Chapter 353 (2/2)

[Humans, listen. I am Jupiter, the god of light and the sky, one of the three original gods.]

“A-A god! Jupiter is angry!”

Atlan was once again in turmoil. Some people stared at the sky in awe and others in fear. Jupiter’s angry voice continued as if ignoring such humans. The voice was heard from the huge shadow beyond the dark clouds.

[I will give you a chance to surrender. In the next week, the demon kings and demonic army will come here. If you don’t rebel, your lives will be spared. If you rebel, I will ruthlessly kill you or enslave you. I swear in the name of Jupiter. If you want to live, then stay still.]

There was a bit of tension on the face of Hecatiana who had been speaking to humanity. Fortunately, Jupiter hadn’t come directly. The faces of Huera and Cadiya who sacrificed themselves for her passed through her mind. Hecatiana gritted her teeth and vowed to avenge them.

Jupiter’s words continued, [It is one week. If you don’t surrender at that time, all of you will die.]

Jupiter’s declaration, that was like a bolt from the blue, aroused fear in many people. At the same time, fear appeared in Hecatiana’s mind.

Jupiter continued, [It is better not to think about running away. If a human runs away, they will be struck by my thunderbolt and surely die. If you don’t believe it, then you can try running away.]

At these words, the shadow believed to be Jupiter flickered and disappeared. Metheus was engulfed in stillness. Someone shouted with a terrified face, “W-We have to run away! Escape from here right now!”

He was one of the ordinary young soldiers guarding Metheus’ gates. He didn’t seem to be an adult yet and was terrified. No one else had heard it yet but Hecatiana was a god. She could clearly hear even such a small cry. The surprised Hecatiana quickly turned her head and tried to tell him not to run away.

However, the soldier was already leaving Metheus. She had no time to stop it because he was a guard at the outer gate. Then another soldier guarding the entrance with him shouted, “H-Hey! Didn’t you hear that you shouldn’t run away?”

At this very moment, a thunderbolt fell toward Metheus as if it had been waiting. It was literally a bolt from the blue. The fleeing soldier quickly turned to ashes and died. No one could deny that it was the power of a god.

The soldiers who saw it were terrified. Hecatiana gritted her teeth and stared up at the sky. She had no choice but to protect this place.

* * *

At Hesperides, the garden of golden apple tree...

At the same time, Lee Geonmyeong had his eyes closed as he sat cross-legged in front of the blackened golden apple tree. He had just hit a fleeing soldier with a thunderbolt as a strong warning message. It was a means of fear to ensure they would never escape as well as a way to induce their surrender.

[...Um?]

Just then, Lee Geonmyeong, who had been looking down at the sky of Metheus, showed a surprised look. It was due to the sudden activation of a shield that surrounded Metheus. It was probably done by Hecatiana, judging from the magic power of the moon flowing from it

[You ran away to a place like this. Wicked girl.]

Lee Geonmyeong was able to break the shield, but his current priority was to restore his divine power. He blamed the aftereffects of fighting for a day and a night with the two goddesses for not yet recovering his strength. He didn’t know if it would be a variable later when absorbing Gaia’s strength. He had advised humans to surrender so he thought a light warning would be enough.

Lee Geonmyeong fired dozens of thunderbolts around the perimeter of Metheus like a soldier firing warning shots. The area around Metheus shook like a natural disaster had occurred. Lee Geonmyeong opened his eyes with a satisfied appearance. He thought this was a sufficient warning.

There was a shield and it was clear that no humans would flee. Now all that was left was to send the demon army a week later to accept the surrender. The important thing was to capture the users in Metheus alive. They were a reassuring shield and hostages for Lee Geonmyeong. It was only when they were here that Pluto wouldn’t be able to easily enter the human world.

‘Yoo Seonyeong.’

Lee Geonmyeong slowly opened his eyes.

[Lucifer.]

[Yes, My Liege.]

[A week later, lead the demonic army to Metheus and strike.]

[I’ll prepare it right away.]

[The immortal humans should be captured alive if possible. Only then will Pluto be unable to cross over to the human world.]

[I’ll do so. But if they resist...]

[It doesn’t matter if there are a few sacrifices. Still, you can’t kill all of them. Capture some of them alive.]

[That is enough.]

Lee Geonmyeong nodded with a satisfied expression. Lucifer disappeared like smoke. Then Lee Geonmyeong sighed deeply and stared up at the sky. He looked back at the golden apple tree behind him. The golden apple tree was turning darker than before but according to the message that appeared earlier, it would take 15 days.

Exactly 15 days later, it would go down the roots and affect Gaia, who was sleeping below him. All that remained was for her to wake up. Before that...

Lee Geonmyeong’s fingers flashed black and red and the numbers 0 and 1 rose. The space distorted and various numbers soared as if ignoring the laws of the world.

[I don’t know if the dead Dr Jang’s work will be effective again.]

Lee Geonmyeong’s dark-red fingertips slowly pierced the tree. At that same time, there were black-red sparks around Lee Geonmyeong’s hands. At the same time, the tree that he touched turned into green data and became full of 0s and 1s.

[Hahaha. Dr Jang will be very happy in the Underworld. It isn’t complete, but he successfully copied a part of Kang Jaeseong’s master key.]

Dr Jang was the one who developed Arkstar along with Kang Jaeseong. Lee Geonmyeong secretly instructed him to copy the master key. It wasn’t all of the master key, but he succeeded in duplicating some of it, to a level that allowed Gaia to be controlled. This was why Gaia attacked Pluto during Ragnarok.

Lee Geonmyeong slowly glanced at the root of the tree with a satisfied expression. The dark-red energy started to color Gaia. Fortunately, it seemed to have the controlling effect Lee Geonmyeong wanted.

He laughed again, revealing his joy. If Gaia was resurrected but couldn’t be controlled, then all his plans would be in vain. Fortunately, there were no problems.

Lee Geonmyeong laughed again and closed his eyes to restore his power.