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nAnd as if the general had heard me, a lightning bolt struck him from the open sky above. It infiltrated into his skin, muscles, veins, and then blood, pumping it through his body whilst he muttered the name of a skill for the first time since this fight started.

nHis eyes crackling with pure white electricity channeled into his spear. It absorbed it graciously, eating it up like it was the most delicious substance in the world.

nHe felt powered up. He smiled as if he had just grown ten times stronger, faster, and even smarter. He felt nearly unstoppable as the woman across from him summoned a massive lance of light.

nBoth sides looked so equal that my slowing heart tried to beat out of my chest. My nerves were sky-high as everything was riding on this. I wanted to win. I needed to win. I must win.

n“I’ll crush you out of existence itself.”

nAthena, wrapped in an angelic white aura, wielded her lance of light in a stance that was meant to generate as much power as possible.

nIt was clear she was going in for one final blow, wanting to end this instantly, but just as I saw the general take a stance in retaliation, my hawk-eyed vision went blurry.

nMy vision was instantly clouded with streaks upon streaks of smudge. I couldn’t see a single thing, no matter how hard I squinted.

nIn addition, my mind was foggy, causing the skill I had been using to watch the match to deactivate not even a few seconds after.

nEverything around me rang with a silent bell, constantly screaming down my ear canal and into my ear drum. The headache it formed was painful, but it didn’t completely take my attention away from the two warriors announcing their final skills.

n“Lance of Wisdom: Smite.”

n“Flying Spear Arts: Heaven Splitter.”

nA strong gust of wind, cutting my skin and down to my bones, exploded past me. It followed the words of the flying general, who I could only assume used his strongest skill.

nI couldn’t see a single thing, but just-

nBOOOOOOOOOOM

nEven reality itself couldn’t keep up with the logic-defying skills as sound soon followed after the gust of wind.

nMy eardrums shattered instantly, knocking me out faster than I could process what had just happened. It was instant, painless, but most of all… enough to activate Undying Will.

n…

n(Athena POV)

n(A few days prior)

n“Ares, let me borrow yours,” I requested, expecting nothing of it since I had already lost my orb. But to my surprise, the man held out his hand, stretching a large glowing dark red orb towards me.

n“You want my son to improve, but you are too ambitious. He will end up resenting you for forcing such a quest on him.”

n“He shouldn’t, as this is just a fake reality. I know what he’s doing with that child… whatever her name was… Wu, right?” The god before me didn’t answer. “Whatever her name is, she’s being used by him. But I can tell he’s developing feelings… this is not what he needs right now. He needs to be cold-hearted in order to become the perfect vessel.”

nThe man’s eyes lay on me, seeing my desperate state. I mean, after I lost the orb that practically made me a god, I had fallen from grace and was no longer considered a god by the public.

nI was still allowed to remain in the Twelve Olympians, but my power is just barely on par with some of the weakest ones… it was pitiful. I was so **ing pitiful.

n“I’m trusting you with my orb. If something happens to you, I won’t help you. That orb is my entire lifetime… but I’m trusting you with my orb. So, take it… complete this mission of yours,” the man announced coldly and almost a bit resentfully.

nJust from looking at him, I could tell something was up, but I had no other choice. I had to follow through with this before I got kicked out of the Olympians and lost my all-powerful status.

nI must regain my previous power before somebody replaces me.

nDesperation flowing through my veins, I immediately sacrificed the orb, granting the boy the god quest at his own mental expense.

nFor some reason, there was a slight disturbance, as if some other divine force was blocking the quest, but before I could investigate it, the quest was sent out, and the divine force disappeared without a trace. 𝑶𝚟𝓵xt.𝐂𝑶𝓜

n“Now… I should proceed with the next part of the plan.”

nFWOOSH

nThrough an astral projection, I was able to appear in front of the pitiful girl being taken advantage of by this wretched demon I had created.

n“W-What the **-” The girl stuttered, quickly falling back on her chair whilst I floated above the lab station, looking at the various medicinal items she had acquired.

n“You’re quite good,” I smiled, lying straight through my teeth, but it was too late to be a kind god. I had no choice but to mold her to my liking.

n“Wh-Who are you? Are you a goddess? I’ve heard about god coming down, but I didn’t think it was real-”

n“Your entire existence is a lie, little girl,” I immediately broke the ice with the hard truth. “This is a place made to train up that little boyfriend of yours.”

nShe looked like she didn’t know what to do, opening and closing her mouth various times, but nothing came out. She was frozen in place, thinking everything through.

n“I-I don’t believe you.”

n“Then don’t believe me. But I have come to offer you a deal. If you help me, I will grant you life. I will grant you real, physical, tangible life. This may be but a simulation created through heaps of ichor, but with just a flick of my hand, I can make you into a real thing.”

n“Wh-Why are you offering me this? Do you want me to turn on Orion?”

n“There is no need for you to turn on Orion. I will handle that part myself.”

n“Then what are you going to do with him?! A-Are you going to kill him? Capture him?!”

nShe was getting on my nerves, but I stayed patient as I slowly weaved lies and truths to form the perfect convincing plan.

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