Chapter 218

[Translator - Night]

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Chapter 218: Sealing Stone (2)

[Athena. So Zeus is cornered and is now calling for me.]

Hera spoke with a deeply troubled expression on the screen.

[What do you mean by that? My father is calling for you?]

[He said he would reach EX rank using only his own strength… but the Soul God disrupted everything. Now he says he needs to become complete. And for that… he needs me.]

[Lady Hera. He needs you? Don't tell me… he plans to absorb you?]

At Athena's question, Hera gave a small nod.

[No! If he does that, you’ll be annihilated!]

[No, because of the oath, he can’t destroy me. I’ll enter inside Zeus and help him become more complete.]

[My father has already reached EX rank. It's impossible to defy him even from the outside—how can you resist from within? Please, Lady Hera, reconsider. This is… dangerous.]

[It’s better than letting Zeus collapse. If that happens, Olympus has no future. Don’t worry. It'll be fine…]

Hera trailed off.

Athena desperately tried to persuade her, but Hera was firm in her decision.

Whoosh.

Hera eventually shook off Athena’s hand and turned away.

[I’m going now, Athena.]

[Lady Hera…]

[I have no choice, Athena. Zeus said… if we don’t cooperate with him, he’ll embrace Chaos. If he accepts Chaos, the world we desire will vanish.]

[He’ll accept Chaos…? What do you mean by that?]

[He said he’d accept an offer from the "Smiling Devil."]

And with that, Hera disappeared.

But after hearing that, I couldn’t just sit and watch anymore.

“Athena. The ‘Smiling Devil’ made him an offer? What does that mean?”

[I didn’t hear the full details… but I did hear that one of the Lords of Chaos—the Smiling Devil—made an offer to my father. Not just a partnership, but that if he fully joins Chaos, he’ll receive even greater rewards.]

“Hm… So he’s fully joined Chaos? Then why did he help with my auction? And why did Hades and Hercules help me in the war against Ares?”

[I know nothing about that. I wasn’t aware Chaos ever cooperated with us…]

[Not us. Just Zeus. Chaos sees no value in SSS-ranked individuals.]

“That’s not all. Hades also hunted Michael at my request. I did pay him some SP, though.”

[I don’t know the full story either. Only Zeus would know the details.]

Ugh…

If Zeus has truly joined Chaos, that’s a huge problem.

He’d be the most influential Chaos member in the universe—how could we possibly win?

Still… something feels off.

If he was that deep in with Chaos, why did he help me?

There was no reason to let me profit so much from the auction.

“I’ll stay cautious for now, but I need to understand the situation before becoming hostile.”

[It could be an individual action by one of the Chaos Lords.]

“No, I don’t think so. That Chaos Divine Artifact Zeus has—it bothers me. The Smiling Devil is just a Chaos Lord, right? Around SSS level?”

[Yes. He’s stronger than ordinary gods, thanks to his backing, but still.]

“How could Zeus get a Chaos Divine Artifact without higher approval? Even Yahweh had to spend so much time to make one.”

[I don’t know the specifics.]

Hmph.

So there’s no info on EX-grade divine items.

The key seems to be that Zeus is tied to Chaos, has absorbed Hera, and is likely planning to absorb the rest of Olympus too…

[Struggling, Soul God. But the end is near.]

I remembered what Zeus said with a chilling murmur after wiping out Olympus.

Even though I raided his place and stole his resources, Zeus remained calm.

If he’s aligned with Chaos, that confidence makes sense.

If he starts acting seriously, it’ll be tough to deal with him.

“Why hasn’t he invaded yet, though?”

[He seems to be preparing something. Gathering as much SP as possible. It might be related to the Chaos Divine Artifact.]

“Ugh. That damn EX artifact. It’s on another level… nothing like mine.”

Chaos—fully matured—has five different powers.

Meanwhile, I only have one power: “Growth.”

Objectively, it’s no match.

“Maybe he hasn’t attacked yet because he’s still getting ready…”

Even if he doesn’t directly attack, we’re already barely holding off the disasters on Earth.

If the powers of Hephaestus or Demeter are added to the mix, humanity won’t stand a chance.

What a headache.

I have more SP than I know what to do with, but it’s useless against Zeus.

No… it’s not that it's useless.

It’s that my vessel isn’t big enough.

I need time to grow—but will Zeus give me that time?

“Mr. Kim Jiho. You’re here? I was just about to call you…”

Elprian approached and was startled when she saw me.

“Your soul energy… it’s become enormous since I last saw you.”

“I’ve been promoted to godhood, and a lot’s happened. I’ve got plenty of SP now. But what did you want to talk about?”

“Ah… that. It’s not really something I can say here. Can we move somewhere else?”

“Isn’t this your territory?”

“Have you forgotten who the original owner is? Technically, it’s just borrowed.”

Right.

This used to be Hades’ domain.

So what she wants to say must be related to him.

“Alright. Where are we going?”

“I’ll take you to the Spirit Realm.”

Spirit Realm?

“Where Diana is? How is she doing?”

“She’s doing well. It was supposed to take around a hundred years… but with the recent surge in SP, progress has accelerated.”

Elprian opened a green portal.

“Please come through this way.”

“Alright.”

I picked up a bundle of Sealing Stones and stepped into the Spirit Realm.

It’s been a while since I saw Diana.

Inside the Spirit Realm.

I expected it to be an entirely different world—but it looked like a dense forest.

But even though it looked like a forest…

Every part of it wasn’t ordinary—it was made of semi-transparent spirits.

“Are all of those spirits?”

“Yes, they are.”

“The landscape is all forest?”

“This is the region of the Spirit Realm under my control. It reflects my core power and identity. Only a god can shape a realm like this.”

“Wow… This forest looks huge.”

I lightly used my powers to scout the surroundings, but I couldn’t see the end.

If I can’t see the edge even with divine senses, it must be vast.

“It used to be even larger. I lost much of my power, so the realm shrank. But thanks to you and Diana, it’s been recovering.”

I provided SP, sure—but Diana too?

As I looked puzzled, Elprian smiled softly.

“She used a significant amount of SP in the Spirit Realm while preparing to ascend to S-rank. That helped expand this forest.”

“Diana’s still ascending?”

“Yes. She’s planting tree spirits to become an S-rank.”

So expanding her domain helps her ascend.

If it’s just about using SP, then if I support her, won’t she reach it in no time?

When I shared this thought, Elprian shook her head.

“She currently has more than enough SP. She doesn’t need any more to expand her domain. What matters is how much she synchronizes with this world.”

“I see…”

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

“Still, since her SP is more than sufficient, she’s already achieved over 90%. Just a little more time, and she’ll emerge.”

I see.

Thinking about it, it hasn't been that long since she entered to get promoted to S-rank.

It just felt longer because so much has happened.

Anyway, if she’s coming out soon, that’s a relief.

“By the way… what I was going to tell you earlier…”

[Soul God. It seems Zeus's power doesn’t reach this space.]

As Elprian began to speak, Ares’s voice came from the sealing stone at the same time.

Huh?

He's right.

Earlier, the color hadn’t faded much from the sealing stone, but now that we're in the spirit realm, it's fading visibly faster.

[The spirit realm is a place even Zeus cannot pinpoint. His tracking won’t work here. The bond formed by the oath will also weaken.]

“Hooh.”

[This place would be better to release the seal.]

“These two…?”

I briefly explained the situation to Elprian.

When I told her the voices from the sealing stone belonged to Athena and Ares, her face showed shock.

“Athena and Ares…? You’ve captured both of Olympus’s gods of war? Such esteemed deities…”

“High-rank beings are easier to handle now. The problem is the EX-class. Honestly, if that guy didn’t have that Chaos relic, we could’ve beaten him with a numbers advantage…”

Because of the powerful authority of the Chaos relic, my unlimited SP power felt a bit dulled.

“A Chaos relic?”

“It’s an EX-class weapon. Seems like Chaos gave it to Zeus—it’s been a real headache.”

“Chaos gave it to Zeus… Then that means Zeus joined Chaos?”

“Looks like it.”

“I had a feeling…”

Elprian nodded at my words.

She looked like she’d suspected it.

“Do you know something?”

“Hades’s movements have been strange.”

Hades originally opposed Olympus—especially Zeus.

His subordinates felt the same way, and apparently Elprian had been growing her forces in Kevrian under Hades’s protection.

“But at some point, they began attacking my followers.”

“Did he become a full enemy?”

“No, not exactly… It’s more like Hades’s undead army slipped from his control. They even fight among themselves and try to kill anything living. When I protested to Hades, he just laughed and said nothing.”

“Hm. He seemed fine when I saw him not long ago.”

He cooperated well during the auction, and even when I told him to attack Michael.

Did something change in just a few days?

“No matter how much he hates Zeus, if he’s part of Chaos, then he might have no choice but to help him. He was obsessing over Persephone’s fragment and acting more violent…”

[The Chaos Lord is still just high-rank. If Zeus joins Chaos, he’ll outrank the Lord.]

Chaos…

What’s their intention?

EX-class relics are unbelievably valuable.

It’s not something an SSS-class lord would casually hand out.

The only one who’d have the authority to grant it…

No matter how I think about it, it can only be Chaos’s supreme deity—the Left Arm of the Creator.

“The Left Arm of the Creator…”

Is that guy opposing me?

But if that were the case, they wouldn’t have let the auction happen in the first place.

No, they could’ve just taken me out at the auction—that would’ve been easier.

They gave me that massive amount of SP and let Zeus grow stronger too.

Why?

Why help me so much and also empower Zeus?

“Chaos… what are you thinking? You’ve basically raised both Zeus’s and my power.”

Thanks to infinite SP, I’ve grown immensely.

I even destroyed the Olympus divine realm with just an avatar.

No number of SSS-class beings can face me now.

Simply because the SP level is on another dimension.

But Zeus can pierce my barrier with [Erasure] and has [Banishment], which gives him perfect defense.

It’s almost like he has powers tailor-made to counter me.

Even though I’ve built up resistance to Erasure and Banishment, if Zeus uses them directly, they’ll be far stronger than when used by lower ranks.

Unless I build even greater resistance, I’ll die.

Of course… there is a way.

I could let go of myself.

If I accept all of this SP—this massive amount I’ve barely tapped into…

Then I’m sure of it.

No matter how powerful his authority is…

If I fully absorb 200 quadrillion SP, I can defeat Zeus.

But in doing so, Kim Jiho would disappear, and something else—something I don’t even know—would take my place.

Yes.

A complete Soul God.

A complete Soul God.

Currently, the only being in the entire universe who could be called that is the Left Arm of the Creator.

Yes.

Only the Left Arm—for now.

The next most likely candidate would be…

Me.

“…No way. Is that what they want?”

That Left Arm bastard… Could it be?

Do they want to make me the Right Arm?

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