Chapter 115: The Impact of Hades' Death
In the grand temple.
Watching the screen displaying the death of one of their most formidable enemies—one of the greatest obstacles to reclaiming their original world—their expressions grew solemn.
The assassin's strength surpassed their expectations.
Had they not used that divine artifact to expel him from this place without his knowledge earlier, who knew how many more of their people he might have slain?
And how fortunate this man was—summoned by the Akashic system, he escaped the void beyond the cosmos just before being annihilated.
Yet if he was truly judged as humanity's representative in battle, did that mean his identity as a human was beyond doubt?
What kind of monstrous human was this?
And how had he managed to kill Hades?
If he could slay such a powerful god of the underworld, it meant the vast majority present here could also be cut down.
This man would be an even more terrifying enemy than Hades.
Fortunately, such an enemy would not ally with the gods—both sides were already locked in a mortal struggle.
Now, with Hades—a figure of immense influence among the gods—dead, the gods' hatred and fury toward humanity would only grow, driving them further toward annihilation.
Just then, a piece of welcome news arrived.
"Adamant, the commander of the Niflheim garrison, has left his post."
"Reportedly, he stormed off toward the heavenly realm in a rage."
"This is truly good news."
Before their joy could settle, another piece of good news followed.
"What? Poseidon has also abandoned his post?"
"He must be seeking vengeance for his elder brother."
"This is excellent."
One piece of good news after another came in rapid succession.
These tidings, layered together, completely dispelled the gloom brought by the assassin.
No matter how powerful the assassin was, he remained an exceptional outlier—how much influence could he possibly wield?
The gods' forces were what truly demanded their attention.
Previously, with those guys guarding and supervising, the defenses were impenetrable. But now, infiltration has become much easier.
The Valkyrie sisters were heading toward the Akashic Records.
By now, that room had practically become their exclusive domain.
Along the way, not only was Göll being cautious, but even her elder sisters—the seventh sister Reginleif, the tenth sister Alvitr, and the eleventh sister Hlökk—were all tense.
They were fully alert, prepared at any moment for a potential attack.
After all, in this round, one of the most highly regarded gods—Hades—had actually lost and died!
This meant some gods might not be able to accept such an outcome. They might lose their rationality, lose control, and seek revenge by trying to kill them.
"Hey."
"Wahhh!"
"Eek!"
"Uwaaah!"
Göll, along with the tenth and eleventh sisters, screamed in fright.
Once they saw who it was, however, they immediately grew furious—because the one who had startled them was a god they somewhat trusted: Shiva.
"Lord Shiva~"
Brunhilde bowed respectfully.
"Honestly, I never expected you, little Brun, to dig up such an unexpectedly formidable human," Shiva said in a casual tone, munching on snacks as he spoke.
"But now that Hades is dead, you all need to be careful."
As he said this, his expression deliberately darkened.
"Some guys might not care about the rules of Ragnarök and could actually attack you."
"Huh? Really? Who? Lord Shiva?" Göll asked nervously.
"How should I know?"
Shiva shrugged and walked past Brunhilde.
"Oh, right!"
After a few steps, he suddenly stopped as if remembering something.
"Little Brun, this proposal of yours—Ragnarök—is it really just to prevent the end of humanity? There aren't any other ulterior motives, are there?"
Though his tone remained light and conversational, the weight of his words suddenly pressed down on Brunhilde like a mountain, nearly forcing her to her knees.
At that moment, the god before her—who also loved humanity—was staring at her with terrifying intensity.
"You... aren't an enemy, are you?"
That phrase sounded familiar.
Right—after the first round, Xiang Yu had asked her something similar, suspecting that her proposal for Ragnarök had another purpose.
Just as she parted her lips to respond—
"Mm, looking at that dumb expression of yours, I guess you're not an enemy after all."
"Phew, I thought you were really angry, Lord Shiva."
Göll patted her chest—this was the first time she had seen Shiva look so frightening.
"Sister?"
"Let's go."
Brunhilde said nothing more and continued toward the Akashic Records.
She was pondering the meaning behind Shiva's words, as well as why Xiang Yu had asked her that question back then.
Why did they suspect she had another agenda?
If this had been after the first round, she might not have understood.
But now, she had an inkling.
For example, the unexpected developments in the second and third rounds—it was clear that some terrifying force was pulling strings behind the scenes to achieve some goal.
Was it purely to throw the heavens into chaos?
Suddenly, the phone rang—a real, purely communication-purpose phone, not the Akashic Records terminal.
Looking at the caller ID, Brunhilde couldn't help but feel speechless. It was Shiva calling, and he hadn't even gone far yet.
Turning back, she saw him waving at her.
"Oh, I forgot one more thing. The blood drenching the Old Man of the Mountain belongs to the Titan race."
This message over the phone caused Brunhilde's pupils to dilate and contract violently.
"What? The Ti—"
The call ended abruptly, and Brunhilde immediately shut her mouth.
Hadn't the Titan race disappeared long ago?
They were said to be extinct. So where did the Old Man of the Mountain kill them?
Suddenly, Brunhilde recalled the historical footage from the Akashic Records earlier.
When those two gods were conversing, one mentioned the term ["Primordial"], causing the other to immediately cover their mouth in alarm.
Primordial?
Primordial Gods?
Only such a title could provoke such a reaction, as it was a forbidden term.
Now, she understood why Shiva had asked if she was an enemy.
Shiva must have sensed something too—that beneath the battle of Ragnarök, there lurked a terrifying shadow stirring. He likely suspected her of using Ragnarök to deplete the gods' top-tier forces.
As for humanity's abnormal strength, could it be the work of the Primordial Gods behind the scenes?
So, were the humans truly being aided by the Primordial Gods?
But that couldn't be right. If that were the case, Xiang Yu wouldn't have questioned her like that.
And the Old Man of the Mountain wouldn't have gone to slay the Titans.
Yet Xiang Yu's suspicions also revolved around her using Ragnarök to conceal some conspiracy, refusing to believe she was solely fighting to save humanity.
This shadow, this conspiracy—it was likely the return of the Primordial Gods' forces, long thought defeated and vanished.
This was very, very bad.