Otherwise, you can find another savior.

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“As expected, you noticed it. The resonance generated by power is not so easy to eliminate,” Demeter told him.

Unlike the previous encounter on Hecate Island and the naval battle the day before, Demeter looked remarkably normal today, as was her benevolent aura, which made one feel no hostility or danger.

"You look...quite different than before?" tide Jian was surprised by this.

"Thanks to you, the side effects of being forcibly altered after being unified by Zeus have been temporarily suppressed." Demeter smiled sadly. "I can probably only act as I wish for a short time. Once Zeus realizes the situation, he will summon me back to Olympus."

"It sounds like the gods of Olympus... aren't so harmonious?" Shiomi gleaned some valuable information from Demeter's words.

Demeter simply sighed silently, then continued to ask with a smile, "While I still retain my own consciousness, there are some things I'd like to say to you, this still-unfinished new god. May I sit down?"

"That's strange. Don't gods do whatever they want?" tide Jian gestured for her to sit down.

“Humans are treated differently than other gods,” Demeter stated bluntly.

When facing humans, the gods will maintain a proper look of condescension, but they cannot adopt this attitude towards Shiomi, who can no longer be considered a pure human.

—Even though Shiomi always adhered to the position of "human".

After Demeter sat down, Shiomi continued, "You just mentioned unification, what's that all about? As far as I know, the Olympian gods are not native to this planet, but rather beings from a distant outer universe."

"That's right. We were originally created as an interstellar fleet to save the Creators who were on the verge of extinction. But before we set off, the Creators' intelligent beings had already become extinct. We could only embark on the journey to find new worlds without the Creators on board, and finally arrived in this universe."

Demeter clearly intended to tell Shiomi important information, and without any hesitation, she revealed more details.

Even so, tide Jian was already so shocked that she couldn't speak.

What level of intelligent life form, what level of civilization, could possibly create these machine gods...?

To put it in a lighthearted way, the only thing Shiomi could think of was the civilization depicted in that world-famous fantasy tokusatsu series.

“The journey is too long and endless, and countless of our people have ceased to function and ultimately perished along the way. We understand this and accept that the journey will eventually end in the same way,” Demeter continued.

"But before that, you discovered this planet?" Shio asked.

“In fact, this planet only meets 78% of our landing conditions. It was under these circumstances that we landed on this planet in a near-crash-like manner, encountered the human race that would later be known as the Greeks, were worshipped as gods, and eventually settled on this planet.” Demeter nodded.

"In other words, this current form, which is extremely similar to humans yet not human, is not your true form. The state of Artemis is your original form?" tide Jian understood.

“That is our original form—the ‘true form’,” Demeter said. “To unleash our full power, we must return to the true form.”

“I understand roughly. But if that’s all, you’re just gods who have taken root on this planet. But you just mentioned ‘unification.’ Does that mean that as machine gods, you have an irreconcilable logical contradiction that ultimately led to a split at the level of a war of the gods?” Shio asked tentatively, wanting to see what Demeter would say.

“Originally, we would indeed live alongside the humans of this planet as gods, and eventually leave the planet like gods... if 'that' hadn't come…” Demeter’s expression was shrouded in a heavy gloom.

"that?"

“Predators that descended upon this planet fourteen thousand years ago,” Demeter said.

"A white giant, preying on wandering stars?" Shio's pupils suddenly contracted. "Could it be that the Star Holy Sword hasn't been forged yet?"

“You do know a lot… The Star Sword wasn’t left unforged; rather, the White Predator was defeated before it could be forged,” Demeter said. “Zeus, unwilling to accept defeat, forcibly combined the powers of the twelve machine gods and gained the strength to defeat the White Predator.”

Chapter 49 The Secret Meeting of the Goddess of Fertility (2)

Unlike the fairy kingdom of Britain, the divergence between the Lostbelt of Atlantis and the history of humankind, although both originated from the great catastrophe 14,000 years ago, had different causes.

If Britain stemmed from utter defeat, then Atlantis stemmed from a victory that did not belong to humankind or to the planet.

The white giant, who ravaged the entire planet's humans and gods, was not defeated by the holy sword that gathered all the planet's hopes, but by the great god who unified all the power of his companions.

“Forced unification… In other words, although Zeus is the leader of the Olympian gods, he does not have such authority.” Shiomi was shocked, but she understood the general situation.

"This also sowed the seeds for the split of the twelve Olympian machines. About three thousand years ago, the era of complete separation between humans and gods arrived. As machines, we were not affected by the decline of mysticism and the weakening of faith. The split occurred at this moment."

Demeter's expression grew increasingly sorrowful, as if she were unwilling to revisit all of this, but reason compelled her to tell Shiomi everything.

tide Jian raised an eyebrow slightly, understanding that the time Demeter was referring to was the time when Solomon bid farewell to the gods.

The Greek gods of pan-human history did indeed leave the planet, and it is said that they all went to the outer reaches of the world.

Presumably, the victory over the white giants allowed the Greek gods to maintain their power.

“Zeus viewed humanity as children who had not yet grown up, believing that they should continue to receive the protection of the gods. It was this disagreement that led to the current situation,” Demeter said. “Hera, Poseidon, Aphrodite, and Artemis, including myself, supported Zeus and fought against six other of their kin, destroying them.”

"But in fact, no god supported Zeus?" Shiomi immediately realized and asked the crucial question.

“No, in fact, apart from Hera, all of us gods opposed Zeus’s ideas.” Demeter’s expression was filled with sorrow. “As a result, we underestimated Zeus. Six of us, including myself, had our divine cores altered by Zeus and turned into what you see here.”

"Um--"

Shiomi rested her chin on one hand and uttered a meaningful, thoughtful sound.

He believed that what Demeter said was true, but there were some details that Demeter, as a god of the Lostbelt, did not know the specifics of, and therefore could not be compared with the history of humankind.

Perhaps we'll need to discuss this information with Romani again later.

"And now, you've temporarily escaped the influence of Zeus's alteration of the divine core, and are able to approach us on your own to convey information about yourself?" tide Jian narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Why is it that you're the one who's escaped the influence?"

“Because of the miracle you caused, the miracle called ‘The Supper of Mother Earth,’” Demeter said, “you used your power to the fullest extent, guiding the will of the planets and resonating with my power. As a result, that excessive power has hindered the alterations left by Zeus.”

“…I see.” tide Jian understood.

But as Demeter said, this state of autonomy is only temporary.

Zeus will soon learn of this and will perform a second alteration of Demeter's divine core, turning her into a complete fighting machine.

“So, since you were originally a god who opposed Zeus, and are also Zeus’s sister,” Shiomi said, extending her hand, “can I take this opportunity to overwrite your divine core?”

Demeter was taken aback, then shook her head: "You cannot do it now. Because you are not an Olympian mechanic, and your powers have not been fully tamed, allowing you to surpass Zeus."

"...What a pity. I was hoping to take this opportunity to win over another comrade-in-arms." tide Jian regretfully withdrew her hand. "I'm sorry, because I've been resisting the idea of ​​becoming a god until recently. I'm still only half-baked at it."

Demeter smiled gently: "Please don't worry about that. I said that you are the only golden ear of rice in the world. That was not my nonsense. At this moment, I am certain that neither Zeus nor the alien god who will descend in a few days can easily harvest you."

“Golden ears of rice… As expected of the goddess of abundance, the way she describes it is truly fitting for her status.” Shiomi smiled wryly.

"So you must continue to grow stronger and stronger. Before you realize your ideals and fulfill the mission you want to accomplish, you must never let anyone or any god harvest this precious ear of rice." Demeter smiled and sincerely blessed Shio.

Her voice was sorrowful yet sincere, like the sea breeze at this moment, cool yet warm.

"Thank you." tide Jian felt a mix of emotions.

Woodmeter must still be in pain at this moment, but for the sake of humanity, she seized the last bit of her free will to come and tell him something important.

Just then, Qi heard footsteps coming from the forest behind her, as if someone was having a hard time walking because of the rugged road.

"It looks like your companions have come looking for you." Demeter got up to leave.

Lu Xijian also stood up and asked somewhat urgently, "You only talked about the origins of the gods, about Zeus, about Olympus, is there nothing else you can tell me?"

"Zeus's manipulation of the divine core forbids me from revealing any further secrets," Demeter flew up. "What I can tell you is that Zeus absorbed the power of the defeated gods, and the humans of Olympus, which he rules, will likely all be your enemies. Unlike these exiled humans, they possess ancient lifespans and immense power..."

The goddess of abundance left behind her final words, and her figure disappeared into the night sky.

Even if Si didn't say it, tide Jian knew it would happen the next time they met.

Between Demeter and Chaldea, only an irreconcilable enmity remained.

Gazing at the silent night sky, Shiomi sighed silently. When he turned around, he saw Olga Marie, who had an apologetic and worried expression on her face.

“I think I… disturbed the teacher?” Olga Marie said.

"No, no. I was just trying to make contact with the Olympian gods and gather information." Shiomi reached out to catch Olga Marie, who was sliding down the sand dune. "But what are you doing here?"

“I went to the village to help Mash and the others get their things, and then I saw the teacher coming this way alone,” Olga Marie explained apologetically.

"Then, risking being attacked by monsters, I followed them here myself." tide Jian was both amused and exasperated, and could only pretend to be angry and pull her cheek, "Don't take such risks again, it's a miracle nothing happened."

"...Yes, I'm sorry, I will remember the teacher's instructions."

Olga Marie felt the warmth of Shiomi's fingertips and quickly agreed.

Chapter Fifty Leisure

"Combat training? I don't think it's necessary."

As she said this, Shiomi was cooking with Sakura.

Olga Marie, who was passing by the kitchen, came over and watched for a while before casually mentioning the training. Shiomi thought about it and said that it was unnecessary.

"Right now, we're exploring the islands of Atlantis, gathering the Pan-Human History Followers scattered across other islands, and approaching the 'Void Cavern.' This is a rare moment of rest. If it were just for independent training, that would be fine..."

He knew that the combat training Olga Marie was referring to was the kind of training that was very close to actual combat, like the training they had conducted on the Wandering Sea.

The last training session was interrupted by the appearance of a minor singularity. After Shiomi and the others returned from the singularity, Chaldea no longer had time to conduct training on that scale.

Fortunately, both Olga Marie and the Fairy Knights have enough combat experience, as evidenced by the two major naval battles in the Lostbelt of Atlantis.

“No…that…” Olga Marie hesitated for a moment.

Shio was a little confused for a moment. He saw that Sakura had also stopped stirring the ingredients in the bowl and looked lost in thought.

"cherry?"

"Ah..." Sakura snapped out of her daze, quickly shook her head, and smiled lightly. "It's nothing. I just remembered that before training, Dad said there would be a reward if we performed well enough."

Shio was taken aback, then looked at Olga Marie and saw her first try to shake her head, then suddenly change to nodding, and awkwardly sway up and down a couple of times.

After figuring out the reason, tide Jian suddenly felt like laughing, but then she realized there was nothing funny about it.

After all, it was the condition he made, but he couldn't make it due to being busy.

Currently, Storm Border is undergoing maintenance and navigation, so it's not particularly busy. Taking advantage of this downtime, Olga Marie's mention of combat training is indeed quite reasonable.

"Forget about actual combat. If we're not careful and overexert ourselves, we might not be able to attack the 'Void Cavern' in full force. It's not a good option." tide Jian shook her head, still not quite in agreement.

The main reason is that he is not able to control the intensity of training now, and his strength has changed compared to the last training session.

In particular, the transfer of powers beyond what could be tolerated from the "past self" of the singularity brought about a further qualitative change.

“If Dad doesn’t want to fight, then so be it. After all, you are the core of Chaldea’s fighting force, and you fought on the front lines in both naval battles.” Sakura pouted, still expressing her understanding. “We can train on our own.”

“That’s true…” Olga Marie had only mentioned it on a whim, but it seemed to have made everyone feel awkward, and she felt a little guilty.

After turning off the oven and setting the timer, he leaned against the counter and said, "But what I promise isn't something you have to fight me to get. Just say what you want. I only asked in that situation because everyone was in a good mood and I wanted to bring good luck."

“That’s where your problem lies, Dad,” Sakura said with a subtle smile, teasing Shio.

"Hmm?" tide Jian raised an eyebrow.

Olga Marie nodded. "Getting something effortlessly is completely different from getting it through hard work. Don't you think so, teacher?"

"It's not a big deal," tide Jian said with a hint of helplessness.

He understood what Sakura and Mary meant, but he couldn't help feeling that they were making a mountain out of a molehill and making things unnecessarily complicated.

"So let's put this matter aside for now and talk about it later when we have time." Sakura picked up a handkerchief and held it next to Shio's face. "Dad has some flour marks on his face."

Once Shio-mi understood, he bent down and let Sakura wipe the marks off his face.

"Well……"

Olga Marie thought to herself that if she had offered to help wipe it earlier, the teacher probably would have agreed.

"Is it clean?"

After Sakura finished wiping her face, Shio touched her face.

“I’m not Karen, who would deliberately make things dirtier by wiping to tease Dad.” Sakura couldn’t help but smile.

“That’s true.” tide Jian smiled as well.

Seeing them laughing, Olga Marie, for some reason, also became happy and smiled, no longer thinking about the previous topic.

Since we can't do combat training anyway, if we really want something, as long as it's not too outrageous, the teacher will definitely grant it.

Then let's put it aside for now, just like Sakura said.

"So, are the teacher and Sakura making sweets again?" she asked.

“Yeah. Anyway, it’s been a while since I’ve cooked with Sakura. It’s important to take this opportunity to repair our estranged parent-child relationship.” Shiomi nodded and began to use exaggerated adjectives in a deliberately serious manner.

Sakura, ever quick to understand, covered her mouth and feigned surprise: "Does Dad feel distant from me?"

“It’s only ‘on the verge’,” Shio said, shaking her finger. “Precisely because we haven’t drifted apart yet, we should do something.”

"So, besides cooking together, what else do you think we should do, Dad?" Sakura asked. "How about we go fishing on the deck? Or perhaps collect plant specimens in the forest?"

Shiomi thought for a moment: "That depends on Sakura's opinion. Until then—"

"Before that?" Sakura didn't quite guess what Shiomi wanted to say.

“Of course—” Shiomi said, solemnly hugging Sakura. “Although you’ve hardly done this since you came of age, when I hugged Bawan Shi a few days ago, I realized… I still need to express myself like this occasionally.”

Olga Marie suddenly realized: "No wonder Bavan Shi was in such a good mood the other day."

"So easy to coax..." tide Jian was a little speechless.