Chapter 227

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Chapter 227: Ascending to Godhood (3)

"The color has changed."

The sealing stones of Hephaestus and Demeter, which previously never changed color, were now completely blue—unlike before.

Not only their sealing stones, but also those of other gods were regaining a blue hue.

For them to change so quickly, all of a sudden...

[So this is how it turned out.]

[In the end, we’ve become prisoners of the Soul God.]

A male and female voice echoed from the sealing stones.

Unlike Dionysus and Artemis, who had experienced pain, their voices were utterly calm.

Seems like they didn’t feel much pain during the purification process.

[Zeus used us—used Olympus—and discarded us. We must now cooperate with the Soul God and help him achieve victory.]

Athena was persuading the now-awakened Hephaestus and Demeter.

Without being told, she was doing her job well.

[Brother. Do you know anything about our mother’s whereabouts?]

[Hmm. That’s not something I think I should discuss with you.]

Hephaestus responded coldly to Ares’ question.

Doesn’t seem like their relationship is very good.

Time to cut the small talk…

"Hephaestus. Demeter. I am the Soul God, Kim Jiho."

As I addressed the two gods, their conversation within the sealing stones ceased.

[I am Hephaestus.]

[I am Demeter.]

The two responded to me.

Though tense, their voices weren’t hostile.

"Until now, your sealing stones hadn't changed. What triggered your awakening?"

[I'm not sure.]

[I recall something. I was completely dominated by Father and was about to unleash the power of fire on Earth… but just before that, I felt the bindings loosening.]

"Oh?"

[And then, before I knew it, I found myself here.]

[I didn’t even have time to feel anything. I just came to, and I was here.]

"Then you didn’t get to use your powers on Earth?"

[Seems so.]

[I didn’t use my authority either.]

As I listened to their responses, I observed Earth.

Not only had the new powers of the two gods failed to manifest, but even the powers of Dionysus and Aphrodite were quickly fading away.

The powers of all four gods had definitely weakened.

No, they were almost completely vanishing.

This is...

[Soul God, you've grown stronger.]

Athena’s words sparked a realization.

Witnessing the germination of the soul and growing from that—my power had evolved beyond expectation.

As a result, the purification of the sealing stones had progressed in an instant.

"Do you know anything about Zeus? If you have any useful information, I’ll reward you with SP."

[The Soul God's rewards are incredible. Even for a tiny bit of info, he gave me an enormous amount of SP.]

Aphrodite chimed in, trying to stir things up.

If they were in a position like Dionysus, collaborating with Zeus, it would be different...

[Zeus is no longer trustworthy.]

[Just thinking about what he did to me makes me sick.]

The two gods clearly had some resentment and eagerly shared what they knew about Zeus.

But in the end, there wasn’t much valuable information—either things I already knew or irrelevant details.

Well, that’s that…

"I see… nothing particularly noteworthy about Zeus. Hephaestus, do you know anything about Hera?"

[…Why do you ask about our mother?]

"Her sealing stone is missing, and judging by your earlier talk with Ares, you seem to know something."

[I cannot speak about Mother.]

Hephaestus didn’t say he didn’t know—he just wasn’t willing to talk.

"I don’t get why you wouldn’t say anything. It’s not like she was treated well by Zeus either."

[I know. But I swore not to speak. That’s the only reason I can’t say anything.]

"Did you make that oath through the system? I’ll compensate you with SP equivalent to the penalty."

[My very existence is tied to the oath… If I die, the SP means nothing.]

I hadn’t thought deeply about Hera when I brought her up, but Hephaestus’s suspicious response...

That only makes me more curious.

I want to figure it out, but Hephaestus remains firm.

Sigh.

Should I just torture him?

The traces of Zeus have disappeared from the sealing stones, so I can apply force if I want…

As I stared intently at the sealing stone with that thought in mind, I felt something strange.

The divine soul trapped within the sealing stone—

This...

Looks like I can manipulate it.

Transform it, even.

Swish.

I reached into Hephaestus’s sealing stone.

Grabbing his divine soul, I began to fiddle with it using my fingers.

[Wh-what are you doing?! Argh…!]

Immediately, Hephaestus cried out in pain.

"Sorry. My bad."

I gave a half-hearted apology and continued probing his soul to see what was possible.

Until now, even as the Soul God, divine souls—especially those of high-level gods—were beyond alteration.

The only things I could do were destroy them or restore them with SP.

But this time was different.

If it was an unworkable diamond before, now it felt like sculptable marble.

Though, I still lacked the power and tools to fully shape it.

[Don’t meddle with my mind! What are you doing? Gah!]

"Ah. Sorry… I’m a bit clumsy. It’s my first time doing this."

[Then stop it immediately!]

"Just relax. I’ll get better at it soon."

I kept prodding Hephaestus’s soul, but his resistance was intense.

If only I had more strength, I could get this over with quickly.

"Just try to relax."

[Ugh… tampering with a god’s soul…! Stop! Stop it now!]

"I’m only going to look at your memories. That shouldn’t violate your oath since it’s not your fault."

[Grr… you bastard!]

As the pain intensified, Hephaestus began to curse.

I ignored him and continued, but progress was slow.

"Hmm… maybe I should start with the lower-tier ones."

Maybe trying to alter a high-tier god's soul right off the bat was a bit much.

I pulled out the sealing stones of lower and mid-tier gods I’d taken from Olympus and started experimenting with their souls.

Starting with the lowest tier—

"This one’s easy."

As I manipulated the soul of a low-tier god within a sealing stone, it changed exactly as I wanted.

These were the minor gods of Olympus, corrupted by the Black Thunder and devoted to Zeus.

By fiddling with their souls, I switched their loyalty to myself.

[All loyalty to Kim Jiho!]

Within them, the image of Zeus was replaced by me, and they cried out in blind devotion.

How absurd...

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Lower gods are easy, huh?

[You have developed resistance to the Chaos Authority, ‘Assimilation’.]

[You now possess the power to resist ‘Assimilation’.]

And I even got an unexpected bonus.

At first, I thought I’d only change a little bit...

Looks like I’ll have to change everything.

[Oh Soul God, what are you...?!]

“Ah, Hephaestus is hard to change since he’s a high god. I’ll start with the lesser ones.”

[Can... a god really be changed like this...?]

“Yeah. It’s easy.”

[How can the divine body of a god... an independent god... be altered like this...?]

Athena falls silent.

The other high gods also remain quiet, simply watching what I’m doing.

“I can do them all at once.”

I pull out the sealing stones of the lower gods and strip them of Zeus’s essence, painting mine over it.

At first, I was clumsy, but eventually, I could process over a hundred at once.

[Loyalty to the Soul God!]

[I offer you my everything!]

A horde of lower gods pledging their loyalty.

Some even begin to collapse their divine bodies on their own, trying to turn themselves into SP.

Is it that, once tainted by Zeus’s black thunder, even gods will burn themselves to become resources?

“Don’t destroy yourselves.”

[We will obey your command!]

I stop the suicidal lower gods and methodically erase Zeus’s essence.

Once the purification of the sealing stones reaches a certain point, I start to get the hang of it.

I get two more messages about developing resistance to assimilation, which boosts my speed even more.

“Next are the mid-level gods…”

They’re definitely in another league compared to the lower ones.

A stark difference in difficulty.

[I... I will stay loyal to Zeus to the very end...!]

Even after erasing the assimilation of black thunder, a mid-level god resists fiercely.

Still, unlike Hephaestus, they’re not beyond modification, so I focus on them one by one.

[Ugh... what on earth are you doing...?!]

“Stop resisting already.”

He resisted like Hephaestus, but after handling so many lower gods, I’ve picked up some tricks.

If high gods are like marble, these guys are more like rubber clay.

Sure, reshaping them takes time and effort, but...

Right now, we’re in the calm before the storm, before Hades’s Authority of Death activates.

I pour all my strength into this while I still have time.

Anyway, I’ll keep building resistance to chaos authority...

[Ugh... urgh...]

How much time has passed?

Even the mid-level gods’ divine bodies start to crack, one by one.

[Loyalty to Lord Kim Jiho!]

“Yeah, yeah.”

[I will dedicate my soul to empowering my lord!]

“Hey. Don’t self-destruct.”

One by one, the mid-level gods turn to my side.

Even more loyal than the apostle gods, these mid-level ones are willing to die for me.

[You have developed resistance to the Chaos Authority, ‘Assimilation’.]

[You now possess the power to resist ‘Assimilation’.]

[One more resistance gained will result in complete immunity to ‘Assimilation’.]

I keep gaining resistance, and with one more, I’ll be fully immune.

[Even mid-level gods can be changed like this... Then soon, even high gods...]

[Will you change us as well...?]

Seeing the transformation of the mid-level gods, the high gods of Olympus become more respectful.

No—more than respectful, it’s fear.

Understandable, considering they’ve seen even gods being rewritten.

“If you don’t go against me, I won’t touch you. Don’t worry too much.”

[Understood…]

I try to reassure them, but the high gods of Olympus don’t fully trust my words.

Well, honestly, if I ever need more power... I might try it on them too.

So I can understand their hesitation.

“Dionysus and Hephaestus are different, though.”

[...]

[M-me? What now... What more are you going to do to me?!]

Hephaestus remains silent, perhaps worn out from all the torment.

Dionysus, however, still has the strength to speak.

Seems the purification didn’t hurt enough for him.

“You were cooperating with Zeus, weren’t you? You need to change your loyalty to me.”

[N-no, not anymore! I pledge my loyalty to you now!]

“Listen to that tone. Doesn’t sound loyal to me. At first, Hephaestus alone was tough to handle, but now I have extra strength… You’ll have to stand in for the other high gods.”

[Gaaahhhh!]

Together with the two high gods, I continued transforming the remaining mid-level gods.

Unlike the mid-level ones, the divine bodies of high gods are definitely sturdier.

No matter how much I hammer at them, they only scream in pain and refuse to change.

[I pledge loyalty! I pledge loyalty!]

Dionysus cried out, unable to bear the pain, but I know his divine body hasn’t changed.

“If you’re lying, I’ll change everything about you.”

[I’m not lying. Really. I truly pledge loyalty from the bottom of my heart!]

His plea feels desperate.

Perhaps the pain of having his divine body rewritten has truly broken his will?

But his loyalty doesn’t matter much to me.

“Your divine body hasn’t changed. Stop resisting.”

[I’m not resisting... Please. If you’re going to transform me, just do it quickly...]

“Man... At least drink some of the liquor you made.”

[Even if I drink, I wake up... over and over... I’m going insane!]

Dionysus sobbed.

Hephaestus, on the other hand, has gone silent from prolonged pain—he hasn't even groaned in days.

Geez...

“I’ll finish it quickly.”

[Ugh… ugh…]

Time passed again.

Though I told Dionysus I’d be quick, progress is slow.

Changing mid-level gods no longer increases my SP cap or resistance.

It’s like in a game where the monsters are too weak to give experience.

“Sigh. I feel like I just need to go one level higher…”

Time continues to pass, yet growth is stalled.

I thought watching the soul awakening of Lee Jinseong and Kang Shia would help me grow further, but only a month has passed in Earth time.

Thirty days isn't enough for major changes.

“And I couldn’t find anything useful in space either...”

Even the 800,000 versions of me that went into space didn’t find any valuable information.

Well, 800,000 was too small a number to explore the entire solar system anyway.

Still, not even one thing of value?

“I need more power.”

Though I’ve made great strides, it’s still not enough.

I need more preparation...!

[Humanity.]

Suddenly, I hear a voice coming simultaneously from all the emissaries dispatched to Earth.

This voice—Zeus.

“That guy… So it begins?”

The 7 billion fake souls engraved into the humans on Earth.

Every single one of them is relaying the divine voice.

Simultaneously.

Even the senile elderly, the deaf, the newborns, and patients in critical care.

No exceptions—every one of them is transmitting this divine voice.

[You’ve waited long enough. Now is the time to enter the true embrace of the god.]

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]