Chapter 187

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Chapter 187: Ragnarok (2)

“Oh dear, oh dear.”

The sly, bearded Odysseus.

He stood at the escape route blocked by a stream of water, unsure of what to do.

“I mean, I’d go through if I could...”

Thunk.

Even in soul form, his body bounced off the water when he tried to pass through.

He looked around above and below, clicking his tongue.

“This is a problem.”

“Then just surrender quietly.”

“Eeeek! The Soul God... already! Wait, what about the Black Thunder?!”

Odysseus trembled dramatically as I arrived.

As for the Black Thunder...

“The Soul God really is impressive. All the apostles are using soul energy attacks...”

The Black Thunder was being suppressed by my apostle gods.

Since I took the lead and cut him down first, he couldn't put up much resistance and was being sliced apart.

“The Soul God's forces are stronger than expected. Even if it's just a ragtag bunch, passing down even part of their skills makes a huge difference.”

“Kekeke. In my opinion, they're on par with the other divine realms. Why not just take over all the divine realms while you're at it?”

Even without going that far, it's true that the Soul Reaper skill-sharing is a huge advantage.

The lower-ranked gods who had saved up SP in the Garden of Apostles were quite powerful and helped a lot in breaking through the path.

“What the heck is this? They're way stronger than we predicted! Why are apostles this strong?! Eeeek...”

Odysseus pointed at me accusingly while biting his fingers.

Wasn’t this guy supposed to be a hero?

Why does he act like a court eunuch?

“Don’t be fooled. That guy is Odysseus, the ever-changing hero.”

“Kekeke. That's right. Let’s not waste words. Let's drag him off and torture him.”

Artemis and Hades followed behind me, speaking.

“Let’s start by cutting off his legs.”

Whoosh.

Hades' scythe grazed Odysseus' legs.

“Grrk...!”

Odysseus’ soul body was cleanly severed.

He was a god of Olympus, so he should have had some sort of soul barrier, but he didn’t defend himself at all.

“What, you’re just letting us slice you up? Not even resisting? That's boring. Kekekeke.”

“Would it make a difference if I did? Do you think I could win against Lord Hades? Eek... it hurts. It really hurts. Please, go easy on me.”

“You're the main character of the Odyssey. Why are you acting like this? Huh? You pretending to be this weak just makes you more suspicious. Kekekeke.”

Hades hacked away at Odysseus with his scythe.

He screamed in pain, but his eyes didn’t change at all.

Just as Hades said, he was only pretending to be weak.

At his core, he was still a hero.

“What mission did Ares give you?”

“Haha. You think I’d tell you that myself?”

“Well, yeah. I guess not.”

Odysseus, the hero.

If he made it to the level of a god of Olympus, he must have some integrity behind that appearance.

Even as his entire body was being cut up by Hades, he held out.

After about a minute or two, Odysseus had lost all his limbs and was a shredded mess.

If he weren’t in soul form, the area would be drenched in blood, and he’d have died from blood loss.

Yet, despite all the screaming and crying, he showed no intention of revealing his mission.

Sigh.

There’s no way to make this guy talk in such a short time.

“Hades. Step aside.”

“Hm? You’re not going to torture him?”

“I would if we had time, but this situation is urgent. I’ll just erase him.”

I channeled soul energy into my soul blade.

He was sent here to carry out some mission that would suppress me.

If I erase him, he won’t be able to complete it—even if I don’t know what it was.

Zzzzzzt.

“Aaaaaargh!”

As soon as my sword touched Odysseus' soul, he screamed on a whole different level than before.

His eyes rolled back, showing only the whites, and his tongue lolled all the way out to his chin.

Jeez, what a drama queen.

“You’re not going to talk, right? Then die as Ares’ loyal servant.”

“Aaaaaah! Wait! Wait a second. Are you really going to erase me...?”

“Yup.”

“Ugh... hold on... I’ll... I’ll talk.”

“How do I know you’re not lying? I’ll just kill you.”

“No! Really! I’m telling the truth. Our target is Hercules. It’s Hercules!”

Huh?

Hercules?

“Hercules? Why him?”

“We need more samples of his soul. That way, Olympus’ soul-type skill levels can be raised. We wanted to boost our power before the big battle.”

“So you guys came here knowing Hercules was here?”

“Not me. I just followed Lord Ares’ orders. He just told me to come this way.”

Despite missing all his limbs, Odysseus shrugged.

Artemis frowned seriously at his words.

“Is it the Authority of the God of War?”

“Authority of the ?”

“It’s the power to see the optimal path to victory. He instinctively knows how to win, and acts on it.”

“You could say it’s like seeing the future. I’ve never seen it used, though—it’s said to be hard to activate.”

So, a power that lets him know how to win, huh.

These god-level beings keep showing up with troublesome powers.

First Apollo, then Ares.

Even Artemis has her moon authority.

“If that power is active, does it still work even though we caught Odysseus?”

“Kekeke. Of course. When does a war ever go according to plan? Surprises always happen, and the plan gets revised. Ares’ power will just find a new path to victory. Even if you caught Odysseus, another victory path will appear.”

“Tch. Got it. But Odysseus, even if you lured Hercules, you wouldn’t have been able to completely subdue him with just Black Thunder. How’d you plan to get his soul sample?”

“They just need to fight. That’s enough for the data to transfer, or so I heard.”

“Then a lot of data probably already got through, huh?”

“Nope. It failed. You stepped in before we could fully lure him in... hehe... your power was overwhelming.”

If he had hands, he’d probably be rubbing them together in flattery.

That beard of his just adds to the slimeball image.

Still, I shouldn’t let appearances fool me.

Now that I’ve got the intel, time to eliminate the threat.

“Thanks for the info. I’ll make your end painless.”

“Wa–wait! Hold on! Please! Ah, right! Make me an apostle! If I become your apostle, I won’t be able to betray you. I’ll become your eternal servant, Soul God!”

“Hmmm...”

Make Odysseus an apostle?

He’s switching sides a little too fast.

“Woof! Oink! I’ll bark if you tell me to! Please! Please spare me! I’ll be your eternal loyal dog-pig!”

“Hm... Was Odysseus always this obsessed with living?”

“Of course! I’ve lived for eternity, and now I’m about to die! Artemis, you have no room to talk! You’re a god who became an apostle!”

“Grr... that bastard. Kill him.”

Artemis scowled and drew her thumb across her neck.

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But she didn’t argue further—she became an apostle to survive, too...

I considered it for a second since he was willing to become an apostle, but then I raised my sword again.

Odysseus, famous for his cunning schemes.

Even as an ally, he’d make me uneasy.

Better not to leave any loose ends.

[O, God of Souls. Lady Athena—haven’t you heard from her?]

The moment my sword touched Odysseus’ neck, a message appeared before my eyes.

Athena?

Why is she being brought up all of a sudden?

I hadn't received any messages, maybe because I only recently restored the shield.

[No, really, you haven’t heard? I thought you knew…! P-please, make me an Apostle. It’s not just because I want to live… There’s something urgent that the gods of Olympus, who oppose Zeus, need to find out. If you still don’t trust me, just make me an Apostle and kill me afterward…!]

Gods of Olympus who oppose Zeus?

Could be a lie made up to save his own life...

But the fact that he specifically mentioned Athena makes it harder to kill him right away.

“Hm. Join as an Apostle.”

“Y-Yes. Thank you. O God of Souls.”

Odysseus was practically bouncing with joy.

Man… never seen a god so happy to become an Apostle.

[Odysseus has been appointed as an Apostle.]

As soon as he became an Apostle, Odysseus’ soul began to regenerate.

The limbs severed by Hades began to grow back, and the abrasions on his soul also returned to normal.

Watching his body regenerate, Odysseus muttered—

“O… Oooh… there are no restrictions?”

Once he became an Apostle, Odysseus’ voice took on a completely different tone.

Gone was the sly schemer—now he spoke like a solemn hero.

Still had that conniving beard, but his whole vibe had changed.

“My Lord. Tell Hercules to stand down. We must head to Asgard immediately. I already know the rough plan…”

[Oathbreaker. May you be struck by divine punishment.]

Thud!

A white hand burst forth from Odysseus’ chest.

Crackling…

Electric currents spread through Odysseus’ soul.

Pain twisted his expression.

“Ggh… Argh… Zeus. Even here, you still have power… Is the Oath inescapable…? Are we forever bound to him…?”

White lightning spread out, engulfing Odysseus.

Unlike the frantic demeanor from earlier, he now clenched his teeth with a solemn face.

An Oath?

Judging by the lightning, was it made with Zeus?

“Soul Disassembly.”

I analyze the enemy’s power.

It resembled the electric force I once saw from Zeus.

But… something’s off.

The power’s not that strong.

I dug deeper.

“Hmmm…”

Upon further analysis, I discovered Odysseus’ SP was transforming itself into Zeus’ power.

When the core of a god—his SP—turns against him, it’s basically self-destruction.

“Soul Barrier.”

I tried to protect his chest and face—the areas not yet transformed.

The lightning from outside is blocked…

But then—

Crackle. Crackle.

Electricity began sparking inside the barrier, rendering it useless.

So this is the power of a Creator God.

To disappear by one’s own SP—what madness.

Sigh.

Is there no way?

Do I just let him die like this?

No.

I can’t let Zeus win again.

Hmm.

Maybe…

“Odysseus. I’m going to initiate an SP exchange. Open the trade window.”

“Urgh… Fine… A-alright.”

If the SP from Olympus combusts on its own, what about SP I give him?

I throw one million SP at Odysseus.

“Soul Fusion.”

“Soul Mediation.”

I activated all the soul-type skills I’ve accumulated so far.

I implanted my SP into Odysseus’ head, pushing down the original SP below it.

It only took a few seconds before my SP fully occupied the soul of his head.

“Aaah… my head…!”

And with that, no electricity appeared in the head region.

But the soul below the head was already fully consumed by Zeus’ lightning, trying to surge upward.

“Soul Barrier.”

I cast the barrier on his head.

Zeus’ lightning tried to climb up but got blocked.

Crack. Crackle. Snap.

[God of Souls. Do you dare defy the Creator's Oath? How arrogant.]

“What the hell? ‘How arrogant’? That’s rich coming from you.”

Zeus’ lightning keeps trying to invade from below.

A pretty powerful strike.

Even though it’s manifested from Odysseus’ SP, it was trying to shatter my Soul Barrier.

[Soul Barrier is half-destroyed. Consuming SP to regenerate.]

[Soul Barrier is half-destroyed. Consuming SP to regenerate.]

Messages flashed rapidly as the barrier was restored again and again.

By now, it's become a battle of wills—I keep feeding SP to maintain the barrier.

After several attacks…

The lightning erupting from Odysseus’ torso finally began to fade.

[Heh. To strain yourself so much for a mere lesser god… you are soft, Kim Jiho. Well, your end is near, so enjoy your little victories while you can. Hahahaha…]

With one last laugh, the lightning vanished.

That bastard Zeus.

Acting cocky while running out of juice.

Though to be fair, I burned through a crazy amount of SP too…

“Is… is it over?”

Odysseus, wide-eyed, asked as he stared at the aftermath.

“Well, all your SP’s gone now.”

“But my identity remains. My abilities and skills too. I can’t believe it!”

“Hm. Must be your essence. Seems even Zeus couldn’t erase that.”

“Ooh, my Lord! I’ve really escaped Zeus’ grip?”

Suddenly, Odysseus begins to cry.

Come to think of it, even when his limbs were severed…

Even when his soul was scorched by the soul sword, he only showed pain—but never cried.

Huh…

Escaping Zeus’ grasp made him cry, but becoming my Apostle?

That just made him giddy?

“My Lord. You’ve shown us a new possibility. Thank you so much.”

“‘Us’? You mean the gods who oppose Zeus?”

“Yes. I have much to tell you. But first, we must go to Asgard immediately.”

Just a head remaining, Odysseus' eyes blazed with fierce determination.

“There are traps there we must take care of first.”

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