The Greece Antagonist

Having figured out the sequence of events, Chiron furrowed his brow and asked,

"So, are we now up against that Catastrophe Witch?"

"No, Kronos merely took Pandora's suggestion, using his own Space Authority to construct this Underground Maze around the Titan Temple to guard his Divine Throne. As for that Catastrophe Witch..."

Prometheus paused, then added with an ironic smile.

"Kronos doesn't even trust me; how could he possibly trust her? Therefore, that woman has long been expelled."

Hearing this, Jason's eyes lit up,

"So you mean, all we need to do now is to unravel this Space Maze, and we'll be able to find our way to the Titan Temple?"

"In theory, yes..."

"Then what are we waiting for? Lead the way, Prometheus!"

The social butterfly of the banquet came forward, patting Prometheus on the shoulder, eagerly urging him on.

Prometheus nodded and turned to look at the Argo Heroes in the corner, asking in a deep voice,

"How are you all feeling?"

"We're almost ready," everyone responded in turn.

Prometheus nodded slightly, raised his hand, and infused his Divine Power into the Bronze module in his palm.

The space where everyone was instantly lit up, and the entire structure and operation mode of the Underground Maze was projected through the Bronze module, clearly presented in front of everyone. This filled the heroes, who were more brawn than brains, with wonder and their confidence in escaping their current predicament increased manifold.

Before setting off, Prometheus, who was to lead the way, reminded them again,

"Gentlemen, the entire Underground Maze has as many as 26 independent spatial units; each unit's different Light Gates are the driving Spells that connect all spatial units. Once you go through a spatial unit, the structure of the Underground Maze will transform once, resulting in 43 quattuordecillion combinations.

And within these 43 quattuordecillion spatial combinations, only by aligning the six colors in their places, will the path to the Titan Temple truly open.

So, you must follow me closely! Just one wrong step, and all could be for naught!"

The Argo Heroes had already experienced the weirdness and terror of the Underground Maze, naturally they did not dare take it lightly, nodding solemnly one after another and maintaining a tight formation, following Prometheus.

With everything ready, Prometheus took a deep breath, raised his head, and stepped into a light-patterned line on the left stone wall.

The Argo Heroes clenched their weapons, silently invoked the Divine Word, and followed in a leap.

After a familiar feeling of weightlessness and spatial dislocation, they did not encounter the seven goddesses in the form of emerald birds or the demonized Golden Apple Tree they had faced before; instead, they found themselves in a desolate open area.

A few Magic Beasts and giants were lazily patrolling at several forked paths.

"Intruders! There are intruders!"

At that moment, seeing dozens of Argo Heroes continuously walking in from the light patterns on the stone wall, the Magic Beasts and giants stationed there snapped out of their reverie. They immediately began shouting and charging forward.

Looking at the mere hundred or so Magic Beasts and giants before them, the Argo Heroes couldn't help but reveal a ferocious smile, swinging their Sword and Shield without any politeness, embroiling themselves in a melee with the monsters that had rushed to their deaths.

Since entering this Underground Palace, swarms of Magic Beasts and giants had followed them like sharks smelling blood, biting wildly at their heels.

Finally having a reliable guide, and entering a less defended spatial unit, they certainly wanted to take the opportunity to vent their pent-up frustration.

Therefore, the charging Argo Heroes were each more ruthless than the last.

Hercules, who had lost foster children and several companions along the way, was leading the charge.

For a time, Cursed Bullets flew and blood splattered within the entire independent spatial unit; dozens of Magic Beasts and giants were almost finely sliced into pieces on the spot.

Upon seeing this, Chiron immediately shouted, "Don't get entangled in battle! Pass through quickly!"

The blood in Hercules's eyes, which had almost filled his gaze, then gradually receded, as he led a few who had strayed from the group back into the ranks of the Expeditionary Army.

Looking at Hercules, whose face hadn't lost much of its sullenness after the skirmish, Chiron couldn't help but frown.

This prophesied Child of Fate, powerful enough but not rational enough, was too easily dominated by anger and emotion.

Now, with the trajectory of the battle of the giants having deviated so much, it was hard to say whether this hero, on whom the gods placed great hope, could shoulder his original responsibilities and mission.

"They're coming after us, hurry up!"

Prometheus, observing the dense light points rapidly converging on their location in the Bronze module, hastened his pace.

"Left front, the third light pattern!"

"Right side, thirty meters, go through the second light pattern!"

"Back, the way is there!"

"..."

Under the guidance of Prometheus, the professional insider, they cleverly avoided the underworld's main force of Magic Beasts and giants, and by continuing to activate the light patterns of each spatial unit, they induced gradual changes in the structure of the Underground Maze.

Once, twice, thrice...

Five times, ten times, fifteen times...

Finally, the Argo Heroes, after dispersing scattered Magic Beasts and giants, completed twenty spatial transits without mishap.

And when they passed through the last Light Gate, the entire Underground Maze, like a gear-jammed mechanical clock, suddenly ground to a halt.

"Hum!"

Immediately following, the light patterns in each spatial unit cell buzzed and flashed, and silver-gray lines quickly covered the entire Underground Maze, turning the 26 distinct spatial units a uniform color.

"Boom~!"

Amidst a dull roar, the stone wall before them split open, revealing a descending cliff, as if leading directly to a beast-mouth-like pitch-black Abyss.

However, the Argo Heroes could vaguely see those familiar crimson light patterns, flickering faintly at the end of the Abyss.

—Divine Emblem!

—Titan Temple!

Realizing that this was their very destination, their minds were filled with intense excitement, and they all looked eagerly towards the Fire Stealer leading them from darkness into light.

It worked!

At the same time, on the Battlefield of Thessaly.

"Prometheus!"

The roar that usually echoed like thunder resounded through the skies.

"Boom!"

The next moment, a dazzling radiance burst forth, with thousands of radiant chasms stretching across the sky for miles.

Metal fragments, like tiny stars, slowly losing their glow, fell toward the battlefield, now reduced to scorched earth.

The clouds, which had once held opulent palaces and dreamlike realms, shattered like bubbles.

A giant in broken armor, with half his body torn and flesh decaying to reveal stark white bones, fell like a meteor from the sky, crashing into the earth and raising dust and a roar of exhausted rage.

"How dare you betray me!"

Kronos staggered out of the deep pit, his face a mask of shock and fury, eyes bloodshot.

As the creator of the Space Maze, he felt acutely that the barrier he had painstakingly built was being dismantled from the inside by a traitor and the heart of it, the Titan Temple, had been fully exposed to the enemy.

From this moment, his "Crown" and "Divine Throne" were no longer safe.

And the cause of it all was the very one who had betrayed the Titans not once, but twice!

"Betrayal?" Luo En wiped a trickle of Golden Blood from the corner of his mouth and sneered at the enraged Titan King, "Prometheus never swore fealty to you, so how can there be talk of betrayal?"

Kronos, upon hearing this, laughed furiously,

"Good! Very good~! To disregard my trust and choose death rather than betray these ground-crawling creatures, I shall grant him his wish!"

Wait, choose death?!

Luo En's heart skipped a beat and his face turned pale.

But before he could react, Kronos lifted a hand and, with a sinister smile, crushed a clump of golden fire that had appeared in his palm to dust.

~~

Simultaneously, in the Underground Maze.

"Crack~~"

A clear snapping sound emanated from Prometheus's chest.

The Fire Stealer at the front of the group stopped, turned back toward the heroes of the Argo, and said with a resigned smile,

"It looks like this is as far as I can take you."

Before the group's bewildered eyes, Prometheus casually tore off his tattered robe, revealing an empty chest.

Where his flesh was withered, instead of a Divine Core, golden reddish points of light, like stardust, flowed out of the opening.

Chiron was the first to react, his expression changing dramatically.

"Did Kronos strip you of your divinity?!"

"No, it was a sacrifice I chose to make."

Prometheus responded with a light laugh and a shake of his head, appearing unfazed.

"Your Father God is too suspicious. It's not easy to deceive him; a sacrifice had to be made."

Jason, remembering everything that had happened, felt a shiver run through him.

"Bringing us in here will kill you?"

"Theoretically, yes."

Prometheus nodded slightly, looking at the restored bronze module in his hand with a hint of resignation.

"Until the very end, Kronos never fully trusted me. He only tasked me with guarding the Space Maze, forbidding me to get close to the Titan Temple. The moment I dismiss the Space Technique on my own and step out of this area, His Majesty the King of Gods will notice my small actions."

With a complete answer from Prometheus, Jason, who had extended the initial invitation, struggled to accept it.

"Knowing you would die, you still led us in here?"

"Who says there is no fire underground?"

Prometheus chuckled, his gentle gaze passing over the figures of the Argo Heroes and looking into the vast darkness below.

"If one must move forward, someone has to be the light, to illuminate the path ahead for you."

That casually uttered statement weighed heavily on the ears of the Argo Heroes.

In the first Divine Era, although some Deities showed proximity to mankind, most looked down upon them from on high.

Even in the eyes of some ancient and proud Chief Gods, humans didn't deserve to share the same sky as the gods.

The original Titans created Greece.

The humans, mere parasites on the earth, were just ephemeral beings adrift in the river of fate. Merely lucky enough to climb upon a leaf, their fleeting existence, even if they danced on the crest of waves, was not even worth a sneer.

But the Fire Stealer before them gave them life, and more importantly, human dignity.

Once, when there was no fire on earth, he brought the Holy Flame of the gods to mankind using a Fennel Branch;

Now, with no light underground, he sacrificed himself to illuminate the dark path ahead...

From beginning to end, this thief of gods' fire had never changed.

"Alright, they are nearly upon us. This is where we part. The path ahead might be open, but it won't be easy. Take care of yourselves."

Prometheus took one last look at the heroes born of human society and without a second thought, turned to face the darkness that lay behind them.

Golden flames ignited over his body in an instant, forcing the approaching Giants and Magic Beasts to shriek and retreat.

In this sunless underground, the Divine Emblem of the Titan Temple shone like the sun to the Giants, fierce and dazzling.

But now, the radiance from the Fire Stealer outshone even the sun itself!