The villainous young master just wants to live a Buddhist-like life.

　"Until the results are in, it is still unknown who will win and who will lose." On the top floor of the Tower of Endymion.

　The top of the tower is completely exposed.

　Hermes, the god who governs multiple lineages including commerce, travel, theft, deception, eloquence, animal husbandry, sports, athletics, and the underworld, sat calmly at a stone table.

　On the stone table were snacks, black tea, and a chessboard.

　On the opposite side of the stone table sat Principal Cynthia St. Arte, the person who had ventured into the "Mountain of the Gods" from St. Marian Academy!

　The game being played by both sides was not chess, military chess, or shogi, but simply a game of magic chess with a strong emphasis on entertainment.

　Principal Arte has been here with this incredibly bored god, playing a magical chess game for a long time.

　But the real battleground between them is not on this invisible chessboard.

　"Then we'll see."

　Principal Al in the 0'-

　The battle at the top of the Tower of Endymion has already begun.

　Donning the "Aries Palace Armor," Aurelia rushed towards the statue like the wind, intending to confront it head-on.

　The warhammer in her hand was radiating intense holy light, and she stood on the victory halo bestowed upon her by the Twin Paladins.

　The statue was about four meters tall, holding a stone-carved "Scepter of the God of Commerce" in its hand and wearing winged boots.

　This makes it appear bulky, yet it is incredibly fast.

　When the wings on both sides of its ankles spread out, it moves at high speed without making a sound.

　But when Ollie charged forward with her warhammer, it also swung its scepter.

　The two long-handled weapons collided violently, producing a terrifying reverberation.

　0

　The statue remained completely still.

　Ollie was sent flying backward by this attack!

　But her backward speed suddenly slowed down. She immediately cast a healing light on herself and then adjusted her posture to land steadily.

Chapter 1000 Darkdemon and the Final Ritual (13k views, please vote)

　Ollie's move was merely a test.

　A full-force attack would be the quickest way to determine the power level of that statue.

　As things stand, the power of the idol far surpasses hers, but it's not to the point of being completely unbearable.

　Taking past enemies as an example, they need to be slightly larger than that "monster angel"—which is actually unexpectedly low.

　However, the two are on different tracks. The "Monster Angel" is known for its physical strength, while the identity of this statue is still unknown.

　But since Hermes is controlling it from behind the scenes, it is highly likely that it possesses divine power and has mastered multiple rules.

　Physical strength is only the most superficial part of its many powers. It can be said that it is a combination of "monster angel" and "mysterious man", possessing the characteristics and power of both.

　Moreover, in terms of manipulating the rules, it is definitely much stronger than that "mysterious person". As Ollie was repelled, the other group's magical spirits swarmed forward! Although these magical spirits could not compare with the idol in terms of power, they could draw out its abilities.

　The primary condition for dealing with the power of rules is to understand the specific rules that the other party has mastered!

　Knowing yourself and your enemy doesn't guarantee victory in every battle, but if you know nothing, you'll truly have to rely on brute force.

　However, ordinary magical spirits obviously cannot draw out the power of that idol.

　At first, only swarms of low-star magical elves rushed forward, including even legion-type units.

　These magical spirits are mostly in the first or second tier, receiving significant enhancements from the group buff aura. But compared to that statue, they are still ants among ants.

　But to kill an ant, you must first lift your foot and then stomp down.

　These magical spirits clearly bought a lot of time, giving everyone present more time to summon.

　Therefore, the next wave to rush up was already at least the third tier of magical spirits!

　Even those third-tier magical spirits could be taken down with a single punch. But at least they managed to cause some trouble for the statue, though that trouble was ultimately insignificant…

　However, that statue was simply too powerful!

　Although its strength is only slightly greater than that of the "Monster Angel," its speed is far superior.

　Although that "Monster Angel" was already incredibly fast, another point is that it was completely immune to transformation-type special moves!

　All the control-type ultimate moves were unleashed on it, but they had no effect whatsoever.

　All the negative effects that came at it did not reduce it even a little bit.

　It exudes divinity, and even its punches have an unusual sense of weight.

　One magical spirit after another rushed forward, only to be drawn to it like moths to a flame. Aside from magical spirits with death immunity, none could withstand a single blow from it.

　Dark and the others soon discovered that, in front of this statue, the magical spirits of the third tier were completely indistinguishable from those of the first and second tiers.

　Even a fourth-tier magical spirit might not be able to withstand a single punch! But beneath this seemingly fierce battle lies a strange atmosphere.

　Dark and the others didn't notice at first, but after a while they immediately became aware of it.

　If that statue could ignore control and debuff-type ultimate skills, why was it trapped in place by the magical spirits that could kill one by one with a single punch?

　Obviously, those magical spirits could never do that.

　The only explanation for this situation is that the statue itself, out of its own will, did not attempt to break through the magical spirits' encirclement. In other words, it did not possess any particularly strong aggression towards humans!

　But upon closer reflection, it becomes clear that this is actually quite normal.

　After all, Hermes' goal was to force Dark and the others to voluntarily offer the twelve gold medals to the twelve statues.

　Rather than actually wanting to kill them.

　Of course, killing one or two is also a form of intimidation. Once the idol launches its attack, it will show no mercy.

　Just like the beam of light it initially emitted, if Dark hadn't dodged in time, he would have been pierced by the beam.

　The current situation is likely intended to demonstrate "deterrence".

　However, it clearly underestimated human intelligence.

　After quickly realizing its purpose, Dak and his men quietly took action.

　When it realized what was happening, Fred North and Isaiah Roger, along with Quintina North and Norma Roger, slipped into the stairwell and retreated to the lower level.

　—Although I don't know how this "Tower of Endymion" was designed, the staircase winding around the supporting pillars certainly makes it difficult for golems to move.

　Once you retreat to a lower level, you will gain considerable safety.

　Moreover, based on the timeline, it will take a considerable amount of time for the pollutants below to reach the top of the tower.

　During this period, the safety of Quintina North and Norma Rogers will be guaranteed.

　Then, Isaiah Roger emerged halfway out of the stairwell and tried to rejoin the battle.

　Among those present, Fred North and Isaiah Roger, who were the weakest, must have been weaker in terms of strength since they were able to kill a creature alone and win a gold medal. They just hadn't shown it before.

　At this critical moment of life and death, he held nothing back and unleashed a massive area-of-effect grass magic attack!

　Using magic cards as an aid shortens the casting time and allows for the stable release of advanced magic.

　Isaiah Roger's mastery of grass magic is unparalleled. He completed the spell in an extremely short time, using the healing flowers that filled "Paradise" as his medium.

　One by one, pale yellow flowers sprouted from the ground and transformed into lush, leafy tree-people.

　When the light in his hand disappeared, more than a dozen giant tree-men, each over five meters tall, appeared around the statue.

　These tree-men attacked simultaneously, their thick branches suddenly growing larger amidst the rustling of leaves, wrapping around the statue's limbs and neck.

　—This type of control-based finishing move achieved through physical means is fundamentally impossible to be immune to.

　However, a major prerequisite for trapping the statue is that the combined power of the tree people must be able to match that of the statue!

　But they clearly cannot do that.

　The statue suddenly raised its hand and pulled hard, lifting the tree-man who had bound its hands off the ground.

　Then, with a casual flick of its wrist, it slammed the tree-men violently into the surrounding buildings.

　Buildings continued to be smashed, their remains turning into magical remnants. Scattered sparks drifted in the air.

　More magical spirits were smashed open by the treant. The space around the statue was cleared in an instant. A brief silence fell over the scene.

　Isaiah Roger's mouth dropped open.

　This scene was completely unexpected, and he immediately realized that he had done something wrong.

　The expressions of the others also stiffened slightly.

　After the surrounding magical spirits were cleared away, the statue seemed unable to continue its individual performance and stood there stunned for a moment.

　But it quickly realized that it had to take action.

　So in the next second, its wings suddenly flapped, propelling its heavy body to move like feathers on the wind. In the blink of an eye, it appeared before Dark!

　Capture the thief first and capture the king!

　The final step of the ceremony is for the winner of the gold medal to offer it to the gods. However, there are no requirements regarding who ultimately wins the medal or which of the winners offers it.

　Even if Dark dies, the entire ritual can continue. In fact, it could proceed even more smoothly!

　Hermes clearly saw through the core of this team.

　Once the core of a team is broken, the team's resilience will decrease significantly, making it easier for them to succumb to reality.

　In fact, Hermes simply couldn't understand why a human would think of disobeying the will of the gods.

　As human beings, can't we do what humans are supposed to do, such as offering our loyalty to God?

　Hermes, annoyed, moved his piece forward another step on the board.

　Under normal circumstances, these humans who came to obtain the "inheritance" would voluntarily offer gold medals or use the blood of the gods they carried to obtain the gods' inheritance after seeing the statues of the twelve gods.

　—Although the information about the “divine inheritance” was released by Hermes through secret means, it was not entirely a lie.

　Although the twelve humans present were not all handpicked by him, several of them did indeed meet the requirements for the inheritance.

　When the ceremony comes to an end, they will indeed receive the inheritance, and their mortal bodies will be transformed into divine bodies under the baptism of the vast divine power.

　Then, it becomes the vessel of the divine consciousness!

　Their bodies underwent a transformation, and their souls did not perish. However, their consciousness was erased, becoming temporary dwelling places for the gods.

　Until the gods reshape their divine bodies and recall their divine souls, they will be thrown away like garbage bags.

　Of course, some benevolent gods will choose a more complicated method to help them regenerate consciousness.

　As for whether the newly formed consciousness is still their own, that's beyond their consideration since their consciousness has already perished.

　Quintina Nos was an excellent vessel for Zeus, the "King of the Gods," to reside in.

　But the situation is completely different now.

　This group of people actually lost their reverence for the gods. Not only did they not immediately offer up the gold medal, but they also began to doubt the authenticity of the inheritance!

　In this way, even if the entire ceremony is eventually completed, it is destined to fail to achieve the most perfect effect.

　At most, it can only awaken the consciousness of the gods and revitalize them.

　—The main purpose of this ritual is for the twelve gods! As for Hermes himself, if everything goes smoothly...

　Besides his own power, he could also obtain partial divine power from eleven other gods through rituals, thus replacing Zeus as the true "King of the Gods"!

　When someone has been idle for too long, they'll always want to do something to prove themselves. Hermes's ambition, in fact, is no different from the vulgar desires of humankind.

　He made many preparations in order to achieve his goal.

　However, everything spiraled out of control the moment Dark destroyed the underground city's transport pipelines.

　Without the nourishment of "angelic essence," his time was running out. If he didn't complete the ritual as soon as possible—even if he did complete it quickly, he would no longer be able to absorb the divine power of the other eleven gods.

　In other words, all the additional benefits he originally wanted are now gone.

　Now, the ritual has been reduced to nothing more than the most basic awakening and... effect. And it seems that even that most basic awakening and... effect is about to disappear!

　Once that happens, he can only forcibly transform this ritual into another kind, a ritual with completely different effects!

　But that's the worst possible strategy, a plan that should absolutely not be implemented unless absolutely necessary.