Chapter 214

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Chapter 214: Olympus Raid (2)

We're going to Olympus.

Until now, Earth has only been on the receiving end.

But launching a counterattack... it's certainly intriguing.

Still, there's the question of whether Ares can be trusted yet.

"The Creator Zeus is standing tall there. What if we just get annihilated the moment we show up?"

[My father is not always present in Olympus. He's absent more often than not.]

"Really? Then where is he?"

[That, I do not know.]

"Hmm…"

So there's a chance we might run into Zeus if we're unlucky.

I can’t go with my main body.

But my avatars can fight well enough unless it's a Creator-level opponent, so I’ll dispatch them.

"Like when I captured you, I should just send a bunch of avatars, right?"

[You're reviving a dreadful memory. If Zeus isn’t there, that should be more than sufficient.]

"So I just go there, smash everything, and search while I'm at it?"

[I wouldn’t recommend that. Destroying Olympus would only help Zeus.]

"Hmm… Right. Let's focus on finding the missing gods first."

I still can't fully trust Ares, who used to be an enemy.

But for now, I’ll play along to extract information.

As long as I know the location of Olympus's divine realm, I can crush it later anyway.

[You should be able to travel through the path Poseidon forged, right? I’ll get the location through that route.]

"Alright."

I summoned Triaina and opened the map of Okeanos.

[This is Okeanos’s map, huh? Olympus should be at the far bottom left.]

"Here?"

[Right next to that.]

A divine realm without any names marked.

So this is Olympus.

Targeting that area, I began summoning avatars one by one.

At first, I considered sending a whole squad...

[If you send too many and Zeus is there, you’ll be in trouble, no? He could absorb the avatars' SP.]

"Good point."

[It would be wise to set an SP limit for the invasion.]

Following Ares's advice, I form a squad of 11 elite avatars.

Each loaded with 100 billion SP.

[Isn’t 100 billion too much?]

"If Zeus is there, they can self-destruct."

100 billion SP would allow for an explosive self-destruction, even if Zeus is present.

Still, that much SP is necessary to avoid being destroyed instantly in a surprise attack.

One by one, the avatars board the enlarged Triaina.

As I dispatch them, I share their vision.

Since becoming a high god, Triaina has become much faster.

Still, it’ll probably take over an hour to reach.

During that spare time...

"Can’t we destroy that statue of Zeus?"

[It’s impossible to destroy it completely. But if you keep erasing him from here, you can force him to consume SP.]

"Oh? That so?"

Then I should deploy avatars here too.

I placed about four avatars to eliminate every version that appears.

I don’t know how much SP this will drain from Zeus, but even a little helps.

[You really are overflowing with SP…]

Ares looks exasperated by my actions.

Carrying Ares’s sealing stone, I stepped out of the Parthenon Temple.

The sky is still swirling with storms of lightning.

I tried analyzing it, but didn’t gain much in the short time.

I can’t quite tell if it’s a Chaos EX rank divine artifact or not.

"Do you know anything about Zeus’s power?"

[I do not. We simply followed orders. We weren’t given explanations.]

"I see. That ability to ignore Black Thunder and other attacks… was that also from Zeus’s power?"

[Yes. But the ability to ignore attacks… it’s similar to Uncle Hades’s Kyneē.]

"Kyneē?"

[Uncle Hades’s helmet. It conceals the wearer’s form and automatically dodges SS-rank attacks.]

"Really? That belonged to Hades..."

That guy... Didn't he become Zeus's enemy over Persephone?

Maybe not just Persephone — perhaps even the helmet's power was taken from him?

Hmm…

I feel like I’ve heard the name Kyneē before.

The invisibility ability too…

As I searched my memory, a faint recollection surfaced.

[Now then, what kind of skill do you need? Should I give you an instant-death skill? Or the stealth skill Kyneē? There’s also avatar switching… Just tell me the type you want.]

Right.

The stealth skill Kyneē was mentioned before.

I gave Persephone’s jewel and in return, got a skill — didn’t I choose the avatar switch skill back then?

"Hades once offered to give me the Kyneē skill. It was SS-ranked."

[Hmm… is that so? Then it must’ve been stolen by Father. Perhaps he weakened afterward. That skill is powerful enough to have deserved a higher rank.]

Yeah.

That seems like a reasonable assumption.

But something about it still bothers me.

Zeus is holding a Chaos divine artifact — and isn’t Hades part of Chaos?

Of course, even without the divine artifact, I knew about the connection between Chaos and Olympus from before.

Except for Hercules and Hades, the other three Chaos Lords kept defending Olympus.

They said since Zeus had become a Creator, they shouldn’t interfere.

If it had stopped there, it wouldn’t be a big deal…

But the fact that Zeus now has a divine artifact from Chaos — that changes things.

There might be a deeper connection between Chaos and Zeus than I thought.

[A Chaos EX divine artifact? You're saying that’s the source of Father Zeus’s power?]

"Seems that way."

Ares reacts in shock at my words.

[A divine artifact of the Creators... That’s far beyond my comprehension.]

"What’s strange is, Yahweh worked hard and still only managed to create about a third of one. But Zeus already has a completed version."

[Even though we kept rewinding time, the SP we gathered went entirely into becoming a Creator. On top of that, Chaos’s invasion was a real threat to us.]

"Hades and Hercules both said the three Chaos Lords — led by the Smiling Devil — kept defending Olympus. Didn't they already make a deal?"

[Hmm, maybe… But if it had all been coordinated from the start, there would've been no need for such roundabout tactics. You, the Soul God, would've been subdued immediately. Didn’t Hades and Hercules even fight for you in Okeanos?]

That’s true.

They did help block the path.

Maybe they’re not involved after all?

[Of course, I’m only a subordinate who followed orders, so my knowledge is limited… But if we had truly been working with Chaos all along, you, Soul God, would’ve been defeated without question.]

"Yeah. I’ll keep that in mind."

Right. If they had been working together from the beginning, they wouldn't have taken the long road.

I’d have been defeated early on.

Maybe even captured in the auction hosted by Chaos.

Still, from now on, they might start working closely together.

I don’t know exactly when Zeus got the Chaos divine artifact, but he definitely has it now.

From this point forward, I should keep an eye on Chaos's movements too…

"Astrape."

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

I summoned Zeus’s lightning and fired it lightly into the sky.

Whoooooosh.

Then the storm of thunder and lightning intensified.

The suction force trying to swallow Astrape was overwhelming.

So focused is the vortex on Astrape that its original purpose—collecting human souls—has slowed down.

The vortex pulsed.

Until now, it couldn’t be analyzed, but when Astrape was fired, it revealed an opening.

[God of Souls. One misstep and you might lose Astrape.]

“I know. But gathering intel on Zeus is more important.”

[Have you fully analyzed Astrape?]

“This? This is... the moment I saw it, I knew. It’s just a typical SSS-rank skill.”

Astrape—a skill containing the power and soul pattern of Zeus during his divine era.

This level isn’t difficult to analyze.

By analyzing Astrape, I’ve also roughly figured out Zeus’s soul pattern.

“I’m familiar with Zeus’s soul pattern now, but that vortex still needs further analysis. Still, it’s easier to understand than before.”

[I see...]

Carefully firing Astrape without letting it be taken, I continued analyzing the vortex.

Give it a day or two—I should know more.

Once it’s fully analyzed, I might be able to wipe it off the Earth entirely.

So, I’ll give it my best shot.

[Your avatars have arrived at Olympus.]

“Yeah. Let’s watch together.”

I brought up the shared vision screen and placed it in front of the sealing stone.

My true body in Greece continues firing Astrape into the sky...

Avatar group 1: Invading Olympus.

Group 2: Destroying Zeus statues.

True body and the rest: Forcibly awakening Earthlings.

This isn’t multitasking... it’s doing four things at once.

And yet, it doesn’t even feel inconvenient.

Strange.

Step. Step.

Ten avatars descend from Triaina.

One remains to pilot Triaina out of there.

[God of Souls. Are you leaving the avatar behind?]

“If Zeus is there and Triaina disappears, we can’t come back, right? Better to secure Triaina. Besides, they only took 100 billion each with them. They’ll just self-destruct while wreaking havoc in Olympus.”

[...I’m jealous.]

Ares couldn’t hide his envy at my reckless spending.

We watched the screen together.

A heavenly realm spread above the white sky.

Buildings in ancient Greek style—all large, but strangely, the pillars are pitch-black.

[Olympus remains the same.]

“Really? Were they always this black?”

[After Father wielded the Black Thunder, they turned like that. Though, more than half are still white...]

Ares trailed off.

In the footage showing the avatars moving at extreme speed, black buildings fill the screen.

Greek temples resembling the Parthenon.

Only, much larger—fitting, since gods reside there.

Among the pitch-black temples, only a few white ones remain in the center.

“Could he be confined in the white buildings?”

[No, go to the blackest temple in the northeast.]

“What’s the white one for, then?”

[Where the surviving Twelve Olympians reside. Athena is probably there now.]

Athena…

There’s no need to contact her yet.

Following Ares’ direction, the avatars head northeast.

Becoming streaks of light, they fly.

In a blink, they arrived at the black temple Ares indicated.

“The soul energy is murky. Is this where Black Thunder is produced?”

[Yes. Originally, it was made by capturing lesser gods and placing them here...]

Blending the avatar’s soul form with light, I approached the black temple.

Inside, a group of what seem to be Greek heroic gods wandered aimlessly with lifeless eyes.

“Ares... even you were defeated…”

“This is the only way left.”

“Let’s entrust our souls fully to Lord Zeus, brothers.”

“We will rise again through death.”

They walked into the dark temple, faces full of resignation.

[They’re all... choosing to become Black Thunder.]

“Because you were sealed?”

[Even before I was sealed, some chose to become Black Thunder—but never on this scale. If they all become Black Thunder and serve as Zeus’s SP, it’ll be a huge problem. Go check the other temples too.]

Ares marked seven temples.

I sent an avatar to each.

At each one, Olympus gods are lining up to become Black Thunder.

[This is serious. In the end, they’ve all lost heart and surrendered to Zeus.]

“I need to intervene.”

I can’t just let them become Zeus’s sustenance.

“Power of the Sun God.”

I shine sunlight upon the ones in line.

The dazed heroic gods, completely unguarded—

The moment the light touches them, they burst into flames.

“Graaagh!”

“W-What’s going on?!”

“It’s an ambush!”

Shhhh.

They begin summoning weapons.

Each one is at least a lesser god, so they switch to combat mode quickly.

But, well… even so—

How could mere spears and shields block light?

[God of Souls. Instead of annihilating them, it might be better to seal them.]

“Like you? That was my plan.”

Agreeing with Ares, I struck all seven temples simultaneously.

If Zeus were here, he’d react immediately.

But there’s no noticeable movement.

[Looks like Father isn’t present.]

Despite all this chaos, Zeus remains silent.

If he’s truly absent, there’s no other being in Olympus worth worrying about.

In that case… it’s like looting an empty house.

Good.

I’ll sweep everything I can.

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]