Chapter 392 – Side Story 7   - Kronos (7)

Kim Gil-Gyu’s energy was explosive and was seemingly flooding this space. Choi Leah and Kronos could only watch him in awe.

“Jupiter…? But isn’t your name Kim Gil-Gyu?” Leah asked. However, Kim Gil-Gyu wasn’t even looking at her—his eyes were on Kronos, who remained silent.

They didn’t glare at each other like earlier anymore. An awkward silence fell, but Kim Gil-Gyu broke it. “Let’s just get rid of that giant first.”

“All right,” Choi Leah answered, but Kronos continued to gaze at Kim Gil-Gyu.

“Annoying bastard,” Kim Gil-Gyu muttered before sprinting off. His movement shook the ground, and he quickly vanished out of sight.

“He has so much power… I think this might work,” Leah said in excitement after witnessing Kim Gil-Gyu, a.k.a. Jupiter’s power. But when Kronos didn’t answer, she asked, “What are you doing?”

Kronos stood still while Leah looked at him in confusion. After a while, Kronos finally whispered, “Jupiter…”

Leah realized that something had changed in Kronos, but she didn’t know what to do. Thankfully, after a few minutes, Kronos looked slightly more relaxed as he announced, “We should go as well.”

Leah nodded, unsure of what to say. Kronos still had a strange look in his eyes, and she wasn’t sure if she should console or try to cheer him up. Leaving her behind, Kronos followed Jupiter.

***

Boom! Boom!

Explosions had seemingly occupied the entire floor. Jupiter, Kronos, and Choi Leah rushed as Uranus attacked them. The giant was missing one arm, but he was still a formidable opponent.

“Ugh!” Kronos groaned as the giant tried to crush him with his arm.

“Hup!” Choi Leah quickly attacked Uranus to free Kronos. “Are you okay?”

“Thank you.” When Kronos thanked her, Leah blushed.

Boom!

Meanwhile, Jupiter was busy attacking Uranus’ torso. Looking confused, Leah asked Kronos, “I don’t understand what’s happening. You feel it too, don’t you?”

Kronos nodded and replied, “We’re getting stronger as we fight him.”

“Exactly.” Kronos and Choi Leah looked up at the sky. Leah whispered, “There is definitely something between you and that guy.”

How could anyone become stronger this quickly during a battle? It was unheard of. Yet, that was exactly what was happening in front of her. The growing magic storm told her that the impossible was happening.

“Perhaps there really is something between that child and me…” Kronos said. Then, an explosion occurred in the sky.

Kaboom!

Jupiter had landed a direct hit on the giant’s chest. Thick smoke spread everywhere.

“Did we win…?” asked Leah.

“No, we’re just getting started,” Kronos answered.

Not long after, something small began raining down. Leah opened her palm to catch what looked like a black peel.

“Huh…?” Leah stared at it; suddenly, the piece began wiggling, so she quickly threw it away. “What the hell was that?”

“I thought this might happen, but… I really should’ve killed him with my last attack.” Kronos’s eyes darkened in worry. “He’s shaking off the grimes of Chaos.” “Grimes of Chaos?”

“Chaos latched onto him over a long period. It made him stronger, but it also suppressed his unique power.”

“What are you talking about?”

Whir.

The magic scythe, which had disappeared, reappeared in his hands. He explained, “I’m saying that the real fight is about to begin, and it will turn this place into hell. The Chaos grime will turn into monsters and…”

Kronos looked back and forth between Uranus and Jupiter. Jupiter had hit Uranus, but he didn’t look happy.

“After Uranus shakes off Chaos, his real power will return. The longer we drag this out, the worse it will be for us.” Kronos began floating in the air. Leah tried to follow him, but a monster suddenly grabbed her ankle. The black peels, Chaos grime, were starting to turn into monsters.

“Kyaaa!” Leah swung her sword at the grotesque creatures. She had killed it with a single strike; shockingly, the monster regenerated immediately.

‘This is getting even more dangerous.’?Choi Leah looked at Kronos’ back before turning to see where the newbies were. She wondered if they would survive this battle. Even more black peels fell from the sky.

‘I hope they make it…’?She considered saving them, but she knew it was pointless. The only way to truly save everyone was to kill the beast in the sky.

“Huh…?” Leah was about to return to the battle when she paused. “What?!”

The sky shook as the giant ripped it further to enter the floor. The sky shattered like a window getting struck by a boulder.

“Oh… my god.”

The sky was falling.

***

“Fuck!” Jupiter swore angrily. He was doing a fair job of cornering Uranus, but the situation had abruptly changed. Uranus’ punches flew at him like a missile, and Jupiter couldn’t dodge them every single time.

“Ugh…” Jupiter groaned when the giant’s fist hit him. This punch felt different from the previous ones. Uranus was certainly powerful, but he was even stronger now after he had shaken off Chaos and ripped open the sky further.

“Are you…” Kronos approached Jupiter and tried to ask, but Jupiter frowned.

“None of your business. Just do your part.”

Unbothered by Jupiter’s rudeness, Kronos explained, “Uranus’s power has been restored.”

“What?”

“His power is unbelievably destructive, and that’s why I used Chaos energy to seal it when I made him the gatekeeper of Gehenna.”

Jupiter had lived a long time and had learned many things, but he wasn’t aware of Uranus’ true power.

“Uranus’ power?” asked Jupiter.

“Yes, it’s the sky.” Kronos announced, “He rules the sky.”

“What does that mean?”

Before Jupiter could finish his question, he felt overwhelming pressure.

‘Is gravity changing?’?Jupiter could feel the gravity rising.

“It’ll get worse. Nothing under the sky can resist his will. His power is absolute.” Kronos made his scythe larger and continued, “I can’t control space now, so I can’t block his power.”

Turning toward Jupiter, Kronos ordered, “Time is against us. We must hurry.” “Don’t order me around,” Jupiter retorted sharply. “Just because we’re fighting that thing together doesn’t mean you are something to me.”

Resentment and bloodthirst filled Jupiter’s eyes as he whispered, “After that thing dies, you’re next.”

“...” Kronos couldn’t say anything for a while, but in the end, he nodded. “All right.”

Still full of hatred, Jupiter glared at Kronor before flying off, seemingly unaffected by the rising gravity. A white and black sword made of Life and Chaos appeared in his hands. Behind him, Kronos followed with his glowing blue scythe.

“I said I can help too!” Choi Leah offered.

The battle resumed quickly.

***

-Kwerrrrrk!

The giant’s roar made the sky crumble further. The players on the ground would have all died from being trampled or burnt if it wasn’t for the Grigories’ sacrifice. Many Grigories and the guides had died to save the newbie players. They killed the grime monsters and maintained the barrier protecting the newbies. Already, many of them had died or gotten injured, but they didn’t give up hope because of one reason.

“They must be winning up there, right?” said a newbie, looking skyward. The giant was covered in wounds, and his blood was raining down on them. Explosions and blasts continued, creating a thick reddish smoke all around them. Mountains of the giant’s flesh could be seen everywhere.

The newbie players prayed.

“Please win.”

“Please…”

“Save us!”

One of the players suddenly pointed at the sky in disbelief. “Huh…? No…”

They could see the giant’s ribs from an open gash, but something huge happened as he roared.

“Mr. Guide…!”

“Chief!”

Grigories called out to Kim Gil-Gyu, their leader.

“Huh?!” The players saw two players, a man with a scythe and a woman with a sword, falling from the sky after the giant’s attack. It was shocking that they had lasted this long despite the rising gravity and the giant’s unbelievable attacks. With only one opponent left in the sky, the giant shot something like a dark light ray from his ribs toward Jupiter.

“No!” the players on the ground screamed. This had to be the end. Jupiter had been fighting surprisingly well, but everyone could sense that Jupiter likely wouldn’t survive this attack. The explosive and destructive ray was about to impale Jupiter when someone appeared out of nowhere to block it.

“That man is…?” one of the beginner players whispered.

***

“Are you okay?” Kronos asked.

Jupiter could feel that the heat was hot enough to melt the ground. But despite it, he wasn’t hurt because Kronos was standing in front of him with his arms open.

“You…” Jupiter whispered as he stared at the giant hole in Kronos’ chest. Kronos had protected him from Uranus’ ray of destruction by sacrificing himself.

“Why are you doing this?” Jupiter’s voice was cold, but many emotions crossed his mind. “Why are you doing this to me…? Are you trying to be my father after all this time?”

“Are you okay?” Kronos, a giant hole in his chest, asked. He would die in a moment, yet his voice remained shockingly calm.

“Do you think I’ll forgive you just because you did this?”

“I don’t want your forgiveness. How could I ask for it after what I have done?” Kronos’ voice was so clear that it was hard to imagine he was about to die. Jupiter could sense Kronos’s life slipping away. He quickly injected Life into the dying man, but it was useless.

“Don’t bother,” said Kronos. “The power of Life is immense, but we are under Uranus’ sky. You saw that your swords didn’t work against him, didn’t you?”

“Stop… talking.” Jupiter bit his lips.

A faint smile spread on Kronos’s lips as he whispered, “I’m sorry. Everything happened because of my selfishness…”

“I told you to stop!”

“It is all my fault.” With his last words, Kronos began falling to the ground.

“Ha Song-Su!” Choi Leah rushed toward him, but Jupiter couldn’t see what had happened to Kronos because of the thick smoke.

His pupils dilated, and Jupiter turned to look at the giant.