"What? Impossible!" Zeus, rarely losing his composure, sprang up from the God-Emperor's throne. His divine gaze lost focus; it seemed fixed ahead, but in truth it was locked onto that scar gouged across the land.
The boundary between the ordinary earth and hell no longer existed thanks to that terrifying gash.
The giant Titan's hands clawed into the rock strata; the cracking sound of him climbing the wall of earth became hell's death knell, clanging and shaking the heartstrings of the august God-Emperor.
One Cronus alone didn't frighten Zeus. He'd beaten his old man with thunder once; he had confidence he could do it a second time.
What he dreaded was this pincer from inside and out.
Outside, the mighty Æsir were in his face, killing his subordinates and wrecking his temples.
Inside, thick-skinned, muscle-bound rebel Titans were digging for his heart, ripping up his foundations, and ruining his rule.
This situation—caught in between with no place to stand—undoubtedly shoved him into a dead end all at once.
For a moment, Zeus went numb to the core.
This surprise didn't just catch Zeus off guard; it also stunned Hel and the others—How was it that while we're pounding the Olympians, a big guy suddenly jumps out to pound Zeus too?
Could the heavens really be so kind?
With a severe lack of intel, Hel and her cohort didn't dare act rashly for the moment.
Fortunately, they had an incredibly formidable God-Emperor.
While they fought on the front line, Thalos had been monitoring every front through divine thought; almost the instant the earth split open, he understood what was happening.
Even if Thalos didn't know how much his good brother Odin had done to help Cronus break free, it didn't stop him from making the correct judgment immediately.
"All Æsir on the front line, hear My command!"
Thalos's voice, solemn and full of power, resounded in the seas of spirit of the Æsir present, and everyone instantly felt steadier.
"Your Majesty, speak!"
"The enemy of our enemy can be our ally. Æsir on the front line, open distance and support the Titan god Cronus who is about to appear with divine arts. Remember—do your utmost to neutralize Zeus's lightning; as for the rest, use your discretion. This time we are not seeking kills. I ask only that, while ensuring your own safety, you hold for one hour."
"Understood!"
With the sky collapsing and the earth splitting, elements in chaos everywhere, it would have been hard for Hel to judge as the front-line commander. Generally speaking, a direct withdrawal to avoid losses, reassess later once the situation was clear—that already marked a first-rate commander.
Who could just double down like Thalos?
And yet, comically, Hel and company's moves happened to line up with the false promises made by a certain washed-up God-King's little brother.
Rewind to an hour earlier. When the Æsir first fought their way to the foot of Mount Olympus, the world-shaking commotion was audible even in Tartarus.
That wasn't an illusion!
Atlantis had already lost a seventh of itself; changes in elemental flows on a world-spanning scale were unmistakable.
Cronus leapt up in excitement. His colossal divine body moved, and the cursed bronze shackles that still bound him in name alone clattered loudly. Just shy of snapping them outright, Odin hurried over to stop him!
"Cronus! What are you doing? Didn't we agree to wait for my brother's signal?" Odin was panicking too. He'd hypnotized himself one too many times, announcing to Cronus, the Titans, and his own followers that there was a complete plan, to the point he'd almost convinced himself that Thalos would surely come to cover him and Cronus.
When the moment came, Odin snapped awake—his dear elder brother had never promised him a thing. From start to finish, it was wishful thinking.
Seeing Cronus suddenly go off-script, Odin ground his teeth in fury.
After so long in contact, Odin of course knew Cronus was a hothead who didn't listen to reason, only to force. Still, after so long imprisoned, Odin had hoped this oversized pawn would act according to his plan—at least wait until Thalos's divine power had entered the Greek world before making a move.
That would have been the safest play.
Alas, each of the three generations of Greek sky kings had his own outrageous, heaven-defying way.
If Cronus had had a better temper back then, if he hadn't been selfish to the core, would he have forced his children to unite against him?
Cronus had held back a grudge for who knew how many years; with no chance, he'd endured it. But now that the shackles were mostly ruined, how could he wait?
"I never promised to obey your orders. We only share the same objective. I never said I was your subordinate." On that massive, rugged face was a cunning viciousness that didn't match his form.
Odin's heart sank. Even now, he tried to put a bit of leash on Cronus: "Without our Æsir, you can't fight Zeus."
If you could have won back then, you wouldn't be here now!
The former Titan God-King's house-sized eyes rolled. "It's fine. You Æsir are already the best distraction."
Existence itself was a constraint.
At that, Odin knew this wretched God-King still harbored dreams of reclaiming the supreme throne after toppling Zeus—and planned to burn the bridge after crossing it with the Æsir.
"Hmph! Then don't blame us Æsir for providing only the bare minimum of cover."
On the main goal, at least, they were aligned—kill Zeus first!
"Enough!" Cronus let out a long howl, and the dreadful cursed bronze shackles exploded one after another, bursting into scrap that flew in all directions.
Such a commotion inevitably drew the attention of the two remaining Hundred-Handed Giants.
Right before Odin's eyes, Cronus and the other Titans who had broken free launched the long-cherished assault against the Hundred-Handed Giants.
It was a terror battle that could overturn all Tartarus.
After Thalos's Pillars of Fate had corroded the most critical sections of the bronze walls, the only thing that could decide the outcome was raw, unadulterated force.
Every casual gesture cost hundreds of wronged souls their existence.
Torture devices meant for mortals were dust before Titans who stood dozens of stories tall.
Bronze walls without divine power were nothing but pebbles at a giant's feet.
Odin even saw a Titan rip up a section of wall and use it as a weapon, smashing it into dozens of the Hundred-Handed Giant's faces.
"Crack!" In an instant, who knew how many heads and arms were bashed into a bloody mess.
In the old Titanomachy, the Hundred-Handed Giants had certainly thrashed Cronus and company—but the true decider was Zeus, armed with thunder thanks to the Cyclopes.
Without Zeus, the Hundred-Handed Giants couldn't have taken the Twelve Titans—let alone now, with only two giants.
From the start, the Hundred-Handed Giants were at an absolute disadvantage…
Fast-forward to the present. When Odin's group saw Cronus and the Titans, after climbing to the surface, brawling with the Olympians—and the Æsir like Hel providing distant divine cover—Odin finally relaxed.
He said to Ah Puch, full of confidence: "Everything is in our brothers' plan!"
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