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

　It is incomprehensible how Hermes thought.

　It's also impossible to understand how the twelve gods of Poropus communicated. But the fact remains.

　The simultaneous awakening of the twelve celestial beings caused the strange phenomenon, which had only appeared above the City of Freedom, to radiate across the entire continent in an instant.

　Whether it's the areas occupied by humans, or the black earth silenced by the fall of the demons, or the depths too mysterious to be explored by anyone, or even the near-sea beyond the land.

　Simply look up and you can see that divine lake, and the miniature "Heavenly Court" reflected behind it.

　This is the twelve Poirots announcing their arrival, so that the "revival of the twelve Poirots" will become a recognized fact in the hearts of all intelligent beings.

　Such opportunities are rare and precious, but they easily attract the attention of other gods.

　But since we've already chosen to be crazy, let's go all the way...

　With the "opening of the eyes" of the twelve celestial projections, the "Summoning of Gods Ritual" finally entered its final stage.

　Humans were captivated by the celestial phenomenon, gazing up at it for several minutes. Only when the divine lake's light suddenly receded, hovering merely above the Alliance Duel Arena, did everyone snap out of their daze, as if in a dream.

　Awakening ≠ Resurrection.

　The twelve Celestials did not actually descend. Inside the Alliance Duel Arena.

　The king and his entourage, who had come to worship Hermes, stood motionless for a long time.

　Principal Arte suddenly snapped out of her daze and immediately resumed the award ceremony for the World Cup Duel Challenge as if nothing had happened.

　The projections of the twelve Celestials remained, encircled by pillars of light, gazing intently at the center of the stadium. It was as if they were endorsing the Magic League and supporting this World Cup.

　The audience was far more bewildered and confused than those who knew the truth. But regardless, witnessing the "revival of the Twelve Gods" would be an unforgettable memory for them.

　This World Cup will leave a significant mark on history.

　All participants who made it to the final day will be remembered in history. On this day, humanity reached a turning point in history and embarked on a new cycle.

　Darko tidied himself up and walked out of the players' lounge.

　The staff member followed closely behind him until he walked out of the contestant passage, then stopped at the entrance and watched him nervously from afar.

　The sixteen main contestants walked out of the contestant tunnel one after another, without any particular order.

　As Dak stepped onto the stage, he suddenly turned his head and saw a transparent ripple appear in the space at the edge of the stage. Sloan, wearing the "Grim Reaper" mask, was "kicked" out of the suddenly appearing spatial rift in a rather disheveled state.

　He instantly drew the attention of all the contestants, leaving them momentarily embarrassed and at a loss.

　Fortunately, he was wearing a mask, which covered up... well, his withered face couldn't make any expression anyway.

　Sloan's sudden addition surprised the players. For the Holy Church's higher-ups, it was a "shock".

　Especially when the Pope and others saw him "accept good advice" and join the sixteen regular players, their hearts, which had been hanging in suspense, finally died.

　"Tsk..."

　Dark looked away, no longer focusing his attention on Sloan.

　He witnessed the whole thing and could guess what it all meant.

　Behind Sloan is the god of the underworld.

　When it comes to the gods of the underworld, the first one that comes to mind is undoubtedly Hades, the "King of the Underworld".

　Hades, the "god of the underworld," is the brother of Zeus and Poseidon in Greek mythology, and the consort of Zeus and Persephone, daughter of Demeter.

　Even within the mythology of this world, Demeter, the goddess of agriculture, and Zeus, the king of the gods, are completely independent individuals. However, there is still a certain connection between Hades, the god of the underworld, and the twelve gods of Poropus.

　In this world, it is known as the "Hidden Thirteenth God." It is not included among Polopus's twelve gods simply because it is not a "god of the sky," but rather a "god of the earth."

　There is no distinction between heaven and earth; the difference between "heavenly gods" and "earthly gods" lies only in whether they reside above or below the ground.

　Hades is the god of the underworld, and naturally belongs to the category of "earth gods." Therefore, in many myths that do not distinguish between the two, Hades is generally considered to be one of the "Twelve Gods of Poropus."

　This is evident from the above.

　The possibility that Hades, the "King of the Underworld," was behind Sloan's sudden return from the Underworld at this time is extremely high.

　Dac could even deduce a whole host of "insider information" from this.

　For example, Slöhn's main purpose in participating in this World Cup is very likely to "reap the rewards".

　After all, there is a "graveyard" in magical duels.

　The creation of that "cemetery" could only be considered a prototype at the very beginning.

　However, as the "divine rituals" continued and the "magical divine path" was forged, it would inevitably form a unique underworld distinct from the "underworld." Yet, this underworld was created by Hermes. How could Hades possibly stand idly by?

　If we don't seize this opportunity before things get too complicated, what is Hades (the god of the underworld)?

　However, the Holy Church's intervention hindered this process.

　Even so, Hades did not give up. His main purpose in sending Sloan back was probably to leave a seed in the "divine ritual".

　Perhaps one day, when Sloan becomes the first God of Magic, this seed will blossom and bear fruit.

　Of course, all of the above is just Dakdimon's "fabrication" in his mind and may not necessarily be the truth behind it.

　In short, don't say things that could damage the relationship between gods. Dark walked to Pandora's side, stood obediently and waited for the "gift from the gods" to arrive.

　He originally thought that there would be at most twelve "gifts from the gods" this time, but the appearance of Sloan brought some changes.

　Perhaps even the contestants ranked 12th or lower will have a chance.

　In short, at this point, just accept the reward you deserve and don't worry about anything else.

　With all sixteen contestants on stage, host Ms. Marilyn was already in place.

　The contestants spontaneously lined up, from left to right according to their ranking in the competition. Professor Pavajohns, who had already moved from the dueling platform, naturally stood in the first position.

　Next came Professor Cazell and Professor Steven Harvey.

　Then, there's Darkdemon in fourth place, and Pandora Dragon and Lily Laplace in fifth and sixth place, respectively.

　Pandora stood in fifth place, while Lily floated in the air, glancing around aimlessly, completely oblivious to the situation.

　The seventh and eighth positions were occupied by Quintina and Mephisto. Quintina stood in the seventh position, her body radiating a faint divine light invisible to the naked eye. Her eyes were open, but unfocused, appearing somewhat empty.

　She was clearly in some special state, most likely communicating with the Zeus consciousness within her.

　The connection between the fragments of Zeus's consciousness and his main body was originally severed.

　Otherwise, if it had known that the twelve Porobos would awaken at the same time... it might still have fought for the championship.

　Mavis, standing next to Quintina, appeared very low-key. Dark even suspected that he didn't want to stand there at all, which was somewhat evident from the fact that he was the last one to go on stage.

　He was not only low-key, but also seemed somewhat "timid," as if he was trying his best to reduce his presence.

　Further to the right are Hayley Saint-Meredice, Harpagon Mauriat, Cortoine de Beaune, and Bruce Wheeler, who are tied for ninth through twelfth place.

　Apart from Saintess Hayley, whose excitement was barely concealed, the other three remained relatively calm.

　Following the twelfth place are Polka Boseton, Frank Howells, Leos Pense, and Sloan!

　Among them, Polka Bosedon's face showed an undisguised excitement.

　His gaze was fixed on Poseidon, the "God of the Sea" among the twelve gods, giving one the feeling that one would immediately prostrate oneself in submission.

　However, most of the sea creatures present had the same expression.

　They clearly hadn't expected that Poseidon, the "God of the Sea," would awaken today. And as sea creatures who had witnessed the awakening of the "God of the Sea," it was hard not to have some unrealistic fantasies.

　But at a certain moment, Polka Boseton seemed to suddenly see something, and suddenly began to grit his teeth, then quickly restrained his emotions and forced himself to calm down.

　Dark didn't look at him, but couldn't resist his emotional changes and insisted on flying over himself.

　He estimated that Polka most likely saw "The Mermaid" Carola Maggiore.

　After all, those were the true chosen ones of the sea race.

　With the awakening of Poseidon, the "God of the Sea," Carola will naturally receive more divine favor.

　"Quintina, Audrey, Ergane, Sloan, Carola..."

　"Zeus, the King of the Gods; Ares, the God of War; Athena, the Goddess of War and Wisdom; Hades, the God of the Underworld; Poseidon, the God of the Sea..."

　"Looking at it this way, there are quite a few people here who are related to the twelve (three) Porobos gods."

　Dark suppressed his anxiety and waited for the awards ceremony to begin. The ceremony was originally scheduled to include interviews with the participants.

　But now that the twelve celestial beings are waiting there, the organizers naturally want to keep the event as brief as possible.

　Not only were the interview segments cut, but the planned award ceremony, where representatives from various countries would go on stage to present the awards, was also directly removed.

　Ultimately, Principal Arte presented the award alone. The representatives from various countries not only didn't complain, but were also grateful, secretly relieved.

　The pressure on stage was immense; going on stage to present an award wasn't an opportunity, but a precipice where one wrong step could send you tumbling into an abyss. While the twelve Poropora gods are widely known as "benevolent gods," this doesn't mean they are all mild-mannered.

　In fact, good and evil not only come with their own stance, but are also relative. To associate with God is no different from to seek help from a tiger.

　—And it's a bit of an insult to tigers.

　All they want today is to get through it peacefully.

　We'll discuss this further once the twelve gods have finished their public displays of power. To err now is to have done nothing wrong; that is merit.

　As the awards ceremony began, the audience settled down. The divine aura of the twelve gods softened, influencing them and putting them at ease, allowing them to refocus their attention on the competition itself.

　As applause erupted, Principal Arte, holding the trophy, walked toward Sloan, who was standing on the far right.

　According to the rules, the final awards ceremony should begin from the end.

　Principal Arte's smile was radiant, seemingly without any doubt about Sloan's sudden arrival.

　She handed the trophy, which had the numbers "13th-16th" and Sloan's name engraved on the bottom, to Sloan, then pinned the medal on her head, and finally offered her congratulations and best wishes.

　Sloan had already adjusted his demeanor and accepted the gift very naturally.

　then.

　Principal Arte took a step back, raised her hands, and conjured new trophies and medals out of thin air before walking towards Leos Pense...

　So down.

　The entire process was quiet, fast, and orderly.

　Before long, she had finished distributing all the trophies and medals. Dak held the pure gold trophy in his hands, wore a medal with his own portrait around his neck, and his face beamed with the smile he deserved.

　He glanced at her slightly and saw that Pandora leaned her upper body slightly towards him, so he leaned closer to her as well.

　The distance between the two instantly closed, giving the impression of a couple taking a photo together. "On this Easter Sunday, witnessed by the gods, the first World Cup Duel Challenge has come to a successful conclusion. Let us once again congratulate the birth of the sixteen 'Duel Kings'."

　When Principal Arte walked to the center of the front row, he officially announced the successful conclusion of this World Cup Duel Challenge.

　The image of the sixteen "Duel Kings" holding trophies and wearing medals was forever frozen on the projection screen.

　Countless eyes fell on the young couple.

　It also attracted the attention of a certain deity.

　In the night sky, petals drifted down faintly, filling the air with their fragrance.

　Suddenly, Dak felt something extremely mysterious and subconsciously turned his head to look at his side.

　Almost simultaneously, Pandora turned to look at him, her eyes wide with surprise. But after exchanging a glance, they quickly regained their composure, their smiles returning. "Aphrodite, the 'Goddess of Love'..."

　Despite receiving the blessing of Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty, Darkdemon's heart was not as calm as it appeared.

　He was naturally very happy that his relationship with Pandora was blessed by Cupid.

　But Aphrodite is also known as a "stalker" in the myths and legends of this world.

　Even compared to a jester like Hermes, he was no less entertaining.

　This was a disaster that came out of nowhere for Dark, who didn't want to attract too much attention.

　Now all we can do is pray that Aphrodite is as "fickle" as the legends say, and that she will immediately find a new object of her stalking.

　Otherwise, his travel plans would have to be drastically changed.

　In contrast, Pandora was simply happy.

　The joy that welled up from the bottom of his heart even overshadowed the disappointment of losing the duel.

　The blessing from Aphrodite, the goddess of love, was both an acknowledgment of her relationship with Dark and a confirmation of their "fate."

　Despite her outwardly confident demeanor, she possesses a deep-seated softness and vulnerability. Whenever she is too far away from Dak, she cannot help but feel anxious and insecure.

　Now that the "God of Love" has bestowed his blessing, the instinctive fear of "loss" has finally subsided considerably.

　At that moment, she couldn't help but feel a great deal of affection for Aphrodite, and a genuine smile of happiness appeared on her face.