“It is… too strong,” Veles said as he fell to the ground. His two companions, Vellamo and Vidar, also lay defeated, facedown on the floor.
In fact, the floor was no longer visible. The entire dimension created by Apollo’s dimensional barrier had become a luminous space between gold and red. At the center of that phenomenon stood Apollo, wearing his totema, which looked like a linothorax armor similar to the one used by Alexander the Great.
In addition to being crowned with a solar halo, the god’s head bore a beautiful laurel crown that shone golden thanks to the light of his halo. His armor was gold with white stripes, and it had the image of a golden sun on its chestplate, while his bracers and greaves had red serpents intertwined around them. His cape was blue and fluttered powerfully. In his right hand, the god held a golden lyre, while on his back rested his aforementioned silver bow and arrows.
The god looked like a gigantic sun, emanating an infernal heat that the three gods of Rus were unable to endure. Apollo looked at them with a smile full of satisfaction.
“That is why I told you I never lose,” the god said, displaying his superiority in power.
At that moment, the god began to play his lyre.
“But I am merciful. My request remains the same: swear loyalty to Olympus and to Lel, and I will personally plead for your lives to be spared,” Apollo said with a beautiful smile.
However, there was no answer from the gods of Rus.
“I see. I suppose you must be waiting for the arrival of Perun, the king of Nevyansk, and the Slavic gods,” Apollo said while staring fixedly at Veles, waiting for him to react.
“Perun’s affairs are far too important for him to worry about this small kingdom,” Veles replied in agony. The enormous heat emanating from Apollo did not even allow him to move.
“Of course. It would be foolish for him to abandon his people just to come play with this bastard kingdom of enemy cultures,” Apollo said with a laugh. “That is why neither Perun, nor Odin, nor Ukko are present in this region.”
Then the god turned to look toward where the hill of the six gods had been, though nothing could be seen anymore, since Apollo’s tremendous heat had destroyed everything.
“I remember seeing a statue larger than the others… I am completely certain it was Perun’s statue,” Apollo said. “How sad that, despite so much devotion toward him, he simply abandons this toy kingdom.”
There was no response to Apollo’s provocation. The god still looked pleased.
After a few moments of silence, Apollo spoke again.
“My, how stubborn you are. Nothing but charred bones will remain of your bodies, and yet you still refuse to swear loyalty to Olympus,” the god said. “What other choice do you have?”
Then Veles began to laugh quietly.
“Only one, you cheap god,” the Slavic god said in a mocking tone, though he was still unable to stand because of the heat.
Apollo then had a prophetic vision of the future. In it, he saw Vidar rise and kick him with all his strength.
“I see. That beautiful young man accompanying you has far more strength than the two of you,” Apollo said with a smile while he continued looking at the Norse god lying on the floor.
At that moment, just as Apollo had seen in his vision, Vidar stood, though his body burned like coal in a bonfire.
“Indeed, Vidar’s ability is that his power increases with every second that passes in a fight,” Veles said confidently.
Apollo then burst into laughter at that assertion.
“Very well, Vidar. Show me how strong you are!” the Hellenic god shouted. “I long to feel your manly kicks upon my beautiful body.”
Following Apollo’s vision, the Norse god moved with great speed behind Apollo and kicked him. But to everyone’s surprise, Apollo’s body turned into a ray of light, and the attack could do him no harm.
Apollo’s body materialized again, and he smiled triumphantly.
“Your attacks have no meaning against me, young man,” the Hellenic god said as he turned to look at Vidar.
But the Norse god said nothing, though it was clear that he was making an enormous effort to withstand the heat caused by Apollo, especially now that he was so close to him.
“I see. You are intangible,” Vidar said without showing much emotion.
Apollo then had a prophetic vision of the future, but it was interrupted by a swift kick from the Norse god to the Hellenic god’s chest. Even though Apollo could turn into light, this time the kick took effect and struck Apollo’s physical body.
“So fast!” Apollo shouted in surprise as he saw Vidar resisting the fire more and more. The god was truly increasing his divine power as he fought.
Taking advantage of the distraction, the heat ceased for a few moments, and Vellamo quickly invoked rain to dissipate the heat surrounding them. The cold rain and the scorching environment created a thick curtain of steam throughout the dimension.
“What futile attempts!” Apollo shouted triumphantly. “Even if this beautiful young man grows stronger, he will need centuries to reach my power.”
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Apollo was still speaking when Vidar attempted to kick him again, but the Hellenic god, turning into a beam of light, quickly moved away from the area where he had been floating and appeared in front of the freckled god.
“You have a very interesting and dangerous ability, young man,” Apollo said to the young Norse god. “Would you not like to become one of my disciples? I could help you maximize your abilities.”
But Vidar did not answer. Instead, he tried to kick Apollo again, but Apollo turned into light once more and swiftly moved elsewhere.
“What a waste. As beautiful and strong as you are,” Apollo added while shaking his head in disappointment.
At that moment, Vellamo and Veles launched a combined attack toward Apollo, whose back was turned to them. But the god, moving like a beam of light, avoided the attack and appeared before the two gods, striking them in their respective stomachs with his free hand. Then he moved rapidly toward the place where the attack was traveling and destroyed it with his bare hand.
Veles and Vellamo vomited blood and fell to their knees, while the Norse god once again tried to attack Apollo. But the god avoided the attack with great speed. Apollo quickly positioned himself behind Vidar and, with a simple blow to the nape, knocked him unconscious.
The Norse god fell to the floor, completely fainted, while Apollo floated above him. Veles and Vellamo struggled to rise, watching as their ace in the hole lay on the ground with no possibility of continuing the fight.
“I see, Veles. Are you wondering how I have begun seeing the future again, even though you tried to interfere with my vision using your ability?” Apollo asked the Slavic god.
“It is very simple,” Apollo replied. “Our levels are now very different when I use my totema.”
Apollo then kicked Veles in the face, and the god fell onto his back once more.
“Since I understand your response to my generosity is a refusal, I have no choice but to exile you from this kingdom,” Apollo said. “From this day onward, the Kingdom of Rus belongs to Olympus.”
Vellamo struggled to stand and looked defiantly at the Hellenic god.
“The three of us built this kingdom. We built it as a hope to unite our cultures. And we will not give it to anyone else!” the goddess shouted furiously.
Apollo smiled at that moment.
“You still do not understand the position you are in, do you, my dear?” the Hellenic god said.
The Finnish goddess then invoked a powerful torrent of water as she shouted:
“Merkoski (Sea Torrent).”
The torrent of water rose toward Apollo, who watched the attack with a smile.
At that moment, the attack disappeared. The four monks who had accompanied Apollo appeared with their hands raised. They had been the ones who stopped the attack.
“Despite my overwhelming power, I did not come alone,” Apollo said. “I brought my four Dolphins with me, in case there was any possibility of an enemy existing beyond my power, such as Perun.”
Veles and Vellamo looked at the four monks and gnashed their teeth. The Slavic god had not even noticed the divine power hidden within those individuals.
“You never had any chance of winning,” Apollo said with a smile. “I never lose.”
The monks then began to deflate as if they were balloons, and from their withered skins, three beautiful women and one young man emerged from within those bodies, as though each of them had been inside a mascot suit.
“Hello, everyone! My name is Daphne, and I am Dolphin number one,” said one of the women who had been disguised as an old man. The woman had long, wavy red hair and two beautiful green eyes. She wore a green dress with laurel leaves, as well as sandals.
“My name is Hyacinthus, and I am Dolphin number two,” said the beautiful young man who had been disguised as an old man, speaking apathetically. He was a slender youth with long black hair and blue eyes, and he wore a hyacinth flower adorning his right ear. He wore a singular Greek tunic and sandals.
“I, Cassandra, Dolphin number three, predicted our victory in this battle before it occurred,” said another of the girls who emerged from the bodies of the old men. She had tan skin and long brown hair, and she had two large honey-colored eyes. She wore a reddish tunic with black ornaments and sandals.
“I am Leucothoe, and I am Dolphin number four,” said the last woman, who was dressed like a Persian princess, with a white dress and colorful ornaments. Her black hair was tied up, and her eyes were gray. Incense emanated from her back.
The four Dolphins positioned themselves before the dying gods while Apollo approached and stood in front of them. The god made an indifferent gesture while maintaining a cocky and mocking attitude.
“I thought divine intervention in kingdoms was forbidden in Lel!” Veles shouted furiously. “But you are directly intervening in Constantinople with your people!”
Apollo and his Dolphins began to laugh.
“We are so effective that Lel has granted us certain benefits,” the Hellenic god replied.
Apollo took a few steps toward the two gods and lifted their faces.
“Now then, would you kindly do me the favor of withdrawing from our kingdom?” he asked.
But both gods tried to attack Apollo. Immediately, the Dolphins acted to stop the two gods.
Cassandra prophesied the attacks both gods would make and communicated them mentally to her companions. Daphne immediately made laurel branches grow, which restrained Veles and Vellamo. Even so, both gods managed to emit a powerful attack.
However, the attack from the two gods was stopped with his bare hands by Hyacinthus, who immediately positioned himself before his lord. Finally, Leucothoe made incense emanate from her body, causing the two gods to fall asleep and lose consciousness.
“Mission accomplished, my lord,” Hyacinthus said.
Then the four Dolphins bowed before Apollo.
“Well done, my beloved Dolphins,” Apollo said. “Now take those two barbarians away and throw them into Tartarus. From this day onward, Rus will change completely.”
“What should we do with the boy?” Cassandra asked, confused.
“Take the young man to the chambers, but bind his hands with dimensional threads,” Apollo said. “I have… plans for him,” the god replied while making a lewd expression.
The four Dolphins nodded. They carried the bodies of the three gods and disappeared, while Apollo disabled the alternate dimension and appeared upon the hill of the six idols.
Apollo looked at those idols with arrogance and smiled.
“I hate to admit it, but even if the six of you had come, you would not have been able to defeat me,” he thought.
The shadows of three girls could be seen watching Kiev from afar upon a hill. The shadows belonged to young girls of about fifteen years old.
“I told you Apollo would do it. There is a reason he is one of the most reliable men working for Lel,” said one of them. It was a monotonous voice devoid of emotion.
“Yes! Apollo is amazing, sister!” said another voice, very puerile and cheerful.
“Ah! How I would love to challenge that Apollo to a duel! I’m sure I’d beat him, even without using one of my hands!” said the other girl in a somewhat masculine voice full of energy.
The shadow that spoke monotonously shook her head.
“Do not do that. Remember that we are allies,” the shadow said with little emotion.
“What does that matter?! It would just be a duel between comrades to determine who is stronger!” said the energetic voice.
“I do not think Apollo would see it that way, muscle brain,” the monotonous voice replied.
“Don’t worry, Tallay. You’re super strong!” the cheerful and puerile voice replied.
The shadow with the monotonous voice then sighed.
“Whatever,” the monotonous voice continued. “We must inform Astarté that the mission to seize Rus was a success.”
The other shadows nodded, and then the three figures disappeared.
Outside the alternate dimension, nothing had happened. The city of Kiev continued celebrating the last pagan festival it would ever have in its history.