Returning the perspective to Hercules' side, after drawing his bow and shooting an arrow that could tear the sea apart, Hercules did not make any pursuit, but just watched silently as he manipulated the ocean currents under his attack. Animusfia and others left towards the distance.
He just stared, not even picking up the bow.
Hercules sighed silently.
The path of a hero is undoubtedly difficult.
He should have known this a long time ago.
From accidentally killing his mentor, Chiron, to losing his beloved, Hyras, through negligence, to having to leave his best friend, Jason, to travel alone on the Argonauts with many of his companions, Heracles Les understands suffering far better than ordinary people.
If he could, he wouldn't be willing to endure those hardships.
But if possible, Heracles hoped that those sufferings would be borne by him alone.
Can humans have such feelings?
Love mankind unconditionally, watch over mankind unconditionally, and bear the sufferings that should be inflicted on them unconditionally.
That's the job of gods, right?
It is only natural that he would be lonely if he chose to do that.
————————————Hercules certainly understood loneliness.
Since the day he was born, he killed the two poisonous snakes sent by Hera; since he accidentally killed his teacher, Apollo's son Linos, who accidentally punished him corporally in self-defense, Heracles has no longer been beaten to death by the people in the city. regarded as "similar".
Perhaps in other myths, the difference between gods and humans is greater.
But at least in the Greek world where Heracles was born, the difference between humans and gods has been infinitely close to zero.
Even if Heracles hadn't known the reasons why Zeus, his father, the great god, could never fully understand human beings, he would probably regard Zeus as a "king" who rules the gods. ".
In other words, if Heracles had not known that the boundaries between Zeus and humans are absolutely unblurred compared to other gods in mythology, even Hercules would have believed that Zeus was just an immortal and Just a "person" who can control thunder and lightning.
In the eyes of more people,
The so-called "gods" are just more powerful mortals, right?
If people could live forever, if people could control nature, if people could lift mountains————————
That's God, right?
So of course, the extremely powerful Heracles was regarded as an alien.
Therefore, he was expelled from the city-state by his adoptive father Amphitryon to herd cattle in the countryside. Then he killed the Nemean lion who was doing evil in Amphitryon's pasture and took the first step to become a hero.
Since then, although there has been no shortage of companions around Hercules, there has never been anyone who can really stick with him to the end.
Moreover, she didn't care about his identity, but only regarded him as a close friend, as a 'human being' and as a close companion——and many others were affected by Hercules' demigod power. Because of his appearance or his previous achievements, he has a lot of admiration or awe for him.
However, no matter what kind of feelings between the two, it will only lead others away from the path of understanding Hercules.
No matter how many fans there are, Hercules is the only one who truly walks on the road.
Therefore, Heracles had long been accustomed to being alone.
Recalling the brief time he spent on the Argonaut again, Hercules lowered his head slightly.
It's just that that journey was too dazzling.
So much so that even he himself, who had long been accustomed to loneliness, would sigh with regret when he chose to abandon that time and friends with his own hands.
Heroes are destined to be lonely.
In fact, Heracles did not want to become a god.
The duties he wanted to fulfill were never abandoned.
"Understand everything, my friend, and then lead 'humanity' to the finish line——————————"
With the golden bow in his hand fully drawn, Hercules prayed like this and aimed straight at the sky.
But he didn't shoot that crucial arrow.
To clarify all the truth, we need to go back in time to the time when Heracles and the Argonauts overcame all difficulties and came to Delphi.
What is placed in the Temple of Apollo at Delphi is undoubtedly the true culprit of the twisted singularity that Heracles and others are trying to find - the Holy Grail.
However, it is not only the Holy Grail that is with it, but also the original gods that have been resurrected or reappeared in this era.
Oceanus Pontos, which symbolizes the ocean, Ouranos Aether, which symbolizes the sky, and the most serious original gods who are not on this planet at all and were invaded by the subsequent Titan series and Olympus series. , the goddess of the moon whose name has not survived.
Hercules didn’t know why these gods of nature, which should have been completely replaced, and had now lost their personality, would resurrect in this era. He also didn’t know why it was the sky and the ocean, and the “moon” that had nothing to do with them. ” to appear.
Heracles only knew that if faced with such an enemy, he would not be able to show it with his own strength.
How to win?
After the three gods destroyed the round stone in the temple of Delphi that Zeus had placed there to symbolize the center of the world, Hercules received an oracle from Apollo.
"Only light can defeat the moon."
However, as a god, Apollo has long been unable to reappear in this era when the age of gods has ended.
Even if he appears, he can no longer maintain the "godly" appearance he had in the past. At most, he will appear attached to the spiritual base of a heroic spirit with whom he has a deep connection.
So where should we go to find that light?
————————————So, Hercules chose to abandon everything and succumb to the resurrected primitive gods.
What Hercules did not expect was that Oceanus Pontus and Ouranos Ether simply had hatred for the Titan series that had usurped the status of the original gods and the subsequent Olympus series, and He has no grudges against ordinary humans.
Rather, the primitive gods "loved" humans just like the foreign Greek gods, so Heracles did not suffer too much trouble.
The purpose of "Ocean" and "Sky" in pursuing the Holy Grail is simply to regain the status that should belong to them.
If it were just this kind of struggle, it should have nothing to do with the human world. No matter what extent the disputes between the gods reached, it would not affect this era and the humans of this era at all.
Moreover, even Zeus and other Olympus gods lost their "organisms" and retracted to the inner layer of the world due to a blow 14,000 years ago. Why did the primitive gods whose functions were usurped from the beginning do this? Still surviving in this era?
With this question, even Oceanus Pontos and Ouranos Ether could only vaguely point to the Moon Goddess who was not on this planet, and everything was revealed to Hercules soon after. In front of Lacules.
Neither Oceanus nor Ouranos are gods that have been inherited from ancient times. On the contrary, these two natural gods were reappeared through the Holy Grail. They can be called "new gods" but they have A god with an ancient identity.
The only god who truly "lives" in this world and is not affected by the declining magic power of the great source on the earth is the Moon Goddess who is far above the moon.
The reason why the Mecha-gods in the Titan series and the subsequent Olympus series do not have gods that correspond to the natural concept of the "moon" itself is not because the original gods of the moon are too weak compared to other natural gods to even have names. None of them are left, precisely because they are too powerful and have never been replaced by the Mecha.
The original moon god who still retains his unknown name.
If humans want to call it, they can only call it after Luna, the god in Roman mythology who combines almost all the concepts of "moon god".
However, unlike other primitive gods, the Moon Goddess also hates the Mecha-gods as outsiders, but she has a stronger hatred for humans.
The reason for choosing to summon the two gods of the ocean and sky is self-evident————————————
The silver light that could penetrate everything, even Heracles could not completely see through, penetrated Oceanus's chest in front of him.
The subsequent surge in sea water was the result of the death of the god of the sea.
The oceans on this planet have died, and all that is left now is just the corpse of the ocean.
Almost at the same time, Uranus, the god of the sky, who was in disbelief about this, was instantly bound by dozens of columnar creatures with eyes and was lifted up into the sky.
The target of revenge has long since disappeared, so why take revenge? And why choose to reproduce the sky and ocean?
Hercules knew the answer then.
It’s just to exterminate humanity faster.
It was also at that time that Heracles truly communicated with the Moon Goddess.
Through the shadow cast here from the moon, Hercules saw Luna.
"Hercules, will you choose to become extinct as a mortal, or will you choose to linger on this planet as a god?"
The goddess who was sitting on the throne and couldn't see her face clearly asked.
At that time, Heracles did not speak, but silently lowered his head.
"Oh? Have you chosen the path of becoming a god? Haha, but that's of course... Even if you are submerged by the ocean and the sky falls, you won't die, right? Such a monster Can a fetus still be called a human being? If you don’t want to become a monster, you can only choose the path of a god."
Ridiculing, the goddess from the moon lifted her own projection.
"Ah, your duty is still the same as before. It is enough to deal with those remaining remnants of human nature. The last recalcitrants will be enough. In that case, you will completely break with humanity."
Facing sea levels that have risen several thousand meters, humankind can basically be considered extinct.
Coupled with the fact that "Sky" could be killed at any time, this singularity strategy could already be considered a failure.
But just like a cat playing with its prey, the goddess is not determined to exterminate humans so easily. There is still a glimmer of hope for the prey under the cat's paw.
And Hercules thought he had grasped that hope——the light that could defeat the moon.
Raising his head suddenly, Hercules' tall body made of steel emitted terrifying magic power. The powerful heat evaporated hundreds of meters of seawater under his feet and around him in an instant, but Hercules did not fall. In the sea, but just suspended in mid-air.
The surrounding seawater is constantly trying to return here under the gravity of the earth. However, the seabed thousands of meters deep has not been filled by seawater at all. In other words, it has been filled by the terrifying force of Hercules before it is filled. The heat evaporates and sublimates.
Not to mention the sea water, even the air was not around Hercules at this moment.
If someone were standing here, he might have died from the high-speed magic jet that shot out in all directions like a bullet before being baked to death by the blazing high temperature.
That is, the radiation caused by magic power.
Different from the conventional particle flow, the stimulated magic power has more terrifying penetrating and destructive power than gamma rays.
The fact that the seabed, thousands of meters below Hercules' feet, is still being constantly changed by impacts is enough to prove this.
The wild hair on Hercules' head turned into red like the morning sun and started to dance like a living flame. His dark skin, which could not withstand even swords and guns, was cracked inch by inch at this moment, constantly revealing the surging magma underneath. Boiling golden magic.
His eyes were constantly emitting golden light at this moment. With his back to the setting sun that was about to fall below the sea level, Hercules aimed at the moon that had just risen into the sky from the other side of the earth and was hidden behind the sky. .
And Hercules had been waiting for this moment.
Not only the waiting from the moment I drew my bow to now, but also the waiting that started when I turned against the heroic spirits who also wanted to protect humanity and usurped their power.
"Finally can't hold it anymore? Arrogant 'mortal'."
The shadow of the Moon Goddess appeared in front of Hercules again, and said to Hercules with a look that had seen through everything.
"You don't think that your clumsy cover-up can hide my eyes, do you? I saw the conversation between you and Jason clearly. You didn't get their help, right? You shouldn't go now Is it right to strive for more power? Arrogant mortals."
Sure enough, have you distrusted yourself from the beginning and been watching everything?
A smile suddenly appeared on the corner of Hercules' mouth.
Since this is the case, it is not in vain that he betrayed him from the beginning to the end.
"The arrogant one is you, the proud god, who has always allowed me to accumulate strength."
"Oh, I've seen every move you make, but you just thought you were right after receiving the message from those 'creatures'. What do you want to do and what can you do if you betray your companions and want to steal power? I know very well————You can’t save mankind at all, let alone become the only ‘god’.”
"So you are the arrogant one————————shoot a hundred heads!"
Without saying anything more, just like the sun, Hercules shot a blow at the moon hidden behind the sky, using all his strength and all his strength on the line.
Like a golden beam of light that fuses the entire space, it shoots to the other side of the sky, leaving a thick and indelible trail.
The setting sun with his back turned completely set, but the surroundings of Hercules did not fall into darkness at all.
What followed was a powerful impact that made the entire earth's crust tremble.
Just the aftermath of Heracles' blow had already shaken half of the earth.
Storm winds that can easily blow down buildings and exceed the speed of sound, huge waves nearly a thousand meters high that can submerge mountain peaks, and the earth's crust that is constantly shaking and breaking spreads around Hercules.
Magma also spewed out from cracks that stretched for thousands of kilometers and then neutralized the seawater and huge waves that covered the entire earth.
Even if Hercules' divine body could unleash such an attack again, I'm afraid this planet wouldn't be able to withstand it a second time.
However, on the throne of the moon, facing such an offensive, Luna just smiled softly.
"Oh, is that all? Then let me see what you can do in the face of such a 'natural disaster', Hercules."
As the shadow of the Moon Goddess disappeared from the earth, there was a thunderous rumble, and dense cracks appeared in the entire sky like fragile gems, which were then illuminated by hundreds of silver rays of light. It penetrated and finally shattered completely, revealing the deep starry sky behind it.
＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊
Animusfia and others who were far away in the Temple of Delphi also felt the trembling of the earth's crust and the shattering of the sky at the same time.
"This is?"
Before Jason could react and was confused, Arturia Alt picked up the resting Master Fujimaru Ritsuka, avoided the falling boulders from the roof of the temple that had begun to collapse, and jumped He rose in mid-air away from the ground that shook and then shattered like a fallen coin.
"Mercury————!"
After reacting, Ritsuka hurriedly added Mercury magic to everyone so that they would not fall into the cracks caused by the earthquake.
"Neptune!"
And Animusfia also controlled the sea water outside the temple while floating up so that they would not be submerged immediately.
Looking at the temple that collapsed almost instantly and the earth's crust that was still shaking crazily after being shattered, Animusfiya's expression darkened.
"The magnitude of the earthquake has exceeded magnitude 15. I'm afraid Hercules has already started fighting against the gods of nature————!"
"Wait a minute, Director Animusfia, senior, look down!"
At Mashu's reminder, Animusfia and Fujimaru Ritsuka couldn't help but look in the direction Mashu pointed.
That was the foundation of the original Delphi Temple. After the temple and the earth's crust were shattered, what was hidden underneath was revealed. The treasure ship suspended above the sea water and the continuously gushing magma was silently waiting for its owner.
And Jason stood in front of the ship early and looked at it in disbelief.
"Argo?"
The murmurs in Jason's mouth revealed the true identity of the ship.
"Hiss, my magic can no longer hold up. Get on that ship quickly, we are going to float to the surface now——————!"
Suddenly feeling the heavy pressure from the sea water, Animusfia quickly ordered others to board the Argonaut.
I am afraid that along with the seismic waves, huge waves have also arrived near this sea area. Even Animusfia's magic can no longer keep the sea water calm. If this continues, everyone will be submerged and washed away by the sea water.
In their haste, Animusfia and Jason had no time to think about why the Argonauts was here.
However, with the help of Neptune's magic, it successfully broke through the water and rose to the surface. Everyone who landed on the Argo witnessed an unforgettable scene.
The entire sky was filled with cracks like broken glass, and then completely shattered, revealing the dark and deep universe behind it. At the same time, the shattered sky did not completely scatter, but stuck together and fell toward the ground.
Finally, when people were worried about whether the sky would collapse, the Hercules star chart, which had been exposed in the night sky before, materialized between the sky and the ground, and carried the killed sky corpse on his own Above the shoulders.
Along with the appearance of Hercules, everyone's eyes couldn't help but turn to the golden light pillar that penetrated the night sky and rushed towards the universe.
"That is………………"
Mash looked at the huge figure carrying the entire sky on his shoulders and couldn't help but murmured softly.
"Heracles..."
Jason frowned and stared at the huge figure in the distance, and said with a complicated expression.
