— — — — — —
"Good grief. It's barely even started and Zeus has already stepped in himself?"
Shiroyasha shook her head slightly and sat back down, surprise clear in her voice.
Zeus showing up was completely beyond her expectations. It felt like a dark horse suddenly charging onto the field, startling her out of nowhere.
Ryo stiffened and looked toward the battlefield in shock. But all he could see was an endless ocean of golden lightning.
Realizing that Zeus had already blocked his methods of observation, Ryo's heart sank.
"...How?"
Compared to before, Zeus was obviously far stronger. The difference was enormous, so much so that it was starting to exceed Ryo's understanding.
They hadn't been apart for that long. How could Zeus have changed this much?
"Well damn. That old fossil isn't pretending anymore. He actually advanced to the Three-Digit rank." Shiroyasha let out a mocking laugh.
Ryo's heart skipped a beat. He had suspected as much, but his face still showed mild surprise.
"Three-Digit? He was actually willing to give up the lower-layer benefits?"
That was the part Ryo couldn't understand.
Sure, Zeus would face restrictions there, but the advantages in the lower layers were very real. And yet he was willing to abandon them and head to the upper layers, where countless gods hated him.
That alone made Ryo wary.
An enemy who's ruthless to others isn't that scary. The truly frightening ones are ruthless to themselves.
Zeus had offended a ridiculous number of people in the upper layers. Going up there was basically no different from Algol returning there.
Even so, Zeus still chose to go.
How could Ryo not be cautious?
"Whether he wanted to or not, he didn't really have a choice," Shiroyasha said after thinking for a moment. "You exposed so much of his hand earlier that the lower layers would definitely be watching him like hawks. In that situation, he might as well gamble everything, advance to the Three-Digit rank, and build his position up there."
She had more or less seen through Zeus's thinking.
Then she chuckled. "Heh. That old pervert wants to use Algol as his offering, so he can crawl back into polite society."
"…"
Ryo stayed silent, his expression grim.
Zeus breaking through to the Three-Digit rank and personally moving against Algol was something he had never expected.
Before this, both he and Algol had assumed that some ancient Buddhist powerhouse would intervene. Neither of them had even considered the possibility that Zeus would act.
What a shame.
Their plan to probe the depths of the Buddhist faction had failed. Algol probably wouldn't gain much from this trip.
Still, Zeus stepping in wasn't entirely bad news for Ryo.
At the very least, he could get a glimpse of Zeus's real power. Even though his own sight was blocked, a battle of this scale would definitely be recorded by various gods and buddhas. With a small price, he could easily obtain those records later.
'I need to speed things up and carve my authorities into my spirit rank…'
Zeus's sudden transformation had sounded an alarm in Ryo's mind. It forced him to move faster.
---
Meanwhile...
The massive black clouds that had once covered nearly half the Outer Gate had shrunk dramatically. Now they only blanketed the sky above half of the Pleasure City.
High in the sky, Algol stood with her hair transformed into writhing purple serpents. Golden eyes glowed beneath the living crown of snakes.
She brushed a hand across her charred right arm and stared at the humanoid lightning figure ahead of her. "Wow. Old lecher, you really hid your strength well."
Near Algol and Zeus lay five buddhas, their golden bodies shattered, chests caved in, barely able to breathe.
Compared to Algol and Zeus, they were clearly far weaker.
Once Zeus intervened, the shockwaves from the clash between him and Algol—both of them using numerous trump cards—had nearly destroyed the five monks.
If not for the many powerful Buddhist figures watching nearby, several of them might have died on the spot.
"You're almost at the top of the Three-Digit rank, yet you were willing to stay as a Four-Digit while hiding in the lower layers. Old pervert, you're really devious."
Algol wiped away the injuries inflicted by Zeus's lightning authority.
Nearby, a young monk with a dented skull suddenly screamed. He clutched his body as lightning burns spread across his skin.
Those were the wounds Algol had transferred to him through her authority.
With those injuries shifted onto him, the monk's condition worsened drastically.
As the monk wailed in pain, Zeus's cold face appeared within the humanoid mass of lightning.
"Stop, Algol. Both of us are already losers."
"Funny. I see it a little differently."
Algol grinned at Zeus and lifted her chin in open mockery. "I'm the one who won."
"Just selling a few bottles of poison was enough to drag you out. I'm not losing anything here."
The moment she said that, Zeus's face darkened.
Instantly the world seemed to echo his anger. Lightning flashed, thunder roared, and the whole sky shook.
Algol only laughed in disdain. She looked around, meeting the countless hidden gazes spying on the battlefield.
Then a sheet of white parchment appeared in her hand.
"I told you… I won."
She tore the parchment apart.
At once, an invisible force of time and space wrapped around her.
Feeling the power of that dimensional shift, Algol's lips curved upward. She even began clapping.
"Congratulations. You finally managed to drive me out. But I hope you remember something."
Her eyes burned with vicious malice. "Sometimes lying low is just preparation for a bigger eruption later."
"One day, I'll join those people and drag the gods down from that high throne."
At that moment, powerful voices echoed from the sky.
"Algol… who exactly are these people you're talking about?"
"Could it be... the Trickster? Is there really someone like that?"
"Algol, who is the Trickster?"
The voices carried clear unease.
A mysterious individual or group that even the gods couldn't investigate. A faction rumored to have Two-Digit beings behind them.
If Algol truly joined forces with the Trickster, it would be nothing short of a natural disaster for the gods.
Several hidden existences were already preparing to move, trying to intercept Algol and force information out of her.
They couldn't tolerate an unknown enemy lurking in the shadows. And Algol, who knew the truth, was their best source of intelligence.
Hearing the question, Algol suddenly burst out laughing before the attacks could land.
She laughed so hard tears came out.
"You're panicking. You're actually panicking!"
"This is hilarious. Just this little thing and you're already scared?"
"..."
"That's pathetic. Back in the Dawn Era, every war was bigger than whatever the Trickster was stirring up. You used to be fearless, and now you're shaking."
By the time she finished speaking, the joy seemed to spill out of her very heart, overflowing into her expression.
Her smile was pure mockery.
"You've all gotten old… nothing but trash now."
"…."
The only response she received was silence and hostility.
At that moment, Algol's gradually fading face twisted into a clownlike grin.
"Congratulations, everyone! You guessed right!"
She lifted the hem of her dress slightly and gave an elegant curtsy.
Then she raised her head and flashed a savage grin.
"The Trickster is real."
"I'm the new member of the... Tricksters."
"And in the near future, I'll present all of you with an appropriate sacrifice."
"So please…"
"Look forward to it."
As the final words fell, Algol's figure completely vanished from Little Garden.
All that remained were the hidden gods and buddhas lurking in the void, their faces dark and grim.
.
.
.