Myth: The Spiritual Dominator

"hiss--"

"Uh……"

The bronze chariot frame was galloping in the sky, and the four divine horses were galloping continuously.

Holding the goddess of beauty with a broken arm in his arms, Ares could not help but feel extremely anxious.

People in the world are different from each other, and gods are also different from each other.

This is especially true when new gods are born after the birth of ancient gods who themselves symbolize part of the world. Aphrodite is a typical example.

I don’t know if it’s because of the influence of her priesthood, but the incarnation of love and beauty shouldn’t have a strong physique, or maybe it’s due to other factors, but the body of the goddess of beauty does seem to be much more fragile than other gods.

Having one's arm chopped off by a sword is not surprising, but for most gods it is not a serious injury. Even for Ares himself, this may even trigger a reaction from his divine duties, making him more courageous as he fights through blood.

But when the same thing happened to Aphrodite, she fainted and only woke up now.

Ares didn't know why, but as a warrior, his keen intuition told him that it was because the goddess of beauty was missing something, and it had something to do with him...

Unfortunately, Ares, who had not read the "script", had no way of knowing that he had the opportunity to have a son who was suspected to be related to the original gods. He would be in charge of the love and desire in the world, and even Apollo would be tortured to the point of wanting to die.

Maybe it's related, maybe it's not, but for Ares who doesn't know about this, he would never associate Aphrodite's question with this.

Compared to these, he was nervously looking at the awakening goddess of beauty.

"Um... I am——"

"!"

After waking up from a brief coma, Aphrodite subconsciously wanted to cover her forehead.

But the next moment, she suddenly realized something.

She was missing an arm; someone had chopped off her hand!

She, the most beautiful woman in the world, had one of her hands chopped off by a mortal!!!

“…Aaaaaaaaa——!”

A sharp sound pierced the sky, causing pain in Ares' eardrums.

But when he thought that the other party had ended up in this situation because he had helped him, the God of War couldn't help but blame himself.

"Damn humans!"

"Why can't they just obey me, provide me with faith from morning till night, and then die honestly?!"

Ares blamed himself for a moment, but soon realized that as the God of War, how could he be wrong?

When gods conflict with each other, gods may be wrong.

But in the conflict between God and man, it is definitely not your fault.

So Ares quickly found the culprit, which was the entire human race.

The human species is indeed born rebellious. They only know how to enjoy the blessings of the gods but not how to give back. Instead, they are always unsatisfied.

And there are certain rebellious remarks among humans... The whole world belongs to the gods, and you are still discussing the relationship between God and man?

It's a joke that livestock are qualified to discuss status with their owners.

"Ares! You did a great job!"

A loud rebuke instantly brought the God of War's thoughts back to the present.

Aphrodite, whose expression suddenly changed just now, seemed to have accepted the reality. She was looking at this incompetent guy with anger on her face.

Aren’t you the God of War? Your reaction is not even as fast as a mortal. Why don’t you just die?

"Afu, I don't want to either, but I rely more on my combat instinct to guide me in battle."

"I trust you wholeheartedly, so why would I be wary of you approaching me? You are just a mortal..."

"enough!"

Aphrodite interrupted Ares's defense and said through gritted teeth: "I think you are incompetent!"

"I'll treat Theseus as an exception; now a strange guy pops up, and you still can't beat him."

"It's no use counting on you. Looks like I have to do it myself. Otherwise, even after ten thousand years, you won't be able to accomplish anything!"

"No, Afu."

Ares quickly explained, "You know, this is far from my true strength."

"In a one-on-one duel among humans, I have no advantage over other gods who are good at fighting. The [War] priesthood has some benefits for a person's military strength, but it's not as great as one might imagine. But I have an army!"

"Mortals are mortals. They will never understand the greatness of divine authority. That lowly ant even wanted to usurp the title of God of War. Oh, if the priesthood of [War] only makes me a better fighter, why does it become one of the top priesthoods in the world?"

"My church has trained guards for me. Each of them has been baptized by my divine blood and can perform low-level divine arts... They will become an extension of my authority on the battlefield. Even when a large-scale war breaks out, I will be able to gain powerful strength from the vast battlefield."

"Afu, this is where my real strength lies. If it weren't for this, with the Mother Goddess' temper, she wouldn't have let me be the main force against Athena after scolding me."

"Shut up!"

"Ares, so you're still pretty proud?"

Aphrodite was a little amused. She really couldn't understand Ares's train of thought.

What the hell are you talking about? And you're still feeling so proud of it?

Hera knows that you are a waste, but she still has to make you do things, just because you, a waste, still have value in recycling, right... If you have any brains, I'm afraid you won't say such words.

For a moment, Aphrodite didn't know what to say.

Hera has been wary of Athena for a long time. She simply didn't believe that the daughter of her rival would not react during the attack on Athens.

Although Ares was just a card she prepared, he should not have been played at this time, especially since the reason for playing him was so ridiculous - because Ares could not beat a mortal who appeared out of nowhere, so he could only use this to save his face that had long been lost!

He shook his head, and as he got closer to the sacred mountain, the wound on his shoulder gradually healed.

However, after listening to Ares' wise words, Aphrodite decided to do something herself.

It's no use relying on him. Fortunately, not all the people on the sacred mountain are useless. At least many of them still have some abilities.

Among these people, the first person Aphrodite thought of was a short and lame guy.

In terms of appearance, in the eyes of the god Chaos, who is obsessed with appearance, Hephaestus is undoubtedly the most disabled of the disabled, so much so that no god has ever been willing to get close to him.

But in terms of craftsmanship, even the Cyclops is far inferior to him.

Forging is a human act, and it can also become a kind of humanistic priesthood.

But creating a divine weapon does not just rely on the so-called [casting] priesthood, it is more of a special talent.

The world itself has this ability, and many natural or associated artifacts are born from this.

Certain gods also have this ability at certain special time points, such as Gaia's sickle.

There is also a final type of being, who are born with similar special talents, such as the Cyclops in the past and Hephaestus now.

They all had the ability to forge artifacts, and Hephaestus was particularly powerful.

He was always able to create things with special functions, and Aphrodite had also used this ability.

According to a legend, this thing was a gift given by Aphrodite to her daughter for her marriage, which eventually led to hundreds of years of tragedy in Thebes.

It is actually a divine artifact forged by Hephaestus - of course, it is not a true artifact with power, but it is definitely not an ordinary creation.

Such a product was named "sub-artifact" by Hephaestus.

Lesser artifacts may not necessarily be less powerful than artifacts, but they certainly do not have the power of authority, and universal power has its limits.

But compared to the rare real artifacts, this thing is already a rare treasure.

"Come on, Ares, go find Hephaestus and ask him to help us think of a solution - don't look at me, use your pig brain to think carefully, instead of just thinking with your muscles!"

"Oh, I forgot, you can't even compare to others in terms of muscles now."

Continuing to sneer, Ares's expression kept changing.

However, the God of War said nothing in the end, but turned the carriage around and headed towards a palace at the foot of the sacred mountain.

The god of craftsman Hephaestus rarely stays on the sacred mountain. He prefers to stay on the island of Lemnos where he grew up.

However, recently, due to human affairs, he stayed in the sacred mountain for a while.

"There are indeed many useless things that Hephaestus created, but there are also many that are strangely useful."

"I hope I can find a magical tool that can help me solve my problems this time..."

Aphrodite sighed and felt that she was really unlucky.

If time wasn't urgent, she really didn't want to drag her broken arm to see the blacksmith who was missing a leg.

……

That night, Mount Olympus stood under the vast and endless starry sky.

Above a peak that extends from the main body of the sacred mountain, an exposed lava river flows out.

The river seemed to be floating in the air, allowing lava to flow from the belly of the mountain into the air, swirling and returning, forming eighteen circles in the air.

This is a manifestation of Hephaestus' authority and also helps him to forge the artifact.

After all, compared to his reputation as the God of Craftsmen, his real job is to be the god in charge of volcanoes and lava.

As if entering an empty land, the bronze chariot drove through the "river channel" formed by rivers of lava.

An obsidian door opened automatically to welcome the distinguished guests from afar.

Compared with the magnificent temples of other gods, this temple made entirely of obsidian appears a bit gloomy.

Coupled with the constant noise of the workshops and buildings inside, even if Hephaestus filled his palace with gold and silver decorations, he would still be out of tune with the Olympian gods, just like himself.

As he walked in, Ares unexpectedly saw girls of various appearances. But when the divine power flowed through his eyes, he instantly saw through the secrets behind them.

Even among the nymphs, few are willing to follow the God of Craftsmanship. Of course, it is impossible that all of them are naturally born elves.

In fact, they are all some exquisitely crafted puppets.

They hammered and pounded on workbenches, and exquisite ornaments, utensils, furniture and weapons were created one after another.

Ninety-nine percent of the creations on the sacred mountain today actually come from here.

"It is said that the God of Craftsmanship has no kingdom of God. He chooses to give his believers a chance for a new life. Those who are incomplete, old, or ugly can all find the bodies they like under Hephaestus and live another life in another way."

"Now it seems that the rumors are not false."

Ares was a little surprised as he had never been here before, but he just glanced at it.

They are just strange and lewd skills. No matter how well he does them, isn't he still a blacksmith who makes objects for the gods?

"Okay, shut up."

Aphrodite spoke coldly and took two quick steps towards the inside.

She had been here before, and more than once.

Soon, deep in the temple, he and Ares saw the presence of Hephaestus.

"……Um……"

"So, you met a mortal with an immortal body?"

Even though he was in his own palace, perhaps because he had foreseen who was coming, Hephaestus' true form was still not exposed on the ground.

The tall golden throne made him float, just a hair taller than Ares.

"Yes, as you can see, he gave me a sword."

Aphrodite did not hide her injuries. She even knew that although she was the goddess of beauty and was always beautiful, in Hephaestus' eyes, she was perhaps the most beautiful at this moment.

"I see."

Sure enough, Aphrodite saw a flash of surprise in the eyes of the god of craftsman, and it seemed that her problem was solved.

After just a moment's thought, Hephaestus raised his hand slightly and asked a servant puppet to bring a large golden net from the warehouse.

The big net was shining brightly and looked extremely luxurious.

But for some reason, the moment Ares saw it, he felt a mysterious sense of disgust.

"what is this?"

"As you can see, it's a net."

Hephaestus spoke calmly, "But even if you fall into this net, you can't get out for a while - I mean, even if you are on the top of the sacred mountain, it will still be the same."

"Oh, how did I fall into the net?"

Although he was shocked, Ares acted disdainful.

He thought he had found the reason why he hated the big net, because it could threaten him. It was such a skillfully crafted piece of work... However, what Ares didn't know was that his fate with the golden net went beyond that.

In the original mythological trajectory, Ares was not Aphrodite's husband, on the contrary, Hephaestus was.

However, despite this, the two still got together.

So in order to catch the adulterer, the god of craftsmanship made this big net, captured the naked goddess of beauty and the god of war, and then called on all the gods on Mount Olympus to watch - as for what kind of mentality he had here, most people probably couldn't understand it.

"With it, any indestructible body is useless."

"Because you don't need to kill him, you just need to trap him."

"The indestructible body is not an invincible force. It is not as difficult to deal with as imagined. As long as you use your brain a little, there are actually many ways to solve it."

Still staring at Aphrodite, Hephaestus introduced his artifact.

However, just as Ares was about to step forward to take it, he withdrew his hand.

"What do you mean?"

Ares asked.

Facing the question from the God of War, Hephaestus looked strange.

"You're not planning on taking my things for nothing, are you? I do have to do something to deal with Athens. That's the Queen's order, but it doesn't mean I have to clean up the mess you left behind."

"you--"

"Shut up."

Interrupting Ares once again, Aphrodite smiled and the entire temple suddenly blossomed with flowers.

"So, Hephaestus, what do you want?"

"I want you--"

He spoke calmly, and then as Ares's face turned red, Hephaestus continued to add.

"I want you to be my 'model'."

"Ok?"

"I mean, I want to make a doll in your likeness."

With a hint of obsession in his eyes, Hephaestus said slowly: "People only know that perfection is art, but they don't know that imperfection is also a kind of beauty. And the perfect imperfection is the beauty of beauty."

"Before, I just had this idea, but I didn't know how to express it until I saw you today, the noble goddess of beauty."

"You are truly beautiful now."

He straightened up subconsciously, his eyes shining.

"I will make you a life-size puppet, and only slightly modify the current one. Of course, I promise you that unless the sacred mountain collapses and the sacred palace no longer exists, I will never let it spread to the outside world."

"It will be the ultimate art... As for her name, I plan to name her [Aphrodite with Broken Arms]."