Leveling with the Gods

Side Story 37

On the railing where Pandora had vanished.

YuWon, noticing that Asura's aura had also disappeared along with her, quickly understood his intention.

"So he got tired so quickly...?"

His opponent was Asura. A guy as proud as Son OhGong.

Asura was not someone who would tolerate an opponent he fought with not giving his all.

And probably, the reason he took Pandora was to see YuWon's true nature.

Paf-.

YuWon started moving in the direction Asura and Pandora had disappeared.

Fortunately, he saw no signs of battle.

"Looks like she didn't resist..."

Pandora was not weak either. Even if her opponent was Asura, he couldn't have subdued her in an instant.

That could only mean one thing.

That she had followed Asura obediently.

"Ha-."

A sigh escaped YuWon's lips.

The fact that she didn't resist was, in a way, a good thing.

If she had fought back and gotten hurt, he wasn't sure he could contain his anger.

'I understand that guy's personality, but...'

Kuuk-.

Running quickly down the path Asura had taken, YuWon cursed quietly.

'This time he's gone too far.'

--------------------

The world of Floor 38 was completely covered in trees.

Asura had distanced himself from the Sun Chariot.

It was to find a suitable place to fight without interruptions.

And so, as he ran.

Asura was able to find a wide open space where the trees had been completely cleared.

"Not bad."

Asura stopped and pointed his finger at Pandora. Sealing Pandora's movements by touching her blood point, he sat her on the ground.

"Stay still."

Pandora, who was about to say something, was surprised to find that no voice could come out of her mouth.

Pandora stared at Asura.

As if warning her that he wouldn't stand idly by if she resisted, Asura had already drawn his sword.

At that moment...

"Well, well, this is quite an interesting sight."

Kaboom-.

On the edge of the open space.

With the sound of a tree falling, Asura perceived another presence.

In the forest where no one should be.

Asura turned his head, feeling a presence that made his skin crawl.

"...Hercules?"

Although they were at a considerable distance, it was not difficult to discern who it was.

A colossal size that could only be explained by being a giant.

A huge axe slung over his shoulder and a lion mask on his head.

A muscular, dense, and admirable body that emanated natural strength.

If you had seen him once, it would be impossible to forget.

The same was true for Asura, who had been on the battlefield with Hercules before.

"What are you doing here?"

"That's the question I should be asking you. This is my home."

"Your home?"

"If you walk a little over there, you'll see it. I've been living here for over a thousand years."

Floor 38 was an abandoned world.

A wasteland with 90% covered in forests and the remaining 10% turned into a desert.

It was extremely rare for someone to live in this world.

If there was an advantage in this world, it was that there were many trees. That's why many lumberjacks had settled on Floor 38.

"An axe instead of a club..."

Hercules' Club was made of Yggdrasil. Hercules' power holding it made him much stronger, and it was said that he had no rival other than his father Zeus, Son OhGong, and Vishnu.

But it turns out it's not a club, but an axe. At first glance, it was obvious what he was doing.

"Is the supreme Hercules chopping wood?"

"In this job, there is no distinction of status."

"Stay out of the way."

"Didn't I tell you before? This is my home."

There wasn't much more to say. According to Hercules' words, the uninvited guest was Asura. If one had to leave, it only made sense if Asura did it himself.

There was no argument to refute with words.

Normally, in this kind of situation, Asura would act as he always does.

But...

'Kim YuHun will come soon. Plus, there's Hercules...'

Asura, who was too tired to deal with YuWon at the moment, couldn't afford to make Hercules an enemy.

Although he looked like a robust lumberjack cutting wood, Hercules' rank was second.

He was the second strongest man in this vast Tower.

"Are you just going to watch?"

"For now."

"For now?"

Hercules' gentle eyes narrowed.

"I told you before? This is my friend."

"......"

An intense gaze.

It was the first time Asura felt overwhelming pressure just from the opponent's facial expression alone.

Asura hadn't even felt it in the fight with Indra, his target.

'Strong.'

Normally, Asura wouldn't acknowledge his opponent without even fighting.

'Even more than me.'

This time, he couldn't help but think so.

Shoo-.

At that moment, a fierce energy surged from the forest full of trees.

Kweeek-!

Wild beasts ran out and birds flew into the sky.

From afar, the presence of YuWon slowly approaching made Asura grab his sword.

"He's coming."

Clang-.

So far, he had easily lost to YuWon, who clearly read his sword.

But in the last fight, Asura had glimpsed a way to defeat him.

When he cut YuWon's cheek. After more than ten defeats, Asura had finally found a way to dodge YuWon's sword.

'This time will be different.'

With that determination...

Clouds gathered in the sky as the bright daylight turned into night.

Craack, craack-le-.

From the distant approaching body of YuWon, a Golden Lightning flowed.

"See you again, friend."

Behind Asura, Hercules greeted YuWon.

Asura's bewildered reaction to Hercules' response.

'Friend?'

He already thought it was strange when Hercules called Pandora his friend for the first time.

It was strange that Hercules, whose activities were not known, would have friendship with Pandora, whose whereabouts were not even properly revealed.

But the strangest thing was right in front of him.

That guy called Kim YuHun.

'He also has friendship with The Great Sage, Heaven's Equal. Also with Pandora. And now with Hercules...'

Craaack, crack-le-.

As the distance shortened, the pressure emanating from YuWon became intense.

This sensation was not unfamiliar.

It was as if all the Arcane Power permeating the forest was following him. The Arcane Power around YuWon amplified and branched by itself, as if wanting to gain his favor and demonstrate loyalty.

'Taishang Laojun.'

The guy had been carried away by that power and had lost the weapon he had.

But YuWon was different.

Asura, with his previous ten defeats, knew he was an unmatched swordsman.

"Who are you?"

It was the same question he had asked a few days earlier, on the Sun Chariot.

But even with the same question, Asura wanted to ask again.

Who are you?

"You seem quite angry..."

Hercules looked at Asura with a perplexed expression.

Looking at Pandora with a grim expression on his face, it was clear why YuWon was so angry.

"You'd better surrender right now. That way, at least, you could keep the head you have left."

"Thanks for the advice."

That was his response, though...

"...Looks like there's no reasoning with you."

Hercules sighed and shook his head.

The mad smile on Asura's lips.

With that crazy smile, it was evident that Asura wasn't listening to his words.

And it's understandable.

Asura would probably enjoy this reaction from YuWon even more.

For him, blood and death would not be a cause for fear.

"Well..."

Hercules, with his arms crossed, observed Asura's figure approaching YuWon with a sword in hand, anticipating the interesting spectacle that was about to unfold.

'Thanks to this, I'll be able to see with my own eyes what happened with that guy, Son OhGong.'

-------------

『You only have one chance.』

A voice echoed in his head, loud and insistent.

Asura mentally responded to the voice that, doubting him, warned him again and again.

『I know.』

It was a way of telling it to stop bothering him, but the voice did not quiet down.

『That guy's sword technique resembles 'ours.'』

『Pierce his heart on the first strike. So that he can't rise again.』

『Remember, we are weaker than him. And now that he's angry, even more so. But there's a chance to win.』

Crack, crack.

The veins on his forehead swelled with irritation.

He knew.

He was weaker than the guy in front of him. But that didn't mean Asura resigned himself to being a loser.

Even if he was weaker than his opponent, he would find a way to win.

"I am Asura."

Asura's arms split into six.

Two spears, a vajra, and a sword.

He crossed the six weapons.

Along with the two expressionless heads with closed eyes. He opened a light attack and flew towards YuWon.

"Did you think of taking advantage while I was asleep?"

A calm gaze and voice.

The sword YuWon wielded began to move.

"That's something I can't forgive."

Swoosh.

As expected, the tip of the sword moved in a familiar trajectory.

To properly see this moment, Asura had gone through twelve defeats and hundreds of repetitions.

『Now is the time.』

The three Asuras moved together.

A mirage occurred as six weapons merged into one, creating a long spear.

[Great Six-Armed Heavenly Destruction]

Long ago.

A Martial Art he learned and mastered through a manual obtained in the Murim World. After mastering the spear of the Orthodox Sects, he turned to Demon Cult and completed his own spear.

It's unknown whether it was an ancient Ranker, or whether it was before the Murim World laid its foundations, or whether it was a Ranker who came from outside the Tower... however...

However, Asura did not hesitate to make it his main technique after learning and mastering it.

Kiiing.

The Arcane Power enveloping the spear's tip, tinged red, spun rapidly, creating a complex air current.

A merged spear, a suddenly elongated distance.

Asura's Great Six-Armed Heavenly Destruction approached YuWon's chest before his swinging sword.

'Success.'

The Great Six-Armed Heavenly Destruction was Asura's technique with the greatest penetrating power and destructive force.

It was an instant...

The moment the heart, hidden under clothing and skin, would be pierced.

At the moment the deployed technique was about to pierce YuWon's chest.

"So, in the end, what you came up with was The Great Six-Armed Heavenly Destruction."

Spurt.

"…!"

When YuWon evaded his body, Asura's launched Great Six-Armed Heavenly Destruction passed through the senseless void.

Kwaaaaaaah!

Ujjik, kwaddud.

The Arcane Power shot from the spear's tip knocked down the trees in a straight line.

If seen from the sky, it would look like a red line drawn on a green background.

'Did he dodge it?'

Zaaaah!

The sword cutting through Asura's chest.

At that moment, Asura met YuWon's eyes, who had approached and swung his sword.

'Golden Cinder Eyes?'

Heterochromatic eyes formed by a red eye and a golden eye.

The skill symbolizing those eyes was only Golden Cinder Eyes, known to be possessed only by The Great Sage, Heaven's Equal.

However, how?

Does that guy have those eyes?

Not only that.

Kuguk.

YuWon's biceps swelled.

Gigantification, symbol of the Giant Slayer and the representative ability of Hercules, was unfolding in YuWon's hands.

Kwaang!

"Ugh..."

Asura's body staggered backward from the heavy punch that struck his face.

However...

"This is the thirteenth time."

Unlike other times, YuWon's aura did not calm down even though the battle was over.

"Eighty-seven more to go."

In his gradually fading consciousness.

"Let's end this here."

In the face of those words, sounding like a death sentence, Asura's body trembled.

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