VS

Episode 61

Episode 61/Chapter 1: Great Hero (1)

TL: Tsubak

ED: StellarRain

Clearing the battlefield after a battle was as important as the battle itself.

They had won against Poseidon but Mesena became a mess. This was due to the monsters fighting between themselves inside the city and the sea Poseidon brought with him sweeping away not only Mesena but also the surrounding land.

The water sat stagnant where the ground was low and in the places that weren't like that, the water reached up to your ankle so one couldn't proceed with daily activities properly.

The number of people that died wasn't low either. Before this, they evacuated the citizens because they expected a destructive clash with Poseidon. If they hadn't done this, the number of dead people would amount to thousands.

Many of Echidna's children were slain but fortunately many were injured rather than dead.

Their survival was because of the power of the golden apple tree that gave a regeneration power and also Thor, Bracky and Siri who arrived on time.

The blessing of Idun granted tenacity and toughness to Echidna's children and supported their lives on the brink of death while the Gods of thunder and hunt defeated the sea monsters and protected Echidna's children.

But even so, Echidna's army sustained great damage. It wasn't an exaggeration to say that her army, composed of dragons, was halved.

The Gods also suffered serious damage.

Hermes lost both his legs and couldn't run anymore. A God could even regenerate the entire leg but he would need a long time before being able to boast of being the fastest of Olympus again..

Hestia still didn't wake up, even after the battle subsided. Based on Athena's examination she wasn't dead but was on its precipice. Hestia's divine power was severely crippled by Triana, so she would need a long time to recover.

Athena worked hard to maintain Hestia's life during Poseidon's attack and so she collapsed right after the battle ended. However, she was among the least injured among the Gods of Olympus. She had actually awoken a day after and continued with her duties.

Echidna's main body was destroyed by Poseidon so she could barely open her eyes. Her lower body of essence had also been forcefully torn away and she had suffered several stab wounds to the chest.

"Uwaaa! Echidna! You can't die! I don't want you to die!"

Nidhogg cried with a messy face. Hydra, who was grabbing Echidna's hands, also cried next to her.

'I won't. I won't die so please be quiet lady. I can't sleep because you are too noisy.'

Echidna lacked the strength to mumble so she just thought of this in her mind. Of course, there was no way for Nidhogg or Hydra to hear this so they continued to cry and disturb her sleep.

This disturbance made Echidna, only for a moment, regret lending her diving power to Nidhogg and Adenmaha. Otherwise her divine power, stamina, and magic power wouldn't be so exhausted.

What Echidna did in the middle of battle was simple.

But of course, the result and the process were easy to speak about but the actual implications were difficult to realize.

What she did was help Nidhogg raise her limits..

Nidhogg, who was a real ancient dragon, had an unawakened but unlimited potential. Just like the queen of the land of darkness had confirmed, the amount of magic power she possessed could overwhelm a God of magic.

But she was unaware of how utilize it. Part of it was because her comprehension of magic was low and she didn't have the skills, but it was mostly because she didn't understand her amount of magic power and had only been using a small fraction.

If you were to make a comparison, she had an overwhelming amount of water that could fill a huge reservoir of water but didn't have the proper tools and instead tried to pour water with a bucket.

With her magic power, Echidna installed a water gate on Nidhogg's reservoir. With this, Nidhogg was now able to harness a much greater amount of magic.

But of course, she faced a tremendous amount of pain from forcefully installing a water gate.

What Echidna did with Adenmaha was much simpler.

Echidna just gave Adenmaha strength. Echidna transformed all her divine power, stamina and magic power into strength and transferred this to Adenmaha.

Evolving this strength to transform into a real dragon from a sea serpent was all due to Adenmaha's own capabilities.

"It should be thanks to master's saga as I have already transformed into the white frost dragon quite some times......my body and soul must have remembered the shape of that strength."

Adenmaha's speech and smile were different than before. Not just Tae Ho, but everyone could see that she became more beautiful and mature.

She had increased her divine rank.

Her God rank had increased. Perhaps this was from her metamorphosis into a dragon from a sea serpent, or from all the things she accumulated that exploded in this battle.

As a Valkyrie she was a God without a deity but now she had acquired one.

The Goddess of love and beauty.

This was Adenmaha's deity. She represented love and beauty as a Goddess of Erin.

'A deity really does reflect the actions of a person.

Cuchulainn was convinced by Adenmaha' actions and smirked. Adenmaha would have flushed at his mocking tone but fortunately only Tae Ho heard that and he became embarrassed.

Tae Ho wished to rest two or three days but he couldn't because of the situation.

Tae Ho applied first aid to himself then went to meet Thor, Bracky and Siri below the golden apple tree.

"The God of thunder greets the new master of Asgard."

Thor smirked and clasped his hands together.

Bracky and Siri glanced at each other and hit their chests.

Tae Ho greeted them in the Valhalla way. He had seen Thor a few times but had almost never spoken with him. However, give the current circumstances, Thor was the one Tae Ho wanted to see the most.

"Well, it's not that complicated. Father and Freya opened up the connecting path with difficulty as it took a lot of time. Freya poured her power into it until she almost collapsed but only a crack was made. That's why father told me I should head on first."

With the power of Mjolnir, he would be able to widen the crack for a short time.

"Father lent me Sleipnir to go faster. It was like the rumors said. It was unbelievably fast. Anyways, after I left the crack while riding on Sleipnir and firing out lightning, the army of Olympus was filling my vision. It was quite ironic that the soldiers of Zeus were among the monsters."

"So what did you do? Fry them up with lightning?"

Bracky asked in excitement and Thor shook his head.

"I wanted to do that but I didn't have time. The master was quite far away so I just flew above them. You should have seen the dumb faces they had at the time."

Thor narrated and laughed. He showed a more relaxed side because he recognized Tae Ho, Bracky and Siri as Gods at the same rank as him.

"Whatever the case, I was narrowly able to arrive on time."

"Yes, you were of great help. I wanted to dance when I heard the sound of thunder."

Tae Ho joked while Thor and Bracky laughed once again. Siri frowned at their laughter but she still showed a bright smile.

Tae Ho spoke again.

"Thor-nim."

"Just call me Thor. Aren't you the master of Asgard?"

Thor smirked, Bracky swiped his nose with a proud face and Siri put on an unusually playful expression.

It was because Bracky and especially Siri knew Tae Ho since he was a lowest ranked warrior.

Tae Ho flushed with embarrassment but proceeded to speak after clearing his throat a few times.

"Then, Thor, Bracky and Siri. A battle between Olympus and Asgard has started near the connecting path."

"Um, probably. Father and Freya were working hard."

Bracky's eyes became sharp as Thor affirmed.

"We should go and help them immediately."

"Wait, it's impossible to go right now. We won't be able to arrive at time because everyone has exhausted quite a lot of strength and even if we do arrive at time we won't be of much help."

Bracky frowned at Siri's words but he didn't complain at all. It was because he also knew that she was right.

"Thor-nim. How big is the force of Asgard?"

"It's strong. Excluding the minimum amount to defend the northern region, almost everyone was mobilized for the attack of Olympus. The ones at frontline are Ullr and Tir and the ones supporting from behind are father and Freya. If you include the Steel warriors around forty percent of all the warriors had been dispatched."

Many warriors of Valhalla lost their lives in the second Great war but they still numbered five hundred thousand. With forty percent of that, their army still amounted to two hundred thousand.

'Odin may be planning to take over Olympus.'

Cuchulain smiled bitterly. To him, as a member of Erin, Odin wasn't the father of all Gods but the one that was always right but a cruel and merciless God of war,.

Taking over a country and taking over the world was completely different. If Odin was really thinking of invading Olympus, it was unlikely he was thinking about taking it over completely for Asgard.

'He would just take everything and pull away.'

Just like a viking.

But that was only in Cuchulainn's imagination. Even he thought that Odin mobilizing a huge army was the right thing to do in this situation.

Even if Odin had no intentions to take over Olympus, he still needed a huge army as this war was between Olympus and Asgard. If Odin didn't want to expand the battlefield to Asgard and limit it to Olympus, he needed to mobilize a huge army and invade.

"If it's that much, he should be able to defeat the forces stationed in the connecting path."

"Probably. his army was quite big when I saw it but its really small compared to the army we mobilized. I couldn't see any Gods or heroes that were particularly strong."

The 12 Olympians, those who had the strength to resist the Gods of Asgard, became a mess from internal conflicts. In addition, Tae Ho had killed Achilles who was the leader of the stationary troop of the connecting path so it was unlikely for a strong God or hero to be in the connecting path.

Siri nodded once at Thor's story and looked at Tae Ho.

"Tae Ho, I recommend getting some rest for now. It won't be too late to contact with those from Asgard who have taken the connecting path after we settle down the battlefield."

The connecting path was adjacent to the sacred polises of Apollo and Artemis that both now belonged to Tae Ho, so it wouldn't be hard to regroup with the forces of Asgard.

"Yes, you are right. We should rest for now and aid the wounded."

There were already several people below the golden apple tree who received emergency treatment. The reason Adenmaha, Nidhogg, Echidna and company weren't present was because they were either resting in a medical ward or treating others.

They also needed to discuss with Athena about regrouping with Asgar's army. Athena was currently taking care of Hestia, so it was fine to rest for now.

"Mm, good. Let's rest then. But I have something I have to tell you before that."

Thor judged that the general situation was explained and tried to catch their attention. When Tae Ho and the others focused on him he laughed awkwardly and spoke to Tae Ho.

"It's a message from Heda and Idun. They said that you have to see it alone."

Thor gave Tae Ho a long wooden tag the size of a palm. The narrow and flat tag resembled a ruler, and the front and back were engraved with beautiful runes.

It was obviously a tool that could record videos and voices.

Tae Ho took a breath and carefully received the tag. Siri spoke what was on Tae Ho's mind.

"Heda wasn't able to come?"

"She has to protect Idun and nd Idun can't leave Asgard."

The administrator of the golden apple tree always had to stay in Asgard. So Heda, who shared her body and soul with Idun, naturally couldn't leave Asgard.

"The two of them are in excellent health so don't worry. Freya told me to tell you this."

Thor spoke with a satisfied face and Tae Ho nodded and placed the wooden tag containing Heda's and Idun's voices into storage.

'It seems like master is also in good shape.'

Cuchulainn thought of Scathach when he heard of Idun and Heda after a long time. Thor spoke as if he had heard Cuchulainn's voice.

"Ah, the way I see it, the legion of Idun did participate in this expedition after all. The Valkyries of the legion led the warriors and there was quite a famous figure among them."

There was only one famous figure in Idun's legion other than Tae Ho.

"Did Scathach-nim come?"

Siri asked with a hopeful face and Thor nodded.

"It seems like the queen of the land of darkness is representing the legion of Idun in this expedition. The priority of each legion is to join their commander so I believe among the other expedition team they arrive here the fastest."

'It was also a while since you met the members of your legion right?'

Thor smirked while looking at Tae Ho. There were several faces Tae Ho wanted to see and not only Scathach. He was also worried about Helga who must have just entered the legion.

'Speak honestly. You are excited thinking about increasing the completion rate of the 'warrior that had a Goddess meet him' in a long while right?'

'I can't say no but Cuchulainn, it seems like you are embarrassed as you will meet master in a long time.'

Cuchulainn flinched at Tae Ho's sharp words that poked his weak point. A battle between masters with Scathach's techniques was really dangerous and would only inflict fatal damage to the others.

"Well, shall we rest for real now? Let's finalize the plans later."

Bracky spoke and everyone agreed.

Demeter who was be trapped inside of Poseidon's' sacred force, Pontus the primeval God of sea who gave strength to Poseidon, and Mesena that had become a mess just to list a few. There were many to address but they decided to rest for now.

And the next day.

There was someone who was as glad as Cuchulainn when Scathach arrived at Mesena faster than any other expedition team.

"Scathach master, I'm curious about something!"

Nidhogg asked while smiled brightly. Scathach, who received a question from her longtime disciple smiled, but her expression quickly stiffened not long after that.

She dripped cold sweat as she faced the biggest danger since she had become a teacher.

&

"Lee Tae Ho!"

< Episode 61 - Great Hero (1) > End

TL note: Thanks for reading~

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Episode 61/Chapter 2: Great Hero (2)

TL: Tsubak

ED: StellarRain

"Lee Tae Ho! Hey! Lee Tae Ho!"

"Scathach master?"

A day before Scathach's crisis.

Tae Ho sighed in his room. He was holding the wooden tag Thor gave him.

Heda and Idun informed Thor that Tae Ho must see this alone so there was currently no one nearby. He had even entrusted Gae Bolg to Siri.

'I'm getting nervous.'

Normally, Cuchulainn might have cracked a joke to ease Tae Ho's' nervousness.

However, it had been a really long while since Tae Ho had been separated from Cuchulainn. Cuchulainn was always by his side, anytime and everywhere except when he entrusted Gae Bolg to Scathach.

'But why did they say that I must see this alone?'

Cuchulainn claimed that there would be an erotic video in it and that's why they should see it together but there was no way that was the case.

'Hey you bastard! You have to share the good things!'

Tae Ho shook his head when he heard Cuchulainn's shout while handing Gae Bolg to Siri.

'There's no way, no way.'

And for the slight possibility the video was 18+, he really had to see it alone.

Tae Ho thought and laughed . It seemed like he was excited to hear Idun's and Heda's voice after a long time. He was nervous that he even took absurd things seriously.

Tae Ho inhaled, closed his eyes, inserted magic power into the wooden tag and activated the rune magic.

[Hello again?]

A smile split Tae Ho's face as he heard the voice that emerged from the wooden tag. He tried to fix his expression by biting his lips but this was in vain.

A video materialized after the voice. The beam shot out of the tip of the tag and expanded into the shape of a triangle. It really resembled a hologram.

The video grew to the size of the upper body of Idun. All her body was displayed so Tae Ho felt like he was looking at a sculpture of Idun that Ragnar made.

[My warrior Tae Ho.]

Idun said and Tae Ho smiled again.

Heda liked to say 'Hello Again?' and Idun 'My warrior Tae Ho'.

"Yes, Idun-nim."

It wasn't a phone call, justa mere video but Tae Ho still replied.

Idun smiled in the video.

[I heard several things. That you became the master of Asgard and rebuilt Erin.....You have really become a great figure in the time I haven't seen you.]

Only a single month had passed since Tae Ho left Asgard and came to Olympus, so his change was really drastic.

It was now that Idun pouted and extended her head forward. She spoke in a low voice as if telling a secret.

[But you are still my warrior. My warrior. I can never concede this. Right? You are my warrior right?]

She spoke quite firmly at first but then her voice seemed like she was acting self-conscious so it was quite cute to see.

"Yes, Idun-nim. I'm your warrior."

Tae Ho answered in a good mood and Idun touched her ears in embarrassment.

Tae Ho understood why Idun was emphasizing that he was her warrior.

It wasn't that she saw the master of Asgard as someone below her at all.

'This is why she said that I should see this alone.'

Tae Ho smiled and stroked the Idun in the video. Idun fixed her posture as if she felt his hand. She spoke of something else with a voice hiding her embarrassment.

[Hm hm, I'm healthy now. You too, right? You must be. I will get angry if you're nott. Um, is it a bit weird?]

Idun blushed in embarrassment as she thought her speech was a little weird.

[Anyways, it's like that. I'm doing well so don't worry about me. It's really peaceful you know? The problem in the north was solved well and there's no problem in the residence.]

[My warrior Tae Ho, I want to see you. Not by transmitting my voice through a tag like this, but I want to see and talk to you face to face.]

"Me too."

Idun bit her lips. She shrugged her shoulders but spoke with a bright voice.

[More than that Tae Ho, how's life in Olympus going? You are doing well right? I'm really worried about you. Ragnar told me not to worry, telling me I worrying too much when we were talking about you. He said that you must be spending a happy life by registering the several Goddesses of Olympus in your saga but there's no way that's true, right? Yes? Right? Aren't my words right? My warrior Tae Ho.]

Tae Ho didn't answer. He turned his head as if evading her eyes and played dumb.

'Athena, Hestia, Echidna, Aphrodite....um, there aren't many, not that many.'

It was all to strengthen their forces.

If Cuchulainn had been here he would have exclaimed what kind of nonsense these Gods were spouting but fortunately he wasn't. Tae Ho could become more confident, no, more bold.

And fortunately, Idun's inquiry didn't last long. She changed subjects completely and started to speak about the small details in the residence. It wasn't that important but he felt warm just by listening to it.

[Whew, I have a lot of things I want to say but I should end it here.]

Idun took a deep breath after speaking for almost five minutes straight and fixed her posture. She looked at Tae Ho with the holiness of a Goddess like when they first met.

[My warrior Tae Ho, let my blessing accompany you.]

Idun spoke gracefully and kissed the air. However, she quickly became embarrassed at her own actions once again.

After this Idun took off the veil that was covering her eyes. Then, Idun's golden hair transformed into red and here eyes that were hidden behind the veil became a clear red color.

[Uh....hello once again?]

Heda cleared her throat and then spoke brightly. Her bright red ears could be seen after removing the veil.

[A moment. Just a moment.]

Heda turned around and took a breath. Tae Ho naturally grew a smile looking at her shy back.

[Whew, good. I'm okay now. Yes yes, perfect.]

When Heda turned around an aura of life overflowed from her. If Idun was the Goddess of life, then Helda was the Goddess of youth.

[Idun has already told you a lot so I don't know what to say. She's bad. Originally, we were meant to speak what we decided on.]

She grumbled and looked in Tae Ho's direction as if she was aware of his presence and asked with an ill-natured face.

[So, how was it for real? Did your saga get strengthened a lot?]

There were many sagas Tae Ho had but there was only one saga those judging eyes were asking.

Tae Ho evaded her eyes and played dumb once again. However, Heda's eyes sharpened as if she had seen through him.

[So that was the case. You me many Goddesses of Olympus. That was the case. That's why you completely forgot about Asgard.]

It was the 'so that was the case' attack. He was happy because he hadn't heard it in a really long while but he still felt like he was being poked in the heart.

[I heard that Olympus was in an internal war now so you meet Goddesses on our side and tell them that you would rescue Olympus? You wouldn't have gone and met enemy Goddesses right?]

Heda spoke while laughing and Tae Ho looked up at the sky. He decided that he felt like Heda's voice had become colder.

[So that was the case. You received meetings from enemy Goddesses and from races of Gods besides the Goddesses of Olympus. You really became the demon of men. That was the case.]

Heda was right like usual. Tae Ho felt goosebumps at this fact.

[Well, can that really be true? It's a joke. Yes yes, a joke. There's no way that can happen.]

Heda smiled brightly and Tae Ho experienced the miraculous thought of not wanting to reunite with Heda for the first time.

[Haa, I don't know what I'm doing alone. I want to go see you immediately.]

Heda dropped her shoulders as if strength left her body and sat in place. She looked upwards and then knocked the air with her fingers. And then the video that was reflecting Heda's body caught just her face.

It felt like Heda was really in front of him. She spoke with a teary voice.

[I want to see you. Really. I really want to meet with you.]

It was the same for Tae Ho. He stroke the Heda's cheeks that he couldn't actually touch.

[Let my blessing accompany you.]

Heda spoke and Tae Ho said the same. Heda forced a bright smile and stopped the video.

The next morning.

Siri returned Gae Bolg to Tae Ho and Cuchulainn clicked his tongue.

'Did you stay up all night?'

'Tch tch tch, what a poor youth.'

Cuchulainn let out a sigh and Tae Ho smiled bitterly with an exhausted face.

'But it was good to hear her voice after a long while, right?'

'Of course.'

'I also want to feel good. It sounds weird but you know where I'm going right?'

'You'll feel good soon. Scathach master said that she would come.'

'Right, I'm really looking forward to it.'

Cuchulainn didn't show it now, but he had turned half crazy when he thought that Scathach had died. His feelings towards Scathach didn't fall behind that of Tae Ho's on fort Heda.

'More than that, you said that you obtained a title?'

'Are you talking about 'The one that killed a God?'

'Right, that one. The title is really bloody.'

'This title gives me several advantages when I fight against Gods. The quests and the power of Olympus really look like a game.'

'I don't know what you are talking about but it's enough if it's understandable for you.'

Each world had infinite unique powers.

Just like Tae Ho described, the quests and titles of Olympus could be compared to the ones in the games.

It was a direct method of accomplishing a quest and obtaining a reward.

Erin had an extreme method of putting a restriction and obtaining strength just like the power of geass and the sentences, but there was also the method of strengthening your sentence by investing time.

'The most special ability should be the saga of Asgard. The range of application is wide and an absurd saga like yours can be made but.....the requirements are much more strict than you think. If you look at the training of the warriors, the efficiency much worse compared to Olympus or Erin.'

If you wanted to use your saga properly, you needed an anecdote that could support it.

Because of this, it extremely difficult to create a warrior with a strong saga.

But of course, you could also use the anecdote inside a legendary weapon and not your own anecdote, but in the first place those legendary weapons were hard to acquire.

Really, Tae Ho was a really special being even in Asgard.

First off, the number of anecdotes he possessed was staggering. Even Sigurd, the strongest warrior of Valhalla, felt small in front of Tae Ho.

Because of this, Tae Ho could mass produce strong sagas. In addition he even had an overwhelming amount of accomplishments of the dragon knight Kalsted, and many legendary weapons on top of that.

'You really are a cheat, a cheat. Ragnar looked at you well.'

He was speaking like a joke but there was some truth.

Tae Ho already reached the realm of being a cheat with just the strength of Asgard. Adding the strength of Erin and Olympus on top, he was beyond imagination.

Actually, Tae Ho defeating many strong beings of Olympus one by one just like Poseidon, was already proof of Tae Ho being a cheat.

Tae Ho was certainly the master of Asgard but had only been so for a short time. .

If you used a person as an example, he had just been able to walk.

No matter how strong a lion is, a lion cub isn't able to overwhelm a hyena.

But Tae Ho had accomplished something similar. No, he hadn't defeated a mere hyena but a full grown lion.

Ragnar's judgement was correct and his imagination would go astray.

The limit he had forecasted.

It was obvious Tae Ho would vastly surpass it.

'At first, I thought that Ragnar would be wrong in other meanings.'

Cuchulainn laughed in a good mood while Tae Ho frowned slightly.

'Why are you laughing suddenly? Did you think of something weird?'

'Did I?'

Cuchulainn clicked his tongue and waited for Scathach to visit them.

And a few hours later.

"Lee Tae Ho! Hey! Lee Tae Ho!"

Tae Ho flinched as he heard the shout of Scathach. It was because he hadn't heard her this angry even in the residence of Idun.

Just why?

Did he do something to enrage her?

Tae Ho looked back at what he had done but he didn't have enough time. The door of the room had opened with a bang.

"So you were here."

Scahtach smiled gorgeously and said. But her eyes were freezing cold so Tae Ho stepped back unconsciously.

"Ma, master?"

"You sold me out in a really nice way. Do you know how troubled I was? Huh?"

Scathach thought of Nidhogg's bright expression and dripped cold sweat.

She felt displeased because she felt like she was dirtying something pure if she told Nidhogg the truth, but she was also scared if she said something absurd and Nidhogg believed in that. It was also a scratch in her pride as a great master.

Tae Ho finally realized the reason Scathach was this angry and then extended his hands and made an excuse.

"Th, that is because I trust in your aspect as a teacher......"

"Your eloquence for words has improved while I haven't seen you."

Scathach cracked her knuckles and made a fist. The teachings of Scathach were really extreme, just like the tower of shadows had proved.

Tae Ho became cornered in an instant and with no escape so he gritted his teeth and spoke with a blunt tone.

"Master, i'm not originally like this but I'm still the master of Asgard andthe king of Erin..."

"So?"

"Well, so......"

He was wrong. His claim of authority didn't work on her.

Scathach snorted in reply, crossed her arms and opened her mouth with a harsh expression.

"Listen well Tae Ho. Even if you are the master of Asgard, the king of Erin or become the master of the nine realms there is one thing that will never change."

What is that?

Tae Ho thought and Scathach gave him an answer, as expected of a great master.

"I am your master and you are my disciple."

'Kya, master is the most bewitching when she says that.'

Cuchulainn admired and thought of his past. The situation and the atmosphere was clearly different to the situation Tae Ho was in but he didn't care such trivialities.

Ahero shouldn't care about such small things.

About an hour later.

Tae Ho, who felt like even his soul was beaten, gathered everyone he felt necessary to a meeting.

Thor, Bracky, Siri, Adenmaha, Nidhogg, Echidna, Athena, and Scathach.

Scathach joined as a new member of the group of nine. Also, the crow Hugin joined, who traveled far to reach Mesena.

[Let's begin speaking then.]

Odin spoke through Hugin's beak and everyone focused on him.

< Episode 61 - Great Hero (2) > End

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Episode 61/Chapter 3: Great Hero (3)

TL: Tsubak

ED:

[We currently have two methods right now.]

[The first is to conquer all the polises to weaken the sacred force of the enemy and strengthen ourselves and the other one is to attack the mount of Olympus and obtain victory in one attack.]

Odin went straight to the point as soon as he started to speak.

Going straight to the point instead of hitting around the bush was a characteristic of a God of Asgard.

[It's not an exaggeration to say that Zeus' sacred force is the entire mount of Olympus, but even so it can only get weaker if most of the land of Olympus become the sacred force of another God. In the other hand, our force will get strengthened so you can say that this is the safe method. But the drawback is that it takes too much time.]

Olympus was wide. The group had already taken over Apollo's and Artemis' sacred force but that territory wasn't even a tenth of all of Olympus.

In addition, they needed quite a lot of time to change the color of a liberated sacred force into theirs. Because of that, if they chose that option they had to get determined to do it for more than a year.

[The Protogenoi exists. If the battle gets prolonged more than this we can't know how they may interfere in the battle. Zeus will also change completely.]

Odin had acquired a lot of information in only a day since securing the connecting path. He was certain that Zeus still hadn't turned over.

[The other option doesn't take that long as victory will be decided in only one battle. It means that we will seek victory before Zeus and the Protogenoi turn sides completely. But it means that we will be striking the base of the enemy. The difficulty level and the danger won't be easy at all.]

Odin spoke up to that point and looked at Tae Ho through the eyes of Hugin. Actually, he had already transmitted all of this through Scathach.

It was a kind of general debate but it was also to give time for Tae Ho to decide.

Tae Ho received Odin's gaze and then turned to look at Athena after fixing his posture.

"Athena, what method do you want to choose?"

"I wonder what the master of Asgard thinks."

Athena spoke with a calm tone but Tae Ho could see through her with the 'eyes of the dragon'. There was a bit of anxiousness and nervousness in Athena's voice and eyes.

Tae Ho had asked to respect Athena's will but Tae Ho and even Athena knew well.

That the one that had the right to decide wasn't Athena but himself. If Athena's will split with Tae Ho's, then Asgard would act as Tae Ho wished no matter what she said.

Athena wanted to hear Tae Ho's thoughts first.

Tae Ho closed his eyes once and spoke without hesitation.

"Asgard will choose the latter option."

He had already decided this when he first heard things from Scathach. And this was also good for Olympus.

It was almost impossible for Asgard to conquer Olympus completely just like Cuchulainn remarked.

And after all of this ended and when Asgard fell back, Olympus would have to protect their own world by themselves.

Olympus had already lost strong Gods just like Poseidon and Ares. If Olympus got more devastated than now, Olympus could fall over completely in the battle against the ones that wanted to destroy the world.

Olympus wasn't an enemy for Asgard but an ally, and it was one of the shields to block the ones that wanted to destroy the world.

"I understand. Olympus will also cooperate with the latter option."

Athena drew a faint smile and answered. It was because she understood how Tae Ho thought of Olympus aside of the difficulty of the task.

And the latter option was also better for Athena.

The former option was to decrease the sacred force of the enemy and increase thris but Odin didn't speak about whose sacred force will get increased.

Athena trusted Tae Ho but she couldn't do the same for Odin. Because of that she welcomed the latter option.

[The story is fast.]

Odin laughed bitterly through Hugin's beak as Tae Ho and Athena came to an instant conclusion and then spoke while looking at Tae Ho.

[Asgard will follow the will of my successor and the new master of Asgard, Tae Ho.]

[Let's move the final battle to the mount of Olympus.]

There was light heartedness showing in Odin's voice. That was because the latter option was the way of Valhalla.

But it was at that moment. Thor, that was listening this time instead of speaking like how he did in all the other conferences, raised his hand and spoke.

"Father, i'm curious about something."

[Speak.]

"Does Asgard also have existences like the Protogenoi?"

Tae Ho and all the others held their breaths at Thor's question. If there really were existences like the Protogenoi in Asgard, they couldn't know when the same situation would occur over there.

But Odin laughed bitterly once again through Hugin's beak and spoke as if telling him not to worry.

[If you are talking about the generation of Gods previous to us, they did exist. But their character and scale is different to the Protogenoi. All of them were beings that wanted to maintain the world...and the decisive fact is that none of them are alive right now.]

"Are you saying that all the primeval Gods perished?"

[That's right. All of them died. And......i'm not trying to boast but I have lived longer than Zeus. There is only one genealogy above me compared to Zeus, that has to climb up a few times.]

Odin didn't speak more than that.

Tae Ho felt a sense of incongruity at Odin affirming that all of them had died but he didn't ask. It was because he didn't feel like Odin was lying.

[Let's return to the subject.]

[The army of Asgard, that has currently taken over the connecting path, will move to the sacred forces of Apollo and Artemis that has already been conquered by Tae Ho. It seems like they will take five days to move as it's a huge army.]

"If we are planning to attack the mount of Olympus immediately.......are we going to gather in Delphos?"

Hugin nodded at Athena's question.

[That's the plan for now.]

The place that was closest to the mount of Olympus inside of Tae Ho's sphere of influence was Delphos.

It was actually devastated because two battles took place there but there were still some polises between Delphos and the mount of Olympus so it didn't have that much meaning. It was merely a passing point.

[The Gods of Olympus that remain in the enemy camp will try to hinder us but they will only be able to gather in the mount of Olympus if we march straight to the mount. We will hold the initiative as attackers and not defenders.]

The debate had started ten minutes ago but they had already reached to a conclusion. Because of that, Athena asked about various matters instead of the things that had been decided.

"Odin, can you tell me the names of the Gods of Asgard that have come over to Olympus?"

[Me, Thor that is over there, Freya, Tir and Ullr. These five.]

"Father, will Freya also accompany us?"

Hugin clicked its tongue as Thor asked with round eyes.

[She was acting stubbornly saying that she would fight together in this battle. She also wanted to fight with Aphrodite.]

It seemed like she bothered her because the both of them were Gods of beauty.

Cuchulainn laughed and admired.

'Indeed, Freya-nim is also a Goddess of Asgard.'

'What does that mean?'

'It's a good meaning. Anyways, you also became a God of Asgard completely. Looking that you get angry about matters regarding Asgard.'

'Men are blind in their own causes.'

While Tae Ho and Cuchulainn were joking among themselves, Hugin turned to look at Athena.

[Is it fine if I thought that your forces consist of Echidna, Hephaestus and yourself? The injuries Hermes and Hestia suffered were serious.]

"It is for now."

The force was poor compared to Asgard but she couldn't get dispirited because of it. This land was Olympus and currently, the God representing it was herself.

Odin laughed as there was a solid resolution in Athena's face.

And this time Tae Ho opened his mouth.

"Odin, while the army of Asgard is marching I will go to rescue Demeter."

[Those are right words looking at the efficiency but.....are you planning to move yourself?]

Tae Ho was the master of Asgard. In addition, the force of Asgard also joined him so there was no need to move directly.

He could move Siri or Bracky or could also send Thor.

But Tae Ho spoke with a clear tone.

"Yes, I want to go rescue her myself."

'You devil of meetings. No- evil God of meetings. you are saying that you want to clearly have the meeting rights by making her indebted to you.'

Cuchulainn clicked his tongue as if he could see Tae Ho's black heart and Odin nodded. Just like he said before, it was better for Tae Ho to go rescue Demeter just looking at the efficiency.

[I understand. I have the commanding right over the army but the final decision lies on you so I will follow you.]

[Sleipnir will accompany you.]

He had already retrieved Talaria from Poseidon but there was no reason to decline something that was given to him. Tae Ho nodded once again.

[Tae Ho master, did it end now?]

Nidhogg, that was putting a hard expression during all the conference, asked with a sloppy mystical magic. She did participate in the conference without thinking much of it as she just followed Adenmaha but it seemed like it bothered her that she was just absent minded during it.

When Tae Ho smiled bitterly and grabbed her hand.

Thor checked Echidna, that was sitting with a hardened expression due to her exhaustion, and then asked Athena quickly.

"Athena, there's something I want to ask lastly."

"I will listen to you."

"There's someone that has been bothering me the most while I got to march over to Olympus. Do you know about his whereabouts?"

He didn't say his name but it was clear who he was referring to.

Athena dropped her shoulders slightly and answered.

"I don't know precisely but....I can only think of one reason looking that the Gigantes aren't attacking Olympus right now."

The reason the Titans couldn't join actively was because Hades had sealed the underworld and was stopping them.

The reason the Gigantes weren't able to come out would be of a similar reason.

The one protecting Olympus from the Gigantes. The one that would save Olympus from the Gigantomachy.

The strongest battle God of Olympus.

Thor closed his eyes. He felt regret and relief at the same time and showed a smile to Athena.

"Is that so? I understand. I will pray for Olympus so that we don't fight him in the future."

"Thank you."

Athena relaxed a bit at Thor's sincere words. It was because she sensed that Thor was more similar to Tae Ho than Odin.

[It seems like the general story has ended.]

[Asgard will march to Delphos. Let's meet over there in five days.]

Odin concluded the conference. He looked at Tae Ho through Hugin's eyes and the meaning his eyes had was clear.

Tae Ho hit his chest and said.

"For Asgard and the nine realms."

"For Asgard and the nine realms."

[For Asgard and the nine realms.]

Everyone excluding Echidna did the same, as the was looking at her surroundings asking what they were doing, and Hugin flew away through the window after hitting its chest with its wing.

The conference ended. Odin should be ordering the army of Asgard to march right now.

That's why they shouldn't stay still either.

"Let's depart right now."

They would rescue Demeter and contact with the primeval God of earth, Gaia.

The battle would start in five days.

They didn't have much time.

&

Aphrodite and Dionysus were gathered in one place.

This was the first time they met since they turned sides.

"It didn't turn well."

"Right."

Aphrodite answered Dionysus. Their looks could only be dark after having sensed the invasion of Asgard, the death of Poseidon and the destruction of the connecting path.

It was the worst of the worst.

The reason Poseidon had rushed off alone instead of joining with Aphrodite was to avoid a situation like this.

Destroying the advance party of Asgard with Athena before the reinforcements of Asgard destroyed the connecting path was the best option they had.

But Poseidon had failed.

The master of Asgard was between the advance party of Asgard and he defeated Poseidon.

"What will they do now?"

"There's a high probability they march to the mount of Olympus."

"Can't you seduce Thor?"

"It may be possible if i'm alone with him. But that bitch Freya won't stay still."

Aphrodite frowned. You could resist a seduction with another seduction just like Tae Ho proved with Adenmaha.

Aphrodite didn't think that she fell behind Freya but she still couldn't see Freya as being easy to deal with.

"What about the master of Asgard?"

"I don't know. I think something's wrong with his eyes that the seduction doesn't work on him at all. I'm sure his preferences are weird or he's an eunuch."

Dionysus smiled bitterly as Aphrodite got mad. Aphrodite's charm was so overwhelming that she still looked lovely when she was being that angry. If she went out to seduce with resolution, sexes and preferences didn't matter. Her power allowed to seduce even asexual people.

But it still didn't work.

In addition, her seduction executed in the core of her sacred force had failed so she thought that it was impossible to actually seduce Tae Ho.

"In the end, we can only place our expectations on them."

"I could have never imagined that this day would come."

Dionysus and Aphrodite looked at each other and smiled bitterly and then turned to look at another place. There was still some distance with it but they could see it clearly. The endless shaking of the ground was proving their existence.

Gigantes.

The giants of destruction.

And the one standing at their front.

The strongest warrior of Olympus that had stopped them until now but was now leading them.

He was wearing the fur of a huge lion and was holding a huge club which he used to kill countless monsters and giants.

"Heracles."

The glory of Hera, the son of Zeus.

He wasn't alone. The heroes of the Argo were at his side.

Heracles looked at a distant place. He looked beyond Dionysius and Aphrodite and at the west of the mount of Olympus.

"Asgard."

The enemy of Olympus.

The Gigantes marched. They advanced towards the mount of Olympus that would become the land of the decisive battle.

< Episode 61 - Great Hero (3) > End

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Episode 61/Chapter 4: Great Hero (4)

TL: Tsubak

ED: StellarRain

Rescuing Demeter was easier than they thought.

It was because after Poseidon's army was liberated, the monsters reverted to beings who wanted to maintain the world.

In addition, Tae Ho was accompanied by Demeter's blood child, Drakon Ismenios.

"She's over there. I'm sure of it. I can feel the aura of mother."

Drakon Ismenios, who was riding on Sleipnir along with Tae Ho, pointed to a distant place. They could see an island in a vast expanse of water.

"Kugh....I'm excited because I haven't seen mother in a long time, but at the same time a little depressed. For the harmonious ride with master to end here......."

Drakon Ismenios let out a teary voice and embraced Tae Ho's waist from behind.

Tae Ho's skin burst out with goosebumps because of the hug, but if he threw a tantrum here they would only be thrown into the water. He forced himself to calm down by reciting the buddhist scriptures and continued to ride Sleipnir to the island.

Based on the words of Poseidon's former army, Poseidon treasured Demeter so much he hid her deep in the sea where not even his closest allies could reach her.

Even from this far the powerful aura of Poseidon could be felt from the island. The sea released an aura this strong even when Poseidon was already dead, so it seemed like he had set up several layers of barriers.

'They said that Demeter was hidden deep in the sea but looking now there's an island......could it be Demeter's work?'

'Probably. No matter what she's still the current Goddess of grain in Olympus. She wasn't able to share Olympus with Zeus, Poseidon and Hades, but her sacred force should still be transcendent.'

Sleipnir flew diligently forward while Tae Ho conversed with Cuchulainn. Sleipnir was a horse who boasted the speed of light when he released his special power just like Talaria, but he was still fast even if he didn't release his power.

The island that was only a small dot on the horizon gre into the size of a watermelon as Tae Ho and Cuchulainn chatted.

Up close the island was a boulder about 10 meters big with a golden haired woman wearing green clothes standing on the middle of it.

At first, she took a cautious stance but then smiled brightly and waved her hand when she recognized them.

"Drakon Ismenios!"

"Mother!"

Drakon Ismenios answered Demeter's call. Tae Ho quickly landed down on the boulder island. Drakon Ismenios jumped down from Sleipnir and ran towards Demeter.Demeter spread her arms and welcomed her son.

'It's an emotional moment.'

'Right.'

They had heard of what Demeter had suffered through from Poseidon's army before coming to this place, so they the tips of their noses tingle.

Among the 12 Olympians, Demeter must be the one who had lived a life with the most ups and downs.

Demeter tightly embracing Drakon Ismenios was really beautiful. Tae Ho and Cuchulainn felt like they could understand why Poseidon had desired her that much.

Demeter displayed abundant and beautiful golden hair resembling a wheat field. She didn't have a sexy face like Aphrodite but exuded a purity that stimulated your desire to protect her. Speaking honestly, Tae Ho felt that she was more beautiful than Aphrodite.

'Well, your love is really solid.'

If they were to say, Demeter really resembled Idun.

She also looked really young, as expected of a Goddess, and she even looked younger than Drakon Ismenios.

Whatever the case, Tae Ho and Cuchulainn were satisfied by the warm scene.

"Mother! This person is the master of Asgard and my own master Lee Tae Ho-nim. Please greet him."

"Master?"

"Yes, that's right! He's a cool person that likes meetings!"

Drakon Ismenios spoke cheerfully and Demeter tilted her head because she thought that she had heard wrong.

It was obvious that Tae Ho's satisfaction was broken.

'Kya, how honest. Being honest is really the best.'

While Cuchulainn laughed, Demeter tilted her head in confusion a few more times and carefully approached Tae Ho. She then bowed down before him.

"I'm the mother of Drakon Ismenios, Demeter. Drakon Ismenios has been a burden for you."

"Ah, no. I always received help from him. I'm the master of Asgard, Lee Tae Ho."

Tae Ho greeted back awkwardly at Demeter's strange introduction. He was reminded of the parental consultation when he used to go to school.

While the both of them were being awkward, smenios butted in once again.

"Mother, master likes receiving meetings from Goddesses a lot. It's the best thing- no, bribe- no, gift to give him saying to take good care of me."

Drakon Ismenios said and raised his thumb.

But Demeter just glanced at Tae Ho with a face full of confusion and chaos. You could tell what she was thinking of just by looking at her shrinking shoulders.

[Hey!]

Tae Ho hurriedly sent a mystical message with a red face. Cuchulainn couldn't endure it anymore and bursted out with laughter.

'He's not wrong. Yep yep, not wrong at all.'

It was true that Tae Ho liked meetings and that it was also the best thing for him to receive.

Drakon Ismenios flinched at Tae Ho's yell but then winked and started to urge Demeter.

"Mother! Quickly, the meeting!"

It seemed like he had misunderstood Tae Ho's anger with pressuring.

"No, even if you say that......"

"You just have to face him and say that you have come to meet him. Hurry!"

Tae Ho grew distracted at Drakon Ismenios' continued attacks and thought of how he should control this situation. However, he was just standing still in a shock and couldn't do anything.

"I, it's a meeting."

"Uh..yes. Tha, thank you."

They exchanged awkward greetings once again.

But Drakon Ismenios wasn't satisfied with that.

"Now, mother! Next comes the blessing!"

"Blessing?"

"W, wait. Drakon Ismenios."

Tae Ho barely regained his wits and tried to stop Drakon Ismenios. Tae Ho's face flushed and his voice trembled as he was really uncomfortable.

Because of this Drakon Ismenios ended up misunderstanding once again.

He turned to look at Tae Ho and Demeter with a surprised face and then spoke while covering his mouth with two hands.

"Huk, is it that you don't want the blessing of mother.....I'm sorry. I'm really slow to catch on things......"

"N, no. It's not that. I really want to receive it."

'You real thoughts are starting to come out.'

Cuchulainn clicked his tongue and Tae Ho bit his lips.

'It's a misunderstanding!'

Tae Ho hurriedly turned to look at Demeter while trying to act like a parent dealing with a student but it was too late. Her green eyes were really warm.

'It's all your retribution, retribution.'

Cuchulainn spoke about retributions even when he wasn't from the Temple.

And meanwhile, Drakon Ismenios who became excited, clapped in joy.

"Certainly! Now, mother! Quickly! You just have to place your lips on master's forehead!"

Drakon Ismenios pulled on Demeter's arm and urged her. Demeter let out a sigh at the actions of her son and turned to face Tae Ho. Her eyes lost its warmth.

"I, I will grant you a blessing."

"Th, thank you."

The lips of Demeter was really soft but Tae Ho felt really pitiful. He now understood what the saying of wanting to hide in a rat hole meant.

[Saga: The warrior that had a Goddess meet him]

[Classification: Olympus]

[Goddess of earth Demeter]

She was added to his Saga.

Right, it should be done with this.

It was a good thing, right?

Tae Ho tried to comfort himself but it hadn't yet. The attack of Drakon Ismenios hadn't ended yet.

"Whew, mother. Now you just have to have meetings with master every time you can. Kugh, if I was also a Goddess I would do it everyday....."

Drakon Ismenios' eyes reddened in regret from his imagination.

The only thing Tae Ho could do now was to apologize.

"I, I'm sorry Demeter-nim."

"No, he was originally like that.......I'm the one that should be sorry."

The two people- no, Gods were deeply bowing to each other.

"Ah, anyways. Uh, um. I will go to the main topic."

'What, wasn't receiving the blessing the main point?'

'Cuchulainn!'

'Right, I will stop here. I already got cursed at a lot.'

Cuchulainn shutting his mouth in consideration was truly hateful.

Anyways, they should really start discussing more important topics. Tae Ho checked his surroundings and said.

"Demeter-nim. We should move places for now."

Continuing to speak in the middle of an island in the middle of the sea was not possible. The sunlight was hot and there were no shadows to hide under.

Tae Ho called down Sleipnir and extended his hand to Demeter.

"It's the fine horse of Asgard, Sleipnir. Just for a moment will you ride on him together with me?"

Demeter examined Sleipnir. It seemed like she was interested in the eight legged horse of Asgard.

"I will. But won't it be too small for three people to ride on it?"

"I will summon Drakon Ismenios when we arrive."

This would make speaking more comfortable.

It looked like he was neglecting someone, but it seemed like Demeter didn't mind. Demeter laughed and embraced her son.

"I will see you later."

"Yes, mother."

Drakon Ismenios smiled brightly and waved his hand as Tae Ho flew up to the sky with Demeter sitting in front of him.

"Demeter-nim, I will first tell you about the situation."

While they flew across the sea, Tae Ho started speaking. He didn't know how much Demeter knew, so he recounted his entire experience since arriving on Olympus.

By the time they arrived on land, the story came to a conclusion. Demeter carefully turned around to look up at Tae Ho and nodded.

"Indeed, that's why you need a way to contact with Gaia-nim?"

"Yes, reinforcements from Asgard have arrived but this is still war between Olympus and Asgard. We certainly need Gaia-nim's help to know why the Protogenoi joined the enemy and how many old gods have turned."

'You also want to receive receive her blessing.'

'Ugh really, Cuchulainn!'

'Why, you aren't going to receive it when you meet her? Huh? She's a primeval God!.'

'No....it's not that.'

'Child, throw away your mask and be honest with yourself. Look at me, how good is it if you are honest like me?'

"Master?"

Demeter invertened. She resembled Idun when she tilted her head and looked at him with worried eyes.

Tae Ho hurriedly regained hold of himself and shook his head.

"Ah, I'm sorry. Someone from Asgard contacted me."

Bragi's rune worked diligently today as usual. Demeter opened her eyes widely and asked.

"Is something urgent?"

"No. Anyways....the current situation is like this. I know that it's impolite to ask you this when I have just rescued you but I hope you can help us."

When Sleipnir reached the shore Tae Ho jumped down first and helped Demeter dismount from Sleipnir. He then silently looked at her.

Demeter glanced atTae Ho for a moment and smiled.

"It's a matter of Olympus so the Gods of Olympus should take the lead. I'm just grateful for the help of Asgard."

She stopped speaking and then stood on her toes and kissed Tae Ho on his cheek.

"Let the blessing of the earth accompany you."

This wasn't a simple blessing. Tae Ho felt a part of Demeter's divine power enter him. There was also knowledge contained in that divine power.

The location of Gaia.

The only one roaming the world freely among the Protogenoi.

"It's a secret only you should know."

Demeter whispered in Tae Ho's ear and Tae Ho nodded.

And he also understood why Demeter hadn't been able to ask Gaia for help before.

The ancient God of earth, Gaia.

Her territory was the furthest away from the sky, the territory of Zeus who she disliked the most It was located in the deepest part of the sea.

However, there was only five days until the promised day with Odin.

< Episode 61 - Great Hero (4) > End

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Episode 61/Chapter 5: Great Hero (5)

TL: Tsubak

ED:

Tae Ho escorted Demeter and returned to Mesena for now.

Only one day had passed since the battle with Poseidon so most of the people like Echidna couldn't shake off the after effects of the battle but the forces of Mesena had to move to Delphos so the preparations to move was still going on even though it was late in the night.

"Demeter."

"Athena. You have gone through a lot. I can know it looking at your face."

"You have been through more things than me. I'm glad, really glad."

Athena embraced Demeter and said. It was an action that didn't suit her as she was usually stiff and hard headed so Demeter opened her eyes roundly out of surprise and embraced Athena.

Even if that wasn't the case Hestia that was the one that comforted her had lost consciousness and wasn't able to wake up and Hermes, her only companion, lost his legs along his motivation so Athena had also become quite depressed.

In addition, the forces of Asgard made her feel more complicated.

They were certainly glad to see but Olympus could only lean and depend on their good will. It wasn't an equal allied relationship but a one sided one.

She couldn't not feel glad when one of the 12 Olympians, Demeter, appeared quite safe. While they were embracing each other Athena even shed some tears.

"Hephaestus is also safe."

"The master of Asgard told me. He said he also accomplished a great deed."

"He did. I'm proud of him as one of the 12 Olympians."

When Athena smiled brightly, Demeter opened her eyes roundly once again and then laughed.

It was a bit weird to say this but she liked the current Athena more than the previous one.

In the other hand, Athena flushed at Demeter's smile and then turned to look at Tae Ho.

"I'm really grateful to you for having rescued Demeter."

When she expressed her thanks politely Tae Ho, that was looking at the warm reencounter of the two Goddesses shook his hand and said.

'Of course, of course. For real. If you deny that you aren't a God and even a person.'

Tae Ho ignored Cuchulainn's words that scratched his conscience and thought why he was being like this all day and Demeter laughed just like Idun.

"I also came to meet you."

Demeter spoke brightly and approached Tae Ho. She then kissed Tae Ho in his cheek like how she did in the shore.

"Let my blessing accompany you."

"Th, thank you."

As Tae Ho's face turned red completely, Demeter laughed once again. Athena didn't laugh that boldly but looking at how she was trembling while having turned around, it seemed like she was trying not to laugh.

"Anyways.....enjoy your encounter."

Tae Ho left the place for the two people.

And the next morning.

"Hm hm hm."

Adenmaha hummed because of what she heard last night before going to sleep. She really looked like a child that was about to go to an excursion.

"You are feeling good?"

"Hm hm hm."

Adenmaha hummed once again at Tae Ho's words and then gathered her lips and looked at her surroundings with expectant eyes.

But she couldn't see what she was looking for no matter where she looked at.

'Uh, huh?'

Adenmaha got flustered and turned to look at Tae Ho after blinking a few times and Tae Ho tilted his head as if asking if there was something wrong.

"Adenmaha, transform. Let's fly quickly."

"Um....we aren't going to ride on Sleipnir?"

Drakon Ismenios had boasted about it a lot.

Adenmaha had resoluted herself expecting that he would do the same for her!

"Sleipnir, wait nearby."

Tae Ho spoke like that and then spread the wings of light at his back and held Adenmaha's waist with one arm.

There was a deep and black sea below them. If it was like Demeter had said, the deepest trench in the world should be below them.

Adenmmaha spread her arms while clinging on to Tae Ho and brought up her divine power.

She had become the Goddess of beauty and love of Erin but she was still a Goddess of sea.

"Power of the sea!"

She didn't split the sea below them and instead a thick and transparent barrier covered them in a round way.

It was impossible to split thousands of kilometers down the sea even if Adenmaha's divine power had been strengthened.

Tae Ho added some runes on the transparent barrier Adenmaha made. It was to reinforce the barrier to be able to endure the overwhelming pressure of the sea.

When the task ended, Tae Ho retrieved his wings and embraced Adenmaha from her waist. The transparent barrier was formed with Adenmaha as the center and because of that Tae Ho was the one that got to hang on her.

Adenmaha flinched when Tae Ho embraced her by the waist and then spoke with courage.

"Master, grab more tightly."

"More?"

"A bit more."

'Do it with moderation, moderation. Master, I want to see you.'

Tae Ho listened to Cuchulainn's teary voice and entered the sea with Adenmaha. One of the runes Tae Ho had engraved started to shine and drove away the darkness.

And after some time passed.

When they were starting to get afraid of driving away the darkness at their surroundings because they got able to see the strange creatures living deep in the sea.

The pair finally arrived at the floor of the sea.

"It's a shrine."

Adenmaha opened her eyes roundly and spoke. It had a complicated structure maybe because it was deep in the sea but there was certainly a shrine with Olympus' peculiar shape in front of their eyes.

The shrine was really huge. Even Delphos, that was the biggest shrine Tae Ho saw in Olympus, was small compared to it. He was just guessing but he didn't think that Delphos was even half the size of this.

Tae Ho reinforced the transparent barrier once again and glanced at Adenmaha. She then made the barrier advance to the insides of the shrine.

There was nothing inside of the shrine besides pillars. When they kept advancing forward they saw stairs connecting to the underground and when they kept going down hundreds of stairs they passed the surface of the water at some point.

Tae Ho and Adenmaha looked above them with surprised eyes. They could see the surface splashing as if the world had turned upside down and they could see a really deep sea beyond that.

Adenmaha turned to look at Tae Ho and he nodded. When Adenmaha dispelled the transparent barrier, a bright and cold air welcomed them.

"I will take the lead."

Tae Ho started to go down the stairs carefully and then, the walls that were filling their surroundings disappeared at some point. A vast and white space appears and a huge woman was lying down below the stairs.

It was a woman that had black hair and light brown skin. She was wearing clothes that were similar to Echidna but the color of her clothes was white so the skin and the color of the hair of the woman showed even more.

'Hey, you will die by getting blessings from her.'

Cuchulainn spoke with a dumbfounded voice. That was because the woman- the primeval God of earth Gaia, was too huge. There was still some distance between them but they felt like they would get overwhelmed at her size.

It seemed like she easily surpassed a 100 meters and she felt even bigger than that perhaps because she had the appearance of a woman.

Adenmaha gulped dry saliva and grabbed Tae Ho's sleeve. Tae Ho walked down the stairs with calm steps to calm her down.

The face of Gaia that was sleeping was a bit different to Demeter's or Hestia's. Her face gave a sharp and scary impression compared to the other two that gave a soft and gentle feeling.

Actually, the one that resembled Gaia the most among the 12 Olympians was Hera but Tae Ho still hadn't met her yet so he thought of Scathach, the one that gave the sharpest impression among the ones he knew.

He finally reached the end of the stairs and at that moment, Gaia opened her eyes when Tae Ho placed his feet in the floor.

The huge green eyes observed Tae Ho and Adenmaha. Her eyes didn't seem like she had just woken up but emanated light as if she was already awake.

She, that was lying down in one of her arms, looked at Tae Ho and Adenmaha that stopped by reflex. She opened her eyes a bit sharply and then fixed her posture.

She just raised her head from her arm but just with that small motion the reach of her eyes increased by ten meters.

[You are unexpected guests.]

Gaia said. The voices of the Gods spread into the white and vast place.

But it wasn't loud. It did vibrate a bit but the tone was just right to listen and her voice was also soft and clear.

"I'm the master of Asgard Lee Tae Ho. I greet the ancient God of Earth."

"Adenmaha, a Valkyrie of Idun's legion and Erin's Goddess of love and beauty, greets the ancient God of earth."

Gaia smiled with her eyes as Tae Ho and Adenmaha expressed etiquette first.

[Nice to meet you Gods of a foreign world. I would also like to stand up and express etiquette but the difference in height of our eyes will become too big. Sorry that i'm lying down.]

The reaction was quite fine. Tae Ho and Adenmaha got relieved unconsciously and then turned to look at themselves and then looked at Gaia again.

"Ancient Goddess of Earth Gaia, we came to find you because we have something we want to ask you."

[I can feel the power of Demeter from you. And also the power of Athena and Hestia. You also have the power of that incredule Echidna....how strange. In some meaning you are worse than Zeus.]

There was a bit of displeasure in Gaia's voice. For her, thinking about Zeus, was not pleasing at all.

Tae Ho hurriedly activated the rune of Bragi and continued speaking.

"The Goddess of soil Demeter told me where you were at."

[Right, I can see that looking at the power of Demeter in you. It's not forced. That child judged it herself and told you. That means that you came to find me because of something really important.]

The eyes of Gaia became a bit sharper. Tae Ho took a deep breath and then spoke about what had happened to Gaia.

[It wasn't the time to be sleeping comfortably.]

Gaia spoke in a low voice after she listened to everything. But it somehow didn't give off a feeling of motivation. It was rather felt like she was feeling desperate.

[Master of a foreign world, what is it that you wish? What do you want to know?]

"The reason why the primeval Gods turned like this and their situation.....and the method to beat them."

Gaia closed her eyes for a moment at Tae Ho's request. She read the memory of Mesena aside from Tae Ho's story and then opened her eyes while twisting her eyebrows.

[I think that I will have to explain about us, primeval Gods, first.]

[You have already experienced the power of the Protogenoi....us, ancient Gods as Poseidon had the power of Pontus in him.]

The reason Poseidon could pull an overwhelming amount of sea water deep inland was because of the power of Pontus. Tae Ho could clearly feel a different kind of divinity compared to the other Gods as he had actually fought with Poseidon.

[Pontus and I are different. I'm an ancient God that has been personalized and materialized. I obtained flesh and freedom of movement and obtained an ego to be able to think and act by myself but I have been weakened due to that.]

Gaia slowly raised the arm she was placing in her waist. When she rolled her finger in the air, the power of the Earth manifested in her hand but what was drawn in Gaia's face was a bitter smile.

[Pontus is a concept God. He is the sea itself and his power is really overwhelming. The two of us are ancient Gods but he should be a dozen times more powerful than mine. But he doesn't have a consciousness and that's why he can't have hostility or hospitality. Poseidon brought up and used the power of Pontus but Pontus doesn't oppose you. Not having taken revenge on you even when Poseidon died at your hands is proof of that. If he really had the will to take revenge on you, then how is it that you were able to cross the sea and meet me?]

In other words it means that Pontus did aid Poseidon with his strength but he hadn't dazzled him.

"Are you saying that the one that is bewitching Zeus is an ancient God like Gaia-nim that has obtained flesh?"

Gaia shook her head at Tae Ho's question.

[It's different. The only ancient Gods that obtained flesh are me and Uranus. There exist personality Gods that hadn't been able to obtain flesh but still have a will and are in the middle between me, a personality God and Pontus, a concept God.]

Gaia looked to a distant place. Her face was one that was thinking of her old acquaintances.

[The one that is bewitching Zeus should probably be Nyx. She, that was born with me, has desired for a long time to return to the void of Chaos. I'm a bit doubtful as to why she acted so suddenly but it's not that i'm not able to understand her actions.]

It was similar to what Echidna, Athena,etc. had guessed.

The Goddess of night Nyx.

The Goddess of darkness that gave birth to death.

Adenmaha, that had been listening silently, raised her hand and asked.

"Gaia-nim. If Pontus is a concept God with no will.....then can we also borrow his power just like Poseidon did?"

[That's impossible. The ruler of the sea Poseidon has been able to use his power because he is his proper successor.]

Nyx wasn't the one that connected the power without a will. It was an authority of Poseidon itself.

[The ruler of the sky Zeus is able to use the power of Uranus. On top of him, Nyx and his other supporters are also able to obtain power from him. The personality Gods that have a will are able to support others with their own strength.]

That was the reason Odin sought to attack the mount of Olympus directly. Even if that wasn't the case, they had to stop the already strong Zeus from becoming even stronger by obtaining strength from the ancient Gods.

[But the biggest obstacle is Heracles.]

Gaia frowned and said and started to speak about things Tae Ho and Adenmaha didn't know of.

[The Gigantes entered Olympus. They are heading to the mount of Olympus. This means that Heracles has turned into a being wanting to destroy the world.]

Athena's guess was wrong. Heracles had turned into their enemy and in addition he had joined the Gigantes.

[Master of the foreign world. You won't be able to evade having the decisive battle on the mount of Olympus. In the end, if you aren't able to defeat Zeus in that land the battle won't end. But it won't be easy and perhaps impossible.]

Worry spread in Gaia's face and the tone of her voice had dropped a lot.

[Zeus is certainly the king of Gods. He possess strength stronger than all the other 12 Olympians gathered together but he isn't the strongest one of Olympus.]

"Are you saying that....Heracles is stronger than Zeus?"

Tae Ho asked in surprise and Cuchulainn also got flustered at the unexpected truth.

[It is like that in the mount of Olympus.]

Gaia took a breath and then looked to a distant place.

[Heracles is a being that was born to protect Olympus from Gigantomachy.....the final war. You could say that he's the real protector of Olympus. Because of that, he's invincible when he is protecting the path going to the mount of Olympus. His strength surpasses Zeus when he gets assisted by all of Olympus.]

"Are you saying that he can take the entire world as his own sacred force?"

Tae Ho interpreted Gaia's words in his own way. There was bitterness and joy showing in Gaia's face at the same time.

[That's right. Heracles is an existence like that in the mount of Olympus. In addition, he doesn't need such things like belief. He simply gets assisted by the power of the world itself.]

The protector of Olympus.

The being that becomes immortal when he protects the path leading to the mount of Olympus.

"Master....."

Adenmaha grabbed on Tae Ho's sleeve and expressed fear. Tae Ho gulped dry saliva and then raised his head.

"Oh Gaia, I have something to request. Can you listen to me?"

[Do you want my help? If you do, I can support you with a bit of my strength but you won't be able to beat Heracles in the mount of Olympus.]

Tae Ho also understood that. It wasn't that Gaia was looking down on him at all. Gaia knew about the strength of Tae Ho really well as she could read the memory of the earth. But regardless of that, she was still saying that he won't be able to beat Heracles in the mount of Olympus.

"I know that. What I want is something else."

The thing that popped up in his head when he heard about Gaia's story.

The conquest method made by his senses and base as a progamer to win a battle that is close to impossible to win.

Tae Ho said and Gaia listened. And at the end of his story she feigned a laughter. But that feigned laugher soon changed into a refreshing one.

[I will do that. I will fulfill your wish. I won't save any assistance you want at all.]

Gaia affirmed. She rose half of her upper body and then extended her big hand towards Tae Ho and Adenmaha.

[And this is an extra.]

What she could know because she had read the memory of the earth regardless of the promised assistance.

[It's a meeting.]

Gaia said while smiling and Tae Ho got on her palm while expressing embarrassment and happiness at the same time. While Adenmaha was letting out a troubled sigh, Gaia's huge lips blessed Tae Ho.

And the morning after four days.

All the forces heading to the mount of Olympus gathered in Delphos.

< Episode 61 - Great Hero (5) > End

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Episode 61/Chapter 6: Great Hero (6)

TL: Tsubak

ED:

The distance between Delphos and the mount of Olympus wasn't that far.

If they took into account the time the Goddess of Earth Demeter would take to tidy up the path, four to five days was enough.

In addition, if Athena blessed the march of the army as the Goddess of warfare and Hermes added the blessing of the swift runner, the marching speed would become much faster.

But of course, arriving fast wasn't always the best thing as it was meaningless to arrive in the middle of the night.

They also needed time to rest after arriving and there were also many things besides that which they had to take into account.

And the conclusion Odin came up with after taking into account all of those things was that he would use four days on the march.

The warriors of Valhalla gathered in their legions and advanced.

The big legions acted independently but the small ones joined with each other just like what Tae Ho experienced in his first expedition.

"So Gaia won't step forward by herself."

Thor listened about Gaia from Tae Ho and Adenmaha and spoke in a regretful tone.

They were riding on a big carriage being pulled by six horses and Odin was seated next to Thor.

Odin, that was reading a book filled with recorded runes, closed it and then buried his body in the back of the chair and said.

"I wanted to see her at least once."

"Well, you have never seen an ancient God before. She was really big but also really beautiful....."

There were beautiful beings among the giants of Jotunheim but the huge giants that reached a hundred meters all had the appearances of monsters. But they said that Gaia was really beautiful regardless of her size so it was impossible to not get interested in her.

And actually, Thor was really curious about the existences called the ancient Gods. It was because they were beings that he couldn't even think of in Asgard.

Odin closed his eyes. His only eye that could see through all things grasped the biggest reason that Thor mentioned.

"All the ancient Gods of Asgard are dead. You already know that the soul and flesh of Ymir has become the base of Asgard, Midgard and the several worlds right?"

"I do. The ancient God Audhumbla has also perished."

The cow Audhumbla that was born with Ymir was also the creator of the Aesir race.

She raised Ymir with her milk and licked on a wall of salt to give birth to the Aesir race but one day she disappeared without any words.

Thor was bothered at the part that Odin was affirming that Audhumbla had died but he didn't say it out loud.

Compared to Olympus, that was being influenced by the ancient Gods, all the ancient Gods of Asgard were existences of the past that had already disappeared.

"And son, she didn't step out directly but.....Gaia has promised plenty of assistance and she is actually performing it."

"I know."

Thor also knew. She had promised to assist Tae Ho with her own strength and would also assist a lot of strength in the most important strategy.

She didn't fight directly but her assistance was already more than enough.

But regardless of that, Thor was still putting an unsatisfied expression. Odin laughed out loud and then put on an ill natured expression as if teasing him.

"It seems like you have complains that it isn't you."

"Rather than complains....it's regret."

The one fighting against Heracles was Tae Ho, not himself.

This was already something that was decided and they couldn't change it.

Odin closed his only eye and said.

"It's unavoidable. Compared to Tae Ho, you are a pure Aesir. It's impossible to receive the power of an ancient God from a foreign world completely. In addition....the only one that can accomplish this strategy is Tae Ho."

Heracles was a being that became immortal when he guarded the path leading to mount of Olympus. It was impossible for even the strongest battle God of Asgard to defeat him.

The only strategy to defeat him.

Thor couldn't conduct it. Just like Odin had said, it was something only Tae Ho could do.

"My way to think magnanimously resembles father's."

Thor shook his head as if shaking away his regret and spoke with an admiring voice.

Just like Odin had said, he felt regret that he wasn't able to fight with Heracles but he didn't feel any remorse towards Tae Ho besides that. It wasn't an exaggeration to say that he rather liked it.

Odin nodded slowly.

Thor didn't show any complaints just like when Odin chose Valdur as his successor. He rather supported Odin saying that being king suited Valdur more.

Thor knew well that he was a warrior. That's why he didn't feel envy towards Tae Ho when he became the successor of Odin.

And Odin was grateful towards that Thor.

"He's my successor. Just like you possess strength and courage that surpasses mine, I hope he also surpasses me."

The size of this battle was a really huge one where the Gods of Olympus, the Gigantes, countless monsters and warriors of Valhalla participated in but in the end, the ones that would decide victory and battle of this battle were Heracles and Tae Ho.

"Will we be able to succeed?"

Thor spoke in a low voice. He was someone that didn't know what fear was when he went out to battle but he couldn't participate in this strategy actively. The only thing he could do was pray for victory.

"We have to make it so that it succeeds."

Odin smiled and answered. Actually he was also uneasy. He knew better than anyone else what would be the results if they lost this battle.

But Odin was accustomed to fighting with fear. Even the promised destruction couldn't bend his will.

Odin looked out the window and Thor did the same. The place the eyes of the two Gods reached was the carriage Tae Ho was on.

&

"Um, Adenmaha is certainly prettier."

Tae Ho looked at the two Goddesses that were sitting in front of him and pretended to think in a really troubled way and spoke without even wondering about it.

The face of Adenmaha became bright as a blooming flower at Tae Ho's decision and Freya's face contorted a lot.

"What a one sided judgement. What did Cuchulainn say?"

"That Scathach-nim is the prettiest."

"Damned bastards."

Freya pouted her lips in unsatisfaction. At first she did that as a joke but it seemed like it scratched her pride as she was still the Goddess of beauty.

But she was also the Goddess of love. Because of that, she knew better than anyone else how powerful was the power of love.

"But you are still prettier than Aphrodite."

Freya snorted as Tae Ho spoke carefully.

"Leave it."

She was snorting but looking at her eyes and lips, it seemed like she felt a bit better than before.

"Anyways, I don't know what Idun and Heda like about you. The same goes for her."

When Freya pointed at Adenmaha with her chin, Nidhogg that was sitting while embracing Hydra raised her head and said.

"Nidhogg also likes Tae Ho master."

"Alright, like him as much as you would. And let her go. Doesn't she feel hot?"

"Hydra, are you hot?"

Hydra, that was dozing off, shook her head as Nidhogg asked her while blinking.

"I'm not."

"She says she's not."

Nidhogg smiled brightly and embraced Hydra even tighter and Freya shook her head.

"This time too, anyways.....it seems like the general preparations had ended. You just have to rest comfortably until we arrive. That's the only method to increase our chances to succeed even by a little more."

The carriage Tae Ho and the group were on was different to the traditional ones. It was a square space that had no seats and had a solid floor with runes and magic circles filling it up.

In the first place, the reason Tae Ho and Freya got on the same carriage wasn't to exchange jokes.

There was something she had to do with Tae Ho.

"Thank you."

Tae Ho looked at the rock that was the size of a watermelon placed between himself and Freya. The rock that was filled with rune magic didn't only contain Tae Ho's and Freya's divine power but also Odin's, Echidna's, Athena's, etc. the divine powers of several Gods.

The preparations for the strategy.

This was everything Tae Ho had to do but there were still many things Freya had to do. It was something on she could do as the Goddess of magic.

"It's my honor i'm able to be of help for the master. It's also a necessary thing....right, there was still one more thing I could do for you."

Freya dropped her shoulders with a slow posture and then clapped her hands and started to crawl towards him.

"It's a meeting."

She then grabbed Tae Ho's cheeks and gave him the best blessing.

"Let my blessing accompany you."

Freya licked her lower lip as if she had eaten something delicious and said. Tae Ho put a dumbfounded expression at her warm breath and eyes and Freya got satisfied with that. She giggled and continued to say.

"I'm also going to do it tomorrow so you can be expecting it. It will be fun if I bring all the Valkyries and do it in turns. I should record it and show it to Idun. Tomorrow is a meeting-blessing parade!"

Freya laughed like an aunty that liked such things and got out of the carriage without Tae Ho being able to grab her.

A meeting-blessing parade.

Tae HO imagined that scene unconsciously and got absent minded once again and Cuchulainn, that imagined the same thing, spoke in a low voice.

'Hey Tae Ho, can I stab you once?'

'Please don't. I will die if you stab me with Gae Bolg.'

'I was planning to do that to kill you.'

It was when they were exchanging nonsense like usual.

"Um...master?"

"Tae Ho master?"

Adenmaha and Nidhogg grabbed each of Tae Ho's arm. Adenmaha reflected earnestness and a competitive feeling in her face as if she couldn't lose and Nidhogg was as bright as always.

'I should really stab you.'

Cuchulainn said and Rolo and Sleipnir that were flying above the carriage shook their heads at the same time as if they agreed to before hand.

&

The trip to the mount of Olympus was smooth.

It seemed like the enemy was also planning to have the decisive battle in the mount of Olympus that they didn't show any will to obstruct their path.

That's why the four day trip was peace itself.

Excluding the time when Cuchulainn controlled Gae Bolg to try to stab Tae Ho because Scathach gave Tae Ho the best blessing.

And when the sun was setting and night approached.

The alliance of Asgard and Olympus arrived at the mount of Olympus.

&

The mount of Olympus wasn't a simple place.

It was a place that connected the mortal and Godly world and at the same time the central axis that maintained the world called Olympus.

They could only approach the world of the Gods and the residence of the 12 Olympians through the mount of Olympus.

The had to pass the path of the mount of Olympus to arrive at the king of Gods Zeus.

Heracles sat in the path of the mount and looked at a far place.

A base of the alliance of Asgard and Olympus was being set up near the mount of Olympus in a place that he could start the battle in the afternoon if he departed in the morning.

Heracles didn't attack. He was planning to wait for them to attack first.

The protector of Olympus.

The being that is immortal when guarding the path of the mount of Olympus.

It was actually like that. Heracles could feel the power of the world being transmitted to him endlessly from the sky, the ground and everywhere else.

Heracles was invincible and at the same time immortal.

Nothing at all could inflict an injury on him if he was on the path of the mount. In addition, even he couldn't inflict an injury on himself.

He would massacre the enemy in this land.

As time was on their side.

Heracles raised his head and looked at the night sky. The countless beings that emanated dim and weak light were shining the sky along the stars.

They were the souls of the dead ones.

The souls that couldn't enter the underworld after Hades sealed it had gathered at the holiness of the mount of Olympus.

The more the battle prolonged, the number of lost souls would increase. And the change that got induced to do that wouldn't be satisfying for the enemy. The crumbling of the balance of the world was like a nightmare for the beings that wanted to maintain the world.

Heracles looked inside of Olympus. Aphrodite was seducing Dionysius and the Gigantes that came from the end of the world were desiring for battle in several places of the mount of Olympus.

The heroes of the Argo also prepared for the battle that would take place tomorrow and were doing their own things.

Heracles stood up. He then walked on the path slowly and looked at the path that connected with the world of the Gods that was completely sealed. He then looked down on the Goddess that was chained up and scattered in front of him.

The queen of Gods Hera.

She wasn't dead but was in a state that was no different from that. She got her divine power plundered by Zeus without stop so she couldn't even lift a finger.

The glory of Hera.

Heracles.

Heracles muttered his name once and smiled bitterly. He looked beyond Hera, the subject for his love and hatred, and then looked at the connecting path that lead to the world of Gods. White light was gathering like fog and taking up the appearances of pillars.

"Father."

The king of Gods Zeus.

And the existences that transmitted his voice to Zeus.

Heracles turned around and looked below the mount of Olympus.

The night was deepening.

And the morning for the decisive battle was approaching.

< Episode 61 - Great Hero (6) > End

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Episode 61/Chapter 7: Great Hero (7)

TL: Tsubak

ED: StellarRain & ET

Tae Ho opened his eyes at dawn.

He inhaled the lingering cold air and stroked the wooden tag containing the video of Heda and Idun.

He looked upon their faces and heard their voices one last time.

Hello once again.

My warrior Tae Ho.

Tae Ho smiled. He stored the precious wooden tag away, stood up and exited his lodging.

The morning sun had risen. It was the start of the unspoken promised day of battle.

The God of valor Tir blew his horn trumpet. The sound of Asgard rang through the skies and earth of Olympus and the march of the arrayed warriors of Valhalla shook the ground.

Many Gigantes stood up on Mount Olympus. Compared to the giants of Asgard, who had the form of humans, the Gigantes displayed appearances of monsters and they dwarfed those of Asgard.

Various divinites dyed the mountain..

Freya opened her eyes sharply and glared at the pink divinity belonging to Aphrodite. A bewitching yet provocative smile appeared on her face.

The red color of Dionysius surged up next to Aphrodite's divinity. Athena and Demeter frowned when the blue divinity that represented Hera surged up after that.

They knew something was wrong as they were also members of the 12 Olympians. Hera's will wasn't contained in that blue divinity. It was clearly a divinity being forcefully exploited.

The Gigantes screamed in union with the ground shaking from the warriors of Valhalla's march. It was a sound so overwhelming it seemed like the sky and ground would shatter under its pressure.

But they weren't the only ones that were on Mount Olympus. The humans who were controlled by the Gods and had become beings that wanted to destroy the world raised their weapons and cheered. The heroes of the Argo also increased their morale.

Atalante recognized her former allies from far away and bore sad expression. As a hero of Artemis, she knew the situation was dire better than anyone else, as she had already turned into a being who wanted to destroy the world.

Most of them didn't have any hope if they didn't defeat Zeus. It was impossible to liberate them.

Siri held the bow of Artemis and notched the arrow of Apollo. Bracky, who was next to her, looked at the hammer Hephaestus made by refining an Unt.

The shape of the hammer was a simple and blunt square shape similar to Mjolnir but the handle was different. Compared to Mjolnir, that gave a feeling of a shorthammer, the handle of this weapon was so long he was able to wield it like an axe.

The two of them turned to look at each other. Bracky glanced at her as if urging something from her and lowered his head and Siri checked her surroundings while frowning. When they confirmed that there was no one watching at them, Siri stood on her toes and kissed Bracky.

But compared to their expectation there was someone that saw it.

Gandur giggled and looked up at Ullr and Ullr, whose warrior he was thinking of having as his representative Valkyrie taken away from him, smiled bitterly. He stroked Gandur's head once and then headed to where Tir was.

The warriors of Valhalla took a grand formation. They stopped their feet at a considerable distance from the mount of Olympus.

The Gods of Asgard stood in front of the warriors. They walked up into the air and looked down at them.

The warriors of Valhalla looked at their Gods and the Gods also turned their eyes towards the one standing in the middle.

The new master.

The God of battle and Conqueror of Asgard and Erin.

Athena, who was standing next to the other Gods, awaited for a blood boiling speech. As the Goddess of warfare she knew how important morale was better than anyone. She also understood how much a good speech could raise the morale.

But Demeter thought a bit differently from Athena and she saw through the nature of the Gods of Asgard better than the Goddess of warfare.

Odin gestured with his hands for Tae Ho to step forward and looked upon the warriors.

The enemy is over there.

Let's save the world.

Let's liberate the ones being controlled.

He had several things to say but he saved his words. Meaningless speeches weren't necessary for the warriors of Valhalla.

Tae Ho opened his mouth. He activated the rune of Bragi and thumped his chest.

"For Asgard and the nine realms."

"For Asgard and the nine realms!"

The warriors cheered. The Gods in a row struck their chests and chanted with them.

For Asgard and the nine realms.

Asgard won't leave Olympus behind!

That was enough. They didn't need anything else. The battlecries of the warriors of Valhalla caused the sky and ground to tremble.

Tae Ho turned around. The Gods also turned and stared at mount Olympus.

"It begins."

Tir and Ullr blew their horn trumpets. Thor and Bracky raised their own hammers and called forth thunder.

The warriors of Valhalla charged forward with a booming rumbling sound rains of steel fell over their heads. They meteored towards the mountain like bombers.

"My lower body feels weeeeeeeeird!"

"Valhalla! I'm going!"

"This is Olympus!"

They charged from both the sky and the ground.

The reckless charge was akin to a wave.

There was also a reaction in the mount of Olympus. The Gigantes threw rocks and rained arrows upon the warriors of Valhalla.

The time was still early, there was some time left until midday.

The battle that decided the fate of the two worlds began.

&

The entire Mount Olympus devolved into madness.

Thor, Bracky and Siri broke through and massacred the Gigantes while firing lightning and gale.

Freya and Aphrodite felt each others existence clearly. They were constantly seducing each other's forces so there was no battle taking place there. There were only warriors running in confusion with an absent minded expression.

Echidna, who couldn't recover from her injury, entrusted her army of dragons to Adenmaha and Nidhogg.

One could say that the army of dragons being led by a white frost dragon, a black dragon, a golden dragon and a red dragon was the best in the entire alliance.

The battle intensified. The all of Mount Olympus was at war.

Screams, roars, yells and cries rang and spread everywhere.

But there was still one silent place.

One place where no one could approach recklessly.

The most direct and fastest path leading to the peak of the mountain.

There was a great hero of Olympus standing in that place.

The one that could be called the greatest was standing there looking down at the path.

Thor, who was firing lightning among the Gigantes, glanced at the path for a moment. He made eye contact with Heracles for a short while but he only smiled bitterly and didn't charge towards him.

Because Heracles' opponent wasn't Thor.

The leading actor of this battle was the master of Asgard.

Heracles looked away and at the same time Bracky and Siri looked at the same place.

Rasgrid and Ingrid, who were leading the warriors and charging, and even Gandur, that was nocking an arrow next to Ullr, turned to look at the same place.

Tae Ho was climbing up the path.

Athena looked at Tae Ho's back. Demeter kneeled down and gathered her hands to pray to Gaia.

Heracles also knew who his opponent was now. He faced the master of Asgard who was wielding the power of Gaia in his entire body, the God of a foreign world who defeated Ares and Poseidon.

Tae Ho continued to climb up the path.

And Heracles stood mid slope and waited.

Helga, who hadn't climbed up the mountain, gulped dry saliva and looked at the back of her commander. Next to her, Merlin prayed for his king. He asked the knights of the round table and king Arthur to protect the new king of Camelot.

Scathach let out a long sigh. She knew the difficulty of the upcoming fight as she had trained countless heroes.

Heracles was a monster. He was an existence who proved that he was different from normal heroes. And he was even receiving the support of the world.

Monster, invincible.

Those weren't wrong descriptors at all. If Heracles was in that state, it was obvious they wouldn't be able to defeat him even if all the Gods of Asgard faced him at the same time.

But Scathach didn't become discouraged nor think of defeat.

She only stared at the back of her strongest disciple and the disciple she loved the most.

"Master of Asgard."

Heracles said. He was holding the club that had beaten countless monsters to death. It was a simple and blunt shape similar to Mjolnir. It was a mystical weapon that contained strength you couldn't even imagine from its external appearances.

That club was the strongest weapon of Olympus and had accompanied Heracles in his quests.

Tae Ho gazed up at Heracles. He seemed to be a bit smaller than Bracky but his head seemed much larger due to the fur of the Nemean lion wrapped around it.

"Heracles."

The hero-God.

Heracles was a great hero who was born as a demigod and climbed up to the rank of God by himself and finally reached the seat of the strongest.

Heracles didn't say anything. He clenched his fist holding the club to defeat the enemy Asgard prepared to face him.

And at that moment Heracles disappeared.

Bang!

The attack was faster than sound.

Heracles' attack was like lightning and Tae Ho barely managed to block it. The Sword of the round table trembled and Tae Ho's knees started to bend down little by little from the strength pressing down from above.

It was truly an incredible strength. Tae Ho possessed the power of Gaia with him but he could only block it. The ground around them was crushed under the aftershock causing the land to scream. Space began contorting at the overwhelming amount of divine power.

Heracles studied Tae Ho beyond the Sword of the round table and Tae Ho also studied him and thought.

Gaia's words weren't a lie. No one was able to beat Heracles right now.

The current Heracles that is.

'Show me your cheat.'

Cuchulainn said with a hearty laugh and Tae Ho answered him.

He would change the premise.

At that moment shock spread across Heracles' face.

&

Odin didn't head out to the battlefield.

That was because his role was more important than battling.

Odin felt Tae Ho and Heracles clashing. That's why he extended his hand towards the rock in front of him. He drew a new rune on top of the mystical object that contained the divine power of several Gods, that was the main axis of a strong mystical magic, and then his right hand grasped the object he treasured the most.

Mistilteinn.

The mistletoe branch that contained the power to kill Gods.

The sad result of Aesir who obtained that power after causing the extinction of the ancient God of Asgard, Audumbla.

Thor said.

That Tae Ho and Odin were similar.

That his way of thinking was similar to Odin's in that he could even give up on the seat of the master of Asgard just to win.

Odin was ecstatic.

He laughed refreshingly and stabbed Mistilteinn into the center of the rock.

To kill a God.

What that meant.

Odin looked to the mid slope of the mount of Olympus.

&

Gaia said.

That Heracles would receive the support of all of Olympus when standing on the path leading to Mount Olympus. That it was no different from having the entire Olympus as his sacred force.

Tae Ho had destroyed Artemis' sacred force in their battle and made it so that she couldn't receive support from her sacred force.

But he couldn't use the same method this time.

All of Olympus held sacred force so it was impossible to destroy all of it.

It was also impossible to eliminate the mountain. Olympus wasn't a simple place. Even if he leveled the mountain flat, the strength of Heracles wouldn't get weakened while Olympus remained as the core that connected the mortal and godly world.

What could he do then?

How will he win this fight?

The answer was rather simple.

&

Hall of Valhalla.

Changing part of their surroundings to become Asgard.

It was impossible to do so on the mount of Olympus, where the power of Olympus was the strongest. That's why Tae Ho used only a property of 'Hall of Valhalla' and combined it with a mystical magic he had prepared beforehand.

The anecdote containing in Mistilteinn of being able to kill Gods.

The great magic Odin and Freya prepared together.

The assistance of the ancient God of Olympus, Gaia.

A radius of dozens of meters around Tae Ho and Heracles transformed into a new territory.

And what happened inside of that region shocked Heracles.

A land that deprived Gods.

An absolute land of Gods that deprived divinity itself.

The reason sacred force assisted someone was because he or she was a God.

Then, to remove Heracles' advantage as a God, Tae Ho would remove the base of Heracles' power and prevent him from receiving support from his sacred force!

Heracles lost his divinity. It was a temporary effect. If he left that region he would regain support from the world as a great hero again.

But that wasn't the case now. When he stood on the God depriving land he wasn't the hero-God Heracles but the human Heracles before climbing up to the rank of a God.

And it was the same for Tae Ho.

He wasn't the master of Asgard anymore.

The support of Gaia also disappeared.

Heracles laughed. He admired the master of Asgard who threw away his divinity without any hesitation, even just temporarily. He grasped his club tighter and glared fiercely at Tae Ho.

The overwhelming power of the world disappeared but Heracles wasn't shaken. Heracles was still a great hero even if he didn't receive the support of the world.

He was the strongest great hero of Olympus who had accomplished the twelve tasks and annihilated countless monsters and giants.

He rather welcomed a battle between human and human. He could fight him as much as he wanted.

And it was the same for Tae Ho.

Because Tae Ho was different from Thor.

Compared to Thor, who was already a God since birth, Tae Ho had climbed to the rank of a God by his own strength!

[Idun's warrior]

The golden divinity covered Tae Ho's body instead of the dark blue divinity. The countless battles and experiences he faced since he was a lowest ranked warrior until he became a top ranked one proved his strength.

'Show him, the power of humans. The power of the Milesian that fought against Gods and won!'

Cuchulainn yelled and at the same time, the sentences of Erin and the Milesians appeared in the back of Tae Ho's hands.

The light of Erin roared from within the Sword of the round table.

Human vs human.

The place of the decisive battle that had the fate of the two worlds at stake- in the middle of all those strong Gods.

The battle between the two heroes began.

< Episode 61 - Great Hero (7) > End

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