"...So, you think they might be able to awaken Zeus?"
William's fingers lightly tapped on the table, his eyes narrowing slightly, as if contemplating the credibility of this statement.
"Maybe, or something else... uh, some other allies that could give them confidence?"
On the opposite side of William's seat, the corners of Nagini's mouth curled into a very subtle arc, "Otherwise, sir?" Hecate's rhetorical question came from Nagini's mouth, "The power you've shown has completely surpassed the realm of a 'Wizard.' They're like children with sticks facing a Giant Dragon, no chance in direct confrontation—
"However, it's clear you're thinking of capturing... no, of catching them all at once..."
As she spoke, the woman tilted her head slightly, her pale golden pupils shimmering, "In this situation, seeking external alliances is clearly a good choice—"
"But as you mentioned earlier, those two 'goddesses' hate their old man. One can't stand him, and the other would love to eat him..."
Grindelwald, sitting on the other side of the table, snapped out of his deep thought—after prying out every piece of information from Helbo, the two didn't waste time and quickly found Nagini. Although William thought Helbo wouldn't dare lie now, the step to confirm the truth of the information was still necessary.
"But a day as a couple, a hundred days of grace."
Grindelwald's response came from William, who shook his head, "It's easy to understand. No matter how strong that Divine King ruling Olympus is, to those 'gods,' he's a known quantity, but I'm completely different—they can't figure me out."
"Right, it's simple to compare who might be easier to deal with, isn't it?"
Hecate snapped her fingers, indicating that this was exactly her point, "The radiance of Lord William is not something those creatures can gaze upon. Compared to you, we are like fireflies to the bright moon...(here omitted are three thousand words of nauseating flattery)" Maybe to earn some favors, this fellow spared no effort in flattering William.
But William directly ignored the previous compliments and tapped the table to interrupt the nauseating speech, "Tell me about Zeus."
In any situation, knowing oneself and the enemy is always beneficial.
"...He might be a formidable opponent, even for you."
Hecate, interrupted, was at a loss for words for a few seconds, then nodded gravely and shook her head.
"A formidable opponent?"
William raised an eyebrow with evident confusion, "He's... very powerful? An ancient Wizard?"
"An ancient Wizard."
Hecate nodded, her demeanor shifting from slightly sycophantic to much calmer, her pale golden pupils meeting William's, and in an extremely calm tone, she lightly questioned—
"But aren't you, Mr. Richard, just a Wizard too?"
"..."
"So, what is so peculiar about that 'Divine King'?"
Seeing William seemingly lost in thought and silent, Grindelwald, whose curiosity felt like a cat scratching his heart, hesitated for a moment and then spoke directly.
Meanwhile, "Nagini" slightly adjusted her tense posture and began to speak slowly, "Us so-called 'gods,' most of us are Wizards who, in the age of ignorance, exploited Magic that differed or surpassed other Wizards to guide and deceive mortals, thus gaining benefits. Yes, our power is still rooted in Magic power, but..."
"But?"
"However, this world doesn't only have Magic as a form of power, sir, are you aware of... uh, the power of faith?"
"?"
Upon hearing this, William finally couldn't resist raising an eyebrow, "What? You guys still talk about merit and incense offerings?"
"...Uh, although I'm not sure... but that sounds about right?"
Hecate was momentarily dumbfounded by William's response, laced with Eastern flair, her pupils flickered with a hint of confusion, but she quickly regained her air of 'I know a lot, but you definitely don't,' feigning mystery with a meaningful tone, "There seems to be some common ground—it's worth thinking about, as most historically powerful Wizards have large groups of followers—"
Upon hearing this, William instinctively turned to a living example by his side; Grindelwald, too, was stunned and lowered his head, seemingly lost in thought.
"Magic is essentially idealistic, excluding objective factors like proficiency, age, and other influences; the power of a Charm depends on the caster's willpower, be it a Wizard or Goblin, even House-Elf's Magic actually follows this principle.
"In this scenario, the support of followers, to some extent, becomes part of the Wizard's willpower, like... carrying everyone's hopes, I absolutely can't lose... or so, thus the stronger the Wizard, once they've built their own forces, they snowball, growing ever stronger—"
"...It kind of makes sense?"
Grindelwald muttered unconsciously, gazing at his somewhat gaunt hand. He turned to William, "When I assembled the disciples and confronted Dumbledore, that period was probably the peak of my abilities—of course, after my defeat, I haven't properly used Magic, so I'm not sure either..."
"...So essentially, a Wizard is like Ultraman?"
Thus, William stroked his chin, arriving at this bold conclusion, leaving the other two, who didn't quite understand, to look at him speechlessly.
"A mere Black Wizard with a few thousand followers is like this, let alone... Zeus."
Disregarding William's bold theory, Hecate continued, "He wove his name into mythological stories, then had them sung by bards, crafting an image of himself as a 'populist'..."
"Wait, what 'populist'?" William frowned and interrupted.
"In Zeus's view, stories of him fathering offspring with Muggles are, in themselves, proof of his populism—"
"...So, are those stories false? Is Zeus actually?"
"No, they're true. He did indeed trouble many virtuous maidens."
After a brief diversion, what followed from Hecate became obvious. Zeus, the Divine King in Greek Mythology, with widespread stories and countless followers, although Muggle faith is not intrinsically 'valuable,' such things accumulate bit by bit—
"It sounds like quite a challenge..." William stroked his chin, nodding gently.
"..."
Only a challenge? Despite having witnessed William's abilities, Hecate still thought he was boasting—but under the eaves, one must bow their head. She pondered for a moment, seemingly having thought of something, "But, don't you only need to eliminate them before they awaken Zeus?"
Indeed, seeing William contemplating the feasibility of directly confronting the Divine King, Hecate hurriedly attempted to steer the plot back on track.