Chapter 1305

Chapter 1305

Zeus hated Hephaestus from the moment he was born. He could not accept that a child born between him and Hera could be so ugly. This was proven when he did not say much when Hera threw the newborn Hephaestus from the sky, which caused him to be lame.

It was different for Herakel. As a candidate to become the God of Heroes, Herakel was a son whom he was very proud of. After all, his quality was second to none.

That was not the case for Hephaestus. Despite carrying the great title of Zeus’ son, he was often ignored by even the most ordinary gods. Then, Hephaestus developed a severe social phobia; he could not make eye contact with anyone, even humans. This resulted in him becoming the laughing stock and object of mockery of all the gods of the Gaia Continent.

All of the gods of Olympus actually knew when Hera locked him up and used him to mass-produce weapons for Olympus. They just sat on the sidelines and let her be. They even thought that it was a very fitting place for Hephaestus.

What Zeus hated the most about Hephaestus was his curled shoulders and the way he flinched whenever he encountered someone, despite being a god and his son.

Zeus was not present when Hephaestus left the Gaia Continent. He only realized the vacancy he left behind when he realized that no one could fix or create weapons for the gods of Olympus. The worst part? Hephaestus had given the spear he was making as a gift for Zeus, to Minhyuk instead.

He had heard stories about Hephaestus from the people of the Western Continents. He had heard about how Hephaestus fought with his own life to save the people of the Beyond the Heavens Empire from the Master of Weapons and how he was loved dearly by many as the blacksmith of the same empire that he saved.

Unfortunately, nothing changed in the Gaia Continent, where he was born.

At that moment, Hephaestus said, “My world has changed.”

The gods laughed at him. The god, who took the lead in mocking him, said, “What the hell? Hey, you moron! You’re still a f*cking idiot of a god as always!”

The beautiful goddesses covered their mouths as they giggled at him.

“That’s right. You’ve changed. You’ve gotten uglier since the last time we saw you.”

“Kyaack! I made eye contact with Hephaestus. I have seen something so terrible!”

Zeus’ eyes narrowed. Was the only thing that changed

his world

? Unfortunately, it wasn’t

just

his world.

Hephaestus continued, “Everything around me has grown beautiful. I once only knew how to run away, but now I have learned how to fight. My pride has once been trampled on the ground, but it has been nurtured and is now reaching the skies. I have a woman whom I love and who loves me dearly. My children, whom I have vowed to protect and cherish, will be born soon. My world is now filled with a lot of new things.”

Zeus finally looked at Hephaestus’ eyes when he heard his words. The gaze Hephaestus used to look at him was no longer the same one he knew. Seeing the life in Hephaestus’ eyes, Zeus asked, “Why did you drag that lame leg of yours here?”

“Do not touch Beyond the Heavens’ Minhyuk.”

Zeus’s expression grew horribly distorted as those words rang. The entire hall fell silent when they heard the threat in Hephaestus’ voice.

“I’m sure you’re just going to use that ingredient or dish as a pretext,” Hephaestus said as he looked back at the gods of Olympus.

The gazes of the gods around him were filled with mockery. It was as if they were asking him how audacious he was for daring to tell them this.

“I know that you plan to go to war regardless of how amazing the dish or ingredient he will bring tomorrow. That’s why I’m here.”

None of the gods denied his words.

“Honest and just. That’s what I want. I want you to proceed fairly and not resort to lies and deceit.”

One of the women stood in front of Hephaestus. She was the goddess who ruled over winter and frost. She looked at Hephaestus and scoffed, “Why should we? If you want to ask us a favor, do it right!”

The woman, Denise, giggled as she pointedly looked at the ground. She was clearly saying they would think about it if Hephaestus bowed and crawled on their feet. Zeus did not say anything. Even the other gods of Olympus stayed silent and allowed everything to play out as the woman wanted.

Some of the gods surrounded Hephaestus. These were the same gods who dared to make fun of him, trample on him, and call him a monster.

The God of Axe sneered, “Hephaestus. Is that how you ask for a favor, huh?! How about you beg us just like the good old times? Go on, say,

‘Please! Don’t hit me in front of the others!’

If you do that, I’ll think about it briefly. ”

Delson, the God of Axe, patted Hephaestus’ cheek mockingly.

Demeter wept, “...We are gods.”

Alas, her cries did not reach the ears of the gods.

“We are gods blessed with intelligence higher than humans. We should make better judgments than they do, yet we act worse! Why...”

What did Hephaestus do to them? Why were they laughing at him when he stood there bravely? How rotten was Olympus?

Hephaestus looked at the weeping Demeter. When Demeter looked up, she was stunned to see a kind and gentle smile on the god’s face. Then, Hephaestus raised his right hand and grabbed Delson’s axe.

[Destruction Hammer.]

Hephaestus raised the hammer with his other hand and banged it on the axe in just a blink.

Crack, crack, crack!

Hephaestus possessed the power to destroy artifacts. The moment his hammer made contact with the axe, a web-like crack spread on the axe's blade.

Did the gods carry several artifacts? No. Just like humans, they also cherished one or two weapons dearly. And the weapon that they cherished the most would grow to become their most potent weapon.

The color drained from Delson’s face. This was the axe that he loved and cherished the most. It could split mountains, but now, it was slowly breaking apart. Interestingly, it had been made from Hephaestus’ hands.

Thud, thud, thud!

In the end, Delson could only stare at the remnants of his beloved axe on the ground. He shouted, “What the hell do you think...!”

“I did not come here to ask you a favor,” Hephaestus sneered, his gaze as sharp as a beast as he raised his hand to the sky. “The number of artifacts I have produced in the Gaia Continent alone totals 465,313,712. Included are the 3,685 accessories present in this place.”

Vwooong– vwoooong–!

A vast wave erupted and created a resonance. The accessories Aphrodite wore, the symbol of beauty, including the necklace hanging on her neck, the bracelets on her wrists, and the anklets on her ankles, resonated loudly. The rings adorning the knuckles and fingers of the gods shook and trembled. Even the necklace on Zeus’ neck, a gift that Hephaestus had given him, began to show cracks.

Everything that all of the gods wore, hung, or carried had been born from the hands of a single god.

“Break.”

Crack!

The hundreds of accessories, the very same ones that strengthened and helped them grow, broke apart. The god-grade jewelry and accessories they once wore proudly fell to the ground.

“N-no...!”

“My emerald ring...”

“Hiiiik!”

[The Gods of Olympus have been weakened!]

Artifacts classified as accessories also had various special effects.

“I came here to warn you.”

Hephaestus punched the God of Axe in the face, whose axe and ring had turned to powder.

Boom!

He sent the god flying with bare, calloused, rough hands. At the same time, dozens of golden tools, including a hammer, an anvil, nails, saws, and many other tools used to produce something, shot out from Hephaestus’ body and began to create something. It was a throne made of gold. The throne was engraved with a hammer and an anvil crossed together, a symbol that represented a blacksmith.

Thump, thump, thump!

Hephaestus limped forward and sat on his newly-made throne.

“I have changed.”

That was right. Hephaestus’ world changed, and so did he. The truth that he had concealed from everyone was slowly stirring within him.

When Hephaestus finished creating the Battle God’s Guardian Spear, he was given the right to ascend to the throne of one of the Twelve Gods of Olympus. However, he abandoned that position and moved out of the Gaia Continent to live in the Western Continents. And in that short time, he had fully integrated into his new world and become a complete Westerner. Nevertheless, the fact that he was the creator of the Battle God’s Guardian Spear would not disappear just because he moved to a different continent.

[Right now, someone has reached the end of the path of the highest and greatest blacksmith.]

[He could become ‘The Maker’ and support the world at any moment.]

He had hidden this truth. He knew better than anybody else that the Beyond the Heavens Empire should never have two suns. Also, he wanted to remain the foolish Hephaestus who only made weapons by Minhyuk’s side.

The Pillars were an existence that rivaled the Twelve Gods of Olympus. No. It would be more apt to say that only the Five Greatest Gods of Olympus could compare to them.

“You f*cker!”

“You have to pay for my jewelry!”

“Make the same thing for me right now...!”

The foolish gods failed to grasp their situation and were still crying and clamoring for their jewelry.

[The artifact maker controls all of the artifacts he has created.]

Hephaestus had created hundreds of millions of artifacts, which had been distributed all over the Gaia Continent.

[The durability of all artifacts in the Gaia Continent has started to drop.]

Crack, crack, crack!

Everyone’s eyes grew wide with shock.

It was not just their accessories that started to break. Their pauldrons, weapons, boots, all of the things that they were wearing, even the artifacts that they had hidden and stored somewhere had started to break. Even the armor worn by the Gaia Continent soldiers and the weapons they were using in their training began to crack.

And all Hephaestus did was raise a single finger. Hephaestus looked at them, an arrogant smile hanging on his face.

“Y-you bastard...! Do you think we will let you be, huh?!”

“You will die by our hands the moment you destroy our artifacts!!!”

“We will tear your limbs apart in less than three minutes!”

Three minutes? No. Two minutes was enough. The gods of Olympus present could easily kill Hephaestus. Regardless, the Hephaestus who had always shrank in terror like a cowardly dog was no longer in this world. In his place was Hephaestus, who stood tall, with his waist straight and fangs exposed. The same Hephaestus who would jump into the pit of fire just to protect what was his and those who were dear to him.

“Try it, you f*ckers.”

Not a single one of them moved. Why? Because the gaze that Hephaestus, who was willing to risk his life, showed them was terrifying.

[The durability has dropped below 80%.]

[The durability has dropped below 70%.]

[The durability has dropped below 60%.]

[The durability has dropped below 50%...]

Everyone felt suffocated as they watched the cracks on their artifacts grow bigger and bigger. No artifact escaped, neither Hades’ scythe nor Zeus’ lightning bolt. Even Hermes’ flying boots were suffering the same fate.

The gods of the Gaia Continent felt pain as the cracks that appeared on all of their artifacts spread. They knew the value of the artifacts. The moment those broke apart and got destroyed, they knew they would be terribly weakened. It was to the point where they would no longer be able to determine if they could win in a war against the Western Continents.

[The durability has dropped below 40%...]

[The durability has dropped below 35%...]

Amidst the groans and screams of the gods and the continuously declining durability of all of the artifacts in the area, stood the man who had been ignored since the day he was born and trampled on for thousands of years. The other gods mocked and ridiculed him and called him a monster even after he left them behind. He could have become a Pillar, yet chose not to walk down that path. The same man who stood here to protect his friend.

Hephaestus deserved respect. After all, he produced countless artifacts for them. But this man would no longer accept their ridicule.

After a long time, he opened his mouth. With a voice filled with dignity and confidence, he said, “Kneel.”