Chapter 41
A monster with a giant snake's lower body and a beautiful human woman's upper body. But the identity of the one who entered that body is Kronos, the god of time and agriculture.
"Why, didn't you expect me to come to the living world?"
"To be precise, I didn't expect Gaia... Gaia to summon you."
"Hahaha! How desperate must Mother have been to call for me?"
As Kronos laughs, time flows chaotically around him.
The divine power of the first-generation Titan gods is released, distorting the surrounding landscape.
Damn you, Gaia. Was it Kronos you were trying to summon by sacrificing dozens of humans? Were you so displeased that your children, the Titans, were thrown into Tartarus?
Still, it's fortunate that I could notice the hidden dagger Gaia concealed, even now. If I had ignored the ritual and killed Echidna... Olympus might have faced Kronos, who had regained his power somewhere, in the distant future.
"Gaia intends to make you fight us, are you planning to be used thoroughly and then be thrown back into Tartarus?"
"Just being able to breathe the air of the living world is reward enough. Hahaha!"
Even though Kronos has weakened from being imprisoned in Tartarus for a long time, he is still the embodiment of time and a Titan. He was once the ruling god who held dominion over the world and remains a threat to us.
However, the conditions needed to drag a divine being from Tartarus to the living world are... dozens of human sacrifices, Gaia's immense divine power, a body to possess, and a strange ritual formation. These are not conditions that can be achieved multiple times while evading the gods' surveillance.
"Let's take one last good look at the scenery of the living world. You won't have another chance to come out anyway."
"Haven't you noticed yet? I'm gradually adapting to this body."
Kronos's aura grows stronger as he draws out divine power while possessing the monster's body.
Enkelados, who was warily watching me with his club, also smiles with satisfaction.
But...
"You weren't the only one buying time."
"What?!"
If you raise your aura like that, won't the sun above notice?
BOOOM!!!
An intense beam of light pierced through the entire mountain, striking them.
However, the impact of the attack stopped precisely in front of me.
Thud. Thump.
As the dark cave is blown away entirely, bright sunlight illuminates everyone.
A powerful attack that erases part of the mountain, with the accuracy to strike only them by detecting Kronos's power just released.
Apollo was watching from above the clouds, holding a golden shining bow.
When he opens his mouth, a majestic voice echoes everywhere.
"Mortals, close your eyes and don't look at the sky. If you see my true form, you'll burn!"
If a human directly gazes upon the true form of a god revealing all their power, they will die.
Semele, the mother of Dionysus who died after witnessing Zeus's form, is an example.
Tremendous heat and radiance spread from him, and the mortals cower in fear, bowing their heads.
But those present here are gods, Titans, or monsters that can stand against gods.
Everyone looked directly at Apollo's true form.
The Gigas shakes off the dust and stands up, while Kronos, who blocked Apollo's attack, frowns.
"Whew~! Nice to meet you, Grandfather!"
"You're late, Apollo."
"The sun... It reminds me of Helios. Are you Zeus's son?"
"Lord Kronos! That one is Apollo, the god of the sun!"
***
Apollo, drawing out the full power he showed in the battle against Typhon, descends to the mortal realm.
The bright rays of the sun further illuminate the half-crumbled mountain, revealing his presence.
"I came running after receiving Goddess Styx's message! Uncle, or should I call you Aunt now? Haha!"
"Save your nonsense for later."
The sun god throws a cheerful joke upon seeing the corpses of humans on the ground. But at the same time, his eyes, also being the god of reason, were coldly hardened.
Apollo sneers as he nocks sunlight onto his bowstring again, and Hades also forms a spear made of black darkness and rushes at Kronos.
"Hades! To dare attack your father again, you're an unspeakably unfilial child!"
"That's rich coming from someone who ate his own children!"
As Kronos, possessing the monster with a snake's lower body, waves his hand, time slows down.
Hades's rushing movement slows, and sparks fly from the collision of divine powers.
Clang! Crackle!
The Lord of the Underworld and the Master of Time. The confrontation between these two immortals accelerates the collapse of the already half-destroyed mountain.
Nearby trees, fish, and living beings instantly age or die, invaded by dark energy.
"Trying to face me without that annoying Kynee?"
"Do you think I'd lose to a relic of a bygone era rotting in Tartarus?"
However, the clash of divine beings is not happening only here.
"Graaah! A-Apollo! I am Enkelados!"
Enkelados, who moved to a place slightly away to avoid interfering with Kronos, enlarges his body.
As he roars, his already huge body grows even larger and more ferocious.
Finally, he moves his snake lower body to rush at Apollo. His attack was a blow that even most gods would have to yield to.
Whoosh- Screech!
Apollo's response to this is to face it head-on.
The sun's arrows, shooting like rain from his bow, also being the god of archery, stop the monster.
"A mere monster cannot match the glory of a god. Know your place and prostrate yourself."
Several arrows pierced the Gigas's arm, and the smell of burning flesh permeated the air.
But that was only for a moment; the quickly regenerated monster charges again, swinging its strong fist at the god.
Boom! Crash!
As a result of the battle involving Titans, gods, and even monsters, the mountain crumbles, and the effects start to reach Thebes, the nearby city.
Rumble... Boom!
The humans living peacefully in Thebes trembled in fear, feeling the earth-shaking sounds and vibrations.
A terrible situation where the city shakes from earthquakes and buildings collapse.
Murderous intent carried through the air.
The fear that gods have descended nearby to fight.
Chaos rapidly spreading among the people.
"The ground is shaking!"
"Didn't you hear Apollo speak when he descended earlier?"
"Let's bow our heads and go home right now!"
"Dionysus, please help us!"
However, thanks to Dionysus's sacred animal, the leopard, widely spread in Thebes, appearing to carry away believers, and various gods helping humans little by little, it didn't reach the level of panic.
"The leopard... Dionysus is watching over us!"
"I should go to the temple later and offer a sacrifice."
"Lord Zeus..."
Humans entered the temples of their respective deities or their homes to pray.
Hoping that the gods above the clouds would withdraw their anger.
***
Whoosh-
Damn my father, Kronos is strong.
Even though many Titan gods sided with us during the Titanomachy...
"Shouldn't you go back to the Underworld and fetch the Kynee?"
"You're the one who can't use your full power without the Scythe."
The god we couldn't defeat until we received the Three Sacred Treasures made by the Cyclops and the support of the Hecatoncheires.
Even then, it took several of us working together to repel him.
The heavy blow coming now must be a fragment of that power.
The ability to manipulate time, exerted to its fullest to shake the target, which we experienced during the war.
Thud. Thump.
Time flows chaotically as the sound of sand falling in an hourglass is heard.
Kronos's mockery slowly echoes through the slowed world...
My son
You
Still
Cannot defeat me...
In the slowed time, I can see Echidna's claws, possessed by Kronos, flying towards me.
Kronos, smiling with satisfaction through the monster's mouth, swings his hand.
The sharp and hideous claws approach right in front of my nose, but...
Thud.
I move my hand, covered in ink-black divine power, to grab the wrist.
The air shatters, and the flow of time returns to normal.
"What...!"
Neither I nor Kronos can exert our full power in this incomplete state.
But he has rested for far too long in Tartarus.
The price for a god breaking an oath on the River Styx is a year in a comatose state and 9 years of being unable to attend meetings.
Although it's just a moment in an immortal's perception, the reason why everyone fears this oath is simple.
Because even just 10 years of not properly tending to one's domain results in great losses.
Every divine being becomes stronger the more important their domain is.
It's no coincidence but necessity that the Big Three are gods who preside over the Underworld, sea, and sky.
Now, because the Olympian gods hold dominion over the world, most of the Titan gods have weakened.
That's why Apollo is stronger than Helios, even though they're both sun gods.
So how about the power of Kronos, a defeated Titan god who has been in Tartarus for a long time?
Stab!
"Gack!"
The answer is 'very weakened'
Time is an extremely important and essential element of the world.
However, from the moment we defeated him, Kronos's power drastically decreased.
Of course, even with that weakened power, he's still on par with the 12 Olympian gods, but...
"I am the king of the Underworld. I won't lose to an obsolete relic."
"You... you bastard...!"
I could break through the distorted flow of time around us with my power.
As I provoke him while piercing his chest with my hand, Kronos glares at me with bloodshot eyes.
"Your walk ends here. Let's go back to Tartarus."
"This... if it weren't for this body...!"
The light fades from his eyes, which were full of irregular time movements.
The Titan of Time who had descended to the living world... was sent back to Tartarus by the Lord of the Underworld.