Chapter 42: Like You! Damn Bone-Eating Fool!
Hachiman transformed into a bolt of lightning, entering the domain of god-speed, and in an instant, he was above the volcano.
Stirring the sea of clouds, summoning thunder and lightning, whipping up violent winds and rain—this was the true form of Set before the unification of ancient Egypt. At that time, he was not only the god of war but also the god who brought rain and fertility to the land. Now, with his powers liberated, Hachiman possessed these abilities as well.
When Hachiman appeared above the volcano, the sky had already turned pitch black. Clouds churned, wind roared, and steam began to break free from the clouds. Bolts of lightning flashed, complementing the volcano, which was continuously spewing smoke and shaking violently.
The two Horuses were fully aware of each other's presence, but clearly, the one inside the volcano was at a disadvantage. Agitated, he triggered the volcano's first eruption.
Hachiman's flamboyant entrance completely set him off.
With a tremendous roar, the volcano's crater exploded.
Stones sealed for millennia were flung into the sky by the god's might. The inner sea boiled, and an earthquake swept across the entire Sera island.
"Damn bone-eating fool! Like you!"
To ordinary people, it was just the roar of the volcano and the wailing of the earth. But to Hachiman, he heard the deity's furious roar.
"Yes, that's me!" Hachiman laughed loudly in the sky, murderous intent blazing, no longer hiding it.
Honestly, he was furious.
What kind of terrible phonetic spelling is that?! Is your throat shaped like an S?!
He had to make this guy understand the consequences of randomly learning other races' languages!
The shattered stones, each the size of a human, charged at him, filled with subterranean heat—but they couldn't touch him.
The heat was instantly extracted, and the stones shattered as they neared him, becoming dust and part of the storm.
Wearing a stern black expression, Hachiman raised his hand in a downward press and shouted back:
"Eat dust!"
The next moment, the rolling dust, driven by the wind, formed a dust storm that poured back into the already blasted volcano crater.
The secret of "whack-a-mole" lay in smoke. Harassing a god hiding in a volcano meant disturbing him until his "balls hurt" and he had no choice but to appear.
It wasn't that Hachiman didn't want to drag him out, but he was the King of the Earth, not the King of Burrows. He could control underground water, but not magma.
Even though he could extract and absorb high temperatures, this magma had been stored for 17,000 years. If he went in, would he be fighting or having a meal?
The dust storm covered the sky, pouring down, infiltrating cracks on the volcano and mountain. First, the original steam channels on the mountain were blocked. Soon, even the blasted volcano crater could not vent anything.
Yet the volcano still trembled, trying to use its power to break free from Hachiman's control.
Hachiman only smirked as he landed on the crater, now sealed with layers of earth and stone. The moment his feet touched the sealed soil, the tremor ceased.
Under the King of the Earth's power, the entire island's seismic force was redirected in the opposite direction.
Hachiman could almost hear the deity roaring underground.
Bully a wounded god—this felt amazing.
Thinking back, he had once been restrained by conventional thinking. Why wait for the opponent to be at full strength? This went against his tastes.
Strike a male god when he's uncomfortable, so he can't look cool for even three seconds. Strike a female god when she's pregnant—make her pregnant with a dozen!
Yet Horus could endure. Despite Hachiman completely returning the volcano's power to him, he refused to appear.
Hachiman wasn't in a rush. The true power of the Sera volcano hadn't fully erupted. He could easily hold it, so after reinforcing the volcanic blockade, he returned.
This time, he skipped the foreign rich-guest antics, descending casually from the sky to the camp outside Sera city.
In the camp, the previous cataclysmic scene had already convinced the Sera people that it was divine anger. They knelt everywhere, worshiping the volcano, praying for the god's forgiveness.
The only one who didn't kneel was Rusa.
Not because he lacked faith—since his wife died in childbirth, his faith had collapsed. Unlike people in later times, his faith collapsed precisely because he had believed in the god's greatness.
He had devoted himself sincerely, and the god had taken his beloved wife. Clearly, given a choice between the god and his wife, he chose his wife.
"Rusa!" A man wearing gold ornaments knelt, letting out a beast-like roar. "You unfaithful bastard! You will kill us all!"
The High Priestess knelt at the forefront. Without looking up, she shouted: "Kneel, Rusa! Even if you don't care for everyone else, think of your child! If you sincerely beg for forgiveness, Poseidon will pardon you!"
"Enough!" Rusa stubbornly stood, even as his son and daughter-in-law knelt at his feet. "Poseidon won't speak to you! He will only curse us! Never satisfied! Don't you see? He wants to kill us! He…"
Suddenly, he fell silent. His eyes widened, his body trembling.
At first, no one noticed, until a thud sounded.
Many glanced over and were shocked: the most infamous man in Sera, known for his hatred of gods, had suddenly offered his knees!
People thought their eyes were deceiving them. Some thought he had always wanted to kneel but was too embarrassed—but… he made such a loud sound kneeling; who could it fool?
Then a voice came from above:
"Rusa, this isn't like you."
Everyone looked up curiously. What they saw shocked them.
A young man in a robe, walking in the sky, bolts of lightning coursing across his body. Wind moved at his hands. Meanwhile, the Sera noticed the ground had somehow returned to calm.
All of this had only one answer.
"A god…"
The crowd whispered in disbelief, trembling even more than Rusa.
Beside Rusa, the once-kneeling Isiharu and Pinaruti were completely dumbfounded.
"Isn't this my dad's… friend!? How did he get into the sky? Who can tell me what kind of trick this is!?"
"Who do I even call this guy in the sky? God-uncle?"
Isiharu and Pinaruti exchanged glances, both tempted to slap themselves to check if they were dreaming.
Rusa, kneeling on the ground, recalled the miraculous scene during the earthquake when Hachiman calmed the ground around him.
"You… who are you…" he trembled, voice shaking. Yet in his heart, he already knew the answer.
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