C467
Upon exiting the workshop, what Hephaestus saw was a world entirely transford into a sea of flas.
Even Hephaestus, who until a mont ago was inside the forge, felt a heat intense enough to make even him, with his tolerance, furrow his brow.
Holding a sword in hand, Hephaestus stepped outside and frowned.
"The heat outside the forge is not exactly pleasant."
How many of the High-Rankers could describe the heat of the flas, which was even difficult for most to endure?
Despite being in a state of burns all over his body, Hephaestus showed no concern.
Kwak-!
[Abnormal condition: Burns increase to level 4]
With level 3 burns, the skin was turning into cooked at. Although the pain from the burns was more intense than the pain of tearing and cutting flesh, Hephaestus showed no concern.
Level 4.
Only level 4.
He was confident he could withstand the flas.
Of course.
"...This is a bit troubleso."
If only the flas were what stopped him.
Tilting his head, Hephaestus saw that around the forge, a gigantic serpent of purple color was writhing.
Perhaps Yamatano Orochi, whom Susanoo had cut, would be of that size? No, maybe even larger.
The snake covered in purple scales wrapped around Hephaestus's forge with its tail.
Crack~
The forge, which he was sure could withstand Surt's flas, collapsed and broke.
"Wow."
With astonishnt mixed with admiration, Hephaestus jumped forcefully upwards, away from the forge...
Wooosh-, Baang-!
Hephaestus's small forge collapsed.
Hephaestus, who had jumped so far, looked at the scene. If his heart didn't ache after the forge that accompanied him throughout his history collapsed, he would be lying.
But...
Looking at the sword in his hand, Hephaestus could console himself a little.
'Anyway, I wasn't planning to use it anymore.'
He had decided not to look at the gift from Olympus a long ti ago.
Now, the important thing was to deliver this weapon.
'Where is he...?'
That's how Hephaestus turned his head.
Woah-!
A giant snake tail flew towards him.
'It had two tails-.'
Baang-!
The snake's tail struck Hephaestus. In that life-or-death mont, instead of dodging or blocking the tail, Hephaestus tightened the sword in his hand even more.
Sohow, he had to make sure not to let it go.
Then...
['?(Incomplete)' resists the 'Greedy Snake Crawling On The Ground.']
[The use of '? (Incomplete)' is not allowed.]
["?(Incomplete)" Fails resistance].
With various ssages, an agony that felt like all the bones in his body were breaking took hold of him.
In the direction he was hit by the tail, Hephaestus flew away and fell to the ground. Amidst several collapsing buildings and the earth turning over.
"Cough!"
Hephaestus coughed violently, quickly squeezing his chest with his hand. He didn't know how many bones were broken.
Fortunately, he didn't lose consciousness. Hephaestus looked up thinking about how far he had flown and saw the snake that attacked him.
Every ti the snake moved, the city's topography changed. Sohow, in that short period, it seed like its size had beco even larger.
'It's a miracle to be alive.'
Despite being hit by the tail of such a sizeable snake, Hephaestus was still alive.
Regardless of his skill as a blacksmith, Hephaestus's strength was not that great. How could it be otherwise when Olympus sent a normal Ranker to capture Hephaestus?
In comparison, the snake seed difficult to catch even for several High-Rankers.
'Is it thanks to this?'
The item he created.
Although it was still incomplete, it had an effect. Even without him wanting it, the item protected him.
But that too was just a one-ti favor.
It couldn't happen a second ti.
Slide~
Although he hoped it wasn't true, it was the truth.
The snake approached Hephaestus more and enlarged its body gradually.
'A greedy snake, just as its na suggests.'
"Ugh-."
He rose from the ground while stomping the ground with the fist that held the sword.
Instead of thinking about fleeing, the first concern that arose was how to traverse that path and deliver the sword.
However, it seed impossible no matter how much he looked at it.
Chik-.
Thud-.
Aaaaaah!
Giant waves of purple color and tentacles jumped up from the ground. Under the purple sky, other Outers kept coming, and the sea of fire on the ground expanded more and more.
It was like standing in the middle of the end of the world.
Could he really reach YuWon through that?
It wasn't sothing that could be accomplished through effort.
'Will I die here?'
Although he said that, there was no fear.
He had lived long enough not to fear death.
There was no regret either.
He had achieved the masterpiece of his life.
There was only one regret.
'An instrunt is complete only when it finds its owner.'
The regret of not being able to see his creation find its owner and the regret of not having completed it entirely.
Kuuuu-.
The snake's head covered the sky.
Ssshh-.
The long tongue made a cunning sound as it writhed.
Hephaestus's own image was reflected like a mirror in the purple eyes that shone softly like jewels.
No...
'It seems it's not looking at .'
Only now did he understand.
What the purpose of these beings was.
Gguk-.
Hephaestus firmly held his incomplete child in one hand. And in the other hand, he held his weapon, his other heart.
'I don't want to destroy the child I created, but...'
A hamr left for the end.
It seed he would have to use it to break it instead.
'Sorry.'
He dropped the masterpiece he had created with so much effort on the ground. Although he didn't have an anvil, it didn't matter.
["...(Incomplete)"]
[Do you want to destroy '?(Incomplete)'?]
He had the ability to destroy any incomplete weapon at any ti.
Swish-.
Hephaestus's hamr rose.
Shiiiing-.
The snake's tail covered Hephaestus's sky. It moved to snatch Hephaestus's sword.
And just as Hephaestus was about to strike down to not surrender it, a Golden Lightning Bolt fell from the snake's sky.
Ssshh-!
Bang, bum-!
The snake, making cunning sounds, scread in pain. It writhed and suffered in agony as if its entire body was engulfed in flas.
Hephaestus, who had barely stopped the hamr, looked up.
A wave of Golden Arcane Power devoured the purple sky.
He knew that only one person in this Tower possessed such devastating power.
"Father...?"
"Did you call ?"
He turned his head towards where the voice was heard.
Zeus, with golden armor that closely resembled his hair, stood there. Hephaestus's body stiffened at the thought of how long it had been since they saw each other.
'You have changed a lot.'
On his face, which had never had a beard before, dark hair was growing. Additionally, his majesty had beco even greater, and his eyes still saw him as a blacksmith, not as a son.
He rembered sothing that happened a long ti ago.
When he refused to forge more weapons, Zeus kicked him and left him la in one leg.
Tremble, tremble!
It was a body that didn't tremble even in the face of death.
However, for so reason, his body began to tremble from the mont he faced Zeus.
Zeus scared him more than death.
Even at this mont, Lightning Bolts were falling from the sky.
Still formidable.
No, he was an even more monstrous figure than before.
"Are you going to keep trembling like that?"
"Ah, no, it's not that."
"The idea of fighting still hasn't left you, and you want to move forward, right?"
Zeus, who had been looking at Hephaestus for a while, walked past him.
"I saved you, so go and deliver that. It seems important."
His tone remained indifferent.
Perhaps because of that.
Although nothing had changed in his tone, the tremor stopped at his words. When they t again, Hephaestus thought that at least one leg or arm of his would break.
Step...
Zeus walked. The answer seed to be, "I will fight, so you deliver the sword or whatever."
Hephaestus looked at him like that.
Perhaps because of the beard on his face. Or maybe there was another reason.
Despite having beco much stronger than in his mories, his back seed smaller for so reason.
---------------------------
In the midst of the burning flas.
The fiery column trembled and showed a confused reaction.
As if it couldn't understand.
Tulzscha's fla reacted.
-"What do you an by that?"
Fwoosh!
A rough resistance.
-"I am no one's dancer. How dare you?"
"Did you forget that you danced for ?"
-"Nonsense..."
And at that mont...
The na and face of soone ca to Tulzscha's mind.
Shub-Niggurath.
The ruler of the Black Woods, noble and grand.
-"It can't be."
Many beings cried and raged at the death of Shub-Niggurath.
Tulzscha wasn't much different. But if Shub-Niggurath's death was caused by the one he considered, the story would be completely different.
"Do you rember?"
It was a wrong question.
Tulzscha had never forgotten.
It wasn't such a bright fla from the beginning.
"You were my toy. You danced for and gave pleasure. You were my dancer."
YuWon reached out towards the fiery column.
Clack...
Sothing was grabbed by his hand. Sothing small and hot without aesthetic limits.
"It was the na I gave you to soothe my boredom. Your fire was definitely fun to watch."
Tulzscha was convinced.
What was in front of him was not a simple human.
This was a story known only to two people, inside and outside the Tower.
"You were my dancer and my toy."
Whaaaa!
The purple flas covering the world gathered in YuWon's hand.
"However, you boldly sought my na."
["You have obtained the na 'The Dancer Who Dances With Fire'"]
The power of the na changed hands.
YuWon looked at Tulzscha, pulled out of the fiery column like this, and smiled.
"Your true na is Tulzscha. One day, you appeared before as a re small fla."
Frr...
A small fla burned in the palm of his hand like a firefly.
This was the appearance of Tulzscha, whose na was taken away.
With that, when YuWon squeezed his hand tightly.
Crunch...
The small fla disappeared without being able to resist.
"It annoys that the na I co across is the na of sothing as vulgar as you..."
Flash...
Pfff...
The flas covering the sky and earth disappeared, revealing the outer landscape.
A world whipped by Lightning Bolts. Thousands of Outers stretched beneath the purple sky.
Tulzscha was just the beginning.
And looking at that battlefield, YuWon smiled happily.
"Fortunately, Nas are everywhere."
-KO-FI
'Ko-Fi' for Advanc3 Ch4pt3rs (Up to '95' more ch4pt3rs)Publication of up to 6 weekly ch4pters, thanks.
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