---

Behind the seemingly reckless actions of the gods was a great sense of urgency.

The impending doom scheduled by the Goddess of Life was drawing nearer by the moment. In response to this doom, each god made different choices.

Some gods sought redemption through self-sacrifice, while others waged war against fellow gods, and some tried to flee to other realms… Yet, ultimately, there were no viable alternatives.

Thus, for the gods who had become time-limited, it was not a time to be picky about means or methods.

However, aside from making Rychlen a god, there seemed to be no sharp solutions to their problems. With their last hope in mind, they were determined to make Rychlen a god by any means necessary.

They did not care how many sacrifices it would take in the process. They were frantically struggling to avoid destruction.

In such a dire situation, the only lifeline, Rychlen, was… about to give up becoming a god.

For the gods, it must have been a maddening situation.

“How unfortunate. How regrettable. If you, the hero of heroes, had willingly accepted becoming a god, none of this would have been necessary. Remember that your foolishness has led to this.”

“Ugh….”

Held captive by the gods, Rychlen could only glare at Zeus without lifting a finger.

Disregarding that gaze full of enmity, the faith seeping into Rychlen began to forcibly change his body.

No longer human, but into something else. Something incomprehensible.

At the same time, through the continuous faith, he could feel the deaths of many people.

He sensed the meaningless deaths that were lost as sacrifices to the gods’ desires.

This couldn’t continue.

Other lives shouldn’t be sacrificed for these foolish ones.

“Awaken. Hero. Become a god. Be a mere puppet, sitting idle as the king of the gods. And thus, the surviving gods, we Olympians, will escape our destined demise and bask in ever-greater glory. Our faith shall extend throughout all worlds.”

“Ugh….”

The faith began to alter Rychlen’s body. The pain of flesh being gouged and bones being scraped shook him.

His bones turned to metal like steel, and his skin and flesh transformed into rock akin to marble. Each step of this process was an endless blade of torment tearing him apart.

But even more than that pain, what tormented Rychlen the most was… the helpless realization of being changed by such gods.

Once hailed as a hero among humans, he was now helplessly transforming under the whims of the gods.

At this very moment, many lives were willingly sacrificing themselves to turn him into a god.

This couldn’t go on. He had to do something.

Rychlen struggled to move his body with all his might. To resist, even slightly. To not go along with their wishes.

If left unchecked, many would lose their lives.

He could not just stand by while the gods sacrificed their believers like livestock.

So,

“AAARRGH!!”

Rychlen squeezed every ounce of strength and moved.

He rejected the change flowing through him, where faith replaced blood, bones scraping and muscles exchanged.

At first, his body couldn’t move at all, but slowly, little by little, it began to respond.

As if a statue made of stone began to move, as if the parts that held it still were cracking and breaking apart.

Even as his body felt like it was being torn apart while alive, Rychlen moved his arm.

And that hand grabbed the thing hanging from his waist.

Rychlen’s most trusted weapon. A club made from unbreakable wood.

The gods could only sneer at Rychlen as he gripped the club.

“What do you think you could do with that wooden club?”

One of the gods holding Rychlen spoke. It was Poseidon, one of the gods of Olympus.

Ignoring the sneers, Rychlen swung the club.

Whoosh!

The club swung with enough force to crush any living creature in a single blow, yet the gods merely observed Rychlen’s futile resistance as if it were not worth dodging.

“You think a twig can harm the bodies of gods—”

CRUNCH!

But Poseidon’s words were cut short.

The wooden club Rychlen swung smashed into Poseidon’s head.

The gods froze at the incomprehensible sight.

As if they witnessed something that should not exist.

“Po, Poseidon…?”

Zeus looked at his brother god, who had fallen, headless. The completely crushed head and the faith pouring out from the debris.

It was a horrific scene, unthinkable for Poseidon, who had actively participated in the wars among gods.

“No, how…?”

Before Zeus could finish his words, Rychlen swung his arm once more.

“AAAH!”

The god holding Rychlen hastily released him and dodged the club.

Just moments ago, he had appeared so self-confident. But now, seeing Poseidon being smashed, he seemed to feel fear, rolling on the ground to avoid Rychlen’s club. Dionysus.

At the same time, the other gods who had been holding Rychlen all distanced themselves.

Having witnessed the club that shattered the head of Poseidon, a highly regarded god of the sea, they must have believed they couldn’t withstand it either.

While Rychlen succeeded in shaking off the gods holding him, the situation was still dire.

Thankfully, the flow of faith that had been pouring in halted as the gods withdrew, but it seemed there was already enough faith to start changing his body…. The process didn’t stop.

At this rate, they would achieve exactly what they wanted.

“Ugh….”

Rychlen shook his head.

This couldn’t happen.

It must not turn out as they wished.

As long as they existed as gods, the problem would not disappear.

The gods who see their believers as livestock and resources must not exist.

Thus, Rychlen resolved himself.

“A wooden club that can strike a god… Could it be…. Is this made from a branch of the World Tree?!”

Among the gods encircling him, a stir spread due to Zeus’s outburst.

The World Tree. Yggdrasil. One of the seven gods who existed long before the Divine Hall was established.

The god of elves and the god of forests and trees.

A club made from such a god’s branch… The gods were filled with both horror and greed.

Though he was turning into a god, he was still human, and yet he wielded a weapon capable of dealing a significant blow to a god. The value it held was beyond measure for the gods.

“How could a mere human wield such a weapon…?”

“Ugh…. I don’t know! It was just given to me by my master!”

“Master…?”

Zeus tilted his head slightly at Rychlen’s words.

He couldn’t grasp who Rychlen was referring to as his master.

He had grown up under countless masters, after all.

Then, in that moment,

“No way….”

Something crossed Zeus’s mind.

If there was indeed a being capable of obtaining a branch from the World Tree… Obviously, there was only one god.

“The Goddess of Life…?”

Why would the Goddess of Life give Rychlen a weapon? For what purpose? She had even prophesied that Rychlen would ascend as the king of the gods!

Then something tangled and unraveled in Zeus’s mind.

What if, just what if, everything had been a trap?

What if, regardless of being the king of gods or not, she intended to destroy the gods?

What if it was simply a means to stir discord among the gods, forcing them to fight each other and thin their numbers?

What if everything was in the palm of the Goddess of Life?

Then…

“Ugh!”

Zeus’s thoughts shattered due to Rychlen’s voice.

Forcing his body, which couldn’t move properly, Rychlen pulled out a small dagger that had been hanging at his waist.

A sharp dagger. It could easily slice through meat, but compared to the club made from a branch of the World Tree, it was nothing threatening.

Rychlen, with the dagger handle in his mouth, took something out from within his clothes.

A small pouch. A faint rattling sound could be heard from it. A pouch containing snake poison.

A pouch filled with poison so dreadful even gods would suffer.

“HAH!”

With a dagger in his mouth and gripping the club and pouch in both hands, Rychlen hurled the club at Zeus, who was now the focus of all the gods’ attention.

Seizing the moment, he took the dagger in his hand and drenched it with the snake’s poison from the pouch.

“What….”

Zeus yanked the wooden club thrown at him and glanced at Rychlen.

At that moment, he saw Rychlen aiming the small dagger at his own neck.

He saw that the tiny dagger was smeared with thick poison capable of killing even gods.

“You…!”

“If I die, it won’t turn out as you wish…!”

Rychlen laughed.

He feared nothing.

He had already been to the underworld once.

Fear comes from ignorance.

Since he had already known, there was no reason to fear.

If his death could ruin everything for those foolish gods… then he could die happily.

So,

“The Goddess of Life shall judge you in my stead.”

Rychlen plunged the poisoned dagger into his own neck.

 

---