Leveling with the Gods

C481

Inside the abandoned nest of all Dragons.

Foolish Chaos sat upon the corpses of young Dragons and lifted his head.

"It has begun..."

The purple eyes hidden under the cloak shimmered.

Guuuuuu...

Vibrations shook the earth. It wasn't just Hercules' club resonating beyond the tower stairs.

It was the sound of someone awakening.

Ubo-Sathla was revealing its form to the world.

That was not anticipated.

Foolish Chaos lifted his head and looked at the sky.

The purple sky reappearing.

For some, it might be just a color-changing phenomenon.

But...

"Do you want to hasten the fight, don't you?"

The sky didn't just appear.

The shining purple stars in the sky made Foolish Chaos murmur.

"You're already here, aren't you?"

"Yes."

Kwong!

A Golden Lightning Bolt enveloped Foolish Chaos's body.

In an instant, the world, which had changed to purple, was dyed in gold.

"You've come."

Hwaaaah!

Crunch, crunch...

Foolish Chaos's hand rose, deflecting the wave of the Lightning Bolt, while looking at the owner of that force.

It was exactly as expected.

"You took longer than I anticipated."

Tap-tap-.

A man with golden hair and well-fitted armor.

Zeus.

Finally, he met Foolish Chaos.

"You took a little longer to find me. Fortunately, it's not too late."

"True."

Crunch, crunch...

Zeus's Lightning Bolt staggered precariously in his body.

He had unleashed a single Lightning Bolt, but he was already sweating all over. His breath was uneven and somewhat labored.

His appearance was clearly different from the usual.

"It seems you're getting tired. What did I tell you?"

Foolish Chaos's voice had a touch of laughter.

When Shub-Niggurath appeared in the Tower, Foolish Chaos tried to make a deal with three individuals.

And the condition he imposed on Zeus was one.

"The price is your life."

It was Zeus's life.

"Of course, I'm not asking for it just like that. It's a kind of bet."

"What kind of bet?"

"I'll give you a star."

Foolish Chaos extended his hand to Zeus.

In his hand was a shining purple jewel. Foolish Chaos called that jewel a "star."

"Take it. And if you survive, this bet will be yours."

"If I survive, it's my victory. If I die, it's your victory, right?"

"You're very shrewd."

Zeus wasn't so foolish as not to know it was a trap.

But still...

"Your only weakness is your arrogance. You have the right to be so, but it seems you're not lucky."

Kwong!

Again.

A Golden Lightning Bolt rushed at Foolish Chaos's body. He raised both arms to block the Lightning Bolt, and Foolish Chaos's cloak tore.

Ziiiiing...

A quite sharp attack.

Through the half-torn cloak, Foolish Chaos's eyes shone.

And at that moment...

Kururur...

Zeus held another Lightning Bolt in his hand.

"Do you think I came here just to chat with a guy like you?"

"...Where did you get a weapon?"

Seeing the long spear wrapped with Lightning Bolts, held in Zeus's hand, Foolish Chaos's mind recalled a face.

"Of course, I should have killed him a long time ago."

Hephaestus.

The chief blacksmith of Olympus, who created many items used by numerous Rankers.

Although his personal strength was not much different from that of normal Rankers, the value of the items he created easily surpassed dozens of High-Rankers.

"Do you dare to kill someone like him?"

Crack, crack...

Zeus advanced slowly, holding the Lightning Bolt Spear threateningly in his hand.

Through his movement, the Lightning Bolt Spear in Zeus's hand rose threateningly.

The spear attracted Zeus's Lightning Bolt. It seemed that the power of the accumulated Lightning Bolt at the tip of the spear would shoot at any moment, so Foolish Chaos couldn't help but tense up.

Even if it were him, if he took a direct hit from that kind of attack, his body wouldn't remain intact.

"It's funny. Are you now pretending to be like your father?"

Flap-.

Foolish Chaos took off the hat he wore upside down on his head.

A white and empty face that showed nothing.

Over that face, purple-colored pupils appeared. Zeus blinked surprised at the face he saw for the first time.

"You dropped your son from the sky and turned him into a cripple. Furthermore, under the guise of serving Olympus, you threw many of your children into the abyss."

"That's the way of lions. A fool like you wouldn't understand."

Lions pushed their cubs into the abyss to make them stronger. That was Zeus's way, and that way had created the current Olympus.

Truly a response worthy of Zeus.

However, Foolish Chaos responded with a mocking laugh.

"Are you so smart and still accepted my condition?"

"The living will die someday."

Clang-!

Bum bum bum-!

When he struck the ground with his spear, the Dragon nests trembled. Despite Foolish Chaos's provocation, Zeus didn't flinch in the slightest.

"If you continue, you will die. Do you want to go on?"

"...Words won't change anything."

Zeus was already prepared.

Holding his dying body with his mental strength, he channeled the Eayo energy extracted from his heart into his spear.

Shaking Zeus in this state was a difficult task with words.

So...

A small horn sprouted from Foolish Chaos's fingertips.

The horn gradually grew larger, and in an instant, it took on the form of a giant goat.

"Do you know this?"

Beeeh-.

The goat that appeared from Foolish Chaos's fingertip emitted a loud bleat.

Upon hearing that sound, a name came to Zeus's mind.

The Goat Who Gives Birth to Madness.

That was the name Foolish Chaos had taken on the day Shub-Niggurath died.

"What's here is real."

Beeh-!

As if representing the feelings of its master, The Goat Who Gives Birth to Madness bleated strongly.

The meaning of "real" that Foolish Chaos mentioned was one.

He had crossed the barrier of the wall that separated the Tower from the Outside.

He had many names.

The Goat Who Gives Birth to Madness was just one of those names.

"If you withdraw now, you may live a few more years. Perhaps, during that time, you can find another way to survive."

"...Yes."

Beeh-.

Zeus lifted his head and looked at the enormous goat that darkened the sky.

Although its power wouldn't be as strong as in the Black Woods...

"You could find another way to survive."

He knew it.

If he fought with that here, he would inevitably die.

"But that doesn't matter."

Even if Foolish Chaos had tens or hundreds of Names.

He knew from the beginning that he couldn't turn away out of fear of that.

Swoosh-!

Zeus's body leaped upward.

He flew towards The Goat Who Gives Birth to Madness and swung the tip of his spear.

"Even if my body turns to dust."

Qua-!

Jjeeoong-!

The enormous goat was thrown backward by the force of the Lightning Bolt that sprouted from the spear.

Although not as strong as before, the force of the Lightning Bolt emanating from Zeus was still formidable.

Bum-!

Foolish Chaos muttered in disbelief at Zeus's behavior.

"Do you really think you can end everything here?"

He just didn't understand.

The Zeus he knew until now was not someone who would gamble so recklessly on something uncertain.

He was the king of the chessboard.

The king never moved on his own to catch other pieces. He only moved when all the pieces he could use had disappeared.

Or, in other words...

"Or he abandoned his position as king."

Would it be possible that proud Zeus...

But even if it was just a possibility, he couldn't believe it as he saw Zeus in front of him.

Craack-le!

Zeus, with the spear he had received from Hephaestus, broke one of the goat's horns.

Although his breath was at the limit, he didn't show it on the outside.

For a moment, he tightly squeezed the trembling spear's tip and thought.

'This doesn't add up.'

He felt like his heart was going to burst at any moment, and every muscle in his body screamed for help.

When was the last time he fought so desperately?

It was in the time when he had just started climbing the Tower.

Except for the moment he entered the Tower with his brothers, Hades and Poseidon, who shared the same blood, there seemed to have been no other occasion like this.

'Do you really think you should escape?'

Zeus remembered Foolish Chaos's warning as he scoffed, remembering how funny it sounded.

It was nothing more than a question proving that the other didn't know his purpose from the beginning.

'If you weren't real, I wouldn't have come this far.'

The last year.

Zeus had sought him for a long time.

Foolish Chaos, who had crossed over with a real body and not a substitute body.

To fight against him, Zeus went to Hephaestus and asked for a new weapon.

'I always knew a day like this would come.'

Another horn flew from another direction.

Zeus's hand reached sideways.

Zzzap!

A Lightning Bolt shot from his fingers blocked another goat horn. He spun the spear and threw it toward the horn.

And at that moment...

"Gulp!"

Blood spurted from his mouth. He even felt that his body was on the brink of total collapse, as not even his entrails seemed to obey.

He wasn't surprised.

He already knew how his body was.

'There's no eternal king. Everyone must face this end someday.'

A king moves the pieces.

And he must paint the board.

Zeus had thought for a long time that there was no one better than him to play that role. That's why he wanted to create the best horse and finally gave birth to the great hero, Hercules.

Crack.

Zeus squeezed the spear in his hand again.

Thus, while shooting Lightning Bolts at the throat of The Goat Who Gives Birth to Madness...

Bang!

Zeus took one more step toward his own death.

'My task here is done.'

He sought his own place to die.

That wasn't what a king should do.

A king should never die. Because when a king dies, the game ends.

However...

'There's someone who can replace me.'

Incredibly, at this moment...

While still shooting Lightning Bolts and stabbing with the spear, Zeus's gaze was still fixed on one place.

Foolish Chaos.

The one who called The Goat Who Gives Birth to Madness into this world, the one who led to annihilation.

Zeus's golden eyes directed at him burned more intensely than ever at this moment.

'Don't think you've won. Don't be arrogant like me.'

Although Zeus will lose this battle.

'I'm not the only one you made a deal with.'

In the end, in this long and arduous game, the winners will be 'us'.