Chapter 484 Sacrifice

"Spiritual world?"

"I see. It seems that you wanted to ask the Lord of the Spirit World at first."

"After all, among the gods who are still active in the world today, my father is one of the few gods who has had a lot of contact with him."

With a sudden look on his face, Prometheus stretched out his hand to explore.

The next moment, he took out a purple-covered book from the darkness.

The dark purple book cover is painted with dark patterns, and all kinds of negative emotions seem to be reflected in the hearts of the viewers through the words on it.

Looking at this book, Hercules seemed to smell a pungent smell, but his reason told him that this was completely a mental illusion.

"What is this, is it what you said was given to you by the man who told you I would come here?"

Turning his gaze to the writing, Heracles confirmed that he did not recognize the writing.

But at a certain moment, he felt like he was 'recognizing' it.

As if it was trying to understand it, it was also trying to understand the person watching it... Looking away, the great hero asked.

"Yes, that's what he gave me."

"He originally wanted me to use the knowledge above to teach you - but I thought about it and decided to give it to you directly."

Reaching out and handing the book to Heracles, Prometheus continued: "It is not an easy thing to decipher it, but over the past thousands of years, I have been able to understand it."

"The content above comes from a place called [Nine Hells]. Its author is unknown, and this book is called [The Book of Purgatory]."

"It seems like a nice gift, but I don't believe there is any gratuitous preference in this world."

Taking the book, Hercules said slowly, while Prometheus nodded.

"Yes, I think so too."

"But what that person wants to do seems to be very clear - he seems to have a bad relationship with the God-King of Olympus, so he found me and wanted to borrow a knife to kill someone."

"Of course, he told me: 'In the future, a human being who has been deceived by the gods will come to me, and he will have the power to influence the structure of the world.'"

"'He is full of courage, but he is also wandering between good and evil.'"

"'He has a firm goal, but he doesn't know that that goal is the source of his pain.'"

"He hopes that I can help you, in the way he wants - it can be seen that I am just the sharpener he expected, and you are the real 'knife'."

Be blunt, like you said you would from the beginning.

Prometheus concealed nothing of his past, and he did not think that Hercules should not know them.

The hand trying to open the page trembled slightly. Hearing this, Hercules took a deep breath.

The Bronze Creator's words gave him a sense of déjà vu, as if some of his past suspicions had been confirmed.

"What about this book? Can it help people reverse death?"

"It can, even more than just reverse death, it can do a lot more."

"For example, it tells me a way to truly escape from the cage that suppresses me here."

"It tells me that I am here under the will of Zeus. This is God sacrificing himself for mankind."

"Theoretically, if I can find another being who is guided here by Zeus, I can use the rituals in this book to deceive the order and escape from death."

"As a price, the part of me that is stronger than the substitute will stay here to maintain the operation of this ritual... I am ashamed to say that I have indeed drawn this ritual over the years, but in the end, I still didn't Use it."

Sighing slightly, Prometheus recalled his original psychology.

Perhaps the child who once tipped off the God King just to gain eternal life thought the same way.

But if he lived long enough, as an eternal immortal, Prometheus could endure this temptation.

But as a short-lived human being, he finally made a choice.

"Ahem... I went a little far for the moment."

"Hercules, what I actually want to tell you is that this book does contain a lot of secrets, but most of them require you to actually see the real thing before you can 'understand' the words on it."

"Besides, the knowledge in this [Book of Purgatory] is indeed all-encompassing, but most of it is far darker and crueler than you imagine."

"Exchange life for life, exchange strength for strength." Prometheus spoke slowly, and said word by word: "This book itself is not evil, it just tells you that everything is in order, what do you want to get? , something will be lost.”

"However, the reason why life is life is because life always has some principles that are contrary to the rules of nature, and the more intelligent the life, the more so."

“Human beings call it ‘morality’, but natural rules often conflict with morality.”

"I can't decide your path, but I hope you ask yourself before making every decision, is this result really what you want?"

"..."

Holding the [Book of Purgatory] in his hand, Hercules could feel Prometheus' sincerity, and he also recognized the other party's statement.

For heroes like him, no matter the so-called trials or atonement, what can really bind them is the morality in their hearts.

So the original mythical Hercules was willing to obey a mortal king who could be easily crushed to death with one hand, and complete various tasks under his orders.

The same is true for Hercules today. If he gave up the moral bottom line in his heart, he would not have to travel across the ocean.

"I will."

Nodding heavily, Hercules found that Prometheus's face had become paler and paler.

Obviously, although he has been helped by faith over the years, he still cannot leave his cage for a long time.

Looking at this scene, Hercules felt a little depressed.

Along the way, the great hero has hardly encountered any trouble.

No matter what kind of opponent, he will eventually fall in front of him.

But now, facing the absolute power and strength of the God King, facing this god who knows that he can't save him but still chooses to help him, Hercules has no way.

The invisible cell belonging to Prometheus is only an inch in size, and even a step, the other party can never take it out.

"Hahaha... cough cough... don't feel sad, you are talented, and you are still young now."

"Maybe one day, you will be able to do something that will shock anyone in the world. On that day, even if I stay here, I will be happy for helping you today."

Laughter mixed with coughs, the bronze creator waved gently, and Orleans, who had not woken up yet, floated from the ground to his side.

"Take your friends away, I don't have much strength anymore."

"... One day, I will save you."

Take a step forward, as if you see that invisible barrier, the division defined by the kingship.

Hercules solemnly promised, this is the oath he made to his heart.

Prometheus smiled and nodded, for him, this is a rare happiness in a thousand years...

"-Wait, young man, you-!"

Suddenly, something unexpected happened.

Because of the exhaustion of divine power, Prometheus was a little dazed, but at this moment, Orleans, who was originally unconscious in his hand, suddenly woke up.

With a strong push, the body of the Forerunner was pushed away from the invisible barrier.

And only Orleans was left inside.

"—— Orleans, you?!"

The sudden change was so sudden that even Hercules did not react.

Why did Orleans do this, and most importantly, how did he hide the fact that he was not unconscious from him and Prometheus?

You know, although in the human world, Orleans was already a hero with extraordinary strength.

But in front of two gods, a demigod who was almost invincible in the world, he still looked so weak.

Everything changed in an instant. Hercules subconsciously wanted to move forward, but in front of him, a purple line slowly emerged, blocking his way forward.

"Bang——!"

That was the movement from the side.

On the side of Hercules, Prometheus was also blocked by the line.

"Heh... it's better not to waste your energy."

"Hercules, isn't this great?"

"I'll stay here, you guys leave."

"No matter how you think about it, this is a perfect ending."

In the center of the purple array, the voice was as calm as water, and Orleans said lightly.

There was no extra expression on his face, only a little relief.

"Orleans..."

The friend in front of him who had been traveling with him for several months made the hero feel a little strange at this moment, not only because of his sudden choice, but also because of his hidden means.

However, as if he saw Hercules' doubts, Orleans explained lightly:

"You don't have to think too much. At the beginning, I didn't come here with any good intentions."

"Your visit was just an accident, and I would come here again whether you are here or not."

"Hercules, you think you are very smart, but you still hold your own strength in your heart."

"You think I am far from your opponent, so you don't have any defense against me."

"But hero with extraordinary martial arts, you are still too careless - as a ship that the gods once sent to this fleet Long, others may be grateful for the Creator's kindness and eventually leave the country where the gods believe, but how can I leave? "

"Those who can be chosen to drive this alchemical ship must be trusted by the church. And even if I really give up my faith, with my strength, how can the gods allow me to leave? "

"Besides, even if I take a thousand steps back, take ten thousand steps back, and I successfully leave, how can I keep such an alchemical ship and use it to travel between the continent and the ocean? "

"..."

There is no rebuttal, Hercules had to admit that what Orleans said was right.

There are so many unreasonable things about the other party, in addition to these two points, there are actually many more.

But I have never paid attention to these, or maybe it is really the arrogance of my inner strength... In front of Hercules, Orleans continued.

"...Hehe, so there is only one result, the gods are willing to let me go, because they asked me to come. That ship is left for me. Without you, there will be other people who follow the Creator's footsteps to come here. "

"As for why I was able to hide from your perception and pretend to be unconscious, it is naturally because I have a treasure made in imitation of Hades' invisible helmet, which can shield my own breath."

"In the original plan, I will lead a group of passionate young people who pursue the legend of the Creator, and let them sacrifice most of them on the journey-finally, when they come here after a narrow escape and meet the bronze Creator, I will use the grace of the gods to kill them in front of you."

"Finally, I will take a few people who regret, give up, and waver on the way back, and they will bow down before the statues of the gods."

"Then we will use 'facts' to tell the people on the continent that the legends about the Creator are all false, he is cruel, cold, and ruthless."

Calmly explained, but listening to everything that Orleans said, a chill surged into Hercules' chest.

Reversing black and white, tampering with history, distorting the truth... No matter how vicious the words are, they are not enough to describe these.

Opening his mouth, Hercules was going to ask the other party why he didn't do it in the end, but he didn't say it in the end.

If he was just afraid of his own strength, he could just pretend to be unconscious and go back to the mainland with him.

Since Orleans made such a choice, it is obvious what he was thinking.

"... Don't look at me like that, Hercules, maybe I will regret it soon."

"Humans are always complicated."

The middle-aged man smiled, and then he looked at the bronze creator with a complicated expression.

Unlike Hercules, Prometheus knew that when the other party entered here instead of him, there was no possibility for the other party to leave.

"Haha... Bronze Age Creator, I want to ask you a question."

"Ask it."

Prometheus nodded, not knowing how many times he sighed today.

"What I want to know is... after going through so much, have you ever been disappointed with the human race?"

"Probably... not."

"The Golden Age... that kind of perfection is just an illusion. In the Silver Age, the reason I left was not actually their sin."

"It's just the result of artificial shaping. No matter how perfect it is, it is still false. Until the Bronze Age, I created them with my own hands."

"I liked them at that time. Now that I think about it, maybe I like their works more."

"But when I was locked up here, this kind of love changed."

"Because I gradually discovered that there are very few people who make decisions like you, and even most people don't think they are willing to sacrifice for anything else in their lives."

"But when a certain moment comes, there will always be people like you who make incredible choices for me, others, and even themselves."

"And this is probably the greatness of intelligent life that is different from other species."

"No matter how dark it is, you can always see some light in the corner."

"..."

In the center of the sea eye, take a step back and overlap your body with the increasingly ethereal shadow of the divine power.

I don't know if he was satisfied with this answer, but Orleans just nodded.

"I know."

"Now, leave here."

"Hercules, leave here and complete your great adventure."

"If you have a chance in the future, you may come back to see me."

"When the time comes, tell me your legendary story."