Ch.87Ep.87 Prepare for War

“It’s been a month since Yog-Sothoth disappeared. Don’t you think it’s time we invaded?”

“I’m against it. If he’s not even showing his face in this situation, he must be working on something important.”

“That’s exactly why we should launch a surprise attack and ruin whatever he’s doing. Are you scared?”

“I’m not scared. I’m just saying we should prepare for any unexpected situations.”

The ones having this heated conversation were Nyx and Hemera.

They had long since reclaimed the lost territories of the Underworld, and now they were continuing their discussions about reclaiming the Olympus Palace as well.

This was because quite some time had passed since Yog-Sothoth suddenly disappeared.

Nyx’s position was to recover Olympus territory immediately, while Hemera advocated for a more cautious approach to the problem.

The opinions of Hades and Zeus were simply ignored in this matter.

They still seemed unwilling to forgive the bloodline of Cronos, who had killed Uranus.

“How pathetic must we have looked for a single human to dare challenge us?”

“You’re exaggerating. We were just playing along. We don’t need to worry about the human side anyway.”

Only one step remained before awakening the Ascended Order.

If they killed Yog-Sothoth or reclaimed Olympus territory, they would immediately awaken the Ascended Order.

Therefore, they had absolutely no intention of concerning themselves with humans.

Once they awakened the Ascended Order, Yog-Sothoth, humans, and everything else would become irrelevant.

“Let’s quickly reclaim Olympus and be done with it! You know as well as I do that dragging this out doesn’t benefit us at all!”

“…”

Hemera remained silent at Nyx’s words.

In truth, even this level of activity was putting great strain on the original bodies of Nyx and Hemera.

Their original forms were already dissolving into the concepts of night and day.

Though Hades and Zeus might not know it, the time and power they could use to intervene here would only decrease as time passed.

If they awakened the Ascended Order, all such limitations would disappear, but still.

“If you won’t go, I’ll go alone. Just so you know.”

“One week. Give me just one week.”

“For what? We’re not the kind of beings whose circumstances change in a week.”

“I have things to think about. So please give me some time.”

“Sigh… Fine, for now.”

Though Nyx found Hemera’s cautious attitude frustrating, she didn’t stop her.

Following Hemera’s advice had never led to anything bad in the past.

As the meeting ended with this one-sided conversation between Nyx and Hemera.

The expressions of Hades and Zeus, who had been sitting quietly in their seats, showed no signs of improvement.

“Brother… is this really the right path?”

“Be patient. Without the power of those two, we cannot move forward.”

“But if they ever awaken the Ascended Order, we will…!”

“Zeus. Do you know only one thing and not the other?”

Hades glared at Zeus as he spoke.

“The Ascended Order isn’t some pet’s name. Even those two will never be able to awaken it. The Ascended Order is unique to only the Blind Idiot God and the ruler of the void.”

“Brother…”

But wasn’t there a time when we thought only Cronos could possess the Divine Order?

Zeus wanted to object this way, but seeing his brother’s expression, he could only keep his mouth shut.

Hades had changed.

His brother, who had always been cold and quick to assess situations…

Ever since being backstabbed by the human named Radios Magnum, he seemed somehow more anxious.

Of course, Zeus was also angry at Radios for stealing Astrape.

But the reality was that he wasn’t as furious as Hades.

Zeus brought up a different topic to lighten the gloomy atmosphere.

“The interrogation of Demeter and Hestia is complete. As expected, they’ve been continuously leaking information to the Outer Gods.”

“Were they also responsible for breaking the barrier of the Underworld?”

“No. Both claim they never received any communication about invading the Underworld. It was probably an independent action. Or if not that…”

Perhaps they were used as disposable pawns, beings who wouldn’t be missed either way.

Just as they thought they could extract information by expelling the traitors…

Even though Demeter and Hestia had held the honorable positions among the 12 Olympian gods…

To the Outer God forces, they were merely informants, which was inwardly disappointing.

“Their execution is scheduled for today. Would you like to handle it personally?”

“…I don’t want to see traitors. You take care of it.”

“Understood.”

“We’re the only siblings left.”

At Hades’ melancholy words, Zeus responded with a sorrowful tone.

“Hera is still with us.”

“Zeus. I understand your wife’s condition is critical, but there’s no need to hide it from me.”

“Brother…”

“How is Hera’s condition?”

“I can’t say anything positive, even as a comforting lie. Tonight will be… the critical moment.”

“I see.”

Hera had made a great contribution to awakening Nyx and Hemera.

When Hestia and Demeter revealed themselves as traitors and sabotaged their plans…

She contained all the magical power within her body, helping to awaken Nyx and Hemera.

In truth, without her, Nyx and Hemera would likely never have been resurrected.

The problem was that the magical power used for their resurrection was too much for one person to handle.

Especially since Hera had never awakened her Divine Order, the sudden influx of enormous magical power damaged her magical core.

As a result, she was slowly wasting away toward death.

Indeed.

If Hera were to pass away, almost none of Zeus’s generation of Olympians would remain.

Of Cronos’s bloodline, only Zeus and Hades were left.

Hera was dying, Demeter and Hestia had betrayed them, and Poseidon had turned to Kadinant.

Who would have thought they’d miss the noisy, chaotic throne room meetings where no one could understand each other?

“I need to prepare myself mentally.”

“Brother…”

“I believe I know why Hemera asked for a week. Pull yourself together, and I’ll see you later.”

With those final words of comfort as Hades patted Zeus’s shoulder…

He left the meeting hall, and Zeus sat alone in that vast space, staring blankly.

**********

“What about Sothoth?”

“He’s entered the stabilization phase. It should be complete within a week.”

“And Oryx and Yad-Tatag?”

“They can barely move. They probably need Yog-Sothoth to release the restriction before they can do anything…”

“By then, they won’t even be able to disobey.”

“That’s exactly what I mean.”

Nyarlathotep sighed deeply, discouraged by the current situation.

Idra was equally displeased.

If they had known things would turn out this badly, perhaps it would have been better not to betray Azathoth and continue following him.

“We’ve decided to abandon Kadinant. It’s better to cut it loose than to be greedy.”

“It was an interesting game. Applying the new concept of human apostles connected to gods turned out quite well.”

The fate of the Outer God cult in Kadinant was decided in the blink of an eye.

Milliana Ren would have been visibly enraged if she were present, but why should they care?

To the Outer Gods, humans were nothing more than playthings.

Once they had eliminated most of the faith flowing from Kadinant to Olympus, it had served its purpose.

Currently, Kadinant was showing fanatical attitudes toward the Guardian Spirit rather than Olympus.

Since Olympus was the most urgent matter, they could address this issue gradually.

“Is this really the right path?”

Nyarlathotep felt increasingly doubtful as time passed.

It was understandable, as he couldn’t tell if the current situation was truly beneficial for the Outer Gods.

When he thought about it, there wasn’t much to complain about when Azathoth was in control.

Looking back now, he wasn’t sure why they had betrayed him.

“Well, I find the current situation interesting, so I don’t have many thoughts on it.”

“Right, you were always that kind of being.”

Even during Azathoth’s reign, Idra had been peculiar.

Her curiosity alone could match the combined curiosity of all other Outer Gods.

As she herself had once said, her betrayal of Azathoth was purely out of interest.

Perhaps Idra truly did find this situation entertaining.

“Hey, Nyarla.”

“Hmm?”

Idra, who had seemed lost in thought, spoke first.

She appeared to have something important to say, and Nyarlathotep was shocked by her words.

“How do you think Yog-Sothoth would feel if he were betrayed?”

“You… surely not?”

“Wouldn’t it be interesting?”

A chill ran down his spine.

Though she was smiling, it was undoubtedly the smile of a devil.

Nyarlathotep didn’t waste time understanding what Idra was saying.

She was suggesting they stab Yog-Sothoth in the back.

“Do you think it’s possible?”

“Father was backstabbed and ended up like that, so why couldn’t we do the same?”

“Even so…”

Seeing Nyarlathotep’s hesitation, Idra began her gaslighting.

“Think about it. If we continue like this, we’ll end up being nothing but Yog-Sothoth’s lackeys.”

“If I take the throne, everything will end, and I’ll pass it on to you.”

“I’m just a woman who compares this world between what’s interesting and what’s not, right?”

“So, let’s betray him together.”

They say the devil’s whispers are sweeter than anything.

He should not have listened to her words.

Nyarlathotep could no longer suppress the desire that had sprouted within him.

“What… do I need to do?”