Thunder exploded over the Sea of Pontonoris.
Thick clouds gathered, and strong winds raged on the sea. The few passing ships were shattered almost instantly, turning into insignificant dust in the storm.
Along with the huge shaking of the seabed, a sound like a giant's roar echoed in the sea.
"Zeus, what are you waiting for? Aren't you the King of Gods?"
Boom boom
Wow——
Thunder roared and heavy rain poured down.
The Pontonoris Sea, which was originally cloudless due to the gathering of the gods, became turbulent in an instant, just like Zeus' mood.
The next moment, a silver snake streaked across the clouds and struck the sea from the sky.
It seemed to be chasing something, moving all the way down without any hesitation.
Gaia is the earth, the sky is opposite to the earth, the sea is the concave surface of the earth, and the mountains are the convex surfaces of the earth. Therefore, the mountains can support the bottom of the sky and the sea, and together with the continents, they are connected to the netherworld.
Standing on a tall spire outside Athens, when Hermes saw the lightning hitting the seabed through the binoculars, he was basically certain that the King of Gods might have entered the underworld.
He didn't know what was happening there, but after seeing this scene, Hermes could basically guess what was about to happen there.
"Heh - it's true. It's completely different."
"I knew that shepherd Paris would be of no use at all."
With a long breath, the monkey version of Hermes, the 'Reborn', moved his eyes away from one end of the binoculars and stroked the observation tool he had created.
It seems to be in line with the physical structure and curves, and its shape does not appear abrupt, because as the founder and promoter of alchemy in this world, Hermes naturally knows the principle of lenses.
But this thing that looks like a telescope, functions like a telescope, and has a structure like a telescope cannot actually see far - or at least it is not something that works based on optical principles.
It should be called the Beidou satellite navigation system of the mythological era, and this telescope-like thing is the device for sending and receiving signals.
The cores of fallen meteorites were polished into lenses, which were connected to the stars in the sky through mysticism. The starlight then became the eyes and ears of Hermes, allowing him to see the other side of the distant ocean.
This is why the gods always like to release their power and wrap themselves up when they are really talking in secret, because in the mythological world, no one knows how many ways there are to peek from a distance.
"Put it away."
Snap——
He snapped his fingers casually, and as soon as he finished speaking, an invisible magic servant came forward and took back the device.
The sky was filled with dark clouds, as if distant celestial phenomena had affected Athens. Of course, Hermes knew it was just an illusion.
But these are no longer important, because the result of the Golden Apple Banquet has been settled. Or, in other words, since learning that the priests of the God King came to Athens to request to hold a conference, Hermes has already faced the reality.
You know, long ago, he found the handsome shepherd Paris in advance based on his past "memories" and exerted all kinds of subtle influences on him. But until now, even though something has happened to Thetis' wedding, the mortal is still herding sheep.
No one noticed him, and no one invited him to choose the owner of the golden apple. Perhaps he would still have a chance to become a Trojan prince in the future, but at least for now, he still lived in the pine forest of Mount Ide with his wife.
So Hermes confirmed a fact for the umpteenth time, that is, his memories from the afterlife were of no use. Even though he himself had been an eyewitness of the Golden Apple incident, nothing that happened now corresponded to it.
Fortunately, he is the same. Compared with his past self, he has now found a new direction.
Boom boom boom——
"Teacher, are you looking for me?"
"Yes...Solomon, although you just came back from Mycenae, I can't wait any longer. How did you gain from this trip? How are the things I need prepared?"
With a gentle wave of his hand, the door to the top platform of the tower opened. Looking at the apprentice who came in, Hermes was very satisfied.
Wearing a dark hooded robe and wearing the Emerald Ring's iconic alchemical ring, this was a young man with outstanding talent among mortals, and he had been by his side for many years.
Even the best alchemists need assistants, and Solomon has always done a pretty good job in this regard.
"Teacher, I found another forty-nine star cores in the Mycenae palace, but I still need you to review them to see if they meet the requirements... There are now fifty-six qualified star cores, all of which have been stored in the secret vault you requested... We are still collecting star cores from various countries at high prices, and the nobles of Athens have always supported us."
"However, due to your order to speed up the process, we have greatly increased the price of the acquisition, so that the wealth we have spent recently has exceeded our budget by more than one step... At the current rate, if this continues, we will soon run out of funds."
The voice came from under the hood, and the handsome young man with black hair spoke in a deep voice.
Without looking up, continuing to look at the ground in front of his toes, Solomon continued to talk about the current trouble.
"The export of alchemical products has been boycotted... Many churches have forcibly seized products that have flowed into foreign countries, claiming that these products are prohibited. Although the sea routes have been opened by the king, there is no shortage of magical products in the Silvermoon City area. Within the range covered by the maze, they don't even need alchemical products. According to the current financial situation, even if we take into account the credit debt, we can only last for half a year at most."
"...I understand. I'll figure out the money issue. Just continue with the acquisition."
Without paying any attention to the long string of content that followed, Hermes made the decision directly.
In this age where humans and gods coexist and money can buy extraordinary materials, he doesn't care how much he spends. But this time, Solomon, who has always raised no objection to Hermes's request, raised his head for the first time and asked a question that has been in his mind for a long time.
"Teacher, according to your selection ratio, only extremely rare star cores are within our acquisition range. If we can find a way to identify the difference -"
"You can't do that." Shaking his head slightly, Hermes refused: "Only I can tell the difference."
"...I understand, teacher, I was talking too much."
He bowed to apologize, but Hermes just waved his hand to indicate that it was okay.
Soon, the two discussed some recent affairs and solved the troubles Solomon encountered in his experiments and meditation.
When it was all over, young Solomon took one last look at his world-famous teacher, and then closed the metal door before leaving. Soon, Hermes was the only one left on the top of the tower.
When the door frame banged against him, Hermes stopped being a role model. The former god of travel and theft who had escaped from the virtual world sighed, casually lay on the fence, and scratched his head in annoyance.
"This speed is still too slow. It's really troublesome. It's still a long way from the minimum quantity I want..."
Although strictly speaking, the progress of the collection was not slow, after all, Hermes knew very well that what he collected was not star cores but something more precious, but people are always unsatisfied.
However, the progress cannot be accelerated at present. The large-scale purchases have caused some people who do not know the reason to hold their pockets and have no intention of selling anymore.
In fact, as Solomon said, if he had the ability to identify those star cores that met the requirements, the entire collection process would be faster and more accurate. But Hermes knew very well that he said that he was the only one who could identify the difference between these things and ordinary star cores not because he cherished them, but because this was not a special technology or magic, but a basic ability possessed by gods or former gods.
There is nothing strange about a god being able to recognize another god. This cannot be taught, at least Hermes does not have this ability yet.
"...If it really doesn't work, I'll just have to go back to my old job. If I don't get these things done quickly, I won't feel safe at all."
"Well, Apollo is now the god of the sun, so he should have quite a few... Tsk, I once stole his cattle, but now he's keeping up with the times."
The famous thief god curled his lips and thought of his experience in the virtual world. When he was still an infant, he took the initiative to steal the sacrifices that mortals offered to Apollo. As a result, when he came to the real world, it seemed that his first order would be to make money from Apollo again.
It can only be said that they are really destined to be together. Hermes secretly decided that if he really did this, he would definitely leave a gift for Apollo.
To be honest, apart from the emotional issues that all the gods have, Chaos, Hermes admires him.
"That's it, for safety."
It was just a pretense of encouragement, but Hermes meant it sincerely.
He did all this not for any ambition, at least so far, it was just for safety. After all, ever since that big hand had molded the entire virtual world into a pie, he had always felt a little insecure.
······
The Sea of Pontonoris, where Hermes was just observing.
boom--
With a loud thunder, the figure of the God King disappeared, leaving only the golden throne hanging empty.
"Poseidon, what are you talking about?"
Looking anxious, Hestia was already somewhat angry.
But facing the scolding from his eldest sister, Poseidon, who had been relatively quiet at the wedding banquet, was even angrier than her.
"Oh, my sister, I followed your advice, ignored Zeus's breach of his promise, and ran to the sea to arrange the wedding. I thought I was restrained enough. But I never knew that my friends had already found other families, and I was the only one who knew nothing!"
"Why, shouldn't I ask Zeus to learn about that strange and powerful god? Or will you not be satisfied until another Typhon disaster takes place on the sea?!"
"I--"
Speechless for a moment, Hestia knew that both of them were right, the problem was only the occasion and the position.
As for Poseidon, he does not have a whole pantheon to help him like Zeus. His only subordinates are the original sea gods who have gathered around him since the turn of the era.
Poseidon had already been wary of Zeus's forced intervention in Thetis' marriage because of the prophecy. He felt that the king of gods had finally set his sights on the rights of the sea, so he remained silent at the previous wedding and allowed the annoyed sea queen Amphitrite to compete for the golden apple.
As it turns out now, he seemed to have thought too simply. Before Zeus had time to do anything, it turned out that the original sea god had secretly contacted other beings.
From the perspective of the Gods, this was not a matter of principle. The Goddess of Life, as the main god, had once been a subordinate of the Lord of Darkness. But for Poseidon, this was undoubtedly intolerable.
So he wanted Zeus to solve the problem, and in front of the gods, Zeus did go. But in Hestia's eyes, the king of gods should never leave at this moment.
And just as she thought, the next moment, Queen Hera sneered. She didn't pay any attention to Poseidon and Zeus at all, but stretched out her hand and grasped the air, and the [Thunder Arrow] appeared directly in her palm.
As the Queen who shared power with the God King, she was one of the only two gods in the world who could summon this artifact. With the artifact in hand, feeling the unparalleled power, Hera threw it forward fiercely.
[Thunder Arrow] broke through the air and pointed directly at Artemis and Keto.
The former's power was far inferior to Hera's, and without the little power that the Lord of the Nine Hells had inhabited him, Keto would also be unable to block the attack.
The decision of the golden apple just now seemed to have become a waste of paper. Hera's actions undoubtedly proved that she would use force to solve the problem. The trajectory of the artifact was reflected in Artemis' eyes. The goddess knew that she was no match for him, but she still gritted her teeth and drew her bow.
Then the next moment, the only shield in the world that could restrain thunder stood between the two of them.
[Thunder Arrow], the magic weapon transformed from Zeus's authority.
Although with the breakthrough of the boundaries of true God, this artifact that once made great contributions is no longer as useful to the God King as before, it is still a powerful weapon.
As one of the few high-level divine weapons in the world that specializes in combat, Hera, holding the thunderbolt, is fully confident that she can fight against any god. However, at this moment, the Queen of Heaven's angry attack could not penetrate an inch in front of a small sheepskin shield.
The sharp body was unable to cut through the leather. The scattered lightning trembled in front of the eye-like pattern, then solidified into a solid, turning into tiny gravel and falling to the ground.
That is the Shield of Aequis, a divine weapon born with Athena.
Its appearance is so ordinary, and in fact it is so, its power is not actually strong among the artifacts.
Even though Aequis was loaned to Zeus' son, the "pay-to-win" player Perseus thousands of years ago, and absorbed Medusa's petrifying power to strengthen himself during his adventure, the foundation of this artifact is ultimately just a sheepskin that is ordinary to a god.
Therefore, this artifact specializing in defense has hardly ever demonstrated its power. Whether it is Athena's own Spear of Victory or the Sword of Judgment of the goddess of justice Themis, they can cause damage to Aequis.
There was only one exception. When facing thunder, even though the power of the two artifacts was very different, Equis still blocked the thunder and lightning firmly, preventing it from moving forward.
Boom——
It happened so quickly that the sound of the bowstring vibrating rang out amid the thunder.
The deep purple thunder was blocked behind the shield, and Artemis, with her bow drawn, seized the opportunity accurately.
In later myths, the king of gods prepared a golden bow and a silver bow for his two children respectively. Apollo got the latter and shot the giant python Python with it, leaving behind the reputation of the god of long-range shooting; while Artemis got the former and was worshipped by hunters as the god of hunting.
Of course, Artemis in this world no longer has the golden bow, but she has a "moon bow".
The new moon is a crescent moon, and the [Crescent Crown] can also become a [Crescent Bow]. The gift that Keto had sent before turned into an arrow in the hands of the Lord of the Wilderness, and shot straight towards Hera as the power surged.
Whoosh——
A stream of light flashed in the air, and the distance inside the hall seemed to be nothing in front of the artifact bow and arrow.
Among the Olympian gods, only Hestia reacted hastily and raised her hand to erect a barrier in front of her. However, in just a blink of an eye, the arrow broke through the goddess' defense and hit the queen's brow.
laugh--
"ah----!"
With a cry of pain, the actions of the goddess of fire were not in vain after all, and Hera still responded.
She turned her head to try to avoid the sharp arrow, but the arrow passed by her cheek, leaving a bright blood mark.
The wound was not big, but it brought Hera a heavy blow both physically and mentally. Feeling the warmth across her cheek, the Queen of Heaven was furious.
"Athena, how dare you!!"
Anger accumulated in her chest, and even her voice became sharp and piercing. The arrow that had passed by her spun back into its owner's hand, but at this moment, compared to Artemis, Hera looked directly at Athena with hatred.
In the thousands of years since she became the Queen of Heaven, Hera has only been harmed by two beings.
One is Typhon, the crazy and powerful king of demons who still makes Hera feel fear from the bottom of her heart, and the other is Athena in front of her.
She never really took action, but everything was related to her. This was the case with the power of the outer gods that eroded through the sacrificial channel not long ago, and it was the same with Artemis now.
And in fact, deep down in Hera's heart, there have always been some thoughts that she couldn't express clearly.
She was jealous of Metis, jealous of her intelligence, jealous that she was Zeus's first wife; she was also jealous of Athena, her strength, wisdom, youth and beauty, and she was like the continuation of Metis, proving that even if that woman was gone, her daughter was better than all of Hera's children.
"Athena, you are a dead bastard left behind by Metis! How dare you still be here and offend the Queen of God like this! Athena, do you think you are invincible?!"
Anger blinded her reason. The name of Metis had always been a taboo for the God King. He never wanted others to mention her, but Hera had obviously forgotten this at this moment.
"That's right, hahahahaha… Well said, very well said, Hera. You finally stood up for once. But it's true, when facing people other than Zeus, you always seem to be tough, ahahahahahaha…"
Laughing wildly, Poseidon, who had taken the initiative to attack, strode forward.
Half a day ago, as the Human Assembly was going on, clouds gathered in the sky and heavy rain was brewing on the city-state. The gods who were concerned thought that this was a sign of dissatisfaction from the God King, but in fact it had nothing to do with Zeus.
He changed the topic himself, how could he not think of the possible consequences? That was actually Poseidon's anger.
Zeus arranged the wedding of the sea nymph Thetis without his permission, but he tolerated it for the time being because Hestia came to act as a lobbyist and also hinted that Zeus's behavior was related to the prophecy; as the god who actually caused the flood and destroyed the Bronze Age, he still tolerated hearing mortals questioning the justice of the gods. After all, all the gods in heaven and on earth gathered here, and if he dared to do anything, Zeus would never let him go.
But now, Zeus is no longer here, and no one can subdue Poseidon by force.
Moreover, the Lord of Storms who shook the earth could not tolerate the possibility of rebellion of the ancient sea gods, which was the foundation of his control over the sea. So Poseidon, who claimed to be the king of the sea, raised his trident and pointed it at Artemis and Keto who were blocked by the shield of Aequis.
"Keto, come out here - and you, my dear niece, you won Athens from me, and let that vile mortal run rampant on the sea. I have long wanted to see what you can do, come, this ridiculous shield can't stop me!"
In a blink of an eye, the former palace of Pontus was almost turned into a battlefield, and the attitudes of Poseidon and Hera were obvious.
Seeing this scene, Phoebe, who was farther away and was once only a palm away from the golden apple, had a flickering look in his eyes.
The situation had developed to this point, and it was almost impossible for her to compete for the golden apple. However, the arrow shot by Artemis just now made her heart move.
As the goddess of light, Phoebe actually has a path that leads directly to the true God. Just like the complete ocean, if she can subdue the sun, moon and stars and become the true supreme of light, then it will be more in line with her divine duties than the "most beautiful goddess".
Before, this was destined to be just a delusion, as the sun alone was a problem she could not get around.
But now, Apollo is her grandson, and they have a good relationship. As for the moon... looking at the crescent crown, Phoebe struggled in his heart.
It wasn't just Phoebe, there were many gods in the field who were struggling and hesitant, and the situation changed because of it.
When Poseidon's voice fell, Artemis pulled the bow again. Farther away, Aphrodite covered her face and glared at Keto fiercely.
Ares was overjoyed to see this. This time, he no longer had to hesitate between his wife and the goddess. Moreover, the enemy was the hated Athena, so he happily drew out his bronze sword and stood with Poseidon.
However, when the Sea King saw him approaching, he looked at him with disdain and secretly kept his distance.
He is more reckless, but that's just because he can't control his emotions. Most of the time he knows the consequences, but Ares is different.
He probably didn't mean to make the two goddesses angry...but seeing how happy he looked, Poseidon himself wanted to beat him up.
As the God of War moved, the situation in the hall gradually became clear. The gods seemed to be divided into three parties, two of which were in confrontation and one was neutral.
Apollo and Leto stayed aside. Although the sun god himself preferred Athena, he still stayed with the mother goddess. Zephyrus, the wind god, was loyal to Zeus. The other three wind gods surrounded him and had no intention of participating. Moanda, the goddess of life, stood aside and watched. The goddess of agriculture wavered. She hated Poseidon, but she also didn't like Athens on earth, so she stood with Hestia and also withdrew from the competition.
Near the main seat of the temple, Nereus was thinking about the situation, but his younger brother, Phorcys, the Wrath of the Sea, made a choice first and stood decisively beside Keto.
Like Keto in the past, he has an appearance that is incompatible with the gods, and is called the "Father of Monsters" by the world.
So he didn't care what Nereus thought at all, and before the eldest son of Pontus had the chance to reprimand his younger brother for making a decision on his own, Thaumas, the miracle of the sea, made his own choice again.
He came to Hera's side, willing to fight for her, because his daughter, Iris, the goddess of the rainbow, had been Zeus's messenger during the Titan War and later became Hera's messenger.
All the gods took sides at once, and the vast temple seemed to be split into several parts.
And holding Selene's hand, Hecate's smile became even brighter.
She did not join Keto's side, and of course, she would not join the other side.
After all, strictly speaking, she and Athena didn't have any close relationship, and her relationship with Hera was even more distant. She just watched all this with interest, and felt that her trip today was not in vain.
"Hey, Selene, who do you think will win - or rather, how many do you think Athena can beat?"
The joy in her voice was undisguised, and beside Hecate, the moon goddess couldn't help but puff out her cheeks.
"It's best not to fight. What's the point of fighting?"
"Don't say that. This is rare... Huh?"
Suddenly, Hecate's attention was attracted by a short figure.
He was a cripple, a rare disabled person among gods. However, on his legs, he had a mechanical means of transportation.
He took a few slow steps forward, and under Hera's fiery gaze, he stood on Athena's side.
"That's... Hephaestus? I remember that he was invited to Mount Olympus by Zeus after the Typhon Plague. He seems to be the son of Hera, but he has some unpleasantness with her. I didn't expect that he would stand on her side now..."
"What is this, a different kind of courtship? Tsk, but whatever it is, I'm sure Athena won't be interested in him."
The god of volcanoes and craftsmen, the most low-key, least sociable, and least visible god in Olympus. Many people say that the only reason he became the god was because of his mother-son relationship with Hera, but it seems that their relationship was not so harmonious.
But no matter what, this ugly god came to Athena silently, and Athena, who had been sitting in her seat from beginning to end, sighed when she saw this, and a trace of helplessness finally emerged on her girlish appearance.
Don't hit a smiling person. The other party has not done what he did in the virtual world, so Athena can't call for his death.
"Finally, we have come to this point..."
A sigh crossed her perfect face, and Athena's expression gradually became serious.
As someone who had read the script, she had anticipated the incident with the golden apple, and she could actually see some of Zeus's plans.
If she wanted, today's events would not have developed to this point. She was fully confident that she could persuade Artemis not to get involved in Keto's affairs, and she was also confident that she could cleverly escape the impact of the Golden Apple incident.
As long as Zeus is still playing with her within the rules, she will always find a way to refuse.
But as the goddess of wisdom, Athena also clearly knows that rules are always tools used to maintain rule, not objective things. Only when the benefits brought by its existence are greater than its non-existence, will the people who created it maintain it.
So what is the greatest benefit for Zeus? Probably to rule over everything and to rise in power. To achieve this, he must unify the various factions within the God Court, gradually replace the main gods who were established because there was no choice before... and then subdue the old gods who are still unwilling to obey the God King.
So after realizing this, Athena let Artemis go and watched the situation develop. Because Zeus' decision was unavoidable, she could only choose the best time to take this move.
The only one who could fight against the great power was another great power. She was not sure whether the Lord of the Spirit World cared about the disputes in the human world, but now it seemed that there was another being behind Keto who was very interested in intervening in the human world.
"[Hell]…"
In Athena's perception, Andrea possessed a power of a similar nature - she was her clergyman after all. When the two stood in the same palace, she immediately recognized each other's identity.
That was her own chosen one, the princess of the King of Athens, and now she might very well be the favored one of hell.
The other party intends to interfere in the human world, perhaps to compete for faith, or perhaps for other reasons. Hell, which has no power in the human world, obviously needs opportunities and helpers, so he stirs up disputes and expands his power. Athens may also be one of his targets.
Therefore, if you don't make a decision when you should, you will suffer the consequences.
Athena didn't know if this was the best time, but she knew it was definitely not the worst, and she should respond... So she stood up from her seat, and the goddess' eyes swept over the gods one by one.
Since there is no way to avoid it——
"Come on, then."
Slowly speaking, Athena's dress transformed into armor.
The spear was held in her hand, and light flickered on the tip of the spear.
She is the goddess of wisdom and the king of victory, so victory always stands by her side.
Chapter 350: The Two Kings
When the conflict in the palace on the ocean was brewing, underground, in the underworld.
The lavender moonlight shines on the gray earth, and nothing in the world can affect this place.
Almost at the moment when Hera struck the sheepskin shield with thunder in her hand, a silver snake flashed at the gate of the underworld.
Eternal night and darkness shroud both sides, and the surging river of pain stirs up the waves.
Due to the special spatial rules of the underworld, no matter where you come from on earth, you will only land at the same entrance. So Hades built a portal to separate the human world and the underworld.
At this moment, there was no living being in front of this tall gate, only a pale human man wearing black armor standing with a sword. Beside him was a soul that rose and fell with the flow of the Styx.
Of course, to say they are human beings is just to look like them.
Zeus could be sure that he was not a god, but whether he was a human being was actually quite questionable.
"Equis..."
Flashing out from the lightning, after many years, the God King once again set foot on this place that was regarded as wild by the gods.
I don't know why, Zeus felt that something seemed to have changed here, but after sensing it, he found nothing.
He shook his head slightly, putting this illusion behind him. This might be the effect of dealing with the invasion of the Outer Gods... The real reason that made Zeus stop was not this illusion, but the collision between the thunder and the sheepskin shield far above the sea.
Falling from the sky for nine days and nine nights will lead to the earth; falling from the earth for nine days and nine nights will lead to the netherworld. But this long distance does not seem far to Zeus now. Standing here, he can also feel his own artifact.
Hera used it, and was easily blocked by the Shield of Equis.
Although he left the thunder intentionally and knew it could not do anything to Athena, Zeus still felt uncomfortable when he saw that this artifact, which he once treasured, was so powerless.
This is how his hidden fear of Athena came about. It was not formed overnight, but was the result of the other party silently displaying her abilities time and time again over thousands of years.
Fortunately, she is a goddess... Without thinking any more, Zeus felt that he should adjust his mindset.
Looking at Erebus, he never looked ahead and behind like this. Although this was also related to the fact that the power of the original gods could not be replaced like the throne of the king of gods, Zeus still felt that he needed to learn.
"Stop, who are you coming?"
Random thoughts flashed through my mind, but in the outside world it was just a moment.
When Zeus appeared in front of the gate of the underworld, a roar resounded on both sides of the Styx.
The man holding the heavy sword raised his head, his eyes sparkling under the visor. A deep and cold aura emanated from him, filling the gray plain.
As the subject of interrogation, Zeus was surprised to find that this non-living being actually possessed god-like powers, and was by no means a weakling even among the true gods.
[Zagreus, the gatekeeper that Hades found from nowhere]
[Possessing an immortal body that is more powerful than an ordinary god's body, but not a descendant of a god... I thought this was just a rumor before.]
With a slight twitch of his lips, Zeus recalled the other party's existence.
Zephyrus had mentioned this to him, but to be honest, Hades was very suitable as the King of the Underworld. After all, he always liked to deal with dead things... With a faint smile, Zeus did not hide his identity.
"I am the king of the gods of Olympus, and the king of the sky, the sea, and the earth. Please move aside. I want to enter the underworld. This is my due right."
"…"
Silently, the man named Zagreus looked at Zeus without respect, then silently gave way.
The plates on the armor collided with each other, making crisp metal-on-metal sounds.
Although he was somewhat dissatisfied with Zagreus' attitude, he did not say anything considering that he was Hades's subject.
Soon, wasn't it to change this situation that he agreed to Erebus's dispute over the Golden Apple?
It wouldn't be long before everything would change... Ignoring this ignorant fellow, Zeus crossed the River of Pain easily, past the area guarded by Zagros, and roughly determined the direction.
Before, he had been chasing that breath all the way through the sea and the earth, but when he came to the underworld, he suddenly lost his track.
As if it had merged into the underworld itself, the aura disappeared without any warning, but Zeus soon understood why.
The birth of the underworld was originally the result of the interweaving of the four primordial gods' realms, so in theory, the power of the four primordial gods could do this.
However, Erebus had just reached an agreement with him that Nyx was a suspect, but the suspicion was not serious. If the search was fruitless, he could try to confirm it by visiting this most low-key ancient god of creation.
As for the remaining one, Gaia is also a possibility, after all, she is the goddess of the earth...so if nothing unexpected happens, this should be related to Tartarus.
Well, it's a very logical inference. Moreover, if a god that has never been seen does not exist in this world, it is very likely to come from the abyss of chaos.
The result was yes, but Zeus couldn't help feeling even more troubled.
Tartarus, a place outside the world, where his power as a god-king was destined to be greatly oppressed and weakened.
"abyss..."
He whispered the name and hesitated for a moment. Although he instinctively felt a little repulsive, Zeus set off again.
Although he did not choose to track down the mastermind behind Keto because of Poseidon's words, but left on his own initiative for his own purpose, to "loosen the ties" of the gods and avoid trouble, this does not mean that Zeus does not want to know who that existence is.
That familiar feeling meant that he had definitely seen the person before. Even though he couldn't remember where he had seen him before, he still wanted to go and take a look.
As his figure flashed, and as the surrounding environment gradually distorted, a winding portal that existed and did not exist appeared in front of Zeus.
Tartarus, a place he had entered when he was not yet the God King. At that time, he was still working hard to overthrow his father.
Standing at His door again today, Zeus felt very clearly that things had changed.
"Come on, let me see who you are."
Taking a deep breath, Zeus stepped in.
Soon, with the changes in time and space, Zeus disappeared from the sky of the underworld.
······
"Um?"
Deep in hell, on a high mountain, among the endless palaces, Asmodeus had just taken back his power.
The power that resided in Keto was not without its ability to substitute for others, but it was really useless when facing beings of the same level. So he just declared his presence and hurried back to the abyss.
But it was different from what Zeus thought. As he had said before, when the demon in Tartarus was born, the time and space of the Nine Hells emerged from the abyss.
So he didn't actually go through the gate of the abyss, but came directly back here as soon as he entered the underworld.
"Are you still chasing me? Leaving at this time, just as I guessed, you actually want to create a conflict?"
"This timing, this somewhat hasty preparation, the abnormal fluctuations in the world's power, and the goddess of life... So you have reached a cooperation with the darkness, and want to take this opportunity to completely unify the world?"
Raising his hand slightly, wisps of dark power fell into Asmodeus' open palm.
This was the power that Erebus had mixed into the souls of the Silver Generation, and it later became the spoils of the Nine Hells, allowing the devil clan to have the power to control the shadows.
Looking at this power, and thinking about Gaia who once worked with the Lord of Darkness, and Zeus's personality...
"What else can I say except that we all have our own agenda?"
Asmodeus clenched his fist to extinguish the power, then turned around and looked at where he was.
Unlike the floating island in the atrium of the fifth layer of hell, the ninth layer of purgatory is a place that is extremely similar to the outside world.
The establishment of hell comes from order in chaos, and the ninth level of hell is naturally the most orderly part.
Even from the perspective of mortals, they probably can't tell the difference between here and the outside world. They will just think they are still in the human world, rather than coming to the underworld filled with blood and fire.
The ninth layer of hell, [Clonoa]. If the Titan gods of the past came here, they would probably suddenly discover that this towering mountain is so similar to Mount Oldes which has not yet collapsed, and the buildings on the top of the mountain are no different from the past.
"Do you miss the past so much, or is this why you choose to stir up conflict in the human world?"
The voice came from the depths of distant time and space, and Asmodeus was not surprised by the ancient snake's belated inquiry.
When he learned that Keto had received and changed the order, he knew that the other party would come to question him.
The answer he gave was one he had thought of at that moment.
"Of course I miss it, but I don't miss the place. In fact, I just miss the self who was full of fighting spirit, with my wife standing by my side and loyal guards protecting me."
"This is why I want to go back, and why I want to defeat the God Court and take revenge on Zeus and Fate. But what about you? Why do you want to stop this conflict? In fact, you have no reason to stop it. Zeus can't be your opponent now. Even if he has a stronger power, the authority of the God King comes from the world, and he must be bound by the world. So in this case, why do you want to stop him from provoking conflicts within his own God Court, or even directly give orders to Keto?"
With a calm expression, even though he had no idea of the existence of the world of Hermeneu, Asmodeus still made the most accurate judgment.
"You get tripped up and you encounter something unexpected."
"Because of the former, you can no longer sit on the high platform and watch the changes in the world, because as the most critical point, your power is limited; because of the latter, you have to give orders to Keto, because there is not enough time to think and arrange, and you can't find a more suitable person, so you can only let her complete your task."
"So you saw your chance?"
The voice was leisurely, and the ancient snake did not seem angry.
Asmodeus was not his subordinate, and this was known for a long time. So the other party's choice was just unexpected and reasonable.
"Yes, this is the best time."
"The war between Hell and the Abyss is destined to continue for endless years, because the world is growing. As the core of the chaotic side, Tartarus's power is being consumed by me, but it is also growing."
"Only the human world is the key to breaking the impasse. Zeus wants to stir up trouble and even threaten your arrangement. You may not be able to use your full strength, but don't you still have me?"
"Isn't it better this way than having to pay a price one day in the future for you to join me in targeting Zeus? Look, no matter what, at least now our interests in the world are the same."
Reaching out his hand, Asmodeus pulled a sickle from thin air.
It looks very similar to the previous style, but it is more refined and gorgeous.
After all, compared to the natural artifact made of flint, this sickle may not have special effects against the God-King, but its power in other aspects is actually even greater.
So Asmodeus took a step forward and arrived at the gate of Tartarus outside of hell.
Zeus had just arrived here at this moment, and was looking at the abyss which had changed drastically in surprise.
"Nothing is more stable than a relationship with a common stance, which allows both parties to work towards the same goal."
"As for you, Zeus, stop here."
"Your father is your father after all."
He chuckled softly, then swung the scythe.
And under the sword light, the one who was defending himself in astonishment was none other than the third generation God King.