Ch.4242. Theft

# “Phobos, I Sentence You to Soul Splitting!”

### “WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!”

Following the consensus of the Twelve Major Gods, the rage-blinded Vulcanus, and everyone’s agreement—except Phobos himself—that a scapegoat was needed.

The punishment handed down to Phobos by Astraea-Justitia, representing the Pantheon, was the divine punishment known as “Soul Splitting.”

As the name suggests, this punishment involves shattering the soul of a god who has committed a crime into pieces.

Of course, for a god, this isn’t exactly a death sentence but more like torture and demotion, since they can return to their original state after gathering enough faith.

The soul of a god not only experiences extreme pain during the fragmentation process but also loses a significant amount of power in the process.

‘…Fuck.’

This punishment causes terrible pain that even Phobos, one of the Twelve Major Gods, would fear…

In a way, this punishment is somewhat for show.

While having one’s soul split is extremely painful, and it temporarily demotes him from a high-ranking god to a mid-tier god… that’s about it.

For mortal humans, having their soul split would likely result in something equivalent to annihilation.

But for a god, especially one as powerful as Phobos who ranks among the upper echelons of high-ranking gods, soul restoration is entirely possible after being split.

Though the restoration process is expected to consume power—especially faith—but for a god as strong and influential as Phobos, returning to his original state is just a matter of time.

Moreover, his position—as one of the Twelve Major Gods, essentially the permanent council of the Pantheon—wasn’t revoked. Any god with a modicum of perception would recognize this punishment was largely symbolic.

So Phobos might think he just needs to prepare for a temporary period of diminished influence, but…

“N-No! I don’t want to end up like that!”

For someone who clearly remembered what happened to Astraea-Justitia when she was punished, soul splitting was something he would rather die than experience.

As repeatedly mentioned, the issue wasn’t simply having his soul split, but the horrific pain that accompanied the process.

The once fair and just Astraea-Justitia went mad after receiving the soul splitting punishment, transforming into a twisted pedophile of the underworld, and one faint-hearted god even gave up on life due to the pain.

“You damn—! This is bull—”

Phobos attempted to protest loudly, but this was the Pantheon, a den of damp politics.

“Bind him!”

*Whoosh!*

Following Astraea-Justitia’s command, platinum chains—part of the Pantheon’s court and Justitia’s divine power that could bind even high-ranking gods if they were criminals—extended to tightly bind him and gag his mouth.

“I request execution, Supreme God.”

“EXECUTION! EXECUTION! EXECUTION!”

With Phobos bound and suspended in mid-air, his limbs spread wide.

Justitia requested the Supreme God of the Pantheon and Great God of the Sky—Jupiterius—to carry out the punishment.

As all the gods of the Pantheon watched him, Jupiterius, who had been quietly sitting on a throne made of condensed clouds and lightning, rose from his seat with lightning crackling throughout his body—especially from his eyes.

*Jupiterius, Great God and Sky God, the greatest King of Gods.

“…I begin the punishment.”

Exuding an overwhelming divine aura that intimidated even fellow gods, he grasped a blue “lightning bolt” in his hand and threw it at the bound Phobos.

And with that, the punishment was complete.

KWAAAAAAAAAAANG—!!!!!!!!

“■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■—!!!!!!!!!!!”

The moment the blue lightning struck Phobos’s chest.

A massive shockwave and thunderous roar, along with Phobos’s agonizing scream, reverberated throughout the divine realm, the soul realm, and the entire god realm.

The impact in the mental realm caused an increase in phobia patients and worsened PTSD symptoms in the material world.

While it’s easy for the material world to influence the soul realm, the reverse is difficult, yet the backlash affected even the material world.

The gods in the Pantheon were protected by Jupiterius’s power of the court, allowing even lower gods to safely observe the scene…

But with effects reaching the material world, the soul realm couldn’t remain unscathed.

Some unfortunate gods had their divine realms cracked or their divinity damaged. His scream, which seemed to declare his status as a high-ranking god even in his suffering, wasn’t long but had a significant impact.

And at the end of what seemed like an eternal scream, it finally concluded.

—CRASH!

Unlike the terrible screams and the sound of a soul splitting, with an excessively clear and audible sound, Phobos’s soul shattered into pieces, releasing powerful waves of faith as it fell to the court floor—

“M-Move aside!”

“It’s miiiine!!!”

“Stop, you glutton!”

Now was the time for the lesser gods of the Pantheon to receive the blessing bestowed by the major gods.

The gods who absorbed the faith expelled from Phobos’s shattered soul rushed forward into the court, greedily absorbing the scattered faith.

“Move!”

*Thud!*

“You bastard!”

*Thud!*

Pushing, shoving, and all manner of chaos ensued as they fought to gain more power and faith.

Of course, the major gods and high-ranking gods who had no need for such scraps merely watched the scene.

Getting involved in that mess and losing dignity wasn’t worth it for the high-ranking gods, as the combined power was insignificant to them.

Anyway, despite the chaos in the court hall, there was one rule that everyone followed:

No one touched Phobos’s soul fragments.

Fearing retribution from Phobos once he regained his power, they didn’t even glance at the soul fragments—

—Therefore, they wouldn’t know.

*Swish.*

That in this chaotic situation, a lower god who had secretly infiltrated the Pantheon would reach out and take one of Phobos’s soul fragments containing the divine attribute of “rage.”

Not even Grandfather Jupiterius would know.

### * * *

Meanwhile, as the chaos among the lesser gods of the Pantheon was settling down.

I, who had successfully infiltrated the Pantheon by disguising myself as a wolf god using the body of a former wolf deity and wolf divine attributes—they wouldn’t notice the death of a mere lower god—and managed to steal one divine attribute.

‘I-I did it!!!’

After returning to my divine realm, I jubilantly examined my spoils from this venture.

A considerable amount of faith and divinity. Some divine attributes of blood, war, and violence. And the crown jewel—a fragment of Phobos’s soul containing a massive amount of energy and the divine attribute of rage.

One might worry about being tracked through the power contained within, but there’s no need for concern.

The fragment I took contains only power with a faint soul, making it ideal to carry away.

Of course, if left alone for too long, the soul fragments would naturally attract each other, inevitably revealing my divine realm’s location and the fact that I took the divine attribute, so I needed to act quickly.

“(*crunch*)”

*Gulp.*

Opening my “mouth,” I swallowed the soul fragment, suppressing the resisting part of Phobos and converting it into pure energy.

And immediately after, I absorbed all the remaining divine fragments, settling them as part of myself.

‘…Ah.’

With a strange sensation of my soul rapidly elevating in rank, my divine realm expanded, and my consciousness began to evolve into a higher-dimensional being.

As a result of this unexpected action—absorbing Phobos’s fragmented soul, something not even implemented in the game—

Ma-Duk

Race :: God

Type :: Personality-based Thought Complex

Occupation :: Evil God (Mid)

Stats

Divinity :: Mid

Divine Attribute :: Mid

Faith :: Mid

Interference Level :: Mid

Believers :: 14,277

Souls (Believers) :: 66,855

Souls (Sinners) :: 60

Divine Attributes

Revenge: 100% (Mid) Blood: 59.1% (Mid) War: 6.1% (Low) Violence: 4.3% (Low) Vampire: 100% (Mid) Wolf: 31.7% (Mid) Rage: 74.3% (Low)

Skills

Divine Eye (Mid), Blessing Bestowal (Mid), Divine Magic Bestowal (Mid), Divine Punishment (Mid), Miracle Bestowal (Mid), Divine Artifact Creation (2/3), Apostle Designation (2/3)

Despite not meeting some essential conditions, such as having over 100,000 believers, I ascended to become a mid-tier god.