Chapter 101: The Ten Rings from His Past Life?
The other universe they were targeting was, of course, not his small cosmos, but a complete world.
As for intelligence about that universe, there wasn't much available yet.
First, they weren't directly sending their own people to infiltrate that universe.
Instead, they had created other gods from another world—deities that appeared to have no connection to Earth's mythology.
These gods were infiltrating that world, stirring up its situation, creating chaos, and making it vulnerable to exploitation.
Interestingly, the other side was also an Earth-like world, a parallel universe.
Moreover, that world wasn't entirely ordinary, just like his original world hadn't been.
If it were truly ordinary, why would they wait? They'd just invade and take over.
Clearly, there existed forces there that demanded their caution.
And those forces were also gods.
That world seemed to have a mythological system quite similar to this one.
According to the intelligence, the greatest obstacle—the strongest god—had already perished in a war among the three major factions there.
The origin of this fallen god also surprised Renji.
Because in this world, another god of the same name could be considered his enemy.
Thus, more intelligence was needed.
They had to understand the extent of the other side's infiltration into that world—lest they stumble into a trap.
What if their target wasn't a delicious lamb, but a wolf in sheep's clothing?
One misstep, and they might provoke a counter-invasion.
So, how could he gather more intelligence about that world?
In other words, three consecutive defeats had cast an especially heavy atmosphere over the divine faction.
"Boom!"
The loud noise startled Ares, and he turned to see the source—Shiva, who had nearly shattered the table with his slam.
"Zeus, I'm going down for the fourth match!"
Shiva could no longer contain himself.
Not only was there the humiliation of three straight losses, but his own bloodlust was boiling to the point of being uncontrollable.
This time, anyone who dared to take his chance to fight—
Well, let strength decide.
The winner takes the field; the loser stays in the stands.
"I have no objections,"
Zeus shrugged in response, not opposing the idea.
Judging by his expression, he was actually in a similar state as Shiva—he, too, was itching to fight.
The boiling blood was burning so fiercely that he was nearly losing control.
"Odin, you don't have any objections either, do you?"
Shiva also twisted his lips slightly as he looked at Odin, who had snatched his chance to step forward earlier.
This guy really had some nerve. In the second round, he recommended Beelzebub, who ended up causing such a mess.
And then in the third round, he was outsmarted and exploited by the humans, leading to the opening of the Demon's Eye [Sealed Land] in the Demon Star, allowing those extremely dangerous beings to escape.
So, naturally, many gods suspected Odin was deliberately stirring up trouble.
Just because Thor was killed, this guy was now seeking revenge against humanity, which led to the incidents in both the second and third rounds.
After all, the beings released would also wreak havoc on the humans.
"Hmm, no objections, then? So the fourth round will be—"
"I."
"Huh?"
Who had the audacity to step forward and challenge him?
Shiva, wearing an utterly terrifying expression, turned his gaze toward the source of the voice—Hades, the God of the Underworld.
"What did you just say? I didn't hear it clearly. Say it again."
Shiva spoke with a smile, but his body radiated an overwhelming aura that made the other standing gods—aside from the seated chief gods—break out in cold sweat.
"The fourth round—I will take it."
Hades responded with a faint smile, locking eyes with Shiva.
At the same time, his own oppressive aura surged forth.
In an instant, the very air seemed to scream, and the entire space trembled.
Crack—crack, crack, crack.
The table, unable to withstand the clash of their auras, began emitting ominous sounds.
In the blink of an eye, it was covered in fissures before suddenly shattering into pieces.
"Then let's fight. Winner takes the round?"
As he spoke, Shiva clenched his fist, knuckles cracking ominously.
"I have no objections."
Hades rose to his feet in response.
"Uh, please, Lord Hades, let's not do this..."
Ares, his subordinate, stepped forward to mediate.
If this were the first round, Ares wouldn't have cared and wouldn't have intervened.
In his eyes, Lord Hades would undoubtedly win.
Even if he got injured and had to withdraw, the humans could be wiped out with just a breath.
But now, it was already the fourth round. The gods had lost three times in a row, and the humans from those rounds were particularly troublesome.
"What do you mean? Are you suggesting I should back down and let him have it?"
Ares stiffened at those words, sensing danger from the slight glance Hades cast his way.
If he misspoke again, his life might be at stake.
"N-No, of course not!"
"Then shut up!"
"Yes!"
Like a soldier sharply commanded by his superior, Ares responded loudly and stood at attention.
Hmm?
Suddenly, another person stood up, causing Ares to break out in a cold sweat.
The newly risen figure was Odin, the chief god of Norse mythology.
No way, was he also competing for the fourth round?
As he stood, Lord Hades and Shiva both cast dangerous glances his way.
However, Odin said nothing at all and simply turned to leave.
In the blink of an eye, Odin returned to his private resting chamber.
"Don't—!"
Just as he raised his hand, a panicked voice rang out, and a figure emerged from the shadows.
"My master wishes to speak with you."
So Odin remained silent as the other produced a panel, which lit up to reveal a figure seated at the far end of the divine hall, obscured by the light.
The other spoke of how interesting and thrilling the third round had been, questioning whether it was his handiwork.
Finally, they got to the real purpose—prompting the traitor before him to hand over a box.
"You, who are particularly skilled in researching divine artifacts—if possible, we'd like you to examine this."
"What is it?"
Odin frowned slightly at the contents of the box—ten rings?
"These are a special divine artifact from a certain pantheon."
A certain pantheon? And ten rings?
That pantheon, surely. And these ten rings—could they really be his?
Could it be that the ten rings he left behind in life had actually been found by them?