Chapter 166

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Chapter 166: Shooting the Sun (2)

"Is Apollo outside?"

When did that guy even arrive?

[He's been here for a while. But I didn't open the portal for him. If you, the Soul God, had attacked me, I would have opened the door for Apollo.]

The spine-chilling thought crossed my mind.

If I had fought to save the goddess, I would have faced a joint attack from Apollo and K'aai.

I could have escaped using the soul mediator, but who knows what would have happened if the two high-tier gods launched a combined attack.

Merging my soul form was the right decision.

"Apollo... Are you going to kill him, Soul God?"

Artemis asked with a pitiful expression.

She seemed to be pleading with me.

As twins, she must be concerned about him.

But right now, an opportunity to capture the Olympian high-tier gods has arrived, and I can't let it slip away.

"Yes. Today, I will capture the Sun God. Artemis, you should help."

"……If you're asking me, I cannot comply. Instead, give me a direct command as an apostle."

"I understand. Apostle Artemis, put all your strength into helping me kill Apollo."

Artemis nodded silently with a grim expression.

So it seems that once you become an apostle, you can't disobey the main god.

This is quite useful.

[Let me know when you're ready. I'll send you in immediately.]

I checked my remaining SP as K'aai's offer stood.

Around 1 billion SP left.

It seemed insufficient…

But this was such a rare opportunity that I couldn't afford to retreat now.

Should I gather SP from the apostles?

"Apostle's Garden."

I opened the apostle's garden window.

Having reached SS rank, the garden had expanded to 5000 apostles.

Since Artemis was now a high-tier god, she took up 100 spots.

So high-tier gods are like that.

Low-ranked gods occupy 10 spots… Hm.

"Huh?"

[You have appointed an SSS-ranked god as an apostle.]

[You have appointed a high-tier god as an apostle. If you appoint 4 more high-tier gods, you can promote the apostle's garden to ‘Divine Realm’.]

The new message appeared as I opened the apostle's garden.

A Divine Realm…

The scale has expanded significantly since I became a mid-ranked god.

I looked at Artemis's status window.

Her impressive stats.

Unlike me, who has soul power, her attributes ranged from strength, agility, magic, and many more unprecedented stats.

Among them, my eyes were drawn to her SP.

"SP 10 billion...?"

"Well, I haven't done anything while being trapped. It accumulated quite a bit."

[Even though I took a little, it's still that much... Truly, a high-tier god of Olympus. You've gathered a lot while resetting the world.]

Seeing 10 billion SP, a sense of urgency hit me.

If Artemis had this much, how much has Apollo accumulated?

"How much SP has Apollo gathered?"

[He is the Sun God, the God of Light, Medicine, Music, Reason, and many other domains. If he has more than Artemis, he certainly has a lot more.]

"Right. If we talk about SP, Apollo is probably one of the top gods among the 12 Olympians."

More than 10 billion SP… That's going to be tough…

Is there any way to handle this?

As I looked at the apostle window, the SP collection caught my attention.

Can I collect SP from Artemis?

I pressed the SP collection button.

[Do you want to collect SP?]

[Since Apostle Artemis is higher-ranked than you, you can only collect 10% of her SP.]

Oh.

10% means 1 billion.

That's exactly the amount of my current fortune.

"Artemis, I’m going to use your SP."

"What...? Wait a second!"

Without listening to her objections, I proceeded with the SP collection.

[You have collected a total of 1 billion SP from ‘Apostle Artemis’.]

[You have collected SP from a higher-ranked god. You cannot collect SP for the next month.]

[You have collected a huge amount of SP. It will take some time to be credited to you...]

[You are a Soul God, SS rank. It will be credited immediately.]

A month of no SP collection?

Well, what's important is the present moment.

I was worried it would take time since it was a huge amount, but fortunately, that was not the case.

Alright.

Now, should I collect from the other apostles as well?

[Are you still destroying the Pillar of the Thunder soul?]

[Yes. We don't see any enemies.]

[Hmm. Apollo seems to be ignoring the ground and waiting in the sky. I’m preparing for a confrontation with Apollo now. I need SP, so I’ll collect some. I’ll pay it back later.]

[Ah, you don’t have to repay it. Everything of ours belongs to you, Great God.]

The apostles readily agreed.

From the lower-ranked apostles, I could collect up to 50%.

In this emergency, I gathered as much SP as possible, and I was able to collect another 1 billion here.

Still, 3 billion...

It still felt lacking.

"10 billion like this..."

Artemis’s face showed a look of resignation.

K'aai sneered beside her.

[Isn't it the duty of an apostle to offer everything to the main god? Accept it with joy.]

Artemis glared at K'aai fiercely, then turned her gaze back to me.

[There’s a limit to how much SP you can collect, but are you a mid-ranked god?]

Is she messaging me privately, so K'aai doesn’t hear?

When I nodded, she stared at me in surprise.

[For a mid-ranked god to have this much power... Impressive. But it might still be tough to face Apollo... ]

She sent the message and then turned to K'aai.

"What’s your plan?"

[Are you willing to cooperate?]

"I’m an apostle... I cannot go against the main god. But if it’s an absurd plan, I’d suggest retreating instead of fighting. Apollo is a strong opponent."

[He is strong, indeed. But this is my domain. If we lure him and ambush him, there’s a chance of victory. Even if we can’t kill him due to lacking power, we’ve prepared an escape route. Causing him damage here is enough.]

With that, K'aai began explaining his plan.

We began preparing according to his strategy.

* * *

"Artemis..."

Apollo, shining with white light, was standing in front of the portal to the Sky Garden, looking displeased.

'The energy of the Soul God has been cut off here. Is K'aai fighting? This bastard… not opening the door.'

Apollo glared at the darkened center of the portal.

K'aai.

A false god who controls Artemis.

His power rivaled that of a high-tier god, and his mysterious abilities meant he wouldn't worry about him losing against an ordinary enemy...

'I have a bad feeling.'

Apollo recalled his fight with the Soul God.

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Until recently, he had been merely human—yet now, terrifyingly powerful.

This time, he had been upgraded once more, now strong enough to rival even high-ranking gods.

‘I must eliminate him this time. He’s growing far too fast. I told Athena, so reinforcements should be arriving soon. He won’t escape.’

Zeus was too busy to respond, so Apollo reported to his closest confidant, Athena.

He knew that on the surface of Kalvine, minor gods were suppressing the Pillars of Thunder, but he ignored it.

‘As long as I defeat the Soul God.’

Drawing out all his power, Apollo made his final preparations.

Then suddenly, an urgent voice rang out.

[Apollo… kuugh. Help! The Soul God is too powerful…!]

“Ha. Pathetic wretch…!”

If it was going to be that bad, he should’ve opened the gate earlier.

As the black part of the portal disappeared and returned to its red glow, Apollo stepped inside.

Pitch-black darkness.

Only two places emitted light.

The light of Apollo’s radiance, and the shining sword of light held by the Soul God.

Whirrrrr.

The sword of light scattered chaotically.

All the tendrils surrounding the Soul God were sliced and burned away, and white cracks appeared on the shadow-shrouded body of Artemis.

As the darkness burned away, Artemis’s soul began to emerge.

“You bastard!”

Apollo rushed toward the Soul God.

But upon seeing Artemis’s soul, he hesitated briefly.

“Could it be… Artemis is being freed…?”

If he delayed just a little more.

If the darkness was fully purged by the sword of light…

Would Artemis return?

As Apollo lingered, a sharp voice screamed at him.

[Apollo! What are you staring at?! Waiting for Artemis to be freed? Idiot! She said she’d become the Soul God’s Apostle as a quest reward. Are you going to let her be sent to him?]

“Damn it…”

[If Zeus destroys the Soul God, would she, now his Apostle, survive? Keep dreaming like usual and wait for Zeus to rescue her again. Stop scheming!]

Grit.

Grinding his teeth at the insolent remark.

As rage consumed him, light burst from Apollo’s body.

Fwoooosh.

All tendrils were incinerated.

The domain of darkness now shone like broad daylight.

[You fool! What are you doing?!]

“I’ll deal with your rudeness later.”

Staring at the burning tendrils like trash, Apollo’s soul became pure light and flew at the Soul God.

“Soul Barrier.”

The Soul God briefly glanced at Apollo.

Though he put up a barrier, he didn’t stop attacking K'aai.

His intent clear—to finish the dying enemy in front of him first.

The sword of light burned away the darkness.

Fwoosh.

Artemis’s face was revealed.

It had been so long since he’d seen that face.

Twin gods who had once relied on each other more than anyone.

At the sight of her face, a wave of emotion swept over him—but the thought that her becoming the Soul God’s Apostle would be the end pushed him into action.

“Stop!”

In his desperation, Apollo charged in soul form.

He poured in all his remaining power.

Though he used no skills, reducing SP efficiency, there was no time to spare.

Crash!

“Ugh…!”

The Soul God was flung violently away.

He soared into the pile of burning tendrils lit by Apollo’s light.

[I’ll hold him with tendrils. Just tone down that cursed light!]

“What help do you think your measly tendrils will be?”

[Heh… that light—I actually can’t stand it. If Artemis is freed because of you, it would violate our contract. You don’t want that, do you? Then stop now!]

“Hah… Why does Father make deals with such weaklings…?”

The darkness had greatly weakened.

More than half of Artemis’s body was visible now.

Expressionless, yet somehow sorrowful.

Seeing her face, Apollo hesitated.

‘If I leave it like this just a bit longer… Artemis might be freed.’

One more burst of light would rid the darkness entirely.

He was tempted to stay still for just a moment longer—but in the end, he diminished his light.

The radiance from his body began to fade.

[Good… the tendrils are regenerating…]

Tendrils grew once more in the spot where the Soul God had crashed.

Dozens of tendrils wrapped around him and began dragging him toward Apollo.

“Hm. He’s not the type to go down with just that.”

[He fought me with everything he had. He probably doesn’t have much power left either. He was a strong opponent…]

The Soul God, bound tightly in tendrils.

Through the gaps, his face looked unconscious.

“I’ll seal him first and take him to Father.”

[Hehe. Why not just give him to me? Hand over the Soul God, and I’ll release Artemis.]

“That won’t happen. The Soul God’s life and death is Father’s decision. I’m taking him in.”

Even if Artemis was precious, capturing the Soul God was something Zeus had emphasized himself.

Apollo coldly rejected the offer and approached the Soul God.

‘He’s not the type to go down so easily…’

Remaining cautious, Apollo kept an eye on him.

And as he came within reach…

A sword of light shot out from between the tendrils.

Still bound to a sword-shaped tendril, the Light Sword flew straight at him.

“I knew it! You weren’t subdued!”

Apollo summoned a flame shield to block the strike.

Clang!

Brilliant white sparks burst between the two weapons.

The clash was brief.

Cracks spread across the shield instantly—there was no question which side was stronger.

“Damn… still strong. K'aai! I’ll unleash more power!”

Radiance returned to Apollo’s body.

A new light shield formed in his right hand, aiming to block the incoming sword.

But just as he was about to intercept it…

Whoosh!

“What?!”

The tendrils that had bound the Soul God shot toward Apollo.

His arms, legs, torso—attacked from all directions.

Darkness resisted the light and bound Apollo.

“What is this…?!”

“I’m sorry, Apollo. I… couldn’t disobey.”

Shhhk.

A snow-white hand pierced through Apollo’s chest as he stood in shock.

So pale it was almost transparent.

That hand… that voice…

He knew it well.

“Artemis…?”

[You’ve done well.]

Before he could say more, the hand holding his shield was pulled down by tendrils.

Nothing stood before him.

And the sword of light ran him through without resistance.

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]