Chapter 314
C314
YuWon had thought of Tartarus as a world for the dead.
A vast ocean composed of mana and numerous souls swimming within it.
YuWon's soul had glimpsed it, dipped a toe into Tartarus, and saw the surface of the world.
However...
Once he fully stepped into Tartarus, everything was completely different from what he had known until then.
Crack, crack...
["The 'King of the Dead' wishes for you to break the wall"]
The true name of the "King of the Dead" that YuWon possessed turned out to be Tartarus.
Tartarus was the King of the Dead. He was the owner of that small world where YuWon found himself; he was the very world itself.
Here, he was like a God.
And YuWon, with the power he possessed, was the same.
The power of the title within Tartarus was absolute.
The cage in front of him was a wall built by Uranus. But with the power he possessed, breaking that wall was not such a difficult task.
Puff-.
The remnants of the cage turned to dust and dispersed.
Uranus's eyes flickered as he saw it, and Chronos and Odin, who held him back, rejoiced internally.
'Good.'
'It's true.'
The cage vanished.
The Giants of Tartarus cheered.
-I can't believe it, it's true...!
-The cage has disappeared!
-We are free!
Thump, thump, thump...
The Giants stepped out with heavy strides.
It was at that moment that Chronos's ability was deactivated...
Whoosh...
Uranus turned his body.
Boom!
A golden lightning bolt burst toward the rushing Giants.
The Giants were pushed like waves. Although some Giants managed to resist, Uranus's lightning was too powerful to be endured by the body alone.
However...
-Uranus!
-There's Uranus!
-Kill him!
The number of Giants was not just one or two.
Thump, thump, thump...
The disappearance of the cage and the Giants that opened their eyes in the darkness were like a great wave.
It was unknown from where they had emerged, but with clubs the size of their forearms gripped in their hands, they charged toward Uranus.
YuWon felt the momentum of the Giants passing by his side.
Countless years had passed, difficult to measure in time.
The accumulated resentment during those long years could not be simply judged by levels or values of Arcane Power.
"It has finally come to this."
Thud...
Chronos approached YuWon's side.
While his gaze remained fixed on the Giants, he spoke with a concerned voice.
"The victory or defeat in this fight is no longer as important."
The frenzied cries of the Giants resonated in his ears. The Giants moved driven by their desire for revenge against Uranus and Olympus.
Even if Uranus won this fight.
Once the Giants were out of Tartarus, bloodshed would reign once more.
But...
"Don't worry."
YuWon thought Chronos's concern was unwarranted.
"How can I not worry..."
"They can't leave anyway."
"What?"
Chronos seemed baffled, as if he didn't understand what that meant.
Unfortunately, there was no way to answer that question. YuWon also didn't have a clear way to explain it.
'Alive, but not really alive.'
That's what YuWon saw in their eyes.
The King of the Dead. The souls of the Giants trapped in Tartarus.
'Foolish and wretched souls who believe they're still alive.'
Once the Giants were trapped in Tartarus, there was no way for them to leave. They were already dead.
Tartarus was a refuge for the dead. The time the living could spend here did not even exceed a day.
The Giants had been trapped here for thousands of years.
They were already on the border between the living and the dead.
Unless the King of the Dead in Tartarus allowed it, there was no way for them to leave of their own volition.
Uranus's arrival in Tartarus walking on his own was a unique opportunity for the Giants.
'Susanoo.'
While Uranus was busy dealing with Odin and the Giants, YuWon called out to Susanoo.
"The King of the Dead" was the title YuWon obtained after going through Susanoo's Dungeon.
-What's going on?
'Don't you have anything to say?'
-Are you saying that the true owner of this title was Tartarus?
I see.
Susanoo also realized it. It wasn't surprising that Susanoo, who had wielded that power for over a thousand years, noticed what YuWon had discovered.
-I didn't know either. I obtained this title as a reward after becoming a Ranker.
The trial for becoming a Ranker is special.
As the final floor of the Tower, the trial granted each Player a special test suited for them.
There were no Administrators or Supervisors in this Trial.
Only the will of the System overseeing the Trial existed.
"You obtained it by passing the Trial? What kind of Trial was it?"
-It was a trial of putting the souls of only 10,000 players into the sword.
"10,000 souls?"
Since the content of the Trial was different for each individual, there were various opinions among the Rankers.
From stories that the Trial differed according to each Ranker's personality, to stories that the rewards varied depending on the composition of the Trial.
The difficulty was also different for each, with some Rankers easily ascending to the top while others with much better abilities failed the Trial dozens or hundreds of times.
10,000 souls.
It wasn't an easy type of Trial.
One couldn't go down the stairs and do the Trial from the lower floors, and a Player on the top of the Tower wouldn't be much different from a Ranker.
"You're pretty good yourself."
YuWon could see how Susanoo had reached such a high rank.
It also solved part of the mystery of how Susanoo had managed to kill so many Players, making him one of the worst assassins in the history of the Tower.
"King of the Dead..."
This was the first time YuWon truly felt the power of that title.
In his previous life, Hades had never been able to find Tartarus, he recalled, because he had tried for years, and Chronos had never revealed its existence to him.
But this time was different.
["The 'King of the Dead' is furious"]
The Giants of this world.
The walls that imprisoned the people of Tartarus.
Tartarus, the King of the Dead, was furious with Uranus, the builder of that wall.
Even if they're dead, they're still his subordinates, right?
"The power of this title is exerted in Tartarus."
The title seethed.
The King of the Dead.
He knew more clearly than ever how to wield the power of that title.
For example, to mention one.
"Arise."
Shhh-.
YuWon's eyes turned black.
Within his field of vision, he entered the inside of Tartarus.
Numerous souls writhing as they slept were glimpsed.
"Oh, undead who cannot die."
----------------------
BANG!
A Giant's foot crushed Uranus's body.
The corners of the Giant's mouth curved upwards, as if the anger he had been harboring for so long had been released.
But only for a moment.
Kuuuk-.
The Giant's foot lifted. In the blink of an eye, the Giant flew off into the distance.
Flash-!
A light shot out from where Uranus was.
At the same time, a black spear shot towards the Giants.
Bang!
A spear with the power of both light and darkness, two diametrically opposed attributes.
Holes were opened in the bodies of the Giants, who fell to the ground, and the charging Giants wavered.
And in the midst of that...
Swoosh!
A spear passed by Uranus's head.
"Is it you again?"
Hmm, hmm.
Odin grasped another spear in his hand and prepared to throw it one by one.
As the Giants faced Uranus, Odin prepared by throwing one spear after another with precision.
Each of them was a dreadful spear charged with various spells to increase its power.
"The young king of Asgard, seems to have some value."
Greed shone in Uranus's eyes.
Each of the Giants possessed the strength of a High-Ranker, and they were all brothers of the same blood, having climbed the Tower and become Rankers alongside Uranus himself.
That's why he planned to devour those locked behind the iron bars of Tartarus.
But his plan fell apart from the beginning.
"Food tastes better after going through hardships."
Thrrr, thrrr-.
Uranus's magic crackled, creating a net.
The net entangled the Giants. At the same time, Odin's spear flew towards Uranus, aiming for his head once again.
At that moment...
Crack-.
Uranus firmly held the spear flying towards him and returned it to Odin with all his strength.
Bang!
"…!"
Odin's body staggered as he narrowly dodged the spear. It would have been a tragedy if he had been a little slower and lost his life on his own spear.
But the calmness lasted only for a moment.
"First…".
Right in front of him, Uranus reached out his hand.
"I'll devour you."
Crash-!
"Kuck!"
Gripped by the throat, Odin was slammed into the ground. He felt Uranus's hand tightening, experiencing such intense pain that it seemed his neck would break at any moment.
He had to free himself.
But he simply couldn't do it in any way.
It wasn't just because Uranus's power was strong.
'Arcane Power...'
Odin's Arcane Power hadn't moved from the moment he was in Uranus's clutches.
What the hell?
A question mark formed in his mind. As he ascended along the arm gripping his neck, he could see Uranus's face.
His eyes gleamed violet.
Every time he used magic, he felt his Arcane Power being absorbed through his hands.
At that moment...
Bang!
A Giant's fist slammed down on Uranus's head. A water barrier protected Uranus's head, but it only lasted an instant.
The barrier protecting his body broke. Uranus no longer had time or space to hold onto Odin's neck.
The fist didn't stop with just one hit.
Crack!
"Guh!"
Odin spat blood from his mouth from the punch that struck his body. It was such a powerful blow that it felt like his back would break.
-You move quite well to dodge punches.
"You're slow."
-We'll see how long your arrogant mouth can keep yapping.
Thud.
The Giants weren't afraid.
No.
Anger consumed their fear. They moved solely in search of revenge against Uranus.
As if that was the sole meaning of their existence up until now.
"What a headache."
And this madness was precisely what worried Uranus the most.
Those beings who weren't afraid of death were much more dangerous than their original power.
The Giants before him were blinded by the desire for vengeance, having been betrayed by Uranus and imprisoned in Tartarus.
"The dinner I was expecting has turned into a disaster."
But it didn't matter.
Either way, they would all enter his belly.
He would devour them all, sating himself on them.
What he desired to have would soon be in his hands, in the not too distant future.
And so, it began.
Gulp-.
Before them stood the largest Giant.
"For now, just one."
Creak-.
Something opened deep within Uranus. A strong appetite surged, and Uranus's pupils turned completely violet.
It was at that moment that Uranus attempted to move...
Crack-.
Something grabbed his foot and wouldn't let go.
They were heavy and powerful claws.
"This is...".
Uranus looked down and saw the hands gripping his foot.
Thousands, tens of thousands of tormented souls.
They clutched Uranus's foot and dragged him towards Tartarus.
And in that precise moment when he discovered it...
"What have you done?"
In Uranus's eyes appeared the one who had become the King of this world.
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