— — — — — —
Having lived for countless ages and seen more than most could imagine, Zeus understood one truth better than anyone.
Endure the small things, or ruin the bigger plan.
No matter how furious he was, he knew there was only one choice. Let it go.
Knowing that, however, did absolutely nothing to cool his temper.
Suppressing his anger, Zeus continued flipping through the newspapers in his hands at lightning speed.
Newspapers in Little Garden's upper layers weren't read with the eyes. They were read with spiritual perception.
Each "article" contained an enormous amount of information. Converted into computer data, every issue would easily measure in gigabytes.
The stack in Zeus's hands consisted of several different papers, all published by beings who held Authority over information itself.
Thanks to those Authorities, their reports were incredibly comprehensive, making them the easiest way for Zeus to stay informed about events in the lower layers.
Among them was Garden News, published by Prithvi Mata.
Its pages were buried near the back.
After all, Mata mostly specialized in gossip. If she didn't occasionally report movements of the Heavenly Army, Zeus wouldn't have bothered with such a tabloid.
Still... Under normal circumstances, he didn't mind reading embarrassing scandals about his old rivals for amusement.
Today, however, something felt different.
After finishing the serious news and finally reaching the tabloids, Zeus's eyes froze on the headline splashed across the front page of Garden News.
{Breaking News! A Certain Greek God-King Has Actually...}
His eyes widened. A bad feeling settled in his heart.
For several seconds, he didn't even dare probe the article with his spiritual sense.
After a long silence, he took a deep breath. Then he reached out.
The moment his consciousness touched the page, a flood of colorful information exploded inside his mind.
{Zeus Makes His Debut As a Porn Actor! Join us as we explore Zeus's scandalous life!}
Zeus immediately wanted to stop reading.
Unfortunately, spiritual newspapers didn't work that way. Once activated, the information poured into his mind automatically.
Like water blasting from a fountain. It just kept coming.
Debut Video: Zeus Takes All ________ Studio: Big Banana Community
Then one outrageous headline after another hammered into his consciousness.
After enduring the barrage, Zeus fell silent.
Then, he laughed coldly.
"I don't know which old bastard came up with this... But this? This is all you've got?"
"I fought through the Dawn Age. I've suffered every humiliation imaginable. You think I'm some hot-headed fool who'd lose his temper over something like this?"
He paused dramatically before scoffing, "Immature."
Still sneering, Zeus calmly turned the page.
As King of the Greek Gods, he knew perfectly well what his reputation looked like throughout Little Garden.
And yet... Had that ever stopped him from doing whatever he pleased?
Did they really think this sort of thing could disgust him? Did they think he cared?
Hell, if whatever this "Big Banana Community" had produced was entertaining enough, he might even toss them a donation.
They were just using his name as a publicity stunt. Trying to gross him out with male fanservice.
Hardly worth mentioning.
Go ahead. Make ten more. He'd take every single one without blinking.
Just as he'd expected, the second page was still about him.
More coverage of his so-called debut.
This time, though, there were photos of the cast.
Zeus sneered as he casually opened the images with his spiritual sense.
A heartbeat later, veins bulged across his forehead.
"What the hell?! Why are they so ugly?! What is this Big Banana trying to pull?!"
The instant those faces appeared in his mind, he gagged.
The movie itself hadn't bothered him. The casting did.
Those bastards... every single male lead looked hideous.
Crooked faces. Misshapen features. Not one of them was remotely attractive.
They had obviously handpicked people specifically designed to offend his tastes.
Little Garden was unimaginably vast. Where had they even found such a collection of freaks?
Zeus finally couldn't hold it anymore. He bent over and vomited crackling liquid lightning all over the floor.
Only after a long while did he recover, his expression darker than ever.
"Plenty of people know my preferences... But very few know exactly what kind of appearance disgusts me."
"This wasn't random. This was someone who knows me. Maybe even someone close to me."
It wasn't that Zeus hadn't considered Ryo. After all, they were currently each other's biggest enemies.
But he dismissed the idea almost immediately.
In Zeus's opinion, Ryo absolutely would buy his counterpart and throw him into an adult film. That sounded exactly like something he'd do. But... there was no way Ryo could carefully select actors whose appearances targeted Zeus's personal dislikes with such uncanny precision.
No. This had to be an inside job.
"Egypt... The Norse... Aztec... Or perhaps someone much closer."
"Hermes. Apollo. Ares.... Even Hera."
The more suspects he listed, the darker his face became. There were simply too many.
Just figuring out who was responsible would cost an enormous amount of time and effort.
And Zeus's practical mind immediately recognized the truth.
It wasn't worth it.
The smartest response was to ignore it. Let the gossip die down naturally. Then quietly destroy that damned community afterward.
But not doing anything made him furious.
He tried to endure it.
But the more he endured, the angrier he became.
Thunder rumbled throughout the palace for a long time. Then, without warning, a bolt of lightning shot into the sky.
"Tezlipoca! Aten! Baal! Get out here and face me!"
Moments after his thunderous roar echoed across the sky...
The sun blazed. Violent storms gathered. Clouds of locusts darkened the sky.
Then a mocking voice rang out, "Interesting. We've been waiting here all this time, and now you've come out on your own."
Another voice sounded puzzled. "Strange. He knows we've been blockading him. So why come out now?"
A third voice snorted. "Enough talking. Beat him!"
Before anyone could say another word, Zeus let out a battle cry that shook the sky.
The battle erupted instantly.
...
..
Meanwhile, in the lower layers, at Arcadia Headquarters—
Having only recently returned, Ryo was busy sorting through the Gifts and Authorities he'd acquired.
Countless spheres of light floated around him.
Sitting comfortably on a sofa, he used his Cosmo to examine them one by one, stripping away the strange and varied abilities contained within.
Before long, he reached a conclusion.
"Storm, fire, earth, and sea Authorities all have excellent compatibility with my Cosmo..."
"After those, sun and moon Authorities come next. It looks like my Cosmo naturally resonates with fundamental elemental Authorities."
Authority compatibility mattered.
A fire god couldn't simply absorb the Authority of the sea. Nor could a god of war forcefully assimilate the Authority of peace.
(Note: Authority and Limit-Authority have the same value to outsiders, as a true Authority must first be reduced to its Limit-Authority state before it can be absorbed. And in essence, Limit-Authority represents the highest attainable level of a Gift.)
The best results always came from Authorities that suited one's nature and didn't conflict with one another. That was why Ryo consistently sought Authorities related to destruction, shattering, and ruin.
His Cosmo already possessed two fundamental aspects—creation and destruction. Authorities aligned with either of those, so long as they didn't conflict with one another, were ideal additions to his Spirit Rank.
Among today's harvest, the elemental Authorities fit him reasonably well. Once he fully mastered Destruction, they could serve as reliable substitutes.
Of course, the truly perfect Authorities would still be Creation.
Life would also be excellent. Even Space-Time would be far better than simple elemental powers. Those would allow his Cosmo to reach its greatest potential.
Unfortunately, Authorities like those were incredibly rare.
"I'll have Lakshmi see what she can find through Ouroboros. They've got more resources than anyone." He waved a hand. "The incompatible ones can be stored. They'll make useful rewards for my subordinates. Or I'll use them myself later if my compatibility improves."
With that, he put away the Authorities that didn't suit him and temporarily integrated the six compatible ones into his Spirit Rank, leaving them to be fully assimilated later.
Finished with his work, Ryo clapped his hands and stood up.
Time to find Kurousagi.
The honored guests from the Asura clan would be arriving soon, and someone had to welcome them properly.
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