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

　She glanced around and said, "I sensed the aura of the underworld here, which must be why this 'Underworld Orb' suddenly activated."

　Dark suddenly realized, "I roughly understand. This is how to enter the 'Heavenly Court' now."

　Lily said, "I sensed it as soon as I entered the 'Heavenly Court'... By the way, what are you all doing? Where's Cynthia? Have you found her?"

　Dark didn't expose her clumsy attempt to change the subject, and said directly, "We haven't found Principal Arte yet, but we're certain that someone has been manipulating this whole thing behind the scenes. Hermes, the god of commerce, travelers, thieves, and livestock, his consciousness should be nearby. If we find him, we should be able to find Principal Arte."

　Professor Lily said, "Hermes himself should be more powerful than his idol, right?"

　Dark said, "Who knows? But in any case, there must be a reason why he hasn't made a move yet."

　He was about to suggest that Hermes might be performing some kind of ritual when Angry suddenly approached and said, "The contaminants are almost reaching this level." Dark thought for a moment, then said, "Go back to the top floor."

　After returning to the top floor.

　Dark discovered that the barrier on this level had already disappeared.

　And there's no black fog or pollutants outside the windows on the top floor, so you can basically leave whenever you want.

　But as he said before, to find Principal Arte, one must first find Hermes' consciousness.

　Today, of the twelve statues of the gods in this ritual site, only eleven remain.

　If Hermes wanted to complete the ritual, he would have to appear before the contaminants reached this place.

　At this point, Dark couldn't help but glance again at the "Orb of Truth" in Professor Lily's hand.

　Professor Lily held the "Orb of Truth" containing the idol tightly in her hand; if Hermes wanted to retrieve the idol from her, he would likely have to pay a hefty price.

　Not long after, Hermes's consciousness truly appeared. However, appearing at the same time was Principal Cynthia St. Artemis.

　Hermes' face was ashen, like that of a dead man.

　Principal Arte, however, was all smiles. Dark felt there was something wrong with the way she looked at him, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

　But from the difference in their expressions, it's clear that Principal Arte had the upper hand in some matters.

　And at least they don't have to worry about facing Hermes himself again.

　The joy of finding Principal Arte and the disgust of seeing Hermes balanced each other out, and Dark remained calm with little change in his expression.

　Hermes remained silent from the moment he appeared, his face expressionless; it was Principal Arte who spoke the entire time.

　She first greeted Dark and the others, then introduced herself to the members of the Holy Church and the Elf race, and finally introduced Hermes behind her.

　Everyone present had suffered enough since being transported to "Heaven" by Hermes, so naturally they didn't look at him well.

　Even the Twin Paladins, who worship God, glared at him without any politeness.

　However, the Holy Church ultimately believes in "holiness," not other gods. But Hermes is, after all, a genuine god. Before he starts showering gold coins, Dark and the others wouldn't be foolish enough to easily confront him.

　What's more, now that Principal Arte is here to endorse them... In short, with Principal Arte making an appearance, they'll always have to give them some face.

　Once everyone had calmed down, Principal Art explained the details of the ceremony.

　Hermes originally didn't want to go through this process. But now that his idol was in Professor Lily's hands, he could only stand aside like this as an ornamental pet, enduring the sharp gazes of Dark and the others.

　But he had no other way out but to accept defeat...

　As Principal Art explained in detail, Dak and the others finally learned the whole story.

　First, the twelve Poirotians did indeed escape Ragnarok. But they paid an unimaginably high price for it.

　Leaving aside the entire Mount Porobos and the entire population of "Heaven," those who refused to sever ties with their gods were all destined to die in Ragnarok.

　So that doesn't count as a price.

　The real price for the twelve gods was their divine bodies and souls, and being sealed in the "Heavenly Court" forever, never to leave.

　The divine body and soul were meant to deceive Ragnarok.

　They simply separated consciousness—divine awareness—from their divine body and soul, and then cultivated a new wisp of divine awareness within their own divine body and soul.

　That wisp of divine consciousness replaced them, becoming the new Twelve Celestials, and died completely in Ragnarok.

　They merged with the "Heavenly Court" and lowered their status, thus successfully escaping "Ragnarok".

　However, after Ragnarok, the entire Heavenly Court was polluted by contaminants from the abyss, and those who were integrated with the Heavenly Court naturally suffered from the contamination.

　Of the twelve gods, only Hermes' authority can connect to the "underworld"!

　Everyone, including Dark, was hearing for the first time that Hermes actually had authority related to the "underworld".

　Although Dark had already witnessed it from the statue, he only confirmed his guess after hearing it from Principal Arte himself.

　However, in the myths and legends of his previous life, Hermes was actually a god associated with the underworld.

　He is a famous "guide to the underworld" who helps the souls of the dead reach the underworld.

　In many Greek myths, Hermes is the only god, besides Hades and Persephone, who can freely enter and leave the underworld!

　Upon receiving this information, a new idea suddenly popped into Dark's mind.

　Count Stanley Longfellow, appointed by the King, and his female bodyguard Gwen—could this be the reason they came to (the Heavenly Court)?

　The reason why an elderly human being could suddenly regain his vigor overnight, and why the old king was able to "rejuvenate" and even restore his complexion to that of his prime, is most likely due to the involvement of divine intervention.

　Considering that his resurgence occurred after the "Demon King's Execution Ceremony" on that day, it can be inferred that he most likely came into contact with deities related to the underworld.

　The god of the underworld does indeed possess the authority to grant rebirth. Therefore, it makes much more sense that he dispatched Count Stanley Longfellow and his bodyguard Gwen to this "heavenly court."

　Unfortunately, although they entered the Mountain of the Gods and even the passage to the "Heavenly Court," they were ultimately blocked at the entrance and were unable to take even a single step into the "Heavenly Court."

　Because Hermes possesses authority related to the "underworld," he is more tolerant of contaminants than the other eleven gods.

　So, a thousand years ago, when the consciousness of the other eleven gods had fallen into slumber due to their inability to withstand the pollution, he remained conscious.

　Over the course of a thousand years, he did many things, including rebuilding the Tower of Endymion and diverting all the pollutants of the entire Heavenly Court into the Tower of Endymion!

　In other words, the Tower of Endymion is essentially a "garbage tower".

　Before the Tower of Endymion was used as a ceremonial venue, this was its intended purpose.

　The "Heavenly Court" that Dak and the others are seeing now is actually the result of a cleanup.

　The creatures within this "Heavenly Court" began to multiply rapidly after that.

　In some ways, Hermes can be considered the creator of the "heavenly court".

　After that, he spent his days alone in the "Heavenly Court".

　Finally, one day, he suddenly discovered a crack in the barrier between the "Heavenly Court" and the "Mortal World".

　The appearance of that crack was completely without cause.

　However, if we trace back through history, we will find that such inexplicable events often occur frequently during certain special periods.

　The most readily associated period is naturally the era of "the resurgence of the gods." History is a cycle.

　Even gods who have comprehended the rules of heaven and earth seem unable to escape this cycle of reincarnation.

　Hermes realized that he might have survived the most difficult period. A new era for the gods had finally begun.

　He is the god of borders and travelers who cross them.

　Although only a tiny crack had appeared in the barrier between the "Heavenly Court" and the "Mortal World," it was enough for him.

　However, his consciousness, like that of the other gods, merged with the "Heavenly Court".

　This concept is actually the same as "earthbound spirit." He cannot leave the "Heavenly Court."

　Therefore, he could only rely on his own authority to hear the sounds of the world through the propagation of the wind.

　But as that crack gradually widened and his research into that ability deepened, the information he could obtain from the "real world" and the interference he could cause to the "real world" became increasingly greater.

　He even developed a few puppets in the "real world" to do some interesting things that helped pass the time.

　But human development has exceeded his expectations.

　From the moment Merlin, the most powerful mage, developed a technology called "magic," the development of the human world embarked on a path that he could not see clearly.

　However, he is also a god of invention and business, born with creative and learning abilities.

　Since he couldn't see the path clearly, he decided to learn, to "steal." He began to study magical techniques, and even occasionally created and perfected some of them, spreading them in his own preferred way.

　The rapid and successful development of human magical technology is undoubtedly due in no small part to his silent contributions behind the scenes.

　But in the last ten years or so, magical technology has suddenly developed explosively, as if a key has been unlocked, catching even him off guard.

　At the same time, he discovered that his fellow gods—eleven others—were also on the verge of collapse even in their slumber.

　A very unusual idea quickly took shape in his mind. But after careful consideration, he abandoned that unusual idea and instead adopted another ritual to awaken and prolong the lives of the eleven gods in a simpler way.

　That ritual was the one that Dark and the others had just experienced.

　And so it all began.

　As for Hermes discovering that he too had reached the point where he needed to extend his life, that happened after that.

　Of course, he couldn't possibly share his other thoughts with Principal Arte.

　When Principal Arte relayed the explanation, he naturally said nothing.

　But different people have different opinions. Wise people see through things but don't say anything.

　That concludes the account of how things unfolded.

　Of course, she couldn't reveal at this time how Principal Arte met Hermes and how she played games with him after entering the "Heavenly Court".

　But in the end, she revealed the bet she had with Hermes.

　After all, it was something that was closely related to everyone present.

　In short, Principal Arte believed that Hermes' ritual plan would not succeed, while Hermes himself naturally sided with the side that it would succeed.

　Principal Arte promised that if Hermes' ritual plan succeeded, she would become Hermes' subordinate deity if she were to attain divinity in the future.

　But if Hermes' ritual plan fails, then Hermes will have to carry out another plan—which is actually the special idea that Hermes first came up with.

　The existing ritual plan is itself a modification of that plan.

　Therefore, if the ritual plan failed, Hermes could easily reverse it.

　The core reason why Hermes agreed to the bet was that the second plan was his backup option from the very beginning!

　Hermes is the god of deception, so this kind of opportunistic "deception" is naturally within his grasp.

　Therefore, he essentially got a free bet from Principal Arte. Moreover, with this human involved, if his first plan failed, this human could step in and help him successfully launch his second plan.

　Everything is perfectly prepared.

　Both parties consented.

　Principal Arte was actually using that bet to ensure his own safety.

　Now, Hermes' first plan has failed, the bet between the two parties has ended, Principal Arte has won, and Hermes is "forced" to fulfill his obligations for several months and begin his second plan!

　"So, what is his second plan?" Dark looked at Hermes and asked.

　Principal Art smiled slightly and said, "Hermes is the god of athletics." "Wait," Dark quickly added, "the god of athletics..."

　Hermes couldn't help but let out a cold laugh.

　People of this era always portrayed him as a "cunning and treacherous traveling merchant." But in reality, he wielded a much larger lineage of power.

　In an era when gods flourished, he was always the patron deity of all kinds of competitive sports.

　But to his surprise, Dark's next question was: "Were those flames that slipped out of the underworld also his doing?"

　Hermes, who had remained silent since his arrival, suddenly uttered his first words upon arriving: "No."

　Dark glanced at him with some suspicion, but didn't pursue the matter further. "Guidance from the Underworld" and "God of Competition".

　Hermes' two lineages of theocracy are almost identical to the origins and abilities of those "underworld fires".

　Although Hermes initially denied it, he didn't believe it!

　According to Principal Arte, Hermes has done many "interesting" things over the years.

　What exactly those "interesting" things are, is probably hard to say.

　However, after learning that Hermes possessed the authority of "Arena," Darke suddenly had a clearer understanding of the authority that the golem had once used.

　at the same time.

　Since Principal Art specifically mentioned the "god of athletics," it means that Hermes' second plan was related to "athletes."

　But what exactly is this "competition-related" plan that Principal Arte is so concerned about?