Chapter 330: Episode 62 – God’s Enemy (3)
A swirling portal appeared in the sky.
[The constellation ‘Queen of the Darkest Spring’ is looking at you.]
Pluto’s license was obtained from Hades. I could use Pluto freely in the limited time Gigantomachia was held.
[Hahahat, grasshopper man! You memorized the starting change despite not liking it?]
It was Kim Namwoon’s mischievous voice. However, the giant soldier didn’t appear immediately. There was only the darkness of the abyss visible beyond the swirling portal.
[By the way, can you wait 10 minutes? The summoning circle is damaged and I can’t go straight away. The giants stomped their feet too many times...]
...Dammit. Heracles was emitting a white light and looking my way with blank eyes. (TL: Small change from Hercules in the last chapter).
It couldn’t be helped. I had to buy as much time as possible. I stepped forward and shouted, “Heracles! Hero of the 12 Tasks!”
Heracles stared at me. The red arrow above Heracles’ head was flickering.
[The constellation is a ‘leader’ of Olympus.]
As expected, he was one of the two leaders of Olympus. According to the myths, Heracles was a man who killed the leader of the giants in Gigantomachia. Many constellations in Ways of Survival spoke about him.
「 “As long as Heracles is present, the winner of Gigantomachia won’t change.” 」
Numerous incarnations cheered when they saw Heracles.
“Ohhhhh!”
“Heracles! Heracles!”
Heracles, the hero of Olympus who left countless myths and folklore. Despite the many stories that resonated through the Star Stream, the number of constellations who actually saw Heracles could be counted on one hand.
He was a demigod, a mix between a god and human. He had a body of steel. The stories of the protector of Olympus circulated around him.
[The story ‘Man Who Strangled the Lion of Nemea’ has begun.]
[The story ‘Man Who Beat up the Giant Boar’ has begun.]
[The story ‘Man Who Overpowered a Cerberus with Bare Hands’ has begun.]
.....
A tremendous amount of stories were shining in Heracles’ body. At first glance, they seemed like crazy stories. Every one of them was at the very least, legendary grade stories. The scale of his ‘giant stories’ was incomparable but I didn’t start the game without knowing this.
“Once again, rumours in the Star Stream can’t be believed.” I spoke in a provocative voice and Heracles’ fist flew towards me.
[The exclusive skill ‘Bookmark’ is activated!]
Miniaturization and Electrification were activated. Heracles’ fist passed over the top of my head and made a crater in the ground where I had been standing. I was swept back by the ignorant power but I didn’t stop the provocation. “Your punch is only this much. I don’t know if this was enough to overpower the giants.
An angry cry seemed to burst from Heracles’ body.
“I know many stories about you. You caught the lion of Nemea, killed a hydra, hunted a Stymphalian bird... they are incredible stories for ‘one person’ to accomplish in a short period of time.”
Finally, a true voice burst out from Heracles’ body. [That’s right. That is me, Heracles!]
It was creepy hearing the voice. It might be equivalent to the 12 Gods but as a result, I was even more convinced.
“I heard a rumour that you were born for Gigantomachia. Your 12 tasks were trials for the victory of Gigantomachia.”
[Some constellations are interested in your words!]
[The constellation ‘Demon-like Judge of Fire’ is worried about you.]
I didn’t know how he took my words but Heracles banged on his chest. It was a spectacular sight to see a monster over 20 metres tall doing such a thing.
I kept speaking. “Then one of my close colleagues heard your story and raised a question.”
I suppressed my boiling anger.
“The original Heracles was born after the ‘Great Disaster Period’. Then how could he participate in Gigantomachia which occurred before that?” It was none other than Yoo Sangah who said this.
A stir occurred among the constellations in the channel. Heracles’ eyes gleamed angrily as his true voice rang out.
[Arrogant guy! Are you saying this Heracles is a lie?]
“Yes. Not just you but all of the 12 gods.” Heracles was silent at my answer. “You made many false stories. You did this by manipulating them.”
Heracles clearly looked embarrassed.
“I was surprised as well. If you kept talking and talking nonsense... it might someday become a ‘real’ story.”
One thousand years, two thousand years. The lies were repeated for tens of thousands of years.
“Once it becomes a story, it can be said to originally exist. Isn’t it amazing?”
[I am Heracles! Heracles of Gigantomachia and the symbol of Olympus!]
“Yes, perhaps in another world line. Somewhere in another world, you really killed Nemea’s lion and the hydra.”
[The constellation ‘Secretive Plotter’ is making an interested smile.]
I stared up at the sky as I spoke. I moved through the 1863rd round and remembered the countless rounds that Yoo Jonghyuk went through.
“However, that isn’t the case in this world. In this world, a hero like Heracles doesn’t exist.”
[You!]
“It is because Heracles is the name of the story weapon you created.”
Zeus, the god of lightning, had sowed his seed in preparation for Gigantomachia. As always, the ‘seed’ here was a metaphor. Zeus feared the giants and collected miscellaneous hero stories from across the world.
「 Nemea’s Lion. 」
「 Golden Horned Deer. 」
「 Bull of Crete. 」
「 Hydra of Nine Heads. 」
.....
Stories were gathered and created a single character. This character was soon shaped into a story weapon. It was created to fight against the giants, using human souls as power. A weapon that brought the fear of massacre to numerous battlefields in the Star Stream.
“Giant soldier Heracles.”
[The constellation ‘Prisoner of the Golden Headband’ is surprised.]
[The constellation ‘Bald General of Justice’ resents the atrocities of Olympus.]
[The constellation ‘Queen of the Darkest Spring’ has a cold expression.]
[The constellation ‘Spokesman of Justice and Wisdom’ has shaky eyes.]
[Many constellations are shocked by the identity of Heracles!]
Perhaps most constellations were unaware of this story. It was natural. It was a truth that only I, who read Ways of Survival, and a few of the 12 Gods who made Heracles knew about.
[Many constellations have entered channel #BY-9158!]
The constellations in the channel suddenly increased and Biyoo cried out tearfully.
[A large number of constellations are questioning the identity of Gigantomachia!]
The stage I wanted was finally going to be completed.
[Heracles’s mythical identity is shaken.]
[The identity of Heracles has influenced the reproduction of Stage Transformation.]
I stared at Heracles.
[The exclusive skill ‘Reading Comprehension’ is activated.]
[You have learnt about the other person’s composition of stories due to the attribute effect!]
「 He is a god of war born only for war. 」
「 Holding ‘fear’ in the right hand and ‘anxiety’ in the left hand. 」
「 He left discord every time he walked through a ‘fight’ in front of him. 」
The stories of a constellation flowed through Heracles’ giant soldier. They weren’t Heracles’ stories.
Heracles was a giant soldier. If so, there was someone riding him and I knew who that person was.
I cried out in my true voice. [Atrocious War God! Are you a coward who fights behind a giant soldier?]
A huge storm of wind blew around Heracles’ body. The heroes and constellations fighting in a bloody manner around him were pushed back dozens of metres. I would’ve flown to the horizon if I hadn’t used Way of the Wind through Bookmark. Ares opened his mouth.
[In the past, many people who spoke bad words to Olympus didn’t have a good fate. Oedipus and Prometheus as well. No one was an exception.]
Unlike the fierce outburst, Ares’ true voice was unexpectedly calm.
[You have spoken more words than anyone I’ve seen.]
It happened the moment Heracles aimed a fist at me. 10 minutes had passed. Pluto appeared in the sky and blocked Heracles’ fist. I literally flew through the air and entered Pluto’s cockpit.
[The Giant Soldier Pluto has confirmed your boarding.]
[The Giant Soldier Pluto has confirmed the master’s constellation.]
[Your story will be assimilated with Giant Soldier Pluto.]
I was comfortably embraced by the giant soldier’s body. It was like soft muscles were wrapped around my body and I could see the vision of the ‘giant soldier.’ The power of the story weapon enveloped my entire body. This was one of the strongest story weapons of Ways of Survival, Giant Soldier Pluto.
[...Ugh! Eek! Eeek! I feel like there is a parasite in my stomach!]
As Kim Namwoon was making a fuss, Han Sooyoung spoke through Midday Tryst.
-Hey, can you do it? This is the giant soldier Heracles. You only have Kim Namwoon.
The rating of the giant soldier was determined by the quality of the ‘soul’ used as the material of the giant soldier. In addition, the soul used for the original Pluto wasn’t Kim Namwoon. In other words, the current Pluto was much weaker than the original Pluto.
-Kim Namwoon is pretty good.
-The situation is completely different from when you smashed the factory in the Demon World!
-Do you think I don’t know that? He can do it.
-You’re serious?
-Perhaps it would be impossible originally but... I learnt something from you.
-...From me?
I rushed towards Heracles. Heracles amplified his body volume to match Pluto and also headed
towards me. Four hands collided and the fierce wind pressure created a whirlpool in the sea. Ares was surprised when Pluto showed a strength comparable to Heracles.
[A giant soldier? Where did you get it?]
“I scammed it from someone, just like you.”
From the start of the Demon King Selection to the 1863rd round. I had been preparing for Gigantomachia. It was a chance for a new nebula to establish a solid position and an opportunity to properly warn the big nebulae.
「 Kim Dokja read and read Ways of Survival. 」
I changed the original novel and the future became uncertain. However, it was impossible for me to use Anticipation Plagiarism like Han Sooyoung of the 1863rd round. It was possible for writers like Han Sooyoung to ‘create’ possible developments of the future.
To such a me, the 1863rd round Han Sooyoung stated:
-What are you talking about? You’re a reader.
Reader. A person who read and appreciated the writer’s words.
-Author, don’t you think the research into the 12 Gods is a bit lacking? Ares is more violent and looks down on humans more than depicted...
-Besides, the probability that the 12 Gods can use individually...
I was the one who made the story along with the writer. Heracles’ fist slammed into Pluto’s head and Pluto’s fist struck Heracles’ chest. In the ensuing melee, the feelings I felt while reading Ways of Survival flowed through me.
-I think the constellations who descended to the sub-scenario are too unfavourable...
I wasn’t a writer. I couldn’t do it like Han Sooyoung. However, more than anyone else, I was aware of the loopholes in the original work. Perhaps even more than the author who wrote the novel.
[The game ends here.]
The momentum around Heracles’ body changed. The strength that shattered a lion’s head was concentrated on both arms of the giant soldier and Heracles’ star relic, Heracles’ Club was summoned.
I had also prepared for the day when I would confront him.
[The giant story ‘Demon World’s Spring’ has begun!]
[The status of a ‘demon king’ is released!]
The power of a demon king mixed with Electrification. On top of that, the giant story of Kim Dokja’s Company was placed. I exploded all the stories I had hidden. The stories I released were amplified to an enormous level due to Pluto’s buff effect.
Ares was greatly astonished. It was natural to be surprised. In fact, I was overdoing it. My status was still lacking to confront one of the 12 Gods but after going to the 95th scenario, I couldn’t be compared to incarnations or constellations of the same grade.
At the very least, I exceeded the limits of the 60th scenario.
[Your status is going beyond the limit of this scenario!]
Since the 60th scenario, the probability storm that occurred couldn’t be compared to before. If I made a mistake, I might suffer a disaster where my incarnation body was destroyed.
I endured the sparks with gritted teeth.
The nebula Olympus has used too much extra probability on me. Therefore, the probability allowed for large-scale scenarios such as this Gigantomachia was almost gone. Indeed, Ares’ status didn’t rise above a certain level.
[Stupid fool! If you do that, you will die!]
[I might die.] I looked over at Ares and declared, [But you will die first.]
I looked down at Pluto’s empty right hand. The power of the giant soldier was so high that an ordinary weapon couldn’t withstand the shock. At the very least, I needed a weapon comparable to Heracles’ Bat.
In fact, I had such a weapon. It was a weapon I have been saving for a long time, just for this moment.
[Come, Steel Sword.]