"What do we do now?"
Shazam had already worked with Batman’s spatial rift device to summon seven magical lightning bolts, but the door to the divine realm that had been open before now seed completely gone, as if it never existed.
Shazam was becoming anxious.
"I know firsthand how powerful Zeus is. Those two probably won’t be able to hold on much longer."
Batman silently watched the rift device as it slowly recharged, ignoring Shazam’s urgent voice in his ear.
Superman looked at Batman, paused for a mont, and his own worried expression suddenly beca calm.
"You always have a backup plan. You spent three minutes alone with that kid at the Watchtower bridge exit earlier..."
Shazam suddenly turned his head, his face showing a mix of surprise and doubt.
He clenched his left fist and struck it against his right palm, excitedly seeking confirmation from Batman.
"Really? I knew it, Batman always has a plan, so secret weapon or sothing—but, uh, the longer this drags on, the more likely sothing goes wrong. You really are not going to tell us about your backup plan?"
Batman pressed his hands against the cowl of his mask, and the screen in front of him lit up again with the charging complete indicator.
"How many more tis can you do this?"
Shazam’s face stiffened, his expression filled with frustration.
"Normally, I’d be out of energy, but this is Mount Olympus, as close to Zeus as you can get. I should still be able to summon Zeus’ lightning three more tis."
"The next attempt to open the divine realm’s door will be delayed by five minutes. The one after that will be ten minutes."
"What? You’re not leaving a single one in reserve?!"
Just as Shazam finished speaking, he t Batman’s disapproving gaze and awkwardly laughed before stepping back.
"Right, I’ll just go... rest up a bit."
He swiftly disappeared from sight.
"I saw you give that kid sothing before you left."
Superman glanced in the direction Shazam had gone, suddenly bringing it up.
Facing the one mber he considered more reliable than Shazam, Batman gave a slight nod.
"That kid is smart. I originally only ntioned a contingency plan during those three minutes, but he imdiately ca up with a better, yet more risky plan."
"Which one we use depends on what he ultimately decides."
...
Viktor spent about four or five seconds slowly getting up from the ground.
He coughed several tis and spat out a large mouthful of blood, and only then did he manage to lift his head, but his blurry vision couldn’t see Hercules’ face anymore.
He could only vaguely see a tall figure, standing a few ters away with arms crossed, silently waiting.
"Another gentleman, huh?"
Hercules looked at him, who seed to be on the brink of death, his brows furrowed deeply.
"My divinity forbids from acting in anything dishonorable. I will stand here and wait until you bleed out and can no longer stand."
"Actually, I’m far from dying."
He glanced in the direction where Zeus might be.
"Can the King of the Gods allow you to just wait here for my death?"
"Even the King of Gods cannot force us to do anything that goes against our divinity. I can even tell you directly that I am not as strong as the two gods who died at your hands before. Even Ares could defeat with ease."
Hercules’ tone remained clear and bright, like soone standing tall in the sunlight, with a clear conscience.
"If you have a way to kill in your current state, you’re welco to try. But as long as you look like you’re about to die from your wounds, I will not raise a hand against you."
Viktor’s eyes finally showed a hint of disappointnt.
In fact, Viktor’s current condition was still far from death. The injuries on his body were nothing compared to when he first arrived on Earth.
Moreover, he was far stronger now than he was back then.
With his current self-healing abilities, Viktor could probably stand here quietly for a week and would almost fully recover even without any treatnt.
However, it was rare to encounter such a strong opponent on Earth who could push him to this level of intensity.
He was already injured, and not being able to fully enjoy the fight felt like a waste.
Unfortunately, Viktor ran into soone as honorable and oblivious as Heracles.
"I genuinely don’t understand what you gods are thinking. You could easily send a strong warrior in the third round and easily achieve your goal without any trouble."
He blinked, as if suddenly realizing sothing.
"So, whether it’s challenging the seven gods or the seven gods challenging , as long as certain conditions are t, your shared divine power magic will take effect?"
In the distance, Zeus tilted his head, looking at Wonder Woman, who was still unable to move freely due to being under his divine command.
There was a hint of amusent in his eyes.
"Where did you find this student of yours? He’s actually a child?"
Wonder Woman turned her head, clearly not wanting to talk with this old man.
Hercules, however, was a perfect embodint of his divinity, refusing to commit any dishonorable act, not even lying.
He confird Viktor’s words.
"This is the Hero’s Rite, with at least seven trials, and each trial in front of you is only slightly stronger than you. There is still a chance to complete them. If you still had energy after defeating Atlas, the next challenger would have been Apollo."
As if worried that Viktor wouldn’t believe him, Hercules quickly added, "The God of War was an accident. The knowledge we know only goes as far as what Eris brought back. We had no way to observe your actual condition through magic after that."
After so thought, Viktor sighed and pulled a box from his waist.
The box was made of pitch-black material, with a slightly rough texture that felt a bit sharp to the touch.
The box itself was about three square inches in size.
Then, Viktor pulled out a yellow ring from the box.
Hercules was montarily stunned. The ring emitted an aura that he found extrely repulsive.
Viktor grabbed the ring and gently slid it onto the middle finger of his other hand.
"It’s hard to imagine that there’s soone like you in this world. To show my respect, I’ll only restore twenty percent of my injuries."
A dim, fearful light enveloped Viktor’s entire body, and the apparently terrifying wounds began to show signs of healing under the yellow light in just a few monts.
Two seconds later, Viktor quickly took off the ring.
"Now, our strength should be on the sa level. I’ll give you my all based on that."
Hercules finally stopped standing with his arms crossed, released his hands with a serious expression, and a huge club appeared in his right hand.
He stared intently at the Yellow Ring that Viktor had just placed back into the box with his expression full of fear.
"What exactly is that...?"
Suddenly, the air exploded with a loud noise.
Viktor held the ring box in one hand and ford a hand chop with the other, quickly flashing to a face-to-face distance with Hercules.
Shaking off the blood steadily dripping from his fingertips, Viktor looked at Hercules, whose pupils had lost focus, and saw him fall backwards, blood spurting across his neck after the slash.
Viktor shook his head with a hint of helplessness.
Even though the battle hadn’t been satisfying, Viktor’s strength had once again been increased.
The injuries looked severe, but these were still minor wounds for an elite Viltrumite.
"You’re just not fit for battle, and life in the divine realm has made you too comfortable, Hercules."
Skipping over the body on the ground, Viktor flew back up into the sky and pointed at Zeus, already preparing to summon the next challenger.
"I’ll pick the next opponent. According to my own terms, Ms. Prince should qualify for your Rite’s requirents just fine."
...
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