The moment she sensed Su Mo's presence, Athena abandoned the battlefield without a second's hesitation and appeared before him.
Her original intention, just as Erica had analyzed, was to use this incident to curry favor and win Su Mo's affection.
But before she could say anything, she lowered her head in embarrassment and offered a sheepish explanation.
"I'm sorry, Master. I couldn't finish off that wretched fellow!"
After sharing in Su Mo's Primordial Mother Creation Mythic Thaumaturgy, she had believed she could easily defeat the Last King. She never expected him to possess a top-tier form of immortality as well.
This meant that even though she held the absolute advantage in terms of power, she was still unable to eliminate him.
"The Undying Body of Steel..."
Su Mo, of course, wasn't going to blame Athena for this. He raised his gaze slightly, his eyes meeting the Last King's from hundreds of kilometers away.
"As the avatar of the [Sword of Origin], the attribute of 'Steel' does indeed counter Earth Mother goddesses. Having received the blessings of the gods, he has certainly mastered a power comparable to a Mythic Thaumaturgy."
If the [Sword of Origin] Thaumaturgy that Su Mo had refined was a complete Mythic Thaumaturgy, then what the Last King possessed was a raw, unpolished, natural one.
In this regard, his level was similar to that of the monotheistic Zeus or the Primordial Mother, Athena; it was just a little less complete.
"However, his power is built upon the mythological archetype of the 'Hero of the Sword.' The hero's power is directly proportional to the Devil King's power. Therefore, you only need to eliminate all the Devil Kings, and the Last King's power will be weakened to its absolute limit."
As he spoke, Su Mo glanced at the silver-haired goddess before him.
"With your wisdom, it shouldn't have been hard to figure that out. If you had just cleared out all the Godslayers, the Last King would have been no threat to you."
"Ultimately, a tool like him has no way of resisting you gods of the heavens. Why didn't you start with the Godslayers?" he asked curiously.
Even the Godslayers in the original story had thought of this countermeasure; he didn't believe Athena, renowned for her wisdom, would have missed it.
Only with the boost from the [Covenant of Allegiance] did the Last King have the right to battle Athena. If he lost the numbers-based enhancement from the Godslayers, he wouldn't even have a chance to resurrect before being completely sealed away by her.
The fight could have been made so much simpler with just a little bit of strategy. Why hadn't she done it?
Faced with this question, the petite, silver-haired goddess answered as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"Those Sons of Fools are the Master's spoils of war. Why should I damage the Master's property for the sake of a mere enemy?"
Her meaning was clear: she could have done it, but she felt there was no need.
She wanted to achieve her goal without causing any loss to Su Mo's assets.
"Fair enough."
Su Mo nodded, accepting her reasoning.
"So, that's why you've been fighting all this time?"
"Yes."
At the mention of it, Athena lowered her head in shame.
Seeing her like this, Su Mo thought for a moment and then asked, "Do you know why you can't break the Last King's immortality?"
"Is it because the Hero of Steel's [Sword of Origin] counters the Primordial Mother Creation of us Earth Mother goddesses?" Athena hesitated for a second before offering her answer.
This was the conclusion she had reached after days of battle, and it was also her fundamental view of the Earth Mother Mythic Thaumaturgy.
She had lived through the era when the Heroes of Steel supplanted the Earth Mothers. She knew all too well that the nature of steel, though born from the earth, was to extract and plunder the earth's essence and turn it into its own power. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it the natural enemy of Earth Mother goddesses.
If not for the sheer completeness of the Mythic Thaumaturgy Su Mo had given her, and the Last King's own crude understanding of the [Sword of Origin], Athena would never have been able to maintain her current, absolute advantage.
In her mind, the superiority of the steel attribute over the earth attribute was self-evident.
Otherwise, the Last King wouldn't have been able to hold out for so long.
However—
"Wrong," Su Mo said, shaking his head. "If you think that way, then you have yet to grasp the true power of this Mythic Thaumaturgy."
"True power?" Athena was stunned.
For her, an ancient Earth Mother goddess, to be told such a thing... and she couldn't even refute it. After all, the one saying it was Su Mo, and he was more than qualified to make such a judgment.
"Aren't you curious? Why is it that other pantheons have only one Mythic Thaumaturgy, while the Greek pantheon alone has two, seemingly opposing ones?" Su Mo prompted.
The Primordial Mother Creation and the [Sword of Origin] both originated from the Greek pantheon.
"Is it because the trend of Steel Heroes supplanting Earth Mothers was most prominent in the Greek pantheon?" Athena tilted her head up, guessing.
Although similar evolutions occurred in all mythologies, Greek mythology placed a particular emphasis on heroes slaying monsters.
"You could say that," Su Mo nodded. "But think carefully. Are these two Mythic Thaumaturgys truly opposed to one another, like fire and water?"
"...No."
"Steel is born from the earth; it was originally a power of the earth. It was only in its later development that it became a check against the earth due to its inherent danger."
The so-called art of alchemy was, at its core, nothing more than separating earth from fire, extracting the refined from the raw.
Just as patriarchal clans were born from changes in matriarchal ones, the first iron also came from the earth, only taking its final form after being forged in fire.
Seeing how quickly she understood, Su Mo continued to guide her.
"If that's the case, then why do you believe that steel can counter the earth? As the Primordial Mother, shouldn't you embrace everything on this planet?"
"!"
At his words, Athena's eyes widened. She finally understood what Su Mo meant.
Due to her past, her goal had always been to defeat the Heroes of Steel and restore the glory of the Earth Mothers.
As a result, she had subconsciously fallen into the narrow trap of dualism, viewing the steel attribute as the absolute enemy of the Earth Mothers.
Therefore, of the integrated Greek mythological Authorities she possessed, she had only mastered the Earth Mother aspects, completely rejecting the powers belonging to the Heroes of Steel.
It was only after Su Mo's guidance that she realized her mistake.
Since steel is born from the earth, then as the Mother of the Earth, she should, by right, also command the power of steel.
To truly master the Primordial Mother Creation Mythic Thaumaturgy, she ought to command everything on this planet.
"Master, do you mean that if I can grasp the Authority of the Heroes of Steel with my Earth Mother power, I can integrate the [Sword of Origin] and complete the true Primordial Mother Creation?!" Athena's voice trembled slightly, as if she had discovered a truly profound secret.
So the two Mythic Thaumaturgys weren't in opposition, but were actually two parts of a unified whole!
Only by merging the two could one grasp the true power of Greek mythology!
"Correct," Su Mo nodded slightly. "If you do that, you will not only master the complete Primordial Mother Creation, but you can even go a step further, transcending the racial confines of a god and gaining the qualifications to become a candidate for another race."
"Another race?" Athena was shocked again.
What race could possibly be stronger than the gods, to the extent that mastering a complete Mythic Thaumaturgy would only make one a candidate?
"It's just an idea of mine for now. We can talk about it after you've truly mastered it," Su Mo said, not intending to reveal too much. "Perfect timing. The Last King is catching up."
Hearing this, Athena noticed the rapidly approaching aura of steel. She stopped questioning and moved to stand in front of Su Mo.
She had intended to stop the approaching enemy from getting near her master, but she never expected the Last King to be even more mindful of etiquette than she had thought.
Just a hundred meters from Su Mo, this terrifying deity—who had triggered a world-ending apocalypse and nearly capsized the entire nation of Japan into the Pacific—came to a halt. He then knelt directly on the ground, bowing with an expression of utmost reverence.
"Rama, son of Dasharatha, greets the Great God!"
Everyone froze at the sight.
The two combatants who had been locked in a world-shaking battle... one was Su Mo's subordinate, and the other was kneeling directly before him?
Is this really the kind of treatment a Godslayer is supposed to get?
Even if he was the Devil King of the Shattered Moon, wasn't this a bit too much?
Even Erica was a little bewildered. Su Mo himself, however, wasn't surprised. He simply asked curiously, "You know me?"
"I do... no!"
The Last King, Rama, first nodded, then shook his head, a conflicted look on his face.
"Although I cannot distinguish whether you are Lord Brahma, Lord Shiva, or Lord Vishnu, my divinity tells me that you hold, at the very least, the divine status of the Trimurti, one of the most revered forms in our pantheon."
The supreme deity in Hindu mythology is the Trimurti, which is why Rama couldn't tell which of the three Su Mo was.
But he knew one thing for certain: Su Mo's station was unquestionably the highest.
As a former Kshatriya, he was required to bow before a being of the Trimurti's level. To do otherwise, according to the rules of the Hindu pantheon, would be a great act of blasphemy.