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Chapter 127: War Game
Hephaestus also caught on, her gaze toward Apollo filled with sheer contempt. "Another one of your petty little tricks. Apollo, you truly are as disgustingly shameless now as you were centuries ago."
"Be that as it may, my beloved children have been left in a horrific state! My heart is breaking!" Apollo completely ignored their remarks. He pressed one hand dramatically against his chest and threw his other arm up toward the ceiling, as if mourning a grand tragedy.
His sheer audacity was truly in a league of its own.
At that moment, a commotion broke out at the back of the crowd. Several people wrapped in bandages like mummies—with one even being carried on a stretcher—were forcefully shoved to the front. It was the very same Apollo Familia members who had clashed with Aiden a few days prior, thoroughly beaten black and blue.
"Ahhh! Helios, Seleno, my poor children!" Apollo instantly channeled his inner award-winning actor. Wailing their names in faux agony, he rushed over to their sides.
"It hurts! It hurts so much, Lord Apollo!" The Apollo Extortion Squad immediately played along, howling in coordinated agony.
While it was true that Aiden had beaten them rather severely, given the natural resilience of adventurers and the application of healing magic, they should have been perfectly fine by now. This half-dead, miserable display was clearly the work of professional actors following a script.
The adventurer on the stretcher was particularly committed to the bit, screaming "My leg is broken!" while stealthily shifting into a more comfortable position.
"You're overacting, Apollo!" Even Miach, who usually avoided conflict at all costs, couldn't stand it anymore. He stepped forward, his clear blue eyes filled with undisguised disdain. "Rather than having your children put on a show at a banquet, you should send them to find work at a theater."
However, Miach's voice of reason was quickly drowned out by the increasingly rowdy clamor of the other deities.
"Oho? Is Miach playing the hero of justice? As expected of the overly serious god of goodness."
"Exactly! Banquets are always so boring, we need some entertainment, right? I could tell from the start that there was going to be a good show today. Totally worth coming!"
"Fight! Fight!"
An unknown god even pulled a bag of sunflower seeds out of nowhere and started eagerly snacking in the front row. These deities, who never minded watching the world burn, didn't care about right and wrong. They only craved entertainment; they only wanted a spectacle.
Empowered by the "will of the people," the faux sorrow vanished from Apollo's face, replaced by a twisted, triumphant sneer. He snapped his fingers elegantly, his golden eyes gleaming like a hunter watching prey step into a trap.
"Do you see this, Focalors? Everyone is on my side. If a mistake is made, punishment must follow. That is the most basic form of justice, is it not?"
Focalors reached out and grabbed Takemikazuchi and Miach, who were about to step forward and argue, gently shaking her head. She knew that since Apollo had escalated the situation this far, debating who was right or wrong was completely pointless.
She took a step forward, looking Apollo dead in the eye, and asked calmly, "Out with it. What do you want?"
"How refreshing!" Apollo praised. Then, his expression contorted at a visible speed, the corners of his mouth stretching into an exaggerated, grotesque grin. "Focalors... let's have a War Game."
"Here it comes! Apollo's signature move—Facial Distortion Time!"
"How vulgar! But man, I am so excited!"
"Isn't this just blatant bullying using his larger numbers?"
"Shh... Even if it is bullying, it just makes me want to watch it more."
The moment the term "War Game" was dropped, the atmosphere in the banquet hall ignited instantly. The chaos-loving gods let out malicious chuckles, joining the uproar and shouting, "Now things are getting fun!" The wall of spectators roared with excitement, wildly supporting Apollo's provocation.
A War Game was an all-out proxy war between Familias. It treated the Familia members as chess pieces fighting to enact the divine will of their respective gods. The victor would hold absolute power of life and death over the loser, stripping them of everything—their members, their wealth, and even their very existence in the city.
"If I win..." Apollo's voice dropped, dripping with heavy, undisguised lust. "I want your Captain... Aiden."
I knew it. Focalors sneered internally.
Even though she had long guessed his true motive, hearing Apollo say it out loud still triggered a visceral wave of annoyance. At the same time, she found the sheer absurdity of it almost laughable.
"What?!" Hearing that Apollo's target was actually Aiden, both Naaza and Yamato Mikoto gasped in shock. Even Ais, who had been standing silently beside Loki, widened her golden eyes in surprise.
Apollo's face twisted into a smile overflowing with greed and possessiveness. That expression made him look less like the God of the Sun and more like the God of Creeps.
"Focalors, give him to me. I'll be sure to thank you properly." He spread his arms wide as if embracing the entire world. "He is the sun! He is light itself! Ahh, just being near him makes me feel that scorching heat. I'm going to melt! I beg you, Focalors, hand him over. I will love him so, so deeply."
By the end of his speech, Apollo had wrapped his arms around his own torso, writhing like a snake, his expression equal parts intoxicated and repulsive.
Aiden inhaled sharply, a violent shudder of disgust shooting straight from his tailbone to the top of his skull, giving him full-body goosebumps. He felt an overwhelming urge to instantly unleash [Genos Angelus] and obliterate this walking source of mental pollution into absolute dust right then and there.
"You... pervert." Focalors's eye twitched violently. Her gaze toward Apollo was filled with unapologetic revulsion and disgust.
"How can you call me a pervert, Focalors?" Apollo looked at her with feigned hurt before his expression shifted back to manic fervor. "This is love! Ahhhh, this passionate, fiery heart of mine burns with a love as hot as the sun!"
"Shut up!" Focalors shivered, physically repulsed by Apollo's theatrical performance. "If you want a fight, we'll fight. Just stop grossing me out."
The moment those words left her mouth, the entire hall fell silent for a single second.
Immediately after, the corners of Apollo's twisted mouth split practically ear-to-ear. He threw his arms wide like an evil god welcoming the worship of his cultists and roared at the top of his lungs, "Hereby, an agreement has been reached between both deities! Everyone! The War Game is officially ON!"
"OOOOOOHHHHH!"
Like throwing a bucket of gasoline onto a bonfire, the banquet hall completely erupted.
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