— — — — — —
Mount Olympus—
"Big brother, is this news actually true?"
A girl floated in midair atop clouds woven from black flames.
She wore a light, delicate outfit that accentuated her cute figure, along with a fitted jacket that emphasized her chest. Her long black hair flowed like ink, and her lovely face naturally stirred people's protective instincts.
She was one of the Primordial Five Pillars of Greek mythology, the Goddess of Night, Nyx.
Ahead of her walked the man she called brother: Erebus, God of Darkness.
"Didn't you already read the newspaper?"
Erebus spoke calmly as he walked.
"The Three Factions have entered peace talks. A new Fallen Angel Governor named Ryo Yagami has appeared, and the devils are calling him the new king who defeated Ophis. At the same time, someone has deliberately been spreading rumors in the shadows that God is dead."
He paused slightly. "Either one of those things happening alone would already be suspicious. Happening together? There's definitely something wrong here."
"So what kind of problem do you think it is?" Nyx tilted her head innocently like a curious child. Combined with her adorable appearance, she looked heartbreakingly lovable.
Unfortunately, Erebus remained as emotionless as ever. One might even suspect he lacked basic desires entirely.
"I'm not making conclusions yet. We still need more intelligence gathered and analyzed."
"Of course, if God truly is dead, then Greece has to act. At the very least, we need a share of the Human World's territory."
In recent years, Greek mythology in this world had been heavily suppressed by the devils.
The first Hades losing to Lilith had done far more than simply elevate Lilith into the world's top ten strongest.
The Underworld lost territory. Their influence in the Human World shrank. Devil strongholds were even openly established inside Greece itself, Europe's center of Greek influence.
That was the very foundation of Greek mythology.
Yet the devils had invaded it openly, and Greece hadn't dared retaliate. The resentment had been building for a long time.
So now, when the devils announced that their new alliance leader had defeated Ophis, Greece wasn't intimidated.
If anything, it only made the devils look weaker.
Because when paired with the rumors of God's death, the situation looked suspiciously like the three factions trying to prop up a fake powerhouse to preserve their old deterrence.
"But haven't a lot of strong people emerged from the Church over the last few centuries?" Nyx asked lightly, though her eyes held obvious wariness, along with a trace of desire. "Apparently there are several new Longinus users now too."
Longinus.
That title hadn't existed at first. But after a human used a Sacred Gear to kill a god equivalent to Satan-class, the term was born.
From then on, any Sacred Gear developed to the point where it could kill a Satan-class would be publicly recognized as a Longinus.
But the terrifying thing about Longinus was that they reincarnated.
And after reincarnation, they didn't weaken just because they changed owners. They merely needed to be developed again. Once properly awakened, another Satan-killing powerhouse would emerge.
Theoretically, any Sacred Gear had the potential to become a Longinus, because Sacred Gears evolved by absorbing their wielder's emotions and willpower.
That trait made countless gods covet them.
Unfortunately, only the Creator God could create Sacred Gears.
Which made things awkward. The other mythological factions all wanted Sacred Gears, but none dared move against God. Meanwhile, the Three Factions profited enormously from the situation.
The Church's angels, the devils' Reincarnated Devils, and the Fallen Angels' Grigori Academy continuously produced Sacred Gear users in bulk.
Other mythologies could only watch in envy.
Even though rumors of God's death had circulated for years, as long as Sacred Gears continued evolving and the Three Factions kept fighting each other without addressing the rumors, nobody dared act recklessly.
Even fewer dared enter Heaven itself to confirm whether God was alive.
After all, the official conclusion of the Great War had been this: The devils announced that God had slain the Four Great Satans along with half of all pure-blooded devils. After that the devils admitted defeat, yet refused surrender. Meanwhile, both angels and fallen angels publicly declared the war ongoing.
From that perspective, God clearly wasn't dead at all.
If anything, He seemed very much alive, merely disheartened by the betrayal of His creations and remaining secluded in Heaven ever since.
That had become the common consensus among other mythologies after the Great War.
Even those who suspected God had truly died during the war still hesitated. They simply couldn't believe someone like the Creator God could actually be killed by the Four Great Satans.
Especially since nobody knew that before the war, God had already fought Trihexa.
In the eyes of Greece and the other mythologies, the Great War looked like a group of level-sixty players challenging the world's strongest level-one-hundred boss, hoping sheer numbers would wear it down… only to get crushed beneath its foot.
That was why most people never believed God had died.
And those who did suspect it lacked the courage to test the theory.
The Heaven of the angels was protected by God's magical system.
And that being had once dominated the world through sheer mastery of magical formulas, even constructing the system that governed the world's elemental laws and stripped all gods of their divine authorities, yet nobody had dared question Him.
A monster like that?
Even the world's top ten powerhouses probably wouldn't dare force their way through His spells, much less invade His home turf.
One could say that even after disappearing for a thousand years, God remained untouchable.
But today, the situation had changed.
The Three Factions, who had nearly driven themselves to extinction through endless war, had suddenly united.
And they had even appointed a leader.
Yet that leader wasn't God. It was an unknown figure who had appeared out of nowhere.
The implications were enormous.
Even with the devils claiming Ryo defeated Ophis, the various gods only became more suspicious that God was truly dead.
And one by one, they began sharpening their blades, preparing for a new divine war to divide up the world like a giant cake.
As for Greek mythology, which had suffered massive losses over the last few centuries, both old grudges and new hatred would naturally be settled together.
"Precisely because several new Longinus users have appeared, we can't allow the Three Factions to keep growing stronger." Erebus bluntly stated Greece's shared position.
"So we're going to war?"
Nyx was excited.
She had wanted to steal a Sacred Gear for ages.
Sure, experiments had shown that beings other than humans couldn't gain a Sacred Gear's acknowledgment…
But what if?
Nyx had no intention of giving up without trying herself.
"We need a reason. A reason that can unite others as well."
Erebus shook his head before continuing, "Come. Later, we still need to attend a secret meeting with the Norse side and decide whether we should join forces."
"The Norse?" Nyx asked in confusion. "Aren't they hiding away to avoid Ragnarok?"
It was like hearing that a shut-in suddenly decided to go shopping downtown. Completely abnormal behavior.
Erebus sneered. "Not the ruler of the Norse faction. That silver-tongued liar."
"Loki?"
Nyx immediately understood. "Um.. I hate Loki. I'm skipping the meeting."
As she spoke, she stopped moving entirely.
Seeing that, Erebus didn't care.
"Do as you like. I'll have someone send you the details afterward."
"Alright."
With that, Erebus left directly.
Nyx stayed where she was, waving goodbye until his figure disappeared from sight.
Only then did a playful smile appear on her face.
"So we need a reason…"
Her eyes narrowed mischievously.
"Easy."
That very night, Nyx quietly slipped out of Greece under cover of darkness and headed east.
Her destination—
Kyoto.
.
.
.