Leveling with the Gods

C317

A brief silence fell over the headquarters.

That's when the wine arrived...

Ding~

The demon who entered through the headquarters' door brought two cups.

Wine as red as blood.

The Demon observed the gazes of the two individuals and stepped back silently.

"To stop the Great Heaven Demon War..."

"Silence."

Diablo opened his mouth, but YuWon interrupted him.

The Demon, who had been observing the gazes, halted abruptly. His pupils narrowed, and Diablo frowned in apparent annoyance.

"Don't you want anyone to hear?"

"For now, yes."

"Then, should I kill that guy?"

The Demon's pupils, who had entered the headquarters, trembled.

Without turning his head, Yuyuan raised his cup.

"It's not necessary. Leave quickly."

"Yes, yes!"

Even though it wasn't an order from his own lord Diablo, the Demon hurriedly left the headquarters. He instinctively realized that if he listened to the conversation that would take place next, he couldn't guarantee his own survival.

Only the two of them remained in the headquarters again.

YuWon looked at his cup.

"What a delight. All this alcohol made with angel's blood."

"Explain what you said before."

"The Great Heaven Demon War?"

YuWon raised his head and met Diablo's gaze.

And in that instant...

Drip~

YuWon turned his cup upside down.

The thick liquid that had been in the cup fell to the floor.

"Let's stop drinking this stuff."

"What are you doing?"

"It's exactly what it looks like."

"I knew you weren't afraid, but..."

Grr.

The headquarters trembled.

Dark energy began to emerge from Diablo's body.

A clear intent to kill.

"I didn't expect you'd come to this."

Fire burst from Diablo's eyes.

YuWon's words and actions a moment ago were enough to irritate him.

Diablo didn't have much interest in the Great Heaven Demon War.

But that didn't mean he didn't feel aversion towards the Angels like the other Demons.

Crunch, crunch.

The chair YuWon was sitting on sank into the floor.

Under the crushing weight, YuWon didn't avoid Diablo's gaze.

"The Great Heaven Demon War must end."

"I understand that it's a futile event. But you're not so foolish as to not know what it means for us to give up the Great Heaven Demon War, right?"

The Great Heaven Demon War was a matter of pride for the Demons and the Angels.

The war itself had lost its meaning long ago, but it still remained a form of apparent conflict.

Abandoning it was no different from admitting defeat.

"Are you telling us to surrender to those guys now?"

"You didn't understand a word I said, did you?"

"What?"

"How can the disappearance of the Great Heaven Demon War mean surrender?"

"Aren't you asking for a peace treaty? That's surrendering!"

Crash!

Diablo slammed the table in nervousness.

The table split in half instantly. Diablo stood up from his seat with fury in his eyes, glaring at YuWon.

"If that's what you want, then I'll be happy, but..."

It was what he had come to look for, hoping it would happen, but apparently...

Although Diablo had no interest in the Great Heaven Demon War, after all, he was a demon. There was no possibility of him bowing to the angels before them.

"If it can't be done, then it can't."

Thud.

YuWon stood up from his seat.

"I heard that the reason the Great Heaven Demon War began was something insignificant."

"...?"

Diablo furrowed his brow, wondering what else YuWon was saying.

The reason the Great Heaven Demon War began.

It was so ancient that even Diablo, who was at the center of the Great Heaven Demon War, could barely remember it.

"At a bar, an Angel and a Demon drank together, and a fight that happened there reached here."

"Perhaps... it was like that."

"A trivial fight led to a conflict that went so far, all for a little pride."

"What are you trying to say?"

"Do you think that's right?"

YuWon's question made Diablo recall the beginning of the Great Heaven Demon War.

Yes.

The beginning was truly insignificant.

It was an era when Angels and Demons coexisted. Although they didn't get along, they didn't aim their spears at each other or seek to spill blood.

In a bar, a fight broke out, and an Angel lost his life at the hands of a Demon.

It wasn't the first incident.

Although not severe enough to spark a war, the relations between Angels and Demons hadn't been particularly good for a long time.

Occasionally, Angels killed Demons, and Demons killed Angels.

But...

'Metatron.'

Everything fell apart when he intervened.

Metatron demanded a public apology from the Demons.

He also demanded that the head of any Demon who killed an Angel be cut off and displayed in the public square, in the name of all lives being equal.

Those were unacceptable demands.

Death and killing were commonplace in this Tower, and in Diablo's view, their dispute was justified.

A fight at a bar was a fair fight, after all.

"That's not right."

"Fortunately, at least you know that much."

"Metatron challenged us from the beginning. We also knew that and joined the fight."

The beginning of the Great Heaven Demon War was so insignificant.

But even though the beginning was insignificant, its magnitude couldn't be considered insignificant.

Demon Kings rose, and Archangels stood up.

And finally, Diablo, the leader of the Demons, and Metatron, the leader of the Angels, faced off.

And so, the Great Heaven Demon War has continued until now.

"Do you think this fight has any meaning?"

"It has no meaning. We're only needlessly weakening ourselves. It's not fun either."

Diablo responded indifferently and sat back in his place.

He knew what YuWon wanted, and he had no intention of getting entangled in a verbal fight with him that would only cause more pain.

"Alright, so if you're going to talk senseless nonsense, leave quickly unless you really want to die by my hands."

"Then, just one last question."

"What is it?"

"If the Angels propose a ceasefire first, would you be willing to accept it?"

"Metatron?"

Diablo furrowed his brow.

First of all, he thought it was absurd. The Metatron he knew would never make such a proposal.

Despite not being like a typical Angel, it was Metatron who desired this fight the most.

"Don't think about the reasons. I'm just asking if it could happen."

"A ceasefire proposal, huh?"

After thinking for a moment, Diablo nodded.

"We would accept it."

An event that occurs once every ten years.

The Great Heaven Demon War, a battle between Angels and Demons, turned into a fight where the side that proposed a ceasefire first lost.

So a ceasefire proposal was practically the same as surrendering.

And Diablo was willing to accept the Angels' surrender.

"Then, that's all."

That would be enough.

Even if the fight didn't end now, if someone else stopped the fight, there was an intent to stop.

There was no longer any point in trying to convince Diablo here.

YuWon stood up from his seat.

"Where are you going?"

Diablo stopped YuWon as he tried to leave the headquarters.

"Are you thinking of seeking the Angels' surrender all by yourself?"

"I'll give it a try, no matter what."

"Why? You're neither an Angel nor a Demon."

"That's exactly why. Despite being someone insignificant, why aren't you doing anything?"

Diablo's eyes flickered slightly.

Kim YuWon, with no apparent connection, stood up to stop the Great Heaven Demon War.

And that was a great provocation to Diablo, who had considered the war of the Great Heaven Demon War as something natural for a long time.

Tap~

YuWon left Diablo in his place and exited the headquarters.

A moment ago...

YuWon noticed a slight change in Diablo's reaction.

'It seems he's realized that this war is wrong.'

That should have been enough to convince him.

Diablo was the king of a race. While he may disdain the value of a life, he still had a responsibility towards the revival and stability of his own race.

'Ten days left until the start of the Great Heaven Demon War.'

Leaving the tent, YuWon felt the gazes that watched him here and there.

They must find the presence of a Human among the Demons surprising.

It's obvious that there won't be any Player who doesn't know that the preparation for the Great Heaven Demon War is in full swing in this world.

'The Great Heaven Demon War was an event that matured slowly.'

It probably began much smaller.

But they didn't know.

As the Great Heaven Demon War repeated itself over and over, its scale grew larger and larger.

What was originally just a small dispute now is evident.

This fight has turned into a battle akin to a large-scale Guild War, with numerous Demons and Demon Kings participating.

However, the Great Heaven Demon War didn't end here.

In a far more distant future than YuWon's present, the "Great Heaven Demon War" meant a singular battle.

"A massive war where Angels and Demons annihilated each other."

Accumulated resentments and unyielding pride had become a time bomb ready to explode at any moment.

And as planned, it was the "Celestial Realm" who was supposed to press that button.

"The moment the Celestial Realm intervened, the scale of the Great Heaven Demon War rapidly increased. Even the Demon Kings couldn't bear it anymore."

'The Celestial Realm has already collapsed.'

That's why YuWon had helped OhGong capture the Jade Emperor and bring down the Celestial Realm.

If left alone, the Jade Emperor would become the seed of the Great Heaven Demon War in the future.

After the Jade Emperor's death, the Celestial Realm was regaining its former strength, led by Lee Rangjin.

While it might not be the case for others, it was a safe bet to rely on Lee Rangjin. He probably wouldn't do something as foolish as participating in the Great Heaven Demon War.

"After rescuing Son OhGong and destroying the Celestial Realm, we'll gain some time. Perhaps a thousand years will pass before the Great Heaven Demon War begins." (Odin)

Odin argued that to resolve the Great Heaven Demon War, they first had to overthrow the Celestial Realm along with Son OhGong.

His opinion seemed quite reasonable. Moreover, there was nothing wrong in terms of order.

The problem was they were too carefree.

"It seems you're thinking something wrong."

"The Great Heaven Demon War isn't just about the battle where Angels and Demons annihilate each other. They've been constantly fighting until that point."

The opinion that they couldn't afford to be carefree was led by Hercules.

"We must resolve this quickly. The time we spend indecisive will only result in more bloodshed."

It could also be considered an urgent situation.

If they rushed too much to avoid bloodshed, there was also a risk of making mistakes.

However, YuWon agreed with those words.

How many Angels and Demons would die in a single Great Heaven Demon War, and how many losses of power would there be?

Losses of power were critical on every occasion.

'We must finish this in this round if possible.'

And to do that, there were several things they must also do from their side.

"Hey, Human!"

YuWon turned his head towards the firm voice calling him.

In that moment, it felt like the problem he had been dealing with had been solved.

"Why are you wandering around here?"

An enormous bulky figure that looked like a giant. Dark skin and a single horn that reached down to his waist.

'Behemoth'.

The leader of the hardliners who had brought the Great Heaven Demon War to this point.

He approached YuWon, emanating hostility.

KO-FIBUY ME A COFEE