64. The God of Evil’s Descent (2)
The Olympian warriors had lost their will to fight.
Witnessing Team Ragnarok, the Titans, and Uranus together would deprive anyone of their sanity. And yet, there were still beings far more fearful than them.
The New World players.
Inflicting them with grave injuries and lethal damage didn’t kill them permanently, and they always did everything with a bright smile on their faces. They never hesitated to commit insane atrocities, either. Rather, they had a normal conversation while in the middle of performing such acts.
The New World players were both ordinary and crazy at the same time. This foreign behavior of theirs frightened the Olympian warriors.
Whew! Puck!
They started falling on Olympus’ army. Some of them crashed on the ground, crushing themselves completely, but they immediately recovered.
“Don’t panic!”
“Tsk! Stay calm!”
The demigods marching among the immortal soldiers somehow tried to control the situation and reassure their trembling allies but to no avail.
Laughing maniacally as they looked at the combatants around them, the New World players took out small mana engines in unstable states from their subspaces. They then injected them with mana, causing them to burn red and vibrate profusely.
“For the God of Evil!”
“Teach them the God of Evil’s greatness!”
The items in their hands exploded, creating a burst of destruction equivalent to the mana particle beams’ power. Right after their bombing devoured their surroundings, the New World players came back to life still laughing.
“Wow, this is fun.”
“Would you like to do it one more time?”
“Oh, do you have more to spare?”
“Yes.”
Mana engines exploded across the battlefield once more, preventing the Olympian warriors from coming back to their senses. Upon resurrection, one of the avatars looked around, seemingly having developed a clever plan. Finding a demigod, which was much tougher than normal soldiers, he shouted, “That guy! Catch him!”
“That one?”
“Yes!”
The demigod struggled as hard as he could, but his efforts proved futile. The New World players swiftly sliced apart his tendons and muscles, rendering him unable to resist being captured by the enemy faction.
“W-wait! What are you doing?!” He exclaimed, his voice filled with fear. Due to Zeus’ blood flowing through his veins, the Olympian warriors revered him greatly as a hero, but that didn’t mean anything to his captors.
The New World player approached him and mounted a small mana engine on his buttocks using its slightly elongated injector device. Finally realizing what he was trying to do, his peers began to cheer for him.
“That’s an amazing idea! Why didn’t I think of that?”
“I’m definitely looking forward to this!”
“That looks like it’s going to be so much fun!”
They created a circle around their victim, completely surrounding him, while their opponents could only tremble in pure horror as they watched what they were doing.
“Alright, here we go! 3… 2… 1! Launch!”
The tiny magical mechanism attached to the demigod’s behind started up. Soon enough, the mana engine pushed him up and made him float in the air by releasing huge amounts of energy through its nozzle.
Initially, they thought he would only rise off of the ground ever so slowly.
Phewwwwwwwww!
However, much to their surprise, he soared through the skies with great speed, almost like a rocket shooting for the stars and leaving nothing behind but a beautiful blue trail.
He continued to surge through the blue fields for a few more moments before finally slowing down.
Shooooosh! Boooom!
It didn’t take long for him to explode from then on. Traces of mana spread in all directions from the blast, decorating the World of Gods with beautiful flames. The demigod’s majestic energy mixing in with it made it even look more splendid.
With the skies darkened due to Uranus’ presence, the magnificence of the fires became even more visible.
“Gorgeous…”
The many New World couples embraced each other, admiring the romantic fireworks display.
“Look! He became a constellation just like the myths have told us!”
“He exploded. That’s amazing.”
“Well, why don’t we make a wish? He’s practically a shooting star at this point anyway.”
“Sure! Let’s all do it together!”
An untimely fireworks craze began to blow on the battlefield.
The New World players began to persistently search for demigods, knowing full well the body of ordinary Olympian warriors wouldn’t be able to handle the small mana engine’s output. They’d most likely shatter before they could even take flight and soar.
Numerous pyrotechnics spread throughout the dark dome above.
Jin-woo watched them unfold on Uranus’ shoulder.
‘It’s romantic, but…’
They beautifully painted the sky with various vibrant colors, but Jin-woo had far too excellent eyesight and hearing. He could see the terror in the demigods’ eyes as they took flight and could hear their screams buried amid the sounds of explosions.
‘It’s not a problem, though.’
It was brutal, but it was also part of the war.
Jin-woo enjoyed the scene for a while. The Golden Women’s Association members in the city also came out to watch it for a brief moment.
As for the other faction, Zeus and Poseidon’s mentality had long since been shattered.
As gods, they had nigh-almighty mental fortitude, but not even they could withstand the insanity of the spectacle their foes created. The malice it contained was enough to make them feel as if they’d soon be corrupted by it.
Jin-woo looked down after the fireworks display ended.
“Uranus, wipe them out.”
At his command, the primordial god of the skies swung his gigantic sword, splitting apart space itself just as how the heavens and the earth were divided in the beginning.
The Olympian warriors disappeared.
The attack made sure not even Zeus would be able to leave unscathed, critically wounding him.
Bagag!
The nearby mountain range exploded out of existence. Unable to do anything but stare blankly at the scene, Poseidon flopped onto the ground.
Hera and the other gods who remained on Olympus couldn’t help but do the same.
Thousands of Olympian warriors shattered into dust each time Uranus swung his sword. The New World players weren’t safe from his attacks either, but they enjoyed every bit of it.
Jin-woo came down from the primordial god of the sky’s shoulder, then gestured for Team Ragnarok to step away from the battle. Showing multiple signs of dire exhaustion, Ares and Hermes stared at him in despair.
The god of war hesitatingly stood up when he began approaching them.
“As the son of Zeus and one of the 12 Olympians, I ask you to consider negotiating with us!” He exclaimed.
Hermes looked up and began leaping through the skies, hoping to escape from Jin-woo, who simply watched him leave while admiring his winged shoes for a while before throwing the corrupted Triana at him.
“Khhak!”
It pierced through his body and thrust him down to the ground with ease. With a lift of his finger, Jin-woo then made the trident return along with the messenger of the gods.
He reached out and opened the entrance to Tartarus, making Hermes tremble when the black door symbolizing it appeared.
“No… Please not Tartarus…”
“Considering you gods don’t follow the concept of death, you leave me no other choice but to send you down there.”
“W-wait! No!”
When it opened, it immediately sucked Hermes in, the sight of which made Ares flinch.
Tartarus, the eternal darkness itself.
He knew all too well what awaited him in that abyss.
“L-let’s… Negotiate… A-about our previous conversation… Is that proposal still valid?”
“Well, I guess I should give it some thought,” Jin-woo answered Ares’ fear.
Ares rolled his eyes, noticing Athena wearing red gloves in the distance from the city thanks to his clear eyesight. The goddess of wisdom sighed in relief as she looked across the battlefield.
‘I should have done what that woman did…’
He turned his gaze to Zeus, finally realizing he forced himself to follow a god whose brain didn’t work.
‘The God of Evil… What if I were to switch sides and ally myself with him…’
Olympus was already done and over with at this point.
Not even the gods of other regions seemed capable of withstanding his rage, his might. Hence, Ares, like Athena, decided to betray his pantheon.
He approached the supreme god, who struggled to keep himself upright.
“Father, I have a good idea.”
“Ares?”
Swoosh!
“Agh!”
The god of war’s sword pierced through his father from behind, causing him to fall to his knees and his weapon, Astrafe, to drop to the ground.
His weapon wasn’t at the level of Zeus’ lightning bolt, but it was still worthy of being called a weapon of the gods. After all, it inflicted a wound that would cause the god of thunder to experience a lasting aftermath.
“Ahh… What are you doing, A-Ares?”
“I just did what you would’ve done, father.”
“T-that’s…”
[Ares has usurped the throne of Zeus!]
[Ares has become the supreme god of Olympus.]
Just like how he drove out his father, Cronus, Zeus suffered the same fate. It was almost as if the deed was a tradition passed down from generation to generation.
The New World players couldn’t help but comment on the scene they just witnessed.
“Wow, what a jerk.”
“He just stabbed him with no hesitation.”
“Did that really just happen? The directing on that part is seriously excellent!”
“It’s definitely new and refreshing to witness.”
They all found it interesting.
Ares approached Jin-woo with Astrafe, got down on his knees in front of him, and held it out to him with both hands, offering him Zeus’ weapon willingly.
“The 12 Olympian gods and the rightful heir of Zeus, Ares, swear eternal allegiance to the God of Evil. As proof of allegiance, I offer Astrafe and Olympus itself.”
[Ares offers Olympus and Astrafe to the God of Evil and swears allegiance to him!]
Not even Jin-woo expected him to do this. With a shake of his head, he accepted the mythical armament.
Cheeky!
Just like Triana, Astrafe turned black the moment he grabbed it. At the same time, he also felt the powerful lightning ability coursing through it. Seemingly proving his senses to be true, a lightning storm swept through the Olympian warriors with ease when he swung it ever so lightly.
“Ahhhh!”
“Run!”
“Argh!”
They tried to escape, but the New World players pursued and slaughtered them as they fled to the end.
“I’ll take the lead! Please use me in your goal to unify the world of God!” Ares pleaded, bowing his head deeply.
Jin-woo simply smiled and looked at Ares, wondering if he should accept his loyalty.
Of course, his loyalty meant nothing to him.
His end remained the same.
“I’ll be sure to use you to the fullest extent.”
“Give me a command, and it shall be done.”
He pointed at the door to Tartarus, which caused Ares’ face to turn pale blue. With a hesitant shake of his head, he slowly stepped away from the area.
“I-I gave you everything.”
“Yeah, well done.”
“Well then…”
“That is that, and this is this.”
“Aaaahhhh!”
Ares tried to escape. However, though divinely fast, he still couldn’t escape his fate. Black tentacles spewed out of Tartarus’s door, wrapping and binding themselves to him.
The sheer force of it made him stumble and fall to the ground.
Slurp!
But the tentacles didn’t care. They relentlessly and mercilessly dragged him towards the portal to the abyss.
“No, please! Noooooooo!”
Soon enough, Ares disappeared to Tartarus, leaving nothing behind but a desperate scream.
“Woah! As expected of the God of Evil!”
“That’s how malevolent deities should act!”
“The sense of reality he provides is on another level.”
The New World players simply enjoyed it, thinking of it as nothing more than a cool part of the story.
Jin-woo looked at Zeus and Poseidon, who had no intention of running away. As long as he had Astrafe, they knew escaping from him was impossible anyway.
He approached the god of the seas first, whose eyes were stained with deep despair and anger.
“How can you be so evil?”
“You’re the one that started all this, though.”
“But… That’s…”
Everything stemmed from the moment he kidnapped Bread Jam.
If he had politely apologized and returned Jin-woo’s subordinate when he came to Olympus, none of this would’ve had to happen.
He loved peace, after all.
He grabbed Poseidon’s neck, pushed it inside Tartarus, and looked at his watch.
He pulled him out after around thirty seconds.
[Tartarus has absorbed and passed all of Poseidon’s powers to Jin-woo.]
Ares and Hermes were far too weak for him to feel any difference in his strength, but he truly did feel even more powerful when he absorbed Poseidon’s.
“Kuh-ha!”
Sitting on the floor, the god of the seas trembled as he vomited black liquid. Now that he was ranked lower than even the average god, Jin-woo threw him to Medusa.
Poseidon rolled on the floor and skidded to a stop in front of Medusa, who was wearing glasses that prevented her Curse of Petrification from activating. She wouldn’t be able to release her pent-up anger towards him otherwise.
“M-Medusa…”
“So you remember me.”
“I-I’m sorry. I was wrong.”
Poseidon pleaded for forgiveness with tears and a runny nose.
The pitiful sight caused the serpentine being to grin, to which he could only smile awkwardly in return.
Medusa slightly lowered her glasses and looked at Poseidon.
Ji-ing!
A beam of petrification struck his groin, causing that specific part of him to turn to stone and fall to the floor.
“Medusa…”
“Oh, it crumbled to dust.”
“That must’ve hurt.”
The New World players couldn’t even smile at the sight. On the contrary, they frowned and shook their heads. Now, Poseidon was no longer able to cheat.
Medusa and Poseidon had a long night ahead of them.
Jin-woo approached Zeus, whom Typhon and the Titans had already surrounded. He briefly soaked him in Tartarus as well, then pulled him out.
“I admit defeat. Take everything you want to take, but please have mercy… Wouldn’t it be better to keep me alive if you want to conquer the World of Gods? I’m acquainted with the gods of the north, so…”
“It seems you haven’t quite grasped the situation you’re in yet.”
Typhon and the Titans growled like ferocious hounds as they waited for Jin-woo’s commands.
He took out the encyclopedia. Now that he had lost all of his powers, he could barely pass off as a god. That made it possible for him to freely edit his information.
[Modifying Zeus’s information.]
[He is now extremely sensitive to pain and agony.]
[His pain limitation has been removed.]
After changing the god’s settings, he closed the book. The modifications were applied immediately.
A cool breeze touched Zeus’ body.
“Aww! Big!”
When the wind touched his skin, Zeus had a seizure. The brush of his clothes on his body, and even just the touch of his feet on the floor, all brought him immeasurable pain that forced him to curl down on the floor. Moreover, the longer it went on, the greater the agony that entered his mind.
Jin-woo looked at Typhon and the Titans.
“Have your way with him.”
They approached Zeus.
Due to his immortality, they’d have all the time they needed to make him suffer the same way they did by his hands.
‘As for the other gods…’
From what he had heard so far, there were other deities out there besides the Olympians. Considering Odin’s name was mentioned in Astrafe’s information, it wasn’t that surprising for him.
Jin-woo moved to the Temple of Olympus, leaving the battlefield and the cleanup operation to Uranus and the New World players. Now that he had taken over the Olympians’ territory through a fair and just procedure, its barrier no longer affected him.
The remaining gods could only gulp as they watched him approach their home.
Aphrodite, the goddess of beauty, walked over to him and tried to bewitch him.
“Welcome, foreign… No, the new Lord of Olympus. I am Aphrodite, goddess of love and beauty.” She greeted him politely, yet it still came across as alluring. Looking at the defenseless man, she smiled, thinking she had enough power to seduce him.
After all, no matter how strong he was, he wouldn’t be able to escape the power of her enchantment. More accurately, the stronger her target was, the stronger her ability’s effect was on them.
‘This is an opportunity.’
Aphrodite made full use of her charm.
[Aphrodite cast the power of enchantment on the God of Evil.]
[The God of Evil heightens its effects to new heights and reflects it back to her.]
“Ah…”
Her face flushed red. She couldn’t take her eyes off him.
Aphrodite slightly corrected her posture to a more timid one.
Jin-woo looked at her and smiled ever so faintly.
“I’m thirsty.”
“Hold on!”
Aphrodite immediately ran as fast as she could, almost as if taking his words as commands, and brought back the finest liquor she had cherished and kept secure: a wine made by Dionysus, the god of wine himself.
She popped it open, poured some in a glass, and handed it to Jin-woo. She even wiped his lips with a handkerchief after he drank.
Astonished by her actions, Artemis, the goddess of forest and purity, could only watch her anxiously.
“Aphrodite’s fluttering… That’s new…”
She had become timid!
Artemis couldn’t believe her eyes. The scene made her feel more agitated than when she witnessed the end of Zeus and Poseidon.
Aphrodite had a notorious reputation among the gods of the north and other local gods. Those she had defeated would most likely faint if they ever caught a glimpse of this sight.
Flop!
In fact, Dionysus had already passed out.
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