Chapter 563
Panic.
There was no better word to describe the current situation.
That’s how drastically the tide of battle was turning, against all expectations.
“What is the meaning of this?!”
Zeus shot up from his seat.
Unbearable fury.
‘Rumble… BOOM!’
Lightning crackled violently in every direction.
“……”
“……”
The Main Gods bit down on their lips.
Every card they had prepared up until now—each meant to catch the opponent off guard—was crumbling.
“All of it, destroyed. Even Ares, and ‘that man’ too…”
“Securing Alice failed. Stopping Chronos? Every attempt is falling short.”
“At this rate…”
Panic gave way to fear.
Everything they had built might be on the verge of collapse.
Delusions that would normally be brushed off as jokes were becoming real.
And the headaches didn’t stop there.
[Currently, ‘Odin’s Eye’ has been activated around Olympus.]
The top-tier god of Norse mythology—Odin.
His signature ability was now interfering with their ability to track Norse movements.
In the realm of war, one of the most critical elements—information warfare—was becoming a quagmire.
‘BOOM!’
‘BOOM BOOM BOOM!’
Even now, Titans were swarming from all directions.
Hercules was locked in a one-on-one with Thor.
Athena’s main force was struggling against the elite of Veteran Corporation.
…The situation was dire.
Far worse than expected.
Hermes cautiously spoke up.
“We’ll ask Demeter and Aphrodite to pressure Uriel again. Perhaps even the Celestials…”
They had no way to break through on their own.
All they could do now was rely on outside forces.
“Eden’s already turned their backs. They won’t be coming back.”
Whatever Kang Jinhyuk did, it clearly rattled that stiff-necked archangel’s heart.
And while the absence of Alice gave some breathing room, now they had to hope the Celestials would act…
Just as those thoughts crossed their minds—
‘Vwoooom!’
A yellow gate opened before Zeus.
Emerging from it was one of the Celestial deities—
A god with the form of an elephant: [Ganesha].
“Click click click. Man, this place is practically a funeral.”
Ganesha chuckled at the explosions and screams erupting all around.
His attitude—like he was spectating someone else’s war—twisted the expressions of the Olympus gods.
Especially Zeus, who looked ready to draw Astrapē on the spot.
“You didn’t come all this way just to mock us, did you?”
His voice heavy.
His fury unmistakable.
Ganesha flinched slightly.
“Haha… who would go to such lengths just to mock you? I merely came to show that we aren’t sitting on the sidelines.”
“For that, your body looks remarkably untouched. While we’re literally bleeding out.”
Nearly half their forces were gone.
And still, they couldn’t stop the Titans.
At this rate, Olympus itself might be wiped out.
And naturally—
“If we fall, you’re next. Don’t forget that.”
No matter how well-established the Celestials were in the upper levels, they wouldn’t withstand the onslaught alone.
Once Olympus collapsed, they too would be swarmed by the Veteran Corporation and the rest of the allied forces.
“You think we don’t know that? That’s why I’m here—to suggest a way out of this mess. Just a friendly proposal.”
“Do you have some brilliant idea?”
“This whole disaster began because ‘they’ seized the initiative.”
Losing the first strike had led to all this.
If they could regain control—reshape the battlefield to suit their needs—then everything would get easier.
“Easier said than done. None of us even know what that arrogant human Kang Jinhyuk is holding.”
“But what if we found out why Uriel isn’t moving? And figured out how to steal momentum from the enemy. Wouldn’t that interest you?”
“……”
A subtle shift crossed Zeus’s expression.
Was he really offering solutions to their biggest dilemmas?
“Indeed…”
The rage on his face vanished like melting snow.
“In that case, I’m listening.”
A faint smile touched his lips.
⁂⁂⁂
‘Patzzt!’
‘Crack…!’
The barrier shattered.
‘N’ lost his life.
Members of Veteran Corporation walked out unscathed.
“…Chun Yoosung.”
Athena quietly muttered the name.
Among the 34th floor’s forces, [N] possessed one of the most unique and powerful abilities.
His only weakness had been external interference—which they had taken pains to block.
But Chun Yoosung’s power far exceeded their intel.
At the very least, he was [Hero]-class.
Possibly even [Great Hero], or on par with Lesser Main Gods.
“Graaaagh! It hurts!”
A green-skinned monster with a hole in its chest.
‘Cough! Cough…’
A one-handed warrior wielding a massive greatsword was also down.
Countless other blue-skinned beings lay defeated.
None of them could stop Chun Yoosung alone.
“Kuhahaha! Your teammates are quite something too. Those guys are no joke.”
“Let’s push forward with this momentum!”
“Kill them all!”
The Titans’ morale surged even higher.
‘Boom! Rumble-rumble!’
‘KABOOM!’
“Kyaaah!”
“Graaagh!”
Massive mechanical dinosaurs crashed into the Titans.
The clash of giant monsters alone was a spectacle.
Trees snapped like toothpicks.
Entire landscapes reshaped by the landslides created.
Athena’s brow twitched.
“…Annoying. I never thought this wall would be breached.”
A pure clash of strength.
Still, the fortunate part was that they had already absorbed most of the 34th floor’s core forces.
The [Plumber Brothers], near-boss-level.
The chieftain of the Ho Do tribe, another semi-boss.
The space knight wielding a lightsaber—another powerful foe.
And countless other residents who had built legends across dimensions unleashed fierce auras.
“Damn it. We’ve still got a long way to go.”
Chun Yoosung clicked his tongue.
He couldn’t name them all, but every single opponent was a pain.
Everything so far had just been a warm-up.
“GRAAAAH!”
With the roar of a massive kaiju, the second act of war began.
‘Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!’
The gigantic beasts flanked the Titans from the sides.
“Ooooh! Now this is fun!”
“Been a while since I’ve faced something bigger than me. Come on, let’s go!”
“Chronos is with us!”
The Titans, armed with axes and swords, targeted the kaijus’ weak spots.
‘Squelch!’
‘Slice!’
Green blood splattered. Chunks of flesh were carved out.
And yet, the sheer size of the beasts made them hard to bring down.
Instead, they grew more enraged.
Amidst the chaos, several shadows moved swiftly.
‘Tap…!’
‘Step!’
Boss-class residents of the 34th floor aimed for Veteran Corporation’s members.
The Titans were effectively natural disasters—they couldn’t be helped.
The real target was the core forces.
“I’ve heard the stories. I wonder if you’re as strong as they say.”
“We’re the strongest of our worlds. Underestimate us and you’ll pay.”
Red and green outfits.
Familiar imagery—yet their tone was icy cold.
[The Plumber Brothers summon the Divine Beast – Tongue Dragon!]
“Kyauuun!”
A green, round-bodied dragon appeared.
Its ability: to absorb targets and evolve based on their traits, like a chameleon.
‘That one’s annoying…’
As long as it ate weak things, it was fine.
But if it consumed the wrong target, things could escalate fast.
If those damn plumbers found ‘that’, things would get extremely complicated.
Jinhyuk frowned.
It had to be dealt with now—before it devoured anything.
His twin daggers glowed a deep crimson.
Sensing danger, the dragon stuck out its tongue.
‘Shwaaah!’
If it touched him, [Capture] and [Paralyze] would activate instantly.
Jinhyuk shifted half a step back.
The tongue brushed past his ribs.
But the tongue didn’t just extend in a straight line—it twisted, forming a strange circle.
Unnatural elasticity.
The plumbers followed up with relentless volleys of fireballs and turtle shells.
It was hard to believe just three people were unleashing this kind of barrage.
But—
[Heavenly Demon Divine Art – ‘Qi Gate Evasion’ activates!]
The moment the ability activated, Jinhyuk’s movements transformed.
‘Pa-pa-pa-pak!’
‘KABOOM!’
No matter how much they attacked, it was useless.
Like fighting a ghost, their attacks only sliced through air.
“Tch!”
“What the hell is this guy…?!”
The more flustered they got, the simpler their attacks became.
While they threw everything into killing him, Jinhyuk calmly dissected their patterns.
‘Once…’
He dodged the tongue bouncing from the ground.
‘Twice…’
He deflected the green shell aiming for his back.
Finally, he evaded the heavy strike from above.
‘KABOOM!’
Even their ultimate move missed, flipping the tide of battle.
Jinhyuk aimed for the plumber’s exposed neck.
But just then—
A massive axe flashed before his eyes.
‘CLANG!’
Jinhyuk instinctively deflected the trajectory.
The heavy shock throbbed deep into his bones.
“Oh? You blocked that?”
A muscular body that looked invulnerable to even swords.
A face weathered by time and battle exuded overwhelming dominance.
His true name meant ‘slave’—he was the great chieftain of the orcs, considered the mightiest among all dimensions.
“All these so-called heroes crawling out of the woodwork… it’s exhausting.”
At this point, fighting all of Olympus’ Main Gods at once would be preferable.
‘Vrrrrr!’
To make matters worse, a black-masked figure stepped forward, wielding a lightsaber. (T/N: Wait, Darth Vader? LOL)
‘Huff… huff…’
That distinct breathing sound grated on the nerves.
The red blade seared the air with violent heat.
Others joined too—champions from competitive leagues and those from the ‘expensive watch’ world.
It wouldn’t be easy to take them all on at once.
Which is why—
‘Step.’
“Looks like we’ve got the numbers right.”
“Each of us takes two or three.”
“Mm. I’ll do my best too!”
That’s when your allies start to shine.
Chun Yoosung, Teresa, and Andrea stood by Jinhyuk’s side.
And at the same time—
“…Ah.”
Outside the Tower, Alice’s eyes slowly opened.
As if searching for something, her red pupils scanned her surroundings.