Myth: The Ruler of Spirituality

"But at the same time, I have no choice but to place Silver Moon City under the watch of the Divine Court, just as I once faced the crazed Mother Earth, to prevent similar desecration from happening again."

Logical and reasonable, without any aggressive stance.

Zeus was convinced that, at this moment, he was portraying himself as a saint standing on the moral high ground, the most qualified king in the hearts of all beings of Chaos.

And quietly waiting for a response, just as he had said earlier.

For the Divine King, he didn't necessarily have to destroy Silver Moon City, as long as it accepted his 'management' or 'monitoring.'

After all, the strength of sovereignty had never been about destruction, but the aggregation of obedience.

"So, ruler of Olympus, have you finished your accusations?"

The calm words were unexpected by Zeus.

Facing the questioning of the Divine King, an old woman, a fanatic believer, didn't seem angry.

She merely invoked the divine power within her, creating an illusion beside her that seemed indistinguishable from the image next to Zeus.

"If you are done, then listen to mine."

A cold laugh, though it was a pity she couldn't destroy these fake gods, the old woman knew she didn't have that power.

Fortunately, for once, that old kind person was finally smart, worthy of his position.

"As a believer of the Lord, I also want to ask you."

"Ruler of Olympus, why did you indulge your queen in colluding with the enemies of all living beings on earth... even though she ultimately reaped what she sowed, causing her own daughter to be forced to leave the mortal realm?"

The illusion beside her flickered and finally settled on an image from many years ago.

It was a cold stone platform, an improvised ceremonial hall, and a very familiar statue.

"This is..."

Brow furrowed slightly, looking at this scene, Zeus was momentarily at a loss.

But the next moment, as if he remembered something, the Divine King's face immediately turned grim.

...

"This is a sacrifice."

On an unnamed mountain, Clotho had somehow secretly picked up the 'murder weapon' that had rolled to the ground.

With a critical attitude, the noble Goddess of Fate decided to use this hollow metal rod.

By utilizing its internal structure, objects thousands of miles away seemed close at hand, and it was hard for anyone to notice.

After all, she was still a deity of fate; as long as she didn't get too close, not even the Divine King could discover her.

"A live sacrifice, when did this happen, why don't I have any memory..."

"Eh? Is this the childhood of that King of Athens?"

"Such an important figure, yet nearly sacrificed as an offering, how could fate not have the slightest reaction... ah ah ah! It's the Outer God!"

A continuous series of exclamations, as if she had seen something she shouldn't have while peering into fate.

Fortunately, as a deputy of fate, Clotho's safety in some aspects was extraordinarily high.

Seeing traces of the Blood Mother Tree alone had almost blasted Hera's eyes to powder, while she only had a brief cry.

Evidently, since she didn't intend to do anything about the Mother Tree, the other party couldn't do anything to her either, especially since it was just an intention descending in the past.

So, pretending to rub her head, Clotho couldn't hold back her curiosity.

"That... Mr. Demon King who wants to save the world, is that big tree also your enemy?"

"... It's at least not a friend."

After a moment of thought, Laine replied.

"I see... so do you know what this image is about?"

Not proficient in lip reading, nor particularly inclined to look into the fate of the Divine King.

Sensing a vague danger in peering into Zeus's fate, especially after his avatar had ventured into the Abyss.

So faced with something unknown, the Goddess of Fate simply asked.

"It's not a big deal actually, to be honest, do you remember I told you before, Athens is also involved in this war, though not in a direct combat role."

Replying offhandedly, Laine continued to watch the distant drama unfold.

Three wizards were killed on the spot, two definitely dead, the last uncertain, as it wasn't his real body here.

In essence, this story had taught people one thing, which was to never be the one attracting the most hatred, because until the last moment, you never know what would happen if you corner someone.

"This is Athens' 'weapon', the former incident where the current King of Athens, Andrea, was almost sacrificed by the Resurrection Sect, a group truly worshiping Hera, to that evil ancestor, the Blood Mother Tree."

"Obviously, just like the witchcraft of Silver Moon City wasn't just starting to research deities today, Hera wasn't just recently beginning to collude with the Outer Gods."

"Adding the fact that the wizards chose the Goddess of Youth, Hebe, as their target, and the deity they previously imprisoned was the only Titan God banished into the Abyss by Zeus, Crius's son, the God of the Stars, Astraeus. Originally colluding with the Mother Tree, Hera in the end faced backlash when trying to spy on the battlefield on the day Goddess of Youth got captured... a logical story emerged."

"... What story?"

Deeply engrossed, Clotho instinctively asked.

"Most likely, even during the Typhon calamity, Hera had secretly contacted the former Grand Sorceress of the White Tower, listed as wanted by Silver Moon City."

"The sorcerers imprisoned the remnants of the Titans for Hera, letting Crius's son suffer the same punishment as his father."

"Meanwhile, Hera used Typhon's power at the same time to contact the Blood Mother Tree — according to research, the Resurrection Sect seemed to have originated around that period, and its essential doctrine was derived from Hera bathing in the Fountain, rejuvenating."

"Ultimately, sorcerers, Hera, and the Mother Tree colluded together. The former continually carried out some anti-human activities, while the latter took the blame, leaving only the Heavenly Empress shining brightly."

"This lasted for thousands of years, until the Grand Sorceress wanted to go further, to obtain eternal life. Unable to get the Fountain of Youth from the Empress, he simply thought 'if you don't give, I'll take it myself.'"

"So the outcome became apparent, the Empress was backstabbed by the sorcerer, the Outer God only cared about interests, ignoring any previous cooperation."

"The Goddess of Youth became the sacrificial victim, bearing the price along with her millions of believers for her inherently sinful Mother Goddess... and when Silver Moon City's church divine warriors finally discovered everything, they descended to end this disaster of evil creatures bursting within the kingdoms of the continent, showcasing the big-picture-mindedness of the ancient gods' believers."

"The only slight imperfection was their failure to rescue the Goddess of Youth from the clutches of evil, although Olympus had shown no real reaction from start to finish, nor had any god come to eliminate the evils around Nauplion."

Here, Laine paused.

One had to acknowledge the imagination of those believers, which he appreciated.

"So that's the whole story, isn't it quite reasonable?"

"If not for the initial human sacrifice, the following reasoning might have seemed disconnected."

"But with the New King of Athens, Andrea's experience, everything seems less unbelievable."

"Amazing..."

Slow to react initially, Clotho couldn't help but praise the cunning of Hera's conspiracy and the deadly reversal by the sorcerers.

But as she listened to Laine's latter part, she belatedly realized something.

"No, this is fake, right? Actually, none of this happened?"

"Well... strictly speaking, all these events did occur, but how to interpret them is subjective."

Speaking slowly, Laine asked in a meaningful tone:

"On a different note, Athens certainly didn't invite Hera to kidnap their princess, nor did they ask her to perform the live sacrifice."