goyya 1044-1054

Goyya's Four Brain Hemispheres

Chapter 1044 Nourishment

AN: Thank you for waiting~ The final battle and the closure for this arc is growing closer~!

Amaterasu's children then looked downwards to see everyone's stunned expression and they were not disappointed. Soon, a look of arrogance crept onto their faces as they watched the other mortals kneeling on the ground.

'For a bunch of fakes, they sure know how to make a face.' Kisuke wanted to chuckle but stopped himself.

But what Amaterasu did next made everyone's mind blank as a blade of light suddenly extended from the tips of her fingers and swiped at one of her children's neck, severing it and sending it flying.

Though before everyone could react fully, the severed head suddenly suspended itself midair and as if tracing back time, it slowly floated back to the child's body and the wound on his neck healed. As fast as it was severed, it also reattached the same way.

"Geez... Amaterasu-sama. If you're going to do that, please at least give me a warning." Complained the child while touching his neck and turning his head sideways multiple times, "I'm still not very used to the feeling of dying."

Seeing this, Yoruichi sent a telepathic message to the group, [That's technically an undead, isn't it?]

[Correct.] Kisuke replied back, [If I were to compare it to something, they are technically similar to the revived Evil Dragons. The difference is, they don't own their souls anymore and are basically empty husks of the original.]

[They don't own their own souls?] Serafall asked.

[You'll understand it more if I say that's similar to Kokabiel's legion, right?]

Serafall thought back to the disgusting Fallen Angel and her face visibly curled, [...Really?]

[It's much worse than that since Amaterasu absorbed the souls and made them her own to serve as nourishment.] Kisuke's eyes then sharpened and a bit of his killing intent leaked out, [And from the looks of it, she wasn't alone.]

Amaterasu felt his killing intent and frowned but Chaos raised his hand in front of her to stop any action from her, "Go back and help the other areas first."

Amaterasu stared at the grinning Kisuke for a short while before summoning the Magic Circle that she came from, "Let's go."

Her children stopped gloating and followed Amaterasu through the Magic Circle. As soon as they disappeared, Chaos repeated his offer, "As you can see, even her children achieved eternal life. So this is the last time I'll be asking this, who wants to join me under my banner?"

There was still silence but unlike before there was much more activity with Deities trying to gauge each other.

Finally, hammering the final nail in the coffin, Chaos added with a deep and cunning smile, "By the way, those who can come are limited and not everyone will be granted my blessing. As for the rest? You'll be a hindrance to my empire, so..."

Chaos didn't even have to finish what he had to say for the others to understand what he was hinting. And just as he expected, one Goddess immediately stepped forward, "I can save my children, right? I'm going."

"Baduhenna..." Freya muttered her name, "If you didn't notice, those children... are not alive. They are just a husk of their original selves!"

The brown-haired Goddess turned to her and asked, "How can you be so sure? Didn't you see? They were saved! They are connected to their Deity! That's the highest form of Familia! We'll always be together!"

Freya saw the craze in her eyes and she was reminded that she was a Goddess of War, 'More than saving your children, you're more concerned about your power. As expected, with our Divine Avatars inaccessible, it'll be a lot easier to sway the many now that their actual lives are being threatened.'

Freya could only shake her head in disappointment and even the meeting they had before Chaos descended seemed to have been fruitless, 'Even with my warning, with her stepping out...'

And as she pictured, more and more Deities started coming out and expressing their intent to join Chaos.

"Everyone! Stop! Don't be fooled!" Odin shouted, "Your children won't be saved!"

But immediately after, he was refuted, "What are you talking about old man? Didn't you see? Those children became much closer to their Goddess! Not just granting them power relating to her, they were given immortality! If you joined father, you'll be forever with your beloved children!"

'Insanity!' Odin wanted to shout back but stopped when he saw the numerous eyes looking at him with hostility, "T-this is... impossible."

Loving their children or not, they all have different reasons to join Chaos and if it could be pinned on one thing, it's the stability of the winning side. They know Chaos' power and not just the impossibility of defeating him, they are powerless with Heaven's system still restricting them.

Not even half an hour later, the place became divided and the majority of the Deities accepted Chaos' offer. Zeus wanted to retaliate against these people but he could only retract the shield he was protecting them with. Even then, Chaos would just take back the pressure he is exerting on them and their children.

The children themselves have no idea what's happening as this is beyond the scope of their knowledge but many of them were excited at the prospect of eternal life and the power of a God, making them fully supportive of their Deities.

Chaos didn't wait anymore and transported everyone who agreed away, leaving only just more than ten of the Deities of the hundred that were present earlier, which made the previous noisy base barren, leaving only behind the disagreeing Deities, their children, and the left alone Xenos.

Chaos could remove these remaining people and the three old Gods got ready to risk their lives to save the remaining people here. But before he did, Chaos turned his attention back to the foreigners, "If you want to leave, I'm sorry but the contract only allows the host of the tiger. However, I appreciate your strength and ingenuity so I'm offering you one of the highest positions on my side."

Kisuke sneered at him and said, "And what? Kill us the moment we got closer? You, coward, didn't expect that we'd be able to defeat Tiamat and were planning to finish the job after we tire her. But we actually did it so we're a threat to you now. And more than so because we are inhabitants of the world you are eyeing."

Kisuke was just guessing but he hit the mark. But unlike what he's expecting, Chaos sees Serafall as a bigger threat than him because of her ability to seal and dominate the black mud. So when they let their guard down, he was actually planning to assassinate Serafall.

A vein popped on Chaos' head the moment Kisuke called him a coward and decided to reveal his real intentions, "Is that so? That's a shame. Death to you then."

Chaos' arm transformed into a giant black grotesque beast and lunged itself at Kisuke's group. But before it could approach, someone came out from one of the tents, "Not on my watch."

A dome of golden light was instantly erected that covered the whole base and the moment the Chaos' arm touched it, it was burned into nothingness.

Everyone turned to see who did this and saw Hestia, releasing a multi-colored light and fully displaying her Divinity, "This is my 'home' and you're not to step in it without my permission."

Chaos took back his arm and it returned to normal while clicking his tongue, "The Hearth, huh? An annoying thing came out."

Hestia's dome then slowly expanded, "If you still insist on intruding, then you'd have to go through my dead body."

Editors:

28th00: Ah, Hestia does have the bullshit that is effectively "Immovable Object", doesn't she?

Goyya's Four Brain Hemispheres

Chapter 1045 A Small Revenge

Chaos' face frowned for the first time. He didn't know how Hestia could use her Divine Powers but he knew that Kisuke had something to do with it. He looked around again at the remaining few Deities and thought that there might be another trap waiting for him like how they trapped Tiamat in an almost helpless situation despite possessing a strength that rivals him.

In addition to that, Hestia is the only Deity that he's wary of because of the nature of her powers, 'This shut-in could shut off the whole dimension if given enough fuel.' As much as he wanted to deal with Hestia now, he doesn't have enough time to break this barrier.

Soon enough, Chaos' smile returned to him, 'Oh well, they'll be a good practice partner for my army before they go on to do the real thing.'

Chaos then stood up from his throne and said, "Try to survive as long as possible and entertain me. If you're thinking of escaping, forget it. I already isolated this world from outside influence and the only way out is to kill me. Good luck."

He didn't wait for their reply and just silently disappeared along with the heavy aura he was pushing down everyone with and the throne he was sitting in.

Hestia sighed in relief but kept up the barrier while also slowly expanding it.

"Anything uncomfortable, Hestia-sama?" Kisuke appeared behind her and asked.

"Nothing. My power is working as intended and I don't feel anything wrong," Hestia turned around and smiled, "But enough about me. I'm prepared but the same couldn't be said for the others left behind."

Kisuke turned his head and saw the disgruntled Deities and their panicking children.

"Artemis will convince Zeus to let you take the lead," Hestia added.

Kisuke scratched his head and replied, "Well... It's not like they have any choice." He then started walking towards them. But before he could go far, Kisuke added, "Yoruichi will signal you when she needs to create a hole. Please open a path for her when the time comes."

"Leave it to me. And be careful."

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Yoruichi and Serafall gathered the remaining Deities into the largest tent while Riveria started pulling out snacks that originated from Earth. She thought that the strange snacks could take some of their minds off of what'd happened earlier, but it was mostly ignored and only a few tried it out but didn't say anything about it.

"What's with the long faces?" Kisuke finally entered and he still has this casual aura surrounding him, "Just be glad that we were able to get away."

"Get away to where? We're trapped here. The moment we leave this place, we'll be besieged from all sides." Astarte grimaced, "Just what's happening? And what of my children back in Dizara?"

Zeus, Ouranos, Odin, Loki, Freya, Hephaestus, Hermes, Takemikazuchi, Astarte, Demeter, Ganesha, Miach, and Kali. These were the only remaining Deities from the base. All of them still couldn't believe that it was only them who remained. They thought there would be a lot more who'd take their side but reality was a bitter pill.

Before Kisuke entered, he also saw their children in very low spirits and some of them are on the verge of panic attacks just remembering Chaos earlier.

"I don't know if this will comfort you or not, but I doubt they'll be eliminating everyone who disagreed with them. Some might have fallen but that's probably to set fear in everyone. It may be true that there are only limited spots, but only for now when Chaos' influence on the world and system is not yet adequate. Once he gains full control and gets what he wants from the Dungeon, I presume that he'll present this offer again." Kisuke explained while taking out some equipment to set up his personal computer.

"R-really?" Astarte asked with hopeful eyes.

"I'm not sure, but we're going to find that out right now." With a click of a button, multiple holographic screens and a keyboard lit up in front of him and he immediately started operating it. And just a few seconds later, various scenes were displayed and Astarte immediately recognized one of them, the Pandemonium.

Astarte perked up and looked at the constantly changing screen that shows the very familiar city. It was a dreary atmosphere and there was not a single soul on the streets. But soon enough, Kisuke's surveillance finally caught some people and it was on the underground network that connects the four cities of the Dizara Region, "They are imprisoned and some are injured, but very much alive."

Astarte stared at it for a while and saw the familiar faces of her children. Although very disgruntled, she sighed in relief when they saw them alive.

"It still doesn't change the situation we are in." Hermes added, "If we want to save the people who refused his offer, we have to get out of this place first and put up a fighting chance... Still... I can't believe we're the only ones remaining here."

Freya, who has been frowning all this time, muttered in a dark voice, "Unforgivable... Really unforgivable. To think they would agree on something like that? Just how afraid are they for their lives that they'll even sacrifice their children for power?"

"That's right." Loki also nodded with a dark expression, "Even I didn't think that some people that I trust would agree to that. The next time I see them, I'll be cutting their heads off myself."

And everyone was of the same opinion as Loki and killing intent began to fill the entire tent. But amidst all of these, Kisuke calmly pointed out, "Don't worry about your friends. Not everyone betrayed you. I arranged some of them to agree with Chaos' offer."

Stunned, everyone looked at him busy with his work with wide eyes, "Explain!" Loki raised her voice.

Kisuke didn't immediately give an answer and waited for a few seconds to wait for someone. And at the long fifteen seconds of heavy atmosphere where only his tapping fingers could be heard, someone else entered the tent, "Kisuke. I managed to create a strong connection but it won't last long. You have to do it now."

"...Artemis?" Ouranos uttered her name. Of course, with Hestia's appearance, she should have been around too, "Where have you been?"

They could feel the lingering Divine Power around her and could tell she just used it so they are wondering why they haven't felt anything until now.

"Laying the foundation for victory," Artemis answered vaguely.

"Alright~! I got the connection!" Kisuke excitedly voiced out and increased his fingers' tapping speed so that they could only see a blur, "...Initial analysis complete... Securing connection... Creating decoys... success. Initializing purge sequence..."

As he started muttering nonsense, everyone could only wait until he was done with his work.

"...Sending the codes... And done!"

The moment he hit the last button, Artemis' Divine Power erupted from her and spread out uncontrollably as if she was announcing her existence to the whole world.

And with this eruption of power, a coded message went out to the selected Deities before it was dispersed with a purge. At the end of it all, Kisuke chuckled while saying, "Good luck finding the traitors among you~."

Editors:

28th00: Oh boy! Chaos is gonna experience some fucking CHAOS!

Goyya's Four Brain Hemispheres

Chapter 1046 Counterattack par 1

"...What did you just do?" asked Loki while looking at the nonsensical scribbles on the screen and feeling the very turbulent explosion of Divine Power in the  distance.

"I asked Artemis-sama to secretly contact a few Deities and told them to agree with Chaos' terms if they want to help out going against him and securing the safety of their children," answered Kisuke while unceremoniously packing up.

"Wouldn't there be too many holes in that plan? You could be double-crossed too."

"Of course, I took that into account. After their mistake of showing us the result of their experiment a few years ago, I'd already gathered enough data to deal with their 'descent' in case that happens again."

Astarte recalled the incident seven years ago and asked, "You mean when the three idiots used their children's souls to summon their Divine Avatars down and bypass the system's laws?"

"Indeed. I thought that we might come across something like that again so I devised several methods to unlink the souls safely. And after my initial assessment of Amaterasu's soul earlier, I was able to modify it so that even if Chaos gives the Deities his blessing and fuses their souls, there's a way to safely store and isolate the souls of the mortals without fully fusing them with the Deity."

"That way, they'll be able to blend in among their ranks."

Still not convinced, Loki added, "Then again, someone could betray your trust and reveal everything to Chaos."

But in response, Kisuke just chuckled, "My~ Loki-sama. Do you really think I'd trust any of them? As I'd said, I have several methods and they're distributed at random. So even if someone reveals it and takes Chaos' side, they need to find all of the hundreds of methods. They might be just slight variations of each other, but a complete deciphering is needed for each of them.

"In the first place, I only did this to delay them and buy us some precious time and according to my conservative estimates, they would need around 3 years to weed out every traitor in their ranks. I think that's more than enough time for the three days we need to adjust ourselves and come up with a countermeasure for our current predicament."

Everyone, except for Yoruichi, Serafall, and Artemis who could only sigh, were stunned.

"...You made a confusion that's enough to last for 3 years just to give us 3 days of time to prepare?" Hermes asked in disbelief.

Kisuke finished packing up and added, "If I had more time, I would have given each and every Deities a different method but we were pressed for time so I could only do much. In the worst case, a failure or critical bug surfaces in my system and they take advantage of that, rendering my effort useless. So before that happens, let's go meet your children and start delegating resources and tasks. I have more things to buy us time but they are not as reliable as just confusing them, so let's hurry."

He then left the tent and Yoruichi, Serafall, and Artemis followed him closely. The war had just started so they had to do everything they could to gain even an inch of an advantage.

The Deities who were left were still stunned at the scale he was operating on and still believed that his act of buying time would fail.

"Aren't we in good hands?" Freya suddenly commented with a graceful smile on her face.

"I've always believed that we're already done for," Miach added, "But I have a feeling that making an enemy out of him is not any worse than going against Chaos."

"...What a coincidence. I'm having the same thoughts," commented Takemikazuchi.

Ouranos sighed while saying, "We're stuck between a rock and a hard place, huh..."

Contrary to him, Odin has a smile on his wrinkled face, "At least he doesn't give a malicious feeling like Chaos." He then looked at Loki before adding, "He kinda reminds me of someone."

Loki shuddered and immediately shook her head, "Don't compare me to him! I do things spontaneously and that guy is too systematic in that it feels like he has an answer to everything! He's scary!"

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In the now cleared-out space, everyone gathered with the Deities and Kisuke's group in front of them. It was obvious that everyone was still not in the right state of mind even after they were shielded from Chaos' pressure and Kisuke concluded that Chaos had the ability to induce insanity in those significantly weaker than him, 'I will need a countermeasure against that in case he has a stronger version of it.'

Kisuke and Yoruichi could attempt to use Kidou to heal them, but the damage that Chaos left was that of mind and their souls were almost entirely unaffected. They could calm their minds but it'd take far too much time and they didn't know if the problem wouldn't just resurface.

At this moment, Yoruichi tapped his shoulder and as he looked over, she saw her pointing at Freya, causing something to click inside Kisuke's head, "...I can't believe I forgot about that..."

"You're tired." Yoruichi simply commented and she was correct.

Although Kisuke looked just fine, he had been working nonstop on top of fighting Tiamat. Although he had been very careful, it was inevitable that some things would miss him after straining himself so much, "You're resting after this. I won't take no for an answer."

Kisuke sighed and listened to Yoruichi while taking out a golden orb from his sleeve. He also knew that his head wouldn't be in a good state if he had forgotten something so simple.

Upon seeing the orb, those who don't know why it's in Kisuke's hand froze and a horrified look came over them.

"Oh~ You're returning it to me?" Freya asked casually after seeing the orb.

Kisuke nodded, "Your charm should be able to overwrite Chaos' influence over them. Just don't over do it."

Freya happily walked towards him and received her Divine Core that she lost in a bet with him. With this, she'd be able to use her Divine Power and would be able to use her 'Charm' to overpower Chaos' 'Insanity' to return everyone to the right state of mind.

Meanwhile, Loki commented from the side, "I almost forgot that happened."

Editors:

28th00: Yeah, that's a bit horrifying to the gods. He just took out the divine equivalent to a god's soul/power from his sleeves and gave it back to Freya.

Goyya's Four Brain Hemispheres

Chapter 1047 Counterattack part 2

"...W-why do you have Freya's Divine Core?" Hephaestus asked nervously as just seeing it in Kisuke's hand physically hurt her. Only when Freya fused with it was she able to let out a breath of relief.

"Well, things happened."

"Things happened, you say... You don't get to hold something that could be crushed in one hand and instantly kill its owner with just some things happening."

The others watched Freya as she was engulfed with pink light and Divine Aura started exiting her body. As a Deity's Divine Avatar is something that holds its Divine Core, anything that holds its Divine Core is considered a Divine Avatar. And with the Heaven's System the only restriction right now is bringing down their Divine Avatars thanks to Chaos' machinations, once in the Lower World, the system's influence over them became almost nonexistent.

Freya didn't wait and spread out her Divine Aura containing her power as a Goddess of Love, filling Hestia's barrier with her own color. Thankfully, she kept Kisuke's words in mind and just took over the children's minds and overpower Chaos' influence just enough before immediately dispelling her power so that they wouldn't lose their minds over her.

Soon enough, lights returned to everyone's eyes and as if just waking up from a bad dream, they started panting for air, "W-what just happened...?" Lefiya asked herself, still distraught and confused.

Though before the pink aura disappeared, it visibly concentrated on Kisuke which shocked the other Gods as they knew how dangerous that was.

Freya just wanted to tease and test him, but even after increasing the intensity of her 'Charm', Kisuke's expression didn't even change, and became disappointed.

"Kisuke puts the most importance on the integrity of his mind so he has a lot of defenses against abilities and things that can influence it," Yoruichi explained while grinning at her.

Freya finally completely dispelled her 'Charm' and turned her attention back to the children while pouting.

"Welcome back, everyone." Kisuke greeted them and they all looked at him with fear-filled eyes, "I know you all want to rest and relax but we don't have any time for that, for obvious reasons. All of you need to fight and there will be no exceptions. Well, you technically also have the choice of running away but you'd need to dig deep and stay in that hole for as long as the war lasts."

They were silent. Although they knew the right answer, it wasn't an easy one. After all, they'll be going against the God that they revered their whole lives. On top of that, things happened so fast that they haven't even fully processed what was going on.

But as Kisuke expected, Bell was the first one to step out and ask a question, "What about the rest of the Lower World? What's going to happen to those who can't fight?"

It was an obvious question since only a small fraction of the whole world could actually put up a fight and the large majority are just normal citizens, living their day-to-day lives away from any conflict. Now that an unprecedented danger encompasses the whole world as if horns of the apocalypse, what's going to happen to them?

"Everyone will be put in danger and there's nothing really we could do to save them. Many are going to lose their lives from battles that could happen all around the world." Kisuke immediately answered without sugarcoating anything.

And as a result, everyone looked down, imagining the horrors that are about to go down.

"That's why your cooperation is important," Kisuke added, which made everyone focus their attention on him again.

"What do you mean?"

"Instead of creating conflict everywhere and dragging innocent souls into danger, what if we create an army and force them to defend their base, essentially pooling all their numbers into a single area where they won't be able to hurt as much."

"Wait! You mean that we're initiating the attack!?" Demeter panicky asked.

Instead of Kisuke, it was Kali who replied to her question with a heavy voice, "That might be our only choice if we don't want to let this war spread. Besides, I would rather die fighting than die hiding like a rat."

Hermes then asked Yoruichi, "I can tell that you're very proficient with Spatial Magic. Is it possible to increase our number by gathering people?"

But before Yoruichi could answer, Loki interrupted, "That could work, but I'm against it. We'll have the same problem as the enemy is having now if we haphazardly invite others just to increase our numbers. Who knows, maybe before we could even start we'll die at the hands of bad actors."

"I have the same opinion as Loki," Odin also spoke up, "But we could also invite a few trustworthy people to our side."

A full-blown discussion started among the Gods but the problem of numbers isn't going to go anywhere as they are now.

Kisuke let them talk to each other and turned to Riveria, "I'll leave the others to you. Thankfully, you have experience teaching at the Ouroboros Academy. Just teach them what you think will be useful."

Riveria nodded and she already had an idea of what to teach everyone, 'For top fighters, defensive techniques since what they need is to survive to protect the others. For the rest, ritual-type Magic to cover the lack of offense and simple but broader defense.'

"Well then, I have nothing else to do here for now it seems. I'll go rest now."

"Wait." Astarte grabbed his sleeve, "Are you really going to leave us like this?"

"As much as I would like to, I have nothing to offer in your conversation. It's your world so you know much more about where to get people so I'll leave it to you guys."

Astarte wanted to ask further questions but Kisuke stopped her by sending her a mental message, [And obviously, I have my own hidden cards that I can't reveal to everyone. After all, it's not just the risk of bringing in a traitor that is the problem, but a traitor already existing in this group.]

Astarte froze and let go of Kisuke.

Kisuke didn't say it out loud because he didn't need an unnecessary divide within their current group, 'If there's really one, then I have to bring out my ace as late as possible. In the next three days, I would have to focus on finding that guy.'

But despite their current standing, he couldn't help but get excited at the surprises he prepared for everyone as if he was preparing some pranks.

Editors:

28th00: Not even gonna guess on who/if there's a traitor.

Goyya: I didn't give any clues whether they exist or not so there's no red herring here.

Goyya's Four Brain Hemispheres

Chapter 1048 Counterattack part 3

Three days later, Riveria was distributing an improved version of the Mind Potion to everyone, "It seems that all of you've already got the gist of it."

Meanwhile, the people she was teaching were all sprawled on the ground and are almost utterly depleted of Magic Power, "...T-these are fascinating spells that follow a completely unknown system. Where did you learn this?"

Despite the sorry state she was in, Tenestra was excitedly taking in the new knowledge that was presented to her.

"Riveria-sama, I have several questions. Is that fine?" Lefiya asked with hidden vigor behind her eyes. Ever since Tenestra arrived in Orario, she had considered her greatest rival. Thankfully, the latter also felt the same after proving that Lefiya too, could get away from the normal conception of Magic.

"That's fine, but rest for now. I'll answer all of your questions once you guys are well-rested." Riveria said before leaving them alone. She then went walking towards Yoruichi and Serafall's tent intending to discuss their next steps when she saw Kali entering the tent where Kisuke was.

Since yesterday, Kisuke had been 'interviewing' the Gods one on one for some reason, and even when asked, Kisuke and Gods will not discuss it.

Riveria thought that he has been doing something to them so that they'll be able to bring down their Divine Avatars, 'But it could also be him trying to find out if there's a traitor in our midst.'

She wondered if that's really the case, then it would be extremely hard to defend against a stab in the back, 'In that case, I would have to take his stance of trusting no one.'

Riveria reached the tent but before she could enter it, an explosion smashed against Hestia's barrier and when she looked up, she saw three Deities with black veins traveling through their entire bodies looking down on the camp.

These past three days, Hestia was also doing her best to expand her 'home' and as of now, they had at least a kilometer in a radius of space. Naturally, that didn't stop their enemies from trying to poke at her barrier even though it had done nothing no matter what they did, 'They're still not tired of doing that?'

"I've received word that we're moving out soon." Yoruichi suddenly came out of the tent with a big smile on her face.

But contrary to that smile, Riveria could feel that there was a sublime killing intent emanating from her, "You're striking back?"

"There's no harm in reducing their numbers before the real thing, after all~!" Yoruichi didn't elaborate further and just disappeared from her spot.

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The Goddesses known as Dalia and Kianda have been coming back to Hestia's barrier to attack it repeatedly these past three days. They said that they wanted to stop its expansion but in truth, they knew they couldn't do anything against it and were just bored so they kept returning to harass those who were inside.

Another reason was that they don't want to deal with what's happening in their ranks full of suspicion and as Deities on the weaker side, they don't want to get in trouble and fight the other Deities which is very prevalent right now with some trying to establish dominance over others because there isn't a clear hierarchy among them.

"Even this is getting boring." The green-haired Goddess Dalia muttered, "They really won't come out, huh?"

"Coming out means death. Why would they? The only question is how long will that cowardly shut in keep this up? It's about time she gets tired, right?", replied the brown-haired Goddess, Kianda.

Dalia was about to throw another ball of fire at the barrier when she stopped and turned to her side, "If I'm not wrong, you're called Yoruichi, right?"

Like a mirage, Yoruichi suddenly appeared in front of her, "That's amazing. You noticed me. And here I thought you two let your guard down since no one is retaliating."

Dalia is fully aware that she's weaker than Yoruichi, but as someone who governs fate, she was able to see what she's going to do next and prepare an appropriate response, "I'm the one amazed. I didn't notice you until you were this close."

"Fufufu," Yoruichi chuckled, "But you're wrong. I already took a step back."

Dalia was confused by her words but she didn't have the time to think about them when she heard her fellow Goddess behind her letting out a gurgling sound, "...D-Dalia..."

Dalia hurriedly looked back and fear immediately gripped her heart as she saw blood bubbling out of Kianda's mouth and a thick red line on her neck, "...S-sav-" Before she could finish her words, however, she instantly turned into black dust, never to be seen in this world again.

Dalia finally realized the reality she was in and thought, 'Run! I have to escape!'

Unfortunately for her, she felt something going through her chest before she could move and when she looked down, she saw a bloodied arm, holding a beating organ. It was her heart ripped out of her body, "What did I just say about letting your guard down?"

"P-please for-" Nevertheless, Yoruichi didn't need to hear her pleas, and her head was full of fear and some tears flew off before she could finish her words. Like the first one, she soon turned into a cloud of black dust and disappeared forever.

"How merciless." Loki came floating up beside Yoruichi.

"Eh? I don't think so? More than me, aren't they the ones having this too easy? What's wrong with them?" Yoruichi asked while cleaning the dust off her arm.

Loki shrugged her shoulders and said, "They've been desensitized by prolonged peace. And with them thinking they're on the winning side, it's become much worse."

Although it looked easy, Yoruichi was only able to kill them instantly because there was no fear of retaliation from them. As if they are just playing some game that they couldn't lose, "...Looks like this will be a lot easier than we initially thought."

Editors:

28th00: Yeah, Loki is an assassin-build too, ain't she? But most of the "Fodder" gods are absurdly weak because they're cocky and arrogant lil shits. Eh, Shinigami are called Death "Gods" for a reason. Not very good reasons most of the time, but sometimes it's pretty damn accurate.

Goyya: And even though they are a big group, they are never an army. There's no army that could function with everyone as a General. Who among these guys is willing to become a foot soldier?

Goyya's Four Brain Hemispheres

Chapter 1049 Start

AN: Thank you for waiting~! And I'm very sorry for the delay. After finishing Vol 15, I went ahead and reviewed the start of Vol 16 and I found numerous holes so I have to change a lot of things, causing me more time to release in addition to my IRL work.

Please forgive me and hope you enjoy the chapters.

As the news of the two Goddesses' disappearance spread, there was a heavy atmosphere that could be felt.

Not minding this, Kisuke stepped out of his tent and stretched out his arms, 'I've given the Deities a way to use their powers and went through three rounds of interviews with them. It's about time we move.'

In the end, it was decided not to invite any Deities to their camp due to the risk not being worth it. Instead, Kisuke took the methods for the Deities to bring down their Divine Avatars and broadcasted it all over the world. He didn't care if the one who received it was an enemy or an ally, but the condition of the activation was to converge in Orario.

'How is this possible?' The Deities asked, but Kisuke never revealed it to them. Yoruichi and Serafall on the other hand could guess it had something to do with what they distributed across the world almost a week ago, before they fought Tiamat.

But before he lit the bomb of conflict, Kisuke first approached Hestia who was in the center of the barrier, silently strengthening and expanding it, "Hestia-sama, how are you doing?"

Hestia turned to him with a wry smile and said, "...To be honest, it's very tough. The moment I let up, it'll all crumble down."

Kisuke then sat beside her, "I think you're just very nervous."

Hestia rested her head on Kisuke's shoulder and replied, "Who wouldn't be? You never did or said anything to reassure us of our chances of winning. Everything is staked on your supposed plan that no one else knows."

"You know why that's the case."

Hestia became silent for a moment before continuing, "...I know... But you also know that feelings can't be commanded like logic. I trust you, but you won't be able to remove my worries. And the fact that if I fail here, everyone's sanctuary will disappear and that scares me.

"I also know that my 'home' is not invulnerable and can be taken down with enough force and time, that scares me.

"And if all of it comes crashing down, I'll be watching everyone get slaughtered, that scares me.

"Everything happening right now scares me... It's horrifying. I don't like it. I hate this conflict!

"Yet I know this couldn't be stopped! It's impossible to stop! It'll be us or them!... And I hate it. Why does it have to be this way!?"

Kisuke silently listened to her cries while also realizing that it was her that was the most affected by all of this. As a peace-loving Goddess who hated confronting anyone, with her most precious people's lives on the line, and the one with the most power to 'protect', the pressure on her was the highest and Kisuke had neglected that, thinking that she'd be fine.

Kisuke knew that his apology wouldn't be accepted and it was not an apology that she wanted. But even while knowing that, he couldn't grant her the assurances that she needed as it went against his own ideology that nothing is certain until the results are grasped.

As such, the only thing he could give back was silence.

Thankfully, Hestia knew him very well and was actually relieved that he didn't do anything fake just to comfort her, "...Just promise me one thing."

"...I'm listening."

"Please do not destroy this world in your attempt for freedom."

Kisuke didn't know what Hestia considered the 'world'. Is it its people? Way of life? Culture? The differing societies? The existence of Deities? But after he's done here, most of what makes this world unique might be destroyed. Would Hestia still consider this as the world in her mind?

"...I trust you."

Kisuke then looked down at her and saw a small smile on her face, "...I see. Then I promise."

Hestia trusted that the world Kisuke was imagining isn't too bad.

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.

.

From afar, Zeus and Bell are watching Kisuke and Hestia while having a conversation of their own, "Grandpa... Was I able to become a hero?"

"What do you think?"

Bell shook his head, "I don't know. I know what a hero looks like, but whenever I look back at my actions, I can't seem to give any judgment."

"That's great."

Bell's eyes widened at the unexpected answer and Zeus soon clarified his words, "The only ones who can judge whether you've become a hero or not are those who you saved and saw your heroic deeds. After all, one doesn't just become a hero from self-recognition. And without a doubt, you've become a hero in the eyes of many. A splendid one at that."

Bell smiled, thinking that all of his efforts are worth it.

It was then a rugged hand landed on his head, "But beware. Becoming a hero is just the start of the long journey and if you're not careful, you might just see yourself become the world's greatest evil."

"Huh?" A chill went through Bell's spine and he hurriedly looked up at Zeus' serious face, "W-what do you mean?"

"You'll naturally understand it when the right time comes and you'll realize that a hero and a villain aren't so different." Zeus then took his hand off his head and started walking in a certain direction, "Go back to your Familia and get ready. We will be moving out soon."

Bell silently watches Zeus' back as he goes away and the words he left behind kept ringing in his mind.

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.

"Alright... Looks like everyone is ready." Kisuke commented after looking at everyone gathered and lined up, "Here's the plan. Yoruichi will be creating a path directly leading to the vicinity of the former Orario. The Deities then will lead the charge and using the element of surprise, they'll be taking out the enemy Deities one by one.

"Although weak, their children could still pose a danger by giving the God or Goddess an opening to exploit so everyone else will be dealing with them. They are essentially undying but once their Deity is killed, they'll disappear along with them so all you need to do is to stall them. Riveria will be dealing with large-scale attacks from them and will assist whenever there's a need. I'll leave the command to your respective leaders but when it's time to retreat, you all have to follow that.

"These past few days, I was able to confirm that Chaos is busy in the depths of the Dungeon so we can be rest assured that as long as it's not a total annihilation of his camp, he won't come out."

"Our goal is to cause as much damage as possible before they can consolidate their entire strength and attack us. And after the appropriate time, we'll retreat back to Hestia-sama's barrier to plan our next moves."

"What about Yoruichi, Serafall, and you?" asked Loki.

"We'll assist on all fronts. But because Yoruichi and Serafall haven't recovered fully from the last battle, they'll be saving their energy for more dangerous things."

"Wait... They haven't recovered? It sure didn't look that way..." Loki and the other Deities couldn't believe it, especially when Yoruichi just instantly killed two Deities herself.

Kisuke didn't explain any further and just said, "The battle against the protector of the Dungeon might have been short, but it wasn't easy on us."

After receiving the cue from Kisuke, Yoruichi pulled out her kodachi and swung it widely. The tip of her blade drew a line in the air before it opened up and revealed the dreary scenery of the former Orario and the Deities with black veins gathered.

"Let's go! Hit them hard and fast!" Kisuke led the charge and the Deities immediately followed.

And while watching the unprepared Deities scramble among themselves, Kisuke thought, 'Though I said we'll retreat to plan our next step, this will be the first and last clash. I hope he comes out soon.'

Editors:

28th00: Blitzkrieg? Neat. Hestia needs some hugs and headpats. Bell is gonna see a prime example of Hero/Villain being a perspective of the same being in Kisuke, ain't he?

Goyya: In the end, even if you become a hero, you won't be able to satisfy everyone. And the eyes of those who are unsatisfied or opposed to the hero's "Justice", will see him as the villain.

Goyya's Four Brain Hemispheres

Chapter 1050 Betrayal

The Deities would need a few seconds to fully bring out their powers so Kisuke went on ahead to one of the unsuspecting Deities and immediately decapitated him and a few others around him, 'What the heck? They're not prepared to defend themselves? Are they really that confident?'

The enemy Deities soon got their bearings and the simultaneous explosions of Divine Power pushed Kisuke back, stopping his charge, "Enough of you, scum!"

A Deity doused in flames and holding a spear came charging towards him and Kisuke responded by pointing his palms towards him, "Hadou no 58, Tenran (Orchid Sky)"

The wind instantly gathered around Kisuke's palm and turned into a tornado that blasted right through the flaming Deity.

The Deity then defended himself by increasing the intensity of the flame around him. This move of his was effective as the intense heat forced the blades of wind away from him. However, he was dumbfounded when he saw Kisuke smirking at him as if he was an idiot. Immediately, a vein popped in his head as he prepared to gather his flames to burn him to a crisp.

Sadly that wasn't set in motion and had to stop when he heard screams behind him. When he looked back, the Deities behind him that hadn't fully prepared were engulfed by a firestorm of his own creation that incinerated them, "N-no!"

Kisuke watched how the intensified flames burned the poor Deities until they were charred, 'That's some very strong flames. Even I wouldn't be able to easily get away unscathed if that hit me. Too bad, they are too much of an individual to fight in a proper group battle.'

Kisuke noticed that the strength of the Deities in this world varied greatly as they could be a lot weaker or stronger than their counterparts on Earth. However, there's one thing that is very consistent among them and that is their mortality is a lot higher compared to Earth Deities, 'They're too soft... I thought Deities like Freya were the standard, but it looks like I was wrong. Well, they couldn't age and they've forsaken the system so this is probably the biggest drawback.'

"Imbecile!!!" Shouted the flaming Deity, but in the end, he couldn't even approach Kisuke as a spear made out of lightning pierced through his head, obliterating it.

Kisuke looked at the other end of the spear and saw Zeus with white lightning arcs crackling throughout his entire body.

"Are they all this easy to kill?" Kisuke asked for confirmation.

Zeus shook his head, "No. Not normally."

"I see."

"But watch out for Deities with Divine Authority of Healing. It's possible for some of them to revive these dead Deities."

Kisuke now knows which targets to look out for and raise their elimination priority to the top, 'Still... No matter how unprepared and easy to kill, there are hundreds of them in the immediate vicinity and thousands could still swarm this place.'

Thankfully, Kisuke knew that they wouldn't be able to use their full power because of how crowded the place was and it'd immediately turn into a royal rumble once enough friendly fire was done, 'Still, it would be a lot more dangerous for us with most of the firepower contained in a small space. Any wrong dodges or block could mean the life of an ally.'

Soon, it wasn't just Zeus who started massacring the Deities, but also the others.

Freya would stun the Deities briefly before cutting off their heads with her Divine Sword. Meanwhile, Loki would transform her own body into various weapons including biological ones like teeth or claws. Kisuke, Yoruichi, and Serafall were shocked when a row of teeth suddenly appeared along her spine and snacked on the Deity attacking from behind.

"A shapeshifter, huh... I wonder to what extent?" Yoruichi muttered being very interested in her ability.

As for the other Gods and Goddesses, Takemikazuchi summoned a single blade and started bisecting the enemies with a single stroke. Hermes would fly around at a blinding speed but in a very silent manner and cut the throat of enemies with a dagger. Hephaestus summoned numerous shields to separate the battle between the Deities and the mortals.

Ganesha started laughing maniacally while waving his hands around while a gigantic hand mirroring his own would appear out of thin air that would slap or flatten his enemies. Meanwhile, Kali would make a circle by joining her hands together and when she looked through it, a black ball would appear that generated enough gravitational pull to shred the enemy Deities into pieces.

'Back on Earth or here, these Hindu Gods really are something else.' Kisuke thought and turned his attention to Artemis, who was putting holes in the Deities with her almost undodgeable arrows of light and then to Miach and Demeter who were working in tandem.

Thanks to Demeter, the Gods, and Goddesses on their side could fight without much worry by keeping them healthy. Since they had to do it fast, they would need to make some sacrifices in the form of injuries by focusing on attacking instead of defending. But thanks to Demeter, the wounds on everyone's body would instantly disappear and reappear on her body where it could heal much faster.

Still, everyone's wounds appearing on her were way too much for her to handle so Miach helped her with the healing process.

Since they were a very integral part of their assault and pretty much the weakest link, Astarte decided to stay beside them to protect them. And out of all the Deities here today, it was her that scared Kisuke the most.

As the Goddess of Love, Astarte has a similar ability of charming others albeit not as strong as Freya's. But the most terrifying part is that whoever she touched would rapidly be drained of their life force as if blood is being drained from them.

If this is in the Upper World, this ability would have been essentially useless with regenerations and vitality being supported by the system, but here in the Lower World, it became one of the most horrifying abilities.

Finally, the three old Gods were doing the heaviest lifting. Zeus with his lightning-clad body, Odin with his never missing spear, and Ouranos with a bulked-up body that exuded incredible strength and unbridled violence.

The initial assault went well, but as far as everyone is concerned, that's it.

After eliminating about 30 or so Deities, the rest were able to gather and finally properly hit back, immediately changing the tides of the battlefield to their disadvantage.

And when everyone became in the defensive position, Kisuke looked at Yoruichi and Serafall and nodded at them before yelling, "Retreat!"

Everyone heard it and carefully retreated while covering each other's backs. However, it was then that all their hope came crumbling down.

The children and the Xenos were able to return to Hestia's barrier but as the Deities were about to leave through Yoruichi's portal, it suddenly disappeared, along with the extreme weakening of her aura.

Everyone hurriedly turned to her and was stunned and horrified to see both Yoruichi and Serafall, gasping for air while their mouths were gurgling with blood. On their chest, an arm was sticking out and holding their hearts that were still beating.

"Yoruichi! Serafall!" Kisuke shouted at the top of his lungs while propelling himself towards them.

The hands that are holding their hearts clenched, crushing them into meat paste, "You!!!"

But before he could arrive, another pair of arms appeared from behind them and grabbed their necks. " "K-is-uke." " Were their last words before their necks were snapped and the light of life disappeared from their eyes.

The arms then tossed the corpses away, fully revealing the four armed man, "Odin!!!" Kisuke uttered a blood-curdling scream while waving his sword and releasing a blood colored wave.

Editors:

28th00: Hm? It says Odin, but he doesn't have 4 arms. Or at least, he shouldn't? Loki? Can't tell how they pulled off this part of a plan though. They absolutely baited a betrayal by being "Weaker" after Tiamat and everything.

Goyya: In the original myth, Odin has 2 ravens on his shoulders so as a rendition to that, I gave him another pair of arms with special abilities.

Goyya's Four Brain Hemispheres

Chapter 1051 Betrayal part 2

AN:.... I'm very sorry. It looks like I skipped a chapter. Oh well, 6 chapters for Kitty Hero.

Odin crossed his four arms and blocked the blood-red wave, "Ugh!?" But upon making contact with it, Odin felt the horrifying power behind it and was instantly sent flying with two of his arms obliterated, 'Even after fortifying my defenses!?'

Odin tried to regenerate his arms with his own ability and recalled his Divine Spear, Gungnir to his hands. But before he even crashed to the ground, he saw Kisuke, in his 'monstrous' form on top of him, swinging his sword full of chilling killing intent again.

Odin held his arms up holding the Gungnir to block his sword. But the same as before, he failed to properly estimate the strength behind Kisuke's sword, which had become several times stronger, "Kuh!!!"

A thunder-clap-like sound erupted in the whole vicinity and the arms that were holding the spear ruptured before Odin was smashed into the ground, creating another loud boom that rang inside the ears of everyone on the battlefield. As the soil and dust rose up, Kisuke swung his sword again to generate a shockwave that cleared his vision and saw Odin laying in the middle of the crater with no usable arms and an overall wrecked body.

Odin tried sitting up but just groaned and found out that he couldn't move a single muscle. He then looked up with fear-filled eyes to his assailant and met his darkened eyes devoid of any emotion.

Odin's stare was broken off when he saw a ball that spelled death forming and enlarging on top of his horns. He knew that if he were to be hit by that, there would be nothing left of him. In a panic, Odin did his best to raise his hoarse voice to call for his insurance, "C-Chaos!!! Save me!!!"

Kisuke was about to blast the detestable God to oblivion when a shadow quickly emerged from the Dungeon's entrance and instantly reached him and crashed into him.

The Cero he had been preparing discharged prematurely and went towards a distant mountain, melting a large part of it into a pool of lava.

Meanwhile, Kisuke himself was dragged down to the ground and when he saw who was holding his neck, Chaos' familiar face met him, 'He really moved himself?... No, he's too weak. A clone?'

Kisuke turned his horns towards him and charged another Cero before letting it go immediately at his face.

Chaos responded by leaning his head and throwing away Kisuke, smashing him into a boulder.

Kisuke was buried inside the boulder but he was able to get out of it easily without sustaining any major injury. When he got out, he saw Chaos already at Odin's side and seemed to be passing his power to him to help him survive. Not far from them were the twelve Deities being surrounded by hundreds of enemy Deities.

But that wasn't their only problem as a few seconds later, numerous Deities also started emerging from the Dungeon and dotted the sky. They soon reached more than a thousand-strong force and the majority of them were sneering at the trapped Deities.

And although very far from their spot, Kisuke could also feel about a hundred Deities converging on Hestia's barrier and bombarding it nonstop.

Kisuke slowly floated up and looked at the hopeless situation before glaring at Chaos who just finished replacing Odin's arms with black arms that seem to be made out of numerous tentacles tied together.

"What do you think? You expected that there's a traitor in your midst, but did you expect him to come from the three stubborn old men?" Chaos first addresses him with a smug look.

Kisuke didn't say anything and just indignantly stared at him.

Odin also slowly floated up beside him with a relieved expression, "Thankfully, they're not as strong as when they fought Tiamat. Else that wouldn't have gone smoothly as it did." He then looked at the girls he killed with a wide smile, "Thank you for telling us that they haven't recovered. It gave me so much more courage and freedom to act."

While stretching his new arms, Odin added, "I actually wanted to kill you first since you're the most dangerous, but I have seen how sturdy you are and I doubt you'd actually die even if your heart is crushed. With that, I opted to kill these two weakened women. It was easier than I thought."

Odin's intentionally provocative words still didn't earn words from Kisuke who just kept staring at Chaos, 'Did he lose his mind over their deaths?'

"Still, I'm surprised that the spies you planted on my side still haven't made their appearance." Chaos continued while surveying the surrounding, "Did they finally see the futility behind your struggle? Not a single one appeared to your aid. I wanted to laugh but I'm just feeling sad."

The hundreds of Deities surrounding started assaulting the few Deities and they were only able to defend themselves thanks to the numerous shields that Hephaestus deployed, 'They're holding up better than I thought... But what is this strange feeling?' Odin thought, 'It's as if they were prepared for this? But that shouldn't have been possible. That would mean that they were expecting those two women's deaths.'

Odin's instincts are screaming something at him but he couldn't figure out what's wrong. But before he could think about it further, Kisuke finally spoke up, tossing the blaring warning of his instincts to the back of his head, 'With Chaos here, what could go wrong?'

"Why are you here?" asked Kisuke.

Chaos grinned at him and asked back, "Are you expecting me to be busy?"

Kisuke didn't answer.

"Of course, you would. If not, you would not have attempted this attack," But Chaos just shrugged his shoulders,  "You're correct, I'm busy with something and I can really only send a piece of my power to see what's going on. Sadly for you, it doesn't really matter since your 'army' could only make a tiny dent in mine. I don't even have to personally take care of you."

Chaos thought that Kisuke would finally break down and start attacking him, however, contrary to his expectations, he faced the numerous Deities behind him, "For those who received my word, this is your last chance to separate yourself from this madness."

The scream of Odin's instincts became much worse but when he looked at Chaos who only sneered at him, he felt a bit comforted, 'Right... There's no way for them to turn this situation around anymore. Only stupid God and Goddesses would answer his call.'

He was already expecting it, but it was still hard for Odin to believe that there were indeed several stupid Deities who came out.

The first one who came out was an old-looking God who was brandishing a sword in his right hand and a spear in his left hand, "Goibniu..." muttered Odin.

Goibniu didn't hesitate and bisected several Deities who had their backs turned at him and attacked the twelve Deities before joining them.

Editors:

28th00: It's the Betrayal combo time!

Chapter 1052 Reinforcements

After Goibniu, several other Gods and Goddesses followed in his footsteps and most of them were from Orario and the Dizara region, where the relationship between Deity and children are much closer due to them taking on the Dungeon.

Soon enough, there were around 50 Deities that were defending themselves against enemy Deities numbering more than a thousand.

"So, what's the plan?" Njord asked the others while deploying a rippling barrier made out of water.

Contrary to his serious expression, however, Loki only chuckled, "I'm surprised that you lot actually came to this side. Are you guys crazy?"

"Despite your situation, none of you seemed to be panicking, so I took my chances." Ares answered her question, "...And I really can't get along with those obnoxious bastards after they destroyed my beloved country."

Loki and the other original Deities started distributing candies who came to their side, "There's no other plan aside from eating this and surviving."

Ares blankly received the candy and looked at it before asking, "Can I go back to their side?"

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Watching all of this Chaos only amused, "How fun~. I guess this is more interesting. Odin, do you know what that is?"

Odin looked closely at the Deities eating the candy before shaking his head, "N-no. I never heard anything about those."

Kisuke ignored their comments and clasped both of his hands after seeing them finish swallowing the candies. His joined hands lit up and a strange power started emanating from them and spread around like a gentle wave.

Odin tried to block this strange power but it only went through him and did nothing. As he wondered what it could be, he suddenly felt a large lump in the back of his throat and couldn't help but throw up, "Guahhaaa!"

'Blood!?' He thought while also feeling the strength leave his body.

"W-what's going on!?" Odin shouted in a panic while feeling his strength leave his body and only around half of it remaining. Immediately after, he also heard similar cries of panic, prompting him to turn around and saw every Deity making a fearful expression.

"Poison." Kisuke briefly answered his question.

"Poison!?" Odin exclaimed and immediately thought back to his time inside Hestia's barrier. But then, he remembered something crucial, that everyone else was also affected so it shouldn't have been just his time inside their camp, 'Since when!?'

Kisuke was able to guess what he was thinking and said with a smirk, "Before we even faced Tiamat, everything was arranged."

"I see... It was that liquid you and your comrades sprayed all over the world." The smile on Chaos' face still hadn't disappeared while looking at the panicking Deities and Loki's group beginning their counter attack.

"It's not actually made for Deities, but it's doing a fine job," Kisuke replied while taking back his transformed state.

When Chaos saw this, he only chuckled, "Are you that confident? Never thought you were an idiot. Although you reduced their strength by half, there are still more than a thousand of them, and many more are coming this way. And if that's still not enough, let me remind you that these are not my soldiers. They're weaker, but I still have billions of them."

It wasn't just Kisuke who heard them, but all of the Deities all around the world strangely heard those words too.

"Are you kidding!?" Kali shouted at top of her lungs while shredding a few of the weakened enemies, "We can't do this!"

Even the calmest among them about the situation due to their trust in Kisuke, Freya and Loki couldn't help but contort their faces, "Couldn't he just poison these people to death? What's the point of just weakening them?" asked the former.

Loki had the same opinion and thought, 'Isn't it a lot harder to weaken them than just killing them with poison? From what I can see, they're really just weakened and not a single bit injured... What is he after?'

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The day before the big day, Loki went inside Kisuke's tent after being called and the first thing she said while stretching her arms was, "It's really amazing how you were able to help us bring down our Divine Cores. How did you exactly do it."

"Tiamat's authority over the Heaven's System is a lot more pronounced than you all are thinking. I just borrowed a bit of her blood and aura to make some intrusion into the system and bring your cores down here.", Kisuke explained, "But enough of that. I found the traitor... Or at least I found something suspicious."

Loki's casual demeanor disappeared and she sat down in front of Kisuke, "And who is it?"

"You know I'm not going to tell you that. Besides, I don't have any evidence beyond the circumstantial."

"Then why are you telling me this?"

"Because I want you to condition yourself to trust me no matter what happens. You also have to prepare yourself to take action without any input from anyone else."

"You want me to move by myself depending on the situation? I can trust you, but that's because I didn't have much of a choice from the beginning. And what if I mess up what you're cooking? Tell me what you have in the oven and I can properly gauge the situation."

"Not happening."

Loki went silent again for a few moments before saying, "So the trust you're asking is just a one-way avenue?"

Kisuke grinned at her and said, "Not trusting any of you with my back is the most crucial thing though?"

"Tsk," Loki loudly clicked her tongue, "I hate myself for actually agreeing with you. To think that we'd be trusting you with our lives yet you don't do the same..."

Loki sighed, "...Fine... But after all of this, I hope that can change. I've already invested too much in this just to be treated like a pawn. Level it up to a friend, will ya?"

Kisuke gave her a genuine smile and said, "I'll be showing my friends a new exciting place after all of this."

Loki sighed again, but this time with a bit of relief and some of her frustration going away, "I'm looking forward to it."

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Loki looked at his face from a distance and closed her eyes, "Get ready! Once the situation changes, follow my lead and we'll all charge together to break the encirclement!"

Everyone around her became confused but they could only nod their heads. With no road for retreat, unity was their only hope to survive.

Kisuke gave them a glance from his spot and smiled.

"Hooh? So this isn't your only trump card?" Chaos became interested in his reaction, "What else? Show me something more interesting."

"I'll show you, alright. For starters, we'll start with pest control."

As soon as Kisuke finished his words, from the corner of his eyes, Chaos saw Odin's head, filled with confusion, had fallen off his body. And when he turned to his side, he saw Yoruichi, fine and well, holding a dagger stained with blood, "That went easier than I thought it would."

Chaos immediately swung out his arm but Yoruichi had already disappeared and reappeared beside Kisuke.

With a neutral expression, Chaos muttered, "I see... You baited him. Well, I wasn't really expecting much, and killing those two was just a bonus," his smirk returned to him, "But that still doesn't change the fact that you're all going to perish here~! The only difference you made is that you're going to survive for a few more hours, I guess?"

But all of sudden, his smirk froze as he saw something unbelievable.

A black hole that could fit a few people suddenly appeared on top of everyone before a streak of red and white lights ejected from it.

In an instant, these red and white streaks went through and decimated a hundred or so Deities while leaving the trailing words [Boost] and [Divide].

Satisfied with the expression Chaos was now making, Kisuke added in, "I regret to inform you, but you're not the only one with a lot of friends."

Editors:

28th00: HAHA! Called in the army killers, huh? Ones hyper-specialized in godslaying too.

Goyya's Four Brain Hemispheres

Chapter 1053 Dragons

All the scrambling Deities stopped what they were doing to look at the sky where the strange but terrifying aura was coming from and saw two streaks of red and white light. Sadly for a few of them, that would be the last thing they would be seeing before they slept for all eternity, not knowing what hit them.

"W-what is that?" Miach loudly asked. The aura emanating from the red and white light was very different from what a Deity could emit. It was something more 'regal' and 'proud' which was also something very different from what Kisuke and his group showed.

Nobody answered his inquiry and instead, Ouranos asked Loki, "Should we move? The situation has changed." He and Zeus already understand that Loki had taken command of the group.

"No." Loki instantly answered, "Don't move nor show any hostile behavior. Their killing intent is all over the place and they might mistake us as being in the same group as everyone else."

Thankfully, Loki made the right call as the red and white light didn't really have a clear image of the battlefield and only received an instruction to assist the ones who were in a disadvantageous position and those who were not 'poisoned', "Do you think it's them?" the red light, Issei asked Vali.

"They're the only ones that don't possess the marked aura so it's probably them." the white light, Vali turned his attention to Kisuke and Yoruichi who were facing the strongest individual here while saying, "Go and talk to them to confirm their standing."

Issei looked at Vali for a moment before asking, "You didn't practice speaking their language, did you?"

Vali became silent and ignored Issei while speeding up.

"You're afraid that you'll embarrass yourself if you bite your tongue while trying to talk?" But Issei only received a mass of destructive Demonic Power in the form of silvery-white lightning. Issei immediately dodged it and the few Deities chasing behind them were reduced to nothing after a few seconds after being 'Divided' several times into nonexistence.

Issei only chuckled and flew towards the cornered Deities. Seeing their wary demeanor towards him, Issei released his helmet and revealed his face with a friendly smile, "Hello~! Are you perhaps Kisuke's friends?"

There was no answer for a moment until a slender woman with red hair and narrow eyes, "That's right. And you are?"

Issei sighed in relief as there seems to be no friendly fire that occurred, "I'm Issei Hyoudou, also Kisuke's friend. We came here after that guy asked for help."

He then turned around and shouted in Japanese, "Oi~! Vali! We got the correct people!"

But instead of acknowledging his words, Vali suddenly stopped and started chanting while his Demonic Power also spiked up to the highest degree, "The pure White Dragon dwelling within me, rise up from your supremacy..."

As he suddenly stopped mid-flight, the Deities around him thought it was a good opportunity and started bombarding him with various abilities.

At first, the attacks were being blocked by Vali's Defensive Magic, but it couldn't take more than a few seconds of attacks and soon went through it. Although Vali's Scale Mail boasted massive defenses, the attacks immediately started chipping parts of it with unique attacks that began to add rot to its unblemished surface. Within just a few seconds, Vali would be stripped of his armor and he'd be a sitting duck waiting to be slaughtered.

However, he ignored all of those since none of them could kill him and the attacks that could prove fatal were still being charged, "Thou shalt kneel down before our bright and glorious existence!"

Before Vali's armor was completely stripped off, another one replaced it, and this time, with a mix of silver and black that was much more intricate and flamboyant. In addition to that, five more pairs of mechanical wings were added to his single pair which exuded a dangerous blue light.

"Diabolos Dragon Lucifer!"

However, hardly anyone was able to take note of his very drastic change in appearance as his aura went through a much more massive transformation.

"W-what is he?" Hermes asked with cold sweat dripping down from the temple of his forehead. He had to consciously stop himself from shaking in fear.

His explosion of Demonic Power that was enough to make most people kneel was accompanied by a Godly aura. But terrifyingly, the Godly aura was something far from the Deities present and they could only hope to achieve in their dreams, as it was much closer to Chaos' than theirs.

Nevertheless, Issei didn't really have the luxury to answer him since he's also looking at Vali with a nervous expression, "...He's not doing 'that', is he?"

But his wishes were trampled by his partner, [Why not? Isn't this the best situation for 'that'?]

"Fuck!" Issei cursed and hurriedly turned toward the Deities, "Hurry! Let's get away from here!"

Issei didn't wait for their answer as he noticed that they were still dumbfounded by Vali's appearance and forcefully dragged them with him using Magic.

After being forcefully moved, the Deities finally reacted and saw Issei's panicked demeanor and wondered what was making him so scared since it was his ally.

Thankfully, their confusion was soon answered when Vali put both of his hands together and muttered in an unknown language, "Satan Compression Divider."

When Issei heard this, the boosters on his back extended and erupted to further increase his speed while dragging more or less 50 Deities away with him.

The next instant, a flash of silvery-white and black demonic radiance illuminated the whole area for a few seconds.

When the magnificent light disappeared, the Deities within a certain radius around Vali vanished without any trace, as if they didn't exist in the first place, and those further behind them started dropping like flies with most of their strength sapped out, reducing them to almost powerless mortal-like existence.

Issei, who'd just got out of its area of effect muttered, "That insane bastard. I'll give his chuunibyou diary to Kisuke later."

[Hey! That's a low blow!] Even Ddraig, who didn't really react much to anything, thought that his idea was very cruel.

As for Vali himself, while still feeling a massive power welling up from his very core, a chill went down his spine suddenly and made him very alert, 'What was that!?'

Editors:

28th00: Slashdog is always useful for interesting blackmail material on Vali, like his chuunibyou diaries, for there are multiple.

Goyya: I already have plans if Kisuke were to get hold of that. Let's just say Vali won't be able to walk in the public.

Goyya's Four Brain Hemispheres

Chapter 1054 Just a Big Coward

Chaos couldn't stop the red and white lights' rampage because he could feel Kisuke's attention on him and any movement from him will just be a wasted effort, "...How?" He asked in a fuming rage.

"A tech from a civilization that managed to successfully take over and end numerous worlds like this one." Kisuke explained while smirking, "It disregards most of the restrictions placed on the boundaries between space and instead directly connects two points through a different dimension."

But even after his explanation, Chaos couldn't understand how that was possible, '...This is my world! How!?'

At that moment, he felt a massive aura and frightening aura explode behind him. He immediately turned around to see the white armor was now emanating the power of a God along with other unknown powers. As he saw him gather his power in both of his hands, a slight threat, for the first time in a very long time, awakened his instincts.

It was when the flash of silvery-white and black light erupted from Vali that Chaos finally realized the danger if more like him went through the strange portal, 'I can't move now, I can't stop what I'm doing now, and I can't seem to close that pathway!'

Now with the tables turned against him, Chaos didn't hesitate to decide his next course of action, 'Although I don't have complete information on that side, I know for sure that Kisuke Urahara isn't well-liked so there shouldn't be any substantial reinforcements after this. On top of that, they can't stay here for too long as the vacuum they left is too big and the consequences of that aren't small.'

Without waiting any further, Chaos instantly turned into a black goo and dropped to the ground before sipping through it, 'Until I get that power...'

Seeing that, Kisuke immediately turned to Vali and warned him, "Get away from that spot now if you don't want to be trapped."

Vali listened to his warning and flew towards the direction where Issei went. He immediately caught up to him thanks to the boost he received from his current form, but also immediately dispelled his Scale Mail and stood on Issei's back to hitch a ride on him. That form was very powerful but it's not something that should be maintained meaninglessly since its mileage is the worst and it's really only useful when he wants to end a fight quickly.

Half a minute later, a black wall surrounding the entirety of the former Orario emerged from the ground and shot up to meet in the middle, forming a 500-meter-tall dome.

"I know you told me that it's possible for him to just escape and avoid fighting, but to think that he would really lock himself up..." Yoruichi muttered, "That guy has smaller balls than I thought."

Kisuke gauged the wall and found out that he can't penetrate it with his scanning ability, "One thing is for sure. He can see many things but that doesn't mean he understands what he's seeing. Aside from being a coward, he's also dumber than I thought."

If Kisuke was in his position right now, he would have pulled out all the stops and attempted to clean them up as fast as possible. Yet he decided to give them more space and retreated instead, 'The reason why we turned the tables on him was that he gave us time to prepare, yet he's doing that again. Is the thing in the very depths of the Dungeon that important, or is he really just that dumb?'

Kisuke really hates it if the enemy was ambitious and dumb at the same time. Those are the only types of people he couldn't read properly.

Soon, the aura of Deities approaching this area also disappeared as if they went somewhere else and both Kisuke and Yoruichi concluded that they were teleported inside the barrier Chaos made.

"What should we do now?" asked Yoruichi after figuring out that it was going to be very hard to breach the barrier without using a substantial amount of power on it.

"Let's return to everyone else first."

But before leaving, Kisuke took back Yoruichi and Serafall's Gigai that he used to bait the traitor, Odin.

.

.

.

A few minutes earlier, just after the children, Xenos, and Riveria who were escorting them went through Yoruichi's portal and its subsequent closure, Riveria hurried towards Hestia and asked what was going on.

"I... I also don't know. Hold on." Hestia immediately released her ability and manipulated what was left of the system to bring out the 'eyes' and watch what was going on.

And as soon as the screen lit up, it was just time for everyone to witness Yoruichi and Serafall's death.

"Nooo!!!" It was Line who let out a horrified shriek.

She was about to rush out without thinking but Riveria hurriedly grabbed her by the collar, "Riveria-sama!? We have to assist them now!" It was also at that moment that Odin grabbed their necks and snapped them.

The others who are watching were also devastated at Odin's sudden betrayal and the hope that they had, had all gone up into smoke with things going south. They knew that after Yoruichi and Serafall's turn, it would be their God and Goddesses who'd come up dead next.

"Don't do anything." Riveria replied while tightening her hold on Line, "It shouldn't have been that easy to ambush both Yoruichi and Serafall. Besides... Look."

Riveria urged everyone to watch the screen closely and also just in time to watch Kisuke rush towards Odin, "The first thing he would have done is to catch them yet he just let them fall to the ground. I would guess those are not their real bodies and they were just there to bait out the traitor."

Line started to calm down and watched what was happening closely and immediately found it weird. Although not a healer himself, Line knew for sure that it was actually hard to die with Kisuke around, at least from what she'd already heard from both Yoruichi and Serafall throughout the years.

Riveria let go of Line and also saw Hestia give a sigh of relief after her explanation, 'Although probably fake, it's still hard to see someone you care about suddenly die like that.'

However, they couldn't watch the situation in peace as around a hundred Deities with black veins suddenly appeared outside Hestia's barrier and started bombarding it.

"This is bad." Hestia suddenly said, "The barrier won't last for more than a few days if they keep doing that."

Although that sounded long, everyone knew that they didn't know how long this war was going to go and any time limits on them right now doesn't bode well.

"Should we go in and out of the barrier and try to disturb them? That should buy us some time," Ais asked while bringing out her Draconic characteristics.

Ottar also stepped out, "I agree with her."

"It is very dangerous and the effect that would  be doing is minimal..." Finn muttered while biting on his tongue, "But it's also the only contribution that we can provide."

"Let's form teams and randomize our attacks as much as possible." Bell also gave his opinion.

And while the leaders are planning what steps they should make, those on the side could only steel themselves, "Tione... I'm perplexed." asked Tiona.

"What a coincidence... Me too.", Tione replied, "Odin's betrayal should be a very big deal yet we aren't talking about it."

"Obviously because we can't worry about that now." Bete came to their side.

Tiona and Tione both looked at him with concerned expressions. Out of all the people here, he should be one of the heaviest burdens carrying in their consciousness, 'He sent Lena and their 2-year-old son away after the Dungeon Break to ensure their safety... Yet he ended up within one of the safest places in the world.', thought Tione, 'How is he coping with that? Maybe he's wishing he's one of those Minotaur brothers who only think of fighting and flexing their muscles?'

However, they luckily didn't have enough time to dwell on that as a woman, who was supposed to have died, suddenly appeared in the middle of the discussion and said while pointing up, "You all don't have to worry about that~! Reinforcements have arrived~!"

Everyone unconsciously followed the direction she pointed and it was unknown when, but an enormous mass of land was descending on their location.

Editors:

28th00: Ah, so they collected the refugees and families? Also, did Lena finally stop being a creep and get Bete? I find that hilarious. Like, her entire character makes you go "You know, I can't disagree with Bete's responses towards her at all." Or at least someone explained to her how pregnancy actually fucking works? Oof.

Goyya: 7 years is a long time~