Chapter 137
Chapter 137
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 137
Chapter Title: Grabbing Mihalis
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They had all heard of the World Tree as well.
The World Tree, Ermenia.
With roots deeply embedded in California, she had begun her activities right around the time when rift erosion started in earnest, dispatching mutants across the globe to hold back the erosion from the rifts.
Considering how Yuno herself had survived the rift erosion thanks to her aid, it suddenly made sense why a Dragon-type Mutant had appeared here.
After all, no one was unaware of the World Tree's close ties with Dragon-type Mutants.
“How’s the situation looking?”
“…It’s tough. Mihalis—that is, Zeus’s Incarnation—is steadily expanding his influence, and he’s growing his faction faster than we are.”
Seo-hyun stroked her chin with her fingers at Yuno’s words. She appeared to be deep in thought.
“If that’s the case, do you know which other gods’ Incarnations have sided with Zeus?”
“As far as we’ve confirmed… Apollo, Artemis, Ares, and Poseidon.”
Just hearing the lineup was intimidating. As expected of Zeus’s Incarnation.
With nearly half of Olympus’s Twelve Gods on his side, it was no wonder Yuno was tearing her hair out.
“That’s ridiculous.”
“Tell me about it.”
“But why are the other gods siding with Zeus of all people?”
“Well, it’s obvious. They’ve joined him because he wants to rebuild Olympus. The gods get their faith back, and the Incarnations grow stronger the more faith they receive.”
Having greater power meant greater assurance of survival.
And in this chaotic world, power was equivalent to authority.
Seo-hyun could see why the Incarnations were flocking to Zeus.
She didn’t approve of his actions, but she understood the appeal of the rewards he offered.
“And above all… it’s probably the chance to gain power transcending humanity.”
Yuno’s follow-up nailed the core desire of the Incarnations.
Power.
After undergoing the Third Mutation and gaining strength, they wanted people bowing to them.
Moreover, the gods recorded in Olympus were all arrogant to a fault.
The surprising one was Hera, though.
As the queen of the gods, she was said to be the most arrogant of them all.
For her to stand against Zeus’s tyranny was unexpected.
After all, no one stood to gain more from Olympus’s revival than her.
“Hera is the goddess of marriage. Seeing what Mihalis is doing under Zeus’s influence is bound to make her furious.”
“Ah.”
To sum up Yuno’s explanation:
With both their divinities weakened at the perfect moment, Hera planned to rein in Zeus entirely.
Forget rebuilding Olympus and all that—first, she’d fix Zeus’s temperament. Seo-hyun could sense Hera’s ambition.
Come to think of it, myths and such always depicted Hera suffering headaches because of Zeus, so this wasn’t out of character for her.
Incarnations were strongly influenced by their gods, so Yuno naturally harbored resentment toward Zeus as well.
The difference with Yuno, though, was that Hera was surprisingly merciful to those she took a liking to, allowing Yuno to retain her original personality.
“But there’s something a bit odd.”
“Yes, go ahead.”
A sudden question popped into Seo-hyun’s mind.
“Mythology says Zeus disliked Ares, and Hera disliked Hephaestus… so why are they on the same side now?”
“Oh, that… Hephaestus’s Incarnation just wants to quietly work in his forge, but the world’s too chaotic, and he hates Mihalis for causing it. Ares’s Incarnation stuck with Mihalis because he’s the one stirring up all the strife…”
“In short, it aligns with Ares’s war-loving nature.”
“Exactly. Their individual interests just happened to align, dividing them into factions.”
Ares and Hephaestus were both children of Zeus and Hera, and weren’t on good terms with their parents, so Seo-hyun had assumed they’d stay out of the conflict… This was another surprise.
“And one more question. If there’s an Olympus god, Hades should be there too. What’s his Incarnation up to?”
“He’s sitting it out. We thought whichever side courted him first would gain the advantage… but now it’s unnecessary.”
From Yuno’s account, the key to this messy conflict lay with Hades and the other neutral gods.
“Athena’s on our side since she’s close with Hera and said she’d join us, but he was the biggest problem.”
“He was…?”
“Oh, Hera just told me we don’t need to bother anymore.”
“Huh?”
What was this now?
Seo-hyun had been taking the situation seriously, only to be thrown off by Yuno’s sudden words.
“Hera said your power has reached divinity, so the moment you intervene, the balance will collapse.”
…So, in other words, she was too strong for the balance to hold?
“Maybe things will wrap up quickly after all.”
“Uh, well… Honestly, even if the gods came in their true forms, they’d probably struggle against you.”
“No way, I’m not that strong.”
“No, she said you are. They might handle you at their peak, but in this declining age, they can’t.”
Of course, Seo-hyun knew how immense the Ancestral Dragon’s power was.
Hadn’t she single-handedly erased an entire world?
But even so, Olympus’s divinities were still objects of faith, deeply rooted in people’s lives.
It didn’t make sense for her to surpass them.
She might be stronger than their Incarnations, but still.
“So, what should I do?”
When Seo-hyun asked Yuno, she consulted Hera before relaying the answer.
“For now, she says grab Mihalis by the hair first?”
Simple enough.
* * *
Mihalis felt like the world was his.
From the moment he was chosen as Zeus’s Incarnation, it had felt like a dream.
People he wouldn’t have glanced at before now knelt before him, bringing a strange ecstasy.
The honest, upright young man had no choice but to change under the pleasure bestowed by Zeus’s halo.
But he felt no regrets.
His former purity now seemed trivial.
The rules and laws he once upheld were no longer relevant to him.
He intended to act exactly as Zeus willed.
Rebuild Olympus, gather followers to conquer Greece, and use divine power to dominate even further.
Mihalis was confident it would work. What could go wrong?
He had the king of Greek gods, Zeus, backing him.
Even Hades’s Incarnation, who’d been watching from the sidelines, would join him soon enough.
Who would refuse such generous benefits?
Of course, there was one problem.
That damned Hera Incarnation, Yuno.
She was a thorn in his side.
He’d once trailed after her like a puppy, but those days were gone.
Mihalis felt nothing for Yuno now.
It was only natural. He faced love—or pleasures far beyond it—every day.
A mere gesture from him, and women offered themselves willingly. No need to waste time on one woman.
That’s what he thought.
Until a sudden wind blew into his residence.
Whoooosh—!
A gale swept through, stripping away the opulent furnishings in his lavish abode.
“What in the world is this?”
“…Who are you?”
Mihalis forced himself to stay calm as he addressed the intruder.
Who could possibly pull this off?
As Zeus’s Incarnation, he could easily sense human presences.
Yet someone had invaded without him noticing?
His best guess was an assassin sent by Yuno or someone similar… but he was confident.
No matter who it was, they’d kneel before him eventually.
But when he saw Seo-hyun illuminated by moonlight, his jaw dropped.
“W-Why are you here?”
The one person he least wanted to see—the only one he felt uncertain about—had appeared.
Seo-hyun approached Mihalis cheerfully, ignoring his shock, and grabbed him by the hair.
“L-Let go!”
The brutal force felt like it would rip his scalp off.
Rumble—!
Mihalis summoned Zeus’s weapons, the lightning spears Astrafe and Keraunos, using the thunder god’s authority.
Immense thunderous power gathered in his hands.
He swung the twin spears at Seo-hyun, who was dragging him somewhere by the hair.
Bolts infused with ferocious momentum shot toward her, but Seo-hyun merely flicked the hand not gripping his hair.
The raging lightning vanished in an instant.
Mihalis could only stare wide-eyed at the unbelievable sight.
“That’s enough resisting. If you keep it up… well, you won’t like what happens next.”
But even a child could tell something bad would happen if he let himself be dragged off like this.
Rumble—!
In that moment, a bolt from the sky engulfed Mihalis’s body.
He had fully taken in Zeus’s power.
The mightiest ability granted to an Incarnation.
Possession.
For a brief instant, it wasn’t Mihalis standing there—it was Zeus himself.