Chapter 121: Chapter 121: Divine Punishment
Jax sat in silence, his eyes fixed on the ground, while the air was still heavy with what had happened with Lira. His thoughts tangled between guilt, sorrow, and the promise he had made to Zela—until, suddenly, a series of notifications broke into his vision.
"[The GRB has ended]"
"[Congratulations to the guild ’The Heros Guild’ for completing level (S)]"
"[Calculating rewards...]"
An ominous silence filled the place. Jax frowned, sensing that something else was about to happen.
"[Since you are the only guild to have completed the event, additional rewards will be granted]"
"[After reviewing the performance of all participants, it has been determined that you have violated the rules and spirit of the GRB]"
"[Evidence: No guild in the past 437 years has entered the GRB (S) chambers. Sabotage attempt detected]"
Jax’s heart pounded hard. The system was rarely this direct, and every word seemed to vibrate with the wrath of something beyond even the gods.
"[After thorough review, it has been determined that 12 gods were involved in the sabotage]"
"[Determining appropriate punishment...]"
The letters flickered for an instant, as if even the system itself hesitated at the weight of the verdict, until the sentence finally appeared.
"[Punishment decided]"
"[All gods who interfered in the GRB will be exterminated]"
The moment the announcement appeared, the entire universe seemed to shudder. From the edges of the interstellar void, golden bolts descended with indescribable fury. They weren’t mere flashes: each carried the force of a collapsing sun, the roar of a million worlds destroyed all at once.
The stars trembled. Planets cracked apart. And in the divine realms, the heavens split open, revealing fractures of pure golden energy.
One by one, the condemned gods screamed in terror. Their sacred palaces were pierced as if they were made of paper, their divine bodies reduced to dust before the omnipotence of the bolts. Resistance was useless: no matter their power, their armies, or their faithful—before the punishment of the system, the gods were as fragile as ash in the wind.
Mortals who managed to witness the spectacle from their worlds fell to their knees, terrified by what they saw: the annihilation of divinities they had once believed immortal. The skies blazed with an apocalyptic brilliance that lit up the cosmos.
The roar of divine justice spread like an echo without end. The universe quaked with each god’s fall, and the few who hadn’t been accused remained in absolute silence, too terrified to intervene.
When the bolts finally ceased, all that remained were divine ashes drifting in the void.
The system returned, merciless and cold:
"[The guilds detected skipping the (S) events will be penalized with:]"
"[-10,000,000 GRB points]"
"[-Removal of all granted privileges]"
"[The ranking of all guilds has been reset. All guilds have been expelled]"
"[All guilds unable to pay will receive consequential punishments]"
A deadly silence followed those words. The entire galaxy seemed to hold its breath.
Finally, the system announced the reward for the sole victorious guild.
"[Rewards for ’The Heros Guild’ will now be delivered]"
"[-1,000,000 GRB points]"
"[-1 Roulette Ticket]"
Jax clenched his teeth, a shiver crawling down his spine. What he had just witnessed was beyond comprehension. Twelve gods had been erased from existence as if they were mere insects. Not even their power, their influence, or their eternity had saved them.
For the first time in a long while, Jax felt true fear.
"If the God of Time was among them..." he muttered in a strangled voice. "No... it can’t be."
He stood up abruptly, anxiety stabbing at his chest. The memory of that conversation in the blank space came back to him. The God of Time had been enigmatic, even arrogant—but he had also seemed afraid. Had he miscalculated? Had they discovered him?
"If they exterminated him... then even he wasn’t untouchable."
A sound tore him away from his thoughts.
"Jax!" Zela’s trembling voice called out. She and the other girls appeared at the same spot, their faces pale, visibly shaken. Some still clutched their weapons as if expecting the catastrophe to strike here as well.
"Did you see that?" one of the vassal representatives asked, her eyes wide. "Golden bolts falling in every direction! The sky... the sky was on fire!"
"It wasn’t just here," said another, her voice cracking. "I felt it... as if the whole universe trembled."
Zela stepped forward, staring at him in desperation. "Jax... those notifications... those gods... what does it mean? Can the system really kill the gods themselves?"
He remained silent for a moment, unsure how to answer. The memory of the divine screams still echoed in his mind, indelible.
"It means..." he finally said, his voice grave, "that even gods have a limit. That the system stands above all."
The girls exchanged terrified looks. What they had witnessed was not just punishment; it was a reminder that there was a force far greater than any divinity—an absolute power that spared no one.
Jax gazed up at the sky, still stained by fading golden flashes. Deep inside, one thought gnawed at him:
"If the God of Time was on that list... then I have no one in my corner anymore."
Jax looked at them all. He saw fear in their faces, doubts no one could answer. And for an instant, that same fear tried to consume him too.
But he took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and let the icy air fill his lungs.
When he spoke, his voice cut through the heavy atmosphere like a blade of steel:
"Let’s not think about that."
The girls looked at him, startled.
Jax smiled, though guilt still burned in his eyes. "It doesn’t matter what happens with the gods, or what all this means. Right now... the only thing that matters is that we finished the GRB." He paused, his smile widening with a spark of excitement. "And we have a roulette to open."
Zela stared at him, surprised by the sudden shift. "Seriously...? After all this?"
"Yes." Jax raised the shimmering ticket that had just materialized in his hand, the system’s emblem glowing on it like a miniature sun. His voice turned playful yet resolute. "After so much pain and suffering... I think we deserve a little excitement."
A murmur ran through the group. None could deny that, despite everything, curiosity was beginning to stir in their chests.
Jax lifted the ticket into the air.
"I’m excited... let’s see what luck gives us."
The roulette’s lights began to materialize before them, spinning in a dazzling show of colors that lit up the darkness left behind by the massacre of the gods.
And with that, the tension of the moment shifted into a new anticipation.