Leveling with the Gods
chapter-455

C455

OhGong stopped shouting.

The pain didn't disappear. It simply changed completely in nature from a headache to something entirely mental.

However...

-Get here quickly.

In Son OhGong's view, a familiar face finally appeared.

-Tathagata.

In the midst of the visual connection between Tathagata and Son OhGong, YuWon's face reflected in Son OhGong's golden eyes.

"Puhaha!"

Son OhGong burst into laughter.

Interestingly, he only smiled with half of his face. Even one eye was laughing, while the other remained completely serious.

'What did I say? Didn't I say he would come soon?'

Son OhGong murmured to himself, unable to express his thoughts in words.

He remembered the messages he sent to YuWon before his mind was absorbed by Tathagata.

He had asked for help, so YuWon would surely come. Son OhGong trusted in that.

But he omitted the explanation of where the Celestial Floor was.

'That bastard, it's already over.'

'It's a useless belief.'

'Stupid. Just because you don't know it well...'

'I know. Because I know you. I even know the name, Kim YuWon, which remains strongly in your memories.'

Son OhGong's mouth corner slowly dropped at Tathagata's words.

'That guy has defeated anyone who faced him, but he has never defeated you even once. I speak in terms of strength.'

"...And then?"

"Kim YuWon will face Son OhGong. So the result won't be different."

Son OhGong, who had obtained the Buddhist Scriptures and freed himself from the shackles of the Golden Headband.

And the will of Tathagata contained in that Golden Headband.

What YuWon faced now was both Tathagata and Son OhGong. And according to what Tathagata had seen in Son OhGong's memories, YuWon had never defeated OhGong before.

But...

'Well...'

Despite knowing that, Son OhGong's thoughts were different.

'Perhaps, that's because he doesn't intend to win.'

'Doesn't intend to win?'

'In our first meeting, he was considerably below me, but later... well...'

The doubts he had every time he fought YuWon.

'He is weaker than me, but much smarter.'

Did YuWon really fight himself without knowing he would lose?

Tathagata's words were not wrong either. But Son OhGong couldn't help but have expectations in this situation.

Did YuWon really come here with no confidence in winning?

Step, step-.

YuWon walked through the temple following the Bull Demon King.

Well, more precisely, it was the place that used to be a temple. The temple they walked through was completely in ruins, with collapsed buildings and disturbed ground, forming an unrecognizable shape of what it used to be.

If it weren't for the main gate, he wouldn't have even known it was a temple.

As they walked through the ruined temple...

'Is it a hall?'

A building that seemed to be in perfect condition caught YuWon's attention.

While everything around him was in ruins, this place in the center of the temple showed not a single imperfection.

This couldn't be a coincidence.

YuWon stopped for a moment and looked at the Hall.

"What happened here?"

"It's solid."

In other words, it meant that it wouldn't easily break even in a fight.

Seeing YuWon's perplexed expression, the Bull Demon King shrugged.

Who would ask something like that without knowing?

The Bull Demon King said his fight with Son OhGong had lasted almost ten days. During that time, everything around them collapsed, but the only place that didn't break was this hall.

It was a strange phenomenon.

YuWon stared at the Hall for a moment.

"What's wrong?"

"Hyung-nim."

"Yes."

"I have a request."

"A request?"

In such an urgent situation?

While looking at the Bull Demon King's perplexed face, YuWon explained what he had in mind. In response, the Bull Demon King thought for a moment and then nodded.

"Understood. If that's the case."

Although he replied that way, the Bull Demon King couldn't shake off the concern.

"Be careful."

"Don't worry. This time, I will win."

"Abba!"

Danpung hanging from his shoulder stood up and followed YuWon's words.

The Bull Demon King looked at Danpung's action with an expression suggesting he found it cute, then carefully stroked Danpung's head with a large hand.

"Yes, yes. Take care of the younger one."

"Abba."

YuWon held Danpung who had spoken to him and put him down by his side.

Normally, he wouldn't have had a problem fighting while holding Danpung. But at this moment, he couldn't fight while carrying Danpung.

With a familiar gesture, YuWon let Danpung slide down and placed him by his side.

Tap~

When YuWon opened the door of the Hall...

"Take care."

The Bull Demon King also turned his body in the opposite direction.

Clunk-.

The door of the Hall slammed shut.

It wasn't YuWon who closed it.

As soon as he entered, it closed automatically.

"And Danpung?"

YuWon, worried about Danpung following him a bit far, turned his head.

Considering Danpung's pace, it must have been difficult to enter before the door closed.

But strangely, Danpung was lifting his head from under YuWon's feet.

"Here."

YuWon showed a relieved expression at Danpung's energetic words.

Indeed...

No matter where or how he fell, Danpung returned as if nothing happened. Thinking about it, in part, it was thanks to Danpung's help that he could defeat Shub-Niggurath.

Although he looked small and weak at first glance, Danpung was someone he didn't have to worry about.

Swoosh-.

After a while, YuWon, who turned forward again, looked at Son OhGong sitting in front of the Buddha statue.

Son OhGong held his head as if it was about to break due to severe headache.

The inside of the Hall where he was sitting was as large as a training ground.

Swoosh-.

Before taking a step, YuWon glanced around the Hall.

Although it seemed to be in perfect condition from the outside, it wasn't on the inside. Scratch marks and dents everywhere were evidence of the battle between the Bull Demon King and Son OhGong.

Thump-.

YuWon approached Son OhGong while reaching for the hilt of his sword, ready to unsheath at any moment.

You never knew when or how the fight would start. YuWon looked at Son OhGong with fiery eyes.

No.

"I told you to get out soon..."

More precisely, he was looking towards Tathagata.

"What are you doing hiding here?"

Swoosh-.

['Golden Cinder Eyes' examines the 'Golden Headband' released]

[Tathagata's will has been discovered]

[The true nature of the 'Golden Headband' has been understood]

The true form of the Golden Headband surrounding Son OhGong's head was finally revealed. YuWon, confirming Tathagata's identity, which was linked to Son OhGong's body through the 'Golden Headband,' sighed at how obvious it was.

'The key is undoubtedly how to remove the 'Golden Headband.'''

Stripping that guy of the 'Golden Headband' wasn't an easy task. Son OhGong, too, had put constant effort into getting rid of the 'Golden Headband,' but in the end, he couldn't achieve it.

The last option was to search for the Buddhist Scriptures on the Celestial Floor, and now he was in this lamentable situation.

"What are you thinking?"

YuWon's gaze narrowed upon hearing Son OhGong's words.

An inappropriate tone of voice.

And a look.

He could sense it from the moment they first met.

That wasn't Son OhGong's presence but that of an entirely different entity.

"This body is truly amazing. Not to mention its nature as a Yŏkai, it has even devoured the Immortal Peaches."

Tathagata smiled satisfied as if he were pleased.

It was understandable that he felt that way.

From the moment the 'Golden Headband' was placed on Son OhGong's head, or even long before that, he had been preparing for this day.

"Was putting the 'Golden Headband' on him a preparation for today?"

"In normal circumstances, he would have led a life as a rampant Yŏkai. Instead of living that life, wouldn't it be better to hand him over to me instead?"

"That's..."

Recalling the words of the Bull Demon King, YuWon realized he wasn't entirely wrong.

Indeed, the Yŏkai power Son OhGong possessed was so overwhelming that not even the Bull Demon King could handle it. The 'Golden Headband' might have played the role of clearing his mind.

'When Son OhGong first received the Buddhist Scriptures, he turned into a monster and went insane. But now things are different than back then.'

What was in front of him now wasn't OhGong, who had turned into a monster and was going insane, but Tathagata, who had been sealed in the Golden Headband.

The situation was more troublesome than expected. It would have been much easier to deal with someone going insane.

"There's nothing good in talking too much."

YuWon looked at Danpung, who was firmly attached to his feet.

"Step back a bit. Now it's my turn."

"Ah, Abba!"

"Don't be stubborn."

Convinced by YuWon's words, Danpung stepped back, puffing up his cheeks. His opponent was the ancient High-Ranker sealed, called Tathagata.

Danpung's role was more prominent when fighting against the Outers. At this moment, he didn't know what to expect.

"Don't worry. Unless you're a Yŏkai or a monster, I have no intentions of killing without reason. And that also applies to you, who has drawn your sword in front of me."

Son OhGong's thumb and index finger joined to form a circle. The energy moving explosively inside Son OhGong's body calmed completely.

As if revealing that he had no intentions of killing.

"You seem to be compassionate, as I heard."

YuWon tightened his grip on the sword and sighed internally.

'I should have hurried more.'

In an instant, regret overwhelmed him.

He regretted not choosing to fight alongside the Bull Demon King.

He felt no notable strength coming from the current Tathagata. Although he should have felt several times more power now that the 'Golden Headband' had been released, Tathagata was perfectly controlling that.

Certainly, he was not an easy opponent.

"It seems you're thinking too much."

Step~

Tathagata approached.

What does that circle really mean?

While YuWon focused on Tathagata's hand in that way...

Swoosh~

YuWon's pupils began to burn, and at the same time, his feet moved.

However...

Giiiiing-.

Unintentionally, the distance between YuWon and Tathagata narrowed one step inward.

Buwooong-.

Tathagata's right hand reached toward YuWon's chest. The circle formed by Tathagata's thumb and index finger touched YuWon's chest just above the heart.

Pwaack-!

"...!"

YuWon's eyes widened as if the impact pierced his heart.

YuWon's body was pushed backward and flew. Feeling the pain in his chest, he barely managed to hold himself up by striking the ground with the sword.

The distance opened up like that.

"The technique I just used is called Demon Killing Palm (觀音掌)."

Surprisingly, Tathagata was already standing behind YuWon, making the distance seem insignificant.

A movement that not even the Eyes of Foreknowledge could easily track.

"This is called Dharma Crossing the River. In my old days, I crossed a river with this."

He talked a lot.

There was no reason to wait.

Shiiing-.

Kwaang-!

While Tathagata spoke those words, YuWon's sword flew towards the 'Golden Headband.'

It was a sword infused with the power of Lightning. Surely, it was a speed that not even elite High-Rankers could easily follow with their eyes.

However...

Click~

That sword stopped between Tathagata's fingers, as if it were unbelievable.

Incredibly hard to believe.

YuWon's pupils trembled.

"This is called Empty-Handed. In short, it's an initial technique involving grabbing a sharp weapon with bare hands."

Swoosh-.

The remaining hand...

"And this is-."

Thud-.

Tathagata's other hand, this time, touched YuWon's abdomen.

"It's the Martial Art called Hundred Steps Divine Fist. A move that covers a hundred steps."