Greek Mythology: The Spiritual Dominator.

Chapter 596: One Second of [Time Stands Still]

Night fell and the moon disappeared into the clouds.

Outside the city of Nafplio, the wind from Silvermoon City could not reach here, and Hebe, who was chanting songs in a low voice, knew nothing about it.

Somehow, the rules move with the singing, and the power of youth washes the spring water in front of it.

Although these songs were not a necessary part of the ceremony for the god who truly controlled youth, Hebe did not slack off.

For just as dance is the oldest priestly gift to the gods, so too was Hebe's song an offering to her mother, in return for the blessing Hera had given her:
In the name of the guardian of marriage, you will have a husband whose courage and wisdom are unmatched, and whose fame spreads throughout the earth and sky.

"Praise be to you, faithful wife."

"Praise you, loving Mother Goddess."

Whispering silently, as a poem came to an end, Hebe slowly stood up.

There were still a few days left for this ceremony, so she could take advantage of the night to rest for a while... However, at this moment, even though nothing had happened, an inexplicable feeling of horror suddenly came over her.

"Varied--"

Without time to react, Heber subconsciously wanted to call for help.

But at the same time, the omen of death seemed to be imminent.

Fear gripped her heart in an instant, and Hebe seemed to have seen her own corpse... Under this unprecedented stimulation, the instinct for survival directly stimulated the divine power hidden in the divine body.

wow——

Once the thoughts become apparent, they separate the inside from the outside.

In an instant, a pale golden divine light enveloped the surroundings, blocking out everything from the outside world.

The fear was dispelled from the bottom of her heart. Although the goddess of youth felt regret at the first moment after regaining her sanity, she also felt a little relieved when she felt the divine power around her.

After today, she would probably suffer a serious injury. But no matter what, the power of the mortal world could not break her divine shield.

She would use this last bit of time to return to the sacred mountain safely. When that time came, she would report to the Mother Goddess and make this madman who dared to attack her suffer eternal punishment!

Turning around suddenly, Heber wanted to see the murderer's face clearly before leaving.

But at this moment, an invisible field suddenly opened up.

It covered the entire spring, the entire Nafplio, and all living things in this space.

And in the center of this field, the goddess of youth seemed to have turned into a frozen photograph, even the slightest expression was lifelike, and it was difficult for her to move even a little bit.

hum-

[Ten Rings Sorcery·Shadow of Death]!
[Ten Rings Witchcraft·Time Stands Still]!
[Ten Rings Witchcraft·Large Space Lock]!
On the distant barren mountain, the old man's face seemed to become even older at this moment.

He slowly retracted his outstretched fingers and looked at the seemingly still scene in the distance, and he couldn't help but sigh slightly.

This is God... Even if she is the God who controls youth, her divine power is enough to resist any mortal force.

Even if the Lord of Ten Thousand Demons had not first defeated him until his divine power was dissipated, and then the [Artificial Magic Net] had not continuously absorbed new divine power, then the God of Stars would not be someone they could imprison at all.

Perhaps the Goddess of the Demonic Web before she became a god could fight against the true God as a wizard... However, facing this unbreakable barrier, the old man was not discouraged.

Because he knew that if he wanted to hunt gods, this was a hurdle he had to face.

Taking a step forward and passing through the invisible portal, the old man stood in the sky and overlooked the earth.

Under his feet, Hebe, shrouded in a divine shield, was like a sculpture, but the laws of the world had yet to arrive.

Without any surprise, the old man knew very well that the power of [Time Stands Still] could not actually affect the time of a god who had unleashed divine power.

Therefore, few people know that the function of this witchcraft is not to stop time, but to "accelerate time".

When everything in this field was accelerated thousands of times, then Hebe, the only one that was not accelerated, was in a state of suspended time.

Therefore, although it seems that a long time has passed, in fact, if the old man cannot take the initiative to break the opponent's divine shield, his action today has already failed.

Fortunately, as he said before, the most critical person today has never been himself.

The only one who can fight against a god is naturally another god.

"One city, millions of people."

"Your city-state prospered and grew because of the daughter of the Queen of Heaven. Now that you are dying because of her, I think it is a worthy death."

The voice was calm. In that city, in addition to the original civilians and nobles, there were believers who gathered for the annual advent of the Queen of Heaven, and tens of thousands of descendants of God who were captured by the old man's students themselves.

They had been scholars and nobles, perhaps judges or knights.

But now, they only have one identity.

"That's the sacrifice."

He raised his hand again, and the ancient and complex array pattern spread along the city wall, eventually covering the entire city.

In the center of the ceremony, a star shines brightly.

"I dedicate your life and everything you have to Astraeus, the father of the stars, the fallen light, the son of the great Titan, the noble and immortal one!"

"Since the gods are the beginning of your glory..."

"Then they will be the end of everything for you."

The ritual officially began to run. Standing on the nameless barren mountain, the old man pointed his finger.

Everything a person has can be sacrificed, but a portion must be left behind that belongs to God.

So under his manipulation, in the city of Nafplio, as the sacrificial fire burned on the bodies of the descendants of God, the imperceptible essence of the divine blood eventually remained silently in front of them.

……

Silvermoon City, abandoned city area.

Underground crypt.

The bones are piled up endlessly.

Walking on the hills of piled bones, the great wizard Erwin moved forward.

The flickering candlelight brought some illumination to this huge space, but when the flickering firelight was reflected in the hellish underground palace, the light became an accomplice of darkness.

The middle-aged man had a blank expression on his face. He was not used to the scene at first.

However, as the teacher's most obedient disciple, facing the increasingly aging and unwilling to move old man, he could only take on all the experiments that required hands-on work himself.

Once, twice, three times... after so many times, he got used to it.

Until today, he could already open the abdomen of the beast without batting an eyelid and take out the divine embryo, which was only a few months old, alive. Then, while maintaining the lives of both, he could extract the most essential [life residual fluid] from it when the living being was conceived and born.

Or maybe they are conducting some more taboo experiments while eating... the kind that would make any mortal unable to sleep for several days if they heard a little bit about it.

Time... is truly the greatest force in the world.

Given a long enough time, everything can be adapted to.

Sometimes when Erwin thought about it, he was also surprised.

When did I start to go down this path from being an honest and hardworking young man?
"……Can not remember."

"But the teacher is right."

"Given endless time, even an ant can become a dragon."

"I'll think about it after I gain eternal life... First, I'll finish what my teacher asked me to do."

Clearing away the messy thoughts in his mind, Erwin walked up step by step to the platform piled with bones.

As if it finally noticed the person coming, the figure pierced by the wriggling flesh and blood tube trembled slightly, and slowly raised its head that looked like a dry bone.

"Your Highness Astraeus, the honorable God of the Stars, I come to see you again."

"..."

boom--

"To thank you for your dedication day and night, for providing me with countless of your offspring, and even your own divine body, I come again to offer you a sacrifice."

boom--

"This is a mortal's respect for you, and our insignificant contribution to the noble gods. Wait, I know you can't wait, but please don't move."

bang bang-

"You will have to wait a little longer for your sacrifice to be delivered... and by the time you have tasted the nourishing blood food, a new batch of female beasts will be waiting for your presence."

bang bang bang-

"Don't be impatient... I know you can't wait. But in many cases, waiting is also a virtue."

Boom——!
Unable to make any sound, his withered body banged against the invisible barrier frantically, but he was unable to shake it even a little bit.

Looking at all this, the middle-aged man still had no expression on his face, as if the tone of his previous words was not what he said at all.

Erwin knew that at this moment, the God of Stars only had his hearing barely functioning, and he couldn't see his own appearance at all.

And with his brain now corroded by blood sacrifice and covered by hatred, it is impossible for him to calmly think about his purpose.

In the past, in order to avoid wasting the sacrifices that he had collected with great difficulty and consuming the precious power of the gods in the confrontation with the [Artificial Magic Network], Erwin always avoided further stimulating the opponent's spirit. But at this moment, his words were as sharp as a knife.

From descriptions of the lives of the gods on earth to the 'touching and interesting things' that happened during his own experiments.

As time passed, the middle-aged man looked indifferently at the increasingly weak, yet increasingly angry and desperate god.

He didn't get much pleasure from it, but it was his job.

The sound echoed in the empty underground palace, and the words of mortals and the struggle of gods composed a melody.

Until a certain moment, the void around the [Artificial Magic Net] shook slightly, and wisps of crimson light shone through it.

"...Hmm? It seems like it's time."

"Your Highness, your feast is here."

A mocking tone, a cold look.

At some point, the field of [Time Stands Still] that had also been prepared long ago was opened here, and even with the help of the [Artificial Magic Net], even Astraeus was easily enveloped by the accelerated time.

Under the middle-aged man's gaze, the shriveled body in the center of the underground palace began to recover at a speed almost visible to the naked eye.

This is God... Even if he has been tortured for a thousand years, once he has enough divine power, the injuries on his body can be easily healed.

But Erwin knew that according to past rules, the sacrifice would be completed at this point.

After all, the blood sacrifice of mortals is to replenish the vitality of the divine body, not to restore the strength of the God of Stars so that he has the possibility of breaking free from them.

In order to prevent this from happening, the number of sacrifices had been carefully selected in the past - but this time was different.

In the center of the underground palace, a steady stream of blood sacrifice power seeped out from the void.

They rushed into Astraeus' body, and then with the beating of his pulse, they relieved the dryness of blood and flesh in every inch of his meridians.

At the same time, as the target of sacrifice, resentment that was hundreds of times greater than before also acted on the spirit of the God of Stars, causing his sanity, which had originally reached its limit, to collapse once again.

At this moment, feeling the power of blood sacrifice that was somehow many times stronger than before, Astraeus instinctively mobilized all his divine power.

Even though his body, which had just regained its fullness, lost its vitality again, even though the suppression of the mysterious laws would suppress him the next moment his divine power left his body, at this moment, when the mortal's 'mistake' that he had been waiting for a thousand years finally appeared, the God of Stars chose to fight hard without hesitation.

“…Human…Human——!”

"ah------!"

"I—want—you—to—die!"

The starlight burst out brightly, easily tearing the [artificial magic net].

It went straight through everything in front of it, breaking the accelerated time domain here and passing through Erwin's body.

Then, with the middle-aged man's calm expression, he continued to move backwards and shot into the space door that had already been opened.

……

Outside Nafplio, everything remains the same.

Everything was still, except for the old man standing in the air.

At some point, hundreds of diamond-shaped crystal pillars that had been charged to the extreme were arranged beside him, and an extremely black crystal was dragged in his hand.

A spatial portal opened in front of the Goddess of Youth, and unimaginable elemental tides surged in the surrounding void.

[Time Stands Still], it stretches one second in real time into a day in the eyes of the old man.

Even though it actually lasts for less than one tenth of a second, and even though its use is actually subject to many restrictions, in today's world, it is the sharpest spear and shield in the hands of great wizards.

Even though it was not the first time that the old man experienced this kind of power, he could not help but sigh once again at the greatness of time.

If this witchcraft was not a ten-ring one, but could be sublimated to the twelfth-ring realm... then even if it was no longer in the human world, it would be enough to shock the true gods with its power.

However, no one can do this. After all, witchcraft originates from the analysis and imitation of all things. But since there is no immortal who controls time in this world, even the Goddess of the Magic Net can only sigh in despair.

hum-

"Ok?"

"finally come."

His spirit moved slightly and his face became serious.

Feeling the fluctuations of the space gate, the old man drank the last of the 'Blood of the Star' in one gulp, and then crushed the black crystal in his hand.

The next moment, the realm of [Time Stands Still] shattered, and a ray of starlight that penetrated everything came out through the door.

Beside the old man, the real apprentice hurried over. He looked at the starlight that tore his flesh and blood puppet apart with lingering fear.

From the perspective of the goddess of youth, her eyes blurred slightly, and a beam of light filled with anger, murderous intent, and madness rushed towards her.

In an instant, the divine power collided with each other, and Hebe, who was originally preparing to escape back to the sacred mountain, stopped.

At the same time, hundreds of dazzling rays of light streaked across the sky and headed towards the direction of the goddess of youth.

With a wave of his finger, the black crystals used as spellcasting materials turned into ashes and then silently re-condensed beside Heber.

Almost at the moment when the divine shield and starlight were shattered at the same time, a dark space vortex merged with the figure of the goddess of youth.

【Counter Aura】

[Regeneration Suppression]

[Divine Breakthrough]

【Weakness Detection】

【Protection against cracking】

……

[Eleventh Ring Witchcraft: Collapse of Singularity]!
The space shattered silently, ruthlessly tearing apart the body of the god.

Given that the Chief of the White Tower has honed his spellcasting skills for thousands of years, even if Hebe's divine shield was still there, he probably wouldn't be able to remain calm.

Looking at the scene before him, the old man knew that the easiest part of this "God Hunting Plan" had been completed.

The goddess of youth could no longer run away. She was not a deity with medium or higher power, and she had no chance to use her power a second time in the human world in the face of backlash.

She is not one of those gods who are good at fighting. Even if she is not considered a god, she is still a top demigod in the world.

She had a weak will, poor skills, and was almost powerless to resist during the entire process... If she were a human instead of a god, such a human would probably not even have the chance to become a high-level professional even if she was born into a noble family.

When the eleven-ring great sorcery crushed her last bit of resistance, she was already a prisoner.

However, the old man knew that the core part of the entire "God Hunting Plan" was never about how to target a young goddess who had no intention of fighting, but about how to get rid of the possible wrath of the gods in the future, how to make oneself disappear from the eyes of the gods, and how to nip all accidents in the bud.

Although all of the above are only 'possibilities', perhaps Olympus will turn a blind eye to Hebe's disappearance, just as it did to the god who was imprisoned by mortals for decades...but the old man only wants certainties, not possibilities.

Especially when everything was finally settled, the old man couldn't help but recall the beginning of the 'God Hunting Plan'.

"…Hebe, you know, I didn't intend to go this far."

"Even though I long for your 'youth' and your strength, this is not a reason for me to take risks... We should have lived in peace, not met with swords."

Shaking his head helplessly, a hint of fatigue flashed in the old man's eyes.

Just like he said, he has never been a person who advocates "seeking wealth and honor through risk". If possible, he would rather use his eternal life to accumulate victories, rather than dreaming of ascending to heaven overnight.

"What a great opportunity... Let the angels behind the church fight with Olympus to the death, gain knowledge and accumulate strength in the war between gods."

"Wouldn't it be nice if they finally led to a real war, a world-shattering strife like the Typhon Plague, and then waited until the winner was clear?"

"We already have experience and we have an understanding of gods. This time, even if there is no god as unlucky as the God of Stars, we can 'create' one... 'Create' a god that no one cares about and that unfortunately falls into our hands, or even more than one."

"If that day ever comes, as the daughter of the God King and the Queen of Heaven, even if you fail, I will never set my sights on you."

"It's just a pity that you have bad luck, and my luck is not very good either...we all have bad luck."

"teacher."

The middle-aged man next to the old man seemed to notice the teacher's buzzing lips, and stepped forward and asked respectfully.

"Teacher, we finally succeeded... Do you have any instructions?"

"…Nothing, nothing anymore."

Sighing, without looking at the student beside him, the old man patted his chest.

"I succeeded, but there is nothing more to order."

"I just suddenly felt a little emotional... If you had been more motivated, how could you have come to this day?"

······
One hour after posting, I will add some more.

The level of the art in this book is not completely in accordance with the one-to-one comparison of DND, because I always feel that the level division has no mathematical beauty. The specific content has actually been mentioned loosely before, but it has not been systematically explained.

Originally, the first ring of DND was level 1, the second ring was level 3, and so on, the ninth ring was level 17, and then it started to jump, so in this book it is like this:

If the mortal stage is divided into four levels, each level has five levels, then 1-4, 6-9, 11-14, 16-19 have 1-8 ring casting abilities respectively, following the +3+2 rule. Nine-ring legendary level five, ten-ring high legendary level six, eleven-ring demigod level seven, and twelve-ring is an existence that touches the realm of gods. It belongs to the supermodel stage, and normal people are not included. Moreover, spells of the same level are generally more lethal. This is because spells rely on external forces, and warriors who do not become gods basically rely on their own abilities.

In general, although some settings are stitched together with a reasonable part of DND, it does not mean that the rules of a board game are the truth of this book. The specific settings are based on the logical consistency of this book. If you have any objections, please question the previous settings of this book, not the content I have never written. That's all.

(End of this chapter)