“An invitation?” Yeon-woo had a look of indignation because he knew all this talk about “negotiations” was just an attempt to stop him.
On the other hand, the gods and demons watching them seemed to be quite shocked.
[Many gods are taken aback by the announcement from <Malach>!]
[A few gods look at you with envy for being invited by <Malach>!]
[Many demons are surprised.]
Eden… It wasn’t an exaggeration to say the legends of absolute good were most prevalent in the world, and Eden was a great holy territory that held an important part in those legends. It was known as the first land, and was also famous for being the residence of many angels. Considering how Malach had a special status out of all the godly societies, being invited to such a place was a great honor.
Only the greatest members of a society were invited, and they had to have some important reason to enter Eden. By inviting Yeon-woo to Eden, Malach essentially acknowledged him as not just a star prospect of the heavenly world but as a being on the same level as him.
In a way, such treatment was unsurprising since Yeon-woo was now Olympus’ supreme god. But he still had the soul of a mortal, so this came as a surprise. This was the first time a mortal was invited to Eden, except for the being in the past who had been exiled after committing a grave sin.
『The celestial scribe wishes to meet with you and have a lengthy conversation.』Although Michael was speaking politely, his gaze hinted at his extreme amusement of the situation. If Yeon-woo refused the invitation, Michael could use that as a reason to start a colossal fight, and if he accepted, that was also amusing in its own way.
Yeon-woo was about to tell Michael to stop speaking nonsense and go away when Brahm’s voice was suddenly transmitted through their connection.『Accept it.』Yeon-woo spun to look toward the entrance of the gate.
Dududu! Brahm was still in the midst of an intense battle with Zeus. Every time he flipped the pages of his book, various skills were activated, and Zeus created his lightning bolts to deflect the attacks.
‘Are you alright?’
『I’m more than alright. Don’t treat me like I’m old. I’m still good.』
Hahaha. Brahm’s laughter rang out and reached where Yeon-woo was. He looked at ease, being able to chuckle as he fought Zeus.
『Anyway, back to the subject at hand.』Brahm continued to speak in a solemn tone.『It’s clear they have something in mind, but I think it would be best for you to visit now.』
Yeon-woo tried to look at the situation logically. ‘Isn’t it obvious they’re trying to stop me from interfering in the battle royale by inviting me?’
『So you should accept their invitation for now. Then, you’ll be able to request something from them. A give and take needs to occur for a trade to take place.』
‘Request something? What?’
『Don’t forget our mission. Your resentment of the Sea of Time must be great, but we have something to take care of before that.』
‘Ah!’ Yeon-woo finally felt something flash across his mind. He could then hear Brahm laughing.
『You get it now?』
‘…Yes.’
『Payback is important, but you can do that anytime. Inheriting accomplishments is more important. These were his last wishes, weren’t they?』
‘But what about you…?!’
『You don’t trust me?』
Yeon-woo sighed heavily at Brahm’s question. ‘Of course I do.’
『Then trust me. I’ve leeched off of you all this time, so I should do something now, eh?』Brahm laughed again.『And now that I’m here, I want to do that one and only god thing before I leave. I have no attachments to fighting, but I want to explore new power.』
Yeon-woo had no choice but to be convinced by Brahm's sincere words. He said, ‘Understood, sir. Then I’ll return soon, so please be careful.’
『You take care of yourself. You’re going to be surrounded by beings who have been waiting for you to come.』
Yeon-woo laughed along with Brahm this time. ‘All the better for me. I have no reason to refuse when they’re stepping up to becoming fertilizer for Olympus themselves.’
『What a temper. Haha! Well, I do like this side of you, which is different from Jeong-woo.』Brahm stopped talking, flipping the book to its final page. The shadows soared high like a tsunami and it whipped around Zeus.
Yeon-woo decided not to interfere with Brahm’s business anymore. If he stepped up here, he’d be hurting Brahm’s pride instead of helping him. ‘Maybe the reason why Brahm didn’t contact anyone wasn’t that he was in danger, but because he wanted to get to Harmonia with his own strength.’
It seemed Brahm wanted to see the end with Harmonia purely with his own abilities. That was probably the reason why he participated in the battle royale since it meant he’d be able to reach Harmonia sooner.
Yeon-woo turned back to look at the Head Elder. “The Sea of Time might try something again. I’ll leave this place to you, sir.”
“Alright. Be careful.”
“Thank you.” Yeon-woo bowed and strapped Vigrid on his back as he turned to Michael. “Lead the way.”
* * *
When Michael looked up at the sky, a massive column of light descended. It was the Path to Heaven that only prophets who were chosen in Malach’s legends could climb. The light embraced Yeon-woo.
[The godly society <Malach> has invited you to their great holy territory ‘Eden!’]
[The territory is on the ninety-eight floor. You do not meet the qualifications to enter.]
[The system key (snake) is activating.]
[The qualifications are met, and you are being transported to ‘Eden.’]
When Yeon-woo opened his eyes to the bombardment of messages, he was standing atop a beautiful rainbow-colored cloud.
[This is the ninety-eight floor, the gate of the Heavenly World.]
[Your current status is ‘High Guardian.’ You cannot perform the trials of this floor.]
The cloud flew in the sky above vast fields. The land was so wide that it seemed to be as great as most continents, exuding immense holy power. Yeon-woo had experienced multiple holy territories, but no place had ever had energy this pure. He felt like he was being purified just by looking at it. ‘That’s…Eden.’
It was also known as Mount Eden. The four rivers of Pishon, Gihon, Hiddeckel, and Euphrates flowed throughout the land, and luxurious trees had grown with the water’s nourishment. Yeon-woo heard the Tree of Life and the tree that bore the Fruit of Good was also there.
Just then, Michael pulled out a cane and struck the ground. A staircase headed to Eden was created.『Please climb.』
Just then, a group of tens of beings descended down to Yeon-woo.『We will escort you.』They were the divine beings of Olympus led by Athena. It seemed they have come to protect Yeon-woo since he was their supreme god. Most of them were unfamiliar faces that Yeon-woo had never seen before. On the contrary…
『Lots of familiar faces.』
When Kronos changed into his human form, everyone bowed towards the ground with shocked faces.『L-Lord Kronos!』
『Y-Your Majesty!』Everyone knew Kronos was moving with Yeon-woo, but they felt their hearts thumping faster now that they were actually face to face with him.
『It’s nice to see everyone. Have you all been well?』
『We…!』
『I know. It’s difficult for you to answer that. All of you must have had a hard time because of me.』
『…』
『But it’s still nice to see everyone like this.』
Yeon-woo laughed inwardly as he watched. He found it slightly strange to see his father being so grave when he’d only seen his father be imperfect all this time. But he knew that his father showed up to try showing him his legitimate right to the throne.
Most of the beings in that crowd probably still doubted Yeon-woo, who was a supreme god who couldn’t ascend to the heavenly world. Some might ask how a king who couldn’t even sit on his throne could be a king.
However, the only reason why no one had been able to argue was that Athena and the others were too intimidating, and it was purely Yeon-woo’s strength that had seized Olympus back from the Titans and Gigantes.
But now, the missing Zeus had appeared again. Thus, it was understandable that the divine beings would try to weigh which side was more beneficial for themselves. Although Yeon-woo had sat on the throne of the king of gods, there was no reason for Zeus to be disqualified from the position. Poseidon and the others had lost Olympus, but Zeus had only been afflicted with the Heavenly Demon Disease.
Additionally, now that Zeus was demonstrating his prowess in the battle royale, Yeon-woo could see some divine beings would support him. ‘This would be the root of disorder within Olympus.’
Since the divine beings needed to decide who to side with, they had probably all come over to see Yeon-woo for themselves. And now, Kronos had appeared and was supporting Yeon-woo, so the balance was tilted toward Yeon-woo again.
Even though Kronos was kicked out as he vanquished, there were still many people waiting for him. If he wished to gather people, there would probably be a large number of beings who would follow him. Kronos’ reputation was still intact, after all.
Athena watched the battle of wits with a worried expression. She thought everything had ended after defeating the Titans and Gigantes, but she now faced another struggle. The two beings on opposing sides happened to be her father and favorite uncle.
『It’s alright.』As if comforting Athena, Yeon-woo’s message quietly arrived.
Flinch. Athena jumped.
『Do as you wish. I won’t resent you for whatever decision you make. What you’ve already done for me has been a huge help for Jeong-woo and myself.』
『…』
Yeon-woo’s words made Athena even more at odds with her feelings.
『I’ve received news from above. They say there are limits to how many people can come with you, so you can’t enter with all these members.』
The gods of Olympus stiffened.『He is our king. We can’t let security be so lax where our king goes…!』
『Olympus thinks of Malach as a dangerous entity. Can I think that?』Michael lifted a corner of his mouth. Red flames wrapped around him and disappeared, emitting a clear fighting spirit.
The divine being who had shouted took a step back.『That’s…!』
“Enough. I’ll leave for Eden with Athena.”
『That’s fine.』Michael smiled lightly and stepped back. Meanwhile, the god of Olympus had extremely red faces, but nothing good would come out of arguing with Michael here.
* * *
After the gods left one by one, Yeon-woo and Athena began to follow Michael up the stairs. While he climbed, Yeon-woo was able to see countless islands below him.
Along the ocean filled with clouds, there were continents many times greater than Eden. Each island looked different. One island looked uninhabited, covered in grass, and another island had a single temple in the middle of a desert. There were also islands full of buildings, and some islands with castles and plants like Machu Picchu. The various environments and styles didn’t suggest any unity. It was unrealistic, like seeing a broad world in a game.
“The bodies floating above the sea of clouds are godly societies. I heard the demonic societies aren’t islands, but something else. I don’t know the specifics,” Athena saw where Yeon-woo’s gaze was headed and spoke with a smile. She realized that this was his first time in the heavenly world.
“They’re all big.”
“They are, but they’re small to us. Very small.”
Yeon-woo nodded.
Since they were once creatures who moved freely throughout the vast universes, the islands must’ve felt small to them. And since they needed to maintain their human form to ensure maximized space, it was no doubt uncomfortable. ‘Based on how Eden is the only society on a higher level… Was the hierarchy of societies intentional? The holy power exuded by the island is calm and naturally makes you bow.’ Yeon-woo felt like he understood Malach’s philosophies.
『We’ve arrived.』
Yeon-woo and Athena stopped. At the end of the stairs, there was a middle-aged man with wings who reached the ground. He was Metatron, with intellectual eyes.『Welcome.』
Next to Metatron, there was another being. The man had dark black eyes. The black wings on his back showed that he was a demon and not an angel. He was a being who didn’t belong in Mount Eden.『Hello. We finally meet like this.』He was the leader of the absolute evil L’Infernal, Baal.
