Side Story 84
"So, that's how it is."
At first glance, Behemoth seemed to be fine.
However, his behavior was clearly different from usual.
Of course, Behemoth was a greedy type.
But as greedy as he was, he was also cowardly.
An impossible-to-climb tree.
For Behemoth, that "tree" was Diablo.
"This guy's dream is... to become the Demon King."
The word "dream" is used with various meanings.
It is used to refer to the state of being asleep, but also to refer to a fervent desire for something.
The fragment of that Name amplified that dream.
Making the fruit seem sweeter.
Making the tree that once seemed impossible to climb appear lower.
It is a temptation.
-Hey, what are you doing?
The surroundings were filled with teeth.
Behemoth filled with fear and began to resist. He thrashed his enormous body, trying to escape the teeth surrounding him. But what Amorphous Chaos sought first was his Dream.
Kwaak-!
['Amorphous Chaos' devours the 'Ancient Dream Fragment'].
The teeth biting into Behemoth's body.
-Kyaaah-!
Grrrrrrr!
Behemoth roared.
The roar of the massive bull was so loud that it hurt the ears.
YuWon frowned at Behemoth's howls, who kept shaking his head.
"So much noise for nothing."
-Kyaaang...? Eh?
Behemoth, who was screaming, suddenly felt something strange.
Although it was evident that the numerous teeth surrounding him were biting into his body, he felt no pain.
It was as if they were chewing on something that was not his body.
-What is this?
"I already told you. I'm not going to eat you."
Kwaak, kwaaduk-.
The teeth devoured the Dream Fragment residing in Behemoth.
The Name was small, but due to the enormous size of the monster, absorption took a considerable amount of time.
But that didn't last long.
['Amorphous Chaos' has devoured the 'Ancient Dream Fragment'].
['Amorphous Chaos' feels hungry].
The Name that inhabited him disappeared without a trace.
'An empty shell.'
YuWon frowned at the Name, which was smaller than expected.
He had stopped in the middle of his ascent, and instead of increasing his stats, he felt even more disappointed.
Amorphous Chaos, whose Name had been damaged, felt an even greater hunger than before.
'To satiate this guy's hunger, probably...'
The Great Dreamer.
For now, he had no choice but to devour that guy's Name.
Paaasss-.
The darkness, chaos, and teeth surrounding Behemoth disappeared.
Behemoth, who had been trembling in fear for a while, blinked with a stupid look.
"Are you back to your senses?"
-Back to my senses... What has changed...?
Fwoosh!
At that moment.
Diablo, whose patience had reached its limit, unleashed his Demon Energy.
"It's been 5 minutes."
His voice was a roar. At some point, he had picked up the sword he had dropped on the ground.
-Hiiiik!
Kaboom-.
Behemoth, terrified by the Demon Energy and Diablo's anger, sat down abruptly.
It's not like he had suddenly lost his memory.
Clearly, until a moment ago, he was determined to defeat Diablo and take over his position as the leader of the other demons.
But...
'Why am I doing this nonsense?'
It was as foolish an idea as trying to break a rock with eggs.
Although the other demons didn't know it, Behemoth was well aware of what kind of monster Diablo was in front of him.
"Now, do I just have to cut that guy's neck?"
At first glance, nothing seemed to have changed.
Diablo raised his sword, thinking that YuWon's plan had failed, whatever it was.
With the intention of cutting Behemoth's neck at any moment.
But...
"There's no need for that."
Plop.
YuWon, who jumped off Behemoth's back, stood in Diablo's way.
"That guy will surrender."
"Surrender? Do you think I'll accept that?"
Diablo scoffed.
"Once a guy shows his fangs, he'll show them again."
He knew it from the beginning. Behemoth, with his strong desire for power, had been coveting his position since he took control of a part of Muspelheim.
Becoming the King of a race.
That was the greatest wish Behemoth, just below Diablo, could harbor.
"We have to kill him here and now. That's how this fight ends."
"It's the opposite."
"Opposite?"
"If the Muspelheim demons here follow Behemoth, then only Behemoth can stop them."
Diablo's eyebrows furrowed at YuWon's words.
"And then?"
"Since things have come to this point, make sure he stays under control. Make him swear and spare his life. This way, you can also put Muspelheim under your control."
"Even Muspelheim?"
Diablo scratched his head in bewilderment and put on a disgusted expression.
"It's annoying, but that..."
"Behemoth will still rule. Instead, Behemoth will be under your command."
"Do you want me to spare that guy?"
"It's not about forgiveness. Keep him under control and make him work for you."
Hiiiiik!
Behemoth let out a brief scream, as if he would prefer to die.
Diablo stroked his chin for a moment, thinking, and then noticed something strange and asked:
"What was that just now?"
"I ate the Dream that inhabited that guy."
"Dream? What are you talking about?"
"True, he wanted to be a King, but originally, he wouldn't have gone this far. So, if you're going to punish him, just punish him halfway."
Sensible words.
As expected, overthinking was not Diablo's style.
"Alright, let's do it that way."
Clang.
Diablo hung the sword he had in his hand back on his back.
"But let there not be a next time. If you get in my way again, I'll cut your neck too, so keep that in mind."
"Of course. There won't be a need for another occasion."
That was also what YuWon preferred.
They weren't particularly close, and YuWon had no reason to save Behemoth twice. Behemoth was simply there to be verified.
"Behemoth!"
Behemoth's massive figure trembled at Diablo's shout.
"Did you hear? What are you going to do?"
-Ha, I surrender! I surrender unconditionally!
At this moment, he didn't feel confident about defeating Diablo even alone, let alone with the appearance of that unknown identity guy and Pandora by his side. Continuing to fight now would be suicide.
'More than that, I don't know why I'm doing this madness!'
Thanks to this, it was certain that Diablo would torment him almost to death for a while.
However, Behemoth didn't complain or speak bitterly inside.
The moment YuWon, who had obstructed Behemoth, passed by, he had to climb back up.
But before that.
YuWon's eyes flashed for a moment as he looked at Diablo.
"Well then, do you have something to do?"
"Hmm? Something to do?"
At YuWon's question, Diablo scratched his head with a finger and answered.
"Well, I always have something to do."
"Now I know why your people rebel against you."
"Do you have complaints?"
"If you have nothing to do, let's go together. The fun has probably already been ruined by fighting."
Diablo's gaze lit up at YuWon's words. Diablo was someone who liked to fight, just like Son OhGong. Although it wasn't pleasant to fight against members of the same race, stopping in the middle of the fight would at least spoil the fun.
"Is there something fun?"
"Yes. But, if possible, don't kill."
"Isn't that boring?"
"You can kill Administrators and Envoys. Only we, Players like us, shouldn't be killed."
The "No killing" condition was imposed. Diablo, who was making a face at the idea of restraining himself, finally nodded.
"Understood. Anyway, I have nothing to do here."
Behemoth, who agreed to accompany YuWon, asked.
"But, what is that job?"
"How many floors do we have to climb?"
"We only need to go up one floor."
"Floor 66... The place where Zeus is, right?"
Diablo looked at Behemoth with suspicion that he might be Zeus.
"It was Zeus who informed me of the betrayal."
With that statement, YuWon could understand how the situation had developed.
"They must be Hermes's eyes after all."
Zeus's goal was to have a level of information similar to the Administration Office.
Given that, it was not surprising that he was the first to realize the divisions that occurred in various places of the Tower.
The strength of Olympus and Zeus's personal power.
And even an exceptional level of information comparable to the Administration Office.
'He will be a target.'
It was not expected that Zeus wouldn't know.
When the real fight begins, he will be the first to become a target of the Administrators.
Despite that, Zeus didn't hide.
In fact, he tried to resolve the divisions that occurred in various places using Hermes's eyes.
'He's trying to block them or...'
Or betting.
YuWon's march quickened.
"Let's go."
----------------
Craack-.
Zeus, who was sitting, slowly opened his eyes.
He had rested enough.
Thanks to Son OhGong's clones.
"Monkey, you do your job correctly at times like this."
Swish-.
Zeus slowly got up from his seat. He couldn't be so relaxed when receiving guests.
That wasn't a posture befitting a king ruling Olympus.
Bang!
The door opening into Zeus's room broke, and a group entered, displaying their presence.
In front of them was Braniel. Along with the leaders of various Guilds.
"Go ahead, come in."
He had just awakened, so he felt somewhat tired. His condition was optimal.
However...
"Even though it's an illusion, I feel like you've come to the wrong place."
"Sorry, but we've come to the right place."
With slow steps, visibly tense, Braniel took a step forward.
"Understand, we too have chosen a side, seeking our own path of survival."
"A path of survival...?"
Zeus nodded.
"I understand. And I also understand your desire to ascend."
Braniel, as if his sensitive nerve had been touched, hesitated for a moment and then stared into Zeus's eyes.
It was true...
Survival...
If that was their only goal, perhaps they would have sided with the Players instead of the Administrators.
"But I don't hate you, let alone. I like you. Ambition is the energy one needs to ascend."
Chisss.
Zeus's fingertips filled with electrical energy.
"But this scenario is too big for you."
It was a common mistake made by low-level Rankers. They lived without knowing that the power gap between elite top 100 Rankers and normal Rankers was abysmal.
A fact that could be understood by simply joining a Grand Guild, regardless of ranking.
"You still don't know the upper world."
If they had filled themselves with confidence for having overcome a simple clone of the Great Sage, Heaven's Equal, then...
"So, let me show you right now."
It was necessary to show them. To those worms that sheltered in small Guilds and believed that numbers were everything.
Who Zeus was.
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Tags:
LWTG (Novel)