Chapter 558

The Titans were stunned only for a moment.

Then, a tidal wave of fury surged among them.

Rumble-rumble-rumble-rumble!

Killing intent roiled.

“Kh!”

“A mere human the size of a rat dares….”

“Acting cute, and now you’ve forgotten your place!”

The Titans each grabbed their weapons.

“Jinhyuk!”

“Sir Jinhyuk!”

Teresa immediately summoned divine power through [Blessing of the Stars], and Andrea activated [Foxfire Dance], unleashing the power of the nine-tailed fox.

A suffocating standoff unfolded.

A clash could break out at any moment.

A situation on a knife’s edge.

But then—

“Kuhahaha!”

A deep, booming laugh erupted from among the Titans.

“…!?”

“……!!”

The Titans who had been ready to lunge at Jinhyuk abruptly stopped in place.

And turned their heads toward the source of the laughter.

“Stand down. It seems that one has something to say to me…”

All the Titans they’d met so far were massive and wielded immense magical power.

But the one who now spoke couldn’t be compared to the rest.

His words carried the weight of time and myth.

The aura radiating from his body exuded an indescribable, sovereign presence.

This was Kronos.

Leader of the Titans—and the former chief god who held all power in Olympus before Zeus.

Just as expected…

…It worked.

Jinhyuk’s lips curled upward.

‘Kronos isn’t the type to associate with bootlickers.’

Anyone who grovels or bows is considered weak.

And Kronos doesn’t waste words on trash like that when it comes to reclaiming Olympus.

That was his style.

That’s why Jinhyuk had deliberately provoked them.

And as anticipated, Kronos responded.

“I came to propose an excellent alliance, but the hospitality is downright terrible. Ah! Maybe you lot lost your manners being stuck in a dungeon for so long? If that’s the case, I suppose I can be understanding.”

“Insolent…! Do you even know who he is?”

“I’ll tear your filthy mouth apart!”

“From this moment forward.”

Kronos growled lowly at the shouting Titans.

“Anyone who opens their mouth without my permission, I’ll rip your head off.”

Even breathing too loudly would be dangerous.

Such was the meaning behind Kronos’s command.

All around, you could hear the sound of nervous inhaling.

But none dared say another word.

“So, my bold little human, what kind of proposal do you bring that you stirred up all this? I do hope it’s something that will pique my interest.”

“Whether you already know or not, I’m the one who broke the seal on Tartarus. You could say I’m the benefactor who freed you from this hell.”

“Hoh…”

A smile spread across Kronos’s face.

The speculation he had only half-believed had proven to be true.

“How amusing. To think a human would find the long-hidden Drum. Then, your goal must be to strike down Zeus?”

“We have quite the bad history. I plan to end it once and for all. Naturally, I’ll need a solid alliance to do that.”

“I appreciate that you freed us. But why should I ally with you?”

Well…

“Because on your own, you’ll never retake Olympus.”

It was a cold truth, but a fact nonetheless.

The Titans had been wiped out by Hercules alone.

Even if they were freed again, the outcome wouldn’t be much different.

And this time, Celestial Order was involved too.

Their chances were close to zero.

“But if I help, the story changes. I know how to stop Hercules. I even have a card that can withstand Zeus’s Astrapē.”

“Kuhahaha! That’s quite the arrogant claim. Judging by your tone, you’ve fought Zeus on another floor… but that’s only because he was outside Olympus. Inside Olympus, his power increases by more than fivefold.”

Across the entire Tower of Trials, Astrapē was one of the strongest offensive abilities.

Very few methods existed to block or cancel it.

“Only those with Titan blood can even endure its glow. A human body would be reduced to ash just from looking at it.”

Well, Kronos wasn’t wrong.

Unless you were a Titan, Astrapē was definitely a pain.

But—

What if he showed this?

Jinhyuk raised his arm slightly.

“That arm…”

Kronos narrowed his eyes.

Of course he recognized it.

How could he not?

The arm of ‘Tombgrave,’ one of the Titans.

A ‘Great Warrior’ who amassed many achievements in past wars.

To bear his arm was proof of recognition.

A human with Titan blood was indeed worthy of assaulting Olympus.

The deliberation didn’t last long.

Kronos rose from his seat.

“Very well. I’ll believe in you.”

“Wait.”

Jinhyuk cut Kronos off.

“You seem to be under a bit of a misunderstanding. An alliance only happens when both sides benefit. I’ve laid my cards out—but what do you have to offer?”

“…Are you demanding compensation?”

“Of course. That’s only fair, isn’t it?”

“You’ve got some nerve. Demanding something from me… Hah. But you’re not wrong. To form an alliance with me, you need that much audacity. So, what do you want?”

“The scythe that cut down Uranus, and the shattered clock fragment. Hand over those two.”

“…That’s an absurd price.”

“Is it? When compared to the entirety of Olympus, I’d say it’s a bargain.”

“……”

No matter how valuable a relic was…

Could it compare to a lifelong dream?

The higher you once flew, the more agonizing the fall.

Kronos knew that better than anyone.

Which is why—

He wanted to sit once more on that throne above the clouds and look down upon the world.

“Fine. I suppose that’s a reasonable price.”

Kronos let out a small sigh.

With that—

The alliance between the Veteran Corporation and the Titans was sealed.

⁕ ⁕ ⁕

“Haa… haa… haa…”

Ragged breathing spilled from trembling lips.

Bloodshot eyes and shaking fingers.

Exhaustion so intense that consciousness threatened to slip away at any moment.

[Abnormal status is worsening.]

[Contract bindings are rapidly loosening.]

She instinctively knew—

Time was running out.

“Con…tractor.”

Alice collapsed where she stood, staggering.

Even in her hazy mind, her reason and emotion clashed violently.

‘I don’t understand.’

Why was it so painful for the contract to simply be breaking?

She still held feelings for Jinhyuk—so why was she consumed by a burning thirst?

If she were to meet him now…

…she might not be a precious person, but a blood-starved vampire.

‘I need to get as far away as I can.’

While she could barely hold onto reason—

She had to put as much distance between them as possible.

Otherwise, she didn’t even want to imagine what could happen.

But just then—

“You came farther than I expected.”

A figure emerged from the forest.

An overwhelming sense of wrongness unlike anything before.

He was not a player.

Nor a resident of the Tower.

Different even from the gods and administrators—yet several times more dangerous.

“Who… are you?”

Alice bared her fangs at once.

“Whoa, whoa. No need to be so hostile. I’m here to help, you know?”

The man raised both palms to show he meant no harm.

“…Help? Me?”

“Yes. My name’s Sleeper Owl. I’ve known Jinhyuk for a long time—consider me one of his behind-the-scenes supporters.”

Sleeper Owl…

She remembered Jinhyuk mentioning that name once.

And not in a hostile tone—but a friendly one.

“Why… why am I like this? I care more than anyone about my contractor—so why… why do I feel like this?”

“Because one of us tampered with Baldur’s Ring. Well, technically, it was an old colleague of mine.”

Sleeper Owl shrugged.

The curse on the Ring of the Sun didn’t just break contracts.

It incited intense hostility and desire toward the target.

So when the contract broke—

The two were destined to become enemies.

“Running away won’t solve anything. We layered failsafes upon failsafes. This plan… has been in motion far longer than you think.”

“Longer than this war? You don’t mean when I first met the contractor… do you?”

Alice’s voice trembled, and Sleeper Owl shook his head.

“No. Even before that.”

Since the Tower was first created.

Since before everything began.

“Think about it. Why do you think you were so obsessed with Jinhyuk’s blood in the corridor? Why him out of all humans? Surely you don’t believe that was coincidence?”

“……!?”

Alice froze.

Like being struck with a hammer.

Now that she thought about it…

…why had she always hungered for his blood?

One question led to another.

But before she could find the answer, Sleeper Owl tapped his face lightly.

And then, in an instant—his face changed.

To one all too familiar.

“Bel…lus?”

A member of the Ataraxia family and one of her bloodline.

Even before being trapped in the corridor—ever since then—he had always stood by her side.

As a vampire, dependable and loyal.

“This isn’t Bellus. Just one of my old colleagues. He’s been posing as a vampire to stay close and slowly addict you.”

Subtly.

Gradually, over time.

He made Alice crave Jinhyuk’s blood.

“When all the family heads betrayed you and shoved you into the corridor—did you never wonder why none of your retainers were eliminated? Why Bellus always survived impossible battles and carried out his tasks?”

Even if Alice was too strong to kill—

There was no reason not to wipe out her loyal followers.

Eliminating future threats was common sense.

“We made it that way.”

Because during that long exile, she needed an insider close to her.

To fully make the progenitor Alice theirs.

‘That was the plan all along.’

“…Why? Why would you make me like this?!”

Alice shouted, overwhelmed with emotion.

She couldn’t bear the fact that her very existence had been twisted.

But Sleeper Owl showed no sympathy.

He simply delivered the truth.

He spoke one final time.

“Because you are the only sword that can kill Kang Jinhyuk.”

The strongest Veteran with not a single mistake to his name.

To stop him, the operators had devised a failsafe.

Alice von Ataraxia was that safeguard.

Because no matter how cold and ruthless Jinhyuk may be…

…he could never bring himself to kill the one he cherished most.

(T/N: Please noooooooo….)