Unbeknownst to Zeus, Neo’s Eternal Skill was at work.
It canceled 10% of the power behind Zeus’ attacks. Coupled with the fact Neo could move even after dying, it gave him enough time to use his blessing and regenerate his injuries.
He was Undying.
Zeus killed and killed and killed Neo.
But Neo refused to stay dead.
The battlefield was becoming heavy with an oppressive energy that Zeus couldn’t ignore.
It was as if Death itself loomed closer with each passing second.
Each death Neo suffered—each time Zeus killed him—the presence of Death grew in the surroundings.
Neo needed the deaths of someone strong to complete his Concept.
If he couldn’t kill others, he had to just die himself dozens of times.
Zeus’ eyes narrowed.
He stopped attacking and retreated.
“Why did you stop?” Neo taunted.
“You… you are using me to awaken something,” Zeus said. “It would be foolish of me to continue the battle.”
“Isn’t this better? If I become stronger, you’ll be able to fight to your heart’s content.” freeweɓnovēl.coɱ
Zeus shook his head.
“I need to go and get the youngest healed. I don’t want to waste time on you if I can help it,” Zeus said. “Besides, you will die soon. I can tell you can’t use Death to keep yourself alive for too long.”
Neo’s brows furrowed.
His Concept was about to be completed, and his Death was returning already.
Just a bit more.
‘But I can’t complete the Concept if Zeus doesn’t kill me anymore.’
‘Should I try suicide?’
‘For some reason, I can tell I won’t get much Death if I kill myself with my own hands. It needs to be someone else.’
Neo could see Zeus had no intention of fighting.
‘Hey,’ Neo called out to his blessing. ‘Aides and Melione were past reincarnations of Mom and Dad, right?’
The blessing remained silent. Stay connected via empire
‘I’m not asking why they have been reincarnating. Just answer the question.’
The blessing remained silent for a few moments before nodding.
Thanks to the answer, Neo found a way to make Zeus attack him.
“Though it’s still a problem if I let you go towards Typhon. So I’ll imprison you here,” Zeus said.
“Are you going to leave like this?” Neo spoke to Zeus. “Weren’t you planning on asking me my relation with Aides Hargraves, uncle?”
Zeus, who was using an Incantation, froze.
“How did you know that name…?”
“Aides Hargraves?” Neo questioned. “Of course, I know him. He is my dad—”
“I don’t know how you found out about my relation to Aides.”
Zeus interrupted Neo.
“But if you think I’ll lose my cool because of his name and attack you, you are completely wrong.”
“Sigh, you really don’t believe me, do you, uncle?”
Neo’s body was at its limit.
He had to hurry.
Or he would be pulled into the Underworld without creating his Concept and fail the Shadow Trial.
“Didn’t Dad tell you he would meet you again? He reincarnated later, and I’m his son, uncle.”
The words that only Aides and Zeus knew came out of Neo’s mouth.
It affirmed the truth behind Neo’s words.
“If you are calling me uncle, does that mean… she reincarnated too?”
“Huh?”
Neo acted oblivious.
Blood dripped from his injuries and pooled on the scorched ground beneath him.
His torn clothes fluttered faintly in the gusts of wind.
Yet he acted as if none of it mattered at the moment.
“I’m calling you uncle because Father told me to,” Neo lied with a straight face. “I don’t know who this ‘she’ is that you’re talking about.”
“Melione. She was Aides’ wife.”
“Melione? My mother’s name isn’t Melione.”
Zeus no longer looked calm.
Unbridled rage burned behind his gaze.
His jaw was clenched so tightly it seemed like it might shatter.
“Oh wait, I do remember Melione. Dad told me she was the one responsible for Apocalypse—”
Before Neo could complete his words, Zeus’s figure blurred.
He appeared before Neo in the blink of an eye.
Zeus grabbed Neo’s face and smashed him into the ground.
The earth beneath cracked and splintered.
“I’ve heard enough.”
Zeus’s voice was icy cold.
“I’ll kill you just like you wanted.”
Condensed bolts of lightning crackled and gathered around Zeus.
“Don’t worry. I’ll obliterate you to the last cell. Even you won’t be able to regenerate from that state.”
Gritting his teeth, Zeus channeled his mana.
Complete Divine Transformation.
His body shimmered with blinding golden light, and his form began to change.
His muscles expanded, and his hair crackled with pure lightning.
His eyes glowed with stormy intensity, and arcs of electricity danced across his skin.
Neo didn’t flinch.
Even as Zeus used a complete Divine Transformation, Neo stared at him calmly.
The sky roared, and a massive bolt of lightning descended.
It struck the ground where Neo and Zeus stood, creating a deafening explosion that echoed across the barren landscape.
Zeus remained unharmed.
But Neo was burned.
Before Neo could heal, another bolt fell.
Then another.
And another.
The ground was reduced to smoldering craters, steam rising into the air like ghosts fleeing the destruction.
Watching from a distance, Apollo clenched his fists.
He could sense it—Neo’s Death was returning.
The oppressive aura hung in the air, and it sent shivers down his spine.
The more Zeus injured Neo, the more Death seemed to grow closer.
“Zeus…!” Apollo shouted, his voice cracking. “Stop doing that—!”
He flinched when Zeus glared at him.
“Shut up and watch,” Zeus spat.
The lightning bolts continued to fall
Each bolt was stronger than the one before.
Their thunderous impacts carved deeper into the earth, splitting rocks and reducing the surrounding terrain to molten slag.
Zeus stood impervious.
But Neo’s body began to fail.
His flesh melted, blackened bones poking through the charred remains.
Smoke rose into the heavy air, its acrid stench stinging Apollo’s nostrils.
Neo’s regeneration slowed with each strike until it stopped entirely.
“You were quite proud of your regeneration. Why did you stop? Keep using it,” as he continued to call down the lightning bolts.