The joyful cheers from Ragnok's victory died down, replaced by a cold, expectant silence.

Thea's live broadcast, a network connecting billions of worlds, zoomed in, projecting the image of one God.

God Venus stood alone in the center of the arena, his divine form, once proud and radiant, now trembling. He could feel them. The eyes.

Six billion Gods in the stands above, and quadrillions of mortals watching through their system panels.

He felt like a clown in the , the star of the execution of his own creation. He had never known such humiliation.

'Why?' he thought, his mind a whirlwind of terror and bitter regret. 'Why this? Becoming mortal would have been a much easier punishment'

He had seen Sunny's power. He knew, with a sickening certainty, that the Emperor could have turned him mortal with a snap of his fingers, just as he had the 420 others.

But this… this public execution of his pride, this command to apologise before the mortals… this was a torment that would last an eternity, long after his ten-thousand-year sentence was served.

He had even believed he could have recovered from godlessness. As he had already bought SS-Grade Magic Affinity, he could have clawed his way back.

He could have become a demigod, perhaps even a God again, in a few millennia. But this… this left a permanent stain on his godhood.

But his life was on the line. He took a deep, shuddering breath, forcing his body to stop shaking. He had to perform.

"I… I am God Venus," he began, his voice, amplified by his faith, echoing across the silent universe. It trembled, but he pushed on, the words he had rehearsed in his mind since the judgment now spilling out.

"Today, I stand before you all to apologize. To correct my mistakes. To give justice to the more than five hundred families, on my own world, who were… who were hurt by the actions of my demigod, Sparx."

He focused his narrative, He would blame the creation, not the creator. "Sparx was… corrupted. By his own power, his arrogance, his racism. I… I failed to see it. I failed to stop it."

Venus bowed his head and said, "Please… forgive me," his voice cracked, a masterful performance of a broken heart.

"Everything I did, every choice I made, I did for the sake of my world. I believed I needed Sparx, that he was the only thing standing between my people and the demonic hordes. But I was wrong. We are now under the protection of His Majesty, Emperor Cosmos. Your protection is absolute. My demigod… his terrible actions… are no longer necessary."

'Yes, that's it,' he thought, 'blame the creation, praise the Emperor. A perfect, groveling speech.'

"Thus," he declared, his voice rising, "I have decided today to end the life of Sparx once and for all!"

He raised his hand, and a small, flickering, translucent wisp of light appeared above his palm.

It was the tattered, broken half of Sparx's soul. It looked weary, almost transparent, as if it had been sucked dry of all its essence and vitality.

It let out a scream. Venus, his face a mask of tragic, righteous duty, created a ball of fire in his other hand. It was a brilliant, intense flame, a magic he had spent a long time perfecting.

As soon as the soul of Sparx touched the divine fire, it screamed. A high-pitched, soul-shattering wail that pierced the minds of every being in the arena. And then, in a flash of brilliant, final light, it was gone. Erased from existence.

Or so the lifeforms thought. The Gods, however, knew the truth. They knew that was only half. They knew the other half was at that very moment being delivered to Cerberus, to the deepest part of the Netherworld.

A wave of thunderous cheers erupted from the all of the mortals. Their prayers, their outrage, their single voice from the live chat had been heard. Their Emperor had listened. He had delivered justice.

Lifeform53637: "A God is apologizing… to us! I never thought I would live to see this day."

Lifeform63839: "It shows that the laws are equal in our Cosmic Empire! Even a God must answer for their crimes! All hail the Emperor!"

Lifeform74848: "I always thought the Gods were perfect, flawless beings who never made mistakes…"

Lifeform849993: "They are not. It is written in the tenth verse of the Holy Book, 'The Genesis'! It says, 'And know that power is a test, a law that can corrupt and drive the mighty to madness.' It then tells the story of how the Emperor struck down the 421 corrupt Gods and cast them into the deepest pits of Hell! It gives me shivers just thinking about it!"

Lifeform74949: "You're forgetting about the God of Ragnok's world! It says the demigod Thea herself destroyed his entire planet, just to make sure he could never rise again! Imagine, a demigod destroying a God's world under his nose! That is the power of our Emperor's will!"

The chat buzzed with this new, profound understanding of their universe. The Gods were not perfect and outside of the laws of justice. And their Emperor, God Cosmos, was the ultimate law.

As Venus was silently teleported away to begin his ten-thousand-year sentence of lonely reflection,

Adam's voice boomed once more, his tone light, eager to move on from the grim execution. "Justice has been served! And now, let us resume the tournament!"

The arena floor rippled, the stained ground of Ragnok's battle dissolving, replaced by a crystalline plain, the new arena. Two beams of light lanced down, and the next two contestants appeared.

The crowd gasped as they had been waiting for this battle since the second round.

On one side stood Uranus, the demigod of life, his angelic white wings unfurled, his handsome face set in a look of pure, battle-ready focus.

At his side, his sister-half, Gaia, floated serenely, her presence a calming, healing aura.

On the other side stood the demigod Immuno, the unicorn-like being, his single, spiraling horn humming with a power that seemed to negate the very air around it.

It was the rematch the entire universe had been waiting for.

"Be careful, Uranus," Gaia whispered, her voice a soft melody as she flew to the far edge of the arena, her role one of support, not combat.

Uranus nodded, his gaze locked on his opponent.

"We meet again," he called out, his voice a clear challenge. "I hope you are stronger than the last time we sparred."

The unicorn demigod just neighed, a sound like a crystal bells, its perfect, noble face twisted into what could only be described as a mocking grin. "Neigh~ I will show you just how much stronger I have become."

The two demigods, both master of their own laws, prepared for battle. The live chat, which had been sobered by Venus's execution, exploded back to life.

Lifeform53625: "It's him! It's Immuno! This is going to be the most annoying fight in history! Get ready for a stalemate!"

Lifeform1662: "His talent is the worst! That stupid light beam makes all attacks useless! And the more you hit him, the stronger his counter-attack becomes! It's a perfect, unbeatable combination! What can Lord Uranus even do?"

Sunny, from his high throne, just smiled. He knew that during the month-long break, Uranus had spent his vast, accumulated merits on a single, custom-ordered talent from him, a talent specifically designed to counter Immuno's seemingly perfect defense.

He activated his God's Eye, a casual act, to scan Immuno for any new surprises.

And then, Sunny's calm, composure vanished. His smile froze. He leaned forward on his throne, his cosmic eyes widening in genuine, profound shock.

He saw Immuno's original talents, the ones he knew. And then he saw a new one, an ability that God Alex must have purchased and bestowed upon his champion during the break.

'Oh, my…' Sunny thought, his mind racing. 'Uranus… I hope your new talent could overcome his. Because Alex has blessed him with another great talent again'

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