Leveling with the Gods
chapter-512

C512

Firee, firee~

The Golden Cinder Eyes burned.

The view, shaking as if dizzy, expanded like it had hundreds of eyes, encompassing the entire battlefield at a glance.

"Ugh..."

Son OhGong, wielding Ru Yi Bang, suddenly staggered.

The highly coveted High-Ranker ability, the Golden Cinder Eyes.

Eyes that penetrated truth and saw the world in a glance.

In other words, the Golden Cinder Eyes were a maximization of the power of "eyes."

Therefore, at this moment, Son OhGong felt an impulse to want to rip those eyes of his even more.

Son OhGong entered the impending purple wave.

Something tightly grabbed Son OhGong's ankle.

Suddenly, Son OhGong's gaze lowered. At some point, the ground had transformed into a soft and viscous swamp.

"Is it you?"

The subject's name appeared in Son OhGong's eyes.

[The Source of Uncleanliness]

"...Abhoth."

Hundreds, thousands of arms emerged from the ground. Those hands dragged OhGong deeper into the swamp.

Abhoth.

A swamp named The Source of Uncleanliness, possessing a color as impure as its name indicated.

Chiing-.

A hot and unpleasant sensation that the ankle was melting.

Probably, if it weren't Son OhGong but a common Ranker, he would have sunk into the swamp, turning into poison that would melt into his body.

But...

Light emanated around OhGong's head. Through Ru Yi Bang gripped in his hand, Arcane Power slowly rose.

['Traitor of the Celestial Realm' is active]

['Celestial Floor' is activated]

[The "Monkey King"...]

The story that Son OhGong had been writing up until now.

The Myths began to shine.

And those names intertwined.

['Journey to the West' is activated]

Finally, it was born as a complete Myth.

"Grow..."

Boooom-!

Ru Yi Bang wrapped in Arcane Power.

"Ruyi (如意)."

Kwuuuush-!

Scaaar-!

At Son OhGong's request, Ru Yi Bang elongated, cutting through the swamp.

Or rather.

Zzujjeojjeojjeo-!

From the start, Ru Yi Bang didn't seem to be aiming only at the swamp but had split the earth in two, cutting through various mountains and thousands of Outers.

One strike from OhGong was enough to boost the morale of the allies fighting under his leadership.

"...Monkey."

Even Asura, who participated in the battle as an individual, not as a Guild.

"Really. It's legendary."

Chun Mujin, the Heavenly Demon, who observed the scene, was also amazed.

"The monster is fully formed."

Odin, leading the battlefield, too.

Impacted by OhGong's unique attack, he momentarily paused in his actions.

The traces of Ru Yi Bang, created in the swamp and the land, looked more like those of a sword than a staff.

Booong-.

Ru Yi Bang returned to OhGong's hands.

OhGong, who had lifted the swamp of Abhoth from the ground, stepped on the air several times and jumped upward.

Then, he let out a shout.

"Aaaah!"

Zzweoek-!

He extended his fists and swung Ru Yi Bang.

If his hands weren't enough, he would kick with his legs, and if even that wasn't enough, he would bite with his teeth.

Crack!, Bang!

Sssh!

Son OhGong's eyes, who had ripped the skin off an Outer with his teeth, turned wild.

In his head, he recalled a recent conversation he had with a man.

"Do you want to live as a human, born as a Yokai?"

That man had a black dot on his forehead, which could be a mole or a wart.

He introduced himself as the Tripitaka Monk*. (Note: It is an honorary title given to Buddhist monks proficient in the three collections of Buddhist sacred texts known as Tripitaka. These collections are: Sutra, Vinaya, Abhidharma)

He was the person who possessed the Law (法経) and the beginning of the Myths that Son OhGong had created: Journey to the West, etc.

It wasn't the first time they had met. In the future, Son OhGong had also encountered him.

But for some reason, even though it was the same person, the questions Tripitaka posed were very different.

"Do you realize that's greed?"

The Tripitaka Monk.

He looked through Son OhGong.

He was so profound that not even the Golden Cinder Eyes could see him. Master Tripitaka pulled out the oath that Son OhGong had buried since he was born in Flowers and Fruit Mountain and placed it in front of him.

"Do you really want to live as a human?"

Son OhGong's answer had already been determined for a long time.

"Of course."

"...I see."

The Tripitaka Monk nodded as if he already knew.

But that wasn't the only thing he knew.

"Perhaps because of that, your companions might die more."

Son OhGong's gaze shook for the first time.

A gaze that saw everything. Although uncomfortable, Son OhGong didn't avoid it.

"Don't you know either? Saying you want to live as a human doesn't mean you can live as a human. Essence cannot be changed with actions or expressions."

The words of the Tripitaka Monk stabbed into Son OhGong's heart. Although he wanted to deny it and cover his ears, Son OhGong didn't.

It was a story he had to hear.

This was simply a Trial.

Everything he had to endure and overcome.

But...

"Hey, bald bastard, what do you know?"

Although it was a Trial, patience seemed insufficient to bear the growing irritation.

Still, they say patience bears all.

Son OhGong, mentally reviewing words he didn't even know how to pronounce, barely held back the fist that was about to be unleashed.

"I don't want to live as a Yokai. Neither do I nor my older brother."

"Are you going to live repressing your nature?"

"I never thought about that."

"No, you think that way. I'm not a Yokai. I'm not like them. I'm not a monster that tears flesh, opens entrails, and drinks blood."

Master Tripitaka's eyes softened.

"Did you really not think about it?"

Zap!

Son OhGong's mind returned to reality for a moment.

Long, sharp tentacles pierced his back. It was the change caused by that impact.

But.

The voice that cornered him continued to resonate in his head.

"That's just self-hypnosis. You probably don't want to live like that. With humans, having a family, having friends."

Family. Friends.

Those soft and warm words had clung to his side until now.

They didn't exist for Yokai.

No.

They couldn't exist.

"Even if you desire it, enjoying the fight is simply a basic instinct that you can't suppress."

Crack!

Son Goku's claws tore through the Outers connected to the tentacle stretching across his back.

His claws, standing upright like needles.

They left a clear mark in the air.

"But you know."

"Shut up...!"

"Will you not regret the upcoming battle?"

"Shut up!"

Clack!

Son OhGong clenched his teeth.

The sound of his teeth grinding echoed in his ears. His eyes widened, and the desire to kill or shred something stirred within him.

Clack!

He tightly gripped Ru Yi Bang.

I am Son OhGong.

The Great Sage, Heaven's Equal. The Monkey King...

Many names echoed in his mind as he headed towards the Outers, fearing that his claws would soon turn against the Rankers behind him.

"You are a Yokai, OhGong."

The voice that called him familiarly.

But that assertion hit Son OhGong's heart more than any other word.

"Accept that. Otherwise, you'll just stay in that place."

Drip~

As sharp fangs pierced his lips, blood flowed.

Feeling the pain, Son OhGong tightly gripped Ru Yi Bang.

"I also... know that..."

It was a response he couldn't give at that moment.

"But that... is... boring, isn't it?"

He knew he wanted to live as a human and not as a Yokai.

Yokai.

They were beings that stood between humans and demons, and in this world, they were known as Yokai.

But not all were like that.

Son OhGong and the Bull Demon King.

Because there were also those who lived mixed with humans, like them.

However.

"Don't you want to win?"

With those words from Tripitaka, Son OhGong could no longer remain stubborn.

"If I lose, there will be nothing."

He regretted it.

If he had made the same decision in the future.

Although he might not have won, maybe he could have lived longer.

That's why Son OhGong had no choice but to despair.

"Gaaaah-!"

Ripping with his nails, wielding Ru Yi Bang.

Simple, but Son OhGong didn't stop.

Crack!

It was a fierce fight to despair.

His companions watched the fight.

Asura felt admiration for the first time in his life at seeing that scene.

'What kind of fight is that...?'

Sweat broke out on the four hands holding the sword.

The two Asuras watching Son OhGong had the same eyes at that moment.

"I had never seen anyone fight like that before."

The first head spoke.

The second head also had the same impression.

Asura knew well of his abilities. He himself admitted internally that he wasn't as powerful as beings like Son OhGong, Hercules, or Odin.

But Asura had never respected any of them, nor had he looked up to them.

Until that moment, that was the case.

"I don't want to lose."

"Then move already. Don't be lazy."

"...Alright."

At the scolding of the first head, Asura nodded. Soon, a red energy sprouted from behind him like a flame, and his human form disappeared.

Not only Asura was stimulated.

Whoosh!

Lee Rangjin wielded his weapon, creating a strong gust of wind.

"Haha-."

While swinging his weapon, he looked at Son OhGong.

"You've strayed too far."

He still remembered that story as if it were happening now.

For him, who had existed since ancient times, the great battle between the Celestial Realm and the Yokai, including The Great Sage, Heaven's Equal, was not a distant story.

At that time, Lee Rangjin faced Son OhGong for several days.

But the Son OhGong of then and the one now were completely different.

On the other hand...

The Bull Demon King averted his gaze from Son OhGong.

"Finally..."

He had thought that this moment would come at some point.

But when it finally arrived, he couldn't help but feel complicated.

Looking at the sky...

Son OhGong was still fighting.

Crack!

Son OhGong released his Arcane Power while breathing heavily. From start to finish, he led the way by knocking down more enemies than anyone else.

"Hu, hoo-."

The Golden Cinder Eyes were still lit.

Son OhGong looked around. Outers filled the sky. The ground had finally cleared, but even that was only temporary.

Whoosh!

Son OhGong was fighting against the two.

The enemies of this fight, the Outers.

And within him, his Yokai form.

"I admit it."

He couldn't afford to lose apathetically in this fight.

The current him had achieved the Myth of Journey to the West and had been freed from the seal of the Golden Diadem.

Even if he couldn't return to how he was before, he didn't mind.

"I am..."

Red and gold.

Two colors coexisted in his eyes.

Blinking those eyes, Son OhGong declared as if making a promise.

"A Yokai."