Chapter 104

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Chapter 104: Reunion with Hades (1)

A-Rank?

What’s up with this Soul Sword?

Is it a growth-type sword?

Yeoui is an A-Rank weapon, but this one starts at A.

If it levels up with me, it’ll be pretty incredible…

I didn’t expect Loki’s delivery package to contain something like this.

It’s already an incredible weapon for soul-type Awakeners, and it even grows stronger.

Did that guy know this sword was this powerful when he gave it to me?

And it’s not just him—are all the sealed gods’ avatars handing out treasures like this?

Judging by their project, they probably sent packages to others, too.

Even though they all failed.

This is a tremendous weapon.

Could the sealed gods afford to just hand something like this over?

I had my doubts, but I decided to take good care of the treasure now in my hands.

When I deactivated the Soul Sword, I had 2 minutes left on the timer.

Looks like I’ll need to recharge my SP next.

“Was that Soul Energy Emission just now?”

Elprian approached, surprised.

“Yes.”

“Have you always been this strong?”

“I did get mentored by Hercules, but I wasn’t this powerful. The synergy with this sword is incredible.”

“You’re only at demigod level, and yet you’re this strong.”

“This sword can destroy opponents of a similar rank, and it says it strengthens itself slightly each time. Do you know anything about this?”

“No, is it a growth-type item? That’s a supreme treasure. What’s its grade?”

“A.”

“Wait, are you saying it started at A-Rank?”

“This is my first time using it, and it’s A, so I guess so?”

Elprian’s expression became serious as she stared at the Soul Sword.

“If a growth-type weapon starts at A-Rank, it can potentially reach SSS-Rank. It can upgrade three times. With that level of power, it’s a treasure worthy of another Thousand-Year War. SSS-Rank weapons are rarer than gods.”

“Really?”

“Yes. In our world, there were no SSS-Rank weapons, and the only one I know of is Zeus’s lightning bolt, Astrape.”

“Not even Asgard has any?”

“Not as far as I know.”

Wow, it’s that rare?

There are quite a few SSS-Rank gods, but no weapons at that level.

Hmm.

Knowing Loki, I doubt he would have sent something like this lightly.

I thought I understood all the mysteries of those future gift packages, but something still feels off.

“Do you sense any surveillance magic around here?”

“No, there’s none. Even if I’ve lost my powers, my discernment is still intact.”

Elprian confidently assured me there were no issues with the weapon itself.

Given her god-level insight, I decided to trust her for now.

This weapon’s too good to waste.

I’ll make full use of it.

“We should move now.”

At Diana’s words, Elprian tapped the ground with her foot.

The earth trembled, and all traces of battle disappeared, transforming the area back into a lush forest.

“A powerful demigod just died, so the enemy might investigate. They could discover the Soul Energy Emission, so I erased it. Let’s go.”

Elprian took off running, and we followed her.

The enemy didn’t pursue us, perhaps because a strong demigod had fallen.

The next day, Elprian grew an arm made of wood.

A large wooden arm sprouted on her right side.

“Thanks to you and Diana, I didn’t have to worry about the enemy, so my regeneration sped up. Thank you both.”

With the new arm, she moved even faster.

For now, Diana and I could keep up, but the following day, when she grew another arm, I had to activate Hermes’ acceleration just to stay with her.

“Wow, you’re really fast.”

“Jiho, she’s the Elven God,”

Diana said.

I nodded instinctively.

Since she’s the god of the forest-dwelling elves, forest terrain must be like water to a fish for her.

“I’ll give you a movement buff tomorrow.”

Elprian spoke casually.

Looking closer, I noticed that her wooden body had white skin starting to creep up from her feet.

Looks like her body’s transitioning back to flesh.

“Elprian, you’ve been heading in one direction. What’s up ahead?”

At Diana’s polite question, Elprian smiled and replied,

“Diana, we have reinforcements waiting.”

“Reinforcements?”

“Yes. Even if I fully regenerate as a god, I don’t have the strength to face Olympus alone. We’ll need help.”

Help?

Is there anyone in Kevrian who opposes Olympus?

…Oh, there is one.

“Is it the Supreme Commander?”

“Yes, if it’s Hades, the Supreme Commander, he holds a deep grudge against Olympus and should be willing to help.”

“But will he really help? He’s completely unhinged. I’m worried he might betray us later.”

“I’m not entirely trusting him either. I’ll fully recover first, then send an avatar to negotiate.”

“Hmm… And isn’t Kevrian an enemy of his? Will he help?”

Elprian shook her head.

“The enemies are Olympus and Asgard. They sealed our gods and took away our authority. They even deliberately summoned Chaos.”

“They summoned Chaos? I thought the Black Dragon summoned it because it couldn’t forget Drakia…”

“Do you think they’d let a mere Black Dragon open the Gate of Chaos? It’s all part of their plan.”

Elprian spoke with certainty.

Even so, that doesn’t explain why they’d join hands with Chaos.

Hercules did mention that Olympus and Chaos made a pact over the Broken World.

I shared Hercules’ story with her.

“Hercules once vented to me. Olympus agreed to split the SP from the Broken World 50-50 with Chaos. In return, Chaos agreed to hold off invading Earth.”

Elprian stopped running.

“Really?”

“Yes, and that’s why the vote to invade Earth passed with only 3:2.”

“Sigh… That complicates things.”

“Hades does have a grudge against Olympus, but with the pact in place, who knows how he’ll respond?”

Elprian fell deep into thought but soon made up her mind.

She looked at Diana and me in turn.

“Regardless, I need to go. I’ll send only my avatar to negotiate after I recover. You two won’t need to come.”

Elprian’s determination was clear.

She must have judged that it was worth the risk to talk to him.

“Understood.”

Sending only an avatar should be safe enough.

After running for four more days, Elprian’s body was fully restored.

A gentle green glow radiated from her entire being.

Her beauty was transcendent, befitting a god of the elves.

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

But instead of thinking, Wow, she’s so pretty, I felt a sense of reverence.

“I finally feel alive again.”

Elprian shifted to soul form, summoned a tree trunk from the ground, and called forth souls, looking satisfied.

“I don’t have much SP left, but I can still subdue a lower-tier god.”

“I see.”

“I can now absorb SP directly from nature. With soul mediation included, I should recover quickly. I hope your Soul Mediation level increases soon, Jiho.”

Though it’s been reduced to 20 million, with a daily SP income of 600,000, there’s still a long way to go.

Especially since time in Kevrian passes ten times slower than Earth's.

“I think I can manage it after we finish this mission and head back to Earth.”

“Yes, I’ll be looking forward to it. We’ll wait here for now since we’re close to the Chaos Zone.”

Elprian raised a hand, and walls of earth rose from the ground, surrounding them like fortress walls.

Chairs and a table made of wood emerged within the enclosed space, and three cups of steaming tea appeared on the table.

All that with just a gesture?

“We’ll rest and recover our strength here for three days, then negotiate with Hades. Please stay here with me during that time.”

“Won’t enemies show up?”

“I can handle minor gods by myself, but it’ll slow my recovery. So please deal with any demigod-level enemies that might appear.”

“Understood.”

Elprian seemed confident—perhaps the rest had restored her strength.

If I defeat enemies of that level too, it’ll help my soul sword grow.

Nothing to lose here.

“Let’s have some tea, shall we? It’s brewed from the roots of the World Tree, so it’ll enhance our potential...”

Boom!

A sudden explosion interrupted.

I turned toward the sound, only to see Elprian’s freshly raised earthen wall reduced to dust.

Standing there was a massive chariot.

Two burly horses, as muscular as bulls, pulled the chariot.

A handsome man in golden armor stood atop it, grinning widely.

He had a soft mohawk-like hairstyle, with bright red hair resembling a rooster’s comb.

Haven’t seen a man this irritatingly handsome in a while.

He carried a silver round shield in one hand and a golden spear in the other.

He looked strong—probably stronger than the guy I fought last time.

“Haha! Achilles has arrived! You must be the troublesome goddess.”

The man shouted boldly, pointing his spear at Elprian.

Achilles?

I’ve heard that name a lot.

Ah, right—the hero of the Trojan War, famous for his heel.

Does he have the same heel weakness here?

Can’t see it from the chariot, though...

Hmm, famous heroes tend to be powerful.

“How insolent for a lowly god. And appearing in physical form while retaining your divine status... Didn’t you Olympians make a non-interference pact with Chaos?”

“It’s an emergency. Lord Zeus ordered me to subdue you and return immediately.”

“Hmph.”

Elprian’s body became transparent.

With a snap of her fingers, tree roots shot from the ground like bullets.

Is that a soul attack?

I could feel soul energy in each root.

The roots hurtled toward Achilles, aiming to bind him in place.

Achilles chuckled.

“Impatient, aren’t you?”

His body also became transparent, and his silver shield began spinning wildly.

The roots targeting Achilles were sucked into the shield as if into a black hole, disintegrating into nothingness.

Elprian bit her lip.

“Petty tricks…”

Rumble.

The ground shook, and tree roots coiled tightly around the chariot.

Leaves shot out like arrows at Achilles.

I thought leaves would be useless, but they were imbued with soul energy—deadly in their own right.

Achilles stopped smiling and focused on deflecting the leaves with his shield and spear.

Half were blocked by his shield, and half by his spear, each emitting faint white soul energy.

The effect was weak compared to the soul energy released, but it was still soul energy nonetheless.

So that’s what using soul energy in a manifested state looks like?

Seems similar to imbuing weapons with mana, though the cost is in SP.

“Even fallen gods are still gods! Makes for a more thrilling hunt!”

Achilles vanished.

I couldn’t see him at all.

Where the hell is he?

“He’s in the sky!”

Diana pointed upward.

Achilles was already diving toward us from the air.

Diana fired an arrow, but it was sucked into his shield without a trace.

Guess I’ll have to join in.

I reached for my soul sword, intending to imbue it with power, when Elprian’s voice boomed.

[Don’t use soul energy! He holds divine rank. If you use soul energy here, Olympus will be alerted. Leave it to me. I’m low on SP, but...]

The surrounding trees twisted oddly and pressed in on Achilles.

Tree branches from all directions tried to ensnare him, but he slashed them away with his spear and shield.

He was so fast that the scene looked like a frozen frame.

It was like he stood still while the attacking branches were sliced apart effortlessly.

I had to focus all my energy just to barely see his movements.

This speed is insane...

“Is that all the strength you have, goddess? Haha!”

“Ugh... if I had just one more day...”

Cocky bastard.

Despite his bravado, Elprian was sweating profusely.

SP depletion?

Guess I’ve got no choice.

Soul trade.

I opened the soul trading interface and transferred 500,000 SP to Elprian.

Risky, but there’s no way I can beat him with my current stats.

No matter how strong soul energy attacks are, they’re useless if they don’t land.

Can’t even see him... so I’ll back up Elprian for now.

“What’s this...?”

“Accept it.”

Elprian hurriedly nodded and accepted the SP.

With the infusion, she looked more relaxed and resumed her battle with Achilles.

More tree branches erupted, and leaves shot out like bullets from all directions.

Clang!

“Still got plenty of energy, I see!”

Achilles couldn’t approach and was forced to fend off Elprian’s relentless assault.

Yet he still grinned, clearly enjoying the battle.

“But this level of attack won’t do anything to me.”

True, the attacks were getting repetitive.

Despite a ten-minute onslaught, Achilles blocked everything with ease.

Elprian’s attacks began to weaken noticeably.

Damn... I’ll have to send more SP.

Just as I reopened the soul trading interface—

“I’ll end this now!”

Achilles, full of confidence, shouted as he prepared to strike.

But suddenly, he froze.

Slash!

“What...?”

His golden armor tore like paper.

A massive scythe appeared before him—a grim reaper’s scythe.

Despite deflecting countless attacks with ease, Achilles now wore a pained expression as he collapsed in midair.

“This power...”

“Kehehehe. Achilles, what are you doing here? You haven’t forgotten Olympus’s pact with us, have you...?”

That voice... Hades?

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]