Those time travelers that year

"...Alright! I can only pray that the fully-powered monkey will defy the heavens."

"Serpent of the Abyss, can't you have a little more hope for me?" Athena stomped her foot, her eyes filled with dissatisfaction. "How about this... I've now reverted to my ancient form, let's try. Even in this form, I am still the goddess of war and wisdom—Pallas Athena."

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Frankly, Sharl had absolutely no idea what kind of mindset these descending, disobedient gods had. If Odin and Surtr, whom he'd encountered at the beginning, had jumped in to get themselves killed because he'd gotten involved, then Helios, and the silver-haired, ancient Greek-style girl Pallas Athena before him, were completely baffling to him.

The former's arrival was purely for psychological comfort. The latter's tantrum at this time was even more incomprehensible to Charles.

However, aside from being mostly willful, these disobedient gods didn't seem to have any other mental states. But, Ciel felt it was necessary to give this rebellious goddess a good beating and teach her the meaning of humility.

Anyway, in this alternate dimension, breaking it won't cause any major problems...

"You're cheating!" Athena, who had been so confident just moments before, was now gritting her teeth. Her delicate face was now covered in frost, because Ciel had truly gone too far.

Yes, she has regained her Trinity status, and her control over darkness and shadow is no longer suppressed by Ciel. But does Ciel really like playing with darkness and shadow? Obviously not, Ciel prefers to play with flames.

At the start of the 'contest,' Athena, with the power of the Earth Mother, summoned the serpents. However, before these serpents could even move, Sharl compressed his sense of time and unleashed a [Cataclysm]. Before Athena could react, the [Cataclysm] tore the earth apart, unleashing a torrent of flames that turned the entire ground into a sea of ​​lava. This completely neutralized Athena's method of summoning the dragons and serpents from the earth.

Of course, that wasn't all. Next, a full-screen [Rain of Flames] rained down indiscriminately, destroying her Underworld Messenger Owl. From beginning to end, Ciel didn't fight by controlling darkness and shadows as Athena expected. After all, Ciel's control in this area was in no way inferior to Athena's Trinity.

Athena finally understood that controlling darkness and shadows was something Ciel wasn't particularly skilled at. Ciel's forte, however, was fire.

Unfortunately, Athena was not the goddess of fire, so she was completely helpless in this situation. The ground had already turned into a sea of ​​lava and fire, just one giant screw away from being ignited. Needless to say, the sky was even worse, with fiery rain pouring down, forcing Athena to deploy her divine barrier to defend against it.

Biting her lip, Athena had no intention of giving up so easily. After all, she was the one who initially proposed the contest. Her initial thought was simply to demonstrate her strength so she could use it as leverage in future negotiations. However, reality had taken her by surprise, and she had been soundly beaten.

With a swift movement, Athena conjured a wisp of darkness in her hand, which then solidified into a longbow. Drawing the bow, a jet-black arrow shot towards Ciel. This black arrow then began to split, instantly transforming into a devastating rain of arrows that enveloped Ciel. Although most were struck down by the fiery rain mid-flight, thousands upon thousands of arrows still managed to break through the barrier and reach him.

As the rain of arrows fell, Charles drew a golden bolt of lightning and hurled it at the arrows, piercing through most of them. He then threw another bolt of lightning into the sky, summoning a barrage of lightning that completely annihilated the remaining arrows.

"Serpent of the Abyss, is all you can do is use magic from afar?!" Seeing her attacks easily defeated by Sharl, and having been put at a disadvantage by Sharl's preemptive strike, Athena shouted angrily, "Just hiding in the distance like this, are you even a man?!"

498. Competition (Middle)

As the saying goes, if you're a tank, you need to learn how to hold aggro effectively. Of course, while holding aggro effectively, you also need enough gear and HP to survive, otherwise you'll be killed by the boss in just a few hits, without even having time to heal you.

For example, right now, Athena has really stirred up a lot of hatred. Even Sharl, who was just playing around with magic at first, raised his eyebrows upon hearing this, and then disappeared from his spot and appeared in front of Athena.

With a smile on his face, Charles reached out and grabbed the Flaming Sword Leivatin from the void.

"Uh..." Athena was taken aback when she saw Ciel suddenly appear, carrying a demonic sword that was extremely dangerous even to gods. Thank goodness, she only complained briefly; frankly, Athena had no desire to engage Ciel in close combat compared to a ranged duel.

Putting aside the question of whether she could win, the Flaming Sword Leivatin, which was both a being beyond the realm of gods and a being of divine power, was relentlessly and irresistibly restraining her. Whether it was her previous divine status or her current triune divine status, the Flaming Sword indiscriminately restrained her.

But now! What Athena saw was the sword light formed by the flaming sword Levadin. In haste, Athena conjured a jet-black scythe from darkness and used it to block the flaming sword. Although this prevented her from being directly cut through by the flaming sword, the immense force transmitted from the blade still caused Athena, who was holding the scythe, to lose control of her flight and be blasted into the sea of ​​lava below by Shar's powerful split.

Of course, this wouldn't kill Athena; it would only make her look a little embarrassed. This was actually a good thing; at least Ciel didn't unleash the full power of Pangu's Infinite Energy. Otherwise, when Odin clashed with him with his sword and spear, Ciel would have directly crippled Odin's arm.

No matter how you look at it, Athena's slender arms and legs don't seem like those of Odin, a Norse barbarian with a tough life.

If Pangu's Five Extremes are really used, Athena will most likely be in trouble.

Even though she hasn't been defeated yet, Athena is far from feeling well. The torrent of fire elementals unleashed by the Cataclysm has reached an extremely high temperature. It's so high that unless one is a god of fire or the sun, no one can withstand such flames with their body before taking any defensive measures.

"Cough cough..." A moment later, Athena, who had been knocked into the lava, flew back up from below. But this time, the goddess, dressed in a white Greek-style robe and wearing an olive branch in her hair, looked disheveled, like a beggar.

The white robe, even though it was formed with divine power, was almost completely burned off, revealing large patches of snow-white skin. Even the clothing at the chest was burned away. The charred marks on the torn clothes contrasted sharply with Athena's fair skin.

The olive wreath atop Athena's head was now a charred, unidentified substance; her once smooth, silver hair was a mess, and even her face was blackened by soot. Even a coal miner might be in a better state than Athena is now.

"Ah!!!" Athena screamed as she was cleaved into the sea of ​​fire by Ciel's sword. She knew exactly what she looked like without even looking. Athena, now airborne again, conjured a mirror with her divine power, revealing her current appearance, especially the tattered state of her clothing, which almost completely exposed her.

Ultimately, Athena was not as shameless as most Greek gods. Amidst the shouts and curses, she tried desperately to cover herself with her hands, hurriedly using her divine power to wash away the filth on her body and repair her now-revealed clothes.

"So that's why! They're fighting all the time, and you're still wearing that Greek robe..." Seeing the goddess frantically trying to unclutter her clothes like a little girl, Charles shook his head. He didn't see any point in wearing that Greek robe. If he couldn't break through the divine barrier created by Athena, it would be fine, but Charles was above her. Wearing such cumbersome and useless clothing in battle under these circumstances was simply asking for trouble.

"Can't you be a little more considerate of me?!" After repairing her clothes and cleaning off the soot from the burns, Athena glared at Charles and said with displeasure.

"All I want to say is, you're wearing a white robe and carrying a scythe, and you still have the nerve to talk back to me?!" Charles replied. "Not only are you incredibly in the way, but things like divine barriers are things I can easily blast through... Aren't you the Goddess of Wisdom? Surely you didn't completely overlook this aspect?!"

Athena's face stiffened at these words; she hadn't expected this at all. In fact, Athena had only envisioned this exchange as a friendly sparring match, but she never imagined that Shar would immediately unleash a barrage of [Cataclysm] and [Rain of Fire] upon entering the arena, abandoning all pretense of scheming, humility, and courtesy. Shar, true to his character—who by no means seemed like a good person—was simply using the most direct method: a magical onslaught to cleanse his name.

This is a good habit; it's always good to strike first.

However, Athena was completely baffled by the Shar's behavior.

"This is truly incomprehensible!" Athena said through gritted teeth. "Fine, Serpent of the Abyss, since you intend to fight seriously... then wouldn't it be a huge disgrace if I didn't display the prowess of a goddess of war!"

"Then I'll give it a serious try too!"

Clearly, the fire had just smeared her skin, nearly causing a complete wardrobe malfunction, which greatly angered this goddess, both in mythology and in reality, who was not of the same gender. Well, any goddess would generally be furious in this situation—except, of course, for those in Faerûn.

An angry Athena, however, decided not to keep anything to herself.

At least through that round just now, Athena deeply understood that her Triune form wasn't actually that powerful. Or rather, compared to Ciel, her Triune form was truly inferior to her form as the Goddess of War.

Of the divine attributes that the Trinity can utilize, wisdom is of little use. Ciel is clearly using brute force to overcome skill, a contest of who has the higher attributes! Obviously, even as an avatar, Ciel surpasses Athena in basic attributes. Furthermore, the power of the Underworld over life and death has absolutely no effect on Ciel. The power of life is ineffective against Ciel; the power of the Underworld is a complete miss.

Even the Petrifying Demon Eye was spared by Ciel through sheer unparalleled resilience. The divine power granted by the Trinity was utterly defeated by Ciel in this one-sided manner.

After much deliberation, Athena finally understood something: she could only fight Ciel using the divine status she possessed in the mythological world, which she disliked.

499. The Contest (Part 2)

While it might seem shameful to break free from the constraints of mythology and then use its divine attributes, Athena no longer feels that way. Because the Trinity, on which she placed her high hopes, has been completely ignored by Ciel.

With a burst of platinum-gold light, Athena's clothes rapidly transformed under the influence of divine power. Her original pristine white ancient Greek robes transformed into a white and gold armor skirt. The olive branch atop her head was replaced by a Greek-style helmet, a bronze shield engraved with the head of Medusa appeared in her left hand, and her scythe transformed into a spear held in her right.

"...What is this? Just throw on a divine robe?! This completely messes up the worldview!" Seeing this, Ciel muttered to himself. "Fine! After all, they're all disobedient gods..." Disobedient gods refer to those who have violated their mythological identities, but that doesn't mean they can't use mythological powers. Like Athena, whose authority and divine power as a triune deity are completely ineffective against Ciel, so he might as well switch to a robe that does.

So even Ciel's complaints about the rapid, almost instantaneous upgrades in weaponry were to no avail. Athena, now fully equipped and wielding a weapon brimming with rage, charged towards Ciel.

"Still underestimating me?!" Seemingly noticing Ciel's somewhat distracted state, Athena called out, then her spear whistled through the air as it thrust directly at Ciel. It must be said, Athena in her new form was far more threatening than before. Although her divine power in this state was inferior to her previous one, her combat awareness and speed had both improved significantly.

This confirmed for Xia Er that even disobedient gods could not completely escape the constraints of mythology. Considering Athena's ability to change her divine nature at will, becoming the goddess of war from mythology as her master, she was only relatively free compared to the mythological figures.

Grasping the flaming sword Levadin, Ciel parried Athena's spear with his own, then pushed it away with force, deflecting the thrust. But this was immediately followed by a shield strike from Athena's Medusa shield in her left hand. Ciel, wielding only the flaming sword, had no other weapon. However, he didn't believe a shield could do anything to him, and simply reached out to block the shield's attack.

However, an unexpected event occurred. Just as Ciel's other hand was about to touch the shield, the eyes of the Medusa image on the shield, which had been tightly closed, suddenly opened, flashing a purple light. At the same time, a purple light also flashed in Athena's eyes.

Caught off guard, Ciel froze for a moment—he was petrified. But unlike the previous Petrifying Eyes, this time it wasn't just Athena's Petrifying Eyes; it was a petrification triggered by Medusa's shield combined with Athena's own divine power.

This level of petrification, caught off guard, caused Ciel to freeze momentarily. Just a moment, a mere instant, and Ciel was able to forcefully shatter it using his own resistance. However, before Ciel could break free of the petrification, Athena wielded Medusa's shield and slammed it down again.

A beautiful shield bash struck Ciel in the chest, sending him flying. And seemingly in retaliation for Ciel's earlier attack that sent her crashing into the lava sea below, Athena did the same, knocking Ciel down from the sky.

"Over there in the East, this is called 'an eye for an eye'!" Athena said gleefully as she saw Ciel being sent flying. "Serves you right! Who told you to disrespect me..."

"Is that so!?" Unfortunately, before Athena could even feel smug, Shar's voice rang in her ears again. Startled, Athena turned around and saw a semi-transparent Shar smiling, clenching his fist, and punching Athena in the stomach, knocking her down.

Boom...

Amidst the molten lava and flames conjured by the Great Cataclysm, Ciel calmly leaped out and stood atop it as if nothing had happened. He had been struck by Athena's shield bash; though not seriously injured, it still stung. However, Ciel showed no sign of annoyance, instead looking up with anticipation.

The next moment, Athena, who had been punched down by the spiritual clone, was once again tragically knocked off the sky and fell into the lava. Of course, this time it was much better than the first time. The armor forged by divine power did not burn away like the robe before, but instead shimmered with a pale golden light, blocking the lava.

"You, you, you!!!" Athena's face turned ashen after being punched in the stomach. It was a miracle she was a goddess; that punch was powerful enough to smash a ten-thousand-ton ship to pieces, yet it only made Athena feel uncomfortable. However, this didn't excuse Charles's utterly lacking chivalry. "Are you even a man? Can't you even show some consideration for me?! After all, I'm a goddess!"

"It's the Goddess of War!" Charles corrected, while Sui Zhou spread her hands to indicate her innocence. "Holding back in front of a Goddess of War... Am I that stupid? Besides, even the real God of War, Ares, was beaten to a pulp by you in mythology. If I didn't take it seriously, wouldn't I be even more unlucky—and besides, that shield bash just now..." Charles glared at Athena and said, "Ask yourself honestly, was it aimed at my face!?"

Athena: "Uh...hehehe, how could that be!"

"Tch!" Charles said, "If I hadn't broken free from the petrification a little faster and shifted my body slightly, I wouldn't have been hit by the shield, but rather it would have been stuck to my face!"

“So…” Ciel snapped his fingers, “we’ll keep fighting…”

boom!!!!

Before Athena could react, a massive explosion occurred around her, and a fireball appeared out of nowhere, hitting her directly in the face. Of course, thanks to her helmet and divine power, Athena didn't become a 'coal miner' again, but being hit in the face by a fireball was clearly not a pleasant experience.

"Shahr!!!" Athena's voice rang out through gritted teeth. A flash of purple light, and the lava where the two stood was instantly enveloped in a layer of gray substance. The petrifying power acted directly below, and with Athena's relentless output of divine power, the entire lava area was instantly transformed into rocky land. However, the petrification still couldn't reach Sharl. So, Athena glared at Sharl, gripped her spear and Medusa's shield, and charged forward.

Ciel was not to be outdone. He gripped the Flaming Sword in one hand and with the other, he drew the Eternal Spear and clashed with Athena.

500. CaladiVolpe Hotel

Sardinia, the second largest island in the Boot Kingdom (Italy), is not actually very large. Although it is not as well-known as Sicily or Tuscany, it is a popular vacation destination for royalty, politicians, and celebrities in Europe.

The island boasts stunning scenery, with shrubbery communities growing on its undulating inland terrain, a pleasant coastline, crystal-clear waters, isolated reefs, long beaches, and caves, all contributing to its beauty.

Of course, on this island, where tourism and vacations have flourished, there are naturally places that would make the wealthy and powerful willingly part with their money. That is the Caladi Volpe Hotel, touted as Italy's most luxurious hotel, even surpassing the Westin Excelsior in Rome.

The average price of the presidential suite at the CaladiVolpe Hotel is $34000 per night, and during peak season, it can reach $45000 per night. It's an extreme case of burning money, and presumably only the wealthy and the super-rich are willing to come here, besides those with status and influence.

However, Charles doesn't need to spend any money to come here. His current travel within Italy is all covered by the Italian Magic Society and can be directly reimbursed by the Italian budget. This is equivalent to Charles spending Italian government money to stay in Italy's most expensive luxury hotels.

Since he didn't have to spend his own money, Ciel was very satisfied with this.

However, some were dissatisfied because after fighting with Ciel and exhausting most of her divine power, Athena reverted to her child form. The 'sparring' before arriving in Sardinia unsurprisingly ended in a crushing defeat for Athena.

Then, to save trouble and out of malice, on the plane to Sardinia, Ciel simply packed Athena into his suitcase. Naturally, as a goddess, Athena was unwilling to do this, but it was no use. With dozens of layers of seals pressing down on her, Athena was forced to experience the splendor of human technological civilization's creations—until after they got off the plane, Ciel went to retrieve his suitcase, dragged it all the way out of the airport, and then took a private car all the way to the CaladiVolpe Hotel. Only when they entered the presidential suite that Ciel had reserved for him at the [Bronze Black Cross] did Ciel open the suitcase and, like carrying a cat, lift Athena out of the seals.

Then, Athena, without any instruction, mastered the skill of a nun who had read countless erotic novels, and opened her mouth to bite Ciel. Then she hit her teeth (unable to break through his defenses, miss), what a sad story…

"Sharl, you'll remember this..." Athena glared at the nonchalant man through gritted teeth, "I will never forget this humiliation!"

"Let's talk when you can beat me!" Charles said. "Of course, the possibility of that is almost zero..."

"I will not let you get away with this!"

“Yes, yes…” Charles patted Athena’s head and said, “However, you should recover your power and regain your form first, understand? Tablet!”

"I'll bite you!"

……

It must be said that the Presidential Suite at the CaladiVolpe Hotel truly lives up to its price tag. Located on a high floor of the hotel, it spans 2250 square meters and boasts three bedrooms, three bathrooms, a private gym, a steam room, and even a wine cellar. The wine cellar houses a diverse collection of spirits from around the world, ranging from vodka to Wuliangye and even Erguotou.

If a Russian came instead, this wine cellar would probably be empty in no time.

However, Charles wasn't the kind of guy who drank industrial alcohol like it was water. He simply took a bottle of wine from the cellar, went to the saltwater swimming pool on the roof, set up a parasol and a deck chair, and then lay down wearing sunglasses.

Well, if the bottle of red wine in my hand isn't the Edscheck Champagne, which costs a whopping $275000 and only 200 bottles exist worldwide—and by the way, Edscheck Champagne belongs to Tsar Nicholas II.

"Life is all about enjoying it!"

"Is that so? But in my opinion, this is utter depravity!" Clearly, Athena was still very unhappy with Sharl's treatment of her as luggage transported to Sardinia, and directly retorted sarcastically. "...And another thing, you really have no manners whatsoever. Shouldn't you have been a gentleman and poured me some wine at a time like this?!"

"Tsk..." Ciel raised his head and turned his gaze towards Athena. "You've recovered enough divine power so quickly?!" At this moment, Athena was no longer the little girl she had been before; she had reverted to the appearance of a teenage girl. She walked gracefully onto the balcony, carrying a parasol and a lounge chair, and came to Ciel's side. She had even changed into a rather sexy women's swimsuit, revealing her smooth and fair skin.

"Hmph! Now that I've retrieved the Gorgon Stone, I can quickly regain my divine power no matter where I am!" Athena raised her smooth chin, lay down on the recliner, reached out and grabbed the Edscheck champagne that Charles had placed to the side, and poured herself a full glass.