Chapter 729
Approaching (3)
# The Gods’ Divine Weapons
Gods each possess their own unique powers and domains, and along with these, they have special equipment of their own.
Zeus has “Astrape” which he uses to hurl lightning bolts, and Odin has his unerring spear “Gungnir,” among others.
Famous gods are equipped with “divine artifacts,” and their creation processes always appear in mythology.
Divine artifacts exist in this world too. But strangely, Luminous doesn’t have a specific divine artifact.
According to myths, he simply used the most appropriate weapons when defeating enemies or monsters.
He’s essentially the weapon master of mythology. And Mora, being distant from combat, has no divine artifact either.
This is likely because both of their powers are already incredibly strong, and they’re the direct children of the Father of All Things.
“So during the Great War in the past, did you just pick up and use whatever weapons were available?”
“I used swords and spears equally. And remember, my domain is light.”
After receiving this brief explanation, I met with Luminous in his characteristic white space.
He seemed to be in a good mood, perhaps because he noticed something in my recent actions, or maybe he had expectations.
His muscles were still impressively bulging. His attire, resembling ancient Greek clothing, only emphasized this more.
“You can consider anything related to light within my capabilities. That’s also why I symbolize hope and courage.”
“That would be quite useful in war… but what about direct attack techniques?”
In the myths from when I was serving as Luminous’s saint, he was incredibly powerful.
He would envelop himself in light and completely annihilate his opponents.
The comparison that frequently appears is “speed like light.”
It made sense for such a comparison given he was the god of light, but it seemed more like a “buff” than anything else.
“There are techniques using the power of light. For example…”
Rumble!
Luminous, being incredibly kind, decided to demonstrate in response to my question.
First, he set up a large boulder at quite a distance.
The concept of it emerging from the ground made the earth shake momentarily.
Then, he extended his index finger toward the boulder.
Whiiing!
“…Huh?”
After a moment, golden light began to gather at the tip of his finger.
While I was blinking at this familiar-looking situation, the light concentrated at his fingertip was fired.
Pyung! Kwagwang!
The cliff crumbled in an instant as soon as the light was fired from his fingertip. It moved at a speed my eyes couldn’t follow.
A photon laser blast like what a captain-level character in a certain pirate manga would use. I never expected to see it in real life.
“Something like that. I lowered the output as much as possible, but it’s been a while, so controlling the power is difficult.”
“…This is with the output lowered as much as possible?”
“Of course. I can’t just fire atomic bomb-level power willy-nilly, can I?”
I pondered his words carefully.
In a certain manga, there’s a famous line that goes, “Have you ever been kicked at the speed of light?”
But in reality, the moment you launch something at the speed of light, everything around would be beyond devastation—it would be completely destroyed.
According to Einstein’s immortal law, the mass-energy equivalence, this is entirely possible.
In other words, Luminous’s laser has power exceeding that of an atomic bomb.
“What kind of overpowered ability is that? You’re using light, but it’s more like… aren’t you closer to a god of destruction?”
“I am a god of war, so that’s not entirely wrong.”
“…”
I’m speechless. No wonder he destroyed the world and annihilated the Father of All Things.
Of course, if he had used such destructive power freely, the world wouldn’t have survived, so he must have regulated it.
When it comes to ‘physical power,’ no god can match Luminous. That’s for certain.
I previously thought humanity had caught up in terms of destructive power, but that was pure arrogance.
One way or another, gods are gods. Humanity can never catch up.
“…According to Mora, you were quite a ruffian in the past.”
“Well… that’s…”
When I cautiously asked, Luminous rarely showed an embarrassed expression.
With such destructive power, he must have been nothing short of terrifying to humanity.
After hesitating for a while, Luminous smiled bitterly and confessed honestly.
“…I did punish human nations that didn’t listen to me. I got in a lot of trouble for that.”
“What did you do? Destroy cities that didn’t worship you?”
“…”
“Okay. Don’t tell me.”
From his expression, I instinctively realized he had done something even worse.
It seems he was truly a terrible person until he met and married the goddess of wisdom.
“Weren’t you cursed as an evil god?”
“They couldn’t curse me. If they offended me, all their crops would fail that year.”
“You were really narrow-minded. Are you really Luminous?”
“I was back then.”
There was a complete mismatch between the ruffian Luminous of the past and the current Luminous.
Perhaps he became the wise and benevolent figure he is now after going through many experiences.
In reality, many people have physically mature bodies but are mentally immature.
From a young age, there’s a mindset that physical development is enough, but mental growth is equally important.
‘I should write about that aspect.’
From what I can see, he’s keeping quiet about his past because it’s too embarrassing to tell a current mortal, but he’s clearly reflecting on it.
If he wasn’t reflecting, he would have hesitated to write the myth. He’s no different from the Father of All Things in that regard.
That makes him more three-dimensional. Being more three-dimensional, it seemed like it would receive quite a good response.
“Anyway, let’s set aside Luminous’s past. Can you explain why I have this ability?”
“In post-creation faith, the ‘symbol’ of the subject often gets elevated to a divine artifact. Remember when the gods of Earth helped you when you were in danger?”
“Yes, I remember.”
“Do you remember how they helped you?”
Of course I remember. I could never forget that incident.
Just before hearing the true name of the Father of All Things, a clear bell sound rang out, and a giant palm pressed down on the sage.
After that, another figure appeared and bound the sage with a silver cross.
“Post-creation transcendents like them are very special. Their characteristics often transform into powers. Those who realize the natural order oversee it, and those who bear all sins symbolize morality.”
“What about me? All I could do was make my novels become reality.”
“That’s precisely the key. Your lies become reality.”
“…?”
What kind of cheat ability is that? That would be extremely difficult even for a god.
As I tilted my head in confusion, Luminous chuckled.
“It is indeed a very powerful ability. But there are clear limitations. And what you’ve done so far is something we can easily do too.”
“…Even making a woman who’s not in her fertile period pregnant?”
“Just make her release an egg, and it’s done. The same goes for enlarging or reducing specific body parts.”
Listening to Luminous, it makes sense. I remember Mora playfully reducing Cecily’s chest size before.
From a god’s perspective, these are trivial acts. But I had to write it down for it to take effect.
It is indeed a powerful ability, but as he said, there are clear limitations.
“But being able to exercise power without understanding the scientific principles is a tremendous merit. Even in your world, it’s difficult for will to manifest in physical form, right?”
“That’s true, but is that even possible? For will to take physical form?”
“If you delve deeper, it’s quite common. Especially among those witnessing death.”
Luminous gave an interesting example. First, soldiers on the battlefield.
Not soldiers who emphasize mental strength like the Japanese army, but soldiers with tremendous physical strength who are cornered.
In such cases, they can only rely on mental strength, achieving superhuman feats through remarkable will.
But this is an extreme situation, and it’s most commonly manifested in elderly people facing death.
Many elderly people suddenly become healthier when meeting their families, only to pass away shortly after.
This is considered a case where will manifests in physical form.
“If your divinity is completed in the future, you might be able to control the fate of this world with the stories you write. Literally becoming a book of prophecy.”
“No matter what, that seems quite difficult.”
“I’m saying this because it’s not impossible. Moreover, you’re already twisting fate now.”
The realm of mythology is indeed complex. I feel like I understand, yet I don’t.
Anyway, it’s certain that I’ve been granted an incomplete power.
Should I consider myself like a birth goddess? It didn’t seem immediately useful.
“So is this Magic Pen always with me as my divine artifact?”
“Not quite. Maybe after about 100 years, but it’s not completely subordinated to you yet. You’re planning to pass it on to your descendants anyway, right?”
“Yes.”
“Make sure to strongly advise them not to use it carelessly unless they have divine power like Kate.”
Before I could even wonder why, Luminous explained.
“The moment they try to do something with will, they’ll either go crazy or turn into a mummy.”
“…Is it some kind of cursed sword?”
“Even holy swords are close to cursed swords if you think about it.”
His response was so apt that I couldn’t retort.
Still, since I inherited it from my father, I want to give it to my children, which is a shame.
Even if I pass on the Magic Pen later, I should give a separate gift like my father did.
“However, since your children are of your bloodline, they won’t find it difficult to use. Though using the power might be challenging.”
“Hmm… listening to all this…”
As I listened to Luminous’s explanation, something bothered me.
After organizing my thoughts one by one, I cautiously asked him.
“Won’t the age of mythology never end at this rate?”
“It will end. When all tasks are completed, it will naturally come to an end. Though traces will remain distinctly.”
“Why?”
“Because there are too clear records and history left behind.”
I couldn’t find anything to refute.
Christianity, which put an end to Greek and Roman religions, appeared long ago even by Earth’s standards.
Many records were lost or inaccurate, making it difficult to understand.
Above all, the direction of growth is different. The existence of gods provides the answer.
In this world, unless it’s destroyed, the clear existence of gods will remain an eternal truth.
“Even if the cage is removed, they’ll know we’re watching. This is inevitable.”
“I see. To avoid being influenced…”
“Just as the gods of Earth came to find us, humanity must venture into space on their own. That’s the only way.”
At the current pace, maybe it’ll be possible in about 300 years.
That’s based on Earth’s industrial revolution, so it’s not certain.
The extreme development in aerospace was due to the Cold War between the US and the Soviet Union.
I don’t know if a similar Cold War history will unfold in this world, but I could predict that it would take a long time.
“So just focus on your task. I’ll help you from the sidelines.”
“Understood.”
“Ah, and one more thing. The gods of Earth have advice for you.”
“The gods of Earth?”
It’s both surprising and puzzling. Do the gods of Earth also know what I’m trying to do?
Meanwhile, Luminous paused briefly before speaking about the advice.
“Your most powerful strength is neither language nor text.”
“…”
“Making uncomfortable truths comfortable to accept. That’s your greatest strength, they said.”
After pondering this, I pointed to myself and asked.
“Me?”
“…”
Luminous’s expression suggested he was at a loss for words at my reaction.