Leveling with the Gods

C453

Who would have known?

That beyond the end of the world, there would be another world.

The wall didn't break. No, not even a scratch.

It was a boundary that would never break; it wasn't a material concept that could be broken from the start.

Literally, it was the end.

After that, there is nothing more, it can't be broken or crossed.

The entire world knew it.

Of course.

'The Outer exists.'

One day, someone defied all those expectations and knocked down the wall.

Foolish Chaos from the outside had already been stirring the Tower for a long time.

That's why, beyond the end of the world, it definitely existed.

But...

'It's not here.'

Even though he had never crossed it, he could be sure.

This was not the world beyond the Tower that he imagined. He could tell by looking at the blue sky and the sand-filled wasteland, and the tall hills.

It was just hidden here.

It was no different from the world he lived in.

-Here.

The voice of the Bull Demon King sounded again.

There was no indication of direction, but he could understand. He knew where the "here" that the Bull Demon King mentioned was.

YuWon pulled the Sun Chariot beyond the hill in front of his eyes. The flame-wrapped Sun Chariot ran swiftly and crossed the hill.

And then...

Tuk!

Something jumped high in the sky and cast its shadow. In the next moment, it landed quickly on the moving Sun Chariot.

Bang!

In an instant, the Sun Chariot tilted to one side. YuWon hastily increased one of the flames to balance it and prevent the Sun Chariot from crashing.

"So, you decide to appear in such a noisy way; it seems there's something urgent."

YuWon smiled slightly as he looked at the tall man who appeared in a hurry.

"Hyung-nim."

"I'm sorry. Come here."

YuWon quickly examined the appearance of the Bull Demon King. His clothes were torn, and there were three long wound marks on his cheeks.

Now they were almost completely healed, but at first, they must have been quite serious wounds.

"It looks like you've had some trouble."

"I did."

"Where is Son Oh Gong?"

"That guy..."

Grrrrr...

There was a loud noise from the Bull Demon King's belly.

There was no way he made that noise after a day or two without eating. Though he doubted it, the Bull Demon King really seemed to be hungry.

"Haha..."

The Bull Demon King laughed awkwardly.

He pointed to the village that could be seen below the Sun Chariot beyond the hill.

"How about we eat first?"

Interestingly, there was also a village beyond the wall.

Although it didn't have tall buildings, culture, or civilization as developed as the 99th-floor world, it was still a quite diverse village.

Chiiik!

The Bull Demon King tore the meat.

That was it, he simply ate an entire pig without any seasoning, but the Bull Demon King enjoyed it a lot.

Gulp, gulp...

He drank the liquor in one go and cleared his throat. Although it was only a body the size of a pig, it was amazing how an entire pig could fit in his stomach.

How long has this guy been without tasting any food?

Thud...

Somehow, YuWon, who had been waiting for the Bull Demon King to finish his meal, finally opened his mouth.

"Are you still starving?"

"I didn't have time to eat."

"I see that the matter you were dealing with was serious."

"We kept fighting."

Fighting.

With whom?

YuWon's gaze turned to the marks on the Bull Demon King's face. Upon closer inspection, more than being cut with a sword, it looked more like a mark scratched with long, sharp nails.

"Is this the wound you received?"

"Yes, guess who I got it from."

"I don't know."

"From the same Son Oh Gong."

YuWon's hand, which was pouring water into a cup instead of alcohol, stopped. When the water overflowed from the cup, YuWon quickly tilted the hand to remove the bottle.

The words of the Bull Demon King were so surprising.

"What are you saying?"

"You seem very surprised."

"Of course."

"But I almost died even."

The Bull Demon King raised his hand and stroked his cheek.

A wound split into three.

Every time he touched the wound that didn't heal easily, the Bull Demon King recalled the fight.

"It wasn't with anyone, but with my only brother."

At the top of a high mountain.

There was an ancient, abandoned, and worn-out temple. Although it wouldn't be surprising for the temple to collapse at any moment, at present, barely anything remained of its original form.

The only thing left intact amidst the temple ruins was the worship hall housing the Buddha statue and the main gate of the temple.

Aaaaaah-!

A scream echoed from inside the worship hall. The scream was so loud that it shook the earth around the temple, cracking the ground.

In the center of the temple...

A repetitive moan, like a lament, echoed as Son Oh Gong, with both hands holding his head, sat. He repeatedly struck the ground with the force of his head, trying to free himself from the headache.

"Ah... Ugh..."

Crack.

He scratched the ground with his long nails. In the mind of Son Oh Gong, whose eyes glowed golden, recent experiences played out like images.

In the center of the worship hall, gripping the Buddhist Scriptures, the restraint of the Golden Headband suddenly came undone.

But at that very moment, Son OhGong lost his temper, turned his body, and attacked the Bull Demon King.

Swish!

Crunch!

Blood spurted from the face of the Bull Demon King. Startled, he quickly stepped back and looked at Son OhGong.

-... What's the matter?

Crunch.

Son OhGong bared his fangs.

He couldn't contain the boiling anger and the desire to see blood.

He had lost his sanity, and someone had robbed him of consciousness. His mind turned white.

Swoosh, Swoosh!

Son OhGong rushed forward with raised claws.

The Bull Demon King drew his sword while blocking Son OhGong's attacks.

The fight between the two continued for almost ten days. Son OhGong attempted to halt the attacks by regaining consciousness somehow, but it didn't go as he wanted.

Unconsciously, consciousness faded, and the world turned white.

This is how he regained some reason now.

Swoosh.

Son OhGong struck the ground with his head again, unable to bear the unbearable pain of the Golden Headband.

Aaaah!

The temple did not collapse. What shook was the mountain on which the temple stood.

Although everything in the temple was destroyed due to the fight between Son OhGong and the Bull Demon King, the only structure that remained standing was the main hall.

Squish~

To regain his reason, Son OhGong struck his head against the ground and bit his lips.

"Hyung... nim..."

No matter how much he tried to remember, OhGong could recall how the fight started, but not how it ended.

Why was he inside this temple again, and what happened to the Bull Demon King?

While rummaging through his forgotten memory...

Swoosh.

Once again, the Golden Headband encircling OhGong's head began to rumble and move frantically.

"Kugh...!"

Aaaaaaaah-!

"…"

After hearing the story, YuWon closed his eyes for a moment.

He had not considered this type of situation before. He thought that finding the Celestial Floor would solve all the problems.

"It was a two-against-one fight. OhGong and I fought against the Golden Headband."

"Golden Headband..."

Who put the Golden Headband on Son OhGong's head?

Son OhGong had no answers about it. Although he remembered the Golden Headband, he didn't know who put it on him.

"I've heard that Hyung-nim knows."

"The person who put the Golden Headband on that guy?"

"Yes."

"There was an older Ranker than me named Subhuti. Now he is a forgotten figure."

"Why did he put the Golden Headband on his head?"

"It was because of his growing power. OhGong was also a Yokai by birth. However, he was much stronger than me."

"Even stronger than Hyung-nim?"

"At that time, he was weaker than me, but I believe that if he had lived to be a hundred years old, he would have been stronger than me. His talent as a Yokai was so incredible."

Surpassing the Demon King at a hundred years old. It was a story hard to believe.

"But one day, Subhuti appeared and imposed the Golden Headband on Son OhGong. It was like putting a noose around his neck. The Yokai who could have become a great Yokai suddenly turned into a weak monkey."

'Should I believe this?'

It was a story that completely lacked realism.

Son OhGong, remembered by YuWon, was more talented than anyone. Before YuWon's arrival, he had passed each floor's tests with the best results and had left his name marked.

Even when he reached the 50th floor, he defeated the Chimera Creator overseeing the Trial at that time. But the Bull Demon King called him a "weak monkey."

"Why? Can't you believe it?"

"Yes. I suppose..."

"I understand. It's understandable, given what he has done."

YuWon nodded. Although he said it that way, he couldn't help but believe it. There was no reason for the Bull Demon King, who loved Son OhGong more than anyone, to lie to him about him.

"Anyway, it's a big problem. He may be enduring it somehow now, but who knows what will happen next."

"What does Hyung-nim plan to do?"

"What can I do? I can only take the Buddhist Scriptures from Son OhGong and strengthen the seal of the Golden Headband."

In short, it was going in circles.

The reason Son OhGong sought the Buddhist Scriptures was probably for this. Did Subhuti care for Son OhGong and impose the Golden Headband on him?

In response to the Bull Demon King's words, YuWon took out his Player Kit.

Son OhGong's text messages seemed somewhat urgent.

YuWon showed it to the Bull Demon King.

"Were you also there when this guy sent me this?"

"... No. This is the first time I've seen these messages."

"Really?"

Was this really the message right after the Golden Headband seal was broken?

Something didn't seem right. The desire to verify it arose.

"Allow me to withdraw for a moment."

"Withdraw?"

The Bull Demon King, thinking about what YuWon was about to do, looked at him with surprise and then, looking into his eyes, was astonished.

"Eyes of Foreknowledge?"

Golden pupils.

Through those eyes, YuWon began to see the future.

'... Is this the place?'

While isolated from the world, the back of the Bull Demon King appeared before YuWon's eyes.

He was ascending somewhere. It was a high and wide mountain where the summit was not visible.

Step by step.

As he climbed, the first thing he saw was a wide and tall gate on both sides.

'He is up there, where Son OhGong is.'

YuWon followed the Bull Demon King towards where Son OhGong was.

He couldn't discern the overall situation.

But after seeing this scene, it was clear that they would go back to look for Son OhGong.

'At least that seems to be the case.'

He had used the Eyes of Foreknowledge to know what would happen in the future.

And also, in part, to see Son OhGong a little earlier.

In what state was he now?

And if he really was as strong as the Bull Demon King claimed.

There was a lot of information he needed to know beforehand.

But...

Blurry...

Suddenly, YuWon's vision became blurry, and everything in his field of view, including the Bull Demon King, began to shake.

"What is this?"

It wasn't because the Eyes of Foreknowledge were insufficient. He could judge that.

[An unknown force is intervening in the 'Eyes of Foreknowledge'.]

And then it happened.

Beyond the straight gate approaching his eyes.

-You...

The faint figure of a 'Buddha' with vague facial features, grayish skin, and dark blood appeared.

"How dare you think of crossing the gate?"

KO-FI