The entire class gathered when they received the notification.

Second Titan Incursion coming in 47:43:39 hours.

Invading Titan: Tiamat of the Primordial Waters.

Maximum number of divine challengers: Set to 3. Should no gods take up the challenge, the System will automatically select the contestants based on geographic proximity to the breach.

Reward: Tiamat of the Primordial Waters will be permanently expelled from Elphion, and surviving gods may pick any one card from her deck.

Losing Penalty: Losing gods will be permanently expelled from Elphion, and new challengers must immediately replace them. Should all gods be defeated, then Titan Tiamat will destroy the world.

Wepwawet had expected the Second Incursion to strike early considering his earlier discussion with his half-brother Anubis, but he couldn't say the same for everyone else. Everyone except for their resident battle addict Sun Wukong, and Horus, who had been forewarned as well, was either in denial or dejected, and even his cousin had grown uncharacteristically quiet.

"Only months have passed since the First Incursion!" Hel protested to Miss Athena. "My Pantheon told me it would take years for the Second to strike!"

"Have the Titans sabotaged the System so deeply?" Axomamma asked while rubbing her shoulders, her body tenser than an arrowstring.

"We are still investigating," Miss Athena replied calmly as she stroked her chin. "What I am most worried about is that Tiamat is considered the second weakest Titan besieging Elphion by the System. The only other foes I could see as higher-ranked would be veterans like Kronos or Satan."

"Apep," Horus said with a grim tone, the mere mention of the Lord of Chaos sending chills down Wepwawet's spine. "Apep has to be the one leading the attack on Elphion."

Athena nodded sharply. "Yes, I fear as much. The opportunity to strike at the son of Set and the incumbent heir of Ra must have been too great to pass up."

This disquieted Wepwawet, who had grown up in a household that had been at war with Apep since the beginning of time. His own father wrestled with the Lord of Chaos each night, lest he swallow Grandpa Ra and deprive countless worlds of sunlight. Although Wepwawet himself had never seen nor encountered Apep, he could recite entire tales of his cruelty and relentless malice by heart.

Come to think of it… Wepwawet's father, Set, never missed an occasion to mock the likes of Beelzebub and considered most Titans beneath him, but he had never mentioned Apep without a certain unease. The Lord of Chaos was the only foe that Set never underestimated.

His father had proved that the snake titan could be repelled, but… if Horus was right, then they would all soon face a terrible test.

I can't show anxiety now, Wepwawet thought as he turned his gaze in Artemis' direction. His friend had gone quiet, arms crossed as she switched between obsessively checking her deck and rereading the notification. She'll need my help more than ever.

The rift had opened above the ocean east of the Wyld, Shadazar, and Mortis, in that order of proximity. Artemis' heartland and people were now in grave danger.

"We can discuss this after fending off Tiamat." Miss Athena glanced at her class, her gaze lingering the longest on Ishtar and Epona. "The intra-pantheon truce is now in effect, and I ask that you pause any military operations against each other until the Incursion is repelled."

"I have already asked my army to stand down and wait," Ishtar replied calmly.

Epona growled back in response. "Why is it still occupying one of my provinces, then?"

"I agreed to pause military actions, Pona, not cancel them." Ishtar shrugged. "When this danger passes, it is back to business as usual."

Miss Athena let out a heavy sigh. "If you are so eager to fight, then I assume that one of you might volunteer to fight Tiamat?"

Both Epona and Ishtar remained silent, and neither offered to join the fight. They both knew from Wepwawet and Pele's examples that each participant would take devastating losses even in the case of victory, which would leave them open to an attack from their rival. The way the different blocs looked at each other showed that everyone was acutely aware of the delicate power balance at work.

However, the class indeed had a volunteer.

"Let me at her, Teach!" True to his vow, Sun Wukong raised his fist at the challenge. "I'll demolish her so fast, the other two can stand back and cheer!"

His enthusiasm alleviated the tense atmosphere a little, but not by much. Miss Athena nodded in appreciation. "Your bravery does you credit, Sun Wukong. Anyone else?"

Wepwawet expected Horus to volunteer as well, since his cousin had been so eager to participate in the First Incursion to prove his worth and needed better grades, but he instead remained deep in thought. This surprised Wepwawet. He didn't think Horus was a coward, nor that he would be afraid of Tiamat. What was he planning?

"I… I would, but my country is landlocked, so I don't have a navy," Axomamma apologized. "I have no flyers either. My Champions would be sitting ducks."

Artemis took a long, deep breath, and Wepwawet already guessed what she was about to say before she did so, "I volunteer."

"Are you sure?" Wepwawet asked with heavy concern.

"Yeah… yeah, I am," Artemis replied without sounding entirely convinced. "I've got no choice. My people need me."

The Incursion would take place too close to the Wyld not to affect it, and her duty as a goddess compelled her to fight for her own.

"Then… then I'll volunteer as well," Wepwawet replied. He couldn't abandon her in her time of need.

"What, no!" Both Artemis and Ganesha protested at the same time, the former a little less loudly than the latter.

"You volunteered to help me the last time," Wepwawet pointed out. "It's only right that I return the favor."

"Yes, but…" His words had flustered Artemis, though she quickly regained her composure. "You're not in top shape right now, Wepy."

She was right, but Wepwawet didn't let it deter him. "I do have a small navy, plenty of flyers, and effective Miracles. I can support you and Sun."

"But you won't have the time to revive the rest of your Champions, and you've already taken heavy losses from the last Incursion," Ganesha pointed out. "Let me take your place for this one. My civilization has a large and competent navy, and it's still unbloodied."

"As much as I find your gallantry and kindness adorable, I have to set my foot down," Ishtar said. "None of us should be the ones assisting our dear Artemis."

"What?" Artemis glared at her. "Why?"

"Because why should we be the ones absorbing all the losses while they–" Ishtar pointed a finger at Epona and her posse. "–started a pointless war draining all of our resources? If they want us to trust them about the truce, then they should contribute to the effort too."

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Epona's jaw clenched. "You are the one to talk about pointless aggression… but you have a point, this is bigger than us."

Wepwawet's eyes widened in surprise. "So you'll fight?"

"I will, if Ishtar agrees to volunteer in Artemis' or Sun's place," Epona replied with a crafty look. She was a team player, but no fool either. "That way we'll both share the pain and prevent potentially troublesome post-Incursion issues."

"Hey, I've waited months for this!" Sun Wukong protested. "No way I'm giving my spot away!"

"I can't walk away from this either," Artemis replied with a grim look. "My people's heartlands will be affected, however the battle goes. I have to be there."

A certain voice broke through the chatter. "Then, how about we send Watatsumi?"

Wepwawet's skin crawled as he turned towards Anansi. The spider trickster had hung back without a word for most of the meeting, his eight eyes assessing all people present. His mere presence caused Wepwawet, Artemis, and Horus to glare at him; if he noticed, he didn't show a hint of it.

Ishtar frowned at his suggestion. "Why send the dragon when your and Hel's territory are the closest to the rift?"

"Simple, the battle will likely take place at sea," Anansi pointed out. "The terrain heavily favors Watatsumi and plays to all of his strengths. His Providence and Miracles will boost all of his troops."

He's not wrong, Wepwawet conceded in his mind. He knew the bastard was only trying to send someone else to fight his battles for him, but he had a point; the battlefield was tailor-made for Watatsumi's style of battle. The dragon god would enjoy a tremendous advantage.

Unfortunately, Watatsumi himself denied the spider's request with a snarl. "Muda, muda! Junbi shinakya!"

"Watatsumi and I suffered losses in our bout against Ishtar and Wepwawet," Hel said, her eyes sending daggers at the two. "We haven't yet fully recovered our full strength."

"And whose fault is that?" Ishtar snorted. "Be grateful that my comrade even allowed you to surrender, or else you would be in an even worse position right now."

"Yeah, why don't you fight?" Artemis snapped at Anansi. "Your changelings are in as much danger as my werescales! You should be on the frontline!"

"Alas, while I do have a passably capable navy–" Anansi's words caused Artemis to snort, her people having been on the receiving end of his corsairs' depredations, "–they perform much better in desert lands where I can play to their strengths. They simply aren't equipped to deal with Tiamat's swarm tactics."

"Swarm tactics?" Horus squinted at him. "You know Tiamat's tactics?"

"Of course he does," Ishtar replied. "Tiamat is not a mid-lister like Whiro. Her abilities are well-understood. My own Pantheon has been fighting her since its infancy."

"Tiamat pioneered Swarm tactics in the early days of B&C," Miss Athena confirmed. "She usually focuses on summoning a large number of weak creatures to drown the enemy with, since quantity is a quality all of its own, but she has also started diversifying with stronger monsters in recent centuries. Her fondness for aquatic monsters is probably the reason why the System opened the rift over the ocean."

"I see…" Wepwawet stroked his chin. "She's the kind of player who tries to drown her foes through sheer numbers."

"Indeed," Ishtar confirmed. "Her Providence allows her to create an additional creature for free each time she plays a summoning Ritual, so her decks rely almost entirely on these cards, with a few recursion options to keep the engine going. She might have changed a few cards to better defeat us, but I doubt the core of her strategy has changed. She's old and stuck in her ways."

"See?" Anansi asked with a faint, false smile. "That kind of enemy requires an axe or a mace to deal with, not a dagger like mine."

"A dagger will have to do," Hel replied with a sneer of disdain. She was wise enough to see through her nominal ally's game. "You'll be automatically picked as a contender due to proximity to the rift if any of us falls. You should at least prepare."

"I will fight if I must, I simply say there are better strategic options." Anansi had the sheer gall to turn to Horus next. "I'm sure our neutral friend here and his flying pyramids would perform well too in Watatsumi–"

"No," Horus interrupted him, his eyes shining with cold, barely suppressed rage. "I was about to volunteer, but you've changed my mind. I've got a much better idea."

"Oh?" Anansi feigned ignorance and serenity. "And that is?"

Horus crossed his arms. "I will go to war with anybody trying to volunteer in Anansi's place."

"What?!" His forceful action took everyone aback, Anansi first of all. "Why?!"

"Because you'll be automatically picked due to proximity to the first if no one else volunteers," Horus replied with a harsh tone. "It is about time you bloodied your hands, all eight of them."

"Horus, must I remind you of the truce?" Miss Athena warned her student.

"I won't violate it. I will only attack after the Incursion ends." Horus glanced at the class. "Is there anyone willing to take a stand in this coward's place?"

A tense silence followed, and was swiftly shattered by Sun Wukong's roaring laughter. The Monkey King collapsed to the ground, holding his sides while Wepwawet and Artemis couldn't help but grin at Anansi's misfortune.

"This is outrageous!" Anansi protested. Wepwawet had to give it to him, he managed to sound sincerely angry. "Are you blackmailing me?"

"Yes, I am. As a god of storytellers, I think you ought to call this…" Horus snorted. "Dramatic irony?"

"Unfortunately, Horus is not breaking any rules," Miss Athena said. Wepwawet could have sworn he caught a thin, amused smile at the edge of her lips. The irony wasn't lost on her either. "Forming alliances and negotiations are a key asset in your progress."

The spider god wasn't amused in the slightest. Anansi quickly turned to seek help from his allies, who hadn't taken a step to volunteer in his place. "Epona, darling, remember the treaty that we signed. We owe each other mutual assistance."

"Yes, and I recall that I asked for assistance in pressuring the Zoramesh Empire. You did not do anything on that front besides having your troops go on a camping trip near Ishtar's border." Epona pondered the situation for a moment before reaching a decision. "Horus is right. It is about time you commit to this alliance in a stronger capacity."

"But–"

"Watatsumi can trade Anansi Miracles that will bolster his troop's performance at sea, and Hel and I will provide additional support in the form of weaponry and supplies," Epona interrupted her ally. "You will not fight as Shadazar's protector, but as our continental alliance's vanguard and representative."

Now isolated and with no way out, Anansi had no other choice but to comply. "Fine, fine, I will be the punchline this time," he said with an annoyed look. "The things I do for my friends…"

Wepwawet choked at his blatant hypocrisy, but this turn of events was probably for the best. Both of the class' power blocs would send a representative, with a neutral god to balance them out. This would prevent tensions from escalating and ensure no particular side took ascendancy over the others. Still, leaving Artemis with Anansi as a teammate of all people left a sour taste in Wepwawet's mouth.

"You're sure about this, Arty?" Wepwawet asked his friend one last time.

Artemis nodded sharply. "I don't trust Anansi, but he's probably smart enough to play fair when his sorry ass is on the line. If not, then Sun and I will squash him."

"I see." Wepwawet nodded. If Artemis was confident in her chances, then he would believe in her. "In that case, we can trade Miracles and resources to buff you up for the fight."

"Sounds like a plan," Ganesha agreed with a happy face. "I'll send you ships from Megaloria to assist you."

"Then it is settled," Miss Athena decided. "I will register Sun Wukong, Artemis, and Anansi to fight in this Incursion. I ask everyone else to set your issues aside and assist them until the threat is resolved."

Afterwards, Miss Athena provided an extensive list of former B&C match records that involved Tiamat in any capacity; an archive that proved rather detailed, since she was older and better-known than Whiro. She favored Summon Titanspawn cards similar to the ones Whiro used to fuel his hydraslime fusion or call his gecko-cannon creature. Most of her favorite minions were low-ranked creatures that could breed fast, with the occasional beatstick to pulverize harder obstacles.

"While Tiamat's core strategy rarely varies, she does regularly cycle through different types of creatures each match, and those can adopt varying tactics," Miss Athena warned her students. "The rift's location suggests she intends to use aquatic creatures, but she might also use an Animism Miracle to alter the terrain into a landmass. You might find yourself fighting a horde of hungry ratmen, a swarm of alien locusts capable of mutating on the spot, or even self-duplicating organisms, so do not lower your guard and prepare your Champions to fight the unexpected."

The meeting concluded with each power bloc returning to Elphion to gather resources for their chosen representative. A shame that the plan to strike at Anansi's Port Peril would have to be put on indefinite hold for the moment, but hopefully the spider's forces might bleed so much during the Incursion he would have to abandon the Wyld of his own volition anyway.

"Tiamat sounds like my favorite kind of prey," Artemis said with a mix of relief and slight excitement. "My Providence and Miracles will do well against her."

"From what I hear, 'nuke' Miracles that can slay multiple creatures at once would perform well," Wepwawet said, his mind wandering to Howl of Verglane or the way he used Neigebleue Castle to block off Hel's army. "I have one or two to trade."

"Ailment Miracles would help too, especially Disease," Ganesha added. "I could trade a few buffs to power-up your Champions in a pinch, too."

"Sure," Artemis said upon opening her deck and sharing it with her best friends. "Show me what you've got."

Although they were set on completing their plan, Wepwawet found himself struggling with a rising sense of frustration at being forced to wait on the sidelines. There was nothing worse for a god of war than to sit out a battle, especially one that a friend had to wage. What kind of god couldn't assist their loved ones when they needed it most? Wepwawet understood that he couldn't logically be expected to fight in all Incursions, but he should at least be prepared to participate in any of them for the sake of his allies.

He needed to rebuild his army fast.

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