Son of the Hero King

Chapter 778: Protocol Aegis and Longinus

Euphoria was still somewhat hesitant to use the full breadth of her abilities, fearing she might do something irreversible to the world. However, the moment she felt Hypnos’ aura vanish, her decision was made. There was no time to lose. Soon, Anubis and Echidna would enter the field, and her already precarious situation would worsen further.

She refused to let herself be manhandled by a group of demigods like this. Her pride as a bona fide ancient goddess would not suffer such humiliation, nor the impact it would have on her narrative.

“You can only blame yourself for what happens next, ignorant mortals.” She muttered under her breath, hatred and wrath seeping through each syllable.

The world could hate her all it wanted. Let it have its tantrum if it so wishes. She would make it love her all over again, in the end.

Just not at the moment.

Right now, all she wanted was blood. The blood and anguish of the pair of infuriating ants struggling against their inevitable fate.

Her fingers clenched, nails digging into her palms. Heat pulsed under her skin, and the power of her Concept howled, raring itself, screaming to be let loose to its master.

They wanted to fight? Fine. She would give them hell.

“You wanted the world to burn, right?” Her lips curled into a twisted smile of endless malevolence. “Let me do it for you.”

Euphoria raised her hand… and the sky immediately answered her call. Hatred was her original Concept. The origin she was born from, and she could use it almost instinctively, even without the need of her Divine Kingdom to channel the full extent of the Concept.

｢ All Encompassing Hatred -::- Celestial Wrath ｣

Clouds tore apart as a rift split the firmament asunder, exposing a hole that broadcast the edge of the void beyond.

From that tear through the heavens, something ancient and vast began its descent— a celestial mass of stone and flame, impossibly large, sheathed in heat and irrevocable fury— a symbol of the hatred and wrath of the Goddess of Hatred.

In essence, by focusing all the hatred of the world, she had attracted a nearby meteor from the asteroid belt— one large enough to bring forth a new ice age if the collision occurred true.

Drawn by the true goddess’ divine will, the meteor accelerated beyond terminal velocity, its wake igniting the upper atmosphere and burning through the mass of clouds and layers of ozone. Its size alone eclipsed mountains. The heat of the immolated goliath of stone and fury seared through the veil of heaven, turning the horizon into a dark molten red.

The pressure arrived long before the impact— far too long. Earthquakes radiated outward, preemptive waves of devastation rupturing the terrain beneath the continent. Oceans trembled. Tectonic plates shifted. The planet itself cried out beneath the coming weight of the behemoth that could only be described as heaven’s wrath.

Accompanying the singular giant meteor was a shower of smaller but no less threatening meteor showers raining down from above, heading straight for the world. There were hundreds, nay, thousands of the smaller immolated balls of destruction. Most of them would assuredly fall on other kingdoms, and the death toll would be immense.

Euphoria had cast aside restraint and launched a mass extinction event.

She had, until now, preserved some control— conscious of the damage her authority could inflict on the Mortal Realm. But that concern was long gone now, replaced by certainty and a deep maleficent hatred for everything wrong that occurred against her after her brand new ascension. Whatever consequences followed, she would bear them full brunt. She would remake the world if need be. But these people would be erased alongside everything that dared to threaten her, and her authority and narrative.

* * *

Above the continent, high enough to touch the edge of the firmament, suspended beyond the jet stream in orbit-stable elevation, a floating fortress hummed with artificial grace.

This was the Sky Throne. The main island of the Kingdom of Slothein, also serving as its capital.

The Sky Throne was usually still and silent… as usual. The angels there had no work other than monitoring the safety of the world. The last time they acted with certainty, intent, and true purpose was one thousand years ago— during Jupiter's era of world domination.

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After such a long time of peace, even the most diligent angel started to fall into sloth— the sin that defined their existence. Yet… today was different. It was a day of judgment and horror— a truly catastrophic event was put into motion, one that could tear the very foundations of the Mortal Realm.

Alarms blared everywhere, in every single place on the island without a miss.

Crimson markers lit up the control spires. One by one, celestial trajectories were calculated. Impact estimations unfolded in glowing runes across crystalline screens. The world was under attack from the stars themselves.

[ Protection Protocol Activated.

Threat Class: Omega – World Breaker.

Hostile Entity Count: 3,214.

Immediate Estimated Casualties: 850 million ]

The angels who had been snoring a few moments ago all snapped into attention. The current population of the Mortal Realm was approximately 1.9 billion. Nearly half would be gone in one snap if nothing were to be done. Moreover, they did not doubt that if not prevented, most, if not all, of the remaining half would cease to exist in the aftermath. They were looking at an Extinction-level Event.

“Goddess damnit. Call the Queen immediately!” One of the highest-ranked officers immediately cursed, bellowing at the very top of her lungs.

This was exactly the reason why god level beings, or even demigods for that matter, were not allowed to set foot in this Realm. The moment they went all out, only death and destruction would be left, and the one who would suffer would be the poor, helpless mortals without any powers.

Thankfully, they had been preparing for moments like this. All they needed was—

“Lieutenant General, the Queen has given her permission!” The messenger immediately relayed the queen’s approval, and the General cheered.

“Activate the defense.”

[ Protocol Aegis Activated ]

All over the continent, spires of sky-tearing heights erupted from the ground and began pulsing in unison— a rhythmic flow of ever-changing colors.

Energy extended from the spires with each pulse, and a hexagonal shield blinked into existence as they connected from tower to tower. Each shield coalesced and linked, covering a larger area and strengthening each other through their shared power.

The angels have been regarded as the supreme race and the original police force of the world, and they obviously made a plethora of preparations to ensure this supremacy.

Protocol Aegis. A worldwide defense system created to protect the world. The idea had mostly been to cast a shield that could protect mortals from residual bombardment since demigods and above fought mostly in the air.

“General! There is a problem! The shield towers installed in the surroundings of Lustburg, Wratharis, are not responding!”

The General gritted his teeth. “Who is the agent that was tasked with updating the defense system there?”

“Agent Chloe Diligentia.”

The General cursed once again. He did not care about the population of Lustburg. They had witnessed and even participated in some mass extinction events. Humans were like rabbits; they would repopulate fast.

But Chloe was currently there, and they could not afford to let their Holy Daughter die as collateral.

“General. Do not worry. Marshal Iris is currently on the field. She will protect Agent Chloe.”

The General sighed in relief at the news. “Perfect. Just perfect. Warn the Marshal. Ask her not to act out kindness. Her safety is paramount.”

Lustburg was doomed, but it mattered little in the grand scheme of things. Goddess Luxuria would create a new kingdom if she judged it necessary. The same went for Wratharis.

Once all the shields or nearly all the shields were activated, it was time to eliminate the threats.

The numbers and size of the meteors were problematic, but they could destroy most of them with their millennia of preparation.

“Activate the elimination Protocol!”

[ Protocol Longinus Activated ]

[ Energy output 40%. Target calibrated. Waiting for orders. ]

A great tower at the center of Slothein rotated, locking into place. This was one of the greatest creations of Slothein. It could arguably be considered the most powerful weapon in the world, and had three main forms of activation.

Then—

“Light of Judgment Canon! Fire!!!”

[ Fire! ]

A beam of light, purer than the intensity of the very sun above, tore through the clouds. A line carved across the firmament as it ripped through space and void alike.

And with it, three-quarters of the meteor shower vanished instantly— annihilated to the very atom, and even that was not spared. They could never hope to touch the ground below.

The rest fell, but the damage and casualties would be negligible compared to what was previously estimated with the shield activated. Well, at least below the threshold that could push them to act.

The angels did not fire at all of them. The largest meteor, the one burning brightest, falling hardest, and heading straight for the epicenter toward Gluttony Foss? They left it completely untouched.

There was no need to waste energy on it. The people there could protect themselves. The only

“Let them handle that one.” He muttered, then started giving follow-up orders. “Prepare casualties report and warn the nurturing division. They might have to guide a new human civilization from behind for a dozen years or so.”

This was much better than the last time. Back then, they had to nurture humans for nearly two hundred years before they were ready to be freed from control.

“Activate our drone near Gluttony Foss immediately.”

“Understood.”

The General gave the order— he wished to see with his own eyes how this fight would end.

His eyes briefly landed on the button activation of the final weapon form of the spiraling tower of destruction— Longinus. As indifferent as he was to the world's plight, he wished he had never had to use their last resort.

What he would observe next would help him make his final decision.