Pov Cratos (God of Beasts):

I was alone with Hatlas, the other Gods were busy with their things, I just hope none of them try to interfere with the tournament, this isn't the kind of event we can hold often.

"Are you sure you want to go through with the bet?"(Hatlas)

"Yes, Hernoth won't be a problem, unlike his early days, he has become a truly respectable God, unlike his son."(I)

"The stakes are very high, you must not forget that this is just the excuse for this tournament to happen, don't take it too far."(Hatlas)

"I know that I just couldn't pass up an opportunity like this."(I)

"You're betting on getting Essence from one of his children, do you understand that?"(Hatlas)

"He may understand your reasons better than I do, but he'll still make you pay for it."(Hatlas)

"No need, I'm betting a Divine Weapon Demonic attributes he has nothing to complain about, so don't worry about me."(I)

"If in the worst case, he wants to fight me, that only adds to the fun, it's been a few millennia since my old bones have shaken."(I)

The Demon God Hernoth has changed a lot since his ascension, he is also someone intelligent, and he will reveal my plans in an obvious way to him, I'm not good with these complicated things, so this would be better.magic

I hope he can stop his son later, I don't want to see him losing another son like he has in the past.

"I'm not going to hit you, I know I have no chance of winning and I don't like going into a losing battle."(Hernoth)

He entered my Divine Realm without me noticing as always, his very presence corrupts the surroundings as always, but I still don't like his cocky way of speaking.

"I'll take your bet, but it won't be a change to the existing bet, it will be an addition, a second outside bet just between the two of us."(Hernoth)

"I accept, it makes it easier for you to leave your speeches aside."(I)

"It would be a waste of words, you won't listen anyway, so I'd rather make it clear simply."(Hernoth)

He's trying to hide it, but I'm older than him, I've seen him grow up and his rise into a God, I know everything there is to know about him, so he can't hide the pain and fear from me.

"You understand, right?"(I)"I understand, but it's not guaranteed, you know the state of..." (Hernoth)

"Don't say anything else, I won't force you, but taking a risk may be your only choice, none of us have any more time."(I)

"I already said that I accept the bet, I agreed with everything from the initial proposal for the tournament."(Hernoth)

"That's good, but I can't say the same about your son."(I)

"Cratos is right, Daryus' movements are suspicious."(Hatlas)

"His movements are always strange, he's always planning something and he always has an ulterior motive behind his actions, but that's not my problem."(Hernoth)

So even though he understands the situation he still refuses to go against his son, but it doesn't matter, there are a lot of eyes on this tournament for a reason.

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As the days went by we followed the progress of the tournament, the first stage was a good way to cleanse those who were very weak, thanks to this they will realize their weaknesses, no God, Demigod, Hero or Champion will accept being below the others, those who were previously stagnant in their strength because of useless thoughts of superiority will have their illusions about themselves shattered.

Not everyone will realize this, but the numbers should be more than half, so the increase in strength among the Deities will increase from now on.

But what caught my attention was the second stage, these Abyss Creatures were captured on a certain planet, eliminating them would be a waste, using their miserable existences to train and give combat experience to the younger Deities was the best choice, the Hatlas' idea became correct, knowing the enemies in advance is good for them.

Zenos, as always, caused a lot of confusion, but his way of sweeping away so many enemies and protecting himself from them is a point of value for him, it's a shame that some of the Minor Gods never fought against them, their ways of fighting were almost useless at first, taking a long time to understand the right way to defeat these pests.

Soon the time for the third stage arrived, it was as Hernoth planned, random choices, but the favor of one of the competitors was clear, he was placed exactly against the weakest participants against him in some aspect, it was clear that something was wrong.lights

I looked at the other Gods, Hatlas looked back at me, even without saying anything it was clear he noticed the same thing, meanwhile Hernoth and Daryus didn't show anything, I could only look at the youngest among us knowing that a trick how meaningless this was to someone like Hernoth.

"(Daryus, true growth comes from perseverance and challenge, you just pushed him down.)" (I)

When the final fight began Selene's son was there just as I predicted, his fights from the beginning until the end were always difficult and I also know that he couldn't use all his power for certain reasons, but even so, he won difficult fights spectacularly seeking out his opponents' weaknesses whether it be blind trust in his body or injuries from previous battles.

Even though he was on the weaker side, he repeatedly managed to come out superior, it's a shame the final fight was so pointless, using the power of Chaos along with his superior willpower, he went through the Demigod's Authority, invading his body and altering it as he pleased, then it got worse and worse.

Daryus burst into anger, you could see it in his eyes, I don't know what he wanted to do with that Demigod, but the sword itself came from him in a way.

Just as expected, Daryus tried to interfere with Zenos and it was when Kalistos arrived or more precisely left his hiding place, she as well as other Gods chose to observe from afar.

As always, she avoids taking action, but when she makes a move, even I'm afraid before anyone can say anything, one of Daryus' arms is in her hand, parts of her Essence being drained as she makes Zenos leave the Divine Realm where he fought.

"I'm not going to bother explaining why I'm here, I think you understand Evil Demonic God, don't think you're safe from me because you're a God."(Kalistos)

"Even Gods die, but today is not your day, I will be taking this arm and part of your Essence, do not try to cross the line again or this will not be the extent of your punishment."(Kalistos)

"I... understand..." (Daryus)

From the evil in his eyes I know he doesn't understand, it looks like he's going to fall just like his other brother, I just hope he's not as foolish as he once was, I can see the disappointment in Hernoth's eyes, he knows exactly what's going on in his life son's head.

"< Divine Sealing of the 7 Evil Points >" (Hernoth)

Something no one expected happened, Hernoth used his Divinity to seal his son, his body crumbling into dust that gathered in his hand in the form of a statue of himself.

"You had already placed part of the Seal on him, hadn't you?"(Kalistos)

"Yes, but I hoped that in time he would realize his mistakes and failures just like I did in the past, that was just a guarantee."(Hernoth)

He took out a crystal with what looked like a sphere of pure darkness inside, even fragments of Divinity were thrown between us.

"This is payment for my bet with you, Cratos."(Hernoth)

"The rest is the payments for the tournament bet, this is my son's payment and mine."(Hernoth)

"I thought you weren't going to act."(I)

"I wouldn't do anything, but my son is a fool, he would try to get revenge on Kalistos at some point, if that happens when..." (Hernoth)

"Don't say anything else."(Kalistos/me)

We all know that some things should not be said, you never know who might be listening and the words of the Gods carry more weight than we would like, some things simply should not be said.

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A few hours later, the other Gods had already delivered their shares of the bet, all contributing Divinity Fragments of the same type and with that, I have all the Divinity Fragments I need to create a complete Essence.

"I know you're there, come out."(I)

"Training camp was a success, but what are you going to do now?"(Selene)

"I'm not sure yet, but I'll think about it when I have time."(I)

"Then I'll give you an idea, all you need is..." (Selene)

For the next few minutes I listened to Selene's idea, it wasn't something I had thought about much until now, but it will be possible to slide.

"(This might work, I need to give the prize to Zenos for winning the tournament soon, after that I can get out of here.)" (I)