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Chapter 168: Shooting the Sun (4)
You're giving up your position?
An SSS-rank one at that?
Artemis looked on sadly at Apollo, shining alone in the center.
"All illegitimate sons of Zeus must be heirs to be recognized as SSS-rank. Apollo, Dionysus, Hermes—all of them. Since he's given up the heirship, Apollo will soon be downgraded to SS-rank."
"Illegitimate son? Don't your myths not really care about that kind of thing?"
"Not true. Hera saw Zeus’s illegitimate children as eyesores... Even though she treated them as equal gods once they became deities, if Apollo is demoted to a mid-tier god, I don’t know what she’ll do..."
"Now’s not really the time to be worrying about Apollo. Then we can just back out for now. He’ll get demoted after exhausting himself."
It felt like a last-ditch rampage.
He must’ve sensed he’d be taken down anyway by the combined assault of me, Artemis, and K'aai, so he’s exploding his power before dying.
I considered fighting him for a moment, but his energy was no joke.
In that case, well, I guess it’s time to dip.
Too bad I couldn’t siphon more through soul reaping, but there’s no need to fight a rampaging opponent.
He’ll be demoted to SS-rank after his outburst anyway.
Not a threatening god anymore—mission accomplished.
“Artemis. Go to the Apostle’s Garden for a bit.”
I reverse-summoned Artemis and finished preparing to flee.
"Soul Mediation."
Guess I’ll warp to Elprian’s hideout again.
I gave Apollo a casual wave and transferred everything into my avatar.
[Soul God…? Don’t tell me…?]
"You… the same trick again?!"
“K'aai, you too. Get out of here.”
I heard K'aai's voice, but I dipped before he could say more.
No need to clash with someone ready to die.
My vision slowly darkened.
When I opened my eyes again, I was in the familiar setting of the hideout.
I bought another avatar and left it at the hideout.
"Two deities of Olympus handled. Got a lot out of this."
Apollo's demoted.
Artemis becomes an Apostle.
Truly the best outcome.
I stepped outside the hideout and strolled through Elprian’s garden, enjoying a moment of peace.
I still needed to get info from K'aai…
But he’s tough—he’ll survive somehow.
I looked at the flowers in the garden.
Sunflowers, raising their heads toward the sun.
The sunlight was perfect for a nap.
[There you are.]
Huh?
That’s Apollo’s voice?
A chill ran down my spine.
Wait… how is he here, in this domain?
"Soul Barrier."
I cast Soul Barrier and looked around—every flower in the garden was burning.
The temperature skyrocketed.
All light was concentrating on this place.
I looked to the sky and saw a giant, blazing sun.
At first, I thought I was seeing things—but no, it was definitely larger than usual.
"Light Suppression."
I reduced the incoming light to observe the sun closely, and then I saw something strange.
There were three circles.
The overlapping light made it look like one massive sun, but once I reduced the brightness, I saw three overlapping orbs, like the Olympic rings.
Wait, what?
Even for a sun god—three suns?
And how did he even track me here?
[Sunlight is my eyes and ears.]
Apollo answered my doubts with solemnity.
I couldn’t tell where or how he was speaking.
"Soul Disassembly."
As I used the skill, I was left speechless.
The sunlight pouring over the world—
All of it contained Apollo's power.
And the most powerful spiritual force was emanating from that blazing sun in the sky.
Its frequency matched Apollo's.
I had a bad feeling about this.
That sun… surely that isn’t Apollo… right?
[Soul God. I have decided. I will utterly destroy you.]
Apollo's voice thundered from the heavens.
At the same time, Elprian’s garden erupted into flames.
With Soul Disassembly, I saw all three sunlight sources focusing on this place.
Light surged in from all directions.
Fwoooosh.
The garden burned for just a moment before the ground itself began to melt.
Especially the spot where I stood—it had been completely disintegrated.
If I hadn't been in a floating state, I’d have been completely consumed.
Whoa.
This is like a natural disaster.
[Soul Barrier is partially destroyed. Emergency SP usage initiated…]
This message kept flashing with increasing frequency.
Seriously, how many times has it broken just from standing here?
Alright, time to move.
And then…
"Soul Fusion: Phoenix."
I fused with a phoenix spirit, one resistant to fire.
As soon as we merged, the phoenix spoke:
[Master… I have no resurrection powers left.]
“Apollo took them all?”
[Yeah. He completely tore me apart. Luckily, he couldn’t stop me from returning to the Apostle’s Garden.]
Shame.
I was hoping it might still be able to resurrect.
"But you still have fire resistance, right?"
[Yeah, but… this is on a whole other level.]
"As long as it helps a little, that’s good enough. Let’s get out of here. Fly."
Wings of flame unfurled from my back, and I flew to dodge the sunlight.
I avoided going too high and flew sideways instead.
Going up would just get me scorched.
[I, Apollo, was once worshiped as a sun god—but that was based on ancient understanding. I am the god of sunlight.]
Apollo’s voice echoed with a weird declaration.
I mean, sure, ancient folks didn’t really know what the sun was.
But why bring this up now?
[As god of light, I command: To the six worlds that worship me as the sun god—]
He spoke like he was delivering a divine judgment.
I felt a cold chill crawl down my back.
[I will now take away the light of the sun.]
As he made his proclamation, the world began to turn pure white.
It had already been incredibly bright earlier, but now it felt like I was completely engulfed in light itself.
[O Sun. Grant eternal light to the God of Souls.]
I looked up and saw seven suns in the sky.
There had only been three before...
Did “six worlds” mean different planets?
The light was much stronger than before.
Even though it was just sunlight pouring down, the world around me was being destroyed.
No matter how fast I flew, the light adjusted to my speed and continued to rain down relentlessly.
Endless messages popped up.
[Soul Barrier is half destroyed. Using SP urgently……]
[Soul Barrier is half destroyed. Using SP urgently……]
[Master. Even I, a phoenix, can’t withstand this. I’m heading for the sea!]
The phoenix, whose body was made of fire, screamed as it flapped its wings at top speed.
Even with the Soul Barrier protecting me, my body was burning so badly I couldn’t stand it.
I left the flying to the phoenix and focused on my own defense.
“Aegis Shield.”
I summoned the Aegis Shield and cast Soul Barrier on it.
The Aegis Shield changed shape like armor to protect my body.
Part of it melted under the overwhelming sunlight, but once the Soul Barrier was in place, it thankfully held its shape.
“Huh. That’s much better.”
[You should’ve used it sooner.]
“No kidding.”
I barely had time to catch my breath.
[Athena’s Aegis, is it? Athena, you’re useless. Solar Arrow.]
At Apollo’s flat voice, I looked to the sky.
Solar Arrow — the arrows Apollo fired.
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If I could see where they were coming from, I could find where his soul form was.
But my hopes were quickly dashed.
In a world burning white-hot, arrows of light rained down like a torrential downpour.
It felt like I was being bombed.
Countless arrows chased after me.
Had he really become the sun?
The color was a strange bluish-white.
And the power inside them was immense.
Seeing that, the phoenix flapped its wings madly.
[The sea!]
The moment we spotted the ocean, we dove straight in.
Even then, my soul body kept sinking deeper and deeper underwater.
I thought I was finally escaping the blinding white light—but then Apollo’s bluish-white arrows pierced the sea as well.
Fsssss.
The heat from the arrows instantly evaporated the water.
The sunlight had at least been bearable for a moment, but once the arrows hit, the ocean water vanished without a trace.
Wow.
Shit…
The arrows were way stronger.
I might actually die here.
I checked my SP—only 500 million left.
Not even 10 minutes had passed.
How did it drain so fast?
Ugh…
Should I use Soul Transfer and run again?
But my avatar’s only connected to this place?
Damn it.
I opened the windows wide just to get some sunlight…
But if he can detect any place touched by sunlight, then even Earth wouldn’t be safe?
“If this chaos hits Earth…”
[It’s the end. Total destruction. Looks like this planet’s already toast anyway.]
“He’s from Olympus. He probably won’t go as far as destroying Earth, right? They need a base too.”
[Isn’t the risk a little too high to test that theory?]
I couldn’t argue with the phoenix’s logic.
If I fled and Apollo went berserk like this, it’d be over.
Damn it.
I’ll have to summon Artemis and figure something out.
“Summon Artemis.”
Artemis appeared with a gloomy expression.
That lasted only a moment—once she saw the surroundings, she was horrified.
“What’s going on?”
“Apollo… that bastard really became the sun. What kind of power is this?”
Looking up at the sky and the incoming Solar Arrows, Artemis quickly grasped the situation.
She furrowed her brows deeply, then her face became calm and composed.
“Apollo… to summon seven suns? He’s choosing complete self-annihilation over living as a mid-tier god?”
At Artemis’s words, the light dimmed slightly.
The arrows that had been flying stopped mid-air.
Then a solemn voice echoed from the sky.
[Artemis. I have no intention of living while bowing to Hera. I will defeat the God of Souls, become the greatest contributor to Father’s legacy, and beg for my resurrection.]
“You think Zeus will grant it?”
[…I’m not sure. But I was as good as dead anyway. I’m putting my faith in the chance. If I burn everything to destroy the God of Souls, perhaps Father will show mercy.]
Then Apollo’s voice softened, almost pleading.
[Artemis. Step aside. Before I disappear, I will also plead for your resurrection. Isn’t that better than living as a slave to the God of Souls?]
“Apollo. I refuse. Zeus will never bring us back. You’d be better off becoming an apostle of the God of Souls. You wouldn’t just survive—you could gather enough SP to become a deity again.”
[Artemis… I never imagined we’d be so different, despite being born from the same womb on the same day. I will not live as a slave.]
“Then negotiation’s over.”
Artemis’s face was ice-cold.
Apollo fell silent briefly, then spoke again.
[…So be it. I’ll destroy you with my own hands, and beg Father to revive you too.]
The twins’ negotiation ended in failure.
The light intensified again, and the arrows began to move.
“Apollo. Turning into the sun was your mistake.”
Artemis pointed at the suns.
A tremendous surge of power radiated from her body.
For the first time, I could feel her true divine presence.
“O Moon. Devour the Sun. Eclipse.”
Under the seven suns’ blinding light—
A black circle appeared.
A moon covering the brightest central sun.
It didn’t block all seven, but the crazy sunlight pouring from the sky weakened significantly.
[An eclipse…]
“That’s a relief.”
The phoenix sighed like it had just been saved.
Artemis turned to me, her face still calm and cold.
“God of Souls. Now’s not the time to relax. One moon can’t block seven suns, and Apollo’s Solar Arrows are still active. You see that bluish-white color?”
“Yeah.”
“Those are arrows shot with the sun’s true essence. More dangerous than the sunlight itself. If they hit you, the damage will be enormous.”
Right.
Those bluish-white arrows…
They made ocean water vanish completely.
“Just keep flying. It’s a battle of time now. Apollo can’t stay in that state for long. I’ll hold him off as long as I can. If things get too dangerous, unsummon me.”
Artemis turned and placed herself between me and the Solar Arrows.
Damn… she’s kind of reassuring, huh?
[Even if the moon blocks it, the sun is still the sun. Light is eternal.]
Fwaaah.
The wave of light shifted its movement.
From illuminating everything around me, it now focused solely on me.
The world split sharply into light and darkness.
Sunlight shining only on me.
It felt like a spotlight.
As if I were the star of a play—only I was illuminated, and everything around me was cast in shadow.
[Krrrrgh... Master. I'm running out of power!]
I checked my SP at the phoenix's screech.
Remaining SP: 100 million.
Damn it.
My SP’s vanishing like snow under the sun.
Even my soul body was starting to heat up.
Artemis was blocking the arrows, but this crazy light was too much.
At this rate, I’m really going to burn to death.
I opened the Apostle Spear.
“Screw it. No time to ask questions...”
Without hesitation, I drained all my SP and gripped the soul sword with my right hand.
“Soul Energy Emission.”
I drew the sword, but the sunlight pressing down was overwhelming.
For now, I sent a massive burst of sword energy toward the light.
It looked like I was just a lunatic swinging at empty air.
But something was getting cut.
[You’re quite rebellious!]
So, is this how I die?
I kept flying and swinging my sword with whatever SP I had left.
All the seawater around me evaporated.
Even in the deep sea, this damned sunlight was endless.
I swung in a trance.
Then, suddenly—a message appeared.
[Soul Reaper has activated against the Sun God ‘Apollo’.]
“This light... it was you?”
[You alone must be destroyed. Soul God!]
Wasn’t he supposed to have become pure sunlight?
He turned into a mass of light and just kept coming for me relentlessly.
Goddamn it!
I slashed, and slashed, and slashed again.
Before I knew it, all the water had evaporated, and I found myself at the deepest seabed, swinging my sword endlessly toward the light.
Even from the direction Artemis was defending, Apollo's sun arrows kept coming relentlessly.
I deflected a blue-white arrow with my sword, and my SP dropped sharply as searing pain wracked my whole body.
Aegis had already melted completely—now unrecognizable.
Even my soul body was starting to take real damage.
If not for the pain tolerance I built in the Asura’s Path, I’d have collapsed already.
But... I’m not dying like this!
[No more... I can’t go on... Master.]
Tch.
It was a time-limited power...
When is this going to end?
There was no sign of the light stopping.
Looking up at the sky, I saw the moon that had been blocking the sun now being consumed by the light.
It was getting even stronger.
Am I seriously... going to be completely erased like this?
“Apollo, you bastard! Just die already!”
[You have dealt continuous fatal damage to the god.]
[Soul Reaper skill level has increased by 1.]
[Soul Reaper skill has reached level 100.]
[You have acquired a new effect.]
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