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The Rulers of Thebes had turned the worlds they conquered into vast golden sand deserts because these were special environments that produced Golden Sand, a rare resource essential for their advanced technology.

Maria extracted all the sand by creating giant black holes that swallowed every grain and every monster dwelling in those endless deserts. She stored it all in a corner of her Soul Realm, transforming the collected sand into a single gigantic desert.

With the sand gone, recovery began. Plant life, rivers, mountains, and more surged from the ground as divine power flooded every world at once.

Maria had grown strong enough to accomplish this with ease while seated comfortably on Thebes' throne. The Divine Throne Titles granted her immense divine power, making the restoration of entire worlds far simpler.

"They should be fine in about a week. Full stabilization will take a couple of years, but I can leave them on auto mode."

Using the vast essence of each world, Maria set the planets to repair themselves automatically.

The slaves and remaining inhabitants were relocated to safe, spacious areas where they could live comfortably until their worlds fully healed.

"It's done… It was much easier than restoring Umbralheim's worlds."

The worlds Umbralheim had conquered had become dark, miasma-ridden wastelands. Recovering them proved far more difficult, so Maria had compromised and left their restoration as a long-term project. All surviving slaves and civilians were moved to Yggdrasil, where they now lived comfortable and happy lives.

"Olympus' worlds were not as heavily corroded, aside from being saturated with divine power…" Maria thought as she glanced at the sky. "At least I do not have to worry about restoring them. That is a relief… I wonder what comes next."

As she sighed, she noticed the nobles still standing there, watching her with a mixture of awe and fear.

"What?! Get out!"

"B-But we don't know where to go…!"

"Ah, right…"

Maria nodded and quickly summoned several undead soldiers to escort them away.

She assigned them the task of farming in the arid desert—an nearly impossible punishment. However, she promised that if they managed to create vast farmlands in the middle of the barren wasteland and grow delicious vegetables, she would forgive them.

"Alright, let's take a break for now."

With everything settled, Maria returned to her family. They spent pleasant time together while she analyzed the many technological advances Thebes had developed. Although she had stored some of their devices in her Soul Realm, nothing compared to the capital itself. The city looked like a futuristic Egyptian paradise, surreal and gleaming with gold everywhere.

They sampled local food and discussed what had happened and what lay ahead. Maria had already sent messages to all her allies informing them that Thebes had been secured.

"I already sent word to our allies across many worlds, so you do not need to worry about that," Maria said, sipping her beer. "Some seemed eager to join the fight, but it was not necessary yet…"

"So what is next?" Nyx asked. "We are on Floor 70 right now, right?"

"Yeah," Maria nodded. "The next ten worlds also belong to Olympus and have already been taken care of. We will move on to Floor 80, the origin of Olympus, and then advance upward with our army. That territory remains uncharted, and the beings from Floor 81 onward possess much higher levels of power."

"But what is waiting for us there? I have heard it is Vedas and Eden?" Arthur asked. "Have we ever interacted with any of those beings? Unlike Umbralheim, Thebes, or Olympus, they do not seem interested in conquering worlds beyond the ten floors beneath them."

"Yes, I am quite worried because we will be entering completely unknown territory," Lucifer said. "We must assume the worst."

"I have learned a few things from the System," Maria explained. "Vedas and the ten worlds it governs are like Murim on steroids. It is filled with mythological monsters, demons, devils, and all sorts of Buddhist and Daoist gods. There are also powerful Gods of Destruction and even Heavenly Dragons."

"What?! So it is on a completely different power level…!" Scarlet smiled excitedly. "Now I am getting pumped! What about Eden?"

"The ten floors of Eden are all Layers of Heaven. The Highest Heaven, Floor 100, is where the Heavenly Father resides with his Archangels," Maria continued. "Floors 91 to 100 are also filled with Primordial Humans, Divine Spirits, Angels, Cherubim, and many other holy entities, all serving the Heavenly Father and the Archangels."

"That sounds complicated," Lucifer said. "We have been training for twenty years, but we must still be extremely careful. We cannot afford to be reckless. Let us not underestimate our enemies."

"Yes!" Nyx nodded firmly.

"Mother, will we call for everyone else's help?" Thanatos asked.

"Yes. At this point, we will request their assistance," Maria nodded. "However, we will not do it recklessly. I will call them while we are already engaged in battle, so we can surprise our foes."

"Sounds smart. Charging in with all our forces right away might make things worse," Emeraldine said.

"I have been training my entire life for this!" Oberon declared with a bright smile. "I will not disappoint you, Mother."

"Yeah, let's do our best," Liam added.

"Thank you, everyone…" Maria smiled warmly.

One step at a time, Maria was determined to reach the top of the tower and confront the Heavenly Father, no matter what it took.

After enjoying a grand feast and handling the remaining affairs in Thebes, everyone mobilized the next day.

Reaching Olympus was as simple as a thought. Maria opened a portal, and the entire group appeared there at once.

Her family, her allies, and the Vampires—led by the Crimson Emperor and Sirius—were all present.

But they were not alone.

Behind them marched a giant army of over fifty Titans, overwhelmingly powerful divine beings from Olympus who predated even the gods themselves.

Accompanying the Titans were several Primordial beings who had existed even before them: a mass of eternal darkness with a giant red eye named Erebus, an endless sky known as Ouranos, a massive walking mountain called Gaia, and many more.

Maria had freed some from their ancient prisons and compelled others to join her. These Primordials, who had witnessed the birth of Olympus, ranged from L Rank to L+++ Rank. The Titans stood between SSS+ and L-, with the strongest outlier being Kronos at L+ Rank after fully regaining his power.

"Gahahaha! I cannot believe we are really bringing war to the upper floors!" Kronos laughed heartily. "After so long, we can finally stop punching downward! I have to admit, I am very excited! With that bastard Zeus gone, we can finally return to our warmongering— Uh."

He stopped abruptly when Maria glared at him.

"I-I mean! It is all for the future of the tower and the many worlds… eheh," he muttered, forcing an awkward smile.

"Kronos," a deep voice suddenly echoed from behind him as the giant mass of shadows spoke. "Do you still possess power over Time?"

"E-Erebus?!" Kronos gasped. "Yes, uncle…!"

"Hm, maybe I should have taken it away from him," Ouranos sighed. "You killed me with it last time, after all. Then you were killed by your own son… Hah! How ironic."

"Silence, father!" Kronos barked angrily. "I will kill you again— I mean, I would if it were not for… for Maria."

"Uh-huh. Keep talking and I will turn you into a ghost," Maria said calmly, intimidating Kronos until he fell silent. "Anyway! Enough talk. Titans, Primordials, Gigantes—you are the strongest forces of Olympus! I have not only helped you revive but have also made you even stronger. Some of you who were in deep slumber or severely weakened, such as Erebus, Ouranos, or Gaia, have now fully recovered and grown further. Our goal is to reach as high as possible, not to conquer these worlds. However, if they oppose us, then we will have no choice but to fight! Is everyone ready? Let's do this!"

"OOOOHHHH!"

Maria and her army of gods stepped forward, passing through the Gate of Olympus and ascending the Heavenly Staircase.

They advanced toward Floor 81, a world governed by Vedas, the powerhouse of Floor 90.

However, on the way there, Maria suddenly collided with a giant, heavy wall of pure celestial essence.

"Hm? What is this? A wall?"

She found herself halted between the membranes of worlds, with dimensional turbulence threatening to tear her and everyone else apart.

"Useless."

SLASH!

With a single swing of her Sword Soul Heart, combining the Path of Nihility and Genesis—dark and light elemental power merged into one—the wall exploded.

BOOOM!

The barrier trying to prevent her ascent was cleaved cleanly in half.

"Too easy."

As she continued forward with her family and allies, Maria encountered a total of 153 similar walls.

Nevertheless, with her sword, she sliced through every one of them almost effortlessly.

"Well, whatever that was, it was not much of a challenge. Let's keep moving."

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