Chapter 136
Chapter 136
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 136
Chapter Title: Hera's Burden
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Recently, Yuno, who had become the incarnation of Hera, couldn't help but have headaches.
The sudden Third Mutation, and the Golden Tree she encountered because of it.
There, she met Hera, the queen of the Greek gods.
Clearly, it was because of that her life had become so arduous.
"Block Zeus." That was the strict command Hera had given her.
Why on earth did she have to block Zeus?
To be precise, Zeus's incarnation.
Her childhood friend, Mihalis.
He had fully inherited Zeus's nature from the myths, and with his immense power, he was shaking the entire Greek society.
It wouldn't be a problem if it were just him, but the issue was his followers.
As soon as it became known that he was Zeus's incarnation, a significant number of people began following him.
Of course, if he were simply arrogant and a troublemaker, not many would follow him.
However, he cherished those who entered his fold extremely.
Mihalis even began searching for other incarnations of Olympus.
Declaring that he would rebuild Olympus in Greece once more.
Gradually, those claiming to be incarnations of gods gathered around Mihalis.
Yuno had initially tried to join them too, but since her god strongly dissuaded her, she had no choice but to refrain.
Even up to that point, Yuno didn't understand why she had to stop him.
After the rifts, Greece was in chaos, and it needed a strong leader to overcome that chaos.
However, just a few months after the Third Mutation, Yuno realized that Hera was right.
The incarnations gathered around Mihalis were ultimately just incarnations.
In other words, mere humans.
So, they were inevitably vulnerable to corruption.
No matter how upright a young man was, he would become arrogant as the number of people worshiping and serving him grew.
And Mihalis was no different.
At first, many of his actions started with good intentions.
Protecting people from rifts and Erosion Entities without demanding any reward.
But gradually, he began forcing faith upon people and only protecting those within his fold.
Since it was a matter of survival, people ended up believing in Zeus and submitting to Mihalis.
Even high-ranking government officials.
To put it simply, if it had stopped there, Yuno wouldn't have particularly thought of stopping him.
However, he began dominating and oppressing people with violence.
Moreover, Zeus's playboy nature emerged, leading to frequent destruction of intact families.
Seeing the changes that happened in just a few months, Yuno felt a chill.
Because she knew the Mihalis of their childhood very well.
Watching that pure young man turn like that in an instant, she understood why Hera had ordered her to stop him.
The power of a god was dangerous for a human to handle, especially if the god's nature was so capricious.
Yuno made one resolution.
To gather people who shared her will to block Zeus.
Fortunately, not all incarnations of the Olympian gods had sided with Zeus.
There were definitely those rebelling against him.
Representatively, Hephaestus and Hestia.
Their incarnations joined her, and soon others dissatisfied with Mihalis's actions began joining her as well.
People abandoned by Mihalis started worshiping Yuno under her care, and accordingly, Hera's power grew, strengthening Yuno's power as well.
On the surface, Greece seemed safe from rifts, but the reality—hiding fuses of various bombs—was even more serious than Seo-hyun knew.
To the extent that if the two incarnations clashed, countless casualties would occur.
* * *
While Ark Angels' performance was in full swing, I contacted Nia.
-Yes, Seo-hyun.
"I'm contacting you because I'm curious about the situation in Greece. I plan to visit Greece soon—could you give me a rough idea of the situation there?"
Nia began spilling all sorts of information as if she had prepared it in advance.
-According to local investigations, the situation is as follows. Two factions are on the verge of collision, centered around Zeus's incarnation and Hera's incarnation.
...As expected of Greek mythology, it's showing a powder keg family from the start.
Well, it's a famous story that Zeus and Hera were in opposition, knowingly or not.
Though it mostly ended in Hera's defeat.
Since Hera governs the household, driving out Zeus would go against her own providence, or something like that.
I've heard that Zeus's nature is such a mess that the incarnation can't contain it, and the incarnation itself is breaking down.
Even before becoming the incarnation, Zeus's incarnation was said to be an extremely kind and upright young man... so yeah, there's definitely something eerie about it.
If Seo-ah had become an incarnation of some weird god by any chance, she might have ended up like that.
Well, even if that happened, I wouldn't have let it slide.
Anyway, summarizing what I heard from Nia... the current situation in Greece is a powder keg where an explosive incident could happen at any moment.
So, I might need to visit as soon as possible.
Still, since Hera is blocking Zeus from causing chaos, it seems important to make contact with Hera's side first.
Just in case, I asked Nia about Hera's incarnation Yuno's appearance and location, and as expected, Nia told me her residence and main activity areas without hesitation.
Seriously, she feels like an all-purpose AI. How many informants has she scattered around the world?
If anything, her influence across the globe seems greater than mine. She's essentially the mother of all Mutants to begin with.
Alright, time to head to Greece.
* * *
"Where are you going?"
Tae-hoon said as I left the room despite having no schedule.
He was still looking at something on his smartphone, and I replied with a smile.
"Greece."
"Now? Did something happen?"
"No, but something's about to, so I should go check it out right away."
"Well, wherever you go, it'll probably get sorted out... just take it easy."
"You never know. He's an incarnation of a god, after all."
"Incarnation? Heh, unless the god himself shows up, I bet you'd crush him. That's what I think."
Tae-hoon snorted at my words. Having constantly watched what level of Mutant I was, he didn't worry about me at all.
"Just don't kill him. If you mess up your strength, he'll just burst and die. You can kill with a single word, and that puny god's incarnation?"
"That's the plan. For now... I'll check out the situation. Since he was originally a really kind person, I'm thinking there might be a way to turn him back."
"Is there anything impossible for you?"
"Hmm... I've never really thought about it, so I don't know."
"You're not saying there isn't."
"Well, we'll find out if we look. Anyway, I'm off."
"When will you be back?"
"It might not take long? If the coordinates are clear, I can go and come back quickly."
"Greece... where exactly?"
To his question about the destination, I answered lightly.
"Athens. Hera's incarnation lives in Athens."
"Hera's incarnation... sounds like she'll have a really bad personality."
"Who knows. Cases where myth beings are exactly like the myths are rare anyway."
With that, I immediately teleported to Athens. Naturally, with Perception Inhibition Magic and stealth magic applied.
People would be startled if I appeared suddenly.
Normally, you should make careful contact in situations like this.
* * *
Yuno let out a sigh. Her nerves were overly frayed because she didn't know what Mihalis might do at any moment.
Hera worried about her.
-Are you okay?
"Yes, I'm fine, Hera."
Hera was just as frustrated by the stagnant situation.
More incarnations were siding with Zeus's incarnation than she had thought.
Hera deemed it unavoidable.
Because the number of people following Mihalis kept increasing.
However, she didn't think it was a situation for despair.
Since it was modern times with diverse values, people who saw Mihalis's actions as twisted supported Hera.
The only regrettable thing was the lack of a force that could turn the tide.
As the goddess of the household, Hera couldn't exert her full power against her own husband, so she desperately needed help from other incarnations.
While Yuno and Hera were each harboring their worries and sighing, an entity appeared before them.
-Hello.
A voice transmitted directly to the mind, beyond the body.
Above all, the overwhelming presence emanating from that entity.
Not only Yuno, an incarnation of a god, but even Hera was momentarily overwhelmed by that presence.
"...Who are you? Whose incarnation are you?"
At that moment, Seo-hyun released the Perception Inhibition Magic. Seeing the clearly revealed appearance, Yuno's mouth fell open.
The moment she saw her face and the horns on her head, she couldn't help but recognize her.
Anyone who could access the internet would know that face, so upon seeing it before her, Yuno harbored faint hope.
That person could unravel this stalemate.
"You are..."
"I'm Yoon Seo-hyun, Mutant Management Bureau Director from Korea. You're Yuno, Hera's incarnation, right?"
"Yes."
"I've come at the World Tree's message that you need help."
At those words, both Yuno and Hera let out sighs of relief.
It was as if a powerful ally had joined them.
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