Chapter 98 - 7 Pantheons, One Room

"Where is the Entity? Our world is being destroyed at this very moment."

Odir sat at the round table with his head lowered, his usually proud expression nowhere to be seen. "Many people have already died. We couldn’t even protect the world we were supposed to guard."

Calean remained seated with his arms crossed, his expression strangely calm despite the situation. "I’m not exactly the helping type of pantheon, but I did use my descendants to deal with those strange, small green individuals with absurd speed, as well as those towering creatures, and even with my superior descendants, I only managed to kill a few."

Olium suddenly stood up and slammed his hand against the table. "The demonic forces are beginning to be wiped out as well! The humans, lizardmen, elves, dwarfs, and griffons are barely holding on, while the artifact bearers couldn’t even withstand a single attack from those creatures."

He gritted his teeth before continuing, his anger barely contained. "At this point, can we even call ourselves pantheons? Guardians? What are we supposed to be when we can’t even do anything against these anomalies?"

His fist clenched tightly.

Wias remained silent for a moment before slowly speaking. "I don’t really know if this will work, but there is one possibility. If we use Consciousness Override and travel to a place called the Abyssal Seed, we might be able to change the situation."

The others turned toward him.

"If we can absorb the centuries worth of concentrated magic stored there, we might be able to amplify our current powers."

For the first time in a long while, the pantheons looked at Wias with a faint glint of hope.

"The Abyssal Seed?"

Wias nodded. "Yes. The Abyssal Seed contains concentrated magical energy that comes from deep beneath the surface. I still don’t fully understand its nature, but the magical energy used by ordinary individuals on the surface is significantly weaker than what exists below."

Calean leaned back in his chair, seemingly unfazed by the idea. "I agree. That’s precisely why we don’t associate ourselves with those creatures on the surface. Just standing around them is exhausting."

He casually rested his chin against his hand.

"Then let’s do it."

Calean’s eyes narrowed slightly.

"Our final glitter of hope."

--

A group of eight stood before a massive magic crystal buried deep within an artificial abyss. Its enormous surface pulsed with a gentle blue light, while an overwhelming concentration of magical energy filled the entire chamber.

"Welcome to the Abyssal Seed," Wias said quietly.

The others stood motionless for a moment, feeling the immense power radiating from the crystal.

"I can feel the power within it."

Olium slowly looked around the chamber. "The leader of Majica said these people were chosen to become stronger and help repel the demonic forces, correct?"

He paused as he counted the people present.

"But there are seven of us here."

His eyes moved toward the eighth person. "Then who is the ordinary individual?"

The group briefly fell silent.

One after another, the pantheons began introducing themselves, almost as if they had forgotten that the others already knew who they were.

"I am Calean."

"I am Trias."

"Olium."

"Moleius."

"Odir."

"Wias."

"Catalyst."

The seven pantheons stood together before the Abyssal Seed.

That left only one person.

A young girl stood among them, her presence completely different from the others. She appeared overwhelmed by the pressure filling the chamber, her body slightly unsteady as she struggled to remain standing.

Calean glanced at her.

"Then that girl must be the ordinary one."

He paused, noticing her condition. "Although she seems rather... overwhelmed."

Moleius looked toward her before calmly explaining. "She is. There are seven pantheons gathered in the same room, after all. The pressure from our divine presence alone would be enough to overwhelm an ordinary individual, and with the Abyssal Seed amplifying the magical energy around us, it is hardly surprising that she is struggling."

The girl swallowed nervously, trying to remain upright.

Wias stepped closer to the massive crystal and carefully observed its structure.

"Then, if my calculations are correct, there is a possibility."

Everyone turned toward him.

"If we break the Abyssal Seed and open our magical capacities completely, then surround it at the moment of its destruction, we might be able to absorb all of the magical energy contained within."

The girl behind them suddenly straightened herself.

"What?" Her eyes widened.

"You’re going to destroy the Abyssal Seed?"

Everyone instinctively turned toward the girl, their attention immediately drawn to her reaction. She looked completely confused, as if she had only just realized that the people standing around her were not ordinary individuals.

Trias, being the only female among the pantheons, walked toward her with a gentle smile. She lowered herself slightly to meet the girl’s eyes.

"Hello. What is your name?"

"Wha... What? Why is Rob talking like that? What happened to Rob?!"

Trias squatted in front of her and calmly explained the situation. "We are the guardians of this world. We are the pantheons, and right now, we are going to borrow these bodies and absorb the Abyssal Seed to help resolve the current crisis."

"Pantheons...?"

The girl stared at her in disbelief. "The ones that descend from the sky?"

"Indeed."

The girl slowly looked around the chamber, recognizing the names she had heard throughout history.

"Odir... Trias... Olium... Moleius... Those individuals?"

Trias smiled.

"Nice to meet you. I’m Trias. You must be?"

Before the girl could answer, a sudden surge of magical power erupted from within her body. She grunted and instinctively grabbed her chest as the immense energy coursed through her.

"Ah..."

She took a few breaths before finally answering. "I’m Akira... Akira Prosei."

Trias smiled warmly at her.

"Nice to meet you, Akira Prosei."

Trias stood up and walked toward the Abyssal Seed, pointing toward the enormous crystal as its blue light continued to pulse throughout the chamber. "We are going to break the Abyssal Seed, and that might injure you if you cannot handle the pressure, so we suggest that you return to the surface. Otherwise, you might severely injure yourself."

Akira looked down for a moment, her expression becoming thoughtful. She glanced back at the massive crystal before asking, "What happens if someone absorbs it?"

Wias turned toward her and answered calmly. "It contains the magical power accumulated over centuries. If you can absorb all of it, you might not even recognize yourself afterward."