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Mount Olympus—
Within a hidden dimensional space near Athens, Greece. Except the second-generation Hades, who remained in the Underworld, all twelve Olympian Gods had gathered in emergency session atop Olympus.
Inside Zeus's temple at the summit, the king of the gods sat on his throne, listening to the incoming reports with growing irritation.
"The devil territories across Europe have mobilized and are attacking our strongholds throughout the continent."
"We received a final transmission from the Swedish headquarters. Beelzebub's army has already wiped everyone out there."
"The Church in Britain has deployed its Exorcists squad. The wielder of the Longinus Zenith Tempest is currently purging our bases."
"Our Paris branch has been attacked by the Fallen Angels. It was an operation led by the Grigori, and reports say the White Dragon Emperor has appeared there as well."
One grim report followed another.
Seated on his throne, Zeus frowned deeply.
"The Angels, Devils, and Fallen Angels only just formed their alliance, and now they're already launching attacks against Greece? What exactly is going on?"
"According to the Devils," someone answered, "Lord Erebus attacked Satan Beelzebub's castle, severely injuring Sirzechs and killing several members of the Devil Council."
Apollo, the handsome young god with brilliant golden hair, let out a mocking laugh. "If Erebus were really capable of something like that, we wouldn't have swallowed our anger centuries ago when Hades was captured by the Devils."
"Now isn't the time to argue about that," Poseidon said coldly. The blue-haired god's wavy hair framed an expression as dark as the sea itself. "The three factions have declared total war on us. Every one of our bases in the human world is under attack. Whether we fight or negotiate, we need to make a decision now."
"Then fight." Ares snorted dismissively. "Why waste time talking?"
"Typical brute," Athena shot back from across the hall.
"You little—!"
Ares rolled up his sleeves, looking ready to charge at her.
"Enough!" Zeus's cold roar silenced the entire temple.
The Twelve Olympians immediately fell quiet.
Zeus swept a sharp gaze across the room before speaking in a grave tone, "We are going to war. That much is certain."
"After all, without any results on the battlefield, peace talks are meaningless. The real question is this: how do we fight, and who do we strike first?"
The gods fell silent for a moment.
Then they answered in unison, "The Fallen Angels."
Zeus nodded slightly and rose to his feet.
"Exactly. We target the weakest faction first. We hit the Fallen Angels with everything we have and force their losses high enough. I refuse to believe the three factions are truly united."
Just as Zeus reached his conclusion, a surprised voice suddenly echoed through the hall. "Well, looks like I arrived at exactly the right moment as Governor-General of the Fallen Angels."
Zeus's expression changed instantly.
He leaped away from his throne without hesitation.
BOOM!
The massive dome overhead exploded apart.
Stone fragments and violent winds swept through the temple as a figure crashed down directly onto Zeus's throne.
The Olympian gods bent low against the impact, smashing aside falling debris. Once the storm settled, they looked up.
A stranger now sat casually on Zeus's throne. Dressed in relaxed modern clothes.
The young man crossed one leg over the other and leaned back lazily, "I've wanted to sit here for a long time. Honestly? It's pretty overrated."
Athena frowned the moment she saw the king's seat occupied.
"Who are you?" she demanded coldly.
Ryo glanced down at her, sensing the aura surrounding her. A strange expression crossed his face.
"Athena, huh…" He smiled faintly. "For some reason, I seem to have a lot of history with that name."
Athena's brows tightened.
At that moment, Zeus stepped forward and spoke in a chilling voice, "You're the new Governor-General of the Fallen Angels from the intelligence reports? I never expected someone of your status to recklessly charge in here alone."
A single man had invaded Mount Olympus.
He had walked directly into the gathering place of the Twelve Olympians without even bringing subordinates.
For an enemy commander to throw himself alone into hostile territory was beyond reckless.
But to Zeus, this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
"No need to talk about honor," Zeus ordered as the Thunderbolt appeared in his hand, crackling with purple lightning. "Attack together. Capture him first."
The instant the order was given, every god drew their divine weapon and unleashed their strongest attacks without restraint.
Watching the flood of multicolored energy blasts rushing toward him, Ryo yawned.
"What is this? Do people here only know how to spam energy attacks?" He muttered under his breath before slowly raising his head.
His eyes narrowed.
"Freeze."
The moment the word fell, a monstrous humanoid bird carrying an azure water jar appeared above him. An overwhelming wave of absolute cold gathered in an instant.
Then it crashed down.
In a single heartbeat, frost spread across the ancient white palace. Forests, temples, and towering structures were swallowed by blue crystal ice.
A shining layer of frozen azure sealed the entirety of Mount Olympus.
Ryo casually dusted frost from the throne's icy armrest before standing.
Looking down at the toppled frozen figures below, he slowly walked over to Athena's ice-covered form and gently brushed a hand across her frozen cheek.
Then he chuckled. "As a Saint, I'm probably the first person ever to keep attacking Athena this often."
Inside the crystal ice, Athena's eyes trembled with unmistakable fear.
The other Olympians surrounding her looked no better.
In only an instant, Ryo had frozen the entire mountain.
Eleven chief gods had been turned into living ice statues without suffering so much as a fatal injury.
That monstrous level of control left every god speechless.
Only now did they finally understand why Ryo had dared storm Olympus alone.
"I'd like to spare your lives," Ryo said with a sigh, "but honestly, if another Athena shows up because of this, two others are probably going to give me hell later. So let's not risk it."
He shook his head, sent the coordinates to Ajuka so someone could deal with the frozen Olympians, and walked deeper into the palace without another glance.
Following the frozen corridors, he eventually reached the heart of Mount Olympus.
There, suspended in ice, was a gigantic sphere covered in countless eyes and black tentacles.
Beside it stood a young blonde girl with wavy hair, frozen just as she had risen to her feet.
"The Primordial God of the Abyss, Tartarus… and Chronos, the Primordial God of Time. Add Eros, the Primordial God of Love from above, who's with Aphrodite…"
Ryo's smile widened with delight.
"So these are the Spirit Ranks of the Five Primordial Gods?"
His grin grew broader.
"Looks like I've found one hell of a treasure."
...
..
On the frozen slopes of Mount Olympus.
A man with light blue hair drifting unnaturally upward stepped through a spatial spell and arrived at the mountain.
The moment he saw the ice-covered landscape, he froze in shock.
"What the hell happened here? Why does Olympus look like this?"
The Norse trickster god Loki stared blankly at the frozen divine mountain.
.
.
.