Side Story 54
Consciousness rose from the dream.
"Ugh..."
Yama could finally breathe and opened his eyes.
At first, he saw nothing.
A dark sky and land.
Yama, hesitating, blinked several times.
Had he gone blind?
"You've awakened."
Yama felt relieved to see Varuna's face suddenly peering in.
"It's not the underworld, right?"
"Why the underworld all of a sudden?"
At Varuna's question, Yama turned his head to look for YuWon.
Seeing YuWon calmly reading a book, taken from his inventory, Yama shook his head.
"...I thought I was going to die."
If YuWon had wanted it, it would have been so.
Yama opened his eyes again and saw nothing around him.
Not the ghosts that filled this world until recently.
Not the sea of almost infinite Arcane Power.
He couldn't feel anything.
'They haven't disappeared.'
They were definitely here.
Simply, what they could see and feel depended on YuWon's will.
However, YuWon had deliberately shown Yama the reality of this place.
What was his intention?
Yama realized right away and approached YuWon.
"I apologize for doubting you."
YuWon looked away from the book he was reading and lifted his head at Yama's greeting with a bowed head.
Until recently, Yama doubted YuWon's existence.
It was natural, as Yama didn't remember YuWon.
But now, he could believe.
'Someone who wields such power...'
The one who controls the power of Tartarus.
Just for that, he was comparable to the highest-level High-Rankers.
YuWon nodded at Yama's greeting.
"It's not something you should apologize for."
"I feel better this way."
Varuna alternately looked at Yama and YuWon.
Not knowing what was going on, he blinked with a perplexed expression.
"What happened?"
"No. Nothing."
Yama tapped Varuna on the shoulder and shook his head. It was a hassle to explain, and there was no need to tell Varuna, who didn't doubt YuWon.
"How much time has passed?"
"About an hour."
"Fortunately, it didn't take that long."
Yama sighed in relief, worried that he might have caused some significant trouble.
One hour.
It wasn't much time. There was still enough time.
"Still, let's hurry. There are many places to contact."
"Hyung-nim, won't my sister (Pandora) scold you if you're late...?"
"Do you want to faint too?"
YuWon's eyes met Varuna's, and he closed his mouth.
Even if he wasn't very observant, he knew that YuWon was the reason why Yama suddenly fainted.
A place that has escaped the eyes of the Administrators.
Yama finally began to speak bluntly.
"There have been many eyes following me lately."
"Envoys?"
"Yes, that's also why I was being so careful."
Yama, who had been present at Vishnu's death.
He was the one with the highest loyalty to Vishnu than anyone.
In addition to Vishnu, he also had the highest rank among the Devas.
Of course, for the Administrators, that Yama guy could be nothing more than a thorn in the eye.
"Well then. We have two baits."
"Yes, that's right."
"Do you know all the contacts?"
"I know them, but..."
Yama looked at Varuna and continued:
"It's better if this guy does it. I've lived my whole life in Vishnu's shadow."
"Yes, that's true. No matter who contacts them."
"And if they're going to use me as bait..."
Yama, who had been pondering for a moment, nodded and continued:
"I'll roll up my sleeves and wield the scythe fervently."
Yama's eyes ignited with black fire. After Vishnu's death, he had become a warrior in his own right, not someone's shadow.
However...
"No need to exert yourself so much. What we need is not the scythe, but the name and the face."
"Eh?"
"I said bait, when did I say we would use him in combat?"
YuWon didn't have great feats in mind for Yama for now.
"First, we'll spread the bait."
Turning his gaze away from the puzzled Yama, YuWon gave instructions to Varuna:
"Say that Vishnu is alive."
A lie they couldn't avoid biting.
The name Vishnu, that was the bait.
----------------
A woman with pale skin and silky blue hair that reached her shoulders walked along the beach. She had come to listen to the sound of the waves breaking, but due to her disturbed mind, the sound merely passed through her ears.
"Vishnu-nim..."
She was looking at the message she had received from Varuna.
[Varuna: Vishnu-nim is alive.]
It was nonsensical.
Vishnu was dead.
Just by seeing that his name had disappeared from the Ranking, it was evident.
But, why all of a sudden?
[Varuna: Gather everyone at the indicated location in the message before noon ten days from now]
Even the time and place of the appointment were kindly indicated.
There was no response to the messages she sent asking what had happened.
"Is this guy crazy?"
Soma's expression wrinkled. She, one of the High-Rankers of Deva, was bewildered by Varuna's impulsive behavior.
Suddenly, he mentioned Vishnu's name and summoned the Deva Rankers. Although he was a High-Ranker who was among Deva's fingers, this was a bit over the top.
That means...
"Is it really true that Vishnu-nim is alive?"
If Varuna wasn't crazy, then this claim must be true.
While Soma was confused by the news of Vishnu's survival,
Splash~
Beneath the beach where Soma stood. The sand sank like an anthill, and an unexpected guest emerged from it.
"Have you heard the news, Soma?"
A man with brown hair and a body covered in fur.
With eyes like a beast and an appearance resembling a monkey, it was Hanuman, the Ranker mockingly known as The Great Sage, Heaven's Equal, on a budget.
"Yes, I've heard."
"Is this Varuna guy serious?"
"He's not answering my calls."
Soma's eyes, which had been fixed on Hanuman, narrowed.
"Something's going on."
"Is it really true? Vishnu-nim..."
Hanuman couldn't finish the sentence.
Soma observed Hanuman's reaction, and she shook her head.
"I don't know. Whether it's real or not."
"He had disappeared from the ranking, right?"
"You know we can't trust the Ranking now, right?"
"You're right... there might be another reason."
Upon hearing this, Soma pocketed the Player Kit again.
Soma: "For now, all we can do is gather. After all, this is a matter involving Vishnu-nim's name."
Vishnu.
Once again, she felt the weight that name carried in Deva.
Just with that name, the High-Rankers of Deva were uneasy.
They didn't know whether it was intentional or not, but as long as that name was in the message, they had no choice but to follow Varuna's words.
"Will Yama come?"
Hanuman asked cautiously.
At this, Soma's expression, which was looking out to sea, changed.
"That guy has been missing since Vishnu-nim's funeral."
Yama was Vishnu's shadow. Although he was the next in the Ranking after Vishnu, he didn't participate in Deva's management. Since Vishnu's funeral, he hadn't been seen.
Some Rankers who were friends with him searched for him, but they couldn't find any news.
"He'll come. Without a doubt."
Soma said with certainty.
No matter what others thought, Yama would definitely come. After all, he wouldn't hesitate to do anything for a matter related to Vishnu.
"...Really?"
Hanuman, who had been silent for a moment, looked out to sea just like Soma.
"It seems like we'll have to attend."
Probably, no Deva Ranker who received this message would stay still.
Of course, Varuna and Yama, but also Soma, Hanuman, Druva, Devavati, Gajendra...
It was certain that many named Deva Rankers would gather.
"Whether it's real or not."
And at that moment...
The numerous Rankers who received Varuna's message were having similar conversations, while harboring other thoughts inside.
The possibility of seeing Vishnu again.
Or maybe the opposite.
----------------------
"If Vishnu is alive..."
71st Floor, Administrator's Office.
At the top of the colossal tower-like structure, the Administrator observed the events unfolding in Deva.
"Is it true?"
The Envoy standing in front of the Administrator, White Hand, shook his head.
"That's impossible, don't you think?"
"Yes, I suppose so. Some guys took care of that."
The Administrator, with a somber face, frowned in concern.
"But I can't help but worry."
The opponent was Vishnu. The strongest Ranker who had dominated the Tower for so many years. Although he had lost the first place to Zeus, he was a being who had enjoyed the pinnacle longer than anyone else.
"Do you think he's alive?"
"In case he is..."
It was inevitable to worry. In fact, he had tried to contact Varuna to verify the information, but for some reason, he couldn't.
Varuna had disappeared. Like Yama, he had managed to elude the Emisaries' surveillance.
'Is this Vishnu's doing?'
If that were the case, he had the capability to do so. Escaping the sight of the Envoys wouldn't be a difficult task for Vishnu.
"Even if it's just a possibility, if it's true..."
A cold light shone in the Administrator's eyes.
"This time, I have to cut his throat definitively."
The Administrator ordered White Hand to find Vishnu and Varuna at all costs. He also asked him to find out the relationship between Yama's disappearance and Vishnu.
Thus, while Vishnu's story was the main topic at the top of the Administrator's Office,
"He, hehe, he"
A cheerful and carefree murmur echoed, out of place in the Administrator's Office.
The Administrator, who was reclining in his chair, directed his gaze toward the source of the murmur.
Behind White Hand. A tan-skinned man was leaning against the wall, arms crossed, listening to the conversation.
"Who dares-?"
Fiit-.
The moment the messenger, White Hand, saw the man and was about to burst into anger.
Splash!
White Hand, with a red line on his neck, collapsed to the ground coughing blood.
White Hand.
He was the Chief Envoy of the 71st Floor. In other words, he was second in command to the Administrator on the 71st Floor.
And yet, his life had been extinguished in an instant.
Crunch~
The teeth devouring White Hand's corpse.
The Administrator recognized the man's identity by the Arcane Power emanating from him and his slitted pupils.
"Ananta...?"
Why did he appear here, who was said to have been freed from the seal and fled from The Great Sage, Heaven's Equal, and Zeus?
"What are you doing now? Isn't this different from what we agreed upon?"
"I've been thinking."
Crunch-.
Ananta approached the Administrator.
"I've come to the conclusion that there's no need for us to follow your orders."
The Administrators had released the seal on Ananta to confront the Rankers. They believed that with the power of the Monster King Ananta, even Olympus could be brought down.
However...
"Aren't you guys the more appetizing ones?"
Ananta's teeth, who had thought so, headed towards them.
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LWTG (Novel)