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Chapter 234: Oath Seizure (2)

—Do you really want to use administrator privileges on ‘Hera’ instead?

“Yes.”

A voice from the administrator system flowed out through the terminal.

It sounded as if it’s criticizing me for wasting administrator privileges on such a lowly god.

But my resolve is firm.

“If Zeus had been receiving full SP support since becoming the deity of Chaos, I wouldn’t have rushed to save Hera like this.”

That time, when I deliberately let Hera's SOS call through—

Zeus and the "other Kim Jiho" were deep in battle on Earth.

[Ha. That bastard Zeus. He's strong. I trust the judgment of the original body.]

Zeus, spreading calamity with his roots entrenched in Greece.

Until now, no matter how many clones attacked, not a scratch had been made...

But things changed once I accessed Zeus’s information using administrator privileges.

[God of Souls. You’ve come to die!]

[Power of Chaos. Still strong, but…]

Sure, my attacks still don’t work, like before.

But whereas before they were blocked 100%,

Now, 99% are blocked.

Which means 1% gets through.

[Resistance to the Chaos Authority ‘Banishment’ is developing.]

[All Chaos Authorities are being analyzed. Resistance is developing more rapidly.]

Hundreds of thousands of Kim Jihos rush in.

Among them, the strongest is of course...

The original body.

Attacks that clones couldn’t penetrate—the original can.

[Pathetic.]

Of course, even if the attacks go through, they’re ineffective.

By the time my attack reaches Zeus’s soul-body tainted in darkness, its power is already gone.

From his point of view, it’s just a mosquito buzzing around.

The purpose of attacking Zeus isn’t to deal effective damage.

[Damn it. I’m the bait, huh.]

Grumbling, the original body.

The soul-body of the God of Souls.

Much more tempting than hundreds of thousands of clones.

If Zeus could subdue the original and use Chaos Authority like ‘Disassemble’ or ‘Fusion,’ he’d gain more SP than killing tens or hundreds of millions of humans.

With such a juicy prey right in front of him...

And yet, he immediately reacts to Hera’s SOS?

That just proves how valuable Hera is.

And Zeus reacts instantly.

[No, not Hera!]

He was in the middle of fighting on Earth, but his reaction suddenly slows.

Even the number of those terrifying black lightning bolts of annihilation decreases.

[Huff… Huff… Damn. His reaction changed immediately. You saw that, right?]

“Yeah. Run.”

As soon as I said it, the original body fled.

Though black lightning bolts chased madly, the escape was already prepared, so he got away quickly.

Of course, I also benefited from Zeus no longer focusing entirely on my original body.

[Hey. Fighting Zeus is still too much. My SP’s about to hit zero. The consumption rate is insane.]

“Yeah. Good job.”

I send that message to my body on Earth, and now focus on Mars.

Just like me, who operates soul-bodies in multiple worlds at once, Zeus is invading not just Jupiter and Earth, but Mars too.

The whole solar system is a battlefield.

—Administrator privileges have been used on ‘Hera’. All aspects of Hera can be edited.

“What about additional SP cost?”

—None.

Good.

I immediately begin editing the Vow.

[Oath of Olympus]

[Sealed]

An oath made between Zeus, the chief god of Olympus, and all other Olympian gods. The Olympian gods would help Zeus ascend to the rank of Creator, and in return, Zeus would support their complete immortality.

The contract’s principals are Zeus and Hera. However, Hera colluded with Zeus and suggested they create an entirely new world together.

Hmm.

So they were in on it from the start?

This extra detail only revealed through administrator privileges.

I skimmed through it.

“Ha.”

I couldn’t help but let out a gasp.

“Hera. You’re something else.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Guess you weren’t just a couple in name only. You figured out what Zeus had in mind ahead of time.”

“Wh-What do you mean…?”

“You realized Zeus wouldn't stay idle once he became a Creator.”

Zeus, defeated by Yahweh.

Compared to Christianity, which began as a small religion in the Judaic region, Olympus’s standing was once firm.

But its influence continued to decline, and eventually it was completely trampled by Christianity—reduced from a target of worship to a subject of stories.

“Kneeling before Yahweh, burying his head, and personally offering up the Astrape—Zeus believed his defeat was because he was the leader of a polytheistic pantheon.”

“……”

“So if Zeus ascended to EX-rank, he would think: ‘One god is enough.’”

As the defeated leader of polytheism, even his symbol—the Astrape—was taken from him.

To repay this humiliation, Olympus united through the ‘Oath’ to push Zeus forward.

But—

Zeus had no intention of sharing his power with Olympus.

He sought to become the absolute being.

“You figured that out, and forged the vow in your favor to try and survive on your own.”

The Oath of Olympus—

If the oath is broken, the penalties automatically fall on Zeus.

But that penalty is less than 10% of its original power.

The punishment only truly activates when Hera, the gods’ proxy, personally acknowledges and executes the breach.

There are many complex conditions, but ultimately, that’s the key point.

Hera must execute it for the penalty to be properly enforced.

If she’s sealed, the penalty’s effectiveness drops to 10%.

Fearing that it might actually be triggered, Hera sealed herself.

She created a fake Hera through Cthulhu to act publicly in her stead.

“What nonsense are you spouting? How ridiculous.”

Hera, her face stiff, denies it.

Seems she doesn’t want to be humiliated in front of her children.

I almost spilled the details of her fraudulent contract...

[Soul God…!]

Outside, Zeus was recklessly hurling lightning imbued with the power of destruction.

His power hadn’t fully reached Mars yet, so for now, my soul barrier could hold it back.

Yeah.

With Zeus going wild like that, there’s no need to waste time arguing with Hera here.

“Edit the oath. Release the seal.”

— Adjusting Hera’s special skill instead.

After the voice of the administrator system was heard—

Hera’s eyes widened.

“N… No…!? This can’t be!”

The oath’s seal was undone right before her eyes.

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But it still won’t trigger properly unless Hera executes it.

“Modify it so Hera declares the execution of the oath herself. That’s possible, right?”

— Understood.

“Soul God. You think I’d do that willingly…?”

Hera, who had just burst out in anger, suddenly lost her momentum mid-sentence…

Her expression began to change.

The fierce glint in her eyes.

It melted away smoothly.

“N… No…”

A flustered voice.

Her mouth, which had been grinding its teeth at me, was now forming a gentle smile.

“You! What have you done… sir…?”

Her voice was no longer angry.

In fact, it was growing increasingly soft and affectionate.

She even started speaking politely.

“…”

Hera stared at me.

Her gaze, once sharp and hostile, had completely transformed.

Her eyes sparkled, and a deep blush spread across her cheeks.

I was almost the one startled by the sudden shift in her expression.

“Soul God…”

Her tone had become gentle, unlike before.

It reminded me of when Aphrodite used to sweeten her voice to win me over.

[Soul… Soul God. What did you do to my mother?]

Ares, who had remained silent until now, asked in shock.

I mean, I just told the administrator system to handle it...

“Hey. What exactly did you do?”

— Added ‘love and reverence’ toward you, the Soul God, as targets for Hera.

The administrator system replied casually.

Reverence I can understand—it's divine faith.

But love?

“Wait, why would you add love?”

— It’s a more effective method.

“Sigh… but is it really possible to change something like that?”

— With administrator privileges, nothing is impossible. Show Zeus the betrayal of the one he trusted most.

The administrator system said it coldly.

[Who are you talking to? And love, you say…? What did you do to my mother?]

“Ares. Be silent. How dare you raise your voice to a deity?”

[M… Mother.]

“You vile spawn of Zeus. Hold your tongue.”

Wow.

Administrator privileges are terrifying.

Her beloved son Ares, her husband Zeus...

She now treats them like mortal enemies.

— I also amplified her hatred toward Zeus.

Ah, so that explains her new attitude.

Hera, once a high-ranking goddess, changed so drastically in an instant—it was downright chilling.

“Then we can activate the oath now. Hera, activate it.”

“Yes. As you wish.”

Hera smiled sweetly, then looked upward and began the invocation.

“Oh god of the heavens, Zeus. You have violated your oath with Olympus.”

Letters of light began forming in front of Hera.

White characters gathered to create a phrase.

A total of 65 letters.

“I, Hera, as Olympus’s proxy, can no longer overlook this transgression.”

The white letters etched in the air began to take on a crimson hue.

One by one, the letters changed color—once 15 of them had turned red—

KRRRMMMMMM.

Zeus’s black lightning, infused with soul-destroying power, grew significantly stronger as it struck the soul barrier.

Even with resistance built up against Zeus’s authority, the barrier could hardly endure anymore.

BOOOM. CRACKLE.

The black lightning kept hammering down, shredding the barrier.

And then, the black lightning that tore through the barrier…

Struck down right next to Hera.

[Soul God…! Hera, stop. I’ve arrived.]

A voice thundered through the black lightning that struck the ground—Zeus’s voice, ringing with power.

At the same time, a message arrived from Earth's main body.

[Zeus is no longer pursuing me. He no longer cares about me.]

The Earth's main body had already fully escaped.

I could feel that Zeus’s full attention was now focused here.

[Hera. What are you doing? Why haven’t you stopped? There’s no need to worry about the Soul God anymore.]

Did he think Hera was bound by me and being forced to carry out the oath?

Zeus continued to urge her to stop.

Hera answered coldly.

“What are you talking about, Zeus? Why should I stop?”

[W-What…? You… You’re insane, aren’t you?]

Zeus couldn’t hide his shock at Hera’s attitude.

Perhaps because he never imagined she would betray him—he was uncharacteristically flustered.

[Come to your senses, Hera. The oath, it can still be undone!]

“Zeus. Someone like you—trash like you—should not be allowed to create a world. A new world shaped by your selfish desires… just imagining it is horrific.”

[Guh…! You…!]

Zeus was more shaken than I expected.

Hera’s oath…

I had thought of it as little more than a bluff, but…

Perhaps it meant more to him than I realized.

“Yes. The one who should create the new world is none other than the great Soul God.”

[Soul God. So this was your doing! How dare you… with Hera!]

Zeus erupted in fury.

The black lightning embedded in the ground surged.

The immense SP radiating from within it…

Uh-oh.

This is dangerous…

“Soul Barrier.”

I cast a barrier and prepared to escape.

After all, I had achieved my goal.

There was no need to die here.

The oath Hera had activated had 33 of its 65 characters complete.

That should be enough to hold Zeus back for a while.

[Be gone!]

Zzzzzzzzt!

The black lightning flew at me in an instant.

I poured all my energy into the Soul Barrier, but the moment it touched, I knew.

Ah.

This won’t last even a second.

Time to run.

But wait…

The entire area was covered in black lightning.

The clones I had stationed on Mars had already been wiped out by Zeus’s storm, and the entire planet was now blanketed in his lightning.

Like a dense net.

“This… isn’t looking good.”

[Soul God… You here must be the real one. I will destroy you completely and eliminate all future threats!]

Zeus mistook the version of me on Mars as my real body.

It seemed he didn’t consider the possibility of multiple true bodies.

Is that why he came with full power?

A fully unleashed Zeus—he's hard to handle.

Tch.

Looks like escape isn’t an option.

Time to self-destruct…

I'll leave the aftermath to another body…!

“No!”

Suddenly, Hera blocked my path.

She stood in front of the black lightning with a solemn expression.

[Hera…! No!]

Zeus hurriedly tried to retract the lightning.

But it was too late—the lightning had already reached Hera.

Zzzzt.

Zzzzzzzzzzt.

Her soul form was engulfed in electricity, and she vanished.

Without even a chance to scream.

In the blink of an eye, she was gone.

The Power of Chaos: Erasure.

It was far too strong for a newly awakened god to resist.

[HERA!]

In the place where she vanished…

Only the 65-character oath remained.

With her disappearance, the characters had all turned a deep crimson red.

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