Chapter 1061: A Slayer of Her Own

"When I first left Hell and went to another universe, I took part in a war that had almost nothing to do with me, aside from the fact that one of the sides in that war had been helped by Lucifer thousands of years ago, probably before you were even born.

I got involved in that war on that planet and fought in battles that brought havoc, death, and destruction to many people. At one point during that war, I stopped to do a little introspection, and I realised the scale of what I was doing back then was small, but one day, that scale would grow into something galactic, universal, or, as it is now, multiversal.

"And eventually, it happened, just as I expected, just as I predicted.

Back then, I used to think, why get unrelated people involved in conflicts? There was absolutely no reason, or at the very least, I personally couldn’t see any reason why that should be done. But now... I’m in the position of the one getting unrelated people involved, and I kind of understand a lot of things."

"Arthur, you..." Hades muttered, about to speak, but when Arthur turned toward him, the look in his eyes made Hades swallow the words he was about to say.

"I crave power, Dad," Arthur finally said. "I crave power more than anything else in this entire messed-up Cosmos. I’ve reached the point where my desire for greater power is on the same level as my desire for the safety of the people I call my loved ones, which would’ve been ridiculous to even think about before, but here we are.

"And before, it was understandable that I craved power. I had deities hundreds of thousands of years old trying to kill me simply because I was born as a Progenitor race that could kill the gods.

Could.

It was all just potential.

I never really had any intention of doing something like that. I mean, my dad is one of the gods. Why would I want to wipe out his race?

"But they didn’t care about that, so they tried to kill me, and because of that, I desired power so I could stand up to them. But during my journey, however short it may have been, a lot of things happened, and one thing placed the final nail in the coffin."

After Arthur said that, he grabbed his shirt and undid the first few buttons. As Hades watched in confusion, Arthur tapped his chest and activated his Authority of Time.

|Retrocognition,| he muttered.

His command compelled the Law of Time to obey him, and the small area around his chest reverted to the state it’d been in on a certain day more than a century ago.

Right before Hades’ eyes, a gash opened across Arthur’s chest, straight through his heart, and silver blood flowed out.

As Hades stared at him in confusion, Arthur finally confessed the one thing he’d hidden from his parents all these years.

"I died, Dad."

The injury Arthur had just revealed, the unsettling calm with which he’d spoken those words, and everything about the current situation completely erased any possibility from Hades’ mind that Arthur was joking, trying to prank him, or messing with him.

Arthur continued, speaking the words Hades desperately didn’t want to hear.

"The life that you and Mother brought into this Cosmos ended one fateful afternoon over a century ago.

It was only for a few seconds, but I was dead and gone.

And would you believe the reason I’m here before you now, alive with my heart still beating, is because the same person who killed me brought me back to life?

For the simple reason that she wasn’t done having her fun with me yet. She didn’t bring me back out of mercy. It wasn’t pity. It was amusement."

Hades was silent after hearing Arthur’s words, his fists clenched so hard that his nails dug into his palms and drew blood.

After a moment, he exhaled softly, his years of experience helping him calm himself enough to ask a single-word question.

"Who?"

"The Progenitor goddess," Arthur replied.

Hades’ expression contorted at those words, and Arthur smiled deprecatingly. He deactivated his Authority, returning his body to normal, then calmly fastened the buttons on his shirt as he continued.

"She found me through a series of circumstances, and she told me, very bluntly, that she saw me as nothing more than a source of entertainment. Something that could give her the thrill of being threatened.

"That prophecy before my birth, that cosmic S.O.S. message, had absolutely nothing to do with the billion, billion, trillion, quadrillion, whatever number of gods exist across the Cosmos. It had everything to do with the Progenitor goddess and me, the Progenitor godslayer.

"The phrase ’could bring an end to the gods’ in that prophecy simply meant that I had the potential to become the one who could kill the Progenitor goddess, and with the death of a Progenitor, no new member of her race can ever be born, essentially bringing about the end of the gods.

That’s the true meaning of that prophecy.

But for Luka, it was simply the fulfilment of a wish she’d held for billions of years. A wish to have a slayer of her own."

Leaning back against the headboard of the bed, Arthur asked, "Does that answer your question, Dad? Does that answer your question about what caused the change in my methods?

They say a near-death experience can change a man. If that’s true, death should be enough to make him a completely different person, shouldn’t it?"

Arthur scoffed after saying that, then looked out the room’s window toward the night sky as he continued, "I didn’t cause this war just for the fun of it or simply to create a cover while I hid in Tartarus for a century, increasing my power.

This war has far more uses than that.

It’s a necessary stage to draw attention so I can acquire strategic assets from certain universes involved in this war. They’ll have all their attention focused on the stage I’ve created and won’t realise when those assets of theirs disappear.

There are some eyes that can’t be blinded, so I want those eyes looking elsewhere, allowing what they’re watching over to be taken away without them realising until it’s far too late.

And as for Zeus’ attempt on my life, that’s the most necessary part of all this because it gives me the justification for what I plan to accomplish in the centuries to come."

Arthur got off the bed and looked at Hades before saying, "Sometime from now, in approximately 300 years, maybe a little longer than that, I’ll attack Olympus, Dad.

I’ll attack Olympus with an army powerful enough to bring this universe to the brink of destruction.

I’ll do the same thing again 500 years after that, attacking Olympus once more with an army powerful enough to bring the universe to the brink of destruction."

Hades’ expression became one of confusion at Arthur’s words.

’Why attack Olympus twice?’

If he could bring the universe to the brink of destruction the first time, why not destroy it then?

Why do it again 500 years later?

’It’s almost as if he wants to give Olympus time to recover from the damage of the first attack...’

Seeing Hades’ expression, Arthur smiled softly before continuing, "I’m letting you know this beforehand, Dad, but in a little over 800 years from now, I’m going to kill your relatives.

"I’m definitely going to kill Zeus. Poseidon might die as well. Demeter..."

Arthur paused after saying that before shrugging.

"I suppose I’ll spare her since she’s Persephone’s mother. I’m quite fond of Persephone, so I wouldn’t want her to be sad because of her mother’s death, especially since she seems to genuinely care about her mother.

"As for Hestia? Well, she simply amuses me, so I suppose I’ll let her be. The rest of the Twelve Olympians? They’re all gonna die."

Arthur said it so casually, declaring the deaths of the Olympians centuries in the future as if it were already a confirmed outcome.

"I’m simply telling you beforehand. But don’t worry."

Arthur moved around the chair and walked toward the door of the room.

"Nothing’s going to happen to the Underworld. If anything, with your brothers dead, I guess you might be the only one strong enough to take control of Olympus after it’s left in ruins."

With those words, Arthur stepped out of the room, leaving Hades behind with the many revelations and bombs he’d just dropped.