"The King has gone mad! He's declared war on the Gods!"
"Ah... then should we perhaps..."
Within the capital of the great kingdom, such whispers spread endlessly.
In this era where humans and gods coexisted, the Gods represented supremacy, omniscience, and omnipotence. They stood above all.
To resist the Gods-
-was a death sentence.
Moreover, believers among humanity were not rare. In fact, more than two-thirds of the citizens of the great kingdom were followers of the Gods.
So the moment Jaden declared war, countless thoughts surfaced at once.
Because Brynhildr, the Valkyrie, was by Jaden's side, no one dared to assassinate the King of Man. But exploiting the situation to rally people and flee?
That was entirely possible.
Especially the high-ranking officials who already harbored ambition and possessed their own fiefdoms. They gathered large groups of citizens and fled in waves, seizing the chance to return to their territories, hold ceremonies, and publicly declare loyalty to the Gods.
Brynhildr saw all of this.
And it was impossible for Jaden not to know.
Yet at this moment, he still sat calmly upon the throne of the Royal Court, holding the information about the Gods that Brynhildr had given him, flipping through it page by page.
He looked completely unconcerned.
Brynhildr, on the other hand, couldn't quite endure it.
"Your people are fleeing. Soon, you might not even be the King of Man anymore. How do you plan to resist the Gods then?"
If earlier, after the shock of Jaden's declaration, Brynhildr had chosen to observe in silence, now she felt something closer to regret.
Or rather-
Disappointment.
A human declaring war on the Gods... the chance of success was minuscule, but not nonexistent.
But that would require humanity to be united, to exploit the Gods' arrogance, and to stake everything in a single gamble. Even then, victory would only have a one-in-ten-thousand chance.
But now-
In Brynhildr's eyes, if the current humanity faced the Gods, the odds wouldn't even reach that.
It would be nothing more than an execution.
An execution of a self-important Foolish King.
And indeed, many had already begun calling Jaden exactly that.
The Foolish King.
Jaden, however, didn't care.
In response to Brynhildr's question, he merely snorted softly.
"Those who want to leave, let them leave."
His tone was as indifferent as ever.
Seeing this, even Brynhildr sighed.
Yet she didn't leave.
She had already made her choice.
So even if Jaden's arrogance led him to his death, she would see it through to the end.
As for Jaden, after finishing the basic information on the Gods, he casually tossed the document aside, stood up, and walked behind the throne.
"These things really are still here..."
He said it lightly.
Under Brynhildr's puzzled gaze, Jaden pried two of the thirteen Royal Orbs from their sockets. Then he took out the special pendants he had taken earlier from Tennousu Athena and Sanzenin Mikado.
He placed one Royal Orb into each pendant.
Then he sealed them shut.
After finishing this, Jaden walked out of the Royal Court.
Brynhildr's gaze remained locked on the throne.
On the Royal Orbs.
She couldn't look away for a long time.
"Those are..."
Her eyes widened.
She couldn't quite believe it.
Ordinary people would never be able to discern the origin of the Royal Orbs. Even the Gods, upon seeing them now, would likely only assume they were damaged divine artifacts.
Nothing more.
But Brynhildr knew.
-Because the Valkyries possessed an ability known as Divine Artifact Forging.
As long as they were of one mind with their chosen warrior, wholeheartedly supporting them, they would transform into the divine artifact best suited for that warrior.
-The Royal Orbs were products of Divine Artifact Forging.
And there were thirteen of them.
Realization struck.
Brynhildr immediately rushed to the back of the throne.
She stared at the eleven remaining Royal Orbs, with two missing, and slowly pressed her lips together.
"So that's how it is... so this is what happened..."
Understanding settled in.
Without hesitation, she pried two more Royal Orbs free.
Then her figure vanished from the Royal Court.
She had returned.
-Returned to summon the other Valkyries.
...
After Brynhildr left, Jaden sought out two of the three Ministers of the great kingdom.
Sanzenin.
And his Royal Attendant, Tennousu.
"My King!"
Both men knelt immediately.
Their loyalty was absolute.
Even as the great kingdom teetered on the brink of collapse under the pressure of the Gods, neither showed the slightest wavering.
If Jaden remained, they would remain.
Even if that choice meant dying in the capital.
Jaden possessed Observation Haki. He could hear their thoughts clearly.
That was precisely why he came.
"Sanzenin. Tennousu."
"Are you still loyal to me?"
"Of course!"
There was no hesitation.
"Very good."
Jaden handed one pendant to Tennousu.
And the other to Sanzenin.
"In that case, take these and leave the capital immediately. When everything is over, I will entrust the protection of the Royal Court to the two of you."
"Sanzenin, disguise yourself as a merchant and gather wealth."
"Tennousu, continue cultivating talent for the royal family."
"This is my final order."
"Both of you. Leave."
Sanzenin looked at Jaden deeply, as though engraving his figure into memory.
Then he nodded.
Tennousu frowned.
But before he could speak, Jaden spoke again.
"Tennousu."
"Are you planning to disobey an order?"
"...I would never dare."
Tennousu clenched his teeth and lowered his head.
After issuing the order, Jaden watched them depart.
Then he returned to the Royal Court.
He sat back down on the throne.
And waited.
After that, the people led by Minister Claudius fled westward. They worshiped the Gods, followed the God King Zeus, and established a Pantheon.
They completely severed ties with Jaden.
With the Foolish King.
The Gods were pleased.
The western lands enjoyed clear skies and bountiful harvests.
Meanwhile, the capital-
A land once free from disaster-was shrouded in thunder and lightning. Dark clouds pressed down relentlessly, suffocating the air.
-Simply living there felt like being crushed.
Those who believed in the Gods had all left.
Among the remaining non-believers, Minister Xia of the eastern territories met with Jaden repeatedly. He reported that the troops were assembled, that if the King wished to fight the Gods, they would fight to the death.
Jaden rejected his reports again and again.
In the end, for the sake of the soldiers and civilians, Xia reluctantly led the remaining people eastward and departed.
The once-prosperous capital emptied.
Those who remained were driven away by Jaden himself, one by one.
They fled north.
When everything was finished, Jaden stretched lazily.
Then he lifted his gaze toward the sky, thick with dark clouds and streaked with lightning.
He smiled.
"What lovely weather..."
"A perfect forecast for change~"