Imprisoned for a Trillion Years, I Was Worshipped by All Gods!

On the other side, Alan raised the Elemental Sword in his left hand and gripped the Lumen Sancta tightly in his right. His entire posture showed he was ready for battle.

Seeing this, Francis and the others also drew their weapons and magical artifacts, each of them determined to stand with him no matter what.

However, Alan merely swept them a glance and said firmly, “No. You all can’t stay here!”

Francis’s face immediately fell. “You heartless bastard! We stayed behind to help you, and now you’re pushing us away? Do we mean nothing to you?”

Fort’s face darkened, and he said with equal seriousness, “I… won’t leave!”

Blanche didn’t speak, but her determined eyes made it clear she would never abandon her companions to save her own skin.

Alan let out a soft sigh. “It’s because I see you all as my brothers… that I can’t watch you stay and die with me.”

His voice carried helplessness, unwillingness, and a deep sense of powerlessness.

The headmaster and that white-robed woman had entered the alternate dimension to fight. Even without thinking, Alan knew—anyone who stayed at Stephen’s side for so long couldn’t possibly be weak.

And even if the headmaster did win, it wouldn’t change the battle’s outcome. Daniel had told them earlier—just the number of Legendary-level mages sent to the imperial capital to kill him totaled six!

Old Gayle might be able to take on one of them… but what about six?

Even if, by some miracle, he could, the mana inside him simply couldn’t sustain six consecutive rounds of intense combat.

What’s more, Gayle had told them before: he had begged the senior alumni of Sirius Academy for help, only to be flatly rejected. That’s why the academy now stood utterly alone and unsupported.

At this moment, Alan genuinely had no idea what to do.

He couldn’t help but wonder—if only his strength had reached the level of a King Magus, even just for a moment, these bastards wouldn’t dare act so recklessly.

But the harsh truth was—he wasn’t. He hadn’t reached that level, nor did he have the power to.

The strong prey on the weak—a rule of this world that had never changed.

If today’s defeat was inevitable, then the reason was simple: he… was just too weak. Too powerless.

Seeing Alan’s pained and conflicted expression, Francis felt a pang of sorrow. He knew full well the kind of despair and helplessness Alan was feeling.

It was precisely because one man couldn’t change anything that they had chosen to stay. If they just ran and managed to survive… they’d live with guilt for the rest of their lives.

With that thought, Francis suddenly slapped his thigh and stepped forward, grabbing Alan by the collar and locking eyes with him.

“Alan, listen to me carefully!”

“My life is mine to decide! Whether I live or die, it’s my call!”

“Even if my strength doesn’t help the battle one bit… I can still take a hit for you. I can be your decoy—your shield to help you break out. That’s fine with me! What’s important is that I need to stay. Even if I know I’ll die—I’ll die with you! Do you understand?!”

Alan froze in place. Then, without warning, he slammed a fist into Francis’s chest.

“Idiot! Do you even hear yourself? At a time like this, how can you be so stupid?! As long as you’re alive… there’s still hope. But if you die… everything’s gone!”

Francis clutched his chest, where a bright red fist mark was quickly forming. He coughed and said, “Cough… no matter what you say today, I’m staying. Even if you break all my limbs… as long as I’m still breathing, I’ll crawl back here if I have to!”

“You—! Ugh…”

Alan was left speechless, not knowing what to say.

At that moment, Fort stepped forward. First, he helped the battered Francis back to his feet. Then, the three of them stood together in a circle.

Fort spoke softly, “We… stick together. No matter what. Always.”

…

“Alan? Alan, say something already!”

Seeing Alan zoning out, Francis gave him a hard shove, as if to get back at him for the punch earlier.

Alan snapped back to reality and said, “Don’t talk. I’m thinking.”

His tone had never been this serious before. Francis blinked, taken aback by his sudden change.

“Oh… okay. Think away.”

Once he finished, Alan’s consciousness sank once again into the depths of Hell.

He slowly approached the entrance to the second layer, hesitated for a moment, and then called out, “Um… anyone in there?”

Silence.

The second layer of Hell was as quiet as the grave.

Alan shook his head slightly, then clenched his fists and muttered under his breath, “If you’re willing to talk to me, I might consider letting you out…”

As soon as those words left his mouth, a puppet clown emerged from the shadows of the second layer. Its joints moved stiffly as it walked forward, and on its back, it carried an enormous egg, about the size of a human hand.

“Huh?”

Seeing the clown puppet approach, Alan was visibly puzzled.

The clown puppet walked up to his feet, then stopped.

It placed both hands behind its back and carefully lowered the egg to the ground. Then it curled up its body into a tight ball—and started slowly rolling in place.

Alan watched for a while. Then realization hit him like lightning.

“You’re telling me to get lost?!”

His face twisted with frustration. He shouted into the shadows, “Really?! Not giving me even the slightest respect? I’m your damn jailer! And don’t you want freedom?!”

Another long silence followed.

Then, another puppet clown walked out from the depths of the second layer. This time, it was carrying an even bigger egg—one the size of a washbasin.

The message couldn’t have been clearer.

Alan’s expression twisted with fury. He trembled slightly, then took two steps back.

“Damn it. Even if it doesn’t help me, once I die, Hell will fall into chaos. That thing can just escape in the mess. Of course it has no reason to help me! I should’ve seen this coming!”

He smacked his forehead in regret. Then slowly turned his gaze toward the deeper part of the first layer.

There, a vast sea of magma stretched beyond the horizon.

If memory served, that was where the black-robed woman had fallen into slumber.

With nothing to lose, Alan cautiously made his way to the edge of the lava sea.

He called out a few times, “Senior…”

But the surface of the magma remained still and silent. He couldn’t sense even the slightest mana fluctuation.

Realizing there was no hope of help from Hell, Alan let out a sigh and pulled his consciousness back to the real world.

At that moment, he noticed Gayle and the white-robed woman had already returned from their battle in the alternate dimension. Neither showed visible injuries, but their mana reserves were clearly depleted.

At the same time, Daniel—who had been fighting Stephen face-to-face—halted his attacks.

After all, he was no longer young. He couldn’t match the stamina of the younger generation. There was no way he could keep fighting at full intensity from start to finish.

Stephen wasn’t in great shape either. Though not as worn down, his robes were soaked in light-element energy.

This brief pause in battle… was a vital moment for him to catch his breath.

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