Leveling with the Gods

Side Story 53

Varuna, in front of YuWon, sobbed for a while.

It wasn't a pleasant sight, with snot and all.

"Hey."

"I've been here...sniff... all this time... sniff-"

"Blow your nose. Depressing..."

Though YuWon felt like kicking him, he couldn't.

Even though Varuna was acting pathetic, kicking someone crying so sadly...

"...I'll give you a minute."

YuWon would wait one more minute, and if he didn't calm down, he would send him back where he came from.

Counting 60 seconds in his mind, Varuna finally removed the hands clutching YuWon's legs and wiped his nose with the back of his hand.

Disgusting.

Varuna seemed to have finally calmed down and stopped sobbing.

"I missed you, Hyung-nim."

"Since when am I your Hyung-nim?"

"Isn't it since the moment I remembered you?"

"Ha."

YuWon felt like they had a similar conversation before.

However, they were once comrades.

Although the power difference was significant, Varuna survived until the end in the battle against the Outers.

"Younger brother..."

Instead, he would prefer to call him a friend.

"Don't call me older brother (Hyung-nim)."

"But-"

"Treat me as a friend. It's much easier."

"Friend...?"

Eyes wide open. Tears welled up again in his bright eyes, and he knelt before YuWon.

"I'm touched by your kindness, Hyung-nim! But how can I dare? I am..."

Varuna couldn't finish his sentences. He seemed deeply moved by the suggestion of being treated as a friend.

"I'll serve you as Hyung-nim for the rest of my life!"

"You're driving me crazy."

There was no reasoning with him.

In the end, resigned, YuWon looked at Zeus.

"Why him?"

"I brought him here because he was desperately looking for you."

"Isn't that the only reason?"

Not many could set foot in this place.

Within Olympus, only Hades and Hercules could do so, and besides them, permission from Zeus was required.

There was no way Zeus would invite an external Ranker to the deepest part of the Celestial Palace just because he was looking for YuWon.

"He has a request."

"Request?"

YuWon looked at Varuna.

Varuna, seeing their eyes meet again, hurriedly knelt.

"Please, save Deva."

It was the request YuWon was expecting.

Deva.

A Great Guild that had lost its center with Vishnu's death.

There was no need to investigate to know how the situation was there.

"I asked Athena to bring him here. Go in and check for yourself."

"No need to go out. It must be chaos."

Varuna's eyes stirred at YuWon's words.

Chaos.

It was a vulgar word, but there was no other that described Deva better at this moment.

"The absence of Vishnu. There is no easier place for Administrators to meddle than in a guild without a leader."

Vishnu was Deva's God.

The Myth of Vishnu was deeply rooted in Deva.

Vishnu, Shiva, Brahma.

Three absolute entities born from a single individual, Vishnu, had controlled Deva's Rankers with different personalities.

Overwhelming individual power that dominated a group.

This world was a place where that was possible.

And that also meant that Devas couldn't be controlled without Vishnu.

"Are you saying you were a target?"

"That's what it seems. And this time, it's been proven."

Varuna nodded at YuWon's words.

Thanks to Olympus' support, Varuna was here. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to make it.

Due to Vayu and Surya's betrayal, Varuna and Agni were in a critical situation.

"There must be more, probably."

Vayu and Surya had moved.

Only those two?

It was madness.

"...Yes, I think so too."

Varuna also had the same idea.

They wouldn't have acted so boldly only the two of them.

Someone else was involved.

Devas, as YuWon had said, were in a pitiful state.

"Did you get anything?"

"I captured Surya. Vayu escaped."

Zeus shrugged.

"That Surya didn't seem to know anything."

"Is the interrogation over?"

"I asked my brother. But the fact that she didn't talk must mean it's true."

Without Poseidon, Zeus only had one brother.

Hades.

The second in command of Olympus and the king who ruled the 42nd Floor world, Hell.

He was a being who, despite belonging to Olympus, followed a completely independent path.

The army of Hell belonged to Hades, and he had the ability to make the living experience death.

"Then it must be true."

"There's nothing more to get out of her."

The gaze turned to YuWon. It could be predicted what would come next. A premonition of a tedious task.

"You go."

As expected.

"You're asking me to do something annoying."

"Separate from Pandora for a while. She attracts too much attention."

YuWon knew why this guy asked him to do this.

No one was more suitable for this task than him.

'No one will recognize me there, so it's natural.'

It was certain that the Devas were corrupted.

With Vishnu's death, they had become the prime target of the Administrators.

The problem was where the rot was. And how extensive it was.

'So he brought me here for this.'

There was no way Zeus brought YuWon here solely based on Varuna's request.

He brought him here because Varuna's request aligned with his own desires.

In other words, it was both Varuna's and Zeus's request.

Of course...

"You're not hesitating, are you? Anyway, if it weren't for Ananta, your next destination would have been that."

Zeus brought YuWon here because he knew YuWon's purpose.

YuWon let out a sigh.

It wasn't due to hard work or fatigue.

It was something he was going to do anyway.

The real issue was another.

"Pandora will make a fuss if she finds out..."

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

The shadow under the tree.

Yama, asleep inside it, had been silent for a long time, waiting for Varuna's contact.

Although upon learning of the betrayal of Surya and Vayu, he wanted to cut their throats immediately.

A message stopped him.

[Varuna: Wait a bit longer. I will go with you to find my Hyung-nim.]

Hyung-nim.

He didn't know when they became brothers, but he could roughly guess who the "Hyung-nim" Varuna was talking about was.

Kim YuWon.

It was hard to believe the truth Varuna told him about him.

The being who led the fight against the Outers and led Inner to victory.

However, the world had forgotten him.

It's hard to accept.

If Varuna had told him this suddenly one day, he would have treated him like a madman.

But...

'Even if Vishnu doesn't care...'

Tiriring-.

A message arrived from Varuna.

[Varuna: Do you believe me?]

A message like any other. Yama stared at the message on his Player Kit and forced a smile to hide his wrinkled expression.

Believe in you?

A womanizing and foolish guy.

In general, it was better to do the opposite of what this guy thought.

But this time was different.

I am believing in Vishnu and the guy Vishnu was looking for, Kim YuWon.

Currently, Kim YuWon is active under the name Kim YuHun.

Yama knew the rumors about his deeds in the Celestial Realm.

There are still many who doubt him.

Most say it's impossible for an unranked Player to defeat an Administrator, and it's just made-up rumors.

It's understandable.

After all, the name "Kim YuHun" is still not registered in the rankings.

However, that guy, Kim YuWon...

Swish-.

Varuna was approaching from afar to the meeting place. And behind him, as expected, was a black-haired man with an unfamiliar face.

'Is he really going to do this?'

He had been warned beforehand, but he still had his doubts.

Yama didn't know if it was possible or not.

'Can I really trust him?'

Swoosh-.

Yama emerged from the shadows.

Varuna, who hadn't noticed him, was surprised, but YuWon's gaze fixed on Yama from under the tree's shadow.

"He's called Yama."

"How should I introduce you? As Kim YuWon or Kim YuHun?"

"Whichever you prefer."

Yama shook the hand YuWon extended. He looked around in case there were other eyes.

"It seems you have a sharp eye."

"The gaze of the Administrators is everywhere. Considering that our enemies are them, there's nothing wrong with being cautious."

He wasn't wrong. The Administrators who control countless Envoys. Their eyes and ears, scattered throughout the Tower, were countless.

"I wish I could hide in the shadows with you..."

"Then it's done."

"...?"

What does he mean by "done"?

The appearance of a black light in YuWon's hand was just after the question arose in Yama's mind.

Fizz! Zzzzt!

Space opened.

A world of darkness where nothing is seen, but where countless things exist.

"Yes, follow me both of you."

"What...?"

Zzzzaaa!

That space absorbed Varuna and Yama.

[You are invited to "Tartarus"]

[You cannot refuse]

Everything was black around them.

However, it wasn't as if there was nothing.

'Dead? No, are they alive?'

Entities impossible to discern if they were alive or dead.

Their gazes watched them without exception.

None was particularly powerful, but their number was countless.

Did they ignore their gazes or know them?

"Does Hyung-nim also know how to do this? Not even an Administrator could find us here."

Varuna simply nodded, fascinated, as he looked around.

'Can't he see them? Can't he feel them?'

Unlike Varuna, who just trusted and followed YuWon without knowing anything.

This space had a different meaning for Yama.

'It's the first time I've felt such a profound Arcane Power.'

Yama, who mastered Dark Arcane Power, felt as if he were suffocating under the almost infinite Arcane Power emanating from this place.

And YuWon himself, who had led them to Tartarus...

"You're right. They won't be able to find us here."

He responded nonchalantly, nodding at Varuna's words.

"Neither the Envoys. Nor the Administrators."

YuWon's gaze turned to Yama as he uttered these words.

Yama's face turned pale.

Actually, there was no need to reach this point.

It wasn't necessary to go to Tartarus to avoid being detected by the Administrators, as Yama feared.

Even if their eyes were present throughout the Tower, couldn't they avoid the gazes of mere Envoys?

However, the reason YuWon had invited Yama to this place was one.

'He needed proof, right?'

It was because Yama had desired it.

-Uuuuhhh-.

-The living...

-Not allowed beings...

The infinite sinners of Tartarus swirled around Yama.

Yama went blank.

In no time, his eyes, corrupted by Tartarus, turned white.

"Eh? Yama? Hey! What's wrong with you?"

Varuna shook Yama urgently.

It would probably take him some time to wake up.

'I think I overdid it.'

YuWon sighed, thinking that he had wasted time for nothing.

-KO-FI

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