The Sacrifice

"Wait, who exactly are those gods...?"

Jang Siwoon squinted her eyes flat and stared at the deities who didn't quite belong in Greco-Roman mythology.

Their appearance and attire were exotic even by Greek standards.

Two male gods, dressed only from the waist down, wore helmets shaped like beasts.

Outfits that look like they walked straight out of an Egyptian mural... and those accessories too.

"Now, everyone, calm yourselves."

Just as I was piecing together each god's identity one by one, that enormous Zeus we had seen back on the 12th floor made his entrance.

"Since it's come to this, exchange your greetings and then we'll begin the council."

With a grave expression, Zeus took the seat at the center of the assembly.

The gods eyed each other with visible displeasure before settling into their positions.

Zeus had been quite ferocious on the 12th floor, but here on the 13th, he seemed to have taken on the role of mediator among the gods.

"I am Poseidon, god of the sea, storms, and earthquakes."

"I am Athena, goddess of wisdom and war."

A god who collects every natural disaster known to man, plus a goddess of war. Now that I think about it, Greek gods really are the cooler set even without the heroes.

Since Poseidon and Athena had chosen the Greek side in the original myths, I naturally assumed they'd be on Greece's team this time as well.

But that assumption proved far too complacent, as the introductions that followed made painfully clear.

"I am Horus, god of the sun."

Horus?! So they really did gather Egyptian gods here?

I'd made a rough guess based on their appearance, but to think it was actually Horus, the Egyptian god.

I'd assumed the animal-headed ones were wearing helmets, but looking closely, the man genuinely had the head of a falcon.

Guardian deity of the pharaohs and god of the sun. His role overlapped suspiciously with Apollo's.

"I am Habaek, god of the Amnok River and of water."

"I am Apollo, god of the sun and prophecy."

"Set, god of chaos and destruction."

One by one, the remaining gods gave their introductions.

Habaek I already knew from the earlier conversation, and Apollo was identifiable by his golden hair and the lyre ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠he carried.

And then the male god with reddish skin — Set, with that long-snouted, dog-like head. The Egyptian deity who presided over death in the underworld.

Last of all, a gentle-faced old man seated slightly apart from the other gods offered his greeting.

"I am the Jade Emperor. Allow me to say in advance that I have no wish to stand on either side."

To think the Jade Emperor was smiling and speaking so courteously.

It truly was a council of gods gathered from every corner of the world.

What on earth is this lineup...?

I couldn't even tell which side was Troy and which was Greece anymore.

Watching this harmony of cultures — no, this harmony of gods — was honestly disorienting.

"Zeus! Tell me, does it make any sense for gods of other worlds to meddle in a war between Troy and Greece?!"

At that moment, Poseidon swung his fist and rounded on Zeus in fury.

Every time Poseidon raged, his hair, beard, and robe rippled like waves, as though he were submerged underwater.

"Foreign gods meddling in a foreigner's war — do you have some complaint about that?"

"Watch yourself, god of destruction. Olympus has its own laws!"

Set stretched the corners of his mouth into a long, crooked grin beneath that long snout, a sly smirk spreading across his face.

Whether it was the smirking that irritated him or something else, deep furrows creased Poseidon's face.

Come to think of it — why would Egyptian gods like Horus and Set, not to mention Eastern gods like the Jade Emperor and Habaek, even get involved in this war?

Zeus, who had been quietly observing the exchange, casually extended an arm to rein Poseidon in.

"Poseidon. We reached into mortal lives for our own purposes — but there are gods for whom such behavior will never be tolerated."

"……"

The phrasing was measured, but the weight of authority behind it came through unmistakably.

Poseidon caught the glinting intensity in Zeus's eyes and promptly shut his mouth.

"Well said."

The Jade Emperor stroked his white beard and chuckled warmly.

"I once told Zeus this. A god must not involve himself in the brief lives of humans more than necessity demands. What we gave them was the will to defy their fate."

Words well spoken.

Perhaps because he was an Eastern god, there was something almost transcendent about him — the composure, the serenity of an immortal.

Maybe that ease of bearing was something only an omnipotent deity could afford, one even greater than Habaek.

"And so, let ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠this war not become a quarrel among gods. The fate of mortals must be decided by mortals themselves."

As the Jade Emperor finished speaking, he slowly turned his head.

...And his gaze landed squarely on me, Jang Siwoon, and the Student.

His eyes were benevolent enough, but facing a god head-on made my muscles tense up against my will.

"So then, you humans standing there."

"...?"

"Choose your own fate."

He wants us... to pick a side?

Now every single god was watching us, waiting for our decision.

I couldn't imagine anything more nerve-wracking.

One wrong move and I half expected an unchosen god to execute us on the spot.

"So the gods we can choose from are Poseidon, Athena, and Horus."

"Or Apollo, Habaek, and Set."

The Student and Jang Siwoon whispered to me in perfect, almost conspiratorial unison.

And the neutral ones are Zeus and the Jade Emperor.

The neutral gods were off the table, which meant we had to narrow it down to one of those six.

What criteria should we even use to choose a god?

And how many gods were we allowed to pick?

Just as I was sinking into thought—

"?!"

The Curator suddenly forced his way in between us.

We hadn't made a single choice yet.

Shhhk—

What do you mean, decided?!

Seeing the leaflet floating right in front of my face only deepened my disbelief.

We hadn't even begun discussing it, and they had the audacity to force a decision on us like this?

"What is this nonsense? We haven't decided anything yet!"

[Unfortunately... the opposing faction reached their decision first.]

The Curator shrugged and shook his head from side to side.

Watching him wear his mock regret on every inch of that plaster body sent my irritation soaring.

"You never said it was first come, first served!"

[Please compose yourself, Visitor Kim Jisan.]

"Excuse me...? What is that supposed to mean?"

Where had this nonsense come from all of a sudden?

The last thing I wanted was the Curator's expectations hanging over my head.

All that mattered to me right now was picking the gods who'd give us the best advantage.

"I don't need it shining brighter or anything else. Just run the quest fairly."

[And how, precisely, is this unfair?]

At the Curator's question, my mouth opened and then closed again.

Jang Siwoon and the Student beside me were in exactly the same state.

Furious, yes — but with no way to rebut him.

"……"

What pissed me ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠off most was that not a single word out of his mouth was actually wrong.

No, wait. If he'd properly explained up front that it was first come, first served, we would have committed to a decision much sooner.

But I knew protesting to the Curator any further would get me absolutely nowhere, so I just ground my curses between my teeth in silence.

"Our team got the god of rivers while they got the god of the sea. How is that balanced?"

"Noona, come on. We've still got Set, so it's probably fine. He looks way stronger than Horus."

Jang Siwoon grumbled, while the Student pretended to be at ease — though I could tell he was even more anxious than she was.

I did need to spin hopeful scenarios to keep their spirits from collapsing, but.

There was no telling what kind of art-related problem would crop up next, so I needed to get the facts straight first.

"Set may be the god of destruction, but there's a story in Egyptian mythology where he loses to Horus."

"Seriously? No way...! He shows up as a regular in games all the time, I thought he was the strongest character in the entire Egyptian pantheon!"

The Student let out the loudest wail of his life.

Watching him clutch at his hair, the reality of our disadvantage hit home all the harder.

"Lead the armies of Troy to victory alongside us, mortals."

"……"

Habaek, Apollo, and Set all extended their hands toward us at once.

It was a pose not unlike the one Paris had struck earlier.

These gods weren't bad, by any means — but no matter how I looked at it, there was a clear gap between them and the opposing team's lineup.

"Yes, understood. We're in your care."

"Jisan..."

When I bowed my head politely and showed the gods due reverence, they smiled in satisfaction.

Jang Siwoon called my name, her face clouded with worry.

Did she think I'd be crushed by the news?

As if.

"However, I would like to request a little more of the gods' assistance."

"What did you say...?"

At my sudden remark, the faces of Set and the other gods crumbled in an instant.

Every one of them turned to glare at me, expressions darkening.

This was the kind of spine-chilling experience I could have done without, frankly.

"You have more than enough already, and yet you dare ask for further aid from the gods! Are you saying our power is insufficient?!"

"I never said any such thing. However—"

Set, wrath incarnate, roared at me with murder in his eyes.

This was no place to tremble and grovel before a god.

These gods were ultimately just components of the system within this tower — which meant I had to land my hits properly, too.

"We require the Jade Emperor's aid as well."

"……"

"Please, grant us your instruction."

I phrased it as prettily as I could, but what it boiled down to was: I want to use cheat codes.

Among the neutral gods, I judged the Jade Emperor the safer bet for support than Zeus.

Zeus was, by mythological nature, a passionately emotional god — I feared the reckoning that might come later.

Come on. You can at least grant us this much, right?

I prayed fervently, with everything I had, that the Jade Emperor would approve my request.

At that moment, the Jade Emperor's eyes crinkled into a bright, radiant smile.

"Very well. I shall allow it — as your hidden card."

Hidden card?

That was a remarkably foreign word to be coming out of the Jade Emperor's mouth.

Shhhk—

The leaflet unfolded before us, radiating what could only be quest instructions.

It shimmered gold, glowing with the same aura as the gods themselves.

Gu-gu-gung—

At the Curator's signal, the gods scattered from their central seats to the corners of the cloud floor.

Poseidon, Athena, and Horus made their way to the far side, opposite us, while Habaek, Apollo, and Set took position on ours.

Then the floor of clouds parted, and between the gods an enormous game board revealed itself.

"Th-that looks exactly like a board game board?"

Just as the Student said, the board was divided into squares like some tabletop game.

With all manner of illustrations painted on each square, it seemed this quest would be played out across this board.

"Um, there are people over there!"

Jang Siwoon — apparently blessed with peak physical ability in every regard — pointed at a cluster of shapes impossibly far away.

Only when that cluster slowly drew closer did I realize they were yet other visitors.

Three of them, same as us.

Judging by the headcount, this was shaping up to be a three-on-three confrontation.

The visitors across the way stared at us in surprise, but made no move to approach.

Not that they could have — even if they'd wanted to, the game board stood squarely in the way.

What?