Ars Paulina.
Not much time had passed since the battle began, but Ars Paulina's platform had already been reduced to ruins. Practically every piece of white stone that made up the columns and platform had been transformed, covered with cracks, blackened by lightning and flames, and riddled with holes and fissures from the blows.
Athena and Ares constantly tried to reach me, attacking with spear and sword respectively, but each time my chains threw them back, inflicting damage and damaging their equipment. And once again, when cracks appeared on their weapons and their shields were almost half gone, I smiled in their faces.
- "That's a bit weak," I said. "Is that all the gods with aspects of 'War' in their domain are capable of?"
- "This isn't over!" Ares shouted and rushed back into the attack, which, of course, was blocked by my chains, as was Athena, and behind me a huge crater formed from the force they used.
- "He's too strong, our attacks are useless," Athena said, continuing to press forward and trying to break through the defense.
- "We need a strategy."
- "Oh? Well, you can try," I chuckled, but in the next moment, four more chains burst out from under my feet, blocking two arrows, one gold and one silver, fired by Apollo and Artemis, respectively.
The arrows exploded instantly, forming a massive cloud of dust that obscured my view, but I could still feel the pressure on the chains. And just as I was about to laugh at their attempts again, one of the chains suddenly moved toward my head and stopped the thin, skillfully made dagger with which Hermes was attacking me.
- "An assassin, huh?" I raised an eyebrow. "I was wondering why you disappeared as soon as the battle began. Not bad."
- "Thank you for the compliment," Hermes smiled, still pressing down on the dagger. "And I apologize."
- "Hm?" I was surprised, and then he, like Ares and Athena, jumped sharply to the side, clearing the way for Zeus' lightning bolt, Hades' black mist, the flames of Hestia and Hephaestus, and the long, thick roots of Demeter.
The combination of these attacks from divine power created another explosion. However, this time its power and radius exceeded the gods' previous attempts many times over, striking an area several kilometers wide and practically shattering the platform into pieces.
Surprisingly, the eight chains I used couldn't withstand the onslaught, and the Olympians' attack finally caught up with me, almost completely destroying my body. However, this was completely irrelevant, as I recovered very quickly on the outside, and even more so in Ars Paulina, where I am a god.
Aphrodite and Hera did not participate in the battle, which was to be expected. However...
I smiled.
Until now, I had only been defending myself, but now, I believe it is my turn, huh?
-0-
Hestia looked at the cloud of dust and couldn't help but frown. Not because she could still sense Romani's signature, hidden from view, but because her thoughts were preventing her from fully concentrating on the battle. However, she had no time to think, as she had other concerns at the moment.
- "What shall we do, Zeus?" asked Poseidon. "We underestimated him. He's holding back all of us combined."
- "Our powers have returned, but not fully," said Athena. "This space is completely under his control. We need a plan."
- "It doesn't matter," Zeus declared. "He will bow before us, for he is but..."
He did not have time to finish, as a huge stream of golden light burst out of the still-dispersing cloud and headed straight for the Olympians. Athena and Ares managed to raise their shields and tried to block the attack, but to no avail.
The golden stream of dry mana instantly destroyed all their equipment and armor, knocking Athena and Ares into a distant column. Some managed to dodge in time, but not all. Aphrodite, Hera, Demeter, and Hephaestus were also hit and lost consciousness, their bodies covered with multiple burns.
Hestia immediately rushed to them to check on them and try to heal their wounds, while Apollo and Artemis took the tops of the columns, Hermes dodged and stood behind, and Zeus, Hades, and Poseidon protected only themselves. And it was the actions of the latter three that led Hestia to certain thoughts.
She understood Hades' actions, for he had been through a lot. Hades had been exiled to watch over the realm of the dead, almost completely isolated from the others, and was not even among the twelve gods, although he had every right to be, as one of the oldest and most powerful.
But Zeus and Poseidon... As long as Hestia could remember, they had always cared only about themselves. Myths and legends were just that, "myths" and "legends," because most of them were fabricated and exaggerated, but there is no smoke without fire. They really did behave like the most irresponsible and self-centered egoists who didn't care about anyone else's opinion.
With these thoughts, the cloud of dust quickly dispersed, revealing Romani, completely unharmed, who smiled slyly at them.
- "Well, well. Only half? I must be losing my touch," he chuckled and began to examine the remaining Olympians, then stopped at Zeus. "All right. One more attack should be enough for you."
- "Don't get cocky, mortal!" Poseidon blurted out, and behind him a massive wave of seawater began to gather and form various water predators with sharp teeth and menacing faces. "You will know the wrath of Olympus!"
- "It's time for you to pay for your disrespect to Olympus and to me personally!" Zeus snarled, and black clouds gathered above the platform, streaked with bright blue lightning.
At that moment, Apollo began to gather all the power of the Sun he could and turn it into an arrow, pulling it back on his bowstring. Artemis did the same, but with the power of the Moon, while Hades simply formed a black cloud around himself, full of miasma and the power of Death.
Hestia expected Romani to be frightened or at least tense when he saw all this power, but instead he smiled smugly.
- "You know, if you were Olympians from my world, I wouldn't really have much chance of winning," he began, to everyone's surprise.
- "They weren't born on Earth, but came from distant stars. They were 'mechanical' gods, capable of influencing the entire world... but not you. You are just insects. Parasites, lacking even a drop of your colleagues' power. And you know what's funny?"
- "What is?" Zeus frowned.
- "Even they were destroyed," said Romani, and the Olympians' eyes widened. "They used all their power, all their weapons, all their essence, but to no avail. They were simply crushed like cockroaches, without a chance to resist. And all this was done by a single creature. Sefar, the White Titan. The scourge of both the gods themselves and the entire Age of Gods."
Then Romani paused and looked into the eyes of each Olympian who was still conscious. And in his eyes, the color of pure gold, burned a fire, true faith and confidence.
- "And humanity continued to exist. It developed, became stronger, smarter... better. Although with its own flaws in the form of an inevitable end."
- "Your words make no sense!" Zeus declared. "They are mortals whose only purpose is to be beneath us, the gods! All your words are empty, because, according to your own words, we protect humanity from their end, you pathetic, hypocritical mortal!"
- "Quite possible," Romani smiled ironically. "But I am not talking so much about humanity as about the right and freedom of choice. Personal choice, even if it leads to self-destruction."
These words made Hestia think. Think about the meaning of family and sacrifice, aspects of which she embodied. The ability to choose, to allow children to create their own destiny, not at the behest of anyone or anything. To live for someone, to sacrifice for someone. She couldn't help thinking about all this, because... This was her essence. The true essence that Hestia had never thought about before.
- "You're a fool if you think so!" Poseidon exclaimed. "What's the point of choice if there's no life?!"
- "Well, that's a different question altogether, isn't it?" Romani smiled and glanced at Hestia, who noticed him, then raised his hand to the sky. "Anyway, back to our battle... Did you really think you had even the slightest chance, huh?"
In the next second, Hestia, like the rest of the Olympians, felt it. Every ounce of power flowing through their bodies simply... disappeared. They felt weak, small... powerless before Romani. They didn't even have the strength to stand firmly on their feet, and all manifestations of their divinity vanished in the blink of an eye.
Water, lightning, fog. Everything evaporated and turned into nothing. And only the mortal before them reigned supreme, both over the space surrounding them and over them themselves.
- "What have you done?!" Zeus roared, unable to bear the feeling of helplessness and hopelessness.
- "Don't shout like that, you rooster-impregnator. I can hear you perfectly well," Romani smiled sweetly. "Here, in this place, I am king and god. Here I rule over everything, from the chemical composition of the air to concepts such as time, life, and death."
At these words, a huge golden circle in the shape of a six-pointed star lit up directly above the platform, and golden rays of light began to emanate from each of its points. They lengthened, twisted, and then merged into a single structure in the center of the circle, forming a massive golden spear, the power of which Hestia had never experienced in her truly long life.
- "To be honest, we could have done without Ars Paulina, but this way the effect will be much more memorable," Roman smiled. "And don't worry. The spear won't kill you, after all, I still need you. But will it hurt? Heh. It will hurt, and very badly."
And then, the spear made of pure gold rushed toward Hestia, who tried to protect her family and the others, but...
There was no point in it.
The last thing Hestia remembered was a bright golden light, intense pain, and Romani's sly smile directed solely at her.
Did she understand his message? Definitely. But at the same time, Hestia remembered his words, which contained not a shred of falsehood.
A choice. A choice of how and when Olympus would end if she didn't make it...
-0-
A/N: How's the chapter? Give us your opinion. You may well be able to influence future chapters.
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