Chapter 552 - Kronos (2)
Crunch! Hades’ Spirit Eating Sword sucked in Typhon’s powers at a ferocious speed.
“Argh! This doesn’t make sense...! I won’t lose to you in this ridiculous game!” Typhon’s eyes turned red as he tried to shake Yeon-woo and Hades’ Spirit Eating Sword off. After he’d ascended to Olympus’ throne, Typhon had laughed at the gods and demons whose powers Yeon-woo had absorbed, and he especially ridiculed the envoys who had been slaughtered in the Crawling Chaos’ holy territory.
Typhon could not understand how foolish these gods and demons were to fall for such an obvious trap. Nor could he understand how they could allow themselves to be consumed. If one’s spirit or soul were eaten, then all the achievements that one had accumulated in order to become a transcendent being would end up belonging to someone else. It was more disgraceful than simple annihilation. However, Typhon discovered that he was ending up in the same boat!
『Helios! Selene...! Where? Where are you?』 Typhon called to the Titans who had mysteriously grown silent and disappeared after he and Yeon-woo began battling. He opened his direct Channel with them and demanded their assistance. However, the only response he received was...silence.
The Channel was connected, but no one answered his call. The thing that Typhon dreaded had come to pass. 『Traitors! You traitors...』 From the beginning, Typhon hadn’t trusted the Titans entirely which was why he’d left them in Tartarus and sent the Gigantes to Olympus after they’d recaptured Tartarus.
Typhon had justified this by saying that the Titans needed to protect their home base from the gods of Olympus. Although the gods had fled to Erebus, they might try to stage a comeback any time. In reality, Typhon was worried about the instability that would occur once the Titans obtained their holy powers in Olympus. He tried to head off this risk by keeping the Titans in Tartarus. After all, Tartarus was already his holy territory, and he could see everything they were doing and weed out any potential threats.
Since the Titans’ usefulness had already expired, Typhon had already decided that he would wipe them out in one fell swoop if the chance presented itself. However, Typhon never guessed that they would betray him first. He had made a critical mistake.
『You’re calling us traitors? Even though you’re on the cusp of death, you’re still spewing nonsense, Typhon.』 Theia’s voice echoed through the Channel into Typhon’s increasingly blurred consciousness. Her voice was full of laughter. 『Didn’t you only run wild in the heavens because of Mother Earth’s backing? Furthermore, the only reason you managed to overthrow Hades is that you stole the Titan king’s crown? That crown belongs to us. You’re just a petty thief who got lucky. Did you really think you deserved to be anointed as king?』
『If it wasn’t for me, your lives would all still be miserable...!』 Typhon was exasperated and enraged that those he’d given power to would dare stab him in the back. They had obediently wagged their tails like loyal dogs only to bare their teeth at the most important moment.
However, despite his anger, Theia’s laughter only grew louder. In the distance, Typhon could see Eos, who had grown to a colossal size, at the location where the Titans had retreated. Theia was sitting on Eos’ shoulder and staring at Typhon intently. 『Sure, we might have been miserable. However, we will now return to Olympus and regain our crown once again. As for you...』 A corner of Theia’s lips twisted into a smirk. 『Hades’ successor will rip you to shreds and absorb you. Hahaha! I wonder who’s miserable now.』 Theia covered her mouth with her hand as she laughed. She was full of elation.
“Theia!” Typhon felt something snap inside his head. Click! Theia had cut off the Channel that she had with Typhon. The other Titans also followed suit.
[Theia and the other Titans have declared their independence from the godly society <Olympus>!]
[A new godly society <Titans> has been established.]
[<Titans> include:
Main Supreme Goddess Theia
Supreme Goddess Selene
Supreme God Eos
Great God Hyperion]
...
[The godly society <Titans> has declared war on <Olympus>!]
[A hostile relationship between <Titans> and <Olympus> has been established.]
[A change has been made to the alliance diagram.]
[The godly society <Titans> has succeeded in taking over the Great Temple!]
[Ownership of the hidden stage, Tartarus, has been transferred to Theia. Tartarus is now the holy territory of the <Titans>!]
“Argh!” Typhon’s anger had shot up to the top of his head. He felt like he was going crazy. He never thought that the Titans in the Great Temple would take it over. Their declaration of war and independence meant that they meant to sever all ties. Typhon felt the urge to search for the Titans and rip them into pieces, but Theia and the other Titans had already opened a large portal and were fleeing from the battlefield.
Hades’ Spirit Eating Sword continued to consume Typhon’s holy power with increasing force.
“No! Not like this...!” Typhon struggled. His wings were broken, and his tail had been torn into pieces. His power had already plummeted, and all the achievements he had accumulated so far were being forcefully taken from him.
[Typhon strongly resists!]
[Hades’ Spirit Eating Sword reveals its Superbia nature and neutralizes Typhon’s resistance.]
[Hades’ Spirit Eating Sword reveals its Gula nature and greedily absorbs Typhon’s powers.]
[The Sin Stone (Superbia and Gula) is very satisfied with the absorption.]
Yeon-woo smirked as he pushed Hades’ Spirit Eating Sword deeper into Typhon. He’d always known that there was conflict between the Titans and Gigantes, but he never expected that the Titans would backstab their leader so quickly at the first sign of his weakness. It was almost as though they were attacking from the front instead of from behind.
「The Titans must be skilled if they can gain King Temper’s admiration for their backstabbing abilities. Master, shouldn’t this inspire you to become more diligent in backstabbing? You might fall behind at this rate...」
‘Shut up.’ Yeon-woo snapped at Shanon, who was busy commenting once more. If the Titans and Gigantes were no longer allies, it would be good for Yeon-woo. It was not easy to deal with those who possessed the power to defeat Olympus and Tartarus. However, their internal divisions had made Yeon-woo a lucky beneficiary. He could instigate a bigger feud between the two and get them to drain each other’s power for him. It was the perfect opportunity for him to win without lifting a finger. Things were falling into place unexpectedly well.
“Deal! Let’s make a deal! Player ###!” Typhon shouted at Yeon-woo in an urgent voice. Hades’ Spirit Eating Sword was nearing the end of its absorption process, threatening Typhon’s very existence. Typhon had grown terribly anxious, and his face was pale. He looked as though he would shatter from a mere touch.
“Deal?”
“Yes! Deal! Let’s work together! I’ll give you what you want. In return, let’s have a truce!”
Yeon-woo was dumbfounded. Olympus’ great god, who had once been strong enough to rival Zeus and had driven Hades into crisis, had utterly fallen. Yeon-woo started to wonder if the god in front of him was truly the same intimidating being with his all-seeing eye that Yeon-woo had encountered when he first entered Tartarus. Didn’t Typhon feel any shame saying something like this to Yeon-woo?
However, all Typhon wanted was to escape danger. His grudge against the Titans took second place to his desire to live. The concept of death was unfamiliar to him, and his survival instincts were so strong that he would do things he’d never considered before. How much he struggled to achieve what he had!
He had been imprisoned in a prison cell for thousands of years without a single ray of light. During those long years, he’d clenched his teeth and waited for an opportunity. One day, he’d finally risen into the world, and just as he was about to enjoy the fruits of his patience and efforts...how was it possible that he was now about to fall? Typhon was willing to bargain with Yeon-woo and listen to any conditions.
“Does that mean you’ll give me anything I want?”
“Yes!”
“Anything?”
“Yes!”
[Typhon proposes a contract backed by the Divine Word!] If a promise made with the Divine Word was broken, one’s achievements would be shattered. The fact that Typhon was willing to go this far, essentially drinking his own poison, meant that he was in a life-or-death situation. In fact, at this moment, he could feel his core shaking. His spirit body trembled like a static-disrupted signal.
Typhon spoke quickly. “What do you want? Tartarus? Hades’ artifact? Or... Aha! Since you’re the Black King’s successor, you need the corpse of his previous apostle, Kronos, right? I’ll teach you how to absorb Kronos’ Factors!”
Yeon-woo could not help laughing. In the end, no matter how arrogant one was, one’s desire to live always outweighed other concerns. It didn’t matter whether one was a mortal or a transcendent being. Only those who were truly great beings could stay aloof and confident in the face of death. ‘Like Hades.’ Yeon-woo laughed as he remembered his benefactor, Hades, once more.
Irk!
“Have...have you decided...?” Typhon forced a smile. He thought that Yeon-woo had made a decision to agree.
“Yeah.”
“Then...!”
“Your life.”
Typhon’s face, which was on the brink of breaking out into a large smile, suddenly hardened at the mocking words that Yeon-woo threw at him.
Yeon-woo’s smile deepened. “Give me your life.”
“###!” Typhon screamed, his face twisted.
[The Divine Word has been activated.]
As the Tower’s system executed the Divine Word, the rest of Typhon’s spiritual core surged into Hades’ Spirit Eating Sword.
“No!” Typhon’s wail faded quickly, and even though his soul maintained its form until the end, Hades’ Spirit Eating Sword still consumed it.
[Hades’ Spirit Eating Sword has succeeded in consuming a spirit!]
[Typhon, the godly society <Olympus> supreme god, has been devoured. All his achievements and legends have been transferred to you.]
[You have made an achievement that is not easily accomplished. Additional karma will be provided.]
[You have acquired 150,000 additional karma.]
[You have acquired 200,000 additional karma.]
...
[The process of purification has begun!]
[The situation of the godly society <Olympus> has been announced to the heavenly world!]
[Your ally <Niflheim> cheers loudly.]
[Your ally <Chan Sect> pays tribute to your great victory.]
[Your ally <East Demon Army> reacts to the news as though it is expected.]
[The allied force <Asgard> is in great shock. They are starting to discuss their retreat.]
[The allied force <Olympus> is in a state of panic at the defeat of their supreme god. While discussing the next supreme god, they express strong hostility to the <Titans> who have declared independence.]
...
[The neutral demonic society <Deva> is silent.]
[The neutral demonic society <Jie Sect> is silent.]
...
[The godly society <Malach> is congratulating you on your victory.]
[The demonic society <L’Infernal> is extremely happy to see that the battle is nearing its end.]
[Vimalacitra is very pleased with your victory. He sends his congratulations on your progress towards becoming a great warrior.]
[Cernunnos quietly closes his eyes. He exhibits no other reaction.]
[Many gods are silent regarding your victory.]
[Many demons show surprise at your growth rate.]
Each society reacted in a different way, although they all seemed stunned, just like the time when Yeon-woo had obtained the revelations. Even though Hercules had helped Yeon-woo, the fact that he had killed a supreme god inevitably affected the heavenly world’s beings more deeply than the death of the Crawling Chaos. Furthermore, during the purification process, Yeon-woo had sensed that Typhon had two different types of divine powers. The two divine powers were so different that Yeon-woo wondered whether it was even possible to absorb them both. One divine power originated from the Titans, who had evolved because of Kronos.
Ring!
The Cast of the Black King absorbed all of Kronos’ divine power, just like it had done before. The only divine power left belonged to... ‘Mother Earth.’
Typhon possessed Mother Earth’s divine power since he worshiped her as his god. As soon as he touched Mother Earth’s divine power, Yeon-woo felt his consciousness come into contact with a distant consciousness.
Whoosh! The whole world around him changed.
My. Things.
You. Again. Taking. My. Things.
Mother Earth was in front of Yeon-woo, glaring at him.