C15
The name Azathoth has completely disappeared.
The power that the Name held has faded away, leaving no trace of it.
However, that doesn't mean all the "Names" have disappeared.
Suuk-.
YuWon caressed the sheep's head.
It was the first time he had used a Name again since the last war. It felt quite uncomfortable, as it had been a long time.
'I wish I hadn't had to do it.'
Beeeh-.
Beeeh-.
Maybe because he had called them after a long time.
The sheep seemed quite content.
It could also be because the air was fresh, and the forest created by Vishnu was similar to where they used to live.
"Let's stop here."
YuWon said as he stroked the sheep's fur.
"Go back in."
Beeeh-.
The sheep bleated sadly, and their bodies began to gradually fade away.
Son OhGong, running towards them with the Ru Yi Bang in hand, lowered his arms and nodded.
"Yes. Alright."
There was nothing less fun than continuing to fight against an opponent who didn't seem to have any intention of fighting.
Normally, he would get angry at not being able to decide a winner in this situation, but this time, strangely, he didn't feel that way.
Son OhGong watched YuWon stretching his stiff body due to lack of movement and smiled in disbelief.
'Maybe it was to be expected.'
Perhaps the result was already decided before YuWon arrived at this place with the Clock Movement.
He obtained the Monkey's Eye and Gigantification from the Tutorial.
He had gathered all the items that formed the core of the Three Gods of Olympus and had snatched Surt's 'Flame,' which was the core of Ragnarok.
They had been thinking about this for a long time.
Son OhGong, Hercules, Zeus, Odin, Surt...
If there were a definitive Ranker that fused the strengths of the great Rankers who dominated the Tower.
They wondered if such a being would be able to defeat even enemies like Foolish Chaos, Shub-Niggurath, and Yog-Sothoth.
And now...
'I thought he hadn't done anything for 10 years...'
With the previous battle, Son OhGong was able to confirm with his own eyes that great result.
'But he has completed himself during that time.'
----------------------
Varuna, who had just returned to Deva, couldn't say anything.
Although known to be talkative, it was the first time he was left speechless.
'It's suffocating.'
It really felt suffocating.
In front of him was a long line.
The Rankers who had received Vishnu's favor in the past.
And the Tower residents who enjoyed peace thanks to Deva.
All of them were bowing before Vishnu's tomb, offering their prayers, and showing their own grief.
And Varuna was one of them too.
Chirp, chirp-.
A sunny day.
As expected from the place where Vishnu slept, the burial ground was a beautiful field covered with vegetation.
Birdsong echoed on an unusually sunny day.
Varuna couldn't fully believe Vishnu's death.
Jeok-.
Shortly after, Varuna stood in front of Vishnu's tomb with a flower in hand.
He closed his eyes for a moment to mourn Vishnu's death and then turned around.
There were still many people waiting to pay their respects, and he couldn't continue monopolizing time out of sheer selfishness.
Swish.
And so, Varuna, who had distanced himself from the place, headed towards...
"...Yama."
Yama was leaning against a tree, with a distant look in his eyes.
His face seemed to be half out of it.
Varuna could see that something was not right, but he didn't care about Yama's expression.
"I heard you ran away with your tail between your legs."
"...Varuna."
"Do you have the right to say my name now?"
Whoosh.
Arrows of Arcane Power of water formed around him.
Varuna's sharp and confusing Arcane Power aimed at Yama's throat. The Arcane Power around him swirled, and everyone's eyes focused on them.
"If you have any honor, kill yourself immediately. That's the only thing you can do for Deva and for Vishnu-nim."
"Varuna-nim!"
"Calm down!"
Not only Varuna was furious with Yama.
Many other Rankers also expressed their anger towards Yama for returning alone, but it was rarely so open.
Most of them didn't dare to show their teeth to Yama.
"Shut up, all of you!"
Fwoosh!
At the same time as Varuna's shout, a water barrier extended from him, pushing the surrounding Rankers away.
The Deva Rankers trying to intervene in the fight forcefully couldn't overcome Varuna's barrier and were pushed away from Yama and Varuna.
"Speak if you have a mouth, Yama. How do you come here alone with what face?"
Varuna's expression was complex.
He was angry, but at the same time, he begged to be convinced.
Only then could he avoid shooting Yama at this moment.
Normally, Varuna couldn't threaten Yama, no matter what he did.
The difference in rank and ability between them was clear.
However...
At this moment, Yama wasn't offering any resistance or refutation.
"...I'm sorry."
He didn't make excuses.
He knew that saying it was because of Vishnu's last order wouldn't appease Varuna's anger.
Even he felt that way.
If right now, he himself went back to that moment, could he make the same decision?
Could he run away and leave Vishnu?
Crack.
Yama clenched his fists.
He did it because he was angry with himself.
"Why? Do you want to kill me now too?"
Varuna misinterpreted his anger and lunged forward.
"Go ahead. Let's do it. Let's see how far you can go."
Wooosh.
A bow and arrow made of water formed in Varuna's hands.
The bowstring tightened.
Unlike Yama, who seemed to have no intention of counterattacking, Varuna began to release his true Arcane Power.
And just as the tensioned arrow was about to be released towards Yama...
"Are you insane?!"
Bam!
A cold blow to the back of the head caused Varuna's bow and arrow to dissolve into water droplets.
Varuna, with a soaked and cold body, sharply turned his head and looked at the white-robed Ranker who had hit him on the head.
"Vayu-!"
"Don't shout. You hurt my ears."
"Are you defending this bastard now? Out of everyone present?"
Vayu.
With a rank of 310, he was the Ranker who, along with Yama, had served Vishnu for a longer time in Deva.
Known by the nickname "Fengshen" (Wind God), he mastered wind magic so skillfully that it was like an art. His fighting style relied on wind-infused fist techniques, allowing him to reach his current position.
"So, do you want us to fight here and die together?"
"But this bastard-!"
"Look at Asgard."
Among the procession gathered to honor Vishnu's memory, there were also Rankers from Asgard.
"They lost their King, but they are still standing. Don't you feel anything?"
"...What do you want me to do?"
"Stop taking it out on Yama and look closely. Who we have to avenge."
Swoosh.
A sharp wind rose.
Vayu was furious too.
He had also received Vishnu's grace.
However...
He didn't take revenge on Yama like Varuna, nor did he do anything rash.
Although he was equally angry with Yama, it wasn't the time to fight amongst themselves.
And those words made Varuna reconsider.
He remembered who they had to face.
"The Administrators..."
The absolute beings in this Tower who had killed Vishnu.
Varuna's body shivered at the thought of them.
Any Player who had ascended the Tower feared the Administrators.
"We don't know if there is one or more enemies."
Varuna nodded at Vayu's words.
"It could be the unilateral action of the 95th Floor Administrator. Or maybe it's a move by the entire group."
"We should prepare for the worst. After all, Zeus warned us."
An Administrator had visited Zeus and given him a warning.
And right after that warning, Vishnu had lost his life at the hands of the Administrators.
Judging by the series of events, it was very likely that they wouldn't be facing just one Administrator.
"Do we have to face up to a hundred Administrators...?"
It would be a desperate situation.
A hundred Administrators with the power of the top High-Rankers, along with their millions of Envoys.
The enemy was powerful.
On the other hand, they had lost Vishnu and Odin in the war ten years ago.
If they faced a total war, it would be a tough battle.
"Among the current Rankers, there aren't even ten who can face an Administrator."
Undoubtedly, there were Rankers capable of fighting Administrators, like Zeus and Hercules from Olympus, The Great Sage, Heaven's Equal, and Asura.
However, they weren't many, and their cohesion wasn't very strong.
Of course.
'We are forgetting someone.'
Varuna knew that everyone, including Vayu, was forgetting a person. Of course, the only ones who remembered were Varuna, Son OhGong, Hercules, and Pandora.
However...
"There might be another."
Up to that moment, Yama, who had remained silent, suddenly spoke.
"It's not certain, but..."
"What do you mean?"
"There's a person Vishnu-nim was looking for."
"Vishnu-nim? Who was he looking for?"
Vishnu's words echoed in Yama's mind.
The name that had contributed the most in the fight against Shub-Niggurath.
A Ranker that everyone had forgotten, and that now he couldn't even remember himself.
"Kim YuWon."
"Kim YuWon?"
In the instant Vayu frowned at the unfamiliar name, Varuna opened his eyes in surprise.
Never in his dreams would Varuna have imagined that he would hear that name from Yama's lips.
Yama watched Baruna's reaction. Meanwhile, Vayu still had a puzzled expression.
"He's an unknown name. Is he a Ranker from a minor Guild?"
"I don't know either."
"You don't know?"
"I only know that he's the guy Vishnu-nim was looking for."
In the midst of mourning for Vishnu, Yama struggled to remember Kim YuWon's name.
However, no matter how he scrutinized his memories, he not only couldn't remember Kim YuWon's name, but he couldn't even recall a clue about him.
It was frustrating because he felt that if only he saw his face, he would remember.
"You guys don't know anything either?"
"Not at all."
"...I see."
Swoosh.
Yama's gaze turned to Varuna.
The moment he received that look, Varuna shivered and asked, "W-what? What's going on?"
"Varuna, you..."
"Me?"
Varuna averted his gaze and fell into thought.
Vishnu looking for Kim YuWon.
If he thought about the reason he started looking for him, the answer was obvious.
'It's because of me.'
At first, when he didn't remember YuWon, Varuna had asked Vishnu about that name.
Who Kim YuWon was.
That must have been the first step.
"So, please, keep pretending you don't know anything."
"Eh?"
"Don't go around telling everyone. For now."
YuWon had warned him not to talk about him without reason. And he couldn't ignore the warning of a Hero from the war of ten years ago, no less than YuWon.
However...
'But for Vishnu-nim to have been looking for him...'
Until that moment, Varuna had never considered that possibility.
'What should I do?'
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Tags:
LWTG (Novel)