True Magician / 1 (0-199 Chapters)

Chapter 163

Ars Paulina.

Not much time had passed since the battle began, but Ars Paulina's platform had already been reduced to ruins. Practically every piece of white stone that made up the columns and platform had been transformed, covered with cracks, blackened by lightning and flames, and riddled with holes and fissures from the blows.

Athena and Ares constantly tried to reach me, attacking with spear and sword respectively, but each time my chains threw them back, inflicting damage and damaging their equipment. And once again, when cracks appeared on their weapons and their shields were almost half gone, I smiled in their faces.

- "That's a bit weak," I said. "Is that all the gods with aspects of 'War' in their domain are capable of?"

- "This isn't over!" Ares shouted and rushed back into the attack, which, of course, was blocked by my chains, as was Athena, and behind me a huge crater formed from the force they used.

- "He's too strong, our attacks are useless," Athena said, continuing to press forward and trying to break through the defense.

- "We need a strategy."

- "Oh? Well, you can try," I chuckled, but in the next moment, four more chains burst out from under my feet, blocking two arrows, one gold and one silver, fired by Apollo and Artemis, respectively.

The arrows exploded instantly, forming a massive cloud of dust that obscured my view, but I could still feel the pressure on the chains. And just as I was about to laugh at their attempts again, one of the chains suddenly moved toward my head and stopped the thin, skillfully made dagger with which Hermes was attacking me.

- "An assassin, huh?" I raised an eyebrow. "I was wondering why you disappeared as soon as the battle began. Not bad."

- "Thank you for the compliment," Hermes smiled, still pressing down on the dagger. "And I apologize."

- "Hm?" I was surprised, and then he, like Ares and Athena, jumped sharply to the side, clearing the way for Zeus' lightning bolt, Hades' black mist, the flames of Hestia and Hephaestus, and the long, thick roots of Demeter.

The combination of these attacks from divine power created another explosion. However, this time its power and radius exceeded the gods' previous attempts many times over, striking an area several kilometers wide and practically shattering the platform into pieces.

Surprisingly, the eight chains I used couldn't withstand the onslaught, and the Olympians' attack finally caught up with me, almost completely destroying my body. However, this was completely irrelevant, as I recovered very quickly on the outside, and even more so in Ars Paulina, where I am a god.

Aphrodite and Hera did not participate in the battle, which was to be expected. However...

I smiled.

Until now, I had only been defending myself, but now, I believe it is my turn, huh?

-0-

Hestia looked at the cloud of dust and couldn't help but frown. Not because she could still sense Romani's signature, hidden from view, but because her thoughts were preventing her from fully concentrating on the battle. However, she had no time to think, as she had other concerns at the moment.

- "What shall we do, Zeus?" asked Poseidon. "We underestimated him. He's holding back all of us combined."

- "Our powers have returned, but not fully," said Athena. "This space is completely under his control. We need a plan."

- "It doesn't matter," Zeus declared. "He will bow before us, for he is but..."

He did not have time to finish, as a huge stream of golden light burst out of the still-dispersing cloud and headed straight for the Olympians. Athena and Ares managed to raise their shields and tried to block the attack, but to no avail.