King Of Underworld [EN]: Chapter 41

Ominous Sign – (3)

A monster with the lower body of a giant snake and the upper body of a beautiful human woman.

But the one who entered that body is Cronus, the god of time and agriculture.

“Why? Didn’t you expect me to come to the mortal realm?”

“To be precise… it would be more accurate to say that you didn’t expect Gaia-nim [a term of respect]… to summon you.”

“Ehehehe! How desperate must Mother have been to call me?”

Cronus’s laughter causes the surrounding time to flow erratically.

The divine power of the first-generation Titan gods is released, distorting the surrounding scenery.

Damn it, Gaia.

Was Cronus the one you were trying to summon by sacrificing dozens of humans?

Did you hate so much that your children, the Titans, were trapped in Tartarus [the deep abyss that is used as a dungeon of torment and suffering for the wicked]?

Still, it’s fortunate that I noticed Gaia’s hidden dagger, even now.

If I had ignored the ritual and killed Echidna…

Olympus might have faced Cronus, who had recovered his strength somewhere, far in the future.

“Gaia intends to make you fight us. Are you planning to be used to your heart’s content and then thrown back into Tartarus?”

“Just being able to breathe the air of the mortal realm is a reward. Khahaha!”

Even if Cronus is weakened from being trapped in Tartarus for so long, he is still the god of time and a Titan.

He was once the chief god who held the world’s power, and he is a threat to us.

However, the conditions required to bring a god from Tartarus to the mortal realm are…

Dozens of human sacrifices, Gaia-nim’s immense divine power, a body to possess, and a bizarre ritual circle.

These are not conditions that can be achieved multiple times while evading the gods’ surveillance.

“Look at the scenery of the mortal realm to your heart’s content for the last time, because you won’t have another chance to come out from now on.”

“Haven’t you noticed yet? I am gradually adapting to this body.”

Cronus’s momentum, drawing out divine power while possessing the monster’s body, is gradually intensifying.

Enceladus, who was wary of me while holding a club, is also wearing a satisfied smile.

But…

“You weren’t the only ones stalling for time.”

“What?!”

If you build up momentum like that,

Wouldn’t the sun in the sky notice?

KWAHHHH!

A beam of intense light, piercing through the entire mountain, struck them.

However, the aftermath of the attack stopped precisely in front of me.

Thud. Thump.

The dark cave is blown away entirely, and bright sunlight shines on everyone.

A powerful attack that obliterates a part of the mountain, the accuracy of targeting only them by capturing the power Cronus just emitted.

From above the clouds, Apollo was holding a golden, shining bow and watching this way.

As he opened his mouth, a magnificent voice echoed in all directions.

“Mortals, all of you close your eyes and do not look at the sky. If you see my true form, you will be burned to ashes!”

If a human directly sees the true form of a god who has revealed all their power, they will die.

Semele, the mother of Dionysus, who died after witnessing Zeus’s form, is an example.

Immense heat and radiance emanated from him, and the mortals bowed their heads in fear.

But those in this place are gods, Titans, or monsters who oppose the gods.

Everyone stared straight at Apollo’s true form.

Cronus, who shook off the attack from the Gigas [race of giants], and blocked Apollo’s attack, frowned.

“Hoo~! Nice to meet you. Grandfather!”

“You’re late, Apollo.”

“The sun… reminds me of Helios [Titan god of the sun]. Is he Zeus’s son?”

“Cronus-nim! That guy is the god of the sun, Apollo!”

* * *

Apollo descends to the lower realm, having drawn out the full power he showed during the battle with Typhon [a monstrous giant and one of the deadliest creatures in Greek mythology].

The bright ray of sunlight reveals his presence, further illuminating the half-destroyed mountain.

“I rushed here after receiving a message from the goddess Styx [a Titaness and goddess of the River Styx]! Great-uncle, or should I call you great-aunt now? Haha!”

“Save the nonsense for later.”

The god of the sun, seeing the corpses of humans lying on the ground, throws a pleasant joke,

But at the same time, his eyes, as the god of reason, were coldly fixed.

Apollo smirked and once again imbued the bowstring with the light of the sun,

Hades also formed a spear made of black darkness and rushed at Cronus.

“Hades! To attack this father again, you are an unspeakably unfilial son!”

“You’re not one to talk, eating your own children!”

Cronus, possessing a monster with the lower body of a snake, waves his hand, and time slows down.

Hades’s movements, who was rushing in, slowed down, and sparks occurred due to the collision of divine powers.

Kaga-gang! Paji-jik!

The lord of the underworld and the master of time,

The collapse of the already half-destroyed mountain begins to accelerate due to the confrontation between the two immortals.

Nearby trees, fish, and living things age rapidly or are invaded by black energy and die.

“Are you trying to confront me without that troublesome Cyanea [Hades’ helmet of invisibility]?”

“Do you think I would lose to an outdated relic rotting in Tartarus?”

However, the clash of divine powers is not only happening here.

“Khaaaaap! A-Apollo! I am Enceladus!”

Enceladus, who moved to a place slightly away so as not to interfere with Cronus, increases his size.

As he lets out a roar, his already enormous body swells even more, and his ferocity increases.

Soon, he moves his snake-like lower body and rushes at Apollo,

That attack was a monster’s blow that even most gods would have to yield to.

Shuuk- Chiiiiik!

Apollo’s response to this is to confront it head-on.

The arrows of the sun, shot like a comb from his bow, which is also the god of archery, stop the monster.

“A monster cannot reach the majesty of a god. Know your place and kneel down.”

Several arrows were stuck in the Gigas’s arm, and the smell of burning flesh vibrated.

But only for a moment, the monster, who quickly regenerated, rushed again and swung a strong fist at the god.

Kugung! Kwaaang!

The mountain collapses due to the aftermath of the battle involving Titans, gods, and even monsters,

And the nearby city of Thebes also began to be affected.

Kuddeudd… Kuuung!

The humans who were living a peaceful life in Thebes felt the earth-shattering roar and vibration and trembled in fear.

A terrible situation where the city was shaking from an earthquake and buildings were collapsing.

Murderous intent conveyed through the air.

The fear that gods had descended and were fighting nearby.

Confusion spreading rapidly among the people.

“The ground is shaking!”

“Didn’t you hear Apollo-shin [term of respect] speak when he descended earlier?”

“Let’s bow our heads and go home right now!”

“Dionysus! Please help us!”

Still, the leopard, the divine beast of Dionysus, which was widely spread in Thebes, appeared and carried the believers,

Or several gods helped the humans little by little, so it did not reach the level of panic.

“Leopard… Dionysus is watching this way!”

“I should go to the temple later and offer sacrifices.”

“Zeus-nim [term of respect]…”

The humans went to the temples or homes of the gods they each believed in and offered prayers.

Praying that the gods above the clouds would withdraw their anger.

* * *

Hwioooooo-

Damn it, my father, Cronus, is strong.

Despite the fact that many Titan gods took our side during the Titanomachy [a ten-year series of battles fought in Thessaly, consisting of most of the Titans (an older generation of gods, based on Mount Othrys) fighting against the Olympian gods (the younger generations, who would come to reside on Mount Olympus) and their allies],

“Shouldn’t we go back to the underworld and bring Cyanea?”

“You can’t use your power without Scythe either.”

A god who could not be defeated until he received support from the Cyclops-made three divine weapons and the Hecatoncheires [monstrous giants in Greek mythology].

Even then, several of us had to attack together to repel him.

The heavy blow flying now is probably a fragment of that.

The power to manipulate time, which I experienced during the war, is exerted with all its might to shake the target.

Tuuk. Tuk.

The sound of sand falling from the hourglass is heard, and time turns around arbitrarily.

Cronus’s sneer slowly echoes in the slowed-down world…

My son

You

Still

Can’t beat me…

In the slowed-down time, I can see Echidna’s fingernails, possessed by Cronus, flying.

Cronus, with a satisfied smile on the monster’s mouth, waves his hand.

The sharp and hideous claws were approaching right in front of my nose, but…

Tteok.

Moving my hand covered in ink-like black divine power, I grabbed his wrist.

The air shatters, and the flow of time returns to normal.

“What…!”

Both I and Cronus are in an incomplete state where we cannot exert our full power.

But he rested in Tartarus for far too long.

The price a god pays for breaking the oath of the Styx River is a one-year coma and a nine-year ban from attending meetings.

It is only a fleeting moment in the senses of an immortal, but the reason why everyone fears this oath is simple.

Because if they do not properly take care of their territory for even 10 years, they will suffer great losses.

All divine powers become stronger as the territory they are in charge of becomes more important.

It is not a coincidence but a necessity that the three chief gods are the gods in charge of the underworld, the sea, and the sky.

Now that the world’s power is in the hands of the Olympian gods, most of the Titan gods have weakened.

The reason why Apollo is stronger than Helios, even though they are the same sun god.

So, what about the power of Cronus, who is a defeated Titan god and has been in Tartarus for a long time?

Puk!

The answer is ‘very weakened.’

The realm of time is a very important and essential element of the world.

However, from the moment we were defeated, Cronus’s power rapidly decreased.

Of course, even with that weakened power, he is comparable to the 12 gods of Olympus, but…

“I am the king of the underworld. I won’t lose to a has-been.”

“T-This… if it wasn’t for this body…!”

The light goes out in his eyes, which were filled with irregular movements of time.

The Titan of time, who had descended to the mortal realm,

Was repatriated to Tartarus by the lord of the underworld.