"Tch… so you figured it out?"
"Wait, wait, wait, just to confirm. These supreme deities, right… they aren't beings like Zeus or Hades? Just trying to make sure," I asked yet another question as my smile twitched with even more excitement.
"Zeus and Hades are apostles of those gods. That devil friend of yours is also an apostle…." He replied reluctantly, but still… he said it. He said the thing. He said everything I needed to know.
"So then killing the apostles is actually possible, right?"
"Yeah, it's definitely possible to kill them, but even I will have trouble doing that. If you think you can kill them, then get stronger. If you're struggling to even climb the steps, then you are practically hopeless," The snake announced, and he was right, but something that he said next made my smile nearly tear through my face. "But, if you're really that crazy and want to challenge them. Then visit their kingdoms. As of now, they're still in the mortal world, but it won't be long before they ascend."
With enough prep time and planning, I could potentially do some severe harm to them at most. This could lead to some permanent debuffs later on, but at the same time… there was the fact that all of this was a throne world. All of this had been created by Satan, meaning there is more than a ninety-percent chance that all of this is fake… thus meaning that anything I do in this world would mean nothing in the present and real world.
"I see… so, do you know where Satan is? I have to ask him something."
…
I lightly hummed to myself as I sat on the edge of the first step. Its pressure was basically gone by now, especially after experiencing whatever the hell that fifteenth step was. And as I began to hum, something else mingled in the air.
For some reason, it was familiar, like a lullaby a mother would sing or hum to their baby in order to get them to fall asleep. It was simple and whoever hummed it switched between their vibrational vocal cords and actual singing. It was horrible, to be honest, but I didn't say much as I took a look around, trying to find whoever the hell was doing it.
"Satan?"
"Who the hell is Satan?" A scratchy voice echoed in my ears and as I focused in on the cloud of green fog surfacing the dead shrubs and grass, a singular presence revealed itself to me. Their silhouette was dark and shadowed out, and even as their entire body came into view, the only thing wrapping them was a tight compression shirt and baggy sweatpants.
Long black hair that flowed like the wind was tied up into a ponytail and two utterly slain eyes shifted around cautiously. Those two singular black pupils that he had were so dark and nearly dead that any attempt of sunlight from above would just bounce off it, gleaming onto the ground with its heated rays.
"Who are you?"
"Shouldn't you say your name first before I tell you mine? Isn't that common courtesy?" The young man asked, his long eyelashes nearly making him look like a girl. On top of that, I couldn't see much of his face as his eye line, nose, and mouth were covered in tight black bandages. So, if it wasn't for the fact that his voice was relatively deep, I probably would have assumed him to be a girl.
"*sigh*... My bad… Orion Vazgath."
"Hmmmm… that doesn't sound familiar. How exactly did you manage to get here? Not everybody can enter the courtyard of the emperor with pure strength alone. You must have some kind of influence."
"I'm not gonna say anything until you give me your name."
The young man lightly chuckled before swooning his left leg across his right and taking a deep boy. "My name is Jack. I, unfortunately, have no last name but I am part of an organization that is quite a large supporter of the emperor. You could essentially call us the emperor's dogs."
As he got closer, I expected to feel the same crushing pressure as before, but even as he crouched down to get eye level with me as I leaned forward on my sat position, I felt nothing. Either he was too strong for me to grasp his strength or we were even. There was no way I was stronger than him, but the idea that we could be even was nice to settle my racing heart.
"Influential, huh…?" I muttered before stretching out my hand and he reacted quickly, taking my hand for a firm handshake. "To answer your question from before, I have connections with a strong guy who knows the emperor personally… or something like that."
Once again, the young man lightly chuckled before letting go of my hand and taking a seat on the first step effortlessly. His eyes were cheery and the way he carried himself was like that of a master. He was confident in his abilities and had absolutely no fear when it came to meeting other people.
"Y'know, I can feel you're strong, but your mana core is still weak. How the hell did you get so far with such a weak mana core… it's practically on the verge of breaking. Did you use something to temper it?"
"Well, it wasn't really done cognitively until I was halfway there, but I managed to discover it while attempting to get used to the pressure of the steps. Did I do something wrong?" I asked since he made it seem like whatever I did was going to make my entire body shatter eventually.
"No, I guess not. I won't help you fix it because that's too much of a pain, but… trying tempering your mana core without the pressure of the steps. Do it under no stress and it should fix itself," The man young man recommended, but just as I was about to thank him, he began to sing that same familiar tune. "London bridge is falling down… falling down… falling down… London bridge is falling down… my… fair… lady."
