Helen had her own ideas, and even if spoken aloud, they might sound outrageous or even delusional. Yet Perseus' death gave her a fleeting glimmer of hope—a light in the distance, but still only a glimmer. After all, demigods and gods were not the same, and only those capable of defeating gods could help her achieve her goal.
Perseus was gone for now, but Hercules remained. Helen could not be sure whether Hercules possessed equipment to monitor her, so for the moment she kept her schemes hidden.
She was a witch who brought disaster to nations, a woman who had caused the fall of a great city-state, and one whose beauty had ignited wars among the gods themselves. But what kind of legend would she be if her destruction extended only to mortal realms? A trace of resentment flashed through her heart. Since she had been given the power to bring ruin, she would honor that gift in full—by dragging even the city-states of the gods into ruin.
If she was a tool, then she would wield herself carefully, lest the backlash destroy her.
"Come, Hercules. Let us see what kind of power the one who slew Perseus possesses."
Elsewhere, in the divine realm, Hermes ran a hand through his hair as he looked at his dispirited slaves. To be honest, if he continued relying on them, he feared he would only lose again in the next contest among the gods. As one of the least influential deities, Hermes was painfully aware of how unusual this competition had become.
There was a current flowing beneath the surface of the divine realm—subtle, but relentless. Many of the gods' Mecha bodies were failing, some barely held together. Perhaps the Mecha that lost this time would become nothing more than fodder for the victors. One way or another, Hermes needed to survive.
That meant clinging to Zeus. Skala might find Hermes attractive, but Zeus would soon grow bored. He needed a better plan.
As he weighed his options, a strange message appeared in his inbox—riddled with garbled characters. Hermes hesitated, then opened it. His eyes lit up at the contents.
Without a word, he dismissed his slaves and slipped out of the divine realm, careful not to alert the others. His Mecha-God body activated, merging with a battered interstellar transport ship that cloaked his form as it drifted away from the gods' domain. His intentions were simple.
He would capture a boy and deliver him to Zeus in exchange for immunity in the next divine war.
The situation was not unlike the world of Saint Seiya, where gods trained mortals to fight proxy battles—except here, they fought not for dominion over the earth, but for the right to exist.
After Perseus' severed head hit the ground, Estee Lauder rushed to Aslan's side. She froze at the sight: the head and body of a half-human, half-machine figure. A demigod—slain.
Her eyes widened. She raised her forging hammer, enlarged it, and gently tapped the body. The feel of the metal, the sound it made—there was no mistaking it. This was the handiwork of a god.
"You… you actually defeated a demigod!"
She covered her mouth with both hands, blinking rapidly as she stared at the broken body. Her emotions tumbled over one another—shock, awe, joy, and fear. For the first time, someone had destroyed a demigod. If a demigod could fall… could a god?
But fear followed quickly after. No one had ever slain a demigod before. If one had now, would the gods retaliate by purging humanity more ruthlessly than ever before?
Mortals had always longed to bring down gods and demigods alike, but fear of upsetting the balance held them back. The world was cruel, but survivable. What if defiance brought total annihilation?
Aslan, calm as ever, tapped the Holy Lance against his shoulder before transforming it back into its pendant. He smiled slightly. "What is it? Are you afraid?"
Estee Lauder gripped her hammer, then smiled back. "Afraid? Hardly. I'm thrilled! One day, I'll turn every last god into forging material!"
She stomped on Perseus' head and raised her hammer high. To her, Perseus deserved no reverence. She remembered well the survivors' group he had destroyed. Her only greeting to him was scorn.
Fear still lingered, but excitement outweighed it. Aslan had torn open a path she could not open alone, and now Estee Lauder could finally commit herself fully to fighting the gods.
Whether the end would bring salvation or ruin was uncertain. If they lost, it would be catastrophic for everyone.
"Don't worry," Aslan said. "The gods are focused on me now. If they come one by one, we'll have our chance to strike back. But I'll need your help—and not just yours. I'll need the strength of everyone in this world who dares to rebel."
His power, great as it was, had limits. If the gods attacked together, retreat would be his only choice. The key was to turn their rivalries against them and scatter their attention.
And beyond that, Aslan still pondered how to return to his own world. After defeating Zeus, he intended to extract whatever secrets the god held regarding time and space. As Zeus had replaced the previous captain, he must hold records about him. If not, then Aslan would dissect Zeus' father and experiment until he found the answer.
-End Chapter-
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