30 Chapter 30 – Brutality

(3rd POV)

Casca and Chiron, seeing Apollo with a savage smile on his lips as he pushed the hand with the incandescent sphere towards the wild lion's paw, quickly pulled Axiothea and Cypselos back.

At the exact moment they do this, an explosion of flames engulfs the lion and the god, destroying that place.

Golden flames rise into the air, burning the area.

After the sound of the explosion, the only sound that was heard in Nemea was the crackling of the flames that slowly burned the savanna.

"Lord Apollo?!" Casca exclaims with a slight tremor in her voice.

She had 100% confidence that her beloved God was alive, but just the thought that he could have been seriously injured was something that shook her.

Casca tried to hide it, but she possessed a high emotional and mental dependency totally towards Apollo.

A world where Apollo didn't exist was a world that didn't deserve to exist.

If it weren't for her feeling Apollo's divine power in that fire, Casca might have freaked out.

"What?!" Axiothea couldn't help but exclaim as she saw the huge flames that began to engulf the savanna.

Even though the two were far away, the heat almost made them suffocate. If it weren't for the barking and Chiron pulling them further away, would they have... died?!

It was as if the handsome man, who seemed kind, didn't care what happened to them.

No, he wasn't just a man; this being is a God.

And thanks to the name that came out of Casca's mouth, Axiothea knew that now that man was Apollo, the god of the sun and light.

The fact that he was a God made his actions make much more sense. After all, it doesn't matter how kind a God is; At the end of the day, he is still a God.

But even with that thought, Axiothea couldn't stop admiring Apollo.

Her last vision of the two was of them being consumed by flames, while Apollo had a smile on his face.

{Beautiful.} That was the only thought she had in her mind when she remembered that scene; it was like a painting.

Even if that painting had consumed a forest where life was being extinguished by flames.

But those flames were still beautiful.

Not even the men of her village, whose faces and bodies were burned, could deny this fact.

"Nemeia will be destroyed." Cypselos said, looking at the flames that continued to spread.

Axiothea shook her head in confirmation of her lover's words.

But almost as if to contradict the words of a mortal, the flames began to dance and shrink in size, revealing two figures amid the flames.

The first figure to be seen by all humans was that of a beast.

To be more exact, the Nemean lion.

The Nemean lion, which once had golden fur as beautiful as gold, now had third-degree burns all over its body, and its face and body were disfigured. The great Nemean lion no longer had a mouth, leaving only its fangs hanging out.

The sight of the Nemean lion was worthy of a scene of horror.

This sight was nauseating, making Axiothea put her hand over her mouth to keep from vomiting.

She hated the Nemean lion, but seeing that arrogant and proud creature in such a pitiful state, she couldn't help but feel sorry for the Nemean lion.

But this pity for this monster was short-lived, as the god was revealed, causing an expression of shock to form on the faces of Casca, Chiron, Axiothea, and Cypselos.

Apollo was standing with his upper body naked as his shirt had been destroyed by the explosion. And that was the most damage he suffered from the fire explosion; after all, it would be stupid to take damage from your own blow bathed in your divine power.

However, even though the burst of flames did not cause any substantial damage to him, the story was a little different when we consider the concussive force that passed through the sphere of fire and directly hit Apollo.

He looked fine superficially, but suffered slight internal damage; his left lung was destroyed, as were some of his bones, thanks to the concussive force.

But Apollo was fine; these injuries were at best inconvenient for him, while the simple act of living caused pain to the Nemean Lion.

Both the lion and God looked at each other.

A heavy silence fell over that area, and none of the humans dared to say anything.

But the silence was broken by the sound of creaking bones.

Apollo ran his hands through his long hair, which was a mess.

His hands began to tie his hair into a long ponytail, and suddenly he said:

"Y'know! I changed my mind." His voice, which was a little hoarse due to the tearing of some of his vocal cords by the concussive force, echoed across the savanna.

The Nemean lion was in great pain, but he refused to appear weak, so he just flexed his paws, as if he would attack Apollo at any moment.

"What did you change your mind about?" The lion asked

Finishing tying his hair into a long ponytail, Apollo, still with a smile on his face, says:

"I will not kill you. I will tame you. You will be my pet." Apollo's voice possessed the purest tone of arrogance and pride, which was a rarity for Apollo.

Surprise appears in the Nemean Lion's damaged eye sockets.

"Domesticate!? Me? Hahahaha! You have a problem, God, but I don't dislike it. I admit that I will be happy to tear your skin with my fangs." The Nemean lion, even in pain, said happily.

"Then we'll see." Apollo said, moving his arms as if he was going to slam his fists, but before his hands collided, he used [Solar Construction], and a pair of golden gauntlets formed on his hand, and then the gauntlets clashed.

The Nemean lion seemed to be faster, but in Apollo's next step, he used [Flash Steps], instantly appearing in front of the lion.

Before the Nemean lion can lift his paw, Apollo punches him hard.

The gauntlet hit his jaw, which was raw, almost tripling the pain he felt.

"Arghh!" A roar of pain escapes his mouth, but trying to ignore this pain, he raises his paw for a well-aimed strike.

At least it was supposed to be a well-aimed blow, but Apollo, using some great footwork, dodges to the side and punches the lion in the side.

Blood splashes on Apollo's face, but without stopping, he throws another punch in the belly, making the Nemean lion lift a few centimeters off the ground.

With the lion still in the air for a few seconds, the sun god turns his waist and throws a concentrated punch at the lion's side.

The exact second the punch hits him, a torrent of fire is released from his fist, causing the Nemean lion to be pushed across the destroyed savanna, while its flesh is further consumed by the flames.

The pain of the Nemean Lion did not let him faint, so with a powerful roar, he dispelled the torrent of flames, falling to the ground.

He tried to regain his posture as quickly as possible, but a certain God was taking this battle seriously for the first time.

A punch hits the lion's head, burying its head in the ground.

The blow was so strong that the Nemean lion's skull was slightly deformed.

Apollo pulling his hand back reveals the blood-stained gauntlet.

"Let us begin your domestication." With his words, Apolo starts with a high-speed punch towards the Lion.

The Nemean lion's head begins to sink further into the ground with each punch from Apollo.

Along with the dust rising into the air, blood was spraying everywhere.

Cypselos stood in shock, while Axiothea put her hand over her mouth.

Chiron sighs, realizing that this most brutal part is also part of his teacher's personality. He was also in shock since it was the first time he saw his teacher in this state.

No, his teacher had already shown his brutality when, without a shred of emotion, he committed genocide against the Centaurs.

But much of Chiron's surprise came from the fact that he had forgotten that Apollo is a God.

In these two years, apart from the genocide of the centaurs, Chiron only saw the gentle, humble, reserved, noble, wise, and rigorous side of his teacher.

However, now he was seeing an important part of his personality.

A part that Apollo didn't let on.

A side where he smiled while brutally beating an animal that could no longer move or even scream in pain, trying to tame it.

If this made Chiron lose respect for being a teacher?

No, he knew that this was a part of Apollo, and not what his teacher completely is.

Your wise and kind teacher is still Apollo.

While Casca?

This is simple: there is nothing your god does that is the slightest bit wrong.

Her eyes staring at the God of Sun and Light with admiration were already proof of that.

She was still worried about the not-very-serious injuries to Apollo's body.

But the admiration of seeing Apollo controlling a mythological animal with just his fists was more moving.

The punch hit what was once the Nemean lion with such force that the sound of bones breaking echoed across the Nemea.

The cloud of dust around the two began to dissipate, as Apollo pulled his hand back.

The two gauntlets on his hand were completely bathed in blood and little pieces of flesh.

But without caring, Apollo waves his hand, making the Gauntlet disappear.

And he moves his hand, grabbing the Nemean lion by the head and pulling it out of the crater.

Fear! Disgust! Admiration!

These were the emotions that passed through the eyes of the residents of the village of Cleonae, upon seeing the state of what was known as the Nemean lion.

Apollo threw what looked not unlike a disfigured corpse onto the ground and stomped on its head.

"I think I won, right?" He asked with a smile.