This is the last Arc concerning the Old Gods for now.

The next chapter resumes the MC and his endeavors.

............

The bolt of lightning struck faster than any human could react to. Billy Batson, a recently crippled child, didn't even have time to widen his eyes in horror when the bolt of electricity arrived before his face.

However.......

“All-Father Stop!”

“Hmm?” A snort of surprise mixed with a hint of displeasure escaped from Zeus himself. Following which, the lightning bolt took a zigzag motion, bypassing the young Billy Batson and striking the wooden fence a few meters away.

Boom!

Followed by a loud explosion, the fence immediately went up in flames, with pieces of scraped wood bits shooting in all directions.

Finally, Billy came back to his senses.

Deep, unfiltered fear engulfed him like a tidal wave causing his heart rate to speed up rapidly. He resisted the urge to turn his head and take a look at the object of destruction behind him, fearing he would pass out from a heart attack.

Death.

He was only a hair's breadth away from getting shot in the face with a lightning bolt. For the mortal he was, that was basically instant death.

Zeus didn't pay any attention to the frightened youngster. And instead, said telepathically with narrowed eyes.

'Speak Apollo. Why do you interrupt me?' The way of addressing had instantly changed from 'My Son' to 'Apollo'. Clearly showing that the God of Olympus was currently furious.

As the revered Godking, even if he had fallen, he was still Zeus. His almighty power might have faded a lot, but the arrogance and confidence befitting of the most powerful Old God of his time hadn't diminished one bit.

For Zeus, his words were law and once he passed judgement, nothing and no one could change that.

When he was in a good mood and the situation wasn't so serious, he wouldn't mind occasionally listening to what someone else had to say if he was interrupted.

But the situation now was far from the appropriate time. The Godking would never allow such blatant disregard of authority, especially when he had already taken the final step.

Apollo's actions were equivalent to interfering in his passing of Judgment. An act greatly frowned upon by the God himself.

If not for the fact that Apollo was his favorite son, strong and wise, and he was more inclined to listen to his views, the call would have been directly ignored.

Actually having to change his attack midway was already giving this son of his a great deal of face. But that goodwill will definitely plummet if Apollo couldn't give a reasonable explanation for stopping him.

Clearly, the soul form Apollo knew this well. With his current situation, there was no way he was even considering the idea of leaving his father's good graces to save the life of a mortal for no good reason.

He knew what would happen when Zeus got angry.

'Forgive my interruption father. I do not mean to contradict you, but I believe that this mortal can be of some use to our cause'.

“Oh?” Now Zeus was surprised. His gaze locked on the frightened Billy Batson, and a hint of contemplation flashed through his blue eyes.

'Does the body of this human have any practical value I cannot see?'

He asked with a frown on his face and in a sarcastic tone. The displeasure within him rising by the minute.

'As you suspect, his body is currently worthless to us. His identity on this world, however, could be of greater significance'.

'Hmmmmm go on'.

'Until the Olympians are restored, we cannot appear under the public eye. A lot of our actions will have to be completed in the shadows, which will have a significant negative effect in the subsequent plans'.

'The faith of the humans, restoring our kind and the restoration of our status. This will all take time and will take us to places where we will inevitably draw unwanted attention. We have to lie low, but others....... Ones thought to have no relation to us have no such scruples'.

At that moment, Zeus was enlightened.

'You propose we use him?'

'Of course. As long as his power is restored, he can return to his place among the protectors of this world. Through him, we can make contact with your daughter, my sister Diana. Then, we can easily find the sealed passage under Atlantis leading to Poseidon's realm. There, and only there can we discover how to reach the Graveyard Of Gods. The only way to resurrect our fallen race'.

The Old God paused for a moment, a gleam of light flashing through his eyes as his facial expressions softened considerably. Such careful, acute thinking was what made Apollo his favorite son.

He had to admit, everything his son said held great merit.

Revealing himself out in the open to contact his daughter was out of the question. His power now was far from what it once was.

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If the other Pantheons discovered his existence, then he would be hunted throughout the multiverse until he eventually met his end.

Hence, the need to act with caution.

The thought alone infuriated him to no end. The Great Godking having to hide like a rat in the streets.

Nevertheless, there was nothing he could do for the time being.

While there were Olympians who escaped the disaster, they made up the minority. The rest died at Ares hands.

To resurrect them, Zeus had to go to the resting place where the souls of dead Gods resided.

The Graveyard of Gods. A dimension hidden and sealed off to prevent those with evil intentions.

Even he, the God of God's knew not the location of this realm. That knowledge, however, laid with his brothers. Poseidon and Hades.

The latter, however, could not step into its domain due to the nature of his Godhood and the former never got the chance.

When Ares wagged war on all Gods..... Both died.

Now to complete his goal, he needed to head into the realm of Poseidon hidden under the lost city of Atlantis to find the location of the Graveyard

With the help of his daughter Diana, This step could easily be accomplished.

As for the chance that she would refuse to help ...... Zeus didn't even bother to consider such an absurd option.

“You.....”. The frightened voice of Billy Batson drew his attention.

“........ You just tried to kill me”. Billy hurriedly stood up while taking several steps backwards.

“Yes, I did”. The previous cold look dissipated as the young one before him now had use value.

“But instead of you, I'll start by killing them”. Billy was confused.

Them?

Then, his eyes widened when he saw that the so-called God raised his gaze to look behind him. Turning his head, he saw the last thing he wanted to see at this moment.

Darla ad Freddy stood at the glass kitchen door with their eyes wide and their mouths open.

They had run outside after hearing the explosion and were shocked at what they were seeing and hearing.

Just then, the gaze of Zeus landed upon them, with murderous intentions revealed in his eyes.

“No!” The boy yelled and said to his siblings.

“Guys run! He's going to kill you”.

Hearing this, their faces changed drastically. Without a second thought, Darla took to her heels and ran back inside whole Freddy tried to follow.

But would Zeus let them go?

The space around them quickly lost color, spread rapidly and engulfed the fleeing duo, causing them to freeze in their movements.

“You tell them to run?” Zeus felt it was humorous.

“Tell me Champion, what exactly do you take me for?” He also felt insulted. He wasn't at his prime, but that didn't mean a child could escape from his sight.

Both children were pulled through the air towards him, their fear filled facial expressions remaining stagnant, as if time had come to a halt.

In fact, it had. The All-father had frozen time within the vicinity of several meters, bringing everything to a halt. Nothing would move as long as he willed it.

Chronokinesis, something only the truly powerful beings possessed, alongside those who could harness the Forever force.

Unfortunately, this was close to the best he could do at the moment.

“No, let them go” Billy looked horrified.

“Shazam!” He yelled out again out of habit. Again, nothing happened.

“Hehehehe, how amusing. Forget the fact that you do not have your abilities, even if you did, they would be useless against me. You only wield those powers because I allow it”.

The young Batson gnashed his teeth in anger, frustration, and helplessness. Seeing his siblings being held in captivity, he lowered his head and spoke in a softened tone.

“Please ...... Don't hurt them”.

“Why should I listen to you?”

“I ....... I'll do anything”.

Zeus didn't reply. Staring at the useless young mortal for several seconds.

Billy fell into despair seeing his intense gaze.

Until.......

“Very well”. Following which, the Godking raised his right hand and a flash of red lightning emerged in his palm.

“Forget not your words today. For from henceforth, you will be universally bound by them as an oath”.

The red lightning bolt split into three and rushed in three directions.

Two flew into the bodies of Darla and Freddy, while the last drilled into the body of Billy Batson.

The next moment, all Billy saw was a bright light emerge from Zeus himself, and he lost consciousness.

.......

Looking at the three unconscious bodies before him, a trace of coldness flashed past Zeus's eyes.

“I know you're out there. So why don't you show yourself ......”.

He turned around with an expressionless face.

“Ares”.

The surroundings were silent for three seconds. Following which, a black shadow emerged from the darkness, lengthening upward until it formed the figure of a man.

“It's been a long-time oh King of Kings”.

“Seriously?” Zeus voiced out with disdain.

“A projection? You dare not face me directly. Has the God of War grown so timid?”

“I lost in that final battle”. The black shadow replied. “It is only normal to be cautious when facing the reinvigorated Godking".

“...... Haha hahaha ...... Hehehehe …. No”. Zeus laughed.

“For someone who had the audacity to wage war on me, I doubt that. You appearing in your current form suggests one thing and one thing only. That your current state is much worse than I can imagine”.

The shadow remained silent. Zeus confirmed that he had hit the nail on the head.

If Ares was at his peak, then he would definitely raise that battleaxe of his and run over to chop him the moment they discovered the other's existence.

Wait ...... That axe was destroyed during their fight.

“Always the wise one father”

“I am not your father”. Zeus hated Ares. Even before their battle, he showed no form of compassion for this son of his.

“...... Hehehe, no matter. I just came to say hello. But worry not. We shall meet again very soon. And by that time.....”. The shadow dissolved back to the shape it once was.

“We will have a final dance”.

Those last words echoed in the surroundings. All that was left was Zeus standing still with an ugly expression.