BOOM!
A brilliant bolt of lightning, carrying the majesty of divine punishment, struck down vertically. The Aegis shattered instantly, and fine tendrils of lightning splashed outward like water.
BANG!
Athena abandoned her shield just in time but was still rocked by the aftershock of the lightning. The slender girl's body slammed into the temple wall, destroying a corner of the structure.
In a single blow, the triple Earth Mother Goddess Athena was left in a sorry state.
However, Earth Mother Goddesses often possessed the life force of dragons and serpents. For Athena, such an injury was not life-threatening. Not to mention, this was the Parthenon, her own temple, where she held an innate advantage.
The silver-haired goddess swallowed the mouthful of blood that welled up, refusing to show any weakness before her enemy. Her owl-like eyes remained fixed on the thunderclouds above.
"This nature of lightning…?"
She sensed a familiar power within it.
"Oh? You've met the Last King?"
Zeus noticed Athena's surprise and, after a moment's thought, asked.
"The Last King?" Athena froze, then immediately recalled. In her previous battle against Su Mo, she had been instantly killed by lightning of a similar nature. At the time, Su Mo had been wielding the Blade of Salvation.
Though she didn't know how Su Mo had obtained the Last King's power, it was clear the lightning's power had originally belonged to him. Now, hearing Zeus's words, the goddess's wisdom allowed her to instantly realize something.
"The Last King's lightning… was it a boon from you?"
"Indeed." Zeus nodded slightly. "Of course, besides me, there was also the power of the pagan gods Indra and Odin. Otherwise, with the Last King's strength alone, he might not have been able to purge those blasphemous rebels and reshape the relationship between gods and men."
If the Last King was the Godslayer-sweeper appointed by the gods, their hand-picked CEO, then the God-Kings Zeus now mentioned were the board of directors behind the scenes. They were the ones who truly controlled the power of the pantheons. To them, the Last King was just an employee.
The source of the Salvation Lightning was these God-Kings.
Since Su Mo could easily defeat Athena using the Salvation Lightning, there was no reason Zeus, as one of its sources, couldn't do the same. Athena was no fool; she naturally understood this. But there was one thing she still couldn't comprehend.
"Why are you so strong?"
His power had far surpassed the level of a chief god or a God-King, almost reaching another realm entirely. She had only seen such power before in the battle between Su Mo and Jibril. This was not the strength a normal god should possess.
"Why?" Hearing this, Zeus revealed a majestic smile, his golden eyes filled with ambition. He raised his thunderbolt scepter and declared to the world, "Because I am Zeus the Father, King of the Gods, the One True Supreme God above all else!"
With his majestic roar, the phantom of Mount Olympus trembled, and all the surrounding Olympian gods bowed their bodies, showing their submission.
"The One God…" Athena's eyes widened, keenly catching the keyword.
As far as she knew, in any pantheon, the One God and the Supreme God were concepts that should exist but would never manifest.
Just as Christianity had no physical God or Son, and Zoroastrianism had no Ahura Mazda or Angra Mainyu, beings of that level did not appear in the Divine Realm.
Yet Zeus now declared himself to be the One God. Although he hadn't truly reached that realm, Athena keenly sensed that he wasn't lying.
At the very least, his goal was to become the One God. He was not content with the status of a God-King; he wanted to advance his power even further!
"How is that possible?!" Athena subconsciously found it absurd, not because she lacked imagination, but because, in her view, Zeus's goal was inherently unattainable.
"As the son of Cronus and Rhea, the grandson of Uranus and Mother Earth, if you are the One God, where does that place your parents? Even if you disregard the dignity of Mother Earth, can you truly defy your own origin?" Athena questioned him directly.
The One God of a pantheon was usually a creator god from the very beginning, like the God of the Bible.
The One God created the world, differentiated angels and demons, and had no stronger god above him. Only then could he be called omnipotent.
To become the One God, one must at least not be a created being, right? Otherwise, wouldn't the god who created him be stronger than the created god?
And if one were to consider Zeus a One God who became stronger through battle and cultivation, that would create an even greater contradiction.
If an ordinary god could become the One God by overthrowing the God-King, why couldn't other gods do the same?
Under the constraints of these contradictions, it was almost impossible for Zeus to be hailed as the One God; the basic logic didn't hold up.
Unless he abandoned his own myth and erased the history of Uranus and Cronus, but that was clearly impossible.
The myth of rebelling against his father, Cronus, was the initial foundation of Zeus's spiritual essence. To deny it would be suicide.
"Hmph!" Faced with Athena's question, Zeus sneered, offering no explanation.
Seeing the murderous intent in his eyes and his confident expression, it was clear he believed he had a way around these paradoxes.
"That is none of your concern. However, since you dare to betray me, your Father, you should be prepared to be struck down by my thunder, should you not?"
A torrential downpour of lightning, like an inverted tree, descended and was grasped in Zeus's hand, aimed for projection at Athena. The ley lines of the entire Olympian Divine Realm boiled in his palm, and the spear of lightning aimed for Athena's heart as if it were prey.
A bone-chilling sense of danger filled her body. Athena tried to flee, but Zeus's scepter had already locked onto her. Even if she fled to another divine realm, she likely couldn't escape this fatal bolt.
At this most critical juncture, a goddess suddenly interrupted Zeus's action. Glancing at Athena, who was completely locked down and about to die at any moment, the goddess of the hearth, Hestia, suddenly spoke.
"O great King of the Gods, I beseech you, for my sake, to forgive Athena's transgression."
As Zeus's older sister, her words were extremely respectful, clearly acknowledging his claim as the One God. But the moment she spoke, the Olympian divine power flowing within Zeus wavered slightly.
As one of the three virgin goddesses of Greek mythology, Hestia was one of the most mysterious and least-storied gods.
However, the divine offices she held were always extremely important—the hearth fire, the sacred flame, the fire of sacrifice, all fell under her Authority.
In the human form of worship, the eternal sacred flame she controlled was the most crucial fire of faith, the key hub for converting human belief into divine power.
In other words, all the power of faith gained by the Olympian Divine Realm was provided through the conversion of her divine office.
If she wished it, even if she couldn't completely cut it off, she could greatly affect Zeus's power.
Zeus clearly understood this. His movements immediately slowed, and his devouring gaze turned to his sister.
"Hestia, do you wish to betray me along with Athena?" he asked, his expression blank.
"…That is not my intention." Cold sweat immediately beaded on Hestia's forehead.
Although she could influence Olympus's divine power, she herself had little combat strength.
Athena could take one bolt of lightning; she couldn't even withstand half. If she truly angered Zeus, being pierced on the spot would be a light punishment.
The atmosphere instantly tensed. The other gods lowered their heads, silent.
Only the young moon goddess, Artemis, hesitated for a moment before clenching her teeth and stepping forward.
"O Supreme, Omnipotent Father, Hestia has no such intention, and Athena was merely led astray by an outsider. Please, calm your anger!"
The three virgin goddesses, for a rare moment, stood on the same side.
"An outsider?" Zeus savored the word, the power of the lightning scepter in his hand neither increasing nor decreasing.
At this time, the sun god Apollo stepped forward.
"Reporting to the Supreme Father, I have seen a strange Godslayer in the lower world before. Athena's matter may be related to him." Having crossed paths with Su Mo once, he had a deep impression of him.
"Father, for whatever reason, Athena is challenging your authority. She must be executed here and now to display your might as the Supreme God!" the wine god Dionysus also stepped forward. Unlike the other gods, his attitude toward Zeus was clearly more familiar and casual, and his killing intent toward Athena was genuine.
Seeing Zeus not immediately responding, Dionysus grew agitated.
"Father! Have you forgotten your goal? Since Athena has already violated the covenant, what is there to hesitate about?!"
"You only need to strike her down and plunder her power, and you will completely break the shackles of fate, rise above it, and become the eternally omnipotent Supreme God!"
"If you can take that step, with the power of the Supreme God, you will be invincible in the world! Who else could be your opponent?"
The other pantheons without a Supreme God would be no match! That strange Godslayer he had met before would be no match!
Just as Dionysus was about to continue his fervent persuasion…
A young woman's voice, unfamiliar to the gods but very familiar to Athena, rang out.
"Of course there is!"
Along with the clear, pleasant voice, a girl who looked to be sixteen or seventeen, resembling an angel, appeared.
"In the presence of Lord Su Mo, who dares claim invincibility? Who dares speak of being undefeated?"
Jibril lightly covered her mouth, her eyes proud and sharp.
When they saw the Flügel girl, the gods were slightly stunned, showing little reaction. Only Zeus wore a look of complete vigilance, his expression utterly serious.
When they saw the black-haired, black-eyed human youth who arrived with the Flügel, all the gods except Apollo and Dionysus wore expressions of confusion.
Unlike their reaction to Jibril, the wine god Dionysus almost subconsciously took a step back, his expression one of utter panic as he cried out the other's name.
"Godslayer… Su Mo?!"