Chapter 223: The Crown of Thorns, Rebirth from Death

A few days later, deep in the Alima Crypt.

The strong divinity of the god of agriculture spread out like a wave, and the milky white light containing a strong breath of life flowed in the dark and empty cave, forming streams of light that seemed real, irrigating the center of the golden roulette wheel behind Loen.

The originally short emerald green grape vine, after being nourished by the divine power of life, grew taller at a speed visible to the naked eye, forming a large area of dense shade, and passed through the obstacles of the central and outer empty spaces of the roulette wheel, spreading into the seventh chaotic area, weaving into a crown made up of grape leaves and vines.

At the same time, a crown-shaped band of light interwoven with gold and emerald green surrounded Lorne. The stone walls and the air gradually became moist in the sparkling waves. Drops of raindrops as white as milk and as thin as hair sprinkled on the somewhat gray ground. A number of green plant seedlings such as vines, wheat, daffodils, etc. miraculously broke through the ground.

The tender green stems and leaves fluttered in the wind, as if celebrating the birth of a new king.

Done!

At the same time, Loen slowly opened his eyes, put away the dull Horn of Plenty in his arms, raised his hand with satisfaction and touched the crown of grapevines above his head.

——The seventh incarnation, the [Crown], is a symbol of the power of [life] and [healing].

Accelerated healing, self-recovery, blood regeneration, regeneration of severed limbs, etc. are all basic extensions of divinity.

In addition, it can also transfer the vitality of itself and all things to the wounded, awakening their life potential.

With this power, Loen felt that his physical strength and vitality had reached a whole new level. Theoretically, as long as he did not encounter a god with conflicting laws or an overly cautious dismemberment demon, even if his arms and legs were broken, he could lie down for a while after they were reattached and continue to be lively and active.

Moreover, as his own ability to endure extreme limits increased dramatically, the incarnation of Phanes, one of the originals, which he relied on the most, seemed to have entered a new stage.

For example, the time on the island of Cyprus, when he encountered the divine incarnation of Ares again, he could use the four powers simultaneously and easily maintain this state for nearly two hours. If the sealing attribute of the Spear of Nation-Building was eliminated, he could completely defeat the alt-account of the Berserker God and beat him so badly that neither Zeus nor Hera could recognize him.

If he takes it to the extreme and uses all five incarnations simultaneously and enters the state of [One of the Originals], he can probably fight continuously for thirty minutes. Even if the opponent uses the Spear of Nation-Building, he may not be his opponent head-on.

The most extreme situation would be to activate all six powers and transform into [Phanes]. Based on the endurance of his current body, Loen estimated that it could last for about two to three minutes. If he caught Hypnos and the three goddesses of vengeance by surprise, it would definitely be enough to give them a hard time.

Just the compatibility of six powers is enough to keep one's life under the Lord God. If all the divinity of the twelve Lord Gods were collected and merged into one, Loen estimated that he might really be able to compete with the King of Olympus.

At the very least, you're still in the same league as the god of war Athena, the god of the sea Poseidon, and the god of the underworld Hades.

But this is not the end of his destiny.

If he could break through layers of obstacles, open up a wider [space] and [world], collect more divinity and power to fill that [blank], and return [everything] to [one], then what would he eventually become?

King of kings, God of gods?

The [Lord of Hosts] who commands everything?

The grand imagination in his mind made Loen's heart surge.

But soon, the skeleton placed in the corner of the cave and the concerned eyes of the three figures around him brought him back to reality.

Alas, we can’t even handle the Greek gods now, so what’s the point of daydreaming about becoming the Lord of Hosts?

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Let’s get down to business first.

Loen shook his head to dispel his chaotic thoughts, stood up from the ground, and under the gaze of Thetis, Cerberus, and Echidna, he came to the white skeleton and raised his hand to clench it.

The golden holy grail appeared in his palm with a gorgeous and holy soft light.

Then, Loen hovered his other hand above, clenched his fist and pierced his palm with his fingertips, combining the blood containing the power of life with the ether in the air, turning it into sweet wine, and poured it into the Holy Grail.

"Full, full, full, full, full, full;

Anoint and seal this, so that my cup of blessing will overflow.

Give kindness to the good, give life to the dead,

With my blood, I sanctify you..."

Accompanied by the low chanting of divine words, Loen poured the full wine in the cup onto the skeleton surrounded by black mist.

“Sizzle~~~”

Suddenly, the two things that came into contact with each other produced a violent reaction like water entering boiling oil. The thick gray death energy attached to the bones was forced out of the bones by the pure divinity of life, and evaporated and splashed everywhere.

The green leaves that had just grown in the cave would instantly wither and die once they were touched by the turbulent deathly air.

Upon seeing this, Thetis quickly pulled Cerberus behind her and cast a defensive spell to protect the unconscious Adonis and Sisyphus within the barrier.

With the help of his teammate behind him, Loen was completely relieved. He used all his strength to activate the power of life of the seventh incarnation [Crown], and combined it with the Dionysus fluid injected into Echidna's bones to wash away the accumulated death energy inch by inch.

In this tug-of-war between [life] and [death], the dead energy of the underworld, which had only quantity but lacked a core and mobilization, was defeated by the pure and orderly divinity of life and was gradually eliminated.

Echidna's skeleton, which originally had a deathly gray color, gradually took on a jade-like luster. The purple-red Dionysian fluid attached to the skeleton flowed in the area that had completed the [baptism], outlining the contours of blood vessels, fascia, and internal organs inch by inch. Flesh and blood grew wildly in it, filling in the gaps and quickly constructing the original appearance of the person who was born.

Watching this reversal of life and death, Echidna's face was filled with shock and joy, while Cerberus barked excitedly, feeling extremely happy for his mother's new life.

However, Thetis in the corner frowned and looked worried.

Resurrecting the dead is a taboo that violates the law of life, not to mention making such a dangerous attempt in the underworld where the law of death is the strongest.

What's more, the person he wants to save is an ancient god.

Even if he succeeds, Loen will inevitably pay a heavy price for it.

As expected.

As his life force was rapidly consumed, Loen's face gradually turned pale, and the emerald green grape leaf [crown] on his head quickly withered and died, leaving only the blue-black vines.

Not enough! Not enough!

Looking at the ink-colored death energy from the underworld lingering in Echidna's chest, Loen made up his mind and frantically extracted the ether from the air, plundering the breath of life around him, pushing the power of life to the extreme, and dispersing the stubborn will to death in Echidna's bones inch by inch.

“Buzz!”

With an unwilling wail, the dead air that hindered the growth of flesh and blood was completely annihilated. Blood vessels and fascia quickly spread upwards, completely giving fresh life back to the skeleton, outlining her original appearance.

As the last of the skin and hair finished growing, Loen's body shook and he fell forward somewhat uncontrollably.

Thetis, who had been paying attention to the situation on the field, rushed forward, covered Echidna's exposed body, helped the exhausted Lorne to sit down, pointed at his head, and showed a look of heartache.

"You are injured..."

Loen subconsciously raised his hand and touched it. His fingertips touched the [crown] on his head, and it felt as if it was pierced by something sharp, and he felt a slight pain.

Seeing this, Thetis gathered the water vapor in the air, turned it into a mirror, and held it in front of Lorne.

Through the clear reflection, Loen discovered that the [Crown] that represented the vitality of all things had completely withered. The green grape leaves had all fallen, and the remaining vines had lost their moisture and luster, appearing dry and black.

At the same time, seemingly because of the excessive use of the laws of life and interference with the backlash of death, vicious thorns spread out from the dead vines and pierced into the skin on Loen's head, leaving blood marks and bursts of pain.

——Thorns are a curse and pain. No one in the world is willing to take thorns as a crown.

——But if the sacrifice is necessary to save lives, the pain is not worth mentioning.

[Crown of Thorns]?

Loen stroked the sharp bumps on the crown on his head with his fingertips, feeling the tingling pain it brought, and smiled thoughtfully.

I see.

In this underworld filled with death, the blood of the lamb and the suffering of thorns finally broke through the shackles of fate and watered the buds that gave birth to new life and miracles.

Now, God’s blood was shed for you, and God’s pain was suffered for you.

Then, forgiveness is here, and I should take the oath of incarnation and welcome a new life!

Loen dispelled the [Crown], released the transfer of life energy, and looked forward.

"How are you?"

"Although the body was repaired and functions completely normally, there is still no sign of life."

The illusory Echidna in the corner shook her head, her eyes showing confusion and her mood down.

For some reason, her physical body looked lifelike, but it could not function normally, and her soul could not enter it and resonate with it.

"That's because we're still missing a medicine to activate vitality."

Loen smiled slightly and handed the [Immortality Elixir] in his hand to Thetis beside him.

The sea goddess nodded in understanding, walked forward to help Echidna up from the ground, then pulled out the cork of the medicine bottle, poured the purple-red liquid into her mouth, and used the power to control fluids to quickly transport the elixir of immortality to every part of the snake mother's body.

After a moment, the chest covered by the white gauze began to rise and fall noticeably, the two peaks swayed slightly, and the divine blood flowed rapidly with the contractions of the heart.

"quick!"

After hearing Loen's reminder, Echidna no longer hesitated. With excitement, she plunged into her own body that exuded vitality.

Soon, the snake mother on the ground completed the initial fusion of spirit and flesh, fluttered her eyelashes, and slowly opened her eyes.

The gray colors in the cave, the whistling wind in the ears, the turbid smell in front of the nose, the delicate touch of the skin and the white gauze... came one after another, all kinds of feelings and information, flooded into her heart for the first time in a long time, making Echidna truly feel the joy of new life.

(End of this chapter)