"Whether you resist or submit, you cannot stop a destiny that is bound to be fulfilled."
A majestic voice, carried by the thunder, spread throughout the entire Greek Divine Realm.
Upon hearing it, all the people of Greece knelt to the ground and began to pray to Zeus the Father, hoping he would quell his anger. However, their faith only fueled the rising thunderclouds.
Amidst the drumbeat of thunder, the Mount Olympus behind Zeus solidified from a phantom into reality.
The Olympian gods, whether willing or not, ascended the holy mountain with trepidation and took their places.
Mount Olympus, containing the power of the entire Greek Divine Realm, soared into the clouds, a great sacred fire burning at its peak.
Above the sacred fire was a dark thundercloud, from which blinding lightning occasionally illuminated the earth.
The entire sky churned, eventually coalescing into the face of Zeus. The thunderstorm was his left eye, the sacred fire his right; the storm was his beard, and the rain clouds his skin.
Immense energy flowed from Mount Olympus into the sacred fire, which was then offered up as a sacrifice to the one and only Father God, Zeus.
Under his majestic presence, the entire Greek Divine Realm began to shake and tremble.
"I am Zeus the Father, the ruler of all creation! I came, I saw, I conquered all!"
The phantom of Zeus in the sky, wielding the power of the Olympian gods, made them tremble under his might. In truth, his power alone surpassed all of them combined.
"Athena, my daughter, the final fragment of the Earth Mother Goddess."
A massive vortex of clouds and a thunderstorm formed a colossal eye in the sky, several kilometers in diameter. This emotionless eye stared intently at Athena, who stood behind Su Mo.
"Today, I shall shatter the final prophecy, seize the last glimmer of the Earth Mother Goddess, grasp the power of fate, and ascend to the supreme throne."
"Whether you refuse or accept, you have no choice in the matter."
With the God-King's declaration, the thunderclouds in the sky continued to condense, finally forming a massive thunderball ten kilometers in diameter.
The outer layer of the thunderball was dark clouds, occasionally torn apart by the dazzling white lightning within.
Each bolt of lightning within it held enough power to kill an ordinary Godslayer.
Such a colossal force, manifested in the form of lightning with ultimate destructive properties, if unleashed, would likely bring utter disaster not only to the entire Greek Divine Realm but also to all the surrounding divine realms.
Unlike Jibril, who had just reached the threshold of Tier 4 Continent-Sinking, this strike from Zeus was truly capable of destroying an entire civilization, easily turning the Eurasian continent to dust, a power on the level of scouring the entire planet's surface.
"This… this is too ridiculous, isn't it?"
Looking up at the devastating scene, even Jibril was completely shocked.
After receiving Su Mo's shared Authorities, she had thought herself invincible among the gods of this world, but she never imagined their potential was so far beyond her imagination.
Zeus in his Father God state could be considered a powerhouse among the gods even in the world of No Game No Life. He could even be compared to the legendary End Dragon, Hartyleim.
Jibril even felt that against the War God Artosh, the Zeus before her might not be without a fighting chance.
Faced with this genuine god-level combat power, even the usually battle-hungry Jibril had no intention of playing around. She didn't volunteer for the fight, but instead looked at Su Mo with pleading eyes.
"Master, I'll cheer for you!"
From what she knew of Su Mo, her master could surely defeat the God-King before them. After all, Su Mo wasn't even afraid of Artosh; there was no reason he couldn't win against this one.
Not to mention, Su Mo hadn't even called on Artoria. With the full power of the Holy Sword of the Planet, it might not be impossible to slay this God-King.
"Mm."
Su Mo nodded slightly, then raised his eyes to look at Zeus in the sky.
"Zeus in this state…" Su Mo fell silent for a moment, contemplating which power to use against him.
The Sword's Origin was of little use against a God-King like Zeus, who came from the lineage of the Heroic Gods of Steel.
Or rather, Zeus himself was one of the sources of the Sword's Origin technique, a leader of the Steel lineage.
Using Steel to counter Steel wasn't impossible, but the Steel Divinities Su Mo possessed held no absolute advantage over Zeus.
However, the instant-kill judgment of the Sword of Victory would still be effective against Zeus in this state.
Zeus, having approached the realm of the One God, had no weaknesses in his Authorities. He possessed Godspeed, defense, divine-level martial arts, and even resurrection. Therefore, even Su Mo couldn't defeat him by exploiting a weak point.
However, while Zeus met all the other conditions, there was one he did not: his Divinity.
The widely known Divinity of Greek mythology held no secrets for Su Mo.
Even though the current Zeus possessed a composite Divinity of the entire Greek pantheon and was even performing internal manipulations, making it seem like a chaotic black box, in Su Mo's eyes, the evolution of his Divinity was exceptionally clear.
He was merely following the old path of Christianity.
Even a Divinity composed of the entire Greek mythology was well within Su Mo's scope of understanding.
Therefore, the Golden Sword that could seal all Divinities could still maintain its effect.
Even if Zeus's upper limit of divine power surpassed Su Mo's current reserves, he was still a turtle in a jar.
For Su Mo, this was a battle he could end with a wave of his hand. His current hesitation was merely a matter of deciding how to win.
Should he use the Second Mythological Thaumaturgy, the Sword of Victory? Or the Third Mythological Thaumaturgy, the Seven Deadly Sins, which he had comprehended after slaying the legions of angels and demons at the entrance of Eden, gaining over a hundred Authorities?
Using a technique from a monotheistic religion to end the self-proclaimed One God, Zeus, seemed like a fine choice.
Su Mo's deliberation lasted only a few seconds before he made his decision. However, before he could try out the Seven Deadly Sins, a slender hand grabbed his from behind.
"My Lord, I have a way to deal with this. Please, lower your head."
The silver-haired goddess's eyes were firm.
For Su Mo, pondering during battle was a sign of having a surplus of power, but for Athena, those few seconds felt like years.
Athena had witnessed Jibril's true power, but it was not comparable to the current Zeus. She knew Artoria possessed the Holy Sword of the Planet, but she wasn't sure if that power could be used at any time.
So, seeing Su Mo in deep thought, she subconsciously assumed he was also trying to figure out a countermeasure.
Although she wanted to believe in him, the battle wouldn't wait. She could only offer up her final strength as quickly as possible.
"Mm."
Su Mo did not refuse her request and immediately lowered his head. The moment he did, the sweet fragrance of the goddess, accompanied by her cool breath, covered his lips.
In the next second, the hidden wisdom of the Earth Mother Goddess was transferred from Athena's mouth into Su Mo's body. To speed up the process, Athena stood on her tiptoes, her arms wrapped tightly around his back.
"???"
Jibril, at the side, was full of question marks.
"Count me in… no, wait, what are you doing to Master!" she demanded indignantly, but no one had time to answer her.
A few seconds later, Athena finally released Su Mo, taking a step back, slightly breathless. As a virgin goddess, this was likely her first such contact with the opposite sex.
Seeing this, Hestia and Artemis were somewhat surprised. Zeus the Father's face was even colder.
"You would rather entrust the power of the Earth Mother Goddess to a mere human than hand it over to your father?"
"No matter! It makes no difference. In the end, I will take everything from your corpses."
As he spoke, he gave Athena a mocking smile.
"You speak of reviving the glory of the Earth Mother Goddess, but in the end, don't you just find a man to offer yourself to? I knew it. No matter what, you Earth Mother Goddesses will always be losers!"
With this blanket insult, the Olympian gods showed various expressions.
Goddesses like Hestia, Artemis, and Persephone silently lowered their heads, not protesting. Even Athena's face paled for a moment.
Her submission to Su Mo was based on the rules of battle, and she did not regret it. It was the way of the world for the winner to dominate the loser.
However, her defeat did indeed put an end to her long-cherished wish of reviving the Earth Mother Goddesses. As another's subordinate, it was almost impossible for her to achieve it.
"So what? Even if I choose a master, I will only choose someone I acknowledge!" After a few seconds of silence, Athena replied with a resounding voice.
It wasn't just tough talk… well, at least half of it wasn't.
For a master who completely crushed her in both strength and wisdom, Athena held considerable respect in her heart. It was just the fact that her wish was doomed to fail that left her a little disappointed.
"That's true enough!" Jibril nodded in agreement. She then saw Su Mo step forward, standing behind Athena in a semi-embrace, and take the silver-haired goddess's right hand.
"Eh? Master?" The Flügel girl was dumbfounded. I was here first! If you're going to hug someone, hug me… wait, Athena was here a little bit earlier, wasn't she?
Athena was also puzzled by Su Mo's action. Before she could ask, she felt an unprecedented power from his palm.
She was very familiar with some of the properties of this power—it was the knowledge she had just given to him—but its composition and the power it contained were far beyond her imagination.
"Master?" she raised her head in astonishment, looking at Su Mo's profile.
"If you are concerned about the revival of the Earth Mother Goddess, you can try this power."
Su Mo didn't look at her, his gaze fixed on the giant thundercloud above, his expression as calm as ever.
"I just processed it a bit and compiled the Fourth Mythological Thaumaturgy. I've given you access to it now."
Only then did Athena notice that an Ouroboros sigil seemed to have appeared on her palm and lower abdomen. This sigil was connected to some extremely profound and vast power.
From what Su Mo was saying, he had specifically created this technique for her to use, to fulfill her long-cherished wish?
The moment she realized this, a heartbeat and a warmth she had never felt before swept through Athena's entire body.
Even when she had offered him a kiss earlier, she had been able to maintain a basic sense of calm and self-possession.
But now, for some reason, her slender body was faintly trembling, and the arm touched by Su Mo felt as hot as a branding iron.
Faced with this unprecedented physiological reaction, Athena's first instinct was to hide it.
So, she frantically triggered the sigil in her hand and activated the Fourth Mythological Thaumaturgy.
"A thousand dragons, a thousand serpents, now become one blade!"
Under the chanting of the holy words, corresponding to the incandescent thunderball in the sky with a diameter of ten kilometers, a dark star with a diameter of only a hundred meters slowly rose from the earth.
Like a black hole, it began to completely devour everything around it.