Leveling with the Gods Chapter 207

Amaterasu's face hardened.

Even when he first saw Kusanagi, he thought, "What if...?"

He wondered if Kim YuWon had truly obtained the Susanoo's Treasure.

He could understand it.

With the support of Asgard, it wouldn't be impossible for him to get his hands on the Susanoo's Treasure.

But...

"Why are you..."

He was about to ask, "Why are you alive?"

'No.'

Amaterasu barely held onto the threads of reason.

Upon closer inspection, or rather, what he could see even without looking closely.

The pale, bloodless face and the putrid sll emanating from him were unmistakably those of an undead.

'He's not alive.'

That could only an one thing.

"You... are undead."

Susanoo turned into an undead.

It was sothing he had never imagined. Who would have thought that he, the so-called Lord of the Undead, would beco one himself.

"You look terrible, friend."

-I never thought those words would co out of your mouth, friend.

Susanoo raised an eyebrow.

He was smiling.

On the subject of being dead and becoming undead, it's as if he found it quite amusing.

"Is it funny?"

-Yes.

"Are you fighting with ?"

-I've always wanted to try it.

Boom-.

The sword in Susanoo's hand tensed.

-Fighting to the death with you.

The Totsuka Sword.

It was a cherished sword that Susanoo used a long ti ago. It was obtained by YuWon as a reward on the first floor and was the key to opening Susanoo's dungeon.

But originally, it was the sword Susanoo used.

A sword that never breaks.

Kek-.

With the sword in hand, Susanoo approached Amaterasu.

-Why did you do that?

Ssshhhaa-.

Along with a bloody mana, life flowed from Susanoo's body.

-Why did you do this to , friend?

A chill ran down Amaterasu's spine.

It wasn't because of the power he exuded.

It wasn't because he was so skilled with the sword that he was called a ghost, nor because he was afraid of the undead.

It was because he rembered his past with him.

"You're too scared. You would be much stronger if you weren't."

"It's dangerous, stay behind with Tsukuyomi."

"I'll find a way to get through."

"You just..."

Susanoo was always at the forefront when they fought together.

He was always better than them, and he shone.

Others feared him.

He even feared him more.

But...

"You ask why?"

He was already dead.

There was no reason to fear him anymore.

"Because I no longer needed you."

Susanoo was a good companion.

He fought well, always leading the way. Together, they had ascended, earned the na of the Three Precious Children, and gained control of a floor, and he had always been there.

But that was it, and after a long adventure, they had already reached the end of the journey.

And there was no need for Susanoo's help anymore.

"So, in the end...".

Saaaaah-.

Amaterasu's gaze settled on the head of Orochi, staring at her.

"I used this guy to kill you."

-...I see.

Susanoo approached Amaterasu.

-I heard it from your own mouth, so it's enough. Besides, I'm grateful to you for this one thing.

Scott-.

The Totsuka Sword was unsheathed.

A ghostly life force violently erupted and enveloped Amaterasu's body.

"Thanks to you, I don't have to hesitate."

Skak-.

Pak-!

Roar, boom-!

The Totsuka Sword shot forward, only to be blocked by Amaterasu's flas. At the sa ti, Susanoo's new form faded into a secondary image, appearing higher up.

Chaaaah!

The corners of Susanoo's mouth turned upward as he sliced through the flas.

Undead don't shed tears (they have no emotions).

He might be smiling on the outside, but that didn't an his emotions couldn't be noticed.

"Maybe... Did I have so expectations?"

Susanoo said he would help in the fight against Amaterasu.

To fight against a friend who betrayed him, to avenge his death.

But he still held a glimr of hope.

He hoped there was so misunderstanding.

However, after hearing everything from his own mouth, he could no longer hold such expectations.

Kwagwagwagwagw-.

Arcane Power spilled out of Susanoo's body like countless blades.

A single slash turned into dozens, hundreds of slashes that cut through the flas, and the Totsuka Sword plunged towards Amaterasu's heart.

Kak, Chak-.

Without reaching Amaterasu, the Totsuka Sword pierced Orochi's skin.

Amaterasu appeared behind Susanoo, his body engulfed in flas.

YuWon felt his energy slowly depleting.

Kyaaaaaaah!

Orochi's screams made YuWon turn his head.

Amaterasu had created a giant of fire to confront Orochi, and despite using a significant amount of energy and concentration to do so, he was not losing to Susanoo, but rather gaining the upper hand.

"Summoning Susanoo is still difficult."

The speed at which his mana was depleting was alarming.

Although he was no match for Orochi, Susanoo had the necessary stats to stand up against Amaterasu.

It was a sight to behold.

"Truly strong..."

Masterful sword skills.

He had fought against him once before, but he had never seen him so impressive with a sword.

At least, he seed to be better with the sword than he had ever been in his pri.

If soone like him could be properly utilized as a summon, how good would he be?

It was a rarely used skill of the Lord of the Undead. But if he could use soone like Susanoo appropriately, it would be a different story.

"I won't be able to hold on for much longer."

At most, he could only use Susanoo for a maximum of 20 minutes.

In that ti, he would run out of energy. And he had to win the match within the available ti.

"Now that I've finished assessing the situation..."

YuWon, who had been observing the fight between Susanoo and Amaterasu, began to leave.

"It's ti to find my place."

Purrrrrr-!

The flas deflected a powerful sword strike. The sword and flas sputtered, cutting through Yamata no Orochi's skin and leaving it blackened from the burn.

Chii-Ik-.

Susanoo's body was pushed back.

But only for a mont.

He lunged forward again, still sporting a wide grin.

It was still terrifying to see him like this.

Even with unpleasant burns and corrosion scars all over his body, he felt no fear.

"That habit of his hasn't changed even after death."

Rather, he wondered if he could do that because he died, but upon further reflection, he was like this a thousand years ago.

He wasn't afraid to die and didn't even consider it.

That was Susanoo's invisible fear.

But...

"He has weakened."

Amaterasu no longer feared Susanoo standing before her.

"I have grown stronger."

He was stronger than before, and Susanoo was weaker.

The difference beca apparent right here.

Puong, Puppupung-!

Chii Ik-.

Susanoo, unable to penetrate the fla, was being pushed back. He was desperate to stop the fla, and for every ten steps he took backward, he took one forward.

"I am stronger."

It was an exhilarating feeling.

Ranking 52

After surpassing Susanoo's ranking for the first ti in his life, he was confirming what he had only vaguely suspected.

He had beco stronger than Susanoo.

Furthermore, he was using most of his mana to fight against Yamata no Orochi.

Yet, this was the situation.

Slash-.

Susanoo cut through the flas.

The sa pattern as before.

"You ignorantly continue to attack head-on, you..."

Spook-.

But in that mont, a chill ran down his spine.

It ca from right behind him.

Pak-.

A sword flew from behind his head.

Amaterasu's head erupted in flas.

Amaterasu appeared from a distance.

he touched his neck with his hand.

It was only for a mont, but he felt as if his neck was detached.

"You were a bit slow."

Booung-.

With a sigh of disappointnt, Susanoo repeated his movents in the air.

If he had been a bit faster, he could have at least cut off half of his neck.

It wasn't just Susanoo who felt it.

"How dare you..."

Amaterasu's eyes glimred with malice.

How the hell did he do that?

No.

Since when had he been deceiving his eyes?

"It's difficult to break through, so he tricked with that move. While pretending to make a frontal attack..."

He couldn't do it with speed or power, so he used an anomaly.

This wasn't the Susanoo he knew; he always massacred his opponents head-on, using the power of his legions of undead to crush them.

To use such an anomaly.

"You didn't know?"

The corners of Susanoo's lips lifted at Amaterasu's question.

"I'll do anything to win."

He wasn't mistaken.

He enjoyed fighting and never fought a losing battle.

"That's why I do things like this."

Susanoo's gaze drifted... towards the sky.

Amaterasu raised his head, with a puzzled expression on his face.

"This...?"

Was he trying to divert his gaze?

No.

It was unlikely that Susanoo would do sothing so childish.

That ant there was sothing up there.

Flash-!

Amaterasu's eyes lit up.

A light like his own fire, black but brilliant.

As soon as he saw it, Amaterasu instinctively enveloped his body in flas.

Crackle-!

Crackle!

A lightning bolt struck Amaterasu's head.

But for a mont, the flas flickered, and then the power of the lightning was consud by the flas.

"Of course, I wasn't fighting alone. Now you know."

"...Kim YuWon?"

Amaterasu, whose heart felt cold for a mont, let out a long sigh.

The anxiety was brief.

If this was the last of Susanoo's cards, there was nothing to fear.

"I have to admit that Orochi and Susanoo are terrifying individuals, but if it's Kim YuWon, there's nothing to fear."

His vigilance towards YuWon stemd from the Three Sacred Treasures he possessed, Yamata no Orochi and Susanoo.

His combat prowess was not to be underestimated, but on such a grand battlefield, his abilities were nothing out of the ordinary.

"I'll just ignore him."

The energy YuWon was emanating wouldn't be able to cause much damage to his own body after all.

It would be even worse if he couldn't block a sword strike from Susanoo because he was distracted looking up.

Boom-.

Amaterasu's flas engulfed Susanoo. The previous strike had made him even more wary of Susanoo's sword.

"You'll regret this."

Susanoo scoffed at Amaterasu's disdain towards YuWon.

His voice was lost in the swirling flas surrounding him. At that mont, Amaterasu ignored YuWon and focused solely on Susanoo.

But.

For so reason, even now, Susanoo felt like an image of YuWon.

"I know this guy, and even though he's much weaker than ..."

Crackle-.

Then...

A darker cloud, much darker than the first, ca into view.

And after seeing that, Susanoo finally beca convinced.

"That's not all his power. That first shot was probably deliberately weak."

And in the next mont...

Flash!

A second lightning bolt struck Amaterasu's flas as it approached Susanoo.