Chapter 514
“Lord Zeus! What do you think you’re doing?”
Bendivia jumped to his feet.
Combat was permitted during the race, but only between the two chariots.
There was never any allowance for outside interference.
But now Olympus had brazenly crossed the line—so as a high-level administrator, he had no choice but to protest.
Yet Zeus replied without so much as a change of expression.
“I simply leveled the playing field a little.”
“Level the playing field? Do you really believe that’s a valid excuse?”
“Kang Jinhyuk asked a blacksmith on another floor to build his chariot. On top of that, he’s using ancient species and other summons instead of horses. So I don’t think it’s unreasonable for us to make similar allowances, do you?”
He latched onto any mistake made by the other side.
Since there was some justification, Bendivia found himself at a loss for words.
…Of course, he could have argued that he should have objected right then and there.
But there was no way such logic would work on Zeus.
“Don’t worry. I won’t do any more than this.”
“You call that reassurance…? Aren’t some of those warriors out there your own chosen champions?”
Among the sirens and gargoyles, there were also warriors mounted on Pegasi.
Not just any warriors—Greek heroes granted both rank and name.
“It’s only four or five of them at most. If you make a fuss about that, Bendivia, you’ll only look biased toward Kang Jinhyuk and the Veteran Corporation.”
Zeus looked to the other administrators for agreement.
“Baa… That does sound reasonable.”
A new figure who had arrived since the race began—a high-level administrator in the form of a red mountain goat—nodded.
“Haeteis…”
“I support Lord Zeus. Fairness is the most basic virtue an administrator should have, right? Don’t you agree, Hastings?”
“…Yeah.”
Hastings reluctantly nodded.
After falling out of Nyarlathotep’s favor, Haeteis had claimed his position.
Hastings shot a glare full of fear, envy, and hatred.
-Huhu. Don’t take it so hard. Who knows? Maybe a new opportunity will come your way too. Until then, you’d better follow my lead. Unless, of course, you want to disappear completely.
Those were the words Haeteis had spoken right to his face when they first met.
But Hastings couldn’t respond at all.
This truly was his last chance.
With both Haeteis and Hastings agreeing, Bendivia lost any ground to stand on.
Clench…
All he could do was look worriedly in Jinhyuk’s direction.
⁕ ⁕ ⁕
“Kieeee!”
“Krooo!”
A massive number of monsters filled the sky.
At a glance, the end was nowhere in sight.
Just surviving against that horde seemed impossible, let alone winning the race.
In fact, whether they could even hold out against monsters with such overwhelming magic was in question.
After all, each individual’s magic was limited.
But then—
“I’ll buy us time.”
Chun Yoosung stepped in front of the chariot.
“Y-Yoosung?”
Teresa’s eyes went wide.
She understood what Chun Yoosung was about to do.
“If I stay, I’ll just be a burden. Rather than all of us being stuck here, it’s better for one person to sacrifice themselves. And if anyone can hold out for a long battle, it should be me.”
After speaking, Chun Yoosung glanced at Jinhyuk.
There was only one thing he still hadn’t settled.
That he’d never finished his duel with Jinhyuk—that was his only regret.
“Don’t feel too relieved. I’ll be waiting for you in hell. Because of today, don’t dodge our fight when that day comes.”
Slice!
With a light swing, he cut away part of the chariot.
[Chun Yoosung activates Lv16 ‘Aerial Grasp’!]
Vwooom!
Chun Yoosung stood atop a rising piece of debris.
At the same time, blue waves of energy began to ripple along his blade.
Fully manifested sword aura.
As the sword began to sing, the Sword Saint became a mountain, standing against thousands of foes.
The resolve to risk one’s life for comrades was truly moving.
It was moving, but…
“Yoosung.”
“Enough. I didn’t do this for your thanks.”
“Yo…Yoosung?”
“Just go. Don’t say anything. I’m really fine.”
“No, that’s not it…”
Jinhyuk scratched his head.
It was hard to say at this timing, after Chun Yoosung had just delivered such a dramatic speech…
“Since they broke the rules first, that means we’re not bound by restrictions anymore.”
If they’d been holding back until now—
From here on, they could finally fight at full power.
Jinhyuk nodded toward the bottom of the chariot.
That was the signal—
Boom!
Golden lances shot up from the ground.
“I’ve been waiting! To think you’d pull such tricks in front of me—I’ll grind you to the bone!”
[Anubis uses ‘Army of Judgment’!]
[The jackal army of death protects you!]
Guardians with black skin and jackal heads.
Anubis’s elite legion retaliated with throwing spears.
Thunk! Thunk thunk!
“Kieee!”
“Kek!”
The oncoming sirens and gargoyles were skewered and plummeted from the sky.
Then, Berial, gathering his magic, unleashed a tornado of black energy.
“You underestimate the Demon Realm.”
Rumble rumble rumble rumble!
A cluster of black tornadoes swallowed up an entire floating stone.
Everything caught within was shredded to bits—a disaster that inflicted unimaginable damage on the Greek forces.
“If it’s reinforcements, we’ve got plenty on our side too.”
They simply hadn’t intervened until now.
“By the way, Yoosung… What was that? If we meet again in hell, you want to fight?”
Pfft!
No way, not even an edgelord middle schooler would say something like that nowadays.
It was so cringeworthy, he’d be kicking his blankets for the rest of his life—and again after he died.
“…….”
Chun Yoosung’s face turned red.
His hands and feet trembled from a mix of embarrassment and anger.
“That’s not what I meant.”
Yeah, right—his voice gave him away.
“I recorded it, you know. From now on, I’ll play it for you every time I’m bored until the day you die. Or maybe I’ll sell it as a combo with a maid outfit in the Tower of Trials community.”
“You…”
Screech!
The sword that had been halfway sheathed was drawn again.
Ah…
Maybe that was a bit much.
Jinhyuk quickly cleared his throat.
“Ahem! No, I was just saying, you know. Would I really go that far? Haha… Anyway, let’s get moving. While Berial and Anubis are buying us time, we have to pull off a comeback.”
“…Damn it, I’ll never forget this.”
Chun Yoosung reluctantly sheathed his sword.
But just then—
Vwooom…
Out of the swirling black tornadoes, a single Pegasus raced toward them at high speed.
Jinhyuk’s eyes narrowed.
For something to break through that chaos…
It had to be one of the ‘Hero’ grade enemies.
Sure enough, a burly man in dazzling armor arrived at Jinhyuk’s chariot in an instant.
Eyes glinting through his helmet.
There was no mistaking him.
Who wouldn’t recognize the great hero Hector, famed for his exploits in the Trojan War?
“Harming my comrades with such wicked magic… You’ll pay for this in blood!”
Hector blocked their path, his voice cold and composed.
Shield at the ready, long spear poised.
That fighting stance—specialized for thrusting attacks—was one of Hector’s signature moves.
“Left—no, right!”
Chun Yoosung shouted urgently.
Hector’s skill with a Pegasus was so deft and dazzling that Chun Yoosung had to switch directions mid-sentence.
Bang!
The spear shot forward at a single point.
Teresa slammed down the shield she was holding at the front.
[Teresa activates Lv19 ‘Sacred Sign’!]
A massive cross appeared in front of her shield and met the spear head-on.
Crash! Boom!
The spear rained down like a storm, but Teresa calmly blocked every attack.
“Leave the defense to me.”
A steadfast paladin armed with holy power.
In this kind of battle, just having Teresa around was immensely reassuring.
But it was too soon to relax.
From the distant floating stone where the Greek deities stood…
A completely different kind of murderous intent could be felt.
‘So they’re finally making their move…’
Olympus had been especially aggressive lately.
He never believed they’d be satisfied just from smashing Asgard.
Especially with all the secret dealings between Olympus, India, and Eden, it was certain they were aiming even higher.
If that’s the case…
With so many deities gathered, this was the perfect timing.
Now was the moment to reveal their ambition and shatter the balance in a single stroke.
⁕ ⁕ ⁕
A crack appeared in the throne where Zeus sat.
His brow twitched, filled with discomfort.
“Zeus! A third of the forces you sent have been killed or neutralized! The rest are barely managing to survive!”
“Hector and Jason are putting up a fight, but it won’t be easy to inflict real damage.”
Poseidon and Hermes chimed in.
In truth, buying time had become meaningless.
Now they had to worry about how to deal with the losses.
“Father…”
Athena’s voice trailed off heavily.
They needed to make a decision before it was too late.
Crash! Zeus shattered the cup of ambrosia in his hand.
Red wine spilled out between the shards of glass.
“Awaken them.”
His low, deep voice reverberated.
And with that single command, everything changed.
“Understood.”
“We’ve been waiting for this.”
“At last…!”
Rumble rumble rumble rumble!
In an instant, the entire floor shook.
The floating stones in the sky—
Even the rivers flowing across the land—all seemed to freeze in place.
[The higher deity ‘Olympus’ stops the ‘Bell of Slumber’.]
[The mythic beasts that had been sleeping are awakening.]
The anomalies happened all at once.
The ground split open, cliffs of floating stones cracked, and giant monsters were freed from a deep slumber.
The Nemean Lion.
The Sphinx.
Cyclops.
And the Hydra.
One after another, the named monsters of Greek myth appeared.
And then…
Bubble bubble!
A giant river split open, and a mouth filled with razor-sharp teeth appeared.
The jaws of a monster hundreds of meters wide.
[Named Monster ‘Charybdis’ manifests!]
A predator that devours anything floating on the water.
The cursed goddess awakened to devour those who defy Olympus.
“The games are over. Prepare for battle.”
Zeus rose from his seat.
