Kratos had told her nothing but the truth.
It hadn't been some stranger who killed his daughter. It had been Ares, god of war; Hades; Poseidon, king of the sea; Helios, the sun god; Artemis, goddess of the moon and the hunt; and Hermes, the messenger god.
If not for them, the plague would never have reached Kratos's homeland.
Killing gods like that, and calling it justice for himself — that was no crime at all.
Kratos looked at Athena, watched her bow her head in silence, and went on. "Look at how our God treats his believers. He gave me strength. He gave me the power to break free of my nightmares.
And all you ever did was mock me."
The believer standing beside him spoke up. "I was born crippled. I prayed to a dozen gods and none of them changed my fate. But refuse to believe in the Eternal God, and disaster comes for you instead.
A god like that only invites scorn."
Another added, "That's right. I served the god of war once, before Lord Kratos brought me into the fold, and I held that faith firmly. But once I saw the god of war's true, ugly nature, I understood something.
The gods of this world are nothing but beasts who squander their own power however they please. Worse than humans, if you ask me. They're savage, they're absurd, and they answer to no one..."
Every word struck Athena like a blow. She wanted to argue, but she had no ground left to stand on. Because it was all true. They really had done exactly as described.
Even the mightiest of them, Zeus, had done nothing after overthrowing the Titans except cling to his own rule. Humans died and were born and died again, and Zeus never once cared. He hadn't even given them fire.
In the end, a divine envoy sealed Athena's power and carried her, along with Pandora, back to the sect's headquarters — Kratos's home island. As for Kratos and the rest, they were already preparing to march into the underworld.
But the chariot couldn't carry everyone. Kratos sent the remaining half of his forces to the Island of Fate instead, with orders to capture the three goddesses of destiny and bring them back.
"Move fast. We might be able to finish off the giant in the underworld in a single day!"
"Don't worry, my lord... we'll reach the Island of Fate as quickly as we can."
"Good. Go!"
Kratos drove his chariot straight into the underworld.
The underworld itself was strangely quiet. Persephone was speaking to Oakes. "Your strategy really was excellent. I never expected you to bring down the earth itself, so that Atlas could drag the sun god down ahead of schedule."
"Yes, my queen. I never imagined you'd trust me so completely..."
Oakes's voice was dark as he said it.
Persephone, still savoring her triumph, was lost in thought over her own scheme — the plan to bring down the Olympian gods was finally coming to fruition. How could she not be pleased?
Hearing him, she looked back and smiled. "Your mother is dead. If you want a new one, I'll gladly play the part, since you hate that mortal Kratos so much. Use him to kill the gods for us, and once he's done, I'll let you have him too. He's a useful little tool."
"Right. I never expected you to be this stupid."
A flicker of dark magic bloomed in Oakes's palm and plunged straight into Persephone's body.
The power was beyond anything she'd imagined — so overwhelming that she never even had the chance to react before she died.
But she was still the Queen of the Underworld. Her soul lingered on even after her body fell.
Persephone glared at Oakes in fury. "You dare kill me? You bastard..."
"I don't call fools my mother. For a stupid woman like you — when you were busy scheming against everyone else, did it ever occur to you that I was scheming against you the whole time?"
Oakes summoned a bow of dark magic and loosed an arrow that bound Persephone's soul on the spot.
Atlas, still digging away at the ground nearby, froze in shock. Was his own ally really finished? And hadn't the two of them just agreed to become mother and son moments ago? What was actually going on here?
Titans had never been known for their sharp minds, and before Atlas could even call for help, a swarm of warriors dropped down from the sky above.
"Damn, the boss just took down Persephone..."
"Forget it, let's kill this giant."
"Come on, brothers..."
In a matter of moments, Atlas fell as well.
Kratos emerged from the depths of the underworld carrying the souls of his wife and daughter. The two of them smiled at him.
"Do we still need to deal with Hades?" Kratos asked.
"Of course. I'll handle that one myself... I'm going to become the new god of the underworld. What do you think?"
"If that's what you want, go ahead. Become whatever native god you like, brother."
Oakes smiled, turned, and vanished on the spot.
If Hades wasn't dealt with, he could still wield his divine power to sow chaos, and every Olympian god would end up destroyed regardless. That had always been their plan. Surrender might have spared Hades, but he had no intention of being taken alive.
"Father, can we leave now?" Kratos's daughter asked.
"Yes. It's fine now..."
By then Atlas had already been killed, and the sun god he'd once imprisoned trembled in terror, watching the believers' frenzied slaughter unfold before him.
"My lord, I'm willing to surrender. Please, spare my life."
"Sorry. We have no use for captives."
A female warrior stepped out from the crowd and cut him down with an axe.
The so-called sun god wasn't needed at all — not as long as someone else could pilot the sun's chariot. A priestess who carried a fragment of the law of fire could do the job just as well.
The plan had gone even better than expected. Kratos and the others spent the following stretch of time in the underworld, methodically clearing out the monsters and Hades's remaining minions. Only by the next day did they finish and return to the surface.
Kratos's wife asked him nervously, "Dear, are the gods really all dead? Will the world fall into chaos now?"
The darkened world around them felt bitterly cold.
Kratos shook his head. "As long as Helios drives the sun's chariot back out, the Sandman's power will naturally retreat. For now, there's more we need to do."
Until the gathering of believers was complete, they had no intention of easing the Sandman's grip on the world.
A god's own power was limitless. The native gods, though — they had none to spare.
When Kratos returned to his homeland, he found three more women waiting on the altar alongside Pandora and Athena. They were slender, and their robes left little to the imagination.
Seeing Kratos and the others return, the officer in charge hurried over to report.
"My lord, these three are also goddesses of pure yin. None of them have been defiled."
"Good. Light the sacred fire and begin the sacrifice... and let the whole world witness the greatness of the true god!!!"
"Yes!!"
Before everyone's eyes, a column of brilliant flame rose from the altar, laced through with strange and ancient symbols, and shot straight up into the sky.
———
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