The King of the Gods, Zeus
Apollo was the god of the sun, as well as the patron of music, prophecy, healing, and many other domains.
If Prometheus could foresee and predict the future with his prophetic wisdom, then Apollo was quite literally the god who could peer directly into tomorrow.
Yet even Apollo had no idea that Heracles would one day play a decisive role in the coming Gigantomachia, the Giant War.
Had he known, he would have cured Heracles of his madness without worrying about Hera’s gaze.
The Giant War known as the Gigantomachia was the event in which the giants, backed by Gaia—the Mother of the Earth who had grown furious with Olympus—invaded the home of the gods.
The giants possessed power equal to that of the gods and were terrifying beings capable of killing them.
It would be an all-out war between the twelve Olympian gods and the race of giants.
Having foreseen the Gigantomachia, Zeus received a single prophecy.
To achieve victory in the Gigantomachia, they would need the help of a “mortal hero.”
Only a mortal hero could deliver the final blow that would sever a giant’s life.
In preparation for victory in the Gigantomachia, the Olympian gods slept with mortal women, and countless heroes were born.
Perseus, Heracles, Amphion, Zethus, Theseus, Achilles…
This era was called the Age of Heroes.
And among those many heroes, the one chosen to shine in the Gigantomachia was none other than Heracles.
However, Heracles would not be officially recognized by the gods and ascend to Olympus until after his death.
The current Heracles was merely one candidate among many aspiring heroes.
There was no reason for Apollo to treat him specially while ignoring Hera.
Besides…
At Heracles’s blunt reply, Apollo’s face twisted in disbelief.
Apollo’s rage flared at the revelation that Heracles had tried to steal the Omphalos simply to force him to appear.
Tssssss—
Apollo’s fury caused golden sunlight to scorch the sanctuary of Delphi with unbearable heat.
At Heracles’s thanks, Apollo’s golden eyes blazed with radiant light.
Snap!
Apollo flicked his fingers.
In an instant, the space that had been a sanctuary transformed into a vast plain.
And then—
Countless golden arrows materialized, completely surrounding Heracles from every direction.
Heracles leaped toward Apollo, who hovered with the sun at his back.
At the same time, the arrows that had sealed off every direction came flying in.
Thududududung—!
Using the Nemean Lion skin, Heracles deflected every single arrow.
In the blink of an eye, he closed the distance to Apollo.
Yet Apollo merely sneered coldly.
In that instant, the arrows of light Heracles had deflected exploded all at once. A massive inferno swallowed him whole.
Fwoooooosh—
Engulfed in flames, Heracles plummeted to the ground.
The earth blazed brilliantly beneath Apollo’s fire, which could reduce everything to ash.
Then—
Step. Step.
Heracles walked out from within the blaze.
Even though he had been struck by the arrows, he didn’t have a single wound on his body.
An amber-colored mana, darker and thicker than Apollo’s own power, wrapped around Heracles’s entire form.
His knees bent as he emerged from the flames.
Thud—!
The ground beneath his feet caved in as Heracles charged toward Apollo once more.
But as if he had anticipated it, Apollo’s arrows had already sealed off the space Heracles would pass through.
Thudududududung—!
Heracles was pushed back while blocking the arrows with the Nemean Lion skin.
He tried to attack Apollo again and again, but every attempt ended in failure.
He couldn’t even get close.
Future Sight.
Apollo, who could read the immediate future, was interfering with that future to completely restrict Heracles’s movements.
───♪
The melody of the lyre flowing from Apollo’s hands was tuning the future itself.
Jeanne asked, watching Heracles fail to land even a single meaningful attack.
Even at the moment she spoke, Heracles was trapped by the wall of fire Apollo had erected, his movements completely sealed.
But I wasn’t particularly worried.
Because he was Heracles.
According to the myths, Heracles was a monster who had even fought and defeated Thanatos, the god of death.
Of course, Thanatos’s divinity could not compare to Apollo, one of the twelve Olympians.
Thanatos was merely a lesser god under Hades, governing only the limited domain of “death.”
However, Apollo had not revealed his full power either.
He had arrogantly chosen to place restrictions on himself by calling this a “trial.”
Apollo would have to pay the price for that arrogance.
After all, in the myths, Heracles was the hero who had seized “purification” from Apollo through his own strength.
Apollo looked down at Heracles, who had stopped moving and stood motionless.
……
Heracles did not answer.
Watching Heracles stand with his eyes closed and completely still, Apollo read the future.
The next moment, Apollo flinched in shock.
He had seen a future in which Heracles charged “straight ahead.”
The attack was an honest, straightforward punch.
It was simple—almost too simple. There were countless ways to respond even without seeing the future.
But…
I can’t block it.
Even after reading the future, Apollo realized he could not stop Heracles’s attack.
It was a terrifying strike—straightforward yet capable of nullifying everything.
For the first time, Apollo learned that there were attacks that could not be stopped even if foreseen.
By the time he realized it, Heracles’s attack had already begun.
Kwaaaaaaaaang—!
Heracles shattered the ground beneath him as he shot forward, rushing toward Apollo at terrifying speed.
It was an overwhelming pressure, like a massive comet hurtling toward its target.
Apollo fired three consecutive blasts of flame, but Heracles ignored them and kept charging.
Fwoooosh—!
His entire body was scorched and burned by the flames, yet Heracles paid it no mind.
The only thing burning in his amber eyes was the single-minded determination to strike Apollo.
A fist like a massive steel pillar, wreathed in flames, hurtled toward Apollo.
“!”
Seeing the horrifyingly enormous fist, Apollo turned pale and tried to dodge at the last second.
But he couldn’t avoid it completely. The fist grazed him, shattering Apollo’s shoulder.
Crack—!
“Aaargh!”
Apollo plummeted to the ground. His face twisted in agony as his shoulder was torn apart.
Yet Heracles’s assault did not end there.
Even though he had already passed the trial, Heracles’s fist now targeted Apollo’s abdomen.
Caught off guard by the unexpected attack, Apollo hastily dropped his lyre and blocked with both hands.
Crackkk—!
A horrifying sound of bones twisting echoed.
Both of Apollo’s arms, which had blocked Heracles’s punch, were grotesquely bent out of shape.
The moment Heracles’s massive fist swung toward Apollo’s face—
Fwooooosh—!
A pure white light erupted, blinding Heracles’s vision.
When the light faded, Apollo had already retreated far away from Heracles.
Waves of golden divine power that had not been visible before surged across Apollo’s entire body.
A soft white light glowed from Apollo’s hands. His broken arms returned to their original state.
Oooong—
Even his shoulder was healed. In the blink of an eye, Apollo had returned to his perfect condition.
However, blood trickled from the corner of his mouth where Heracles’s fist had grazed him.
At Heracles’s taunt, Apollo’s expression hardened.
Apollo drew the bow slung across his back—Ignifer.
Fwoooosh—
The Sun Bow Ignifer, burning with divine flames, was aimed at Heracles.
The heat radiating from Ignifer evaporated all moisture in the air.
Crackle. Snap.
The grass across the plain dried up and crumbled into dust.
The clouds covering the sky vanished, revealing a clear blue expanse.
The focal point of that extreme heat was locked onto Heracles.
……
Even as Ignifer was aimed at him, Heracles did not retreat.
He drew his own bow.
It was not as splendid as Apollo’s Ignifer, nor did it have a name. It was simply an absurdly large bow.
Yet it was a bow that no ordinary human could draw—only Heracles could pull its string.
Grrrrrrrrk—
With an ominous creak like something about to snap, the bow bent violently.
A pitch-black arrowhead was nocked upon it.
It was an arrow coated in the venom of the Hydra, a poison said to make even immortals writhe in eternal agony.
Just as the human and the god aimed their bows at each other—
Rumble…
Suddenly, thunder roared across the clear sky.
Both Heracles and Apollo, who had been aiming at one another, lifted their heads to look upward.
Vanessa grabbed me and pulled me back. Jeanne quietly gathered her holy power.
Everyone was staring at the sky.
He’s here.
I looked up with a tense expression.
The sound of thunder in a cloudless sky was the herald of a certain god’s descent.
The god who ruled over thunder and lightning.
The King of the Gods.
The God of Thunder—Zeus.
The moment something flashed, a single bolt of lightning struck the ground.
