Chapter 596 - Erebus (4) (1/2)

『The more I look at it, the more this place reminds me of the swamp of darkness.』

Erebus was just like the swamp of darkness. Not only did it emit an acrid stench that stripped gods of their divinity, a fog that rose up from the ground threatened to swallow your soul if you weren’t paying attention. It wasn’t the best feeling to walk on the marshy ground that tried to suck one in, as well.

You had to move without rest, otherwise, you would sink into the muck if you stopped even for a little while. While divine beings didn’t have to worry about this, their divine abilities didn’t work too well in Erebus, and it took a while for their holy power to recover.

Most of the beings who escaped to this place grew tired quickly. The more time passed, the weaker Erebus made those inside it.

‘They say Erebus is the grave of gods; it really is.’ It was already difficult for Yeon-woo, who was still a mortal, so he couldn’t imagine how tiring it was for the divine beings. The stronger you were, the greater a toll Erebus took on you.

Plod. Plod. Athena and Ares looked exhausted the moment they entered Erebus. The confident Hercules also became quiet after some time.

Everyone just silently walked forward. Ares and Hercules tried to search for Hermes and the others even though it was impossible to figure out any direction in this place. Fortunately, they had an artifact that Hermes had given them before they left Erebus that helped them find the way. The needle of the compass in Athena’s hand began to spin. It meant one of the gods of Olympus was nearby.

Athena quickly released her holy power just as laughter from somewhere beyond rang out. It was a woman’s high-pitched shriek that seemed almost mad. “Ha! Hahahaha!”

“This is…!” Athena was about to identify the voice when Kronos suddenly transformed into his human form and shouted in a frantic voice.

Click, click!

『Hestia! Hestia, where are you?』 Kronos desperately called the name of his eldest daughter. Although he no longer felt the same way, he had once detested Hades, Poseidon, and the others, resenting them for abandoning him. However, there was a child he had never resented and always longed for: his first child.

She was the cute and lovely first child that he and Rhea had, the daughter who was always a dependable sister. He missed her so much that he hoped to see her in his dreams, but she never appeared in them. And now, she was nearby.

He could feel his heart beating faster and his blood pumping throughout his body even though he no longer had those bodily functions. He felt his breath grow short, and when he finally sensed something, he dashed towards it without any hesitation.

“Father!” He was so quick that Yeon-woo had to use his Sky Wings to catch up.

Athena and the others quickly followed.

“Ack, aack!” However, when they caught up, they saw the anxious Kronos being flung around by something.

『Hestia, it’s me! Kronos! Your father is here!』

“Go away! I said, go away!”

『Can you not see me? Your father…?』

A massive monster that spewed hot flames was there.

“A-Aunt Hestia…!”

“But her transition was slow! How could she have changed so much? Impossible!”

When Ares and Athena saw their worst fears come true, they grew pale. Transition was a phenomenon also called “Spirit Change”, and it was the first strange occurrence that the great gods of Olympus had experienced after fleeing to Erebus.

The atmosphere of Erebus slowly drained the gods of their holy power and damaged their divinity. Usually, that didn’t harm most great divine beings, and it could be solved once they left Erebus. However, the great divine beings fell into despair when their holiness grew tainted and their spirits began to change.

Their souls slowly mutated, and they were at risk of becoming damaged monsters. But that wouldn’t be the end of it. They would soon succumb to disease or their legends would fade away as though they’d been hit with Gaia’s Curse. These were all fatal.

Yeon-woo wasn’t too surprised since he’d expected that this would happen after hearing of the risks, but it was different to see Hestia’s mutated form. ‘Am I too late?’

He understood why the great divine beings considered giving up their divinity after seeing the strange phenomena. It would be less dangerous if they didn’t have their transcendence. Hermes was most likely going through something similar.

『Hestia!』

It was a huge concern that Hestia, whose mutation had been relatively slow, was in such a terrible condition. Her appearance as a divine being had disappeared. If her divine powers didn’t occasionally pop out, it would have been impossible to recognize her.

Kronos anxiously tried to approach her, wanting to help, but Hestia just opened her mouth with an annoyed expression, thinking he was trying to aggravate her.

Rumble! Boom! An intense fire that felt hotter than Yeon-woo’s Purgatory Furnace poured to the ground. Boom!

Of course, it couldn’t hurt Kronos, and he only looked at her in pity as he stretched his hand out to create a multi-layered barrier that blocked the flames.

“Athena.”

“Yes, sir…?” Athena turned to look at Yeon-woo, using formal speech that she wasn’t accustomed to yet. She also didn’t know what to do about Hestia.

“Is there a way to heal or stop the transition process?”

“Not…yet. Hermes fell ill when he tried to find a solution…”

“Then there’s no other method than to incapacitate her right now.” Yeon-woo clucked his tongue and activated his powers.

[6th-step Dragon Body awakening]