I Am Hades, The supreme GOD of the Underworld!

Absurd! 

A spectacle! 

Simple! 

Or perhaps… 

It's as though everything was meant to play out this way. Typhon, a god-king of the highest order, had been defeated so easily and completely. It was so simple that it almost felt strange.

Yet, sometimes, when you think carefully about such things, you realize that simplicity is perfectly natural. In fact, it makes sense.

God-king and Ancient God—these two ranks were as different as earth and sky. This was no joke. Just as Mephistopheles and the other god-kings were no match for Typhon, neither was Typhon remotely close to Hades.

The gulf between Typhon and Hades was even more terrifying. Just combining the Underworld King's Sword with the Star of Doom was enough to allow eight god-king-level gods to defeat and seal Typhon without Hades even being present.

Absurd on the surface, yet utterly logical at the core. What seemed questionable was, in reality, completely justifiable.

For gods, even small differences can be fatal. Much more so when it's the divide between god-kings and Ancient Gods.

And even Gaia, Typhon's creator, hadn't anticipated this outcome. She never imagined it would end this way.

This result was beyond her calculations. Gaia had thought that Hades' ascension to the rank of Ancient God would work to her advantage, as Hades, in his former state as an unrivaled god-king, was absolutely unbeatable when the mythological world restricted the Ancient Gods.

But things had not turned out as expected. Hades' rise to Ancient God status meant he, too, was bound by the same restrictions, which prevented him from entering the mythological world at will. 

Even so, the result was still Typhon's swift defeat, in a manner that was almost laughably simple.

In Gaia's estimation, this was never supposed to happen. But "supposed to" was meaningless; the fact was that Typhon had lost, and lost terribly.

In the Earth's core…

"Sigh…" Gaia sighed softly. "Even though Typhon's defeat and the loss of the Titan-blooded Giants were somewhat expected from the beginning…"

She paused, sighing again. Clearly, she was struggling to accept the outcome.

Nevertheless, she had anticipated this possibility. 

"Oh well…" Gaia shook her head, choosing not to dwell further. 

For Gaia, failure was not something unbearable. In her view, it was entirely natural.

The Titan-blooded Giants and Typhon had been only one part of her preparations. For the Earth Goddess, her plans extended far beyond them.

Planning always requires accounting for failure, not just success.

In fact, one must consider failure first. This is the fundamental approach; no successful endeavor begins without evaluating the risks of failure.

Gaia's foresight was vast, her pride tempered by pragmatism. For her, failure was never something to fear.

"Prepare for failure, and success will come," she often thought. The defeat of the Titan-blooded Giants and Typhon was just one possible outcome among many. After all, humanity was destined to be the protagonist of the mythological world.

So, if this attempt had failed, there would be another. Gaia's pride and anger were never reckless. Her true intentions were concealed beneath a calm exterior, and only a fool would think she had given up. 

"Oh well…"

Gaia's voice remained soft and steady. "Then we'll end it here, Hades. This was merely the beginning. I look forward to our next encounter."

She mused further, her thoughts drifting to a warning her father had once given her. 

He had spoken of an impending chaos, a disturbance that would unlock paths across different mythological worlds, paths that could lead to the fabled Absolute God. 

What form would this hope take? What kind of chaos would descend? Gaia did not know, but she trusted her father's words. A new opportunity was on the horizon, and soon it would come to pass.

The only thing to do now was to prepare. Gaia did not know precisely what the future held, but she could be certain it wouldn't be simple.

"Ah…"

"In the end, everything is about to begin."

A faint smile appeared on Gaia's face. The thought of what was to come was thrilling.

Chaos. Opportunity. For all the gods across the mythological worlds within the Sea of Chaos, this was truly exhilarating news.

No one could predict what lay ahead. But, like the race war, it would be a rare chance, a miracle even. And the gods would not let such an opportunity slip away, no matter how uncertain it was. 

The chance was right before them; how could anyone possibly back down?

For the gods, retreat was impossible. Even if it was just a faint glimmer, a miracle of an opportunity, they could not afford to ignore it.

Thus, as chaos loomed over the Sea of Chaos, the fate of the gods in this race war would be mirrored by the gods across all mythological worlds.

Even Gaia, the Creator God herself, would face the same choice. For even she, in essence, had no choice but to proceed. It was the inevitable truth, something no one could change.

"Enough."

Gaia shook her head gently, whispering, "The next time everything begins anew, perhaps things will become interesting once again. For now, the most important thing is to prepare well for what's next."

She turned away, walking off in calm contemplation.

The race war.

This game was lost, and Gaia, it seemed, was unfazed by the outcome.

After all, to Gaia, none of it was truly important. 

A loss was simply a loss.

If one can't bear defeat, that would be the most shameful thing of all. For a Creator God, accepting defeat is essential, but losing control would be unthinkable.

For the gods, time is the least of their concerns. Gods have an endless lifespan.

So if this attempt has failed, they can wait for the next. Whether they succeed next time, who can say?

For gods, the battles among them are never won or lost overnight but rather through long-term accumulation. 

Because as long as they survive, no matter how many times they fail, it doesn't matter—as long as they succeed once.

This is the best outcome, just like Hades.

After countless schemes, he finally succeeded.

But even if Hades had failed, it would mean little. Every god knows that failure is inconsequential. As long as there's still a chance in the future, that's all that matters.

The capture of Typhon? Even if it had failed, there would be another opportunity. Once the first attempt fails, the second might be more challenging. 

But still, sometimes a single failure means the opponent will be prepared, and a second attempt may never succeed. This isn't unusual.

Gods are not fools. Their endless lives bring boundless experience. How could they be caught unprepared?

So the gods are well aware.

And for Hades, even if he failed this time, he would wait patiently for another chance. Someday, he would succeed.

That's the essence of it. Failure is not frightening; what's truly frightening is being unable to bear it.

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