Side Story Chapter 9 - Allforone (9)

[You have entered the nineteenth floor, the gate to the ‘Hill of the Wind’.]

Even though he evaded Odin and Zeus’ persistent pursuit, Vivasvat remained concerned because he was still on the lower numbered floors. He felt that Olympus would be able to chase after him and throw him into another crisis at any moment.

However, Garmr, who escaped with Vivasvat, did not fret. “It’s fine. They say that it’s darkest underneath the lamp. They won’t find us very easily here.”

“…?”

Vivasvat, who was puzzled by what Garmr said, soon figured out the exact meaning of her words. It was a place that even ordinary players would not expect anyone to be in. It was a place where waste was collected, often referred to as a ‘garbage dump’. It was an inter-floor world that existed in the stairway that connected the nineteenth to the twentieth floor.

There were barriers in place to hide the stairway, and though the garbage dump was organized to some extent, it was still a very disorganized and cluttered place. Vivasvat wondered if people could really live in a place like this.

“Wow! Sister!”

“Did you bring some sweets? Where are the sweets?”

When Garmr appeared, little children who appeared to be about five or six years old, jumped out and surrounded her in a circle.

The Bifrost members seemed to be familiar with this kind of scene, so they did not seem to mind or give any special attention to the matter. Some Bifrost members even ran around and started actively playing with the children, flipping the children in the air or giving them piggy-back rides. Even the reinforcement group that assisted Vivasvat and the others on the sixteenth floor observed everything as if it was natural.

“Who is that guy?”

“Is he another older brother?”

The children were extremely interested in Vivasvat. Their faces were full of curiosity rather than wariness.

Vivasvat, who did not know how to deal with children, found this sudden attention awkward. Furthermore, he was currently covered in blood and dust, having dealt with various gods. Vivasvat felt it was impossible for him to play with the children in such a state. However…

“Hmm? Ah, that uncle has a bunch of toys for you guys. Why don’t you guys ask him for some?”

“C-Captain?” After hearing his captain’s words, Vivasvat whipped his head towards Garmr to try and understand what she meant. But instead of getting any answer, he could see Garmr smirking.

The children started clinging onto Vivasvat while he tried to explain to them that he did not have any toys. Sparkle! The children’s eyes grew wide and twinkled. They looked like baby birds awaiting food from their mother.

“Umm… Well…!” Startled, Vivasvat stuttered about.

“Have you come, Garmr?” Suddenly, adult voices rang out. The voices were filled with a sense of thorough exhaustion. They wore plain, sparse clothing and carried rudimentary weaponry. Vivasvat wondered if they were capable of properly fighting with those types of weapons. Strangely, unlike their outward shabby appearance, their eyes were full of life. Considering that people who were “owned” by holy temples or farms looked healthy on the outside but possessed lifeless eyes, these people were the exact opposite. Vivasvat felt that he was seeing those whose eyes stemmed from a sense of ‘freedom’ and ‘belief’.

“It’s been a while, Falar.” Garmr lightly waved her hand to greet the young man called Falar, who had a charming smile. Apparently, he was the leader of this village. Garmr then said, “Vivasvat, this is Falar. Falar, this is Vivasvat. You guys should introduce yourselves. You’ll be colleagues who will work together in the future.”

In an instant, Falar’s eyes lit up. “Then this person…?”

“Yeah. He’s the one I spoke of before.”

“I see. Nice to meet you. My name is Falar.”

Vivasvat grabbed and shook Falar’s outstretched hand. ‘Hmm…?’ Though it was just a handshake, Vivasvat felt a tingling sensation run down his spine. However, the fleeting feeling was brief, so Vivasvat questioned if he had even felt something off at all. When Vivasvat looked up, he saw Falar’s bright smile and eyes full of energy.

‘Were my senses off?’ Feeling uneasy, Vivasvat silently nodded his head rather than brightly greeting Falar.

“Welcome to Allforone.” Falar did not seem to notice Vivasvat’s hesitation, as he continued to smile brightly.

***

Allforone was the name Resistance had given themselves. This was a group of people who were willing to sacrifice everything for freedom. They expressed this belief and said that their goal was to resist the oppression of the gods.

“Although we try to engage in resistance activities, in the end, when considering the influence of divine societies, we’re just a flickering candlelight before the almighty wind. For that reason, Garmr and her comrades have been serving Asgard in order to obtain resources and information.”

The members of Allforone started explaining how they had infiltrated several divine societies. Asgard’s Bifrost was just one of many infiltrating groups. There were many more hidden members of Allforone in various divine societies, Falar explained, and thanks to their active cooperation, many mortals had been saved.

“However, it may be difficult for us to be active for a while. Because of this incident, Asgard and Olympus seem to have been put on edge.”

Vivasvat had a feeling that Falar gaze was fixed on him, so he wondered how he was supposed to interpret that.

“So, for the time being, we should refrain from conducting outside activities and largely wait until their search efforts calm down.”

Vivasvat did not ignore the sense of wariness and distance that Falar gave off. However, Vivasvat did not show any outward reaction towards it. In any organization, there was bound to be a feeling of exclusion for any new incoming member, and in fact, the largest reason why Asgard and Olympus were so thoroughly conducting their search efforts was because of him.

Nevertheless, Falar and Allforone did not reject Vivasvat’s entrance into their organization because of his power and fame. In fact, when the villagers found out that Vivasvat was the ‘god killer of the outside world’, whom they had only heard of through rumors, the villagers had gathered to observe him from afar.

Falar seemed to have been wary that Vivasvat may become the new center and leadership of the organization. Furthermore, Vivasvat had already heard about this possibility from Garmr.

“Thus, I implore you to be as careful as possible.”

Even though Vivasvat told Falar that he would be careful, Vivasvat could not shrug away the oddly anxious and uncomfortable aura he felt from Falar.

***

It soon became clear that Vivasvat’s feeling of anxiousness was a premonition.

『Insignificant insects were gathered and living in this place. Eliminate them all.』

Asgard and Olympus chased after them all the way to the nineteenth-floor stairwell. Though no one knew how their location was leaked, the village that had been shrouded in secrecy and had been quiet for the past ten years was finally exposed… Actually, to be precise, the two societies knew of the village’s existence but had just allowed it to continue until the time was right.

“Everyone, run away!”

“Get the kids out of here! Anyone who can fight, stop them!”

[A battle breaks out!]

The village was devastated by a few lightning bolts, which were thrown by Odin. A hot thermal storm swept past the village one after another with tremendous destructive power. It seemed as though the stage would collapse at any moment.

Even in such a crisis, Allforone’s response was brilliant. They clearly showed how they had managed to organize an organization in the face of so many threats and became a focal point for mortals who dreamed of freedom. The members of Allforone divided into several groups and garnered the attention of the incoming Asgard and Olympus troops, thus allowing the children and elderly to escape and get to safety.

Although significant damage was incurred on the village, fortunately, the retreat was successful. However…

『Keep chasing after them. I don’t care if you all have to die… I want you to bring me the Heavenly Demon’s son.』

Asgard and Olympus’ pursuit was just the beginning.

***

A month soon passed. Nearly forty percent of Allforone’s forces suffered damage because of the various traps and offenses that Asgard and Olympus deployed.

Vivasvat did what he could to save as many of them as possible, but he could not prevent their constant losses. For the first time, a sense of gloom started to cast over those within Allforone, which had up to then not lost its laughter despite the continuous chase.

***

Four months passed. Damage was steadily accumulating, and more than sixty percent of Allforone’s forces were either dead or injured.

The gloom that lingered inside Allforone continued to snowball and began to corrode the hearts of its members. They became tired and easily fatigued. Some had no more hope and attempted to escape at night. To re-establish discipline within Allforone, some of the deserters were caught and beaten back into submission, but once their hearts were shaken, they could not easily rejoin the group wholeheartedly.

Occasionally, Olympus and Asgard sent messages encouraging Allforone to surrender. Whenever these messages came, the resolve of the members of Allforone shook.

It was only thanks to the existence of Vivasvat and Bifrost that Allforone was able to endure this much. If it was not for Vivasvat and Bifrost, Allforone would have been eliminated long ago. Near the end, Allforone became a place that was mainly of the old and infirm.

***

By the time a year had passed, Allforone had become just a shadow of its previous self. Moreover, as rumors started to spread about the existence of the Heavenly Demon’s son within the heavenly world, other divine societies also started joining the fray. Memphis, Dilmun, Vedas, Chan Sect…

Allforone was no longer being chased by a few societies but by virtually all the top societies and forces that existed within the Tower.

Because of this, Allforone was pushed to the brink of collapse. However, this did not mean that Allforone was taking on damage without dishing out their own. Utilizing infiltrators they had in various societies to stir up rebellions, Allforone successfully raided several farms on each floor and rescued a large number of enslaved mortals.

And, of course, in the center of such great feats was Vivasvat! For that reason, at some point, the name Vivasvat began to be identified with Allforone.

“It is said that at the places where Vivasvat descends, Allforone appears, and the gods become frightened.”

“Those who live in Allforone’s care can live a free life, not as slaves. Our future lies there.”

“We must free ourselves from oppression. The world of the Tower is the world of beings who want and strive to ascend to a higher place. We never came here to be slaves.”

The names Allforone and Vivasvat soon entered everyone’s lexicon.

“Did you hear the news?”

“About them recapturing the twentieth floor?”

“Yeah. I heard that Memphis was thoroughly routed. Because of that, those on the thirtieth floor and beyond are all in emergency mode right now.”

“Hmm…! I heard that he hadn’t even exuviated or transcended… How could a mere mortal be so powerful?”

“His existence proves that we’re not anchored to our fates and current power levels. We’re also ‘players’ who came into the Tower after receiving invitations, so why can’t we also achieve what Allforone is achieving?”

Those who were locked up in farms as slaves began to have hope in their hearts. Even if their various divine societies still enslaved them, they started holding out hope that they would soon be freed by Allforone.

In the end, people with a similar vision and willpower began to join Allforone. They began to regain the courage and motivation necessary to climb the Tower.

[A legend related to ‘Vivasvat’ has been created. It begins to spread widely.]

[Power is created.]

[A divine position has been created.]

…

[Faith begins to gather, giving birth to a legendary prestige.]

…

[Vivasvat’s name begins to be imprinted on the system!]

Allforone. This was how the legends of Vivasvat began.