Asgard Divine Realm, Valhalla.
Also known as the Hall of Heroes.
As Odin's residence and the place where he received other 'deities', Valhalla was naturally constructed with unparalleled extravagance. The forty-eight stone pillars supporting the palace were carved with intricate patterns and inlaid with numerous jewels.
Upon closer inspection, those intertwined patterns formed magnificent scenes, recounting the glorious moments of heroes who had once entered Valhalla.
On this day, pseudo-Legend powerhouses from the six great divine realms gathered in Valhalla to discuss the future development of the Tribe.
As for representatives from smaller ruins, they weren't even qualified to enter, having to wait in other palaces for the outcome to be announced to them.
Truth be told, these divine realms weren't united either, entangled in messy disputes with one another, yet they chose to unite in the face of powerful external threats.
After all, in this world, they were the outsiders, the invaders.
"Lawrence must die"
The first to speak was the pseudo-Legend representative from the Aztlan Divine Realm, named Tlazoltéotl, a healing goddess from South American legends, though her face now brimmed with ferocity.
Apart from the already fallen Heaven Divine Realm, the Aztlan Divine Realm had suffered the heaviest losses. The fallen pseudo-Legend was named Tonatiuh, the God of War of their pantheon, second only in strength to the legendary Quetzalcoatl.
"That's our collective consensus, no need to keep emphasising it."
Queen Hera cast a disdainful glance at Tlazoltéotl.
"Easier said than done. If Lawrence were so easy to kill, the Heaven Divine Realm wouldn't have been wiped out."
"What we need to discuss now is how to kill him."
"We could have several divine lords act together," suggested the representative from the Jannah Divine Realm. "My lord says that if Lord Odin, Lord Zeus, and Lord Dragon King are willing to intervene, he will lend his strength too."
"Four great Legends would surely be able to kill Lawrence."
"I agree," Tlazoltéotl hastily supported.
The silver dragon Vandros sneered, "Of course you'd agree. Quetzalcoatl isn't included in this operation. If any damage occurs, who could bear such risk?"
"Who among you doesn't understand the uniqueness of the Heaven Divine Realm? Even in that environment, Lawrence managed to slaughter all the angels. If he fights back desperately, he could at least take one with him, or even kill a Legend and retreat unscathed."
"Lord Odin." The silver dragon turned to Odin, who had remained silent at the head of the table. "My king's opinion is to temporarily endure, ensuring the strength of each divine realm isn't diminished. Wait until there are more Legends before striking with certainty."
"How long must we wait then?" grumbled the Jannah Divine Realm representative.
"Within half a year, I will certainly break through to Legend," Queen Hera declared proudly. The other pseudo-Legend representatives nodded silently.
They all carried divine bloodlines within them. The reason they hadn't broken through earlier was the world's rule restrictions.
Given enough time, becoming a Legend wasn't particularly difficult for them.
The true challenge lay in reaching Demigod status. Had they been direct descendants of deities, they would have faced no obstacles on the path to godhood, but their diluted divine bloodlines lacked that capacity.
"That's a reasonable suggestion." Odin nodded slowly. "I agree with Orynix's view - we should still proceed cautiously. Lawrence has many secrets, and I suspect he's still hiding certain trump cards, which is why he's being so brazen."
"I agree too."
"Same here."
"Since everyone feels this way, we'll wait a little longer then."
The other representatives all voiced their agreement. Six months or so was a timeframe they could afford to wait.
"However, the Tribe's appearance will certainly make him wary. We must find a way to stabilise Lawrence first." Odin raised another issue.
After a lengthy discussion, they finally settled on several plans.
With the results of this meeting, Vandros returned to Nibelung to report to the dragon king.
After listening, Orynix merely said, "Well done. You may go."
Only after Vandros left did Orynix reveal his worried expression.
What kind of situation was this... Was Lawrence really treating Legend beings like livestock?
...
Hogwarts, Wayne was making a deal with Dumbledore.
"Professor, this isn't cheap. If you take it, you'll have to work for me for fifty years."
The portraits of former Headmasters on the wall curiously opened their eyes, wanting to see what treasure could possibly be worth fifty years of Dumbledore's time.
On the table lay a teardrop-shaped sapphire gemstone. The Headmasters studied it for a long time but couldn't see anything special about it.
While such a large gemstone was valuable, it hardly seemed as extraordinary as Wayne claimed.
Unfortunately, they were dead. Only Dumbledore, sitting across the table, could clearly sense the energy contained within that gemstone - vast as an ocean, boundless and limitless.
"Wayne, what exactly is this?" Dumbledore asked with grave seriousness.
"Tear of the Goddess, a pure magical power crystal. It can be used to forge divine artefacts or integrated into one's own body with no side effects."
"It will rapidly enhance your magical power in a short time, reaching the minimum threshold for the Legend level."
"That means... as long as you consume it, you'll become pseudo-Legend. And once your comprehension meets the standard and your body evolves, you can become a true Legend."
Dumbledore's hand trembled slightly.
Where had Wayne found something so heaven-defying?
Answer: Bought for eight thousand mall points.
The reason Wayne was spending such a high price to boost old Dumbledore's power was that the Alliance lacked sufficient experts. They couldn't have him and Grace handling everything personally.
Grace, wanting to deal Slytherin a severe blow, preferred to remain out of the spotlight for now and had been improving the ancient magic collected by the angel tribe.
He himself needed to search for the core of the two Elemental Realms and had no time to put out fires everywhere.
So Wayne had set his sights on Dumbledore.
Both he and Grindelwald had sufficient foundation - appropriate forced growth wouldn't cause major problems.
"This is too precious, I can't accept it." Dumbledore instinctively wanted to refuse. "You should absorb it yourself, Wayne. That would give you more confidence against the gods of the divine realms."
"Professor, this thing is useless to me." Wayne sighed. "My magical power is essentially inexhaustible, and it surges dramatically every so often. It's already equivalent to more than fifty of you now."
Dumbledore's mouth twitched violently as he listened. If he weren't outmatched in combat, he would have thoroughly educated Wayne to respect his elders and the importance of humility.
But since he couldn't win a fight, he had no choice but to endure it.
"Then you could give it to Miss Granger and the others."
"I've already prepared their path; there's no need for you to worry," Wayne pushed the Tear of the Goddess forward. "The most suitable users for this are you and Grindelwald."
The Ascension Rite was the most appropriate growth path for Hermione and the others, but they were still too young, and their willpower wasn't firmly established yet - they needed more cultivation time.
"The Alliance still needs you both," Wayne once again used the greater good to pressure Dumbledore.
The boy's voice echoed in Dumbledore's ears like a demon's whisper, constantly tempting him toward the abyss: "Professor, breaking through to Legend can extend your lifespan. Ariana is now my little apprentice. If you don't succeed yourself, Ariana will be very lonely in the future."
"Think about your sister, then think about the poor students at the school. They need a strong Alliance; otherwise, who would dare come to Hogwarts to study?"
"You wouldn't want the school's thousand-year foundation to end during your leadership, would you?"
"Enough, enough," Dumbledore was sweating profusely as he grabbed the Tear of the Goddess. "I'll take it, alright?"
"You said fifty years. After fifty years, even if I die, I won't work for you anymore."
"Deal," Wayne revealed a bright smile. "Just channel your magical power into the Tear of the Goddess and guide the energy back into your body. Seven days should be enough for you to digest it. I have a task for you after seven days."
Dumbledore ran off with the Tear of the Goddess, afraid that if he stayed any longer, Wayne would suck the marrow from his bones.
Damn capitalists!
Two days later, Grindelwald also came by, exchanging sixty years and command over all his followers for a Tear of the Goddess.
When he left, the old man's face was just as dark as Dumbledore's had been.
He had risked his life to kill two four-winged angels, then used the angel corpses he took from Wayne to make his magical power even stronger. And now this kid suddenly produced such an overpowered treasure like the Tear of the Goddess.
If you had this thing, you should have said so earlier! He'd even written his will already.
Wayne paid no attention to their resentment, immediately heading to the Fire Elemental Plane to search for the plane's core.
The Dimensional Altar was quite considerate regarding transportation, always recording his departure coordinates so he would return to the exact same location, saving him considerable trouble.
Previously, Wayne had complained about the troublesome creatures in the Fire Elemental Plane, but after reading the books, he realised this was actually beneficial.
Elemental creatures were said to be immune to damage of their element type, but this wasn't entirely accurate.
When lower elemental creatures entered environments with higher elemental density, they would be assimilated by the environment. The creatures in the Fire Elemental Plane were too aggressive - Wayne only needed to use a taunting skill, and nearby creatures would swarm him like mad dogs, making it very convenient to verify whether he was heading in the right direction.
This time, he planned to push forward relentlessly, only returning to the main plane after locating the Fire Elemental Plane's core.
...
Two days later.
The Fire Elemental Plane had no cycle of sun and moon, nor any concept of day and night, but after being captured by the dimensional altar, his temporal anchor had synchronised with this plane.
Wayne had grown numb from killing over these past two days – magma hounds, three-headed snakes, rage imps, blazing invaders.
Fortunately, the monsters grew progressively stronger while their numbers dwindled; this area was now inhabited by elemental beings of lordly rank, each dominating vast territories.
Because elementals are inherently difficult to completely eradicate, Wayne had to apply himself seriously.
After flying several hundred miles further, Wayne's brow furrowed slightly as the external temperature abruptly surged, as if even the air had ignited, emitting a sizzling sound.
Pungent sulphuric gases hung in the air, blurring his vision.
Wayne reinforced his protective barrier, stirring a violent whirlwind around him that swiftly transformed into a fiery tornado.
A roar erupted from the depths of the distant magma sea. The previously calm magma suddenly boiled over, ejecting pillars of flame.
Within seconds, the ejected magma and fire elementals rapidly coalesced into a colossal figure.
Upon discerning its form, Wayne couldn't resist his inner monologue.
Bloody hell, is that Ragnaros?