Leveling with the Gods
chapter-446

C446

Thud, thud-thud...

The bones in Vishnu's body returned to their original form. It was quite painful to watch the broken bones mend and the damaged skin regenerate.

Shub-Niggurath before his eyes was already dead. The body turned into black charcoal seemed impossible to resurrect.

It was an unmatched darkness.

The main feature of dark magic was corrosion.

Even with exceptional regenerative ability, resurrection here was impossible.

But...

Tziiing...

As he slowly recovered, Vishnu, with an anxious look, noticed that Shub-Niggurath's stomach was opening.

"...This is a disaster."

A despondent voice.

Brahma's voice came from Vishnu's mouth as he began to stagger to his feet.

"Yes, it is."

"What do we do now?"

"We're in trouble."

"That's right."

Only the mouth never stopped moving. Even though he was recovering quite well, the situation was completely different from before.

Recovery was only partial. Moreover, now there were only two Vishnus, not three.

He had to finish this on the next attempt if possible.

Tziiing...

Tzap...

A woman with a beautiful purple head with horns emerged from the giant billy goat's stomach.

Hair wet as if she had just come out of the womb. Furthermore, it had grown much taller than when she opened the belly of the sheep/goat before.

But it had not only grown in height.

'Those horns are eerie.'

On her head, which was not particularly large, were horns sprouting alongside her hair. The horns split into six stalks like trees and extended towards the ground.

There was no change in her expression, and she did not open her eyes, but Vishnu could feel the anger she carried.

Gugugugu...

The Black Woods trembled. Then, Shub-Niggurath opened her eyes that were closed and looked at Vishnu.

And at that moment...

"Kugh...!"

Vishnu began to groan in pain as he clutched his neck with one hand.

Tzz, tzz...

Black marks spread from Vishnu's neck. He instantly felt nauseous and sensed his body was being paralyzed from the necklace down.

"The losses are severe."

With a whisper, the woman who emerged from the giant billy goat's stomach looked at the blackened billy goat's body.

"I lost a name."

'A name...?'

Losing a name. It was a puzzling expression. There was no time to decipher this mystery right now.

Giiing...

A green glow emanated from Vishnu's hand, holding the lifeless, blackened neck. Shub-Niggurath gazed at Vishnu, who was starting to resist, with her vacant purple eyes.

"It doesn't matter."

With slow steps, she approached Vishnu.

"Soon, you will have a bigger name."

So, what does it really matter?

Doubts didn't last long.

Ziiing-.

A burning sensation spread through his throat, and he gradually lost the feeling in his body. While he felt his body slowly disintegrating, Vishnu's anxiety grew.

'Try to do something.'

'I'm already doing it.'

'If you do this, you'll die.'

'There's no other way...'

Just as Vishnu was receiving a warning about how dangerous his situation was, Kwarrung-! Kwaung, Kung-!

Lightning bolts struck from three different directions. This divided the distance between Vishnu and Shub-Niggurath.

At the same time, the corrosion affecting Vishnu's body disappeared. Vishnu, who could barely breathe, coughed and regained his breath.

"Ugh, that was close."

"Are you okay?"

Shh-.

He felt movement behind him. When Vishnu turned his head, he saw Odin applying healing magic to his back.

"Why do you ask if I'm okay?"

"You don't seem to be okay."

"I almost died."

Feeling relieved, Vishnu looked around.

Odin wasn't the only one who had come to help. Zeus, Hercules, and YuWon were there too, simultaneously launching Lightning Bolts from three different directions.

That was strange.

Not just Zeus, but three people wielding Lightning Bolts.

And furthermore...

'One of them has a different color.'

Vishnu looked at YuWon with inquisitive eyes. He was the owner of the purple Lightning Bolts.

'Are you watching that corpse?'

YuWon had a debt. He knew of Shiva's plan in advance and was taking action. Thanks to that, Vishnu thought he had special preparation compared to the others.

However, from the moment YuWon arrived on the scene, he had been constantly looking at the blackened great goat's corpse.

"He says he's lost his 'name'."

He knew something.

He couldn't help but ask YuWon with the persistent feeling.

"Do you know that thing's name?"

YuWon nodded.

Yes, he knew.

He knew too much.

The true name of that thing is Shub-Niggurath.

"The Black Goat of the Woods with a Thousand Young."

And two other names as well.

"The Goat Who Gives Birth to Madness. And The Perverse Fertility Deity."

In total, there were three names.

"Shub-Niggurath has three names."

This was the information that Odin brought back after fighting Shub-Niggurath and returning alive.

"Three names? Not just one?"

Seeming incredulous, Vishnu asked.

Shub-Niggurath only had one name known to her companions. The most well-known and representative name for her was: "The Black Goat of the Woods with a Thousand Young."

But now it turned out she had two other names.

"In the heart of the Black Woods lived the biggest and strongest goat. Named: 'The Goat Who Gives Birth to Madness.'"

The Goat Who Gives Birth to Madness.

Odin had said that it was the most dangerous creature inhabiting the Black Woods. According to him, if you encountered it in Shub-Niggurath's territory, you had to run without hesitation.

'Is that the one?'

A charred corpse.

If what he said about losing her name is true, it means that the name "The Goat Who Gives Birth to Madness" can no longer be found in Shub-Niggurath.

YuWon briefly glanced at Vishnu.

'You've done well so far.'

Up to that point, everyone, including YuWon, had been fighting one of Shub-Niggurath's three names.

The Black Goat of the Woods with a Thousand Young, symbolizing Shub-Niggurath and her primary name.

"I don't know what that 'name' means, but it seems very different from what we know."

As if he grasped something from the names listed on YuWon's lips, Zeus spoke up.

"So, what do you think that guy's name is?"

"Probably..."

YuWon looked in the direction that Zeus was pointing.

And there, emerging from the storm of Lightning Bolts created by the three, was a woman.

"It must be The Perverse Fertility Deity."

"The Perverse Fertility Deity?"

Fertility/Abundance (풍양).

A word that meant bountiful crops and fields full of grain.

But strangely, another name of Shub-Niggurath included the word "Fertility."

But there was another word in front of that name.

"Perverse..."

A word that could never be associated with purity and fertility.

YuWon gazed at Shub-Niggurath while pondering that word.

"Was it a mistake to make eye contact?"

YuWon's appearance made Shub-Niggurath's approach to Vishnu slow down a bit.

No, more precisely, it might be due to Danpung, who was right under YuWon's feet.

Shub-Niggurath's attention, which had come very close to Vishnu, was entirely directed towards Danpung, who was clinging right under YuWon's feet.

"Or maybe it's destiny to find a better path."

Tsu, tsu, tsu, tsu...

The energy that was beginning to spread around Shub-Niggurath changed the wind's density.

Lips dried up. It felt as if lip dryness would make them crack and the skin would age and decompose.

The wind, the air, and the earth.

Everything that was alive was withering.

"We'll know soon."

The Perverse Fertility spread across the world.

Fireeee~

The fire that clung to Diablo's body was slowly dying out. In the midst of the faint flames, Diablo gathered his Demonic Energy once again and rekindled the flames.

The flames flickered dangerously.

Even the Demon Lord himself, Diablo, was experiencing this. How would the others be feeling?

Diablo raised his head and looked to the sky.

"Is it trying to destroy the world?"

Diablo, who spoke like this, had grown several times larger than before.

He had grown so much that he could now look above the tall trees and observe from above.

But even for Diablo, this 'Fertility' was overwhelming.

"Destruction? What are you talking about?"

A voice came from below.

Diablo lowered his head and looked toward the source of the voice. Susanoo and Mimir had joined him some time ago.

"In fact, it's the opposite."

"What are you saying?"

Susanoo looked as if he didn't understand at all what Diablo was saying.

"Maybe that means even the goat woman is in a tight spot."

Mimir added.

But his interest was elsewhere.

"However..."

Mimir, hunched over, slowly turned around.

Susanoo also increased his grip on the sword he held and followed his gaze.

"If one more enemy joins, it will be a problem."

"Enemy?"

Diablo turned his gaze.

How long have they been following us?

In the place they turned to, there was a mysterious-looking hooded figure.

"Are you an enemy now? Or an ally?"

"Probably, an enemy."

Susanoo pointed his sword at the hooded figure.

His voice was full of threat.

"This chaos in the Tower is mainly because of him."

"Him?"

Mimir's eyes narrowed as she looked at Foolish Chaos.

"Now I understand. It was you. You created this whole scenario."

A sensation similar to what came from Shub-Niggurath was felt in Foolish Chaos before them.

The energy it emanated was not inherently threatening, like Shub-Niggurath's, but for some reason, Mimir felt that Foolish Chaos was an even more dangerous seed.

It seemed that Mimir's intuition was correct.

Foolish Chaos slowly opened his mouth.

"Mimir. The poor and wise prisoner of knowledge."

"Do you know me?"

"It seems you haven't heard anything about him."

"Him..."

A face flashed through Mimir's mind.

Kim YuWon.

Coming from the future through the Clock Movement, shaping the future of this Tower.

The vague mention of "him" instinctively evoked her thoughts, but Mimir was sure of who the person Foolish Chaos was referring to. However, she refrained from mentioning YuWon's name. She instinctively knew that it wouldn't be prudent to say too much to the individual in front of her at this moment.

"You asked me a moment ago whether I'm an enemy or an ally."

As if he had no other choice, Foolish Chaos spoke first.

"Let me answer that question first. Originally, I was an enemy. However, now I am only half so."

The vague words furrowed Mimir's brow.

"Half so..."

"I am both an enemy and an ally at the same time. Or perhaps I am neither."

Complicated and enigmatic words.

But Mimir understood the meaning behind them.

"It seems you have something you want from me."

"That's right."

A laugh mingled with the voice.

With a dismissive gesture toward Susanoo and Diablo, who displayed their murderous energy, Foolish Chaos extended his hand toward Mimir.

"I have come to make a deal with you."

KO-FI