Annihilates It
Hades' Castle.
That voice, hollow yet brimming with divinity, suddenly echoed through the air.
Alistair.
Persephone.
Neither of them was deaf, of course, so they could hear it clearly. And just like that, they could sense the suppressed fury within it, a rage that threatened to shatter everything in its path.
"Demeter?"
Alistair furrowed his brow slightly. He knew exactly who she was.
Persephone's mother.
However.
The records of Demeter in the myths were actually quite sparse. Though she was also a daughter of Cronus and Rhea.
Compared to one of her sisters and one of her younger sisters, or her three brothers, her stories were far fewer.
At this moment.
Undoubtedly.
Something must have happened on Olympus.
"Mother."
Persephone rose to her feet as well. Her eyes, like gems, now gleamed with a starkly different light. Endless divine power began to radiate outward.
"Dust..."
Persephone turned her head, her gaze no longer carrying the gentle warmth of before, but instead tinged with a hint of plea.
"Heh heh heh~~~"
Alistair smiled, his tone gentle instead: "Persephone, don't hesitate. Go. No matter what, she is still your mother."
"Alright."
"Dust."
Persephone's face broke into a smile, and in an instant, her endless divine power spread out.
Olympus.
"..."
The entire Olympus was shrouded in silence.
Back then.
No one knew why Zeus had truly left.
But.
After Zeus departed, the God Cloths belonging to the Twelve Olympians were taken away.
After that.
Zeus had declared Apollo as the new God King. At the time, Athena was already the Lord of the Earth, or perhaps it was Hephaestus, the eldest son of Zeus and Hera.
In name.
As the firstborn son of the God King and Queen, Hephaestus was the most qualified to inherit the throne.
However.
Compared to everything Hephaestus had endured, both Zeus and Hera doted on their youngest son, Ares, the most.
Yet even Ares had never ascended to that position.
In the end, Apollo was chosen.
How could anyone accept that?
And with Persephone becoming the new Lord of the Underworld, displaying the power of a God King, the entire Olympus was in turmoil. But the core issue remained.
No one dared to act. Only as a god could one truly comprehend the essence of a God King.
If you are not a god, seeing me is like a frog in a well gazing at the moon.
If you are a god, seeing me is like a mayfly beholding the vast sky.
That was how terrifying it was.
No matter what had driven Apollo to ascend to God King, the gap between a God King and those below was a true divide between heaven and earth—one that could never, ever be bridged.
But no one could have imagined.
That Demeter, who had always kept a low profile on Olympus, would do something like this.
It shook all the gods to their core; no one dared even think it.
Yet.
Upon closer reflection, it seemed entirely reasonable.
Who else but Demeter could have pulled this off?
Demeter's daughter was the new God King, the new ruler of the Underworld: Persephone!
What she could achieve didn't mean they could.
But...
This was far too audacious.
Even Persephone had no way to come to Olympus and confront Apollo directly.
"Demeter actually stormed the Divine Hall?"
"But the question is."
"How did Demeter even manage it?"
"The Heart of the Gods, the Aegis."
"This..."
The gods of Olympus couldn't fathom it. Demeter, your boldness is one thing, but how did you succeed?
The Heart of the Gods, once wielded by Zeus and now by Apollo, was the core means of controlling the Olympian gods.
It had always been stored in the Divine Hall.
And the Divine Hall was under immense seals. Within such formidable barriers.
How had Demeter succeeded?
And!
Leaving that aside, how had Demeter gotten her hands on the Aegis?
This...
This...
In any case.
The events unfolding were too numerous, too chaotic.
Compared to the Heart of the Gods.
The Aegis was the true foundation of utmost importance.
Apollo knew this well.
He wasn't yet clear on Persephone's exact situation. Clashing with her directly now wouldn't be wise. Better to wait until the Holy War reignited, assess the specifics, and plan accordingly.
Because of that.
Even if Demeter had snuck away with her Heart of the Gods while he wasn't paying attention, it was no big deal.
Turn a blind eye.
But.
For Demeter to take the Aegis as well—that was unacceptable.
The Aegis.
This shield had two versions: one in Zeus's hand, one in Athena's.
The first Aegis, forged initially by Hephaestus himself. Resenting his parents for casting him aside, he crafted it specifically to counter Zeus's divine weapon, the Thunderbolt.
The second Aegis was held by Athena, later fitted with Medusa's head, granting it the power of petrification.
In simple terms.
Zeus's Aegis was a divine artifact specialized against the Thunderbolt.
Athena's Aegis, with its immense defensive power, also possessed petrifying divine might.
Two divine artifacts.
Both were supreme treasures, no less than the Helm of Darkness, the Trident, or the Thunderbolt—true top-tier divine weapons.
That was why.
The fundamental reason Apollo flew into a complete rage: what Demeter had taken wasn't just his Heart of the Gods, but also Zeus's Aegis.
How could Apollo not be furious?
"Success?"
Demeter's figure moved with blinding speed, already reaching the exit of Olympus.
She gazed at the gradually closing entrance.
Demeter knew she had to move faster. Otherwise, if she were truly trapped here, she would never escape—ever.
Olympus!
Though located in the heavens, it was uniquely special: an independent space, much like the original dimensional universe of the Underworld. Olympus too was a distinct dimensional cosmos.
"Demeter."
"Some things, even if you do them, I wouldn't care much."
"But you."
"Should not have touched the Aegis."
"That is no divine artifact you are worthy to claim."
Endless divine power began to spread, and Apollo's phantom materialized behind Demeter.
He slowly extended a single finger.
But.
That mere finger alone made Demeter feel utterly powerless to resist.
"..."
Demeter did not answer Apollo. Instead, she raised the Aegis, biting her thin lip lightly, her expression grave.
Could she survive?
Demeter wasn't sure, but she had no choice but to fight. The Aegis was something she absolutely had to take with her.
What exactly had happened on Olympus.
No one knew for certain.
But all the gods, upon hearing Apollo's voice, saw a figure—covered in wounds—plummeting from the heavens like a shooting star toward the earth.
Demeter was bathed in blood, her eyes beginning to glaze over, her consciousness fading.
Evidently.
Even as one of the Twelve Olympians, bolstered by the Aegis's power, blocking a single strike from Apollo?
That was utterly unrealistic.
It was the true chasm between heaven and earth.
One could only say.
Demeter had survived, but without aid, without rescue, death was inevitable.
For Demeter, though, escaping Olympus was enough. As long as she left Olympus, everything would be safe.
"Mother."
Demeter felt her consciousness drifting further.
At that moment.
A voice, gentle as water and remarkably similar to her own, reached her ears.
Demeter struggled to open her eyes. A strand of divine power had already wrapped around her body.
The divine power mended Demeter's wounds.
The next instant.
Demeter vanished without a trace.
She arrived in Hades' Castle.
"Persephone..."
Demeter sensed her injuries healing in an instant. She stood, lifting her head to look at her daughter before her. Tears welled in her eyes, falling uncontrollably.
Demeter valued her daughter immensely—from the depths of her heart, from the core of her soul.
This.
Was evident even in the myths.
And in this world, since the mythic era when her daughter entered the Underworld, she had completely lost track of her.
For Demeter, these years had been an endless torment.
She had even chosen self-isolation, unwilling to know what had transpired. She wandered Olympus like a walking corpse.
Today.
She finally saw her daughter again.
Persephone stepped forward, embracing her mother gently. Her voice was soft: "Mother, wait just a moment. I will handle everything."
"Mm!"
Demeter gazed at her daughter—mature, composed, and poised—and felt a surge of emotion.
The once gentle, eldest-daughter-like girl had changed, truly transformed at some point!
In Demeter's eyes, this was no bad thing.
But.
As a mother, she was truly worried. Her daughter had grown so much!
Parents rejoice at their children's growth, yet it aches the heart. Without trials, which child ever matures?
Throughout it all.
Alistair sat to the side, watching the reunion of mother and daughter.
Well~~~
How to put it.
Demeter.
Persephone's mother shared over seventy to eighty percent resemblance with her—from appearance alone, they were almost like twins.
If there was.
One difference, it was that Demeter's figure was even more striking, more captivating.
Persephone could be called perfect, while Demeter suited terms like alluring? Voluptuous? Hmm! Not quite certain. In any case, utterly mesmerizing.
Beyond that.
Demeter exuded the mature allure of a seasoned lady, coupled with a sorrowful aura akin to that of a widow.
Hiss!
Alistair nearly failed to suppress a sharp intake of breath. Demeter perfectly embodied his inner ideal of a widow.
"You are?"
Demeter turned to Alistair then, greeting him softly, her words laced with respect.
Demeter didn't know Alistair's identity, but he had sat there from beginning to end.
If.
Alistair were merely her daughter's subordinate or a kept consort, he could never act so.
Alistair smiled: "Persephone calls me Dust. You may do the same."
"Dust~~~"
Demeter murmured the name softly.
At that moment.
Persephone's divine power spread out, drawing their gazes once more.
In the vast cosmos.
Two phantoms began to manifest.
Persephone.
Apollo.
The only two—or perhaps the sole two—in the current era who had ascended to God King.
At this instant.
The two phantoms coalesced, standing silently amid the boundless universe.
Within the phantoms of the two God Kings, endless galaxies seemed contained, countless stars and vast Milky Ways swirling inside.
This indirectly proved just how immense and terrifying these two God King phantoms were.
"Persephone."
Apollo merely glanced deeply, speaking calmly: "Demeter may leave. Hand over the Aegis."
Apollo had no intention of dwelling on whether Demeter had escaped. For him, the Aegis was paramount.
"The divine artifact my mother took is naturally the Underworld's now."
"Apollo."
"You think mere words can make me surrender the artifact my mother risked everything to bring back?"
Persephone's voice was equally indifferent as she countered.
"Hmm~~~"
Apollo furrowed his brow slightly.
In that instant.
The entire universe seemed to face annihilation. Everything stilled in a heartbeat—except for Earth itself—the whole cosmos instantly crumbled into shattered nothingness.
That boundless, infinite universe.
In this moment.
It was utterly reduced to dust. All existence, as if it had never been.
As for.
The lives within the universe? Potential lives? These mattered not. Under a God King's will, with a single thought, the entire universe would be utterly erased.
And Earth?
Earth was the origin of all, its internals uniquely resilient. Not to mention Apollo's mere willful influence—even constant bombardment couldn't shatter it.
Otherwise!
The Gold Saints wielded punches at light speed, even surpassing it. Such wars erupted every 243 years, or amid the meddling of various gods, practically year-round on Earth.
If Earth couldn't withstand it, it would have vanished long ago.
Persephone, witnessing this, showed no change from start to finish. She merely said faintly: "Apollo, as a God King, your once-elegant, benevolent grace seems utterly gone, replaced by the arrogance and indifference of a God King."
With a mere thought from Persephone, the annihilated universe reversed like time flowing backward, reborn anew.
Everything.
As if no change had ever occurred.
But.
Anyone who understood knew this wasn't time reversal, but true recreation. In a single thought, Persephone had reforged an entire universe, seamlessly matching the pre-destruction state without flaw.
"Persephone, this has nothing to do with you. Hand over the Aegis."
Apollo sensed Persephone's divine power in that instant.
He knew clearly.
This was Persephone's true might. She was a genuine God King, no illusion.
If so.
No room for carelessness.
This was a God King.
What is a God King?
One thought births the universe.
One thought annihilates it.
The entire universe, teeming with countless lives, was but a fleeting notion in a God King's eyes.
And Apollo knew well.
Whether he could reclaim the Aegis today was truly uncertain. Facing a true God King, both at full force in open war—who could claim certain victory?
Even in the ancient Three Kings' War, Zeus's defeat of Hades and Poseidon came with twists and turns, not a direct rout. That was why Apollo found it troublesome.
***
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