"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 seemed 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 moment, and his own worried expression suddenly became calm.

  "You always have a backup pn. 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 pn, some secret weapon or something—but, uh, the longer this drags on, the more likely something goes wrong. You really are not going to tell us about your backup pn?"

  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 times 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 times."

  "The next attempt to open the divine realm's door will be deyed by five minutes. The one after that will be ten minutes."

  "What? You're not leaving me a single one in reserve?!"

  Just as Shazam finished speaking, he met Batman's disapproving gaze and awkwardly ughed before stepping back.

  "Right, I'll just go... rest up a bit."

  He swiftly disappeared from sight.

  "I saw you give that kid something before you left."

  Superman gnced in the direction Shazam had gone, suddenly bringing it up.

  Facing the one member he considered more reliable than Shazam, Batman gave a slight nod.

  "That kid is smart. I originally only mentioned a contingency pn during those three minutes, but he immediately came up with a better, yet more risky pn."

  "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 times and spat out a rge 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 meters away with arms crossed, silently waiting.

  "Another gentleman, huh?"

  Hercules looked at him, who seemed to be on the brink of death, his brows furrowed deeply.

  "My divinity forbids me 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 gnced 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 me with ease."

  Hercules' tone remained clear and bright, like someone standing tall in the sunlight, with a clear conscience.

  "If you have a way to kill me in your current state, you're welcome 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 disappointment.

  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 treatment.

  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 someone 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 something.

  "So, whether it's me challenging the seven gods or the seven gods challenging me, as long as certain conditions are met, 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 amusement 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 embodiment of his divinity, refusing to commit any dishonorable act, not even lying.

  He confirmed 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 Ats, 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 some thought, Viktor sighed and pulled a box from his waist.

  The box was made of pitch-bck 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 momentarily stunned. The ring emitted an aura that he found extremely 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 someone 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 moments.

  Two seconds ter, Viktor quickly took off the ring.

  "Now, our strength should be on the same 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 pced 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 formed a hand chop with the other, quickly fshing 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 ssh.

  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 requirements just fine."

  ...

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