Side Story 52
Hwaaaak-!
Ananta's hands reached forward, tearing through the darkness of Tartarus.
It was a sight that was hard to believe even for the eyes.
Darkness was an attribute with corrosive properties.
And among those attributes of darkness, Tartarus was undoubtedly at the top.
And now, this being was literally pushing Tartarus' darkness with brute force.
'He's not taking care of his body at all.'
Not even Hercules had fought in such a reckless manner.
Regardless of the urgency of the situation, this being was willing to risk his life to get closer to YuWon.
'Or maybe, he has another intention-.'
A fleeting thought.
YuWon swung his sword against Ananta, who had come within close range and was now aiming at his throat.
A clean cut.
His goal was to split his body in two with a single stroke.
However...
"What...?"
Ananta didn't dodge YuWon's sword.
That was strange.
He should have been cut in two.
[Golden Cinder Eyes is analyzing the target]
[Sensory Field is reading the target's movements]
[Eyes of Foreknowledge is activated]
He had been using these abilities to prepare for any unexpected variables.
And all those abilities were telling him the same thing.
In that brief moment, the tip of his sword, now wavering, would cleanly cut Ananta's body in two.
So, he shouldn't hesitate.
Indeed, the opponent might be playing with that hesitation.
At this moment, he had only one thing to do.
'Cut.'
Sssaaa-.
YuWon's sword, infused with the Arcane Power of Tartarus, cut through Ananta's body.
His body split cleanly in two.
Even YuWon himself, who had wielded the sword, was surprised by the outcome.
'What just happened-.'
Clearly, everything had happened just as predicted by Golden Cinder Eyes and Eyes of Foreknowledge.
However, now that he saw it with his own eyes, he couldn't help but feel a sense of bewilderment.
Only then did YuWon understand why Ananta had resorted to such a reckless tactic.
"...So that's it."
And in the next moment.
The right half of Ananta's cut body passed by YuWon like a beam of light.
"We will meet again. Without a doubt."
Flash-!
Ananta disappeared behind YuWon.
YuWon could only smirk ironically as he watched his escape.
He had decided to flee.
'Can this be considered smart?'
YuWon believed he had taken into account Ananta's abilities and strength.
He had even contemplated the possibility of Ananta seeking to escape if he found an opportunity.
However,
'I thought he would fight to the end from the beginning.'
Ananta had the ability to fight.
And most importantly, he didn't know YuWon.
At this moment, his name and identity had been erased.
Despite that...
'Maybe my mistake was trying to catch him too securely.'
Zeus, Hercules, Son OhGong.
The top three ranks of the Tower were gathered. And on top of that, the Bull Demon King.
It was a force too powerful to be gathered in one place.
At that moment, YuWon thought that if he joined them, they could easily subdue Ananta, who had just been released from the seal.
However, that had turned out to be a mistake.
A situation outside of his calculations.
YuWon lowered his gaze to the sword he still held.
'This wasn't a cut; it was an abandonment.'
There was no sensation of a cut.
What he had seen with the Eyes of Foreknowledge was not a scene of him cutting Ananta, but a scene of Ananta detaching a part of himself.
'Even if that's the case...'
Gripping the sword tighter, YuWon muttered with a sarcastic voice.
"I have become careless."
He needed to reflect.
If this had been ten years ago, he was sure this situation wouldn't have happened.
First of all, he would have created a net to prevent Ananta from escaping, and he would have prepared more personnel to deploy a Celestial Net.
"Focus."
The only thing he had achieved in this time was one thing.
"Kim YuWon."
Click.
Self-reflection.
That was the only thing he had achieved.
-------------------
Basement of a mansion located in the city center.
Sss-.
A bright light shone in the dimly lit underground storage.
Ananta appears.
Staggering for a moment to regain balance, he looked up at his arm.
"I've lost a lot."
An arm that had become murky.
Because he had lost half, even keeping his body upright wasn't easy.
Plop-.
Puff-.
Dust rose as he sat on the couch lying in the storage.
A storage without a hint of light.
Ananta, hidden there, muttered with an ironic smile.
"I'm finally free, but I'm in this state."
Not in his wildest dreams would he have imagined that the first thing he would do after breaking free from the seal would be to sit on a dusty couch.
"Vritra, Gandharva..."
Ananta frowned as he remembered the two who had moved to protect him.
"Those idiots."
His opponents were not easy. Zeus, who possessed the power of Indra, as well as Son OhGong, the Bull Demon King, and Hercules, were not simple opponents either.
And besides them, there was that strange guy whose name he didn't even know.
Fizz-.
Anger seized him.
It wasn't because of the death of Vritra and Gandharva, his two loyal subordinates.
"I've lost too many heads."
A thousand heads.
That was the number of power symbolized by Ananta.
However, Ananta had lost many heads in this battle.
And on top of that, he was weakened because he had just come out of the seal.
That's why losing more than half of his heads bothered him because it made him feel miserable.
Crunch-.
Whoosh-.
And at that moment, a man with a torch entered the basement.
Upon discovering Ananta, he jumped back in surprise.
"You, who are you?"
It was a middle-aged man with a belly, resembling a noble.
It was unclear what business he had in the warehouse, but his hurried steps urged the man to leave.
"You don't look appetizing, but oh well."
Crack-.
The arm that had transformed into a dragon's head opened its mouth toward the man.
"Now is not the time to be picky."
Bam-!
Blood splattered alongside the torch that fell to the ground.
After briefly satiating his hunger, Ananta reclined on the sofa and licked his lips.
Insatiable hunger.
To satisfy it, not even devouring thousands or tens of thousands of humans like the one he had just eaten would be enough.
"So, now, who should I hold responsible..."
-------------------
The Olympus was the Guild that had influence throughout the Tower. Not only did the Olympus branches on each floor mobilize, but also Hermes' thieves.
"No special movements."
Zeus muttered disinterestedly.
Ananta didn't show himself easily. He had hidden so well that, no matter how much they searched, they hadn't received any news of him for several days. It was such a silent silence that one could even think he was dead.
However, one thing was certain: Ananta was not dead.
[Eradicate the Monster King Ananta.]
[Monster King Ananta is in a weakened state.]
[Monster statistics increase slightly.]
Ananta weakened. As he weakened, the statistics of the monsters existing in the Tower also weakened compared to before. Fortunately, thanks to that, the Tower's ecosystem didn't completely collapse.
No matter how much the statistics of the monsters increased, there were already many Rankers in the tower.
However...
"With time, that guy will grow bigger."
Ananta's ability was predation. He became stronger as he devoured something with power. No matter what it was. Players, monsters, if given time, Ananta would soon regain his original strength.
"What do you think?"
Zeus turned his head and asked YuWon. YuWon was the only person he could ask for an opinion. The world considered Zeus a despotic tyrant, but that was only because there was no one more competent than him.
Asking for an opinion. That meant Zeus recognized YuWon as a being existing in the same world as him.
"...It's my mistake."
Zeus frowned at YuWon's words. That response was not what he had asked.
"It's not about who's right or wrong. And if you think about it, everyone who was there is to blame."
YuWon nodded at Zeus's simple and straightforward answer.
The remorse that if he had been more prepared, the outcome would have been different.
The tension's absence that arose with the Outers' disappearance.
If self-reproach is prolonged, it turns into melancholy. During the last few days, YuWon had sharpened the knife of his heart, which was deeper than the sheath.
Back to square one.
"It's a bit strange."
"What do you mean?"
"It's too quiet."
"It's strange, even the Monkey who was there with you knows it. What do you mean?"
In the face of Zeus's insistence, YuWon spoke of his assumptions.
Zeus's eyebrows furrowed at the vague story.
"It's plausible, but..."
"For now, we should wish that guy moves like that."
"Are you saying we should pray?"
"For now."
At that moment, a purple-colored energy swirled in YuWon's pupils.
A gaze that gave a chilling sensation.
Although he said he would only observe, he wasn't prepared for that. Zeus realized that something had changed in YuWon as a result of this incident.
"Your eyes have returned."
"My eyes?"
"Maybe letting that guy escape was a gain. Thanks to that, your mind, which was clouding over with peace, has returned."
"I can't refute that."
YuWon nodded with an ironic smile. It was true.
Until recently, YuWon had been thinking that the main reason he let Ananta escape was himself.
However, he had finished reflecting.
"The time for reflection is over. Next time, I'll catch him for sure."
['The Black Goat of the Woods with a Thousand Young' is looking for 'Ananta'].
['Goat 218' is looking for the target]
['Goat 102' is looking for the target]
['Goat 591' is sleepy]
['Goat 24'...]
The messages echoed in his ears.
The goats he had released to find Ananta had turned into thousands of eyes, transmitting information to YuWon.
The problem was the intelligence of the goats.
"How can they mistake a yellow lizard for a dragon?"
"That's not a dragon, it's a lizardman."
"That's just a rock."
"...If you're sleepy, go to sleep."
YuWon rubbed his temples in frustration and closed his eyes for a moment.
It seemed that finding Ananta with these foolish goats was going to be difficult.
In the end, it seemed that he would have to rely on Zeus and the rest of Olympus to find him.
"Anyway, keep looking for Ananta for now. Until we catch him, continue with what you were doing."
"Understood. But there's a guest waiting for you for quite some time."
"A guest for me?"
YuWon pointed to himself with his finger and asked.
It was strange.
Very few remembered him.
Apart from Zeus, who was in front of him, only Son OhGong, Hercules, and Pandora remembered him.
And now a guest?
"It's a Deva guy. He was looking for you eagerly."
"Which Deva-."
At that moment, a face appeared in his mind.
He had forgotten about him.
In addition to his former comrades, there was another person who remembered him.
"Hyung-nim!"
A handsome man limping towards YuWon, sobbing.
It was Varuna, running towards YuWon with all his might.
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LWTG (Novel)