Godslayer's Legend

Chapter 1018: Outgrowing Fear [Monthly Bonus 2]

Barda’s gate got the group back to the Hell Universe far faster than the Cosmic Teleporter ever could’ve gotten them there.

Their arrival was followed immediately by reunions and introductions.

Arthur, Layla, Esna, and Nicole reunited with their families after their several-year-long absences, the around 17 years they’d spent in Valmone equating to around 6 back in Hell.

Then came the introduction of Elaine to Arthur’s family members, so they wouldn’t find it strange to suddenly see her in the Devildom’s Royal Castle on Aeturn.

In the months following Arthur’s return, he went about his usual daily life in Hell just like he used to before he left.

He attended a few events and parties organised by some of the Devildom’s High Nobles as the Royal Family’s representative, just something to let people know he was still around.

Arthur also made time to visit Larry, the drifter in charge of all drifters within Hell, and secretly, all surrounding universes, to learn the current state of inter-universal matters for their local group of universes.

Basically, what new things were going on, who was friends with whom, what new alliances had formed, what old alliances had broken apart, what conflicts had emerged, and what wars had been fought.

After gathering all that information, Arthur returned to Planet Aeturn just in time for a visitor from another universe, someone he’d been expecting even before returning to Hell, to arrive.

That visitor was Olympus’ Underworld King, his father, Hades.

When Hades arrived, Arthur called both the man and his mother to the Domain of Lucifer’s Vestige in Varona while Lucifer himself was away in another universe.

The subject of the meeting was a matter that had long been pushed aside for a variety of reasons.

"Remember that Ancestral Regression Spell I’ve been talking about for decades now?" Arthur asked the moment he sat down. "I think it’s finally time I cast it."

He’d discovered this spell even before he’d learned about the Third Magic, back when he wasn’t even a teenager, and even though he’d successfully cast the far more expensive Third Magic, he still hadn’t used this one.

"Didn’t you want to use Kronos’ blood for that spell? You can’t get Kronos’ blood out of Olympus, so just use Lucifer’s. We still have it preserved."

Once again, Cattleya brought up the same argument that had caused Arthur to delay casting it for years.

This time, however, Arthur wasn’t giving in.

"Well, I remember telling you that since it’s something I can only use once, I want the best of both worlds. I want to extract as much power as possible from both my maternal and paternal ancestries."

Then, turning his gaze toward Hades, he continued, "Which brings me to you, Dad."

Before he could even say what he wanted, Hades immediately refused.

"No."

"I haven’t even said anything."

"You’re going to say you want to come to Olympus, aren’t you?"

"Obviously," Arthur replied immediately.

Gaia’s Avatar, which Arthur wanted to use as a blood source for the Ancestral Regression Spell, was in Olympus, so he had to go there if he wanted it.

Arthur wasn’t about to let Hades and Cattleya know about his meeting with the real Gaia and the permission he’d gained to use her Avatar just yet, so he continued sticking with their assumption that his reason for wanting to get to Olympus was to obtain Kronos’ blood.

But seeing how Hades wasn’t even considering the idea of him coming to Olympus, Arthur couldn’t help but sigh.

Leaning forward slightly, he rested his elbows on his lap and pressed his palms together before speaking.

"Let’s rephrase things a little," he began.

"I’m going to Olympus to get the blood I want to use for the Ancestral Regression Spell."

Hades wanted to speak, but Arthur raised a finger to stop him before continuing, "Please, do pay attention to the words I just said.

I didn’t say ’I want to go to Olympus’. I said, ’I am going to Olympus’. I’ve already made my decision to go, and I’m going regardless.

Where you two come into the equation is whether or not you’re helping me get to Olympus."

Arthur spoke firmly, reminding his parents that he wasn’t a child they could police around anymore.

Even then, it still wasn’t enough to make Cattleya agree.

"Arthur, have you forgotten that Olympus is Zeus’ territory?! He’s one of the people who’s been trying to kill you since before you were even born!"

"I’m not old enough to start having memory loss, mum. I remember," Arthur replied while rolling his eyes.

The nonchalance in his response, despite knowing this, made Cattleya snap.

"Then why the hell are you still trying to go there?!"

"Because I want to become stronger than Zeus, and one of the paths through which I can achieve that greater power is through the spell that requires me to go to Olympus if I want to maximise its benefits."

Pointing at her, Arthur continued, "It’s also a way for me to get rid of a weakness you and I share, a weakness to the power of the law of creation. I want to vaccinate myself against creation, and the power of creation definitely runs through the paternal side of my family."

He glanced at Hades, who was already frowning after immediately realising that Arthur still hadn’t abandoned the idea of using Gaia’s blood for the Ancestral Regression Spell.

"The spell can help me eliminate one of my greatest weaknesses, make me stronger, and possibly make me awaken some kind of innate ability I didn’t even know I could possess. That’s why I’d want to take the risk and, to be honest..."

Arthur paused, sighing and shaking his head before continuing.

"I’ve spent decades outside this universe, and I’ve met existences, been in situations, and fought things that were on a far greater level of threat to my existence than ANYTHING Olympus could possibly throw at me."

This much was true. Arthur used to be wary of Olympus because of the power possessed by the gods who ruled it, power comparable to what his family here in Hell possessed, and the knowledge that beings with such power wanted to kill him made it difficult for the younger Arthur to sleep sometimes, even though he knew he had the protection of his parents.

But after leaving Hell and going to Valmone and Draco Sirus, where he’d encountered over a dozen Ultimate Realm Existences, some of whom weren’t exactly fond of him, he couldn’t find it within himself to be afraid of Olympus anymore.

"Remember those Ancient Dragons I told you about?" he asked Cattleya. "The ones who trained me and took an interest in Layla when I came back some years ago?

Those guys put me through a series of tests, an actual Tower of Trials consisting of six floors where I had to face six different levels of danger greater than anything Olympus has thrown at me, or could ever throw at me, so right now, the issue isn’t really the danger of me going to Olympus, it’s the ’fear’ of that danger, and after facing dangers greater than that, I can’t feel the same fear both of you do anymore."

Arthur’s voice near the end became slightly cold, and immediately noticing it, he quickly returned his tone to its usual casualness before continuing.

"I used to feel that fear before, but my horizons have expanded, and I now understand that Olympus is just one among many universes whose most powerful beings are capped at the Monarch Realm.

I just can’t feel threatened by that level anymore."

He shook his head while saying that, and Cattleya frowned deeply at his words.

"Just because you can’t feel fear toward a threat doesn’t mean the threat isn’t real," she argued.

Surprisingly, Arthur nodded in agreement.

"True. That’s correct. Which is why I believe I should go to Olympus now, because that threat is currently at its lowest possible level."

"And exactly what makes you believe the threat has been minimised?" Hades asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I know the current internal and external situation of Olympus," Arthur replied calmly. "Things haven’t been looking very good for Zeus lately. He’s been planning something major, but it isn’t going well because his allies aren’t supporting it.

He’s gotten into several altercations, fights have broken out, and his influence over the surrounding local group of universes is declining. Olympus’ reputation has suffered, exiled giants from Olympus who’ve taken refuge in nearby universes are becoming more aggressive, and the Twelve Olympians aren’t exactly pleased with his actions that keep inviting trouble.

I heard he recently fought with Hera, and it got bad enough that Athena had to step in and separate them."