— — — — — —
The moment Athena finished speaking, the hall erupted into chaos.
It sounded less like a divine assembly and more like a crowded marketplace.
A little experiment by Athena? How could a mere experiment produce Another Cosmology?
And if it had produced one... then what exactly had she been experimenting with? Had Athena secretly been creating an entirely new Greek cosmology?
The implications were enormous. Just look at Zeus's face—it had already turned red.
According to Athena, Ryo was the young candidate chosen by that cosmology, the future King of the Greek Gods. He belonged to Greece, and everything related to his cosmology was an internal affair of the Greek pantheon.
"..."
Everyone's eyes turned toward Zeus.
Zeus, however, was staring only at Athena, his expression dark with fury. "When did Metis's Spirit Rank end up in your hands?"
Indra immediately perked up.
Athena had taken Metis's Spirit Rank? That was explosive.
Everyone knew the prophecy.
If Metis ever bore a son, he would become the Fourth King of the Greek Gods.
To prevent that, Zeus had devoured Metis before Athena was born, seizing her Spirit Rank and erasing the former Goddess of Wisdom from existence.
And yet now, Zeus was speaking as though Metis's Spirit Rank had somehow still been taken by Athena.
The implications...
Indra's imagination immediately ran wild.
Athena must have secretly stolen Metis's Spirit Rank long ago. Zeus had realized something was wrong but kept it hidden while searching for it in secret.
Meanwhile, Athena had used Metis's Spirit Rank to create a brand-new cosmology. And she'd succeeded.
Since it was still considered part of Greece's internal affairs, that meant it remained connected to the original Greek cosmology instead of becoming an entirely separate system.
A cosmology born from Metis's Spirit Rank... Metis's unborn son. Athena's younger brother who had never been allowed to enter the world. The child whom Gaia and Cronus had prophesied would overthrow Zeus and become the Fourth King of the Gods. The king whose name had never been recorded.
And now... The Another Cosmology that should have belonged to that future king had appeared in Ryo's hands.
Ryo Yagami also happened to be the hidden backer of the Greek pantheon. The promising newcomer personally invested in by the twin goddesses.
The meaning behind all this... If Indra had been Zeus, he'd have gone pale too.
To him, this practically confirmed it. The twin goddesses had grown dissatisfied with Zeus and intended to raise up a new Greek King.
As for who that king was, everyone already knew.
Anyone familiar with Greek mythology reached almost the same conclusion.
The details differed from person to person. The outcome didn't.
Under Athena's secret machinations, with the support of the twin goddesses, Athena's "little brother" had finally been born.
The next King of the Gods had reincarnated into the outside world under the name Ryo Yagami, been summoned into Little Garden by Canaria, and ultimately become Arcadia's current leader.
Every clue suddenly fell into place. Everything finally made sense.
Why had an ordinary human become a Four-Digit rule-breaker in such a short time? Because he had never been an ordinary human. He was a king born to rule the gods—the monarch prophesied to surpass Zeus himself.
Why had he possessed a physical body far stronger than others of the same rank while still only a Five-Digit? Because he was the Third Generation Greek Titan. The perfect fusion of wisdom and strength. The rightful bearer of the Another Cosmology. Athena's own younger brother.
As for the conflict between Ryo and Zeus? Please. Was that even worth calling a conflict! The next King of the Gods challenging the current one was practically Greek tradition.
In an instant, the way everyone looked at Zeus changed.
There was genuine pity in their eyes now.
The backing of the twin goddesses. Shiroyasha's favor. Algol's wholehearted support. A prophecy that foretold his inevitable downfall. And a successor who had already grown into a Four-Digit rule-breaker powerhouse.
On top of all that, Zeus had repeatedly gone after Ryo without realizing who he really was.
Sometimes ignorance really was bliss.
Dig too deeply into the truth, and you might discover that your appointed day of death is tomorrow.
Seriously, what exactly had Zeus been trying to accomplish? Did he just want to die sooner?
He would have been better off doing nothing. At least then he might have clung to the throne for a few more years. Maybe he could even have stepped down gracefully.
But now? Things had escalated so badly that there was no easy way out.
Still, if the Fourth King of the Greek Gods was truly about to appear—And if he really would surpass Zeus—Then perhaps everyone else ought to start preparing as well.
"..."
Zeus ignored the sympathetic gazes around him. Or rather, he simply didn't have the time to care.
Lightning flickered within his eyes as his gaze pierced toward the Lower Layers.
Athena noticed exactly what he was doing. But she made no attempt to stop him.
Instead, she calmly sipped her warm tea.
...
..
Arcadia Headquarters, the pavilion overlooking the reservoir—
Ryo suddenly sensed someone's gaze descending from the sky.
He frowned and instinctively raised a hand to erase it.
Before he could, Athena (real body) reached over, caught his wrist, and casually took another sip of wine. "No need. Let him look."
She paused before curling her lips into a cold smile, "Let's scare him to death."
Ryo instantly understood.
He quietly sent Algol a message, asking her to conceal anything that shouldn't be seen.
In the next instant, Zeus's previously crystal-clear vision became hazy.
He hesitated. Realizing he wouldn't be able to learn anything useful, he prepared to withdraw.
Then, within the blurred landscape, one location suddenly came into perfect focus.
It was a schoolhouse built in the mountains behind Arcadia.
Inside the classroom sat numerous women whose faces, appearances, even figures were strangely obscured. Each listened attentively to the lecture.
Under normal circumstances, Zeus would have investigated who they were.
But today, his attention never left the woman standing at the front.
She had short silver hair. A knitted winter coat. A fluffy cat-eared hat. A silver-haired girl.
On her body, Zeus saw the radiance of Spirit Rank.
He saw a Spirit Rank that was both familiar... and unfamiliar.
It was Metis's Spirit Rank.
In the upper layers, Zeus's face instantly turned deathly pale. It was as if he'd just seen a ghost.
Countless possibilities flashed through his mind. One conclusion after another.
Until finally, he understood.
The Fourth King of the Greek Gods... might truly have been born. And that person was Ryo Yagami.
Zeus's face drained of color before slowly turning livid.
When he looked at Athena again, the murderous intent in his eyes had been replaced entirely by caution.
"What an impressive scheme... A truly impressive scheme."
Metis's Spirit Rank had only disappeared a month ago. But Ryo had appeared long before that.
There was only one explanation Zeus could think of.
The Spirit Rank had been switched out long ago. He had merely discovered the disappearance a month earlier.
If that were true, then Ryo's "identity" was obvious.
After uttering those wary words, Zeus's figure flickered. He vanished from the hall.
It wasn't that he hadn't considered continuing to cooperate with Amun-Ra and forcing Ryo to demonstrate the Another Cosmology's powers.
But after thinking it through, he gave up.
Within this hall, any pantheon had the right to veto decisions affecting its own internal affairs.
If Athena, speaking for Greece, raised an objection, and at least half of the Greek chief gods rejected the order, then Ryo could refuse to comply with complete legitimacy.
And Zeus knew his own situation better than anyone. Within the Greek pantheon, there were far more than half the chief gods who would gladly seize any chance to make life difficult for him.
Since the plan was impossible, there was no point pursuing it.
Before Hades, Poseidon, Apollo, and the others learned what had happened, he needed to return immediately, prepare for the worst, and fortify Mount Olympus.
The Third King of the Gods wasn't dead yet. If the Fourth wanted the throne... he'd have to pry it from Zeus's hands.
_ _ _
Indra grinned, looking thoroughly entertained, "Looks like Zeus has abandoned his proposal. In that case, regarding Ryo Yagami... I propose that he no longer be subject to the regulations governing humans. Instead, he should fall under the restrictions applied to Star Spirits. Any objections?"
"I have none."
"Agreed."
"So be it."
"I have no objections either."
"..."
Meanwhile, Amun-Ra seriously weighed his options.
Should he keep making an enemy of Ryo... or let Zeus deal with his own problems?
After a moment's thought, he made his choice, "I have no objections."
It would be unprecedented for a human to be treated under the Star Spirit regulations during a large-scale Gift Game.
But compared to the revelation that the Fourth King of the Greek Gods might have appeared... that was hardly worth mentioning.
The proposal passed with overwhelming support.
The matter was settled. And Ryo was declared innocent.
However, from that day onward, whenever he participated in a restricted large-scale Gift Game, he would be governed by the same limitations placed upon Star Spirits.
The rule was formally added to Little Garden's Central System as a supplementary regulation.
The case was closed. The gods dispersed.
Some departed immediately. Others gathered in small groups to gossip.
Athena's avatar also rose to leave. But before she could walk out of the hall, someone stepped into her path.
Looking at the Star Spirit before her—Dressed in a purple kimono and holding a black folding fan—Athena's expression grew noticeably unnatural.
.
.
.