Chapter 167

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[Proofreader - Gun]

Chapter 167: Shooting the Sun (3)

"You bastard...!"

Apollo, bound all over by tentacles.

Even though the soul sword was stabbed into his chest, we couldn't let our guard down.

"Attack with everything you've got."

"...Understood."

[We have to suppress him as much as possible right now.]

As I gave the order to Artemis, K'aai joined in as well.

The tentacles binding Apollo's limbs turned black and began to obscure his light.

"You bastards...!"

Light burst from Apollo’s chest.

Though his limbs were shrouded in darkness, his core was emitting even stronger power.

But when Artemis stirred her hand inside him, the light flickered, weakening and strengthening again.

Even so, his incredible regeneration was astonishing.

Despite a gaping hole in his chest, his soul body repeatedly collapsed and regenerated.

Even with my soul sword piercing his chest and Artemis attacking with both hands.

It was a lethal blow that would have killed a human instantly, but being a god, he endured.

Fwoooosh.

Even brighter light shone from his chest than before.

Was Apollo drawing out more power?

We can’t leave him like this.

[Attack harder. Don’t give him time!]

At K'aai’s urgent shout, I activated a skill.

“Divine Domain.”

Divine Domain—a skill that temporarily grants the Soul Emission and soul barrier skills to allies.

Artemis, being my apostle, could already use both, but K'aai couldn’t, so I used the skill to support him.

It cost some SP, but I couldn't waste this opportunity.

Affected by the Divine Domain, K'aai laughed joyfully.

[Oh ho. This is the power of the God of Souls.]

The blackened tentacles were now imbued with Soul Emission power.

Apollo, under this pressure, was getting squeezed even harder.

Before, the tentacles just restrained him—but now they began to erase his limbs completely with the aura.

"Grgh...!"

The light radiating from Apollo's chest dimmed.

At the same time, his limbs began to regenerate again.

Was he diverting power from his core to save his limbs?

“Soul Barrier.”

He tried using the Soul Barrier skill he had taken from Hercules.

But even in this dire situation, it had little effect.

“Artemis. Dispel his soul barrier whenever it appears.”

Since dispelling Soul Barrier consumed a lot of SP, I left it to Artemis.

She responded with a somber expression.

“Apollo…”

She called his name with pity, but still tore apart his Soul Barrier with ease.

Honestly, it felt like her bare hands were more powerful than any weapon.

“Soul Emission.”

I used Soul Emission again inside Apollo’s body.

White flames slowly flared up from his chest.

His limbs were crumbling under the tentacles, and his core was being relentlessly attacked by the soul sword.

“Ugh… You cowards…!”

“There’s no such thing as cowardice in battle. Winning is what matters.”

[Heh. Apollo. You’re easier than expected. Imbuing the tentacles with Soul Emission really works well.]

K'aai was right.

Even though we had planned a surprise attack, I didn’t expect it to go this well.

At first, I just hoped to deal some damage… but he couldn’t even fight back.

Well, considering Artemis and K'aai are near-divine, and I’m almost divine level myself, it’s basically a three-on-one ambush.

No wonder he can't resist easily.

At this rate… we might really catch a big one here.

[You have reached the limit of soul energy you can absorb from the target. To gain more, increase the level of the Soul Reaper skill.]

[You have reached the SP absorption limit from the target. To gain more, increase the level of the Soul Reaper skill.]

Maybe it was because I’d struck him earlier with my sword.

Though the sword was still embedded in Apollo, the Soul Reaper had reached its limit.

And now wasn’t really the time to spend SP upgrading skills.

As I kept channeling Soul Emission into his chest and pouring out soul energy, the same messages popped up every 10 seconds.

After about ten messages...

[You have inflicted sustained critical damage to a demigod.]

[The Soul Reaper skill has leveled up by 1.]

Unexpectedly, the skill level increased.

The Soul Reaper skill, which wouldn’t increase without SP investment... just leveled up on its own.

That’s huge.

With the skill level up, I could now steal soul energy and SP from him again.

[Soul Reaper activated on Sun God ‘Apollo’.]

[Soul energy and SP are being stolen from the target.]

[Soul energy +50.]

[SP +25 million.]

It wasn’t a massive amount—50 soul energy and 25 million SP—but the fact that the skill level went up made it worthwhile.

I continued to stir his chest with my sword, raking in the bonus rewards.

“Soul God… your strange power again…! You’re stealing my power!”

Apollo shouted, but it was all bluster now.

His soul body was repeatedly breaking down and re-forming.

If Soul Reaper levels up automatically like this…

Should I invest some SP to upgrade it in advance?

With one level up granting 50 soul energy and 25 million SP, the return was worth about 50 million SP.

So, I tried investing 1 billion SP.

[Soul Reaper skill level has increased.]

[Soul Reaper skill level has increased.]

When the skill reached the 90s, the 1 billion SP was used up.

Still, with the sudden jump in Soul Reaper level, Apollo was clearly in more pain.

“What have you done… My divine authority… my power…!”

“Don’t worry, I’ll put your power to good use.”

“Ugh… Soul Barrier!”

He hastily tried to shield his soul body again.

But maybe because it was rushed, the barrier was pitifully weak.

At this level...

“Artemis. Attack.”

“…Alright.”

She broke the barrier, and the tentacles now wrapped around Apollo’s entire body.

The soul sword remained embedded in his chest, unleashing Soul Emission at full power.

Thanks to the increased Soul Reaper level, I still hadn’t hit the limit of what I could absorb.

[You have inflicted sustained critical damage to a demigod.]

[The Soul Reaper skill has leveled up by 1.]

Even without hitting the limit, the skill kept leveling up.

After about 10 minutes, the Soul Reaper skill reached level 99.

At this rate, I might even hit level 100.

“You… bastards…”

Apollo’s resistance was clearly fading.

The light that once shone from his soul form was nearly extinguished.

The white flames erupting from Apollo’s soul energy release looked even more intense than the light he normally emitted.

[Translator - Night]

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Apollo couldn’t even run—he just kept taking damage equal to death, over and over, regenerating each time.

[Apollo. An incredible amount of SP. To think he could endure the combined attack of three deities like this.]

“But it looks like the end is in sight.”

Apollo was fading.

In contrast, my Soul Reaper skill level had increased, and the gap between my SP income and expenditure was shrinking fast.

At this rate, Apollo would keep losing SP until he died from his own depletion.

Just as I thought we might subdue him more easily than expected—

Fwoooosh.

The tendrils wrapped around Apollo’s face burst into flames.

His expression turned utterly serious.

His fading soulual body suddenly recovered in an instant.

“Artemis.”

He turned his head back.

He ignored the soul sword stuck in his chest and looked only at Artemis.

“You… you’ve truly become a full Apostle of the Soul God?”

“Yes.”

“Truly full? There’s no way to break the contract?”

“There isn’t. Once I longed for freedom, and once the Soul God cleared my quest, I became bound to him.”

“…I see. So there’s no way to free you.”

Apollo conversed with Artemis with a calm expression.

He still had this much strength left?

I drove the soul sword deeper into him, flooding more soul energy through it.

But even as his body burned in agony, he continued speaking calmly.

“Artemis… your true enemy is the Soul God. He was the one who penalized Father through the system. That’s why we couldn’t release you sooner… Why were you in such a rush? It hasn’t even been a year since Father became a Creator. You should’ve waited longer. You should have.”

“Apollo. If Father had regained his power, would he really have freed me? Really? I thought long and hard while sealed away. I still remember the look on his face when he abandoned me. He looked so… refreshed.”

Zeus, who could look that refreshed after selling off his daughter.

Artemis shook her head as if trying to rid herself of the disgusting memory, then said to Apollo:

“I couldn’t trust him anymore, Apollo. Why don’t you just stay with me?”

“Stay with you…? Hah. Are you seriously suggesting I become an Apostle of the Soul God too?”

“Yes. That way you can survive. The Soul God… he’ll accept you too, won’t he?”

Turning Apollo into an Apostle?

If he truly became one, that might work, but…

“It’s possible…”

But seeing him whip his head toward me and glare fiercely, it didn’t seem like he’d ever actually do it.

“I’d rather die here than live as a mere Apostle.”

Apollo glared at me, unwavering.

His presence was still overwhelmingly strong.

How much strength did this guy still have?

I checked my SP—about 1.5 billion remained.

I’d used 1 billion to level up the Soul Reaper skill, so technically I’d only spent 500 million?

No, factoring in the SP I gained through Soul Reaper, I’d poured a massive amount into this fight…

Even with a critical hit from the soul sword, plus the combined assault from Artemis and K'aai, we were only at this point.

Just as I prepared to release another Soul Energy Emission—

Apollo growled at me.

“Soul God. You really cornered me into a trap. At this rate, I’ll disappear before Athena’s reinforcements arrive. To think I’ll die at the hands of my twin sister…”

“Then accept it. Stop resisting and vanish.”

“But consider this your misfortune for having faced me.”

Misfortune?

More like jackpot.

That’s when Apollo’s aura completely shifted.

“I, Apollo, renounce my position as heir to Olympus.”

Apollo’s eyes turned pure white.

His fading soul body suddenly regenerated at a rapid pace.

FWOOSH.

The tendrils binding his limbs burst into flames all at once.

[What…? What is this power!?]

Those tendrils had definitely been infused with soul energy!

My guard, which had been relaxing slightly, shot back to full alert.

Apollo had burned away all the tendrils restraining his body.

“Ugh. Soul Energy Emission…!”

I poured more soul energy into the sword once again.

But Apollo didn’t flinch.

Even the soul flames rising from his chest had quietly subsided.

“This power… get away!”

Artemis quickly retreated.

In an instant, she had escaped toward the wall made of tendrils.

She’s fast, as always.

“You remember what I said, right? If Apollo renounces his claim to heirship, we retreat!”

When we planned the strategy to lure Apollo, Artemis had warned us:

“Apollo is among the strongest of the Olympian deities.”

Apollo.

Though an illegitimate child of Zeus, he was treated as the de facto heir.

The sun god, always powerful in every mythology.

“Don’t get greedy and try to destroy him. Just hurt him enough and pull back. And… if he ever declares that he’s giving up his heirship—run. No matter what.”

Artemis didn’t explain the details, but she’d insisted we must flee.

She said that if Apollo gave up his heirship, he’d become unbelievably powerful for a short time.

And indeed, the atmosphere had completely changed.

Just as I was thinking we needed to retreat—

Apollo opened his mouth.

“Solar Storm.”

BOOM!

Apollo’s body was instantly engulfed in light and exploded.

The massive pressure blasted me back.

Still gripping the soul sword, I was sent flying.

“Soul Barrier!”

CRACK!

“Guh…”

An unpleasant sensation on my back.

Looking behind me, I saw the tendril wall had been smashed.

Ugh.

How far did I get blown back?

Thanks to activating the barrier in time, my soul body wasn’t too damaged…

But this dark space had suddenly turned scorching hot.

[Apollo. This is my domain. I won’t permit any further outbursts.]

K'aai, also blown back, returned to his vortex form and extended tendrils from the opposite wall.

They came flying at Apollo from every direction.

“Pathetic.”

But the tendrils turned to light and were instantly reduced to ash.

They had been obliterated by the light storm.

A slow, spiraling white light whirled around Apollo at the center.

“What are you spacing out for? Let’s go!”

Artemis had returned to my side.

She urgently urged me to retreat.

“How is he so strong just because he gave up being heir?”

“He gave up his place as a deity.”

Artemis stared at Apollo with a grim expression.

“To survive. And… to destroy the Soul God.”

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