As the three of them regrouped, what lay before them was an even more complex battlefield.
Mydei could sense it.
At the center of the battlefield, the chaos still raged on.
"This might not be a single person's trial... but an arena for every challenger to engage their own delusions in a bloody battle."
"I saw someone from my past a while ago... Someone Phainon has never met."
"We can only hope this battlefield is nowhere as extensive as I imagine it to be..."
Mydei stared at the central region of this fabricated Okhema and muttered under his breath. From somewhere unknown, ferocious battle roars were being carried to their ears.
"I have a feeling... Someone is manipulating this battlefield, someone who might not be Phainon." Dan Heng frowned.
"Hmm... I agree." Mydei nodded.
But then the problem arose, the trial should have already entered its final phase.
So who else had broken in?
Mydei already had a guess, but he didn't voice it. Instead, he led the other two deeper inside.
With the three of them working together, this trial could no longer stop them.
They advanced smoothly toward the central area, the battle roars growing clearer with every step.
At last, a figure appeared before them, clad in bronze armor and wearing a Roman-style helmet.
"Gnaeus."
"I'm seeing him for the first time, but there's no doubt about it. What I'm sensing can only be Strife's bloodlust..."
"So the one manipulating this battlefield is... Nikador themself"
Mydei's eyes hardened, his fist already clenched tight.
Whether this kind of situation was normal in a demigod trial, no one could tell him.
Although Dan Heng hadn't gone to the past together with Castorice and Stelle, he had still learned Gnaeus' identity from Stelle.
Just as the three of them were each lost in their own thoughts, Gnaeus turned around, looked at them, and slowly spoke: "Ah, Mydeimos... You are a keen warrior, indeed."
In truth, although Gnaeus had already become very familiar to the audience, a little-known fact was that Mydei, Dan Heng, Phainon had never actually confronted him face-to-face.
Only Castorice and Stelle had ever spoken to him directly.
So upon hearing Gnaeus' voice now, Mydei was somewhat surprised.
"You know me?"
Gnaeus let out a vague, unclear laugh and replied, "The blasphemous prince. Of course I know you."
"And I happen to know that you're here for the soul of that white-haired warrior."
The word "blasphemous" made the hostility on Mydei's face even more obvious. He spread his hands and cut straight to the point, skipping all pleasantries: "Let's cut to the chase, then. Hand over that poor excuse for a swordmaster so we can be done with this farce."
"...No." Gnaeus said calmly.
"I applaud your courage and strength for coming this far. But you have chosen to besmirch the dignity of one who has fallen, and I cannot turn a blind eye to that."
The defeated? Everyone chewed on the meaning of those words.
Could it be that Phainon had already fallen? The audience was equally stunned.
····
: What do you mean Phainon lost?
: No way, damn it! It's just a mere illusion, how could Phainon possibly lose!
: He held out against a Titan for that long! I don't accept this!
: How could he lose to an illusion?!
: Even if Gnaeus personally joined in, Phainon should at least have lasted until his companions arrived!
: Didn't Trianne say earlier that they could still hear Phainon's voice?
: What the hell is going on?!
...
The audience couldn't accept Phainon's defeat.
Because although this trial looked cruel, it didn't feel overwhelmingly oppressive.
If he lost even to this, wouldn't that be nothing but a forced plot kill?
Just as the barrage of comments exploded, Gnaeus on the screen seemed to notice the trio's disbelief.
He slowly said: "He faced the greatest fear in the depths of his heart and fought with exceptional valor, though he eventually succumbed to the brutal onslaughts. I have since brought him to the rear battleground, and granted him glory worthy of his courage, tenacity, and sacrifice."
"You wish to take him away? Sure. Pick up a spear and prove that your resolve can rival his..."
"Of course... cowards who hope to avoid bloodshed are better off disappearing from my sight this instant."
Gnaeus's stance was crystal clear.
Phainon was a warrior. Though defeated, his honor and courage were acknowledged.
And to think they could take a warrior's soul from the hands of the Strife Titan with just a few words was nothing but wishful thinking.
Mydei had already grown extremely irritated. He rolled his neck, producing a dull cracking sound.
"Hmph. Your opinions are of no interest to me, mad king..."
" If it's a fight you're looking for, then you will get one, Titan. I will put you to rest once more with my curse of immortality."
An intense intent to fight burst out of Mydei's eyes.
Gnaeus seemed quite satisfied.
"Commendable! Your noble mother displayed the same spirit with a spear in her hands."
That so-called "praise" made Mydei's pupils shrink.
The next second, uncontrollable fury surged across his face. He forced each word out through clenched teeth:
"...Don't you dare speak of her"
"Why not?" The Strife Titan ignored his mood and continued on his own:
"She challenged the former Kremnos king to a duel, even knowing that it was a deadly trap, all to protect your dignity. Are you suggesting her efforts were for naught?"
When those words fell, the audience saw it. Mydei, who had never once shown visible anger, whose emotional control had always been impeccable, now wore a face twisted with rage.
His teeth were clenched, his eyes practically spewing fire. "Enough!"
He roared, cutting off Gnaeus's words, staring him down as he stepped toward him one step at a time.
"Her tragic death was caused by you, the incarnation of Strife. How dare you talk about her past?"
Rage far beyond what the audience had imagined was surging out.
Yet no one could understand what exactly had happened back then to make Mydei this furious.
At that moment, Gnaeus spoke again.
"Hah! Your hatred is as clear as day, Mydeimos. My words must have stung you deeply. But thanks to them, I have also come to realize..."
"This is why you killed your father for the throne, only to let your signet sink to the bottom of the Sea of Souls, refusing to let the glory of Kremnos live on..."
"This is why you slew the Strife Titan, only to reject the Coreflame, letting Strife continue instead..."
Each sentence weighed heavier than the last.
By the end, what came out of Gnaeus' mouth was no longer a language the audience could understand, but speech sharp as blades and weapons!
The comment section completely exploded.
The audience had previously heard some of Castrum Kremnos's past from Castorice.
But back then, Castorice had only told Stelle that the last king of Castrum Kremnos was killed by Mydei.
That was all. No one had known that such shocking secrets were hidden behind it!
.....
: Holy shit?! Patricide?!
: No way, did Mydei kill his own father?!
: This intel is way too explosive!
: No wonder Castorice was so vague when explaining it to Stelle-bao before, looking like she wanted to speak but stopped herself, so that's why!
: So the reason Mydei refused to accept the spark… is because he was carrying hatred within him?
: Then why did Mydei kill his father in the first place?
: So that means Mydei's mother died at his father's hands, and then Mydei's father was killed by him in turn?
: What a ridiculously complicated family drama.
: This Castrum Kremnos really is a land of conflict… even the family feuds are on another level.
: Damn, Gnaeus really lives up to being the "reason" of the Strife Titan. He really knows how to provoke conflict, his words are like knives.
: The inside story of Castrum Kremnos is even more brutal and complex than I imagined… patricide, regicide, deicide, all of it.
...
The scene froze on Mydei's face. His lips were tightly pressed together.
Only his eyes were burning with flames. And the air around him began to turn blood-red.
"I will rip your chest apart, Titan... In the same way I ripped apart that former king."
At this moment, the cruelty of the people of Castrum Kremnos was finally manifested through Mydei.
The audience could already imagine it. How Mydei had personally slain his own father.
"Hahaha!" Gnaeus suddenly burst into laughter.
"I see you wish to repeat your mistake. Come at me, then. Ignite the flames of your fears and step onto the battlefield. Take this fierce battle to the boundaries of Strife and consume me, or lose yourself in the fight and watch your defeated corpse burn to ash!"
Countless Furiae Warriors appeared out of thin air, surrounding Mydei. The horns and war drums of strife sounded once more.
Yet amid the blood-pumping BGM, the audience could only feel an indescribable sorrow.
Though they didn't know the full truth. Everyone already knew the outcome.
Mydei would kill his father, kill a god, yet inherit no authority at all.
It was obvious he didn't want any of it, even felt disgust toward it.
But at this very moment. There was no longer any room for him to escape. After Gnaeus provoked Mydei, Mydei wanted to kill him for revenge...
But once that revenge succeeded, he would become a demigod of strife, forced onto the very path he had always tried to avoid.
No one could say for sure whether Gnaeus was doing this on purpose.
But Mydei had no way back anymore. A crazy intent surged violently around him.
Like a roaring beast, Mydei plunged headfirst into the Furiae Warriors and began fighting!
He was barehanded, eyes blood-red. Behind him, Dan Heng and Stelle were completely stunned.
Amid exploding blades, broken stone fragments flew everywhere.
Mydei's movements had lost all sense of technique, reduced to nothing but the most primal and efficient brutality.
He no longer blocked. He no longer dodged.
A longsword flashed cold light as it stabbed toward his abdomen. He didn't even look at it.
His left arm muscles bulged as he swung sideways. The swordsman's wrist snapped instantly.
Almost at the same moment, Mydei's right fist came down like a battering ram, smashing into the man's face.
There was no dull impact sound, only a muffled burst.
The Furiae Warrior's head exploded like a watermelon, stone detonating before Stelle's and Dan Heng's eyes.
Another Furiae Warrior lunging in from the side was seized by the throat with one hand and lifted into the air.
Mydei let out a furious roar and swung him like a club, sweeping him forward.
Three or four more Furiae Warriors were sent flying instantly, armor crumpling, blood spraying from their mouths.
The already-twisted, barely human-shaped body was then casually tossed aside.
The battlefield had become Mydei's slaughterhouse. He tore open a monster's breastplate with his bare hands, five fingers plunging straight into the chest.
Or smashed another monster's pelvis to pieces with a knee strike, turning him into pieces of stone on the spot.
A spear thrust from the shadows was casually snapped in half, then reversed into the attacker's eye socket.
His eyes glowed with a terrifying red light, each breath spewing white vapor.
Compared to Gnaeus. In the eyes of the audience, with the Strife Titan's exclusive BGM playing, Mydei at this moment was even more "strife" than strife itself.
"Come on Titan! This is the strife you wanted!"
Mydei roared in blood-soaked fury. But the pain in his voice far outweighed the rage lacing his words.
...
: Holy shit!!! Mydei's gone insane!!!
: Is this even a fight? This is pure slaughter!
: Isn't this way too brutal?! Damn, this scene is terrifying to watch!
: So fierce, so damn fierce! This is a real maniac-level badass!
: Stelle and Dan Heng are stunned, I'm stunned too!
: Why does his combat power feel even stronger than when he fought Nikador?!
: The hatred is way too obvious! Mydei looks like he's in agony too!
: Gnaeus did this on purpose, didn't he? He's provoking Mydei, forcing him to take over strife, right?!
: Deicide, patricide, forced ascension, and this whole battle… honestly, the second episode is dripping with Greek tragedy vibes.
...
The audience was equally dumbstruck.
And just at that moment, a figure rushed out from behind several soldiers at an extremely tricky angle, and the great sword in his hands pierced straight through Mydei's abdomen in an instant.
For the undying crown prince. This kind of wound barely even counted as light damage.
But when Mydei looked at the attacker. The eyes filled with hatred and pain suddenly gained a trace of clarity.
He grabbed the attacker's hand in reverse and said in a low voice, "Found you."
The camera froze on the attacker's face. The one who had successfully ambushed Mydei amid the chaos was actually Phainon!
Just as Nikador had said earlier, Phainon had been defeated, and his soul would naturally come here, to this battlefield!
The Phainon on screen no longer looked anything like he used to. His eyes and the corners of his mouth instead radiated a terrifying sense of bloodlust.
"Move!" Seeing that Mydei had finally found Phainon.
Stelle and Dan Heng no longer hesitated. Stelle pulled out her flaming lance and charged, burning all the Furiae Warriors along her path into charcoal.
Dan Heng stood at the rear, guarding the retreat route for everyone.
Now that they had found Phainon, there was no longer any reason to stay. Mydei also snapped out of his berserk state. He scooped Phainon up in one motion and turned to retreat.
Faced with their attempt to escape, Gnaeus should have been furious, but instead he was strangely calm, simply standing in place and watching them leave.
The Titan's sigh echoed in their minds just before the trial world collapsed.