My Blessing Must Not Be Refused [Please Give Flowers! Please Vote!]

"Gah, gah—Oooooooh—!!"

Moran's only response was a tragic yet unyielding roar.

He severed the chains of pain and kept trying to rise.

Flames were already erupting from his entire body.

Some parts had even carbonized and fallen away, but that did not matter.

The faces of the women were etched into his evaporating eyeballs as he gritted his teeth and straightened against the lightning.

As if roaring in fury, "This will never be the end!"

Every bolt of lightning could nearly destroy Moran's cells, as though life and death were repeating without end.

It was like a trial, praising this king who had endured until now.

He had never doubted the path beneath his feet.

Whether he could do it or not, once he decided to do it, he would act.

He fought for what he desired until the flame burned out.

He told himself that he could do it, his fighting spirit surging as even his life itself literally continued to burn.

Perhaps he had already lost consciousness.

Only his survival instinct was supporting him.

That figure was heartbreaking, yet deeply moving.

It was not only Great God Zeus who watched.

The gods within the Temple of Olympus were as well, all of them focusing their minds on the information units.

They watched this tragic scene.

"Darling... why... why... please... please don't do this anymore... if this continues...!"

Artemis's delicate body trembled without stop.

Covering her face, she felt as though she could not breathe.

Even now, Moran had not begged her to intervene.

Even after being struck by Zeus's lightning millions upon millions of times, this man had never opened his mouth to beg for mercy or surrender.

Watching the man she loved most suffer such torment.

Her heart was undoubtedly bleeding.

She prayed that he would call to her for help in the next moment, yet every time, all she heard was that tragic, piercing roar.

Stop, stop, don't—!

Artemis's heart sobbed endlessly.

At last, the lightning stopped.

Not because the gods had petitioned Zeus, nor for any other reason. He had stopped it himself.

"Moran, you are undoubtedly unlike any human I have ever seen. I used my full strength... at least, as much as this form allows! Yet you did not die. You still remain alive in this world! Humans, these mammals, are merely called thinking reeds. Though in essence, you are no different..."

Zeus paused there.

Within the scorching sea filled with currents of Divine Might, there was only one blackened figure that had nearly been electrocuted into charcoal.

Even his human form had been twisted beyond recognition.

You had survived Zeus's God's Thunder.

Although this was influenced by your connection to the Mother Goddess Medusa, as well as Great God Zeus being unable to use his full strength.

Your Unbending Will was also key to enduring until now.

Every factor had been indispensable.

You knew that the Zeus appearing now was not his true body.

This form was itself more suited for conversation, and its combat ability was comparatively inferior to his true body.

"But! How could there be such a tenacious reed in this world! To go mad over the word happiness to such an inhuman extent!"

Zeus said through clenched teeth.

There was not the slightest anger or dissatisfaction in his words. They were instead filled with incomprehension and shock.

Even as a Great God, he was astonished.

For a moment, he found it difficult to accept that such a frenzied species could be human.

They had witnessed how heroes transcended common sense.

Divine light covered this sea.

Even you, burned by lightning until you no longer resembled a human, were bathed in that divine radiance.

Zeus had issued an order to the gods.

"By the command of my lord, to demonstrate our magnanimity, in my name, I command the goddess Demeter, great earth goddess who governs the harvests of all ages, descend here with mercy."

Demeter did not refuse.

Watching you survive even after enduring the lightning, the maternal tenderness in her heart surfaced as well.

Such a resilient child.

If you had been her beloved child at her side, how wonderful that would have been. She certainly would not have allowed you to suffer such pain.

If her own child could become so dazzling, possessing a steadfast will like a flower growing from a cliff—

How gratified she would be as a mother.

It was something that could never emerge from a child raised under her care.

The Machine Gods' affection could not produce heroes.

Were heroes truly so dazzling?

Some gods could not help but think so.

My Favor Shall Not Be Refused. Please Send Flowers! Please Vote!

"Grief is death. Grief is the end."

"My beloved Children of Olympus, and the little hero who crossed countless bolts of lightning and defied us, how pitiful you are. I shall bestow mercy upon you here. This is a blessing."

"You are the abundance that tills the stars—"

Waves of ripples spread outward.

As divine light descended and illuminated the sea, an aura symbolizing life filled the entire space.

The Children of Olympus who had died were resurrected.

The bodies that had lost their lives beneath the sea regained consciousness and swam back to the surface.

This divine skill was astonishing.

Only a divine feat could accomplish such a thing: resurrecting, over a vast area and by one's own power, the dead who had once perished.

You too were illuminated by the radiance.

The true body of the one who governed the earth.

Demeter, goddess of the earth and harvest, whose name meant Earth Mother, was an Earth Mother Goddess who inherited Gaia's divine nature.

She was the goddess who saved humanity with the immortal fruit.

Her true body was a material production vessel for interstellar travel, an ever-increasing tower that endlessly circulated supplies.

You were reborn beneath her care.

Your form, which had nearly been turned into coal, regained its shape. The charred skin peeled away, once more revealing a fair luster.

Because of the care and mercy bestowed by the gods.

You regained your life.

Medea and Atalanta immediately rushed to your side. Though you had been resurrected through the agricultural goddess's Authority, you were still weak.

Yet you clenched your fists tightly.

It was as if the pity and mercy granted by enemies were not what you or the Pellasgi needed.

"How is it? This is our divine power. Though we came from beyond this world, before our descent, what sort of attitude did the Native Gods of this land have toward humanity? Would they have shown such mercy?"

Zeus stared at the resurrected Moran.

He still remembered the Native Gods born from this planet.

They ruled humanity with cruelty and indifference, their methods so inefficient that the Machine Gods considered them something to be eliminated.

Humanity did not even have time to grow.

Before it was destroyed by the gods.

They continuously staged apocalypses upon this land, treating humans as nothing more than game pieces for amusement.

"Heroes like you are truly rare, scarce even in the whole world. It would be far too regrettable for you to die like this—accept my bloodline, my legacy."

Zeus made an unexpected proposal.

Not only did he have no intention of erasing you, he even offered to give you his own legacy and blood.

"Accept my Divine Blood. Even your dead people can be resurrected through Demeter's Authority. As for the sins you committed earlier, they can be written off as well."

Zeus's tone was calm and steady.

It was as though he had never considered your thoughts from the very beginning.

Or rather, he believed they were unimportant.

He believed that after witnessing the great power of the Machine Gods, you would certainly not refuse this transaction that came with no loss.

The Machine Gods still lacked sufficient information.

The fundamental reason Zeus made this proposal was likely that he wanted to collect and record data on something called a hero.

The Pellasgi people heard the Great God's words.

So did the Children of Olympus.

Everyone's eyes fell upon you, waiting only for their king to give an answer.

Artemis stared intently at you.

She desperately hoped that you would accept the deal.

"I refuse."

Moran gave his answer without hesitation.

There was no need to spend time thinking about such a thing.

Not a single Pellasgi felt regret.

This had been the answer in their hearts from the beginning.

The people placed absolute trust in Moran, their king.

"Hmph, my favor shall not be refused!"

Zeus once again imposed crushing pressure.

This time, all the people resisted stubbornly as well, their resistance far stronger than before.

"All that I grant people.

Is favor. What I do out of love is what ought to be accepted!"

Zeus watched as you struggled to endure.

He turned his gaze toward Medusa, knowing that this Earth Mother Goddess was the one who had allowed you to persist until now.