Chapter 62

He was back floating in the endless space-like void of the divine world, but this time Theodore was fully conscious of himself. "…Straight until I see a portal…"

He took a step forward and surprisingly his feet touched something solid, the feeling of floating in a vacuum disappeared instantly and gravity took place once again, it was slightly nerve-racking since it felt like he could fall off at any given time, but nonetheless, he steeled his mind and moved forward.

Time and space didn't correlate with each other in this plane, Theodore felt like he'd only walked a few steps, yet his internal clock told him that a few hours had already passed. He didn't indulge himself in the mysteries and continued his journey down the invisible path until eventually something poked out in the distance.

They were portals, all of them had different colors and shapes, with different structures surrounding them and acting as a frame, some only had the support while some had an entire floor sticking out in front of it, though none of them were complete constructs, as if they'd been broken off and left as ruins in the void of the divine world.

Theodore steadily got closer to the one Apophis had mentioned, it was the most grandiose out of all that surrounded him, it had a runway made from marble with greek-style pillars and torches rising from the perimeter, the portal itself was resting on top of an elevated floor, it has a golden frame with an omega symbol protruding from the top and the greek letters engraved on the gold casing read as: 'Olympus' Sky'

"So it's here." Without an ounce of hesitation, he stepped through the portal.

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'Blinked.'

His vision adjusted to the sudden change in scenery. He looked around and raised his guard, not knowing what kind of place he'd ended up in, although after a few moments, he relaxed.

He was standing in the middle of a limestone road. It was bustling with activity, as if he'd been sent to a town instead of wherever Olympus was. The people wore greek-style clothing and spoke in their native language, although it wasn't a problem for Theodore to understand them, he didn't pay attention to their conversations but he was simply surprised at how 'normal' the place seemed.

'...Am I in the right place?'

[You are.] Ouroboros' spoke, his voice resonating inside his head. [Apologies for being gone for a while…I see you've grown into quite a fine deity.]

'Nice timing,' Theodore replied with his thoughts. 'It's time we let our names be known throughout the divine world, if you know where Zeus could be hiding then let me know.'

[Olympus…Huh.] Ouroboros went quiet for a moment, but would eventually speak after some thinking. [The Pantheon should be visible from where you're standing, look up a bit.]

Theodore did as he was told and looked ahead, immediately spotting a large building resting on top of a cloud-covered mountain. The Pantheon, known for being the temple of the gods, he'd seen documentaries about it while surfing the internet a while ago. It shouldn't come as a surprise that the gods would use its gorgeous design as their home.

'That's it?'

[Yes, although it is heavily guarded by sacred spirits, so you must traverse carefully.]

Theodore softly grumbled, frustrated that things couldn't go as smoothly as he'd hoped. Though it wouldn't make sense for the Pantheon to not have any security measures. He took a deep breath and began to walk. "Might as well take a look around while I'm at it…"

"Come, come! Take a look at these golden apples! They're freshly plucked from the garden!"

"Feel free to try out our new menu! Today's specialty is the mortal's 'Gwenducky's Fried Chicken'!"

"Selling high quality nectar-coated skewers!"

Theodore couldn't help but be interested in the vendor's products, especially the food that were mixed with those things called 'Ambrosia' and 'Nectar'. He concluded it was because of his godly nature that his tastes naturally craved divine cuisines.

'...It's not like I have any money…Do they even use money in the divine world?'

[Of course they do,] Ouroboros spoke like it was obvious. [And I believe your mother gave you allowances?]

'...No?'

[Check your pockets.]

Theodore frowned and fumbled into his trousers' pockets, not expecting to feel anything inside of them, but to his surprise, the coldness of something hard and round brushed against his finger tips. "...Coins?"

[Olympus uses the drachma currency, you can use it outside of here as well and the coin will change to match other currencies on its own.]

"Huh, convenient…But when did she…" Theodore went quiet and looked down at himself, noticing that his royal gown was spotless despite what he'd put it through during his last fight. "So gods don't need to do laundry…"

[...We don't.]

"Ah! Wait…" Dread crept up his expression. "Don't I stand out a lot right now? Isn't this bad?"

[Calm down, no one's going to care about what you wear.] Ouroboros spoke slowly. [Olympus has a lot of tourists and visitors from other places, none of them will think anything of you.]

Theodore sighed, relieved that his cover wasn't blown. "Okay that's good to know…"

He turned to one of the stands nearby, specifically the one that sold nectar-coated skewers. Even though they were quite a distance away from each other, he could smell the spice and smoked meat most distinctively among other things sold on the streets.

"...I guess having a few couldn't hurt."

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He ended up buying more than a few of those skewers.

It was more than worthy of being called the 'food of the gods'. The moment he put it inside his mouth, the tender meat exploded into many different flavors. The bitterness of the vegetables blended well with the barbecue sauce's spice, and the nectar only added a slight tinge of sweetness to all of it, not too much to ruin a meat skewers' regular taste.

"...I'm getting distracted." Theodore was sitting on a bench while he was eating his new favorite delicacy. He threw the stick into the nearby trash can and got up, brushing his hands together. "I should hurry up…I wasted too much time."

[You can always come back.]

"Can I though? I'm out to kill their king."

[Zeus isn't very…likable…We can hope that they won't care.]

Theodore didn't reply to Ouroboros. He began walking towards the Pantheon that didn't seem to be too far away from where he was. "...Have you been here before?"

[Not physically. I only travel around to quench my boredom.]

"I see…"

After half an hour of walking, Theodore found himself standing at the foot of the mountain. He looked around to see if there was some sort of mechanism that he could use to get up to the Pantheon.

Of course, there were none in sight.

'Maybe I should just brute force my way up.' Theodore planned on going in stealthily since he didn't want to run into one of the sacred spirits Ouroboros had mentioned. But since there weren't any visible stairs, he figured he might need to change his plans.

"Hey! Who are you!?"

The person that called him out was a man around his middle ages. Like the majority of the people here, he was wearing a toga, leather sandals, and golen braces on his wrists and ankles, his appearance reminded Theodore of Asclepius, but this person had messy brown hair and dark eyes.

[...This man might not look like much, but be careful, that's a sacred spirit.]

"Why aren't you answering? I asked for your identification!" The man had an angry expression, his grip around his golden spear tightened as he got closer. "From your looks…You must be from another pantheon, who are you affiliated with?"

Theodore's mind raced to find a good answer, since depending on what he says, he'll have to stick with the story throughout the rest of this mission. "I'm Asclepius' apprentice."

'What the f*ck did I just say—'

"Asclepius?" The spirit's frown deepened. "...I do feel his power on you…So you're here to see him?"

"We usually meet elsewhere, but this is the first time that he wants me to come here."

The spirit's posture relaxed and his lips curled up into a wide smile. "Oh, in that case then please wait here, esteemed guest. I'll contact the medicine god for you."

With that, the man disappeared into a puff of golden smoke.

Theodore felt relieved and let out a long sigh. "First Deceptor saved me, didn't it?"

Since the skill's effects scaled off of his Charm stat, his words were essentially guaranteed to sound believable. "Now we wait, it seems."

Not long after, the sacred spirit reappeared. He gave Theodore a low bow. "Please follow me,"

A bright yellow portal suddenly appeared behind the spirit just as he straightened himself. "This will take you directly to Asclepius' hall, I shall guide you to his room then."

Theodore forced a smile and followed the spirit into the portal. His surroundings shifted and he once again found himself standing in a different location.

It wasn't unique from the outside, however, the atmosphere couldn't even be compared. A soft, melodious strumming of a harp floated through the air, engulfing the area in a serene grace. The streets were a lot cleaner and the materials were specially picked to be the best.

There weren't as many people as on the outside, but there were some who were walking in and out of what looked like miniature versions of greek-style temples and houses.

The spirit that was guiding Theodore began to walk and he would follow suit. After only a minute of traversing, they would end up standing in front of a temple, it has the symbol of a snake twirling around a staff craved into a large marble gate.

"Lord Asclepius, I've brought your apprentice." The spirit spoke.

A second later, the large gate opened, revealing a familiar man standing behind it. Asclepius gave Theodore a bright smile while spreading his arms out. "Ah! My 'apprentice'! It has been so long!"

Swallowing his pride, Theodore gave the god a bow. "It has, thank you for receiving me today."

"Oh its nothing~ Come inside, we have a lot to discuss."

"Ah, before that," Theodore turned towards the spirit, giving him a bright smile. The effects of 'First Deceptor' activating on its own. "How about you join us for a cup of tea? As a thank you for bringing me here without any hassle."

The spirit was taken aback. "Oh the great medicine god's apprentice…I appreciate the offer but—"

"Please don't refuse." Theodore smiled. "It's common courtesy."

It wasn't common courtesy. It was clear that he had some hidden motives since his eyes were gleaming weirdly despite his innocent-looking smile.

The spirit, however, didn't see anything wrong with the ''esteemed guest's" appearance. He merely chuckled and bowed. "If you so insist…I'll join you for a cup of tea."

Theodore clasped his hands together, his smile growing slightly wider. "Great! Come inside~"

That would prove to be a fatal mistake, however. As the poor, oblivious man walked deeper into Asclepius' chamber, Theodore pulled out his sword from his inventory and ruthlessly stabbed him behind the back.

The spirit could only croak painfully before going still, the blade that'd been coated with Theodore's lethal poison acted as an anesthesia that prevented anything louder than a whisper to be ushered from his victim. "Why…W-Why…"

"…Because you're a witness."

Since the target was a phantom with no physical form, its death left no corpse behind. The dead spirit only flickered a few times before dissipating into sparkling dust.

Theodore, without a single remorse for the dead, turned towards the widened-eye Asclepius. "A promise is a promise. Let's go."

"W-Wait…" The god clutched his forehead with one hand, sighing deeply. "I still need to mentally prepared—"

"What happened to that attitude when we first met? You don't want revenge anymore?"

"Of course I do! It's just…" Asclepius shuffled his feet. "It's been so long since then…and I've thought about letting it go—"

Theodore facepalmed. "Let it go? What are you—Elsa? Asclepius…Time can only ease the pain, but it doesn't fully heal the wound. You were the best of the best, you had talent and a good life, yet that scumbag of a god took it all away from you…and you're saying that you'll just let it be?"

"Sometimes it's okay to let go, you know?" Asclepius forced a smile.

"Sometimes." Theodore's expression turned serious. "What you're doing right now is basically letting a death-row murderer walk free."

"…Are you using the human's justice system to judge a god?"

"Common sense should at least exist. Killing others should be a crime everywhere. I mean, aren't there already rules in the divine world?"

Asclepius' eyes averted elsewhere as he pursed his lips nervously. "Well…I can't argue with that."

"So it's settled." Theodore pointed his sword's handle at the god, loosely holding onto it. "I'll let you borrow this, just make sure to stab him properly when the timing is right."

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"Zeus." A stern man frowned at the god seated on his golden throne. Despite being brothers, they don't look alike at all, while Zeus looked to be an old man filled with wisdom and dignity, he took on the appearance of a middle-aged man. He had long white locks and ocean-blue eyes, his head decorated with a crown made from some sort of sapphire-like material and he wore the attire of Greek kings. "You might be our king, but there are limits to your authority."

Zeus' brows furrowed after hearing that. "Are you lecturing me? Poseidon?"

The god of the sea sighed, unlike the other Olympians present in the throne room, Poseidon showed no fear as he spoke. "We've simply let it be for too many times. Please refrain from stealing our divinity for something so trivial."

"Silence!" Zeus shouted in anger and a burst of power erupted from his figure, pressing down on every presence inside the room. "I did what was necessary! Are you saying that I should let mere mortals trample on us gods?"

"You…! How can you say that after losing a portion of your power!?" This time, a red-haired woman spoke in Poseidon's place. She might not look like it, but she was the oldest out of the main Olympian gods, Hestia. "If not for your greed, we would not have to discuss this matter in the first place!"

Zeus gritted his teeth, he wanted to protest but found himself unable to speak his mind. "…Apollo."

"Y-Yes?" The archer god was surprised that he was called.

"Where's your son?"

"…Which one, Father?"

Zeus' brows visibly got lower. "Who do you think I'm referring to?"

Apollo could feel his throat tightened, the pressure radiating from the king of the gods was suffocating him. Nevertheless, he didn't let himself pause for too long and answered. "Asclepius has already arrived at Olympus…though I'm not quite sure what's taking him so long to come meet you…"

Zeus' gaze averted to the ground as he became deep in thought. '…I need that boy's skills to help fix this 'problem' of mine…The consequences of taking divinity from other gods were more than just their complaints…'

Just as that thought crossed his mind, Zeus could feel a slight jabbing pain in his chest, though he didn't let it show on his already-frustrated expression. His eyes returned to Apollo. "Then go bring him here, I'm sure that boy will listen to his father."

'CRASH!'

The loud noise accompanied by a violent shake caused every god's attention to shift towards the throne room's entrance. There stood two figures, one gripping a sword while the other's gigantic yet lean body towered over him.

The giant serpent's golden eyes flashed menacingly as it declared in an arrogant tone. [Today is the day you die, Zeus!]

"How dare you!" The king of the gods stood up and called his lightning bolt into his grip, his face red with anger. "What makes you think that you can win inside my own sacred grounds!? Kill them both!"

Despite his commands, none of the gods moved, instead, they stood frozen in place while staring blankly back and forth between the serpent and their king.

Zeus' frown deepened, but before he could speak, Poseidon beat him to it. "Take this as a chance to learn from your mistakes, brother. I will not be helping you."

"What…?"

"I agree with Poseidon for once." Athena nodded as she glanced at her peers. "All of you should stand down as well, rules are rules, even the king isn't exempt from them."

Seeing that no one was taking his side, Zeus glared at Apollo. "Why is your son over there with the enemy? Are you betraying me too?"

"No, I—"

"Father!" Asclepius cut him off. "Think about what he'd done!"

Apollo went quiet afterward and would soon lower his head, averting his gaze, not daring to meet his eyes with Zeus'.

"…Fine." Zeus spoke through his gritted teeth as he aimed his lightning bolt towards the giant snake. "After I'm done with this…I'll punish all of you traitors."