Chapter 1999 – 1999. God’S Atlantis
The World Tree was burning.
The northern humans panicked as the world’s end seemed imminent.
The collapse of the World Tree didn’t actually cause the human world to crumble. It seemed that this World Tree was originally a kind of passage, a gateway to other worlds.
As the World Tree burned, that passage closed and disappeared. Beings from other worlds would no longer be able to interfere with the human world so easily.
‘Though they probably don’t have the power to interfere anyway.’
Having killed Odin, the chief god of Norse mythology, and gained his power, and having drunk from the Well of Wisdom to gain knowledge, I could see the other worlds connected to the World Tree. Not only that, but I also killed all the gods hiding with lightning.
‘It doesn’t seem like I killed them all.’
Some of the more skilled gods were able to evade my gaze. Just because I was looking down from the sky didn’t mean I could see everything. The same went for lightning. Unless I was attacking directly, the power would inevitably diminish when attacking from a distance.
‘I couldn’t kill Hel. And Jormungandr didn’t even flinch at the lightning.’
Jormungandr, yawning openly while being struck by lightning, was irritating. But I wasn’t so idle as to go out of my way to kill him.
‘I’ll ignore him for now. I can kill Jormungandr whenever I feel like it later.’
What I needed to do immediately was to deal with the humans who were in chaos. Of course, it wasn’t because I felt sorry for them.
‘If I receive the faith of humans, I can become a little stronger.’
I was already strong enough to destroy an entire mythology on my own, but there were too many enemies targeting me. I needed to become stronger, even if just a little.
Dealing with the humans was easy.
Those who didn’t offer me their faith could be killed with lightning. Then, to survive, they would offer me their faith.
After roughly settling the north, I headed to Olympus.
I quickly flew there on a cloud, but Olympus, which should have welcomed me, was half-destroyed.
“…You. You’re too late. Where have you been?”
Hera snapped at me with a cold voice. She was still beautiful and haughty, but she looked exhausted.
“It took some time to wipe out the north. But why is Olympus like this? Even if I wasn’t here, you and the other gods should have been here.”
There were other goddesses, including Hera. They were a bit weaker.
“The Titans, including Cronus, have returned.”
As soon as I heard Hera’s words, I understood what had happened.
“Hades, that bastard. Did Hades open the gates of Tartarus and release them? …Hades shouldn’t have the authority to open the gates of Tartarus…”
I muttered, then looked around again. It was fortunate that the gods of Olympus were immortal. If they weren’t immortal like the northern gods, more than half of them would have died.
“You all held out well. Where did Cronus and the Titans go? I can’t see them even with my Eye of the Sky.”
Hera sighed.
“Hades and the Titans took Gaia and turned the land upside down. Since the land isn’t what it used to be, it’ll be difficult for you to survey the ground even with your powers.”
“…Gaia?”
What are they trying to do with Gaia now? Is Cronus trying to rape Gaia? Aside from the fact that it’s absolutely unacceptable, there was no reason for Gaia to cooperate with Cronus. There must be another purpose.
‘There are several Earth Mother Goddesses, but none as outstanding as Gaia. Gaia is the very essence of the earth. If I have Gaia, I could create a new mythology… Ah, is that their goal? It seems Cronus intends to wipe everything out and start anew.’
Cronus kidnapped Gaia, planning for the aftermath. So, I didn’t need to worry about Gaia’s safety. He would need Gaia’s cooperation later.
“Hera, you did well. It must have been a tough fight.”
“…We were lucky. If the Gigantes hadn’t suddenly started infighting, we would have been dragged into Tartarus.”
“Gigantes? Ah, I see. They must have been imprisoned in Tartarus too. The Titans led by Cronus and the Gigas led by Typhon joined forces. It’s worse than the Gigantomachy… It’s amazing that you’re still in one piece. The reason the Gigantes betrayed them must be because of Gaia. Did the Titans win?”
“Cronus, having obtained Gaia, retreated without any regrets. The Gigantes hurriedly chased after them… But are you really the Zeus I know?”
Hera looked at me with suspicious eyes.
“Am I too smart for you to believe? Hah, I drank from the Well of Wisdom while conquering the north. Now I am Zeus, who has obtained endless wisdom!”
I grinned.
Despite my explanation, Hera and the other gods looked at me with suspicion.
I understood.
The era of peace had shattered like a glass cup, so they must be bewildered in many ways.
“Don’t worry, now that I’m here. With my current power, I can easily subdue Poseidon and Hades. Cronus? Typhon? They’re nothing. Even if they obscure the Eye of the Sky, they can’t bring down the sky itself!”
I spoke confidently. At times like this, I, the king of the gods, had to show a strong image.
“Lord Zeus is right.”
“You conquered the north? You conquered those arrogant beings alone. As expected of Lord Zeus.”
“I can feel Lord Zeus’s power. As long as Lord Zeus is here, Olympus will be eternal.”
It worked. The gloomy gods of Olympus began to regain their spirits. It was only natural. I, the supreme being of Olympus, had arrived.
‘Should I give a speech? There’s nothing like a speech to boost morale.’
Then, I belatedly realized that the number of Olympian gods was insufficient.
“There aren’t many gods. Especially, I don’t see Helios. Where is he?”
The answer came from above.
“All the gods who aren’t here have sided with Poseidon and Apollo! Hades is on their side, but it feels like a separate force has allied with them!”
Hermes said as he flew down.
“Lord Zeus! You’ve returned! Of course, I believed in you! The war situation is still deteriorating, but surprisingly, the humans are holding out well! I’ll tell you the war situation!”
“Hermes, you’ve been through a lot. Come closer.”
“Yes! Lord Zeus!”
Hermes approached me without any suspicion. I grabbed Hermes’s neck and held it tightly.
“Gack?! L-Lord Zeus?!”
All the other gods were shocked. They watched me and Hermes carefully. Hera stepped forward as their representative.
“Zeus! You’re mistaken. Hermes is not a traitor! When Cronus and Typhon attacked, we were able to prepare in advance thanks to Hermes’s information. His contribution is significant!”
Hera actively defended Hermes.
‘For the cold Hera to say this… It seems he worked diligently while I was gone.’
But that’s that, and this is this.
“Listen, everyone. Hermes is a traitor.”
“Lord Zeus…?!”
Hermes’s eyes trembled. He looked tearful, his face full of injustice. Some of the gods looked at me and Hermes with pity.
“Hypnos said before he died that there was a traitor. I thought he was talking about Hades and Poseidon. They actually betrayed and rebelled against me.”
Originally, I hadn’t paid any attention to Hypnos’s words. Hades and Poseidon’s betrayal and rebellion? They were full of complaints, so it wasn’t surprising.
“After drinking all the water from the Well of Wisdom, I started to think differently. I had some time, so I slowly thought about the things I’ve done.”
“Lord Zeus! I’m not a traitor! I’m your… shuttle? I’m the shuttle god! I only acted according to Lord Zeus’s orders!”
“That’s what it looked like on the surface. But you subtly manipulated me.”
“How could I manipulate Lord Zeus, the god of gods?!”
“The manipulation I’m talking about isn’t domination, hypnosis, or brainwashing through power and magic. You guided my choices with your clever words. It was as if I was making the choices myself.”
“That’s not true! You were the one who made the choices, weren’t you?!”
With my Absolute Spirit, I am not susceptible to hypnosis or brainwashing. But that doesn’t mean I have a perfect mind. In the first place, the Absolute Spirit is for defending the mind. It doesn’t greatly affect the way I think.
For example, if you see red often, you become accustomed to it, and when you have to make a choice, you unconsciously choose what you’re used to.
When I didn’t have wisdom, I didn’t realize it. Hermes subtly controlled me with visual information and his words, making me make certain choices.
“You must have guided me to make the choice to go to the north. Really… It’s terrible that someone like you was by my side.”
“It’s a misunderstanding! The gods of the north were talking nonsense to Lord Zeus! I heard there’s a god of deception in the north! That god must have done something to Lord Zeus! Don’t just stand there, stop Lord Zeus!”
The gods looked at each other. The reason they weren’t stepping forward was because the goddesses who were close to me were looking at Hermes with suspicious eyes.
I threw Hermes to the ground as if slamming him down.
“Guh!”
Hermes used the rebound to try to fly away.
‘Not a chance.’
Thud!
I stomped on Hermes’s head, pressing it down. Hermes’s head was buried in the ground. I raised an eyebrow. Surprisingly, Hermes’s head didn’t burst.
‘Even if I didn’t use my full power, with my current strength, I should be able to easily tear Hermes apart.’
I gained another conviction.
Crackling.
Lightning began to bind Hermes’s limbs like shackles.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
I stomped on Hermes more. As I put more force into it, the entire Olympus began to shake. Yet, Hermes’s head didn’t shatter. Then, I created a lightning spear and stabbed it into Hermes’s thigh and forearm.
“Heh. Hehehehehe.”
Hermes laughed.
The gods were horrified. It wasn’t because of the eerie laughter. It was because the energy emanating from Hermes was extremely alien. I frowned and stepped back slightly. I needed some time to prepare to face this.
Hermes’s head changed. Tentacles sprouted and wrapped around his head, swirling like a vortex. Small tentacles also sprouted from various parts of his body, curling and retracting repeatedly. Just looking at it triggered a primal disgust.
I gripped Astrape in my right hand and glared fiercely at him.
“Nyarlathotep…!”
