C604
The essence of all things resides in the name.
And to contain that Name, a vessel was needed.
["Abba..."]
Danpung, now peacefully asleep on Pandora's head, was one such vessel.
Amorphous Chaos.
That was the primordial Name composing the majority of Azathoth, the Name of the beginning.
The vessel containing it was the existence known as Danpung.
And the vessel containing the name of Azathoth was YuWon.
"What the hell were you trying to create?"
Crack!
Azathoth's body before his eyes was not a creation.
It simply was.
Though an empty shell, it was the original vessel of Azathoth.
And Sothoth was trying to fill that vessel again.
[■■'s Fang is present.]
[The End of■■■ is present.]
[■■ Transcending■■ is present.]
[The Key of■■ is present.]
[■■■■■ is...]
[...]
Names all broken and fragmented.
Occasionally, a familiar name echoed.
All the Names YuWon knew were mixed here, bit by bit.
To be precise, fragments of Names were inside.
That meant not only Sothoth but also many others had participated in this plan.
'Is that why Danpung was here?'
This vessel had the power to attract Names.
It was natural.
All Names came from Azathoth, and Azathoth's body was the supreme vessel containing them all.
Attracted by that vessel, Danpung had come here.
'Gathering the Names bit by bit and assembling them into a single vessel. If it can be created with that, only one...'
YuWon's eyes, observing Azathoth's body, sank deep.
'An Azathoth clone?'
He felt an unpleasant sensation.
The reason for this feeling was probably because he himself had memories of Azathoth.
He couldn't eliminate that being, and now they were stirring up trying to recreate a being that had already disappeared.
"They know nothing."
"Eh? What's going on?"
At YuWon's murmur, Tsukuyomi asked in a puzzled voice.
Suddenly saying they know nothing, who is he referring to?
Instead of answering Tsukuyomi's question, YuWon uttered a familiar Name.
"How long has it been, eh."
[Amorphous Chaos bares its teeth.]
Rshh!
Rshh!
Countless teeth are revealed.
"Abba..."
Rubbing his sleepy eyes, Danpung rose again and stood on Pandora's head.
"What, what are these things?"
Tsukuyomi was bewildered by the teeth that appeared along with a purple energy, but only for a moment.
Kwak!
Kwak, kwak!
Amorphous Chaos's teeth began to devour Azathoth's corpse.
Azathoth's vessel was devoured by the countless teeth.
Inside it, Azathoth's vessel was chewed and torn, and countless Names were snatched away.
[You have obtained■■'s Fang.]
[You have obtained the End of■■■.]
[You have obtained■■ Transcending■■.]
[You have obtained the Key of■■...]
[...]
Along with Azathoth's vessel, countless Names arrived.
Amorphous Chaos's teeth, as if they had been hungry for a long time, avidly devoured the Names inside Azathoth.
[You have gained 5 Divine Power.]
[You have obtained the Vessel of■■■■.]
[Damaged Amorphous Chaos partially recovers.]
His Divine Power had increased considerably, indicating that it had contained more Names than he thought.
Thanks to that, Danpung's Name, which was also damaged, recovered a bit.
Sssrr-.
Azathoth's vessel came out of Amorphous Chaos again.
Stripped of all its Names.
Its skin was blackened and cracked, as if it were dead.
"You can't even rest in peace in death."
Whoosh-.
YuWon looked at Azathoth's blackened body and set it on fire.
['The Flame of Death and Decay' sheds tears.]
['The Dancer Who Dances With Flames' dances for the dead.]
Whoosh-.
Purple flames spread over Azathoth's body.
His dry body, without a drop of moisture, easily ignited like firewood.
"Now, please rest in peace."
He had found Azathoth's body in the same place where he had found Danpung.
Now that he saw it with his own eyes, its end didn't seem very good.
It had neither its True Name nor its vessel left.
Only one thing remained.
Only a few Names, including Danpung who was here.
There was no way for him to return.
That's what YuWon thought.
However.
["Even a simple Phoenix can rise from the ashes after the fire has been extinguished."]
The words Azathoth had spoken to Shub-Niggurath using YuWon's own body.
Those words kept echoing in his head.
Crack, crack-.
The flames burning the body quickly extinguished as the firewood consumed.
Praying that it truly wouldn't come back and rest in peace forever.
YuWon turned slowly.
"Let's go."
Hoping it's not too late.
YuWon accelerated his pace again.
-------------------
Muspelheim, the land burning with flames.
Due to its harsh environment, this place, unpopular as territory, had now become the land of "Demon Kings."
"Quick, quick!"
"Move! Stop slacking off!"
Demons roamed the streets.
They were busy preparing to welcome a guest.
And among them.
One of the Demon leaders walked down the street.
"Tsk. Why does that guy have to come here?"
"Isn't it the first time Diablo has come here?"
Gregory, a High-Ranker of the Demon Kings and Behemoth's companion, swallowed nervously at the approaching immense presence from afar.
It seemed like the ground was shaking even as he walked slowly.
Judging by the way his presence was increasing, it didn't seem like he was here just to play.
"Muspelheim is now my land."
"Yes, it's Behemoth's land."
"Don't tell me that guy is trying to invade even here?"
Diablo.
He was the existence that was like the heart of the Demon Kings.
However, unfortunately, he hadn't shown any leadership skills as the guild leader he led.
And Behemoth was the one leading the Demon Kings instead of Diablo.
Crack-.
Behemoth gritted his teeth.
"That guy who left the guild and went on to play with swords..."
"Shhh. They'll hear you."
"Let them hear if they want."
Behemoth snorted, as if he didn't care.
Would it have been a hallucination?
At that moment, Behemoth had the hallucination that Diablo, approaching from afar, was staring at him.
Crunch-.
Diablo passed through the crowd of demons and reached the heart of Muspelheim.
Buildings in flames.
In the midst of them, a man with red hair, the color that best matched this place, opened his mouth.
"Why do these brats here have such dirty looks?"
His voice was like that of a street thug.
"It's worse than in our neighborhood."
Clicking his tongue disinterestedly, Diablo looked at Behemoth.
"How have you been?"
"Why are you asking as if only ten years have passed?"
"True. It hasn't been much."
Ten years.
For Rankers like Diablo or Behemoth, who had lived thousands of years, that wasn't such a long period.
However, those ten years had been a period in which the Tower had undergone as many changes as in hundreds or thousands of years in other times.
That's why they felt like they were seeing each other after a long time, even more than usual.
Moreover.
"But it seems like you have something to say. Am I wrong?"
The two demons weren't close enough to have a friendly conversation after a long time.
Demons always fought and competed to climb the hierarchy.
In fact, there was a separate ranking among demons besides the official ranking, which showed how much they saw each other as rivals.
And much more among the Demon Kings.
"No wonder they don't look at you with good eyes, as you abandoned guild management to play."
Diablo's gaze turned to Gregory, who was standing next to Behemoth.
"Your name."
"Yes?"
"I said your name. I don't know lower demons like you."
Gregory's face turned red with anger.
Despite being a Ranker and having a place among the Demon Kings, Diablo didn't even know his name.
"I am Gregory..."
"Are you Behemoth's new toy?"
Toy?
A question mark appeared on Gregory's face.
At Gregory's expression, Diablo smirked.
"That guy has a bit of a peculiar taste, you know? He likes to raise his subordinates like pigs and then eat them."
"What kind of..."
"That's why he changes his subordinates more frequently than any other Demon King. Well, you can't refuse, so make sure to survive. If you're useful, he'll let you live a few hundred years."
While Gregory was still in shock.
Behemoth looked at Diablo with a disgusted expression.
"You suddenly come and reveal others' secrets. Isn't that disrespectful?"
"Respect? Are you serious?"
Diablo laughed and looked around.
"And if you're going to talk about that, shouldn't you get rid of these first?"
The demons surrounding them were surprised.
Diablo's hand was already on the sword hanging from his back.
"I'm not in a good mood today. And on top of that, I just received bad news from that Zeus bastard."
The moment Diablo spoke those words.
Gooooo-.
The demons surrounding him began to exude a murderous aura towards him.
Declared enemies.
Diablo smiled at the fury of the tens of thousands of demons.
"Everyone has a keen eye."
"You've been playing for too long, Diablo."
Kaboom-.
Behemoth took a step forward.
The earth trembled under his step, as expected of his nickname "The Largest Creature."
"It's time for you to leave."
"And what about the aftermath? Don't tell me you only trust in your brute strength..."
Kaat-.
The giant sword drew a red line.
"If I have to trust someone, it's them."
Muttering a monologue, Diablo delivered a casual blow that caused a geyser of blood over the demons in front.
Splat!
Aaaarrrrgh!
Blood soared into the sky.
With a single blow, a thousand demons were decapitated.
A red line was drawn on Behemoth's forehead, and his eyes filled with blood.
What has he done?
Behemoth hadn't seen it.
He thought he was just playing, as he had recently been learning to use a sword from a strange human named Chun Mujin.
It seemed that wasn't the case.
"Ten years. It's not like I've been inactive for that long. And yet, they've rotted so much..."
Diablo muttered as he pressed his nose bridge with the pommel of the sword.
"Yes. It's time for a cleanup."
The demons who had gathered to capture Diablo hesitated.
Diablo, who had changed the atmosphere with a single blow, seemed angry despite his smile.
"Hey, you."
Walking towards the demons filling the village.
"Just wait a bit."
Diablo said to Behemoth.
"I'll come to cut your neck soon."
And at that moment.
Similar things were happening in various guilds of the Tower.
Tags:
LWTG (Novel)