Interstellar Mountainous City, Hall of the Machine Gods.
"Your Highness, we've searched all of Olympus and found no trace of those outsiders. Should we contact the Sea Temple of Atalanta and the ocean gods of Thetis Island to conduct a full-scale sweep and intensify the search?"
An Olympian royal guard, bracing a sword and shield, knelt before the throne as he reported and made his suggestion.
The core defensive structure of the [Giant God Ocean] consisted of three layers from outside to inside.
The Ten Kingdom Islands centered on the ocean gods of Thetis Island.
The Atalanta Continent led by the Sea God Temple.
And finally, the Interstellar Mountainous City with Olympus as its ultimate core.
The first two leaned more toward the old Greek god system, while the power of reform lay primarily in Olympus's hands.
However, the [True Machine Gods] within the Machine God Corridor served a different, irreplaceable purpose and could not be mobilized lightly. As a result, Olympus lacked commanders but not troops.
The river and ocean gods gathered on Thetis Island who had sworn allegiance, along with the Sea God Temple's personal guards who carried out the Sea Emperor's will, could make up for that shortfall quite effectively.
"Are you trying to get yourself killed?! Notifying them would be the same as telling Father right now that we've lost the sacrifice!"
"Fix it while there's still time. Otherwise… hmph. At worst, I'll lose my authority. You won't be nearly that lucky."
Triton, seated on the throne, let out a cold snort before sighing and easing his tone slightly.
"Enough. I'll transfer part of the authority of the [Chaos Terminal: Kaos] to you. As long as they're still somewhere in Olympus, we still have a chance to correct this before Father returns."
The Olympian guard trembled faintly at his words, lowered his head without daring to respond, then reached up to catch the magnetic card the merman prince tossed him and hurried off to carry out the order.
The [Chaos Terminal: Kaos] could indeed monitor Olympus and even the entire Giant God Ocean. The prerequisite, however, was that no higher authority intervened to alter or erase specific information.
Silence returned to the grand hall.
Triton propped his chin on one hand, idly turning a seashell in the fingers of his free hand. A softer light surfaced in his eyes as his thoughts surged like tides.
Three days remained before Father's return and the formal start of the plan. Hopefully, there was still time.
...
Meanwhile, in the Great Workshop.
With most of the arrangements settled, Samael sat on the steps, humming to himself as he scribbled and sketched on a stone slab.
"What's that?"
Atalanta knelt beside him, resting her chin in her hand as she looked at the markings with interest.
"The new name for this place," Samael said, finishing the last stroke. "The [God-Breaking Alliance Base]."
He tossed the stone aside and grinned as he handed it to his big sister to look over.
"God-Breaking Alliance… heroes joining forces here to shatter false gods? Is that the idea?"
Atalanta glanced at it and asked casually.
"More or less."
Having satisfied his sense of mischief, Samael answered lightly. Something about the scene before him gave him a strange feeling of timelines overlapping.
"There are about two hours left before the light-energy barrier resets during the day–night transition…"
"Relax. The Argo has clearance codes. As long as we get aboard, it won't be a problem. Besides, didn't Triton say Poseidon is tied up? He won't be back for at least three days. Even if something goes wrong, we'll have room to adjust."
"But to avoid dragging things out, let's keep it clean and do it in one go."
"You're really that confident Triton will stay on our side? According to that little girl, her brother doesn't exactly dote on her."
Atalanta glanced back at the mermaid princess, who was laughing and whispering with Chalk and little Medea. Pity welled up in her eyes, tinged with concern.
"If he truly didn't care, do you really think a greenhorn girl like her, raised from childhood as a sacrifice and lacking even basic self-defense, could casually slip past three layers of defense, dodge the Deep Sea Fleet's patrols, and wander all the way beyond the Storm Sea?"
"Uh…"
At that moment, the little mermaid, encouraged by applause from the two witches, puffed out her cherry-colored lips and flared her gills in a proud display, her eyes shining with an air of profound wisdom.
Seeing that, Atalanta cleared her throat, turned her gaze away, and found herself with nothing left to say.
"I think the festival's getting close. That prince clearly wanted the little girl to run off and never come back. Who knew she'd say she was just going out for a stroll, actually wander around a bit, and then walk straight back into the net."
At that thought, Samael couldn't help silently mocking the mermaid princess's worrying lack of common sense.
Still, with plenty of time left before their breakout, a bit of idle conversation to dispel his companions' doubts was necessary.
Of course, aside from psychological reassurance, there were… more physical ways to help relax.
In a shadowy corner, a clawed hand slid down Atalanta's shoulder, along her back and tailbone, before finally closing around that fluffy beast tail and gently stroking it.
The huntress shuddered as her cat tail was touched, like a cat startled by its owner's sudden grab. Her resistance lasted only a brief moment before fading away. Atalanta bit her lower lip, cheeks flushed a vivid red, clearly giving silent consent to the mischief.
Perhaps Atalanta's boldness in letting it go this far wasn't purely about emotional comfort either.
Just as the two figures in the darkness began to draw closer, a light cough came from around the corner.
Atalanta turned her head and froze when she saw who it was. Like a cat with its fur standing on end, guilt rushed over her. She jumped away in a panic, blurted out a flimsy excuse, and then hugged the wall as she hurried off, pretending to stay calm.
"So, what do you want with me?"
Samael rolled his eyes, his gaze tinged with grievance.
The Moon Goddess emerged gracefully from the darkness, dragging Orion along. The teasing smile she usually wore toward her followers vanished, her expression gradually turning grim.
"Who would've thought that before we got any news about Paradise Island, we'd end up uncovering the Atlantis my uncle spent so much effort building?"
"Isn't that just the traditional style of the God King's family?" Samael replied with a mocking smile. "Such harmony. Such brotherly affection."
His tone dripped with sarcasm, and beneath it lay barely concealed irritation.
They weren't idiots. Anyone could guess Poseidon's real reason for building Atlantis: after overthrowing Zeus's rule, he intended to smoothly replace the Olympian pantheon himself.
Just the names of the Ten Kingdom Islands and the Interstellar Mountainous City were enough to reveal his ambition to stand above all gods.
And the Olympus [True Machine Gods], modeled after the Twelve Olympians, were the most direct tools to make that ambition a reality.
Samael had gone to great lengths to hide his identity in order to dig up Zeus's hidden cards. Instead, by sheer accident, he'd unearthed the deep roots Poseidon had buried as a future ally.
Tch. As expected, every one of Zeus's three brothers was trouble.
Well, better to set off the bomb early and give War God Mountain a warning than to work with a tiger and have Poseidon bare his fangs later.
At least this haul wasn't a total loss.
After months of effort, realizing they'd been digging in the wrong direction and had accidentally dug up Poseidon instead of Zeus, Samael and Artemis exchanged bitter smiles.
What a mess.
Can you old monsters just settle down already and leave some chances for the younger generation? The Ancient Serpent grumbled inwardly, filled with righteous indignation.