Zeus was not merely the god of thunder, storms, and kingship.
He also held the Authority of wisdom, as well as dominion over the sky, judgment, fate, life, and death.
Even the God of Hebrew mythology may have originally been based on Father Zeus, giving rise to that supreme image.
However, Heretic Gods are merely born from mythology.
They descend in different forms.
Old age, middle age, youth, adolescence—different stages, along with their associated myths and even personalities, vary.
For example, the Zeus now appearing before Rin and the others was clearly the King of the Gods from the Olympian pantheon.
Symbolizing thunder and the sky, he was the son of Cronus and the leader of the twelve Olympian gods.
"Ignorant son of man, who calls upon my command?"
Zeus descended and immediately looked down at the city of Athens.
He recognized this place. It was a human city once protected by a fragment of the triple goddess known as Athena, after she declined and became his daughter.
Soon, Zeus noticed the three figures before him.
First was Rin.
Zeus didn't pay him much attention.
A mere mortal was not worth the notice of a majestic King of the Gods.
What truly surprised Zeus were Diablo and Testarossa.
"Lucifer, the Great Lord of the Morning Star, the Lord of Hell who contended with Yahweh."
"Lilith, the primeval Mother Goddess, origin of bloodlines, the seven-headed, ten-horned most ancient dragon-serpent who wields the True Name of God."
Almost the moment he saw the two, Metis's wisdom allowed Zeus to comprehend their origins and the essence of their power.
"No!"
"That's not right!!"
Zeus rejected the knowledge he had just obtained, staring intently at the two primordial beings and questioning, "Who are you? Why do you hold the godheads of Lucifer and Lilith?"
As the King of the Gods of a divine realm, Zeus had naturally encountered the real Lucifer and Lilith.
Regardless of the version, he had dealt with them before.
That was why Zeus clearly knew these two were not the true Lucifer or Lilith.
"It seems in front of a true God King, our concealment is completely useless," Diablo said calmly. He never intended to rely on such disguises for anything meaningful.
He had successfully descended as a Heretic God, manifesting his power through Lucifer's Authority.
Although this Disobedient Body could only unleash about thirty percent of Diablo's original combat power, that much was more than enough.
Even if it was only thirty percent, it was still enough to kill a God King.
Diablo gave Rin a slight nod, and after receiving permission, he stepped forward directly. "Three tenths of my strength is enough to defeat you."
"Boom!!"
Massive wings of light spread from Diablo's back. His body began to expand, instantly growing to the same size as Zeus, or even slightly taller.
In the sky, the dark clouds began to part.
And above the hollow heavens, a sacred and solemn Gate of Heaven slowly opened.
The next moment, a multitude of angels descended like a waterfall. These were indeed the one-third of the angelic legions who once followed Lucifer and rebelled against God.
"I almost forgot."
Diablo glanced at the city of Athens below. He raised his hand, and the entire space began to distort.
Thus, the city of Athens began to vanish.
In its place was an endless abyss of darkness.
Crimson mist filled the air, and the land split into countless canyons.
Rivers of lava roared and surged, emitting terrifying sounds. The banks were scorched, with withered trees that resembled tormented souls stretching out their twisted arms toward the sky.
The air was filled with the suffocating stench of sulfur and blood.
Occasionally, a fierce wind would blow, but instead of coolness, it brought a scorching heat from the abyss, burning every inch of skin.
In this boundless darkness and suffering, no life could find peace—only eternal torment and fear.
Within the flames, countless spirits and demons could be vaguely seen writhing and tumbling.
They fought each other, their shrill cries and clashing metal ringing out in a never-ending symphony of horror.
"This is?!"
In the Netherworld, not only Athena saw this terrifying vision of hell.
Several other figures, including the Old Lord from the Far East and the Witch Queen Violet, were also shaken by the scene before them.
Above stood a magnificent heavenly palace, and below, a gate of hell amidst rolling lava.
Light and darkness, holiness and depravity, bliss and agony... These two opposing extremes had, at this moment, merged under a certain force into a perfect, harmonious whole, as if it was meant to be that way.
"...Lucifer?"
"Is this the power of the Lord of Hell?"
"Who in the world summoned such a being?"
As for Zeus, even if they hadn't seen him act, they had a general understanding of his strength.
In contrast, Diablo, who descended under the name of Lucifer, brought a level of impact far beyond anyone's expectations.
His power was in no way inferior to Zeus.
In fact, it even surpassed him.
The original plan had been for Little White and Little Black to act together and directly take Zeus down.
However, they had clearly overestimated Zeus's strength.
As a God King, Zeus was indeed powerful.
Among all Heretic Gods, he ranked near the top.
But he had encountered Diablo.
Even with only thirty percent of his power, the strength of Original Black was not something this version of Zeus from the Campione World could compare to.
As for Testarossa… she had originally intended to set up a barrier to isolate the battlefield between Diablo and Zeus.
Since the civilians in Athens had already been used, then at the very least, their lives needed to be preserved.
"The battle will end very quickly. I'm telling you."
Diablo spread his black and white wings, then transformed into a stream of light, leading tens of thousands of angels and the purgatory beneath his feet as he charged toward Zeus.
"Master?"
Seeing this, Testarossa acted immediately, setting up a concealment to block outside interference. "I will find the right moment to bring you before Zeus."
"Hmm."
Rin did not refuse their thoughtfulness.
Besides, he saw nothing wrong with letting others beat the boss down before he stepped in to finish it.
After all, they were part of Rin's power.
Their actions were no different from Rin defeating Zeus himself.
(To be continued.)