"What do we do now?"
Shazam had already successfully cast Magic lightning seven consecutive times in coordination with Batman's space-clearing equipment, but the gates to the Divine Realm, which clearly could have been opened earlier, now felt as though they had never existed at all.
Aside from leaving a thick and unpleasant smell of ozone lingering heavily in the air, it had achieved nothing.
Shazam was exceptionally anxious.
"I have experienced Zeus's power firsthand, and I'm afraid that guy and Wonder Woman won't be able to last much longer."
Batman silently watched the lysis device, which was slowly recharging once more, offering not a single word in response to Shazam's various anxious shouts ringing in his ears.
Superman, meanwhile, watched Batman's expression and pondered for a moment; his previously worried expression suddenly calmed down.
"You always have a Plan B. Earlier, you spent three minutes alone with that kid at the exit of the Watchtower's bridge..."
Shazam abruptly turned his head, his face a mix of hesitation and pleasant surprise.
He slammed his left fist fiercely into his right palm, excitedly seeking confirmation from Batman.
"Really? I knew it, Batman always has a plan, some secret weapon or other—uh, but if we keep dragging this out, won't something go wrong? Are you really not going to tell us about your Plan B?"
Batman pressed his hands against the lower half of his mask, and the screen in front of him lit up once more with the indicator light showing that charging was complete.
"How many more times can you manage?"
Shazam's expression stiffened somewhat, his face twisted into a thoroughly bitter grimace.
"Under normal circumstances, my stamina probably wouldn't be enough, but this is Mount Olympus, the place closest to Zeus. I should still be able to summon Zeus's lightning three more times."
"Delay the next attempt to open the gates of the Divine Realm by five minutes, and the time after that by ten minutes."
"What? You're not planning to leave me with a single drop?"
Just as Shazam finished shouting, he met Batman's disapproving gaze, chuckled awkwardly, and backed away.
"Then I'll go take a rest first."
The robust red figure immediately vanished in a flash.
"I saw you give that kid something before we set off."
Superman glanced in the direction where Shazam had departed, suddenly bringing up the topic.
Facing this blue boy scout, who was far more reliable than Shazam, Batman gave a slight nod.
"That kid is very smart. During those three minutes, I originally only brought up a backup plan, but he immediately proposed a better, albeit much riskier, plan to me."
"Which one we actually use depends entirely on how he chooses."
It took Shane about four or five seconds to laboriously climb back up from the ground.
Bending over, he coughed continuously for a few moments and vomited another large mouthful of fresh blood. Only then did Shane manage to raise his head; with his vision blurred, he could no longer clearly make out Hercules's appearance.
He could only vaguely see a tall figure standing a few meters in front of him, arms crossed, waiting quietly.
"Another gentleman, huh?"
Hercules watched Shane, who looked as though he were perpetually on the verge of death, his brow furrowing deeply.
"My divinity does not permit me to commit despicable acts. I will stand here and wait until you bleed so much you can no longer stand."
"Actually, I am still quite far from death, truly."
Shane glanced toward the approximate location of Zeus.
"Does the King of Gods allow you to wait like this until I die?"
"Even the King of Gods cannot forcibly order us to do things that violate our divinity. I can even tell you directly that I am inferior to the two gods who died at your hands earlier; even Ares would find it effortless to defeat me."
There was always an aura of openness in Hercules's tone, much like someone standing tall and unashamed beneath the sun.
"If you have a way to kill me while you are this heavily injured, then you are free to strike. As long as you remain in this heavily injured, near-death state, I will absolutely not make a move against you."
A trace of disappointment finally flashed through Shane's eyes.
In truth, his current state was still a very long way from death, and his current injuries were completely incomparable to when he had first arrived on Earth.
What was more, he was far more powerful now than he had been back then.
Relying on his current self-healing ability, if Shane were to simply stand quietly in this place for a week without receiving any treatment, he would be able to recover almost completely.
Yet it was rare to encounter an opponent on Earth capable of providing a battle of sufficient intensity.
He was already injured; feeling like he couldn't fight to his heart's content in one go made him feel deeply shortchanged.
It was just a pity he had run into a stubborn fool like Hercules.
"I don't understand what you gods are thinking. Clearly, sending any strong individual for the third round would have easily achieved your goal."
Shane blinked, as though he had suddenly realized something.
"So, whether it's me challenging the seven divine trials or the seven gods challenging me, as long as certain conditions are met, your divine power-sharing Magic takes effect?"
In the distance, Zeus turned his head to look at Wonder Woman, who remained unable to move freely because she was still under the sway of his oracle command, a playful glint in his eyes.
"Where did you find that student? Is he really just a child?"
Wonder Woman turned her head away, clearly having little desire to converse with the old man.
Hercules, meanwhile, perfectly adhered to his divinity and his code of never committing despicable acts; he didn't even deign to lie.
He confirmed Shane's statement.
"This is the Heroic Rite, with a minimum of seven trials. Every trial before you is just slightly more powerful than your abilities, so completion remains possible. If you are still full of energy after defeating the Titan, the one who should come before you is Apollo."
Seeming afraid that Shane wouldn't believe him, Hercules quickly added a sentence.
"The God of War was an accident. Our information on you only went as far as the portion Eris brought up; after that, your specific state could no longer be peered into with Magic."
After a moment of thought, Shane sighed and pulled a box from his waist.
It had a pitch-black material that felt slightly abrasive and cutting to the touch, and the surface of the box was about three square inches in size.
Immediately following this, Shane drew a bright yellow ring out of the box.
Hercules was momentarily stunned, as the ring exuded a certain aura that he found intensely repulsive.
Shane grabbed the ring and slipped it gently onto the middle finger of his other hand.
"It's hard to imagine there's someone like you in this world. To express my respect, I'll only recover two layers of my injuries."
A faintly dim Light of Fear washed over Shane's entire body, and those seemingly terrifying injuries began to show signs of healing under the glow of the yellow light in no time at all.
Two seconds later, Shane quickly pulled the ring off.
"Now, our combat power should be on the same level. I'll go all out against you on this basis."
Hercules finally stopped watching with his arms crossed; with a serious expression, he unclasped his hands, and a massive club materialized in his right hand.
He stared fixedly at the Light of Fear that Shane had stuffed back into its box, his expression fraught with vigilance.
"What on earth is that..."
The air suddenly erupted with a reverberating bang. With the ring box held in one hand and the other shaped into a horizontal chopping hand-blade, Shane had already flashed to a distance where he was face-to-face with Hercules.
Shaking off the blood constantly dripping from his fingertips, Shane looked at Hercules—whose pupils had lost their focus and who was falling backward, blood spraying continuously from the tearing slash wound across his neck—and shook his head with a trace of helplessness.
Although he hadn't obtained a battle of sufficient weight, his strength had improved once more.
Even though the injuries looked alarming, to a future Elite Viltrumite Warrior, this degree of harm was still nothing more than a minor wound.
"You are simply unsuited for battle. Life in the Divine Realm has made you too comfortable, Hercules."
Passing over the corpse on the ground, Shane flew back up into the high altitude and pointed toward Zeus, who showed no emotional change and was preparing to summon the next god.
"I'll pick the next opponent. According to your rules, Teacher Prince should also be able to meet the requirements of your rite."
Before you continue