Chapter 138
Chapter 138
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 138
Chapter Title: Exorcising Zeus
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Just as I grabbed Mihalis by the hair, subdued his resistance, and tried to drag him away.
A sudden bolt of lightning struck down, forcing me to let go of his hair.
Even I would have felt some pain if I'd taken that hit barehanded.
The moment the lightning struck his body, I sensed something alien emanating from him.
A sensation I'd never felt from him before.
It was like... his very existence had been replaced in an instant.
Watching that, a realization hit me. Seo-ah had once mentioned something like this.
"By the way, Seo-ah."
"Yeah?"
"If it's an Incarnation, can a god descend into that body?" "Yeah. But it's pretty taxing." ‘You mean the burden on the body becomes severe?’ ‘Both the body and the soul. They’d probably be in bad shape for quite a while after a divine descent.’ That's right. Gods could briefly set foot in the world through their Incarnations.
However, the burden on the Incarnation was immense, so most gods refrained from descending into their bodies.
Why destroy the precious conduit they'd created to project their will into the world?
Moreover, the higher the god's divinity, the greater the strain. Incarnations had short mutation periods, so their bodies were as fragile as any human's.
Which meant the current situation was Zeus descending into his Incarnation, Mihalis, sensing the danger.
I was a bit curious. Just how strong was a true god?
Hera had said he could feel intimidated by me, but was that really the case?
At the very least, I didn't feel any particular fear or intimidation from Zeus.
Whether it was because Zeus was overwhelmingly powerful or because I stood above him in the hierarchy, I wasn't sure... but caution was warranted.
-Who dares touch an Incarnation of Olympus?
A majestic voice flowed from Mihalis... no, Zeus's mouth.
Wow, he could make a killing as an opera singer.
As that idle thought crossed my mind, Zeus glared at me with seething fury.
-You?
"Yes, well. As you know, your Incarnation turned Greece into a mess."
-A mess? The Incarnations of Olympus deserve fear and reverence from the people of this land.
As expected, no reasoning with this god. I'd known Greek gods were arrogant for generations, but to call Mihalis's atrocities "natural"...
It seemed I needed to remind him this wasn't ancient times anymore.
Honestly, I had no desire to chat at length with Zeus.
One sentence was enough to gauge his personality.
He wasn't someone who listened to reason.
That was only natural. He was a god, after all.
How often do gods heed human words, or bend their stubbornness to mortal pleas?
Besides, what Mihalis had done... well.
His intent to rebuild Olympus? Fine, I could understand that.
But using it as leverage to threaten people's right to survival? That rubbed me the wrong way.
Not that he was wrong. Mutants were people too.
They could use their power for personal gain. Denying that would be wrong.
I couldn't impose my ideals on others.
Anyone with power they could wield would do the same.
My case was the exception.
But I knew exactly where those actions would lead.
Right now, it was just threats over Rifts... but if Olympus was truly rebuilt and the gods' Incarnations ascended to the pinnacle of power beyond humans.
Humans would inevitably become playthings to them.
I had no interest in witnessing that.
I silently stared at Zeus and swung my hand.
Against such an opponent, rhetoric was pointless. Only overwhelming force.
Clouds gathered. He was the god of thunderbolts. So there was one thing I wanted to test.
Would my thunderbolt work on Zeus too?
I knew it probably wouldn't land easily. But hey, where's the fun in that?
If it failed, I'd just scorch him with fire.
Or use Dragon Tongue.
The thunderbolts descending from the clouds converged into a horn. The horn turned white as an immense bolt infused it. Zeus scoffed at the sight.
-A thunderbolt? Using a thunderbolt against me, the god of thunderbolts?
"That's why I'm using it."
-Insolent fool!
"The insolent ones are you gods."
Without another word, I gathered the bolt from the horn at my fingertips.
Pzzzzzt-!
Mihalis had definitely used something like this earlier.
What was it called? Astrafe or Keraunos, from the myths?
The moment the thought formed, Zeus created a thunderbolt spear of his own.
The power radiating from it dwarfed Mihalis's by far.
-Do not mock the authority of a god!
With a shout, Zeus hurled his thunderbolt at me. I countered by throwing my own thunderbolt spear.
The space around the passing spear warped and shattered.
Rumble-!
Amid the thunderclap, my spear proved superior.
It devoured Zeus's two thunderbolts and struck him dead-on.
Boom!
What? That was easy.
-...What.
Zeus's bewildered voice rang out.
Only natural. The thunderbolt was his signature power.
For me to crush the foundation of his divinity... meant my stature surpassed his.
Just how strong were the Progenitor Dragons?
-Impossible. How could I, the god of thunderbolts...!
Zeus couldn't accept it.
But wasn't it obvious?
According to Yahweh, modern divinities had all declined.
Their faith conduits severed, restored only faintly by Progenitor Dragon power trickling to the gods.
Unlike me, who inherited that power fully, gods were weakened at their core, and their Incarnation vessels imperfect... so they had no choice but to yield to me.
Even if it was the power underpinning their divinity.
Still, as the god of thunderbolts, he didn't fall in one hit.
Meaning, thunderbolts alone couldn't deal meaningful damage.
No need to watch further.
Better to expel this insolent god from the world as quickly as possible.
I projected my will onto the world.
To sever the divinity from the Incarnation's body.
-Be gone.
And that severed the connection between Incarnation and god.
How did I know? Hera had tipped me off before I went to Mihalis.
"Um, Seo-hyun?"
"Yeah?"
"Hera said the way to repel Zeus is simple."
"Oh? What's the method?"
"Just cut off his connection to Mihalis. An Incarnation is ultimately a conduit for the god to step into the world."
"How do you do that?"
"Uh... Hera said you'd figure it out."
She must have gauged my Dragon Tongue's limits right there.
She judged that if I understood the principle, I could sever it.
But contrary to expectations of an instant cutoff, I felt Zeus resisting.
The link to Mihalis dimmed, but directly severing a god-Incarnation bond had limits.
Given the opponent... it was inevitable.
-What... are you...!
Zeus screamed in desperation.
The connection wasn't fully severed, but his power had weakened astonishingly.
His presence had faded.
Seizing the momentum, I bound his body.
Clank-!
Chains rose from the earth, restraining Zeus.
Realizing he couldn't break free no matter what, he bowed his head.
-Why?
His eyes held one question. Why would someone like me stand in his way?
"Because I could already see the mess the world would become if I let you be. The havoc your arrogant Greek gods would wreak on human society is obvious without looking."
-I mean, why would a being like you interfere? What do humans matter to you!
"Because I was originally human. You can't deny your roots. So I act by human thinking. Moreover... I knew you gods don't think highly of humans."
-What nonsense is that?
"Pandora."
-....
One word silenced Zeus.
I'd tossed out the myth as fact, and it seemed it was true.
Zeus had deliberately led to Pandora's box being opened.
An ancient tale, but that anecdote alone showed how much Zeus resented humanity.
No way I'd let such a god run amok in this world.
But... it wasn't over yet.
-Don't make me laugh...!
The chains binding Zeus were gradually loosening.
A final desperate squeeze of his remaining power.
But I didn't let even that slide.
I'd never expected the arrogant god to stay down.
-Kneel, arrogant god.
Once more, I uttered Dragon Tongue.
In an instant, his body, breaking free and rising, slammed into the ground.
At that moment, I felt Zeus's power fading.
The possession was lifted.