Half a month had passed since the biblical factions were unified, the Underworld was brought entirely under control, and Hades was captured alive.
During that time, the Underworld had been completely taken over by Heaven and its subordinate forces. Countless surviving Grim Reapers had also pledged allegiance to the God of the Bible and joined Heaven's ranks.
Over the past half month, news of this incident had continued to spread until it had reached practically every corner of the world. Nearly every faction knew about it.
After all, that was the God of the Bible!
Even if they wanted to ignore it, how could they possibly do so?
During this period, some of the smaller factions located relatively close to the Church and Heaven had switched sides one after another, becoming subordinate forces of Heaven.
For a time, Heaven's power expanded once again. Elise had no choice but to temporarily slow her advance and begin incorporating these newly joined factions.
Although Michael and the others ended up handling it in the end...
Still, while Heaven had slowed its advance, the leaders of the various factions certainly weren't sitting idle.
They began consolidating their own forces and ordered their subordinates to keep a close eye on Heaven during this period, as though they themselves might be the next to suffer disaster.
The Greek pantheon in particular had been losing sleep for several days.
After all, Hades was one of their three chief gods!
During the previous war in the Underworld, they had even detected the fluctuation of a teleportation array on their end, only for it to vanish midway through.
After learning the details of that battle, they understood perfectly well what had probably happened. Hades must have tried to flee at that moment, activating a teleportation array in hopes of escaping to Olympus, only for the angels to intercept him.
Thus, as the king of the Greek gods, Zeus was deeply worried that the God of the Bible would come looking for trouble with him next.
So he secretly contacted the chief gods of the various pantheons, intending to use this opportunity to gather them together and discuss ways to resist the God of the Bible.
And today was the day they had assembled.
At the highest peak of Greece stood Mount Olympus.
At the summit of this divine mountain stood a palace of pure white, the residence of Zeus, King of the Gods.
Yet at this moment, the palace hall was filled with a group of people who did not belong here...or rather, gods!
Their clothing and appearances varied greatly, and each kept a certain distance from the others, warily watching the gods around them.
After all, they did not belong to the same factions. A few were even mortal enemies. They had gathered here only because of what the God of the Bible had done recently.
When the host finally arrived, every god's gaze turned toward him.
Zeus, King of the Greek Gods!
"Everyone has traveled a long way to come here. I assume you're all here because of the announcement Heaven released some time ago?"
Quite a few gods nodded. They had indeed heard about that matter, which was why they had privately accepted Zeus' invitation and come to attend this meeting.
So, what announcement had Elise made?
Naturally, it was...
A declaration of war against every faction in the world!
There were already very few people in this world capable of fighting her. Those who could were either sealed away, absent from this world, or partners like Ophis.
So Elise truly had nothing left to fear!
So what if she made an enemy of the entire world? If she backed down even once, she'd write her name backward!
When that announcement had first been made, it had caused no small shock throughout the world!
That was why the gods of countless pantheons had begun searching for ways to oppose the biblical factions and the God of the Bible.
And that was precisely why they had come to the meeting Zeus had organized.
"The God of the Bible intends to unify the entire world. When that happens, none of us will be spared. I'm sure all of you understand that fact."
Seeing the gods' expressions gradually darken, Zeus immediately prepared to add fuel to the fire.
Nothing worked better than making himself sound miserable!
"I'm sure you've all heard what happened a week ago, haven't you?"
The God of the Bible had led the angels, Fallen Angels, and Devils to completely conquer the entire Underworld in less than a single hour!
Such speed had shocked every pantheon. Naturally, all of them had heard about it.
"My elder brother Hades has already fallen victim to the God of the Bible! In the future, there will undoubtedly be even more people who have everything taken from them by the God of the Bible!"
"To prevent such tragedies from happening, we must gather together. Otherwise, one of us will be next."
"I hope everyone can set aside their differences and form an alliance so that we may join forces to defeat the God of the Bible!"
Zeus had said a great deal, but it could all be summed up in just a few points.
Hades had been killed.
The God of the Bible intended to unify the world.
They should form a coalition army and defeat the God of the Bible.
Naturally, every pantheon leader present knew Hades extremely well, and most of them found that gloomy bastard rather unpleasant.
But dislike was one thing. Hades' strength was undeniable. No matter how you looked at it, there was no way someone like him should have been swept aside in just a few hours, right?
That skeleton's talent for survival was infamous!
Even if he couldn't win, how could he have failed to escape?
The more they thought about it, the more terrifying the God of the Bible seemed!
"Zeus makes a very good point."
Nearby, Odin, the chief god of Norse mythology and a god-king wearing an eyepatch over his left eye, slowly spoke up.
"As was just said, the God of the Bible's goal is the entire world. None of us can escape what is coming."
"I'm sure all of you understand the strength of the God of the Bible and Heaven perfectly well. If we do not unite, the only fate awaiting us is to be defeated one by one and cast into eternal ruin!"
"Only by cooperating do we have even the slightest hope of victory."
"Therefore, I support Zeus' proposal."
After Odin finished speaking, a strange silence descended over the gathering. The chief gods of the various pantheons frowned, silently weighing the advantages and disadvantages of the matter. Zeus and Odin understood this as well, so they gave them time.
An alliance was naturally a good idea. It would allow the various pantheons to maximize their collective influence.
But there was also one problem!
Since it was an alliance, these factions would inevitably interact with one another far more often, and that would create even more conflicts.
As long as the God of the Bible remained, those conflicts naturally wouldn't cause much trouble. But...what if the God of the Bible died again?
At that point, the alliance would undoubtedly descend into another bloody storm!
The leaders of countless pantheons pondered for a long time, yet none of them could reach a perfect answer. The risks presented by the two choices were roughly equal, and a single misstep could send an entire pantheon into decline.
But...
The Fallen Angels and Devils had surrendered, and the God of the Bible had spared them because they had originally been two of the three great biblical factions.
Hades was not part of the biblical factions, and he had been killed.
These pantheon leaders had no way of knowing whether the God of the Bible would simply smack them to death after they surrendered!
So they could only make that choice...
Fight to the bitter end!
"Fine! I agree to the alliance!"
"So do we. The God of the Bible unifying the world would absolutely be the worst possible outcome for us!"
"We have to crush this threat as soon as possible!"
Even Brahma and Vishnu, who had come from the Hindu pantheon to attend this meeting, agreed with Odin.
The God of the Bible was simply too troublesome!
Her strength was enough to rank among the top three in the entire world!
Relying on Shiva, their God of Destruction, alone probably wouldn't be enough to achieve victory, so they had no choice but to resort to this plan.
And so, just like that, an alliance between the major pantheons was finalized.
"Then the outcome of this meeting is settled!"
Once the factions backed by major gods began agreeing to form the alliance, the opinions of those present quickly became unanimous.
The small and mid-sized factions that had previously been afraid to take sides immediately followed in the footsteps of those major gods...
Why did this scene feel so familiar?
It was almost like countless little brothers following five big brothers in making a choice. Choose wrong, and disaster could come knocking!
Perhaps every world had its own unspeakable difficulties.
"Then, everyone, to celebrate the establishment of our alliance, please enjoy the delicacies our Greek pantheon has prepared for you..."
"Huh? This actually tastes pretty good."
Just before Zeus finished speaking, a woman's voice came from nearby.
If that had been all, it would not have been enough to attract Zeus' attention, but...
That voice contained an extremely peculiar power that continuously drew Zeus and the chief gods of the other pantheons into turning their heads toward it.
Beside one of the dining tables, they finally saw the owner of that voice—a breathtakingly beautiful blonde girl!
For a moment, everyone's attention was drawn toward that goddess.
Yes, a goddess!
Everyone present was a deity, so naturally they could tell whether someone possessed divinity. The woman before them undoubtedly carried an extraordinarily dense divine presence!
But who was she? Which pantheon did she belong to?
With so many gods present, not a single one of them could recognize this beautiful goddess.
When Elise realized that, she nearly burst out laughing.
Michael and the others had done far too good a job with their intelligence control, hadn't they?
She had only casually mentioned before that, until the real war began, they shouldn't recklessly allow images of her to leak out.
Yet even after everything she had done, the chief gods of the other pantheons still had no idea what she looked like?
Now this was going to be fun!
"Beautiful goddess, may I ask who you are?"
As the host of this meeting, Zeus naturally had to step forward at a time like this.
As a god-king, he could sense that Elise's divinity was by no means weak. In fact, it was comparable to his own!
Yet strangely enough, Zeus could not recall a single goddess who matched her description. Even his queen, Hera, was fundamentally different from the goddess before him.
Calling it a difference was putting it mildly. In truth, it was a gap!
Those women simply could not compare to the goddess before him! The stronger a god was, the more clearly they could sense Elise's extraordinary nature.
Her beauty was not merely ordinary attractiveness, but something closer to a concept itself!
The beauty that surrounded this goddess was one such manifestation.
Although he did not recognize her, judging from her authority, she was probably a goddess of beauty from some pantheon he simply hadn't heard of.
"You really don't recognize me?"
To make certain, Elise once again asked the gods, but the answer she received was still a series of shaken heads. Even Zeus, Brahma, and the others had no idea who she was.
Only one white-bearded old man narrowed his eyes...
"Your pantheon must be both secretive and extraordinarily powerful. Otherwise, there is no way someone as strong as you could have appeared without the slightest rumor reaching us."
That was what Zeus said, but after living for so many years, what goddess of beauty hadn't he seen? They were seriously underestimating this Greek stud!
Yet if even a male god as experienced as Zeus had no idea who Elise was, that could only mean the other side had deliberately concealed herself!
For a goddess with this level of strength, hiding certain information was something no one could possibly uncover.
"What a shame!"
Elise waved a hand. Then the corners of her lips curled upward, revealing an excited expression.
"Then I shall formally announce it to all of you!"
"My name is Elise, Lord of Hosts who rules over all things, the God of the Bible who comes from Heaven!"
Didn't expect that, did you? It was me, Elise!
The God of the Bible!
The moment those four words entered everyone's ears, there was only one thing left for them to do.
And that was...let their jaws drop.
Even powerhouses on Zeus and Brahma's level leaped straight out of their seats, which was more than enough to demonstrate just how much weight that name carried!
"The God of the Bible? She's the God of the Bible?"
"Forget that for now. How did she even get in here?"
"We were literally just discussing an alliance to oppose the God of the Bible! How did she suddenly show up on our doorstep?"
Could it be...a trap?
For a moment, countless gazes shifted toward Zeus, since he was the one presiding over this meeting!
If the God of the Bible had not appeared, then this gathering would have been nothing more than an ordinary meeting. Everyone would have arrived while suspicious of one another, then gone home still suspicious of one another, without anything unexpected happening.
But now that Elise had appeared, the implications were completely different!
Had the Greek pantheon already made a secret agreement with the God of the Bible to eliminate everyone who posed a threat to Elise?
Had they deliberately waited for all these people to form a grand alliance, only to cooperate with Zeus and the others in completely wiping out the chief gods of their respective mythological factions?
If that happened, every pantheon would be left leaderless!
Then the Greeks could seize this opportunity to reap tremendous benefits and even earn themselves a good reputation!
Truly killing two birds with one stone, Zeus!
Just as the other gods were preparing to denounce Zeus, Zeus himself actually looked completely dumbfounded. He probably had never expected Elise to dare barge into their headquarters entirely alone!
"Everyone, please remain calm. The fact that the God of the Bible has appeared here is naturally an accident."
"No matter what, our Greek pantheon would never surrender to the biblical pantheon! We will only resist to the death!"
The people below were clearly beginning to stir, and now was definitely not the time for that!
To stabilize the situation, Zeus had no choice but to step forward and speak, forcibly suppressing the unrest.
Soon, under Zeus' urging, the group of gods finally quieted down. Yet the looks they gave Zeus still seemed strangely suspicious.
Zeus naturally understood that, in the eyes of those gods, he had not yet cleared himself of suspicion. But that didn't matter. He turned his attention back toward the dazzling goddess.
"God of the Bible, I never expected you would dare come alone to our Greek pantheon. Are our guards merely decorations to you?"
Zeus' tone revealed his displeasure with Elise.
"Aren't they?"
Elise tilted her head and asked the question right back. Getting here had been ridiculously easy!
When the guards at the entrance saw her, they naturally assumed she was some goddess of beauty from one of the mythological factions. They hadn't dared provoke her, much less stop her, all right?
That was why, after learning they were holding a meeting, Elise had been able to simply march straight in through the front.
Elise even licked the corner of her lips.
What was about to happen next would not be as simple as what had come before! Prepare yourselves!