Chapter 114: It's All a Tribute
Apollo, one of the Twelve Olympian Gods, and also the God of the Sun.
Alright, this deviated slightly from some versions of mythology. In some divine genealogies, the true sun god was said to be Helios, while Apollo was initially just the god of light, gradually merging with Helios in later myths.
But that wasn't important. For Orin Vale, the only standard that mattered was the one set by the DC Universe, and in this world, Apollo was clearly the God of the Sun.
The very same purple-faced man who now appeared before them.
Orin Vale, of course, knew this. He had even obtained an energy stone of the Sun God from the Old Wizard, which he later modified into a part of his mobile armor's energy system.
"Apollo." Diana's expression was a bit stiff when she saw him.
"Yes, one of your lords, Amazon. However, considering that a part of the same blood as ours flows within your body, I will overlook your lack of courtesy," Apollo said.
Unlike Hephaestus, who was dressed like a traditional craftsman, the Sun God was attired like a modern gentleman, and he spoke with an elegance befitting a member of high society. It seemed this deity had integrated quite well into modern human society.
"But I must say, I can hardly compliment your taste in friends." Apollo clasped his hands behind his back and landed in front of Diana. "I don't understand why you always love to mingle with mortals.
"First that pilot, and then that human female archaeologist? I heard you two had a falling out..."
He was clearly referring to Steve Trevor and Cheetah, two of the most important characters in the Wonder Woman story.
"Watch your tongue, Apollo," Diana said coldly.
"Alright, alright, let's not talk about them... But what's the deal with this mortal now?" Apollo glanced disdainfully at Orin Vale. "This thing isn't even human. Some strange being from the stars."
Orin Vale: "..."
"Honestly, sister, I don't want to tell you what to do. But Olympus has its rules. When something dirty gets into the house, I have to sweep it out..."
Apollo said as he walked up to Orin Vale, squinting his eyes that glowed with golden light. A golden radiance spilled from the corners of his eyes, looking like some kind of transparent flame, as if it contained an irrepressible anger.
"A strange being hiding in a shell... What, you don't dare to show your true face?" Apollo sneered mockingly.
"Not really," Orin Vale said calmly, looking him straight in the eye. "To be honest, this shell is to prevent me from hurting you."
"Ha, big talk."
Apollo's expression turned grim, and he snapped his fingers.
Orin Vale saw a notification for "Abnormal Gravity" pop up on his display interface, and in the next moment, his body was uncontrollably sent flying backward. It was as if an invisible hand had thrown him, armor and all, into the scalding Furnace behind them. Magma-like hot liquid erupted from the Furnace, accompanied by a wave of heat that hissed with white steam.
"Stop!"
Diana flashed in front of Apollo in an instant, grabbing him by the collar. "What did you do? Let my friend out!"
Even with his collar in her grasp, Apollo remained as elegant as a gentleman. "Don't blame me, sister, he brought this upon himself. This is what happens when one dares to challenge a god—"
Before he could finish, a voice echoed in their ears.
"No need to trouble him, Diana."
The blazing magical lava cascaded down as a red-and-silver figure slowly flew out from the heatwave. The lava rolled off his body, and his round eyes seemed to glow with a scorching golden light.
Hephaestus adjusted the large eyepiece on his nose, the red-and-silver body, dripping with lava, reflected in its lenses. His face was filled with bewilderment.
"My Furnace... How can he...?"
That was the Furnace of the God of Fire!
Even he himself—the Olympian God of Fire—wouldn't dare to just jump in there. Countless divine artifacts had been produced from that Furnace. How could someone emerge from it completely unscathed?
The next moment, the figure above the Furnace vanished.
Moving at a speed that surpassed the imagination of everyone present, a blurry red-and-silver afterimage flashed from mid-air. A heavy punch that tore through the air locked onto Apollo's nose and came smashing down!
Apollo's face changed, and he instinctively raised his arm to block.
He was fast compared to mortals, but from Orin Vale's perspective, the motion of raising his arm to defend was like a slow-motion shot.
Orin Vale threw a feint punch to the front, then his body shifted, circling halfway around the sun god to get behind him. A supersonic Soul-Shattering Liver Fist fiercely struck the sun god's waist and abdomen.
Apollo let out a muffled grunt, his body stumbling as his defensive stance instantly crumbled. Seizing the opportunity, Orin Vale turned and struck his face with a punch from the left.
His face deformed from the impact, and a ball of golden, blazing flame sprayed from his mouth like blood. The explosive force of the punch sent Apollo crashing through several walls, tumbling far into the distance.
Seeing this figure that had suddenly appeared before her, moving so fast that even her dynamic vision could barely keep up, a trace of astonishment couldn't help but cross Diana's face.
Suddenly, she seemed to understand why her Mother had requested him to lend her his aid...
"Sorry about your place," Orin Vale said, retracting his fist and turning his head toward Hephaestus beside him.
Hephaestus finally snapped out of his shock from seeing the Sun God sent flying by a single punch. He adjusted his eyepiece and let out a laugh.
"A small matter. I was planning to renovate anyway..."
All of a sudden, the God of Fire seemed to have become much more polite and courteous.
"Foolish creature!"
A roar that seemed to carry its own temperature boomed, and the instant the sound exploded, a visible wave of golden heat swept toward them.
An entire wall collapsed with a crash as a massive, purple heavy punch smashed through it. Having suddenly grown to a height of over forty meters, Apollo's eyes burned as if with a heatwave, his rage materializing into actual flame that spewed from his mouth and nose.
At the end of the day, the Olympian Gods were all descendants of the Titans, and they still retained some of the titan bloodline. When they couldn't win, resorting to growth was a standard move.
"You dare to defy me? I am the Sun! Feel the rage of the Sun God!"
The heatwave transformed into a beam of light—a solar blast!
With Orin Vale's current speed, he could have easily dodged it.
He could, but it was unnecessary.
Using his super reflexes and Light-Quantum Brain, he rapidly analyzed and assessed the threat, coming up with a countermeasure in a flash.
Do nothing.
And so, everyone watched as Orin Vale stood his ground, unmoving, and took the full force of the Sun God's impact. The surging, golden divine power formed a massive vortex, churning as it poured into the azure crystal on his chest.
As the golden radiance flowed in, an even more formidable energy burst forth from within Orin Vale. His entire body was plated in a layer of golden radiance, and his form suddenly expanded explosively. In one breath, he actually grew even taller than Apollo!
Apollo's eyes, shimmering with golden radiance, widened. His purple face seemed to have a single word written all over it—
—How?
He hit him with a blast, and he got bigger?
The harder he hit, the better he felt?
Orin Vale couldn't help but feel amused. This scene was quite familiar. Once upon a time in the comics, Apollo had blasted Superman with the exact same move, and his reaction upon seeing Superman's instantly skyrocketing energy level was pretty much the same as it was now.
Let's just drop a "Tribute_Sketch.jpg" right here...
(end of chapter)