With the divine armies of Greece, Rome, Mesopotamia, and Scandinavia arriving from four directions, the Angelic Legion that had poured into the skies above the Peloponnesian Peninsula was wiped out.
Because their connection to Heaven had been severed, they could no longer flow back to the Holy Pool and reshape their bodies. Many broke apart into scattered spirit particles and vanished between heaven and earth.
For a time, the fierce counterattack pushed the front line back to the Sea of Oceanus. The Angelic Legion's invasion had been successfully contained, and the tense situation eased for the moment.
At that moment, after a brief rest, Samael finally broke through the restraints inside his body.
And because the Spirit of the Planet had risen to the surface, the Ether originally gathered within the planet also surged forth. The world returned to the Age of Gods, and the restrictions were completely shattered.
The successive descents of the gods were the best proof of that.
The Ancient Serpent's vertical pupils opened and closed. With each rhythmic breath, the blood and vital force in his body surged like a tide. Every muscle and every drop of blood frantically drew in the surrounding spirit particles, forming visible Ether cyclones around him and drawing sidelong glances from many on both sides of the battle.
Among them, even Zeus and Odin's pupils contracted slightly, and a trace of shock formed in their hearts.
Snakes were creatures exceptionally skilled at swallowing and feeding. This particular individual was an existence fused from the divine serpents of many mythological lineages, and almost every one of them possessed the ability to devour all things and replenish itself.
Because of that, Samael recovered at astonishing speed. His rising divine might pulsed like thunder, and before long, he had returned to his former peak.
In theory, the strongest being in a pantheon was its current God King. And since an Age of Gods could contain multiple pantheon branches, multiple God Kings could exist within the same era.
For that reason, the gap between one God King and another could be enormous.
Above God Kings were the creation-level gods spanning entire Ages of Gods. They often possessed the power to sustain a whole Age of Gods and controlled complete divine realms, which was why they were also called [Gods of Nation-Building].
Most God Kings walked the path of expanding their divine realms, stabilizing their foundations, and tracing their origins, allowing themselves to inherit more perfectly and strengthen themselves continuously. Some God Kings blessed by destiny had already reached the summit attainable by creation gods.
Zeus, Odin, and Kukulkan were roughly in that state.
At the same time, that was also the basic ranking of their strength.
Zeus inherited the authority of the Sky Father Uranus, mastered the four Divinities of earth, sea, sky, and abyss, and was favored by fate. Later, through the expansion and influence of the Roman Empire, his foundation became vast. In theory, he was the strongest of the three.
Odin sacrificed himself to the World Tree and gained the authority to rule the Nine Worlds. Ragnarok, which would shatter his foundation, had not yet arrived, and the later Irish and Celtic systems were also heavily influenced by him. Because of that, his strength ranked second.
Kukulkan controlled one of the Maya solar eras. Unfortunately, her age had already passed and her realm had been destroyed. Though she was the future king of the Maya and possessed astonishing combat power, she was still slightly weaker than the two above.
As for a certain bad thing, sorry, but he was stronger than all three of them.
Samael, the Serpent of Eden. Jormungandr, the World Serpent. Ouroboros, the Ouroboros. Apophis, the World-Destroying Serpent. Ophion, the Primordial Serpent...
Serpents lurked in shadow, encircled the world, and stood opposed to light. But wherever light existed, darkness existed as well. The stronger the light, the more terrifying the darkness needed to be in order to contrast it.
As the aggregate of those long serpents, Samael influenced several Ages of Gods. Even if he would never become a bright, mainstream figure in mythology, there was no doubt that he was powerful.
However, time had been short. Compared to the War of the Giants back then, he was only a little stronger.
At that level, he could manage against a fifth-tier Velber. A sixth-tier one would already be a stretch.
As for the seventh tier, forget it. If he charged in alone, he would be served up on a plate.
After all, a fully developed sixth-tier Velber possessed the power to crush multiple Ages of Gods.
And a seventh-tier Velber could reforge the stars and recreate the entire Earth.
That level was often called a [God of Star-Making].
Restricted by Earth's Ether concentration and the binding of its laws, Velber could only reach the seventh tier after landing.
Likewise, the newborn Star Spirit Gaia, who controlled the planet's Greater Source and guided the course of the stars, was also at the seventh tier.
But being able to score one hundred points and being capped by a test whose maximum score was one hundred were two completely different things.
Just as there were differences between God Kings, there were also differences between [Gods of Star-Making].
As a predatory Harvest Star that reaped civilizations, the number of planetary civilizations that had fallen to Velber's claws probably could not be counted on two hands.
Before the world's laws and the planet's Greater Source were eroded on a large scale, Gaia could still rely on her home-field advantage to barely stand against Velber.
But once the hollowing of the World Wall worsened, or once Velber gathered enough spirit particles, Gaia would lose without question.
Who knew whether that thing, once it had eaten its fill, would completely tear apart the fragile World Wall and evolve into the legendary eighth-tier or ninth-tier Velber?
So, to deal with it, the old rule still applied. Before Earth fell completely, they had to launch a righteous group beating.
As Samael thought it through, his snake eyes narrowed. He cast a malicious look toward the towering white colossus standing upon the Sea of Oceanus, then beat his wings and rose, joining the battlefield while covering the [Hanging Gardens of Babylon], the mobile fortress charging at the front.
The Ancient Serpent slashed and thrust with the flaming demon sword in his hand, raising pillars of fire that burned the angels blocking his path to ash.
Before long, relying on his formidable combat power and the artillery support of the Hanging Gardens, the deep-sea fleet, and the Scandinavian Ghost Ships, he forcibly carved through two-thirds of the Angelic Legion's depth and reunited with his old companions.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
On the battlefield, Samael shifted his body, turning the flaming demon sword and cutting down dozens of arrows of light that shot toward Athena's back.
Athena thrust the Spear of Victory diagonally forward, shattering a wheel-shaped Throne covered in eyes and engraved with runes. After a thousand years apart, the reunited father and daughter completed their coordination with perfect tacit understanding.
"Dad, you're back?"
"Mm..."
The two did not say much. They simply looked at each other and smiled. Athena's eyes were unusually bright, and her lovely face seemed to shine with a faint radiance.
"It's good to have you back..."
A soft whisper came from the side. The Goddess of Justice, who had come from Athens as reinforcement, smiled with her lips gently pursed.
Samael nodded solemnly. His vertical pupils swept around him, passing over one familiar face after another.
Ere, Ishtar, Gilgamesh, and Enkidu of Mesopotamia...
Quetzalcoatl and the Jaguar of the Maya...
Ana of the Areopagus, Teacher Horse Chiron, Prometheus the Prophet, Echidna the Mother of Serpents, and the offspring of Typhon...
Everyone was here.
Time had left few marks upon the Divine Spirits.
In that hazy moment, everything felt as if it had happened only yesterday.
Joyful, excited, teasing, relaxed, and bewildered gazes met one another, each carrying countless emotions.
And all of it went without saying.
Hiss! Hiss!
Immediately after, thunder and rainbow light arrived one after another. Zeus, the God King, and Odin, the Great God, each led the Roman and Scandinavian gods as they gathered here.
Zeus was still exactly the same. Their gazes flickered as they faced one another, looking friendly on the surface while both were clearly calculating how to subdue the other after the battle.
As for Odin, although he was actually the youngest in age, his sacrifice to the World Tree had drained him heavily and cost him one eye. His long white beard hung down to his chest, making him look like an old man in his twilight years.
Compared to the other two, one a young man and the other a handsome middle-aged man, he looked somewhat out of place.
Still, as a God King of foresight and wisdom, his presence remained deep and unfathomable. He wore an eagle helm, golden armor, and the Dýr-dýr golden ring on his hand.
The two black ravens on his shoulders stared solemnly around them with bead-like eyes, letting out restless, low cries.
"So this is the Ragnarok you spoke of..."
Odin tightened his grip on the Spear of Eternity and gazed toward the white colossus above the sea. Interwoven Runes reflected in his single eye, and his gaze grew darker and deeper as his voice lowered.
In a world of the blind, the one-eyed man was king.
Among the Scandinavian gods, where battle madness and arrogance prevailed, this Main God of the Aesir was a rare wise man and naturally had extraordinary insight.
From this monster, he saw destruction and death.
The white colossus before him still carried the smell of blood and fire, with countless wails tangled around it.
That power and terror chilled even Odin, filling him with an indescribable shudder.
"The Egyptian gods have already fallen. We'll be next. Any single Age of Gods trying to face this thing alone is simply marching to its death. Now that the Spirit of the Planet has awakened, if we join forces, we may still have a chance."
Samael spoke frankly. The gods nodded together, already having reached their answer, their gazes cold and firm.
"It's starting! It's starting!"
At that moment, Ishtar looked at the glittering luminous beings in the sky and at the gorgeous colors beyond the half-open Gates of Heaven. She rubbed her hands excitedly, her eyes full of ill intent.
"Unit Two, launch!"
Then the Great Goddess of Uruk, her cheeks flushed, threw the four-legged Divine Beast with gold-and-black stripes in her hand at the angels without hesitation.
Seeing the miniature unidentified flying object leave formation and come smashing through the air, the angels instinctively hurled spears of light, swung their swords and shields, and focused a dense barrage of energy beams on it.
"Awooo!"
Forced to become a meat shield and vanguard, the Bull of Heaven had tears in its tiger-like eyes as it let out a miserable scream. At the same time, the violent Ether gathering there poured into the body of this top-class Divine Beast.
Boom!
The next instant, the Bull of Heaven swelled wildly like an irritated pufferfish. The palm-sized little thing instantly became a massive beast over a hundred meters tall, and gold-blue lightning flickered around it, lashing violently in every direction.
Azure Thunder, Heavenly Echo Shrine, Gugala Inanna!
As the True Name of the Noble Phantasm was released, layers of thunderstorms exploded across dozens of li. Angels that rushed forward were burned into charcoal one after another and fell from the sky.
Like a swarm of bees, the angels gathered again and attacked, swinging blades and swords at the divine bull that had descended from the heavens.
Amid a string of metallic clangs, layers of white marks appeared on the Bull of Heaven's hide. The intense vibrations drove straight into its organs, making the materialized Divine Beast howl endlessly as it charged wildly through the Angelic Legion's formation.
"Roar!"
In its grief and fury, thunderstorm and gale swept together, throwing the Angelic Legion's newly reorganized battle line into chaos.
"Nice work, Gugalanna! Now, Maanna, let's show them our full power!"
"I'm counting on you, Meslamtaea!"
"Do you know what it feels like to be stuck in the Inner Sea of the Planet every single day, you bastards?"
"And there's the grudge for destroying the Underworld! The Garden I worked so hard to create!"
"Even if you offered up all the treasure in the world, this goddess still wouldn't forgive you!"
"All of you, reflect on what you've done!"
Immediately after, a certain shameless animal-abusing owner and a certain blonde goddess still brooding over the destruction of her homeland gritted their teeth and drove their divine might forward. Meteors from the sky and countless stone spears fired from the ocean trench crushed thousands of angels in range into a pulp.
The people of Mesopotamia watched the twin goddesses advance side by side, charging out ahead of the formation. They were shouting about making the enemy reflect, but their hands kept unleashing major attacks one after another, their faces flushed with excitement even as they gnashed their teeth. Everyone's cheeks twitched slightly.
Looks like those two women had gone mad again...
"Lord, grace is upon us!"
Thrones, Seraphim, Cherubim, and the other angels of the upper three orders surged out from the Gates of Heaven, chanting divine words as they reformed their formation.
"Light of thunder, thunder of destruction. Mjollnir!"
"Heaven, split apart. Stars, shatter. All that lies in the sky belongs to me. All that rules the stars belongs to me! I am the thunder that tears apart the stars!"
At the same time, two chariots raced side by side. Thor and Zeus, both gods of thunder, one hurled a short-handled giant hammer while the other raised the Rod of Judgment. Thunderclouds and storms filled the sky, and lightning fell as densely as a downpour. The angels dodged left and right, but they were soon destroyed by the wildly leaping arcs of thunder, reduced to spirit particles that flowed back toward the Gates of Heaven.
"Nice Meow-Meow Hammer, brother!"
A flippant round of applause came from the ship of bones. The handsome man standing on the deck looked at that might, nearly no weaker than the God King of Olympus, and grinned excitedly as he muttered.
Hearing those words, which created the absurd impression of a muscular hunk in a frilly dress, veins bulged on Thor's forehead and his face darkened. He nearly lost control and threw the hammer in his hand at his loose-tongued sworn brother.
To hell with Meow-Meow Hammer. How many times have I said it? It's Mjollnir!
The God of Thunder gloomily looked toward a certain someone, his expression unfriendly.
I may have come up with the pun, but I'm not the one who keeps saying it the loudest. Why are you looking at me?
The corner of Samael's mouth twitched, and he looked rather innocent.
Then, as if sensing something, Thor's gaze swept over the lame, scrawny goat in front of the chariot. A certain snake cleared his throat and turned his head away, while Holo, as an accomplice, very cunningly shrank aside to avoid this uncle's scrutiny.
Fine. He was their uncle.
Somehow, out of nowhere, they had dropped a whole generation. They were helpless about it too.
Who told that bastard Loki to do whatever nonsense came to mind, becoming sworn brothers with Odin and also sworn brothers with Thor?
But as a counterattack, Samael had also become sworn brothers with Odin. Normally, out of respect for their ally, the two treated each other as equals.
So Thor and Loki apparently had to call him uncle too.
In any case, this whole thing was a muddled mess. Everyone could only follow habit and use whatever relationship suited them.
Of course, reckless as Loki was, he still had the pride befitting a Main God.
And the reason Thor could stand out among Odin's children and become sworn brothers with this God of Trickery was naturally his absolute strength.
In truth, Thor was not only the God of Thunder but also a War God, with combat power second only to Odin in his omnipotent state.
There was even one legend in Scandinavian mythology.
Thor was the original Main God of the Scandinavian world. He presided over thunder, craftsmen, and war, and was worshiped by early warriors and artisans.
Later, however, with the rise of culture, Odin, the Main God of knowledge and the arts, replaced him and became the leader of the Scandinavian pantheon.
Moreover, if secret arts were set aside and only pure skill was compared, not even Odin was Thor's match.
That was why the Scandinavian Berserkers, who revered battle, held Thor in especially high regard.
If one wanted true respect from those battle maniacs of Scandinavia, strength had to do the talking.
As for Loki, sorry, but he had put all his skill points into transformation, trickery, and secret arts. During Ragnarok, all he could manage was to take Heimdall, the guardian god of the Bifrost Bridge, down with him. A complete waste of the giants' close-combat talent.
With that in mind, it was easy enough to understand why Loki could get along with someone like Thor.
There was no deeper reason. He was too weak himself, so he could use his brother's name to scare people.