Cronus' system: Against the gods

Chapter 106 Zeus' wrath

Zeus raised his hands to the heavens, fingers crackling with raw, untamed lightning. The sky above churned into a tempest of ominous clouds, thunder roaring like the wrath of a thousand storms. His expression was as fierce and unyielding as the storm he commanded—there would be no parley, no words to temper his fury. His golden eyes burned with divine intensity, and his aura, suffused with godly wrath, promised annihilation.

On the ground below, Jefferson's body radiated with searing Aether energy, the ground beneath his feet scorched and cracking under the sheer intensity. His glowing dark-blue eyes were alight with unbridled rage, flickering like twin flames of vengeance. He gritted his teeth, his voice erupting like a volcanic roar:

"You god-forsaken imbecile! I'll kill you!!"

With a surge of power, Jefferson launched himself skyward, the ground detonating in a plume of dust and debris. Aether trailed in his wake like a comet's tail, his wrath palpable as the air around him vibrated with raw energy.

"Jefferson, don't!" Hercules' voice thundered below, filled with urgency and dread. But Jefferson was deaf to his words, lost to a maelstrom of rage that consumed reason.

As Jefferson ascended, his path was blocked by Lucius Noctis, who stood smugly in midair, his shadow-laden form exuding an almost taunting arrogance. But the smugness was short-lived. Jefferson, without a shred of hesitation, swung a fist imbued with Aether, colliding with Lucius' chest with a sickening crunch. The impact sent Lucius spiraling through the air like a broken doll, smashing into a distant wall with bone-jarring force.

Lucius gasped, blood splattering from his mouth as his body slumped against the cracked stone. His mind reeled. Wasn't I a god? How... how could a mere mortal strike me? Shatter my pride? My ego? Rage and disbelief churned within him, but his body refused to respond.

Meanwhile, Rex stood frozen, watching Jefferson's fury unfold like an unstoppable wildfire. His mind raced with confusion and awe.

"Wait... what the hell is going on? Did Zeus do something to him? And how in the world does Jefferson even know Zeus?!"

High above, Zeus hovered over the battlefield like an untouchable deity, his form wreathed in divine lightning that danced and cracked with lethal precision. Even from 3,000 feet in the air, his presence was suffocating, his power pressing down on the world below like the weight of the heavens themselves.

Jefferson closed the gap with meteoric speed, his fist blazing with Aether energy as he swung it toward Zeus' face. The strike came with enough force to shatter steel, but Zeus tilted his head effortlessly, dodging the blow with divine grace. A cruel smirk tugged at his lips as he countered with a lightning-infused punch that slammed into Jefferson's chest.

"Arrgghh!" Jefferson's scream tore through the air as he spat blood, his body convulsing from the surge of divine electricity. Zeus leaned in closer, his voice a low, mocking rumble:

"You are but an insignificant pest before me, mortal. A child playing in the realm of gods."

With a deafening boom, Zeus drove his fist into Jefferson's torso, sending him hurtling downward like a meteor. The earth quaked as Jefferson's limp form plummeted from the heavens, a trail of blood marking his descent.

Hercules acted in an instant, leaping skyward with the power of a demigod. His lion-skin cloak billowed behind him as he intercepted Jefferson mid-fall, catching his battered body with arms as unyielding as iron. Together, they crashed back to the ground, the impact shaking the earth and sending shards of debris flying in every direction. Dust swirled around them, but Hercules stood firm, cradling Jefferson in his arms.

"Damn it, Jefferson," Hercules muttered, his voice a mixture of exasperation and sorrow. His eyes flickered up to the god still hovering above them. Zeus was waiting, his power gathering for the next devastating strike.

"And now... for the sake of the gods..." Zeus' voice reverberated through the storm-laden skies, an eerie calm laced with divine menace. He raised his hands, fingers crackling as if the heavens themselves obeyed his will. A colossal lightning bolt tore through the clouds, its blinding brilliance illuminating the battlefield. It coalesced at Zeus' fingertips, its sheer energy humming with a frequency that made the earth tremble.

The battlefield grew eerily quiet in their absence, save for the faint hum of the city's self-repair systems kicking into action. Rex stood frozen, his breath heavy as he tried to process the chaos that had unfolded. Around him, shattered roads began to shimmer faintly, cracks knitting themselves back together like a living organism regenerating. It was surreal, like watching a glitch in reality resolve itself, the city's automated defenses working tirelessly to erase the scars of battle.

"Over here! I've got a body!" a soldier shouted, breaking the tense silence.

A group of soldiers quickly gathered, their boots crunching against the rubble as they closed in on the discovery. Rex's heart skipped a beat as he moved toward the commotion, a sinking feeling settling in his gut.

"This... this is Austine Voss," one soldier said, his voice tinged with disbelief as he knelt by the lifeless form. "From the Voss family?! What's he doing here?"

Another soldier gasped, stepping back in shock. "A Voss heir... dead? This could mean war!"

Rex felt a cold sweat bead on his forehead. His chest tightened, and his pulse thundered in his ears. Austine's lifeless body lay crumpled on the ground, his noble features now pale and unrecognizable. Flashes of their earlier fight surged through Rex's mind, Austine's relentless attacks, the moment Rex was forced to defend himself, and the brutal, unintentional result. It was self-defense... but who would believe me?

Panic clawed at Rex's mind. The Voss family wasn't just powerful, they were untouchable, their influence spanning the highest echelons of society. How could anyone believe that a mere high school student, even one like Rex, could defeat an older, noble heir without some kind of malicious intent?

Just as murmurs began to rise among the soldiers, one of them stepped forward, holding a folded piece of paper. "Wait," he said, raising his voice above the chatter. "I've found something—a note."

The group turned toward him, their expressions tense. The soldier unfolded the paper and read aloud:

"Austine Voss attempted to steal the Leviathan crystal. He was intercepted and killed by Lucius Noctis, who also sought the crystal. – Captain Jefferson."

The soldiers exchanged uneasy glances. One of them hesitated, his brow furrowed. "From Captain Jefferson?"

"Yes," the soldier holding the note confirmed, his voice steady. "It's in his handwriting."

The tension in the air began to dissipate, replaced by an uneasy acceptance. Rex, standing just outside the circle, exhaled shakily, relief flooding through him. His hands trembled as he clenched them into fists, willing himself to stay calm. Jefferson had anticipated this fallout and covered for him, ensuring that the blame fell squarely on Lucius' shoulders.

Jefferson... Rex thought, a complicated mix of gratitude and guilt stirring within him.

A soldier folded the note carefully, slipping it into a secure pouch. "Spread the word," he instructed. "This incident goes in the official report as stated. No deviations."

"Yes, sir!" the others responded in unison, dispersing swiftly to carry out the order.

Rex stood there for a moment longer, staring at Austine's lifeless body as the soldiers began to clean the scene. "Is this finally over?"