone would say something.

But...

"...It will take a while." The silence dragged on for a long time before Lee Rangjin finally spoke.

He wondered if he was wrong.

Had Son OhGong's alter ego really managed to steal the Bull Demon King and escape on his own?

Not even the main body, just his alter ego?

"Why don't you tell me something?"

"Well..."

A voice as small as an ant crawling.

However, the gazes of everyone in the room, including Lee Rangjin, converged in response to that single voice.

"There is information that is hard to believe."

"What information?"

"It was Kim YuWon."

"Kim YuWon?"

For a moment, Lee Rangjin wondered what he was talking about.

Kim YuWon.

Could he be referring to the person who traversed the networks, broke through the solid iron cage, and rescued the Bull Demon King?

"Tell me more..."

"I speak based on the testimonies of the guards and the circumstances. Furthermore, Kim YuWon disappeared overnight."

"Is there any witness?"

None of the guards could see clearly because their faces were partially covered and it was too dark, but..."

The general nodded, pointing at YuWon as the culprit.

"Of course, we will have to perform a Mana sensitivity test to find out more."

"What are the chances?"

"At the moment, I'm putting it at over 70%."

"Why do you think that?"

"Based on the circumstances alone, it's over 90%, but I still find it hard to believe that Kim YuWon, who hasn't even become a Ranker yet, has such ability."

"Really?"

Click, click, click.

Lee Rangjin tapped his fingers on the long table where a hundred Generals were seated.

With a complicated expression on his face, he remained silent for a moment, lost in thought.

Then, he spoke.

"So we must be sure."

"What do you mean by sure?"

"Kim YuWon's abilities are real. I can guarantee it."

"......?"

In response to Lee Rangjin's words, the generals gathered in the hall showed expressions of perplexity.

The best General of the Realm vouched for his abilities.

Even for the Generals who had been in the Celestial Realm for quite some time, this was the first time.

'Come to think of it, the Grand General went to pick up Kim YuWon himself.'

'He said he would spend a day traveling through the Celestial Realm, introducing him to the place....'

'So much, really?'

They said the possibility was 70%, but they thought it was nonsense.

What kind of place is the celestial prison?

Apart from the prisoners, the guards who guarded it were all Rankers.

Moreover, the warden, Jin Hurak, was known as the most promising person even within the Celestial Realm.

If we add the dozens of guards, we have an iron fortress that would be difficult to breach for any High Ranker.

"Is that possible?"

"It is possible," Lee Rangjin affirmed.

And he added, "He has fought and defeated Ares of Olympus before."

The suspicions of the Generals slowly dissipated upon the mention of the battle between YuWon and Ares, which had been confirmed by the intelligence of the Celestial Realm.

"So... it could be true."

"But why would Kim Yuyuan do such a thing?"

"Perhaps he has some kind of connivance with the side of the Bull Demon King."

"Or..."

No one doubted Lee Rangjin's words anymore.

The topic of the meeting now revolved around why Kim YuWon saved the Bull Demon King.

And in the midst of it all...

"I don't know what his purpose is, but I know what his next target will be."

Lee Rangjin pointed out the next destination of the Bull Demon King and YuWon.

"Their next target is..."

"We're going to rescue Son OhGong."

A small cabin in a remote forest.

That was what YuWon told the Bull Demon King, who had awakened there.

"They are surely waiting for him too because you are inseparable."

Saying that, YuWon alternated his gaze between the alter ego of Son OhGong and the Bull Demon King sitting on the windowsill.

The Bull Demon King, who had just awakened from his deep slumber, nodded in agreement.

"The order is correct. If there is a spell that can seal him, I am the only one who can break it."

That was a lot of confidence.

He was saying that no one else could break the spell, but he could.

Normally, this kind of confidence would have been seen as insincere.

But for some reason, YuWon found the Bull Demon King's confidence much more believable.

But...

"Still, as you said, the surveillance will be much stronger because of you."

Naturally, this alarmed the Celestial Realm.

It made sense since it would be difficult to save Son OhGong without the Bull Demon King in the first place, and the outcome was hard to see as favorable.

"At least one of Lee Rangjin's or Ne Zha's troops will be stationed there. Additionally, numerous Rankers from the Celestial Realm must be protecting him."

The Bull Demon King recalled the time of the Great Celestial War.

The war against the Celestial Realm.

Without having to think too much, the Bull Demon King shook his head.

"The three of us cannot do it alone."

Saving Son OhGong was important to him.

And that's why he wanted more power.

If he lost this time and found himself imprisoned again, he didn't know when he would have such luck again.

The Bull Demon King was cautious and composed.

It was hard for someone who should be excited to be so calm.

"It's the opposite of Son OhGong."

When YuWon met the Bull Demon King, he couldn't believe that he was Son OhGong's closest brother.

He wondered what would have happened if the roles were reversed.

Perhaps Son OhGong would have rushed to save him at all costs.

No.

"In fact, that's what happened."

No, it wasn't a "perhaps" because that's exactly why he was trapped in the Five Elements Mountain.

Still, it was a good thing.

If the Bull Demon King had resembled Son OhGong more, with his boisterous recklessness, it would have been quite difficult for the current YuWon to stop him.

Only this difference in personality made the Bull Demon King's power much greater than YuWon had initially thought.

"Three, no."

YuWon shook his head at the words of the Bull Demon King.

He looked back and forth between Son OhGong and YuWon, then asked, "Who else is there?"

"There are many," he replied.

As he answered, YuWon's expression became ambiguous.

"No, just one."

"What do you mean?"

"I've sent a message, so they should arrive anytime now."

Saying this, YuWon looked out the window with Son OhGong.

Their gazes made the Bull Demon King feel uneasy.

How much time had passed?

"...That's right."

The corner of the Bull Demon King's mouth twisted upwards as he looked out the window at the cloudy sky.

"I wonder if this is what they meant by saying there's only one, but there are many."

At that moment, he was already aware of the eyes in the sky.

The clouds floating in the sky didn't descend.

If all those clouds were to descend to the ground at this moment, it would surely attract the attention of the Celestial Realm.

"...They're really all here."

The Bull Demon King's voice trembled with disbelief.

Countless Son OhGong.

They stood on the clouds, waving to the Bull Demon King.

Night was falling.

For now, there was plenty of time.

Enough time was needed for the Bull Demon King's body to fully recover.

"He's been trapped for over a thousand years, his body must be out of shape."

The time without Mana had weakened his body and dulled his senses.

However, as Mana began to flow through his body again, the color of his blood rapidly improved.

Bang-.

YuWon grabbed the Edge of Nightfall and swung it in the air.

"Not only the Bull Demon King has dulled senses."

YuWon recalled his alter ego he had met some time ago in the process of obtaining the Yata Mirror.

"So have I."

While battling his alter ego in the mirror, YuWon realized one thing.

His sword was much duller than before.

He also realized that his personality was much more reserved than before.

"I've become more relaxed."

Boom-.

As he repeatedly swung his sword in the air, YuWon's eyes grew sharper.

"It's no longer like before."

Before, his shoulders felt heavy.

So many lives rested on his shoulders. Sometimes it seemed a bit overwhelming.

But now it wasn't like that.

It had been so long that he had forgotten.

What battles he had fought.

How he had climbed the Tower.

The fight against the Outer Gods was many times harder and more intense than this.

Boo-woo-.

"You're thinking too much about the edge of your sword."

YuWon's head turned at the sound of the voice behind him.

Pak-.

"Why? What are you thinking about?"

Bull Demon King.

He walked briskly toward YuWon, his body covered by a thick robe.

"What do you mean by thinking?"

"There are many reasons why a sword trembles, some psychological, others due to the inexperience of the one wielding it."

Swish-.

The Bull Demon King's hand stretched forward.

His hand grabbed the tip of YuWon's sword, which had not yet been lowered. Curiously, his hand touching the blade did not cut it.

"A burden?"

"......."

"I heard from the alter egos. I heard that you've just reached the 50th floor."

The Bull Demon King let go of YuWon's sword and sat at the base of a felled tree on the side.

"A brilliant talent. I was surprised when the youngest first climbed the tower, but this is even more astonishing."

"Although you don't seem to be."

"Well, you'll have to excuse my lack of expression."

The Bull Demon King smiled slightly, as if he were truly laughing.

It was the first time they had a proper conversation.

He had been sleeping all the time to recover his body, and his personality, though apparently mischievous, had the outward appearance of a nobleman.

'Nevertheless, there must be a reason why he is so compatible with Son OhGong.'

He vaguely recalled hearing something from Son OhGong.

-"When Big Brother got angry, no one could stop him. In fact, he had a worse temper than me."

That was the end of the description Son OhGong gave of the Bull Demon King.

From the mouth of none other than Son OhGong himself, the words "worse temper" appeared.

He didn't know if he was truly as different as he seemed or if he was just being polite because he didn't feel comfortable.

But setting all that aside, the Bull Demon King had an aura that even YuWon, who had met countless High-Rank individuals, couldn't help but feel uncomfortable when approaching.

"You smell of so many things."

Standing over two meters tall, the Bull Demon King was eye level with YuWon, even though he was perched at the base of a tree.

"What smell are you referring to?"

"It's not really a smell, more like an invisible trace."

It was hard to understand.

What was he trying to say?

YuWon seemed perplexed, unable to discern what the Bull Demon King was trying to convey.

And then...

After studying YuWon's face for a moment, lost in his thoughts, the Bull Demon King's mouth opened.

"Odin, Mimir, Son OhGong, Hercules, Zeus, who else..."

One person after another.

With each name, YuWon felt goosebumps all over his body.

Son OhGong and Hercules were one thing, but Odin and Mimir were another.

Since the Regression, YuWon hadn't seen either of them.

There was only one reason, then, for the Bull Demon King to be able to detect traces of them in YuWon.

"Did he notice the existence of the Clockwork Mechanism?"

In the moment he was nervous for a moment thinking about that...

Then, an incredible name came out of his mouth.

"And Chronos."

(Note: Remember that in this timeline, no one remembers Chronos)