Leveling with the Gods

Side Story 43

"...?"

Vayu, with a furrowed brow, looked at Varuna with eyes of doubt.

Varuna smiled widely.

He was mocking him, saying he had miscalculated.

"What do you mean?"

"You'll know later. But make sure you're ready to regret."

Veins on Vayu's forehead bulged.

Varuna's ability to irritate him was as good as ever.

Despite being friends for a long time, Vayu had always thought that it wouldn't be strange for them to fight at some point.

And that moment was now.

"You're still too confident."

"So what? Do you think the Devas will stand idly by while this chaos unfolds?"

Varuna's house was not far from the Devas' headquarters.

"I just need to buy time. Do you really think I can't hold you off for five or ten minutes?"

Though he had suffered losses due to his hesitation, the rank difference between Varuna and Vayu wasn't that significant.

Under equal conditions, their skills were on par.

It would take an all-night battle to determine a winner.

However...

"You're a bit short-sighted."

"Eh?"

Vayu's response was unexpectedly calm.

It was as if he had another card up his sleeve.

"Do you think I'm the only one here?"

"What?"

Varuna raised his head in surprise.

In the distance, in his field of vision, he saw a light rising above the dawn glow.

'It can't be, in addition to Vayu...'

Flames were engulfing the land.

The village ruled by the Devas was being devoured by fire.

Boom!

At that moment, a fist shot out.

Bam!

Varuna quickly raised his bow and blocked Vayu's fist.

Even with one eye missing, he couldn't be fooled twice for the same reason.

Crunch~

Vayu's hand grabbed Varuna's bow.

With a fierce expression he hadn't shown before, Vayu lifted his head towards Varuna.

"I'm not a fool. Do you think I would move alone?"

Hiss~

Vayu's hair stood on end.

Despite the killing aura emanating from Vayu, Varuna's gaze turned towards the burning Devas' village.

'Who else is it? Seriously?'

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

An unmistakable electric aura ran through Hercules' body.

Zeus.

He had mentioned a name a moment ago.

Kim YuWon.

"How do you know that name?"

Certainly, Zeus didn't know YuWon's name before.

That's why he had tested YuWon with Hargan's news and had confirmed his existence through Athena.

If Zeus had remembered YuWon from the beginning, he wouldn't have gone through so much trouble.

"I've only known it recently. Is it a name I shouldn't know? Too bad for you then."

Zeus's eyes looked at him meaningfully.

"Both the one who struck me down for the first time, the one who returned me to the Throne, and the one who took away my Lightning Bolt..."

Smile or gaze?

"They are all the same person, you know?"

Zeus's expression was impossible to read.

'As expected, I can't let my guard down.'

He had a small hope. With anyone else, no, but with Zeus.

He thought maybe Zeus would remember.

Of course, it was just a hunch, with no real basis.

That's why he had only considered it as a remote possibility.

Craaack-le

Hercules moved towards Zeus.

Judging by the heaviness of his steps, he seemed quite excited.

It seemed like he, too, was surprised by the fact that Zeus remembered YuWon.

"Don't you know that's not what I'm saying?"

"Then?"

"Stop going around as if you don't know me. I'm just asking how you know."

"It seems calling me father still makes you uncomfortable. I understand."

Flash-!

Light filled the temple.

In the instant Hercules unleashed the Lightning Bolt and his fist extended towards Zeus,

Touch-.

Zeus's fingers clashed against Hercules' fist.

Kwaang-!

A Lightning Bolt rose into the open sky of the temple.

The Lightning Bolt rising from bottom to top was an impressive sight.

YuWon stood in front of Pandora just in case she might be affected.

Zeus had blocked Hercules' fist with a finger.

No wonder.

After all, Hercules' fist was nothing more than a mere threat with no real seriousness behind it.

"Didn't I tell you clearly? I'm not helping Olympus for you."

Zeus and Hercules were said to have a fairly good father-son relationship.

However, that was just a façade.

As he had told Athena, Hercules could never reconcile with Zeus.

That's why he was only trying to forgive him, not reconcile.

And that forgiveness would probably take hundreds or thousands of years to come.

Despite that, Hercules was willing to use his strength and name for Olympus.

Hero.

That was the adjective always associated with Hercules' name.

The mere presence of Hercules was a deterrent against war.

Zeus needed Hercules' strength and name to stabilize the Tower, which had plunged into chaos after the war against the Outers.

Hercules was also aware of that fact.

That's why he had no choice but to act as Zeus' son despite his reluctance.

"While I strive to forgive you, you must also live righteously. Consider it a way to apologize to my late mother, even if it's just a little."

"Fine. I promise."

"Don't make promises so lightly-!"

"Hercules."

Touch, touch-.

YuWon approached Hercules and cautiously touched his shoulder.

"Aren't you exaggerating a bit with just him remembering my name? He hasn't done anything yet..."

"Ah..."

Hercules, who was very excited, withdrew his fist and scratched his head.

Upon further reflection, it was true.

The only thing Zeus had done was remember YuWon's name when no one else did.

Hercules was the one who had reacted so sensitively to the "Father" name.

"...You're right."

Hercules suppressed his excitement with a dry cough and an embarrassed smile.

As Hercules quickly stepped back, YuWon addressed Zeus.

YuWon's gaze towards Zeus wasn't friendly either.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Do you still see me that way?"

"What are you saying...?"

As he spoke, Zeus's gaze shifted to Pandora, who was right behind YuWon.

Trembling hands.

Although she had come prepared, she still felt fear in front of Zeus.

"You opened the box."

One day, Zeus visited Pandora, who had opened the box.

A great and ominous power acquired suddenly.

Zeus gestured to Pandora, trembling with anxiety over that power.

Kwa-rung!

Chains of Lightning that bound Pandora's body.

Zeus condemned her to death, as if giving a sentence.

"Lock the sinner Pandora in prison. Do not release her until I give specific orders."

That day, Pandora saw Zeus's laughter.

It was as if she had expected something like this to happen.

A dark and cold prison.

Chains strong enough to seal even a High-Ranker's body.

For a long time, Pandora was immersed in that darkness.

It was a boring, lonely, and frightening time.

And in the end, Pandora transformed like the air floating in the void.

"Yes, that's right. Pandora existed too."

"Also?"

Gii-ing!

['Golden Cinder Eyes' activates.]

['Eyes of Foreknowledge' activates.]

['Sensory Field' activates.]

Craack-le.

['Uranus Heart' activates.]

A ring starting to glow on YuWon's hand.

Uranus Heart.

The true appearance of the Lightning Bolt, gathered by the power of Olympus.

"You shouldn't say that."

Craack-le-.

The Lightning Bolt flowing from the ring at the fingertip coiled around the fist.

Long ago, when Zeus revealed the true appearance of his own Lightning Bolt, his eyes gleamed.

It was the first time he saw the power of Uranus up close.

Zeus showed curiosity.

Perhaps because of that.

He ignored the fact that YuWon was angry.

And so, in the next moment...

Pfft-.

YuWon unleashed a Golden Lightning Bolt towards Zeus.

"Just let me hit you once."

Gguuoooh-!

After taking a hit to the head, Zeus flew and emitted a joyful sound.

Thump, thud-.

Zeus, rolling on the ground, collapsed with a large figure of: 大, on the floor.

The situation unfolded in an instant...

"..."

"Wow."

Hercules, surprised, opened his mouth, remaining motionless, while Pandora clapped with wide-open eyes.

Still looking at Zeus lying on the ground without deactivating his abilities, YuWon.

Hercules cautiously asked him.

"Are you okay?"

"What?"

"If you're wrong, this could be..."

The opponent was Zeus.

The greatest king in this Tower.

YuWon's act could be interpreted as a provocation to Olympus.

'Is this guy going to do something even Son OhGong wouldn't do?'

Hercules calmed his surprised heart.

If it was YuWon, there surely was a reason for his actions.

Right now, that was the first thing to ask.

"Why are you doing that?"

"I promised."

YuWon glanced sideways at Pandora, whose trembling had already disappeared.

"I said if I saw him, I would give him a good punch."

"Ah..."

Only then did Hercules understand YuWon's sudden behavior.

Pandora.

A beautiful and noble woman whose name had been erased from Olympus only ten years ago.

Pandora's tragedy began with Zeus, just like the death of Hercules' mother, Alcmena.

'The problem is that damn father.'

Tak~

Zeus slowly got up.

Hercules looked at him with uneasy eyes.

'Maybe a war with Olympus...'

"Is that enough for you?"

Zeus rubbed his head with a hand, frowning at the blood staining his palm.

"Your punch is stronger than I thought. I didn't know you would also use Gigantification."

"…"

Hercules had a perplexed expression. He thought he might convince Zeus in some way, but he didn't expect such a calm reaction.

Even more surprising was YuWon's reaction.

"I'm not satisfied yet."

"There's more?"

"A lot."

"Then, I'll pay you back little by little. We have plenty of time."

Zeus calmly responded to YuWon's tranquil reply. It seemed incredible that these two were the tenant and the landlord who exchanged punches just a moment ago.

"Then..."

Zeus got up from his place and, as if nothing had happened, gestured towards a table on the side.

"What if we hear what you know?"

-KO-FI

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