978

At a time when people were asleep.

Eun-ha walked the night streets of Rome with the companions he had gathered.

The destination was a park somewhat distant from their lodging, a place where few people were likely to visit.

'Originally, Iriya had insisted on coming along too, but... That's not possible.'

For Iriya's health, and above all for the child in her womb, he couldn't let her overexert herself unnecessarily.

Eun-ha hoped she would stay at the lodging and wait for them.

No, since it was late at night, he wished she wouldn't wait up with her eyes open but would go to sleep first.

Unfortunately, recalling her seeing them off as they left the lodging, it didn't seem like she would comply...

—Come back early without getting hurt! Blessing and I will be waiting here for you to return.

At that time, Iriya's determination, with strength in her green eyes, had been firm.

By the way, Blessing was the prenatal name that she and Eun-ha had decided on together.

As the name suggests, it meant they would be born amidst blessings...

"For their sake too, we should finish quickly and return."

Eun-ha, with a bitter smile on his lips, muttered quietly.

Not long after, Eun-ha's group reached their destination.

"..."

A gloomy atmosphere hung over the park shrouded in darkness.

Eun-ha's group walked through it.

"Many of the streetlights are out. Some are flickering on and off."

"Seems they're not maintaining it."

Jo A-ra, who had lit up the tip of her baton, grumbled.

Eun-ha agreed with her opinion.

Then Kaede chimed in.

"That's why I selected this place. Even if a commotion occurs, we won't be noticeable."

"Well done. As expected, no one but you."

"I don't want to hear that from someone with four spouses. Ah, is it five now?"

"..."

Kaede snorted.

Eun-ha, flinching at her sarcasm, decided to pretend he hadn't heard.

"Ahem!"

There was nothing good about arguing unnecessarily.

Rather, it would be fortunate if he didn't get scolded more.

So Eun-ha, clearing his throat, changed the subject.

"Twenty-five."

"Yes, Master."

"There are no traces left on the way here, right?"

"Of course. I've taken care of everything, so don't worry. I wasn't just playing around while you were in the dungeon. We moved through blind spots as much as possible, and I've dealt with any surveillance cameras we passed by."

"Good, well done."

Twenty-five, who had accompanied Eun-ha's group as they needed to move secretly, grinned.

Eun-ha, praising his efforts, soon stopped walking.

The surroundings were wide open.

"We've come quite deep, this should be enough. Kaede, Twenty-five, what do you think?"

"I agree."

"Me too."

"Eun-ha Eun-ha! Ask me too!"

"Alright, what do you think?"

"I agree too!"

Ariel raised her hand brightly.

Eun-ha chuckled lightly, then turned to look at Pricis Memory.

"Witch, could you set up a barrier please?"

"Yes."

She, wearing a black pointed hat, nodded.

Right after, she struck the ground with her staff and deployed a barrier.

The magic circle that spread from her center instantly melted into the surrounding area.

"It's done. No one outside should be able to notice anything."

"Thank you."

"It's nothing. It wasn't a difficult task."

With this, the necessary preparations were complete.

Eun-ha took out the Scepter of Jupiter.

"Then let's begin."

* * *

He sets the Scepter of Jupiter on the ground.

Then, stepping back to create distance, Eun-ha called for future Yu-seong.

"Yu-seong."

"Yes, Father."

"Really... Do we have to destroy it? It's a treasure equivalent to the Taeguk grade... Isn't there another way?"

Eun-ha clicked his tongue.

His voice betrayed undisguised regret.

In contrast, future Yu-seong was resolute.

"I understand how you feel, Father, but destroying it is the safest method besides anything else."

"Is that so..."

"Yes."

Future Yu-seong answered with an infinitely serious gaze.

He calmly began speaking amidst the gazes of the people.

"As I said before, numerous calamities will befall the future. The most dangerous among them are the treasures imbued with divine figures."

More precisely, treasures imbued with divine figures hostile to humanity.

The old myths.

Future Yu-seong, adding these words, took a moment to gather his breath.

"In the future, after conquering all black dungeons."

"..."

"They will surely awaken from their slumber and cause calamities comparable to the <End of Century Destruction>. The divine figure of Zeus residing in the Scepter of Jupiter too. That one who commanded other divine figures as subordinates... was particularly dangerous."

Future Yu-seong bit his lip.

Then he looked around at the people with a melancholy gaze.

"Not just Father, but even others couldn't avoid serious injuries. In some cases... even death."

"..."

"Yet it was impossible to kill him even in the future. That's how strong he was. So..."

To change the unfortunate future, we have no choice but to strike now, while his divine figure is still sleeping.

We must destroy the Scepter of Jupiter.

"That's the main purpose for which I came from the future."

"..."

Future Yu-seong expressed his determination.

Eun-ha, confirming his son's resolve once again, couldn't oppose.

"Alright, I understand."

For future Yu-seong, his son, to have to steel himself to this extent, the future must be harsh and arduous.

Eun-ha, unable to fathom the future, could only guess and surmise this much.

Therefore.

"Let's destroy it."

To achieve the desired future, they decided to act simply.

Eun-ha instructed the people.

"Everyone, prepare to attack."

"..."

People drew their weapons.

Eun-ha too unsheathed the Honghwa Sword and manifested his internal mana.

He compressed the internal mana gathering in the Honghwa Sword to its limit, compressed it again, and compressed it once more.

Right after, along with giving the signal, he swung down the Honghwa Sword.

<Platinum Cross>

<Raging Inferno>

<Storm's Poem>

<Meteor Strike>

...

The sword strike unleashed by Eun-ha, along with the attacks fired by the others, all converged on the Scepter of Jupiter at once.

In that instant, a fierce explosion occurred.

───!!!

A flash of light burst, and a pillar of fire rose.

The night sky turned reddish.

Just then.

Whoosh!

"..."

The epicenter of the explosion writhed.

As the light faded, the flames subsided, and the direction of the wind began to change.

The people watching the situation quietly could intuitively sense that something unusual had occurred.

Tension spread across their faces.

"I thought it was going too smoothly..."

An enormous presence stretched.

Eun-ha clicked his tongue, glaring into the explosion.

Soon after.

"I don't know what bolt from the blue this is while I was sleeping."

He revealed himself.

* * *

A boy with prominent silver hair, dressed in ancient Greek attire.

Holding the Scepter of Jupiter, he appeared where the explosion had cleared and expressed his discomfort.

"Who are you?"

"..."

Zeus, god of the sky and thunder.

The people, guessing the identity of their opponent, couldn't help but be perplexed while maintaining their tension.

This was because his appearance before their eyes differed from what was commonly known.

He was larger than <Index > Yoon Sung-jin, but young and small, about middle school age.

Eun-ha couldn't help but ask.

"Yu-seong."

"...Yes, Father."

"Is this... really him?"

"Although he looks different from the impression I know, there are some similarities. Originally he was an old man... But given the aura I feel, it seems to be him."

Future Yu-seong answered with a sour expression.

He added his speculation.

"Perhaps... He took this form due to our intervention? Either because of the damage we inflicted, or because he awakened at an earlier time..."

"That's not unreasonable."

"Yes. And either way..."

They could judge that he would be weaker than the Zeus who would have appeared in his original form.

In fact, Eun-ha didn't feel any particular threat from his presence.

To the extent that future Yu-seong's earlier explanation seemed like an exaggeration.

"Seems like we can handle this?"

Future Yu-seong agreed.

"Yes. It seems we can handle it. It might even be better."

"Why?"

"To prepare for the calamities in the future, this will surely be the foundation to strengthen Father's myth. Especially against the Greek and Roman gods."

"...I see. Moreover, this isn't even Korea, right?"

"With the conquest of the <Dungeon of the Deep Sea> too... At least in the surrounding cultural spheres, we can manifest without having our myth degraded."

Eun-ha and future Yu-seong raised the corners of their mouths identically.

They took their stances.

Meanwhile, Zeus furrowed his brow.

"Didn't I ask who you are? Are you ignoring me now?"

Well, fine.

Zeus, speaking in an arrogant tone, pointed his scepter at the people.

Lightning crackled from the scepter.

"Whoever you are, you'll pay dearly for daring to harm me...!"

At that very moment.

Just before Zeus could finish speaking, Eun-ha and future Yu-seong kicked off the ground.

Right after, lightning struck where the two had been and above the heads of the other people.

Crack! Zap!

The lightning bolts heated the air and scorched the area.

However, they couldn't do anything to the people who had set up defenses in advance.

The protective magic led by Pricis Memory absorbed the lightning and channeled it into the ground.

"Hmm?"

Zeus twitched his eyebrow at their effective countermeasure.

But almost simultaneously.

Whoosh!

The people inside the barrier launched a counterattack.

Their arrows, bullets, and magic rushed towards Zeus.

However, Zeus merely sighed, not panicking at all.

"Huh... You think such petty tricks would work on me..."

...do you think?

Just before Zeus could finish his words, Eun-ha and future Yu-seong rushed in from the left and right.

The swords of the two flashed with killing intent.

"Kuk!"

Zeus, having focused on the incoming magic, clicked his tongue as he lost his guard against the two.

He hurriedly twisted his body to avoid their swords.

Not caring about losing balance, he put his hand not holding the scepter on the ground.

Lightning burst from that hand.

Crack!

Using the lightning as propulsion, Zeus bounced away in a parabolic arc.

His vision tumbled upside down.

Rising into the sky, he looked down at the ground in that state.

"Mere humans."

Zeus's golden eyes flashed.

The people who caught his gaze for a moment flinched at the chilling sensation down their spines.

"You dare to covet me?"

Lightning emanated from Zeus.

The lightning accurately targeted the people on the ground as it fell.

Just then.

"You're just a mere treasure, not even a real god."

"...!"

Eun-ha, spreading his three pairs of crimson wings, tore through the lightning bolts and soared high.

Zeus's face, suddenly finding himself looking up, spread with shock.

Eun-ha mocked.

"You dare to resist?"

"Eek...! Looking down on me...!"

Zeus raged.

But Eun-ha didn't even listen and aimed his blaster at Zeus's face.

Right after, a blue flash was fired.

Boom!

The blue flash struck Zeus down.

Unable to withstand the force, he crashed and was buried in the ground.

And when he got up, spitting out the dirt that had entered his mouth, with tattered clothes.

"...!"

The people who had spread out in an encirclement formation unleashed their attacks all at once.

He had to defend by spreading lightning and move by riding the thunderbolts.

But it wasn't very difficult to track his position.

Because of Twenty-five's gift.

<Gift: Shadow Stepping>

"Master!"

Twenty-five shouted.

His gift for tracking mana had detected Zeus.

The snipers, upon receiving the coordinates, immediately began their sniping.

People nearby also joined in.

"You bastards!"

Zeus deflected the incoming bullets with a spear made of grasped lightning and blocked the charging people.

While doing so, he constantly moved by riding thunderbolts to confuse the tracking.

But it was no use against Eun-ha.

<Gift: Endless (Brave) - Shadow Stepping>

<Ubiquitous >

Eun-ha, sharing Twenty-five's gift, could pinpoint his position in real-time.

Thanks to this, it was easy to approach him.

"Nier, keep holding him like that."

"...!"

"Yes, bro!"

Zeus was engaged in battle with Avenier nearby.

Eun-ha didn't miss this opportunity and swung the Honghwa Sword.

The Honghwa Sword cut through his lightning and grazed under his armpit.

Silver blood burst forth.

"Kuk!"

"Oh, your blood is silver, I see?"

Zeus, covering the wound with one hand, distanced himself.

He expressed his displeasure.

"Human, don't get cocky just because you made one wound. This little injury can easily be heal..."

Zeus couldn't finish his words and checked his wound.

Silver blood continued to flow from under his armpit.

He was greatly shaken.

"W-Why isn't it healing? What on earth did you do... Ah..."

Zeus, visibly flustered, turned his gaze to the Honghwa Sword.

And he realized.

"No way... That sword is..."

Zeus's voice trembled.

"Is it Metis?"

"Yes, your first wife."

Unlike Eun-ha who answered with a chuckle, Zeus's complexion turned pale.