The Myth of the Greek Heavenly Demon - Chapter 96

Chapter 96 – Body Reformation

-Thud thud thud!!

“Hiya! Hiya! Run faster! Faster!”

The god, praised by all for beauty regardless of gender or age, was busy urging the reins, racing across the sky.
Steering the chariot of the sun, the face of the beautiful male god, bathed in golden radiance, was twisted beyond belief, considering his divine duties.
Perplexity, confusion, and fear.
It was a face no one would believe could belong to the Sun God Apollo, adored and respected by all on Olympus.
If his worshipers saw him now, they would likely beg to spare him from their confusion and anger.

Also, as the divine charioteer of the sun, the most beautiful minstrel, a benevolent healer, and the one responsible for the intellect of Olympus.
Even Apollo, who habitually spoke of maintaining composure and beauty, was inwardly horrified to see himself so disheveled and dark.

“But now is not the time for this! Run quickly! Friends of Helios! My sister must not plunge herself into disaster!”

During the daytime, when the sun’s chariot raced across the sky, no god or hero could escape the eyes of the Sun God.
Helios, the Titan Sun God and son of Hyperion, and Apollo, son of Zeus, who shared his sun chariot.
As they performed their divine duties, they witnessed all kinds of stories and events, the joys and sorrows of countless humans, the chronicles of heroes, and the ceremonies of gods, which were sublimated into myths and hero tales by Apollo’s inspiration.

Among them, the most frequently told were the epics of heroes.
Perseus, who rose above his tragic birth under the blessings of the gods, beheaded Medusa, and ascended to the throne, his glory and tragedy.
The heroic tale of Cadmus, who rescued Zeus, robbed of his divine core by Typhon’s tyranny, and slew Ares’s dragon.
The splendor of Bellerophon, who killed Typhon’s son Chimera, obtained the winged horse Pegasus, and soared the skies.
Since the land of Greece emerged from Gaia’s bosom, countless heroes have scattered their glory and fame, burning brightly.
Their legends, Apollo believed, were worthy of being immortalized in song by the Sun God, whose duties were the most splendid and glorious in Greece.

But now, after living for so long and singing of the rebirth of gods and heroes, he was in a state of shock, realizing something for the first time in ages.

“Hercules, son of Alcmene, daringly claims to be the hero of the great war prepared by the mighty Zeus. The power and majesty indeed boasted of being the bloodline of Zeus, and it was not lacking to take the name of the Great Mother Goddess’s glory.”

The lightning of Zeus, which could incinerate all the gods, was mirrored in the thunderous might of Hercules.
None could deny that Hercules was a true scion of Zeus, a great hero whose stature eclipsed that of any other hero Apollo had ever sung of.

“B-but what is this? Facing such a great hero head-on, intentionally aiding his awakening, and even confronting the first great hero who awakened divine power—what on earth is that black demon?!”

Three faces: joyfully exulting, viciously enraged, and wretchedly sorrowful.
Black flames, malevolent cold, the poison of Hydra, fierce winds, the wisdom of the abyss, and the power of man—these were wielded by twelve arms, each holding a power, each hand gripping a force that rivaled the gods themselves.
Their appearance reminded one of the protagonists of the past Titanomachy, the storm giants with fifty heads and one hundred hands.
Though much smaller and more delicate compared to those who threw mountains and leaped overseas.
The black manifestation that seemed to leap from the abyss and the powers held by twelve hands were comparable to the gods.

In any heroic tale or any story of gods, such a fearsome and evil form was unprecedented; even Apollo, with the prophecy and the eye of the sun, was startled.

And the shock caused by the collision of Zeus’s great hero and the abyssal demon god frightened even the horses of the sun, and the spokes of the sun chariot’s wheels cracked and creaked.
Apollo was even more shocked.

However, those physical scars were not the issue.

Artemis.

Goddess of the Crescent Moon, Protector of Huntresses, the Pure Guide.
And his sister, Artemis, was in danger.

“Please, please, sister! Hold on just a little longer! Just wait a little longer!”

Wounded deeply by the young hero known as Dianes on Passos Island, Artemis had lost her divine power and was recuperating in the temple, awaiting the day of her revenge.
However, that audacious sinner, under the name of hero, had entered the Forest of Heroes and received the sanctuary’s protection, making it hard to approach.
So she devoted herself to healing while Apollo and Selene performed their divine duties, watching him and collecting information, waiting for the moment of revenge.
He finally persuaded his father, Zeus, to allow him to perform divine duties in the Forest of Heroes.

‘Brother! Finally, we can make that foolish guy pay for violating and insulting the divine power of this Artemis!’

Artemis, who was bright and beautiful, smiled radiantly as she returned from the morning sun, rested the reins of the full moon’s Selene, and tended to the crescent moon’s chariot.
Receiving the farewell of his sister, who was smiling after a long time, Apollo also felt that today would be the last day he would see that black hero. With that intuition, he left Olympus.

“Please! Please, sister!”

In this situation, the throne of the crescent moon and the divine duty of purity might lose their owner.

“Yah! Yah!”

-Neigh!!

At the urging of their master, the four solar horses, panting heavily, raced through the sky faster than ever before.
Greece experienced a nightfall several hours earlier than usual, but Apollo arrived at Olympus just in time to make his fears seem unfounded.

“Artemis! Artemis!”

Forgetting the usual address of his sister, Apollo rushed through the temple as soon as he got off the chariot.

“Lord Apollo! You’ve worked hard again today…”

A servant, who came out to greet him with a towel and cool nectar, welcomed him, but the god had no time for the devotee’s hospitality.

“Where is my sister, Artemis, now?”

“What?! Pardon? Ah, Lady Artemis?”

The servant, stunned by the sight of the usually calm and gentle god in such a frantic state, couldn’t find the words to respond.

“W-well…”

“Enough! Get out of my way!”

“Ah!”

-Crash!

Angry at the servant who was standing blankly, Apollo roughly pushed him aside and ran down the corridor.
He didn’t have time to spend so frivolously.

“Artemis!”

Apollo barged through the door and entered the outbuilding where Artemis lived.
However, what greeted him was an empty outbuilding and a tablet inscribed with his sister’s bold handwriting.

-The foolish sinner who tried to defile the purity of the goddess shall suffer a pain worse than death. Once I’ve quenched my grudge, I’ll buy you a drink. Love you, brother~. The Mistress of the Crescent Moon, the Goddess of Purity, the Eternal Huntress Artemis.

“…”

An unprecedented crisis.
Apollo, overwhelmed by anxiety, couldn’t say a word and just stared at his sister’s letter for a long time.

-Thud! Ding-ding!

Under the bright moonlight, I found myself plucking the strings of the gayageum.
Not the Twelve Songs of Longing, nor some idle Korean pop song, nor the classical pieces played in music class.
A strange and complex melody.
Neither the seductive notes that captivated the mind, nor the violent notes that shattered the earth, nor the sharp sounds that cut through the air were present.
I was simply playing as my hands moved instinctively.

“Ah, ah~ ahh~!”

Occasionally adding my own exclamations to the rhythm that moved my body, I simply strummed and hummed the notes.
I swayed in a trance.

Massive impacts and explosions raged in my mind, lightning striking my entire body, and immense pain passed before my eyes like an illusion.
The immense powers that enveloped my body and the twelve powers that transformed at my will filled my mind with a thrilling sensation.
A torrent of overflowing inspiration, a massive wave of demonic qi crashing like a tsunami, divine power surging as if heaven and earth were responding.
An immense ecstasy that couldn’t be compared to the pleasure of embracing a woman and making love struck my body.

“Huh!!! Aaaaah~!!”

Something huge that had been blocking the torrent of ecstasy began to crumble.
Each time, a fragment fell from the collapsing wall that shook my body, and struck my brain.
Even such pain sublimated into joy, I relentlessly played the gayageum.

Was I playing the gayageum, or was the gayageum playing and teasing me?
Was I sitting on the ground, or was what I was looking up at the ground? I couldn’t tell.
Whether I was screaming or enhancing the excitement, I just nodded my head and screamed at the top of my lungs.

And then everything stopped.

The black sky, the body of flesh, the boundary of soul and spirit.
The universe of ecstasy that existed beyond all of that.
The steps of rebellion against the heavens I once touched, the hierarchy of evolution that made humans challenge gods and dominate the world.
At the end, the world beyond where I reached out my hand flickered before my eyes once again.

“Ah…!”

The distant and too far universe on the other side that I had never seen until now.
The realm I once reached, the realm one step beyond that existed, appeared before my eyes.
Though still obscured by the doubts of delusion, now that it flickered beyond, I could no longer bear it.

“Aaaa…!”

However, the place I had yearned for, the seat I longed to return to, was still not permitted to me.
And the hazy realm beyond did not yet reveal its complete form.
The foot that had just crossed the threshold seemed rooted and could not move.
That foot was cruel and sorrowful, and I tried to reach there even if I had to crawl, but there was a hand that gently held me back.

[Don’t be impatient. Soon, it will be your place.]

A soft and seductive voice, like a mother soothing a child or a temptress luring a man.
With a gentle touch caressing my cheek, I fell instantly.

“Gasp?!”

I opened my eyes and regained my senses, finding myself once again seated atop the rock where I had been playing the gayageum.

“I’ll be scolded by Hestosias for this.”

My ten fingers were all cut and split, bleeding from how fiercely I had played.
The gayageum, made of wood and silver thread, was dyed red, creating a strange aesthetic.

But more than anything, what caught my senses was the stench emanating from my body.

“Ugh… what is this?”

I looked down at the back of my hand, rubbed the back of my neck, and wiped my face.
A stench beyond description and a dark crust covered my entire body.
Amidst the nauseating filth, I couldn’t suppress the rising corners of my mouth.

“Khehe… Khahahahaha! Finally! Finally, it’s a step forward!”

In the righteous path, it was called the Incarnation Realm.
In the demonic path, it was termed the Supreme Demon Realm.

Just like a cicada shedding its shell and ascending to the sky, I had undergone a complete transformation and was now ready to walk toward divinity in earnest.