Chapter 195

“The Hall of the Divine where the gods reside. The Pantheon.”

“A beast god with the massive form of a wolf. Past the entrance guarded by Sirius, one arrives at the world above the clouds.”

“Recently, it’s hard to gather faith unless you belong to a major faction.”

“Yeah, that may be true, but not all gods belong to factions. The Great Mother of Life remains alone without joining any, right?”

“That one is an exception! But aside from Her, most ancient gods maintain connections with other factions.”

“That’s true…but…”

“So I say this: It’d be wise for you to have a proper faction backing you. I sincerely advise you.”

Two gods pass by conversing, looking just like humans in shape and talking in human-like ways.

“Lately, gathering faith isn’t going smoothly. Why is that?”

“You too? I’m deep in debt these days. What’s going on, I wonder?”

Other gods discussing their issues—just like humans struggling through everyday life.

Well, gods born from humans naturally resemble them. That’s only natural, I guess.

“Oh, this is…high-quality mithril! I wonder what magnificent divine artifact could be forged from this? How much faith would it cost to buy it?”

“It’s not for sale.”

“What? Why not? Such a valuable item should be sold for its worth, shouldn’t it?”

“I need it for other purposes, so it’s not for sale. Stop pestering me about the mithril, or get lost.”

“Tch…what a foul personality. No wonder you’re ostracized even within Olympus.”

Just like humans, gods use faith as currency. Watching them, they seem decent enough…until I remember those spirits defying Baal, making me slightly upset.

First, let’s head to Baal’s temple. The temple now without its master.

—

The central Baal’s Temple within the Pantheon.

Though ownerless, the grand temple still shines brightly, as if nothing’s wrong.

“Why won’t you let me in?!”

Except for that one god shouting at the entrance!

The handsome golden-haired male god argues with someone at Baal’s temple entrance.

“It’s simply not allowed.”

“Why?! The temple has no master now!”

“And precisely because of that, no one can enter.”

The black-haired goddess arguing with the golden-haired god is Nyx.

“You’re not Baal. You’re merely one of his fragments.”

“But even a fragment can be considered the same entity, right? Just like how a body part remains part of the same person, I am part of Baal!”

“Hmph. And yet you dare speak such nonsense?”

Nyx glares fiercely at the golden-haired god, who flinches slightly under her gaze.

“Such cowardice! Most of your faith is already gone anyway. You should’ve joined Olympus long ago!”

“I won’t join that group of fools. Now leave before I forcibly remove you.”

Hmph. Indeed, indeed. That’s how it is.

First…let’s kill him.

No, killing might be too sudden. Hmm…still, my annoyance rises.

“Hey.”

“Hm? Who are you? Do you know who I am…?”

I approach the golden-haired god from behind and speak.

“That face. It displeases me.”

With a casual swing of my sword, I behead him.

His severed head flies off, his body collapses limply backward, and the other gods watching the earlier argument can only stare blankly.

Then…

“Kyaaaahh!!”

“What?! The chief of Olympus?!”

“Who is that small deity?! What’s going on?!”

Tsk. Too noisy.

“Quiet.”

I assert control over the surrounding space, suppressing the other gods with my presence until the noise subsides.

Much better.

“Nyx.”

“Aa…?”

“Nyx.”

“You’ve returned…”

“Yes. I have.”

Seeing me, Nyx’s dark eyes gradually well up with tears. She must’ve suffered greatly since Baal’s departure to the Underworld.

“Let’s talk later.”

I gesture casually toward the rolling golden-haired god’s head, which floats by magic and lands gently in my hand.

Despite being separated from its body, the head remains alive…so gods really don’t die this easily, huh?

Then, would completely annihilating their physical form work? Maybe I’ll test that next time.

I lightly toss the head, and it reconnects with the body with a soft click.

“That fool claiming to be Baal’s fragment bears no resemblance to him.”

“No, he doesn’t.”

Baal was a refreshing youth. Not some oily adult like him.

“Guh, cough!”

Having his head cut off must’ve been quite a shock. Honestly, who could sever a god’s head?

“Know your place. Foolish one.”

“Cough…you…!”

Ah, so you recognize me?

Being connected to Baal, you might recall me. This should speed things up.

“Leave.”

At my quiet command, the golden-haired god begins retreating without another word.

“Hmph. Pathetic.”

“Anyone would react that way before someone who can so easily decapitate a major deity.”

That’s…true.

Then, let’s go inside. These other gods’ gazes are bothersome.

Just then…

“The incident happened here…oh!”

Sylphid appears with the wind, startled upon seeing me and Nyx.

Perfect timing. I needed to contact the others anyway. Having Sylphid relay the message will be convenient.

Aside from Shamash, who is pure light, Sylphid is likely the fastest among the children.

“Let’s go inside then.”

“Yes!”

“Just a moment! I’ll dismiss the other gods first. I rushed here hearing about a murder case, thinking it was something serious…only to find it’s you, Mom.”

“I didn’t kill him. Just separated his head from his body.”

“That’s practically the same thing! For most gods, that’s a big deal. Fortunately, he’s a major deity overflowing with faith.”

Hmm…indeed. So physical damage isn’t completely nullified then.

After watching Sylphid disperse the surrounding gods, we enter Baal’s temple together.

—

“To reduce…the number of gods?”

“Yes. Eventually, time will naturally decrease their numbers, but many incidents will occur during that period.”

Without Baal to mediate between the gods, it wouldn’t be strange for faith-hungry gods to start wars. Humans caught in the middle would suffer greatly, like shrimp crushed in a whale fight.

“Reducing the number of gods is quite an extreme method.”

“It may be, but with Baal gone, we can’t just leave things as they are.”

“That’s true. Besides, there are those trying to claim Baal’s position…we can’t ignore them.”

“Like that guy earlier?”

“Yes. Zeus. That fool.”

So the leader of Olympus is truly Zeus, huh? That explains their level.

“Well, if you’re reducing the number of gods…does that mean…us…?”

“Hm. Would I harm you?”

Upon my words, Sylphid’s expression brightens immediately.

“That’s right, isn’t it? Then…but…not all gods cause problems…um…ugh…”

Sylphid begins anxiously shaking her head, deeply contemplating.

Of course, my children are gods too, so having connections with other gods is natural. Some have even become quite close.

Thus, she struggles after hearing my words.

“I’m not eliminating all gods. Just reducing their numbers to a manageable level.”

“Then…have you made a list of gods to eliminate?”

“Not yet, but…”

I do have a complete list of all gods, though. The endless scroll of names in GodTalk goes on forever.

“Perhaps we should carefully select which gods to spare and which to eliminate?”

“Carefully select?”

“Yes. Not all gods are bad, and some are actually helpful. Honestly, I think leaving them alone might be fine, but since you’ve decided this, Mom, there must be a reason.”

Reason…reason…

Simply put…because the god I appointed as king defied me, sought his position, diminished my authority by appointing Baal as king, and turned the situations involving Baal into chaos…I’m angry.

Just that. Nothing more.