Chapter 1306

Chapter 1306

Hephaestus had lived on the Gaia Continent for thousands of years, but only two people treated him with respect.

The first was Herakel. Despite having an eccentric personality and an arrogance that reached the skies, Herakel would not condemn, criticize, or ignore someone for no reason.

The other one was Demeter. She had a good heart and a kind personality. She had always tried to treat Hephaestus kindly and with respect. She did not try to blend in with the other gods. After all, she could not understand why the other gods always tried to crush Hephaestus’ ego and trample on him.

Hundreds of millions of people lived on the Gaia Continent. Yet the entire population, except those mentioned before, had always ignored and mocked Hephaestus.

The gods would spit at him and mock his limp legs whenever he passed. There were even some vicious ones who would beat him up by saying that he was slow in making their artifacts. Even mortals did not bow when they saw him and would even go so far as to whisper and laugh at him.

One of the humans even said...

–

It’s better to live as a human mortal than be a god with a limp like that.

Did the gods of Olympus act differently? They just fanned the flames. When Hephaestus attended the gods’ council, his chair was missing. So, he was forced to crouch and sit by himself in a corner.

That was the kind of life Hephaestus had lived for thousands of years.

“Kneel.”

Hephaestus did not do anything wrong. He was even more like their benefactor. He had created countless tools for the people of the Gaia Continent, helped improve their quality of life, and even made them weapons and armor that protected them from monsters. The flames in the forge of his smithy did not die down as he worked tirelessly without an ounce of sleep for the gods.

Yet only after he had moved to the Beyond the Heavens Empire did Hephaestus realize that he was a god who deserved respect. When he hammered day and night in his smithy in the empire, someone approached him and handed him some water and towels. The people who received the artifacts he had made for them jumped in delight and hugged him in thanks. The people of the Beyond the Heavens Empire truly loved and cherished Hephaestus as he was. That was why he wanted to protect them.

One of the gods pondered before saying, “Are you going to destroy the place where you were born...? How can a god like you do something like that...”

It was complete bullshit. Hephaestus might have been born in this place, yet no one had treated him like a decent being. He wasn’t even treated as a human.

[The durability has dropped below 25%.]

[The durability has dropped below 22%.]

[The durability has dropped below 20%.]

Cracks continued to spread on all of their artifacts. Like that, all the artifacts in the Gaia Continent were left on the verge of breaking down.

“Kneel,” Hephaestus said, his voice low as it rumbled in the area.

If looks could kill, Hephaestus would have already been dead with how the gods glared at him. Why should they? Why did they have to kneel to such a f*cking bastard?

[The durability has dropped below 19%.]

[The durability has dropped below 16%.]

[The durability has dropped below 12%.]

But these weapons and artifacts saved them countless times in crisis and kept them away from death in war. If these weapons were destroyed, they would have nothing. After all, there was no longer any Hephaestus, who would make artifacts for them.

[The durability has dropped below 10%.]

Crack, crack, crack!

The hair-raising sound of the artifacts slowly breaking apart made the gods flinch.

“Kneel,” Hephaestus said, the low rumble of his voice echoing once more.

This time, one of the gods slowly bent their knees. Another god grabbed the slowly kneeling god by the shoulder and tried to stop them.

[The durability has dropped below 7%.]

[Hundreds of millions of artifacts in the Gaia Continent will soon be destroyed.]

[Once the artifacts are destroyed, they will no longer be able to be repaired.]

THUD!

In another place, a different god finally knelt. With that, it kicked off a chain reaction. Just like that, the gods who criticized, mocked, jeered, ignored, and trampled on Hephaestus fell on their knees one after another.

Demeter’s jaw dropped at the impossible sight in front of her. As she watched them slowly kneel in front of the man sitting on the blacksmith’s throne, she could not help but feel complicated.

Then, Hephaestus’ gaze landed on the gods of Olympus.

[The durability has dropped below 4%.]

Their once shiny armor was now filled with cracks and about to break. Athena was the first to break and kneel among the Twelve Gods of Olympus. Then, the crying Aphrodite followed. Even Hades could only groan as he slowly knelt.

Their eyes were finally forced to open, and they saw the power that Hephaestus possessed. He was a powerful man whom they could not dare mock and trample. Although Hephaestus was only a single god, he possessed enough power to shake the entire Gaia Continent to its core.

There were always people like that. People who had been ignored and mocked because they were kind and did not know the true extent of their powers. Hephaestus was only able to learn that he deserved respect and love when he joined the Beyond the Heavens Empire. They were the ones who made him realize his true worth.

Among the Twelve Gods of Olympus, Zeus was the only one left standing. He remained standing despite clearly feeling the cracks on his lightning bolt spread.

One reason Zeus despised Hephaestus was his low self-esteem. Even though Hephaestus was a child born between him and Hera, he could not help but look away and ignore him, especially whenever he saw him getting trampled on by other gods and being taken advantage of.

Things were different now. Hephaestus recognized his true worth and became a blacksmith who was proud of who he was and how far he had come.

“...I will judge and evaluate fairly,” Zeus declared. He would no longer deny whatever Minhyuk would bring to them and recklessly start a war.

“I will not attack the Pillar of the Gourmands.”

He wouldn’t even try to drag him into the prison. Zeus smiled bitterly, his eyes filled with conflicting feelings of love and hate as he looked at Hephaestus.

“You have become cool. You are worthy of the blood flowing in your veins.”

Zeus looked around. All of the gods of the Gaia Continent were kneeling in front of a single god.

“In the end, you have proven that you are truly my son, Hephaestus,” Zeus said, finally and genuinely acknowledging Hephaestus.

He even praised Hephaestus, wishing for his happiness, especially now that he had left his father's arms.

“Now, I wish you happiness in your new world.”

“Father.”

“Yes, son,” Zeus answered, a happy smile as he looked at his son.

“Why can’t you just kneel quietly?”

“...”

‘Ah. It seems like I got caught.’

Zeus was stunned. His words were sincere, but of course, he also wanted to evade what Hephaestus wanted him to do.

Unfortunately for Zeus, Hephaestus viewed him only as a father in name. Now that Hephaestus was ready to spread his wings and fly, this man suddenly changed and acknowledged him. Hephaestus did not need a father like that.

Zeus, who finally understood the situation, eventually knelt.

[The drop in durability has stopped.]

[The loss in durability will slowly be restored with the power of Hephaestus.]

[It will take around a month for all artifacts to recover completely.]

[Hephaestus demands an Olympus God’s Oath.]

[Zeus accepts the Olympus God’s Oath.]

The Olympus God’s Oath was an absolute vow. With this, they would no longer be able to deny and refuse the kimchi that Minhyuk would bring to them and use it as an excuse to start a war.

Many of the kneeling gods looked at Hephaestus. Many of them had realized a lot of things ever since Hephaestus left. With Hephaestus gone, they no longer had someone to make outstanding artifacts for them. No one could make them beautiful jewelry and accessories that make them shine at banquets. If they were to be honest, they wanted Hephaestus to come back to the Gaia Continent.

Regardless, Hephaestus knew better than anybody else how they had treated him.

‘I thought that I would at least feel good...’

He was currently feeling very complicated. Even though he had made all of the gods who mocked him and trampled on him kneel in front of him, he did not feel that good. Hephaestus only shot them a look of disgust before smiling bitterly.

‘It seems like achieving my goal is much more meaningless than I thought.’

Every person had a goal that gave them the drive and determination to move forward. Once someone achieved the goal that they had established, they would feel happiness for a few days at the shortest or a few months at the longest. After that, they would often feel lethargic and disillusioned.

Hephaestus did not expect that he would be the same. Just then, Minhyuk’s words echoed in his mind.

–

Hephaestus. I want you to be happy.

Minhyuk, his dear friend, had always told him to do things for himself.

–

So, rather than doing something for others, I want you to be selfish. Think of yourself first.

Hephaestus shook his head and thought,

‘I’m sorry, Minhyuk. I’ll just follow half of your words.’

He chose to follow the half about being selfish and living and thinking for himself. As for the half that he decided to discard? It was naturally the half where he would stop doing things for others. A delighted smile bloomed on Hephaestus’ face. Why? Because he had set a new goal for himself right here and now.

The gods watched as Hephaestus stood up from his throne and limped away. Although his back looked quite shabby, it was the back that they now longed for and desired. Now, the gods felt that regret as they looked at Hephaestus’ departing back. And this time, the decision Hephaestus had made shook them to their very core.

[A new Pillar has been born to the world.]

“...!”

“...!”

“...!”

[His awakening began when he set a new goal for himself.]

[He was born ugly and was forced to live under the contemptuous gaze of the entire world.]

[But he overcame everything and eventually transformed into the most brilliant and brightest blacksmith in today’s world.]

[He had made a new goal for himself. And this goal is to make the greatest weapon.]

Hephaestus’s new goal was formed after he recalled the image of Minhyuk’s greatest sword.

He dared to ask,

‘Is there truly a greatest sword in existence?’

No. There was no such thing. The most amazing thing in the world is that such things with these titles could not exist. After all, times would constantly change.

Each passing day witnessed the birth of countless new lives. With the introduction of these new lives, “forever” and “greatest” could never exist together. This meant that the title of the greatest could always be broken at any given moment.

And Hephaestus wanted to be the start of that era. This was also something that he wanted to do for himself. This goal would be the driving force that would make him the happiest in the world.

This beginning would also be for Minhyuk. For the friend he loved and cherished the most in the world, Hephaestus wanted to make a weapon that would be more outstanding than anything with the title of “Greatest.”

[He ascended and took this position for the Greatest Weapon.]

Now, Hephaestus had been made aware of the Pillar Disaster. And the Pillar Disaster that was made for Artifact Maker Hephaestus was a skill that allowed him to create artifacts that transcended limits and realms.

All of the Gaia Continent gods stared wide-eyed at Hephaestus’ back. Their thoughts had changed entirely. They wanted him to turn around and come back to their arms and make artifacts and accessories in the Gaia Continent once more.

𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Now, the Twelve Gods of Olympus could only wish,

‘Please! Please stay by our side and make artifacts here.’

‘We want you, Hephaestus. We want you so much we’re going to go crazy!’

‘How can we get a god like you back?!’

They wanted him to return to their arms, regardless of the means. Unfortunately, the contempt and disgust in Hephaestus’ eyes seemed to ask them,

‘Do you even have the guts to have me by your side?’

At this moment, the back of the limping Hephaestus looked as wide and sturdy as a mountain. Hephaestus smiled and looked up at the sky as a pillar of light fell upon him. There was only one reason why he chose to become a Pillar. It was for the sake of this one person. And his new goal was also for this person.

“Minhyuk.”

As the dazzling light enveloped his body, the most excellent blacksmith raised his hand to the sky and clenched it into a fist.

“I will make a weapon for you.”

So this person would no longer be afraid of any danger...

So this person could at least be relieved of some of the weight of the burden that he carried...

[The name of the new Pillar is...]

[The Maker. Hephaestus.]

He would make a weapon for Minhyuk.