The day of the Feast of the Gods had arrived, and to celebrate its arrival, the Heavens were illuminated with a dazzling display of fireworks.

"…"

Standing before a mirror, Kiernan fixed his suit as he was told to look as good as possible in front of the Gods.

Thus, with the well-suited suit, he looked absolutely stunning with his gray hair swept back and his face looking calm like a still pond.

He had been preparing for this moment for the past days, and with the help of the meditation, he was able to achieve a sense of inner peace.

Knock! Knock!

In that moment, someone knocked on the door, and after it opened, the Fair One stepped inside the room.

She was still wearing the same white veil as before, but this time around, she was dressed in a flowing gown that shimmered like moonlight on water.

Even compared to other goddesses, she was incredibly beautiful.

"Are you ready?"

She asked with her usual soft tone.

"…Yes."

Kiernan turned around with a slight smile on his face, and he then followed her out of the room, and the angel elves watched them leave.

"…Will he be capable of winning?"

"…It will be hard. Martial Arts World is definitely stronger than Earth Realm, where Kiernan originates from, but there are other stronger realms."

"…There will be champions from every realm, and champions from those stronger realms are usually the ones that win the Feast of the Gods."

The angel elves whispered among themselves.

They climbed inside a horse-drawn carriage that was waiting outside, and it started to move slowly down the cobblestone path towards the feast hall.

It was a smooth ride—smoother than any car ride—and the sound of the horse's hooves against the stones echoed through the quiet night.

The Feast of the Gods happened in a night, and the Battle of the Champions was going to last the entire night.

While the feast itself was going to last the entire month.

Battle of the Champions was the one that kicked off the feast.

"You nervous?"

The Fair One asked.

"…Always."

Kiernan, looking out of the window, said.

It didn't matter how long he was a martial artist. He still got nervous every time before a big competition.

It was the only "mortal" part of him that was left.

With True God rank, he was knocking on the doorsteps of actual godhood. He only needed divinity.

The further one made it in the martial arts pathway, the more mortality they would shed until there was nothing left.

…

Heavens, the Feast Hall.

In the grand feast hall, a stage had been set in the center of the room, with golden banners hanging from the walls and a shimmering chandelier hanging above.

Alongside the stage, there were long tables covered in fine linens and overflowing with delicious food. The winged angels were currently playing beautiful music on their harps.

Slowly, more and more gods and goddesses filled the feast hall, and alongside them, there were many mortal champions from different corners of the universe.

"Haha, it's been a long time since so many fair-faced goddesses and strong gods have gathered in one place. A feast for the ages, I am sure!"

Big God said with a booming voice that carried throughout the hall.

He was one of the oldest gods in existence and was the host of the Feast of the Gods.

"Cheers!"

The gods and goddesses raised their cups of wine as greeting, and Big God led the toast, welcoming all to the grand event.

"…Goddess of Thousand Fractured Stars, and her champion, Rumirus Al Eredio, have arrived!"

At the entrance of the feast hall, a winged angel introduced the arrivals.

He had to introduce over a hundred different gods and goddesses, so it wouldn't be a surprise if his voice turned hoarse at the end of the day.

"…"

Tap… tap… tap…

At that moment, the winged angel felt a chill run down his back, and he felt an ominous presence coming from the entrance.

He glanced over—when he saw the new arrival, his face turned pale—and he instinctively straightened his back.

"G-God of Death and Underworld, and his champion, the Prisoner, have arrived!"

The winged angel announced.

In that moment, the feast hall turned increasingly more quiet as everyone turned their heads over to the entrance.

From there, Death, donning the black cloak of his, strode in with confidence, his piercing gaze fixed on the crowd before him.

His champion, Prisoner, followed behind him with a tightly lipped smile on his face. He had nothing to cover his skinny, malnourished chest, and as pants, he only had some rags wrapped around his waist.

Prisoner's flesh looked like leather—brown and wrinkled—it was indeed as if he had been scorching under a sun for a while.

"Ah… Welcome…"

Big God's lip twitched at the sight of Death.

Even he felt scared in the presence of Death because he was one of the oldest gods.

There was no such thing as forever immortality, and even he would eventually meet his end, and he was one of the gods closest to dying.

"Heh."

Death just smirked as he saw Big God.

'Why is he smirking? What does he see?'

Big God's heart skipped a beat.

He knew that Death could see when a person would eventually meet their demise—die of natural causes.

Death couldn't see if a person would get killed or anything like that, but he could see when they would eventually die of natural causes.

And he saw something quite funny regarding Big God.

'…I don't see him here yet.'

Death quickly glanced around the feast hall, his eyes turning cold, and he just shooed some gods out of his way and sat alone at one of the tables with his champion, Prisoner.

"Yummy!"

Prisoner just started gulping down the food, devouring it like a hungry beast, and he didn't leave anything on the plates.

Meanwhile, Death kept his stare fixated on the entrance and was just waiting for the arrival of a certain someone…

…

The horse-drawn carriage came to a stop in front of the feast hall, and the door opened with a creak.

Kiernan stepped out, turned around, and offered his hand to the Fair One, who accepted it and stepped out as well.

"Thank you~"

The Fair One said with a smile behind her veil.

She was actually very nervous when she first met Kiernan because of all the things she had heard about him.

The rumors had been going wild in the Heavens when it came to Kiernan, and that was one of the reasons why some of the gods think that he was the most heinous person in existence.

In the end, she realized that he was just a normal person.

"What should I expect when we enter the feast hall?"

Kiernan asked with a wry smile.

"…They'll try to intimidate you, but I don't think that will be a problem for you. I don't know how Death will react."

The Fair One said.

She was still a rather young goddess, so she had never truly feared Death yet, as her death was still far away, but this was still quite a nervous moment for her.

It was never a good idea to make Death angry, and her bringing Kiernan here could cause quite a reaction.

In the end, she had already made her decision, and it was too late to change her mind, and thus, she tightly grabbed Kiernan's hand.

"Let's go!"

She firmly said.

Kiernan nodded and walked through the door with the Fair One by his side, and they joined a long line of gods and goddesses.

Some of them looked over to them but didn't recognize either of them but saw them holding hands.

It was rare for a goddess to hold hands with a mortal, so it only meant that the Fair One was treating Kiernan as someone with as high of a status as she was.

Ahead of them, gods and goddesses with their champions kept being introduced to the feast hall.

And at least, it was their turn, and the winged angel took a glance at them, and inside his brain, he immediately knew who they were.

He was gifted with a brain of wisdom from the God of Wisdom, and it allowed him to remember every single person in existence.

"…"

The winged angel looked at Kiernan longer than any other person so far, and he gulped and also glanced in the direction of Death.

'…This is where the party will really start.'

The winged angel smiled and shouted.

"The Goddess of the Elves and her champion, Kiernan Hunter, have arrived!"

With those words, the feast hall turned silent—so silent that it seemed as if the walls themselves were holding their breath—and everyone turned over.

"…"

Death slowly turned his head over. His eyes turned bloodshot. And holding the veiled goddess' hand, the gray-haired Kiernan officially entered the hall.

It was a younger face that he remembered from the afterlife, but he could tell that he was the one.

"Ah…"

Big God looked straight at Kiernan and was surprised that the so-called Great Robber still looked very… human.

There had been rumors that Kiernan was an eight-armed monstrous being with three heads and that he could breathe fire.

'Interesting!'

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