Brontes looked from Yeon-woo to the pocket watch. Then, he clucked his tongue.

『You’re not delivering this item to Lord Hades.』

“It’s a personal belonging.”

『Hm. Is that so?』 Brontes’ eyes were filled with regret. If they had the pocket watch along with the Stone of Castitas, they would have helped Hades greatly. 『Can I take a look at it?』

However, since he was now working with Yeon-woo, he had to help him. Brontes stretched his hand out. Yeon-woo nodded and gave the pocket watch to him. His hands were trembling with nervousness.

Brontes examined the pocket watch carefully. He had fallen to the status of a Guai, but the knowledge from his past life hadn’t disappeared. Because he was a blacksmith god, he didn’t have to worry about his divine level like other gods. 『Hm.』

Brontes returned the pocket watch. Yeon-woo carefully accepted it and looked at him. His throat was choked up, and he couldn’t speak properly. “What do you think?”

『You said this watch is broken, correct?』

“Yes, that’s right.”

『You’re mistaken. It isn’t broken.』

Yeon-woo’s eyes widened. “Then…?”

『It would be more accurate to say that it’s been sealed. Most of the functions are locked. It seems like this was done on purpose.』

Yeon-woo’s eyes hardened. His questions were finally being answered. Since he couldn’t figure out what was wrong with the pocket watch with his Draconic Eyes, he had been at a loss. Although he had an outstanding amount of knowledge in alchemy and magic after completing the Philosopher’s Stone, he couldn’t figure out the watch. He simply assumed that his brother had reached an extraordinary peak. ‘So that wasn’t the case.’

He’d approached the pocket watch in the wrong way from the start. If it wasn’t broken, it made sense that he couldn’t figure out what to do. Repairing and unsealing required completely different knowledge. He felt like a blindfold had been removed from his eyes. If he’d only known this sooner, he would have found a solution more quickly, but he still felt excited. “Then can it be repaired…no, unsealed?”

『No. It’s too difficult.』 Brontes shook his head.

“You mean even someone like you can’t do it?”

『I’m not perfect. Also, the fact that they used the Soulstone in the first place means they’re as skilled as I am. Amazing. It looks like the work of a mortal, but their knowledge is greater than a supernatural being’s! May I ask where the person who made this item is?』 Brontes seemed passionate, as though his curiosity about the outstanding blacksmith ran as deep as his desire for revenge.

Yeon-woo smiled ironically. He was proud that Brontes rated his brother so highly, but he also felt sad. He knew that the unsealed function Brontes was speaking about was the diary. Then what were the sealed functions? Also, why had his brother put the stone in the pocket watch?

As though he could read Yeon-woo’s thoughts, Bronte glanced at him and took a closer look at the pocket watch. Then, he said, 『Of course, it’s because I can’t unseal it on my own.』

Yeon-woo abruptly turned his head to look at Brontes.

『Let’s make a deal. You’ve already accepted the quest from Lady Persephone, correct? Help us calm Tartarus as the quest says. If you do, I’ll gather my brothers and we’ll do our best to unseal it.』 He was basically telling him to hurry to Tartarus. 『How’s that?』

Yeon-woo had no reason to refuse. “I accept.” He gripped the pocket watch, and his heart started to beat faster.

* * *

[Sudden Quest / Persephone’s Long-Held Wish]

[Description: (Omitted) On your way to clear the ten trials at Persephone’s request, you have succeeded in finding the tracks of the three Apostles of the Cyclops brothers who disappeared during their flight to Tartarus.

However, you have only succeeded in finding the oldest Cyclops, Brontes, and the enemy has grown wary of you. Quickly find the other two Cyclopes. The sooner you find them, the higher your rewards will be.]

‘The enemy has grown wary of me?’ Yeon-woo’s eyes narrowed at the updated quest information. Did this mean the Titans and Giants? It seemed like they had taken notice of him after he’d managed to defeat the ghost monsters.

『It’s probably the person who is contacting Tartarus from the outside world.』 Brontes read Yeon-woo’s thoughts and answered.

Yeon-woo looked at him. “Do you know who they are?”

Brontes smiled bitterly and shook his head. 『No. We were being chased. However, I’m sure of one thing.』 His eyes became grim. 『They were close by when the ghost monsters attacked.』 Brontes clenched his teeth. 『It has to be a traitor. If not, this wouldn’t have occurred. So…be careful.』

Yeon-woo nodded. Brontes was right: if the Titans and Giants made a move, it would make things difficult for him. Aside from that, interfering in a war between gods as a mortal was a huge burden.

『We couldn’t take care of something like this ourselves, and now we’re asking a mortal like you for help. How humiliating.』 Brontes disappeared into the Soul Collection. Aside from his embarrassment, he needed to take a rest because he’d exhausted himself by using his holy power.

Yeon-woo spread his Fire Wings and began to move again. The more he used them, the more his Fire Wings became like a skill.

[You have entered the 7th gate, ‘Hell of Great Solutions’.]

[You have entered the 8th gate, ‘Hell of Iron Beds’.]

……

At the seventh gate, fierce winds whirled around him, and at the eighth gate, he had to pass through boiling iron. The stages were growing so difficult that even Yeon-woo couldn’t breeze through them. They were truly dangerous areas where high rankers came to train.

In addition, their enemies’ attacks grew even more direct as they chased after Yeon-woo. Just as the quest window had warned, the Titans and Giants were beginning to make their move, and all kinds of strange monsters began to appear. The strength of the ghost monsters in the sixth trial paled in comparison to theirs.

They were also made up of ghosts, but because they were connected by a strange shadow, it was hard to deal with them. A few of them even had a small amount of holiness.

‘Even when trapped in prisons, gods are still powerful…’ Yeon-woo was forced to exert himself more and more. Although the Titans and Giants were trapped inside of Tartarus, they were still strong gods who had fought against the Olympians.

Just then, a large shadow tentacle flew towards him, and the ashy fog following Yeon-woo like a tail gathered in front of him like a shield. It was an army of thousands of souls.

Boom! Boom! The shadow tentacle couldn’t get through the ashy fog and was flicked away, destroying several thousand souls in the process. However, the Soul Collection quickly replenished the souls.

Shanon and Hanryeong both used their signature skills Volcano and Sword Whirlwind, lashing out at the shadow tentacle until it was separated from its body. Rebecca jumped in and activated magic. High above in the sky, Boo raised the Crystal Bead to cast spells.

Nemesis became one with darkness, and Nike transformed into fire to burn the tentacle’s body. Boom!

“Cain, now!” Creutz shouted, holding the monster’s ankle down forcefully. Yeon-woo nodded and hurled himself towards the thrashing being. He activated four of his powers and used their buffs.

[Hero – Unyielding]

[Villain – Destroying]

Vigrid cried out as if it would crack any moment as a bright light exploded.

[Wave of Fire]

[72 Bian – Yeol, Pa, Cham]

The monster squirmed to extinguish the fire. Every time it moved, the gate shook as though it would collapse, but the fire only grew bigger.

There was no way Nike’s Holy Fire would lose to a monster. Also, Yeon-woo had added different powers to it: Aura, Wave of Fire, Draconic magic power, holy power, demonic energy, 72 Bian, and Disabling Poison Blood. His Demonic Divine Draconic Body and the title Blessed by Man’ protected him from any side effects.

The monster toppled over, unable to withstand the barrage of attacks. Boom! It was so colossal that the entire stage shook.

“Haa…haa…haa…” Yeon-woo brought Vigrid down and panted. His entire body felt hot from overusing his Magic Circuit. His health depleted at a rapid pace. Just then, fire shot out from the monster’s corpse towards Yeon-woo in the form of a bird.

『Did I do well?』

“Yes. Good job.”

『Hehe. Nike is strong!』 Nike perched on Yeon-woo’s arm and folded his wings to flex his muscles. Yeon-woo stroked Nike’s adorable head and turned his head to Nemesis’ voice.

『Master.』

“What?”

Nemesis’ voice was filled with concern. 『What did you think of that monster just now?』

“It was strong.”

『Is that it?』

“If it weren’t for the difference in properties, it would’ve been hard.”

『You’re right. It was something you never would have been able to defeat under normal circumstances. Even with all our powers combined.』 Nemesis continued in a heavy voice. 『It’s called Medusa. And in Tartarus, there are plenty of monsters like that roaming around. Do you have to go there right now? Don’t you know that my previous master couldn’t get that far either?』

Yeon-woo nodded heavily.

It seemed like that place was our limit. The monsters that kept on appearing at the eighth gate caused us to lose hope. Each gate was hard enough, but the crazy monsters were too much.

We promised we would come back and left the hidden stage. I felt it was a shame to do so because I wanted to see the entrance of Tartarus even though I couldn’t pass through it. It is one of the few locations of the gods in the lower world.

『I know you think you have to gain the Black King’s power and I understand your resolve to fix the pocket watch. But it’s not too late to…』 Nemesis tried his best to stop Yeon-woo. Tartarus was a place a mortal couldn’t approach, and yet Yeon-woo was going to challenge it without any preparation.

He too wanted to gain power and unseal the pocket watch. However, it wasn’t the time. Compared to the gods, Yeon-woo was far too weak. Tartarus was a place that could only be challenged after he cleared the fiftieth floor.

Jeong-woo had stopped at the eighth gate even with Arthia’s support. Yeon-woo didn’t have a team, and things had grown even more dangerous now that the Titans and Giants had discovered him. Even the tireless Shanon and Hanryeong were already feeling exhausted.

“No. I’m going.” Yeon-woo shook his head. This opportunity to find clues about his brother was hard to come by. He might even meet his brother again. If he delayed this, who knew what might happen in the future? Also, if he could delay it once, he might just continue delaying it even more. He didn’t want to miss this chance. Also, Yeon-woo wanted to say something to his brother, and he wouldn’t stop until he did. ‘Never.’

Yeon-woo absorbed Medusa and the rest of the monsters through Bathory’s Vampiric Sword, and he moved on. Nemesis looked at Yeon-woo in disappointment.

Yeon-woo’s eyes were blazing with ambition. ‘I have to meet him no matter what.’