Chapter 27: Rejecting the gods.
"Imagine for a second, what would happen if Ikaris wakes and you are looming over her?" She gestured to Ikaris, and Bruce in response swallowed and took several more steps away from the others. "Exactly,"
"But what do we do then, why did she suddenly fall unconscious like that?" Eris was standing on the opposite side of the bed. "I\'ve exhausted all of my mana trying to heal her, but there\'s nothing to heal, she just won\'t wake up," She slumped, defeated.
"There seems to be nothing we can do right now, physically she is still healthy, and it is far too early to make any diagnosis, in the meantime, we should wait for Sol to return and then figure out what comes next," Princess Vermon added and stood. "I will leave you to watch over her, Sara, no harm should come to her, in the meantime, the rest of you come with me."
"I will send someone to check on her state within the hour."
"Of course, your Highness," Sara followed them to the door and saw them out and then turned to Ikaris again. "What is happening with you this time?"
Back in the golem dungeon, Sol had broken away Psiko\'s entire armour and stripped him down to his bare ethereal form, it was no more than the consciousness of a god made physical through divine magic.
[What a sorry sight you are,] Sol spoke after observing the god. [After your declaration, I thought I\'d struggle endlessly to fight you, but not only are you a coward, but you\'re also a pathetic one!]
[Activated, Hands of divinity]
He started folding the presence into a ball, compressing it until it was a solid orb no larger than an apple.
Sol watched the tips of his fingers grow dark, and his skin turn a dark red shade, horns grew on the sides of his head, and his brown eyes turned red, and there were bat-like wings neatly folded on his back as well as a tail that slowly swerved behind him, his once formless teeth were all sharp and jagged, and his hair was straight, silky and black.
[Demon god hm?] Sol frowned at the status window showing him his current state, he didn\'t care about the means though, this was a power that could challenge the gods themselves, it was just what he was missing. [As promised then,] He clutched the orb and smiled.
[Watch carefully gods of Arkadia, this is what happens to those who challenge me with half-assed resolutions!] He flapped his wings and opened his mouth, swallowing the apple-sized orb in one single gulp.
[You have successfully killed Psiko
The god of golems has been slain
Assimilating rewards
...
+10,000,000xp
Divinity has become 10% more potent
level has risen +4
Mana has been multiplied +120,000
Title: Godslayer has become permanent
Race-change has been unlocked
Upgrade to Demigod available]
[The pantheon is in another uproar, several challenges are being issued simultaneously, you now have the ability to refuse divine challenges, will you accept?]
[Reject all challenges] Sol took a deep breath and started laughing. [I\'ll fight you bastards on my own terms!]
[Challenge rejected] The gods that had challenged Sol saw the same message at the same time and began to rage and roar, the result were several stars moving about as the cosmos went into disarray.
[The god of death applauds you on a job well done]
[The goddess of war is smiling at your accomplishment]
[True Goddess Ikaris is ecstatic at your victory]
[The dungeon is closing]
One second in a massive cave, and the next Sol was teleported outside of the cave into a large open grassfield.
[How do I get rid of this appearance though?] Sol looked at himself again, there was no way he could return to Argom looking like this, even if nobody there could even scratch his eyeball, it would be an eyesore to explain that his demonic appearance had nothing to do with the demons that were warring against them.
As the thought crossed his mind, his body was engulfed in purple magic, and slowly he returned to normal, but just a second after he took his first breath he recoiled when a sudden and unbearable pain tore across the wound of his missing arm, he wanted to try healing and regenerating it but the pain itself was so severe that Sol fell to his knees and grit his teeth, unable to focus any magic out of his body.
"There\'s no way this is just tenfold!" He hissed, but out of nowhere a crimson light engulfed his arm and the pain immediately stopped, but he could tell at a single touch that this magic did not belong to Ikaris.
[True Goddess Ikaris is sceptical]
[The goddess of war has removed the pain of your penalty out of gratitude for showing her something interesting as a lesser being]
"What?" Sol stood and stared at his wound.
[The goddess of war applauds your accomplishment as a lesser being]
"Don\'t for a second think that this makes us even, just you wait Dr\'ul, someday I\'m gonna challenge you myself, and when I do, I\'m gonna make you regret looking down on me, I\'ll make you regret your existence," Sol seethed, but Dr\'ul on the other hand hearing his threat was more excited than she had ever been before.
[Not yet, you need more strength to face me, Tarnished] She smiled to herself while she watched him through the system window. [I have never been so excited to fight anyone before, you must be the best you can ever be, stronger than anything else!]
[The goddess of war is giddy with excitement after your threat, she is pleased with the threat]
[True Goddess Ikaris eagerly awaits your company]
Sol stared at the system window for a few seconds silently, and then closed his eyes and balled his fist disappearing in a flash of lightning and reappearing next to his bed where he found Ikaris opening her eyes and Sara staring in shock at his condition.
"Master," Ikaris rolled over to him and grabbed his waist in a hug. "Master," She called him again, and Sol smiled and took a seat as she placed her hand on his arm stump. "My Master was hurt,"
"What the devil is going on!?" Sara made an attempt to approach them but froze when Sol\'s arm was engulfed in white light.
The confused maid watched, shocked beyond words as Ikaris made small gestures with the most endearing smile she had seen on her face as Sol\'s arm was reconstructed on a molecular level, she witnessed every tissue that made the bones, every vein, every muscle get lovingly and meticulously crafted and then watched as Ikaris hugged the newly crafted hand with a pleased smile, to the maid, it looked like someone had just been skillfully sewing fine fabric; it was masterful.
"I figured this is why you were so eager for me to return, but you made that far more dramatic than it needed to be," Sol sighed, placing his hand on Ikaris\'s head and smiling when she leaned into his touch.
"It is my duty to properly take care of my master," Ikaris answered with her eyes closed, resting her cheek on his chest. "As usual, you were beautiful."
"It was a short fight, though," Sol argued, but she shook her head In disagreement.
"Beauty as yours master, is timeless," She turned her smile to him and started reaching for his face, but Sara interrupted them by clearing her throat.
"What did I just witness, where were you, what happened to your arm, how did you heal his missing arm?"