Leveling with the Gods

Mixed golden and red hair.

Light skin with sharp, glowing features.

Apollo, a man with a lyre in one hand, asked his sister Artemis.

"Is that guy all right?"

"Hargaan? Yes."

Black hair and dark eyes.

A beautiful woman with short hair and long, slender arms.

Artemis shook his head at Apollo's "yes."

"How can she be okay? In this situation..."

"He's made some friends in need, if anything."

"He already has a friend? That's a good thing."

"Yes. You're right about that."

Apollo smiled in satisfaction.

A friend.

It was a nice word. It was also something Hargaan hadn't had until now.

Despite referring to his teammates as "buddies", Hargaan had only ever called one person his "friend".

Smile~

"Are you laughing?"

Unlike Apollo, Artemis couldn't help but laugh.

It was because of that tall temple in front of them.

"Who are we going to see now?"

"Naturally..."

The Tower's largest shrine/temple.

The most opulent, the largest, made for a single dweller.

This place was not unlike the royal castle on Olympus.

For this temple belonged to his father, Zeus.

"To be called at this time..."

Remembering the text he sent to Hargaan, Apollo scratched his head.

"I guess this means I can't go help."

Zeus' calls were rare.

It was also a task of greater weight and importance than any directive that might fall on behalf of Olympus.

To ignore a call from Zeus was unthinkable.

"It's a coincidence, isn't it?"

"A coincidence, a great coincidence."

"What do you think?"

"I don't know; who are we to know what's in his big head?"

"Sure."

"Well, let's get going. We'll find out when we get there."

Apollo looked at the Rankers flanking the entrance to the temple.

"At this point, I wonder why you called us."

For now, Zeus would not lay hands on them.

Nothing was revealed about the apparent destruction of Olympus, except that Hercules was now against it.

Jeobuck, Jeobuck-.

Apollo and Artemis.

The two set foot in their temple to meet Zeus.

* * *

It was a long walk from the 42nd floor to the 10th floor.

Hurrying down to the 41st floor, YuWon rented a Sun Chariot and traveled with Hargaan.

"They already have you as a target."

Muttering in a serious voice, Hargaan looked at YuWon.

The attack on the Heavenly Demon Cult.

They both knew it was a move with YuWon in mind.

"Don't worry. It's not like it doesn't happen from time to time anyway."

"Did you contact them?"

"I did. Be careful."

Contrary to expectations, YuWon's voice was quite calm.

Is he really not worried about this?

No, if that were the case, he wouldn't be in such a hurry.

"The Heavenly Demon Cult has High Rank Cheon Mujin, and there are several other High Ranks, so it should be fine."

Words of comfort.

But they were not just words of comfort. In reality, the Heavenly Demon Cult with Cheon Mujin was a force as strong as their long history.

They would not fall so easily.

"If it was just Athena, that would be the case."

He felt strangely anxious.

With Poseidon imprisoned and Hades turned against him, YuWon remembered what Zeus could do.

"Hermes, Dionysus? Apollo and his sister are united with Hades, and.... Ask another Guild for help? No, I don't think any Guild would intervene in Olympus at this time....".

After meditating for a while.

"...Pandora."

"What?"

"Pandora. She's been released."

A name flashed through his mind.

Of course, Hargaan didn't recognize it.

"Who is Pandora?"

A High Rank, sealed thousands of years ago.

Imprisoned on Olympus for her sins, she was released in the Second Gigantomachy, where she rose to prominence and reclaimed her rightful place.

She was a hidden card that Zeus had been saving for the Second Gigantomachy, so there was nothing strange about releasing her now.

"A rather old High Rank who was locked up in an Olympus prison. There are probably no more than 10 people on Olympus who know his name."

"How do you know such a person?"

"Let's just say I do."

"Well... it sounds like there's nothing you don't know."

Hargaan didn't say much, as if he was past the stage of doubting YuWon's information.

Now he just wondered what YuWon would do at this point.

"But a High Rank who has been sealed for so long, why do you think he was released now?"

"Because there's no reason to keep it anymore."

"Why?"

"Anyway, the next Gigantomachy has passed into oblivion. Even if it were possible, it would be delayed thousands of years."

The trio parted, and Hercules turned away.

Hephaestus could not be captured either, and the supply of weapons became impossible.

Even if the next Gigantomachy were to occur, Olympus would only lose.

"In such a situation, it is not surprising that Zeus chose Pandora. Even if it is a bit risky."

"Risky, for my father?"

A look of incomprehension.

It was a natural question.

Discussing the possible risks of Zeus, not anyone else.

YuWon didn't answer Hargaan's questions anymore.

In fact, YuWon didn't know much about Pandora either.

He had only heard vague accounts of what she had done.

'I hope I'm just making a mistake...'

Unless Zeus stepped forward directly, there was no enemy within Olympus that could pose much of a threat at this point.

But if it was Pandora, that was a different story.

"Faster."

YuWon tugged on the reins of the Sun Chariot.

Maybe they should pick up the pace.

* * *

Chuck, Chuck-.

Tens of thousands of Cult members had gathered.

Each and every one of them had their weapons at the ready, lined up in rows and columns, ready for battle.

"Hail, hail, hail!"

Seated on the throne was the Heavenly Demon, Cheon Mujin.

Around him, the four Heavenly Lords stood and exchanged words.

"It's been a long time since we fought like this."

"Actually, isn't this the first time?"

"Yes. It's the war against Olympus..."

Their faces were filled with worry, anticipation and excitement.

Chang Cheonju* (*:Heavenly Lord of the Spear) and Kwon Cheonju* (*:Heavenly Lord of the Fist) shuddered in anticipation of an upcoming fight, while Do Cheonju* (*:Heavenly Lord of the Dao) and Geom Cheonju (*:Heavenly Lord of the Sword) were ahead of their worries.

As much as they called themselves the Heavenly Demon Cult, their opponent was Olympus.

There was no guarantee that they would be able to survive a war against them.

"Is the information true?"

Pung Baekrim, the Heavenly Fist Lord, answered the question from Jang Chun-il, the Heavenly Dao Lord.

"It is a message from the Young Lord of the Cult. It's safe."

"I knew this would happen someday, but...."

Jang Chun-il muttered in a disgruntled voice.

At that, Pung Baekrim's face crumpled.

"Can we assume that you are expressing your dissatisfaction with the Young Cult Lord's actions?"

"I thought that someday I would endanger the Heavenly Demon Cult, and today may be that day."

Jang Chun-il did not deny Pung Baekrim's words.

He has always expressed his concern whenever news about YuWon spread.

The Young Cult Lord who became an enemy of Olympus.

He had always imagined this scenario in his mind: a war with Olympus could break the peace of the Heavenly Demon Cult.

"A man with no last name and no power in the Heavenly Mountains, yet he was able to take the seat of Vice Lord of the Cult simply because he was able to use the Holy Fire, and that was the beginning of this division."

"How dare you..."

"Enough, both of you."

Between the two of them, the Heavenly Sword Lord intervened.

The two men glared at each other, gathering momentum, and then looked back at the Heavenly Sword Lord.

Of the four Heavenly Lords, he was the most skilled.

Even in terms of ranking, he was already close to a High Rank, and was being discussed to be the next Warlord of the Murim Alliance.

All four Heavenly Lords are equal, but the Heavenly Lord of the Sword, Shin Mu-geuk, was an exception.

"Wrath is reserved for enemies, not allies. Recognize the current situation."

"But...!"

"To whom do you dare raise your voice?"

At Pung Baekrim's protest, Shin Mu-geuk silenced him with a single word.

Chen Mujin sat with an expressionless face as he looked at the assembled Heavenly Demon Cult members.

He slowly raised his head and muttered something.

"They've arrived."

The gazes of the four Heavenly Lords followed Cheon Mujin's gaze.

Goo-goo, goo-goo~.

Under the bright moonlight, the cloudy sky opened up and-.

Boom!

The guest they were waiting for arrived.

"Arriving so noisily."

Inappropriate for the situation, Cheon Mujin's voice was calm and relaxed.

In the open sky, a ship descended.

A ship that was miles long and flew in the sky.

It looked like a small island.

"Is it Odysseus?"

There could only be one Ranker of Olympus at the helm of a ship that size.

The Cult had long been confined to the Heavenly Mountains, but that didn't mean it was cut off from the outside world.

Odysseus, along with Athena and Ares, was one of Olympus' top warrior Rankers.

He had heard rumors of the ship he led.

Swish-.

Cheon Mujin rose from his seat.

Then, the four Heavenly Lords rushed over to him.

"Our Lord need not go first....."

"We will lead the way.

If the Heavenly Demon, the Head of the Heavenly Demon Cult and its spiritual leader, were to go first, the Cult's prestige would become meaningless.

The only time the Heavenly Demon can rise from his seat is when the Cult is in danger.

After more than a thousand years of public absence, he should not appear so soon.

But.

"Is this fight the time to argue about that?"

"...."

Faced with such an obvious statement, the four Heavenly Lords had no choice but to keep their mouths shut.

The opponent was Olympus.

An opponent against whom they could never let their guard down, or rather, an opponent against whom they had to give their best.

Creack-.

Towards that opponent, Cheon Mujin drew his Sword first.

"Then..."

Wooo-.

A reddish black mana emanated from Cheon Mujin's body.

"I guess I should welcome you guys for traveling all the way here."

[Heavenly Demon Spirit]

A huge red giant appeared behind Cheon Mujin.

It followed Cheon Mujin, holding a sword, and stood next to him, as if it was a mountain.

[First Stage]

Swoosh-.

Cheon Mujin's sword was unsheathed and pointed upwards from below.

With that move, Cheon Mujin's Heavenly Demon Spirit emitted a great momentum, and the tip of the sword accurately aimed at the Olympus ship that appeared in the sky.

[Basic Cut]

Shhh-!

Shiiiik-!

The Heavenly Demon Sword swung upwards.

Jjaeuk-!

The clouds parted at the same time.

The hazy moonlight that had been hidden spilled down to the ground. It looked as if the sky had been sliced with a single sword, splitting it into two sides.

And at the same time...

"Huh, huh?"

"The ship, the ship...!"

Gee-gee-gee-.

Zzzz-!

Olympus' ship, which was several kilometers long, broke in half.

"Yeah, that's enough-"

Chuckle-.

Cheon Mujin.

An ancient High Rank that has been dormant for thousands of years.

Also.

"I hope you don't mind my welcoming greeting."

It was the moment when the silence of the Heavenly Demon, who was said to have the power of half a Murim, was broken.