Arnold actions once again put the gods in a conflict amongst themselves. On one hand, they all knew Zeus was an arrogant bast.ard with an ego as big as the universe itself and that he got what he deserved. But on the other hand, a mortal being dared to mock a superior life form like Zeus and they couldn't let it go unpunished.

To them, it didn't matter whether Zeus was wrong or not, at that moment most of them were thinking how Arnold's actions could be deemed as a declaration of war. Arnold had said it out loud without any fear, he was going to kick Zeus' a.ss after the tournament and that was what shocked them the most... 

However, not all of them thought about it like that. Most of the gods were happy to see Zeus being put in his rightful place. The happiest among them was Hera. Not only did Arnold put Hercules in his place, but he also did the same with her moronic husband giving her the perfect reason to get rid of him as the King of Olympus. After all, who would want a king who couldn't even kill one mortal?

Zeus stood there stunned. Not only did the mortal survived his attack, he even dared to talk back to him? He could hear the whispers of the gods around him, calling him a plethora of names. Some were going as far as to say that he was afraid his vassal wouldn't win the competition and thus he tried to eliminate the strongest contestant by illicit means. 

The gods couldn't help but frequently look at Shiva who appeared to be meditating while Nandi stood behind him like a loyal subject. In a way they were thankful that Shiva was busy meditating, or else who knew what he would have done to Zeus for attacking his Vassal and breaking one of the most sacred rules among the other rules.

It was a rule that prohibited any god from attacking a contestant under any circumstances. Zeus had broken that law and now he would have to pay for it. That is if the moderator thought it was a punishable offence. 

In the meantime, Heimdall was still trying to think about what had happened there and thought it was only correct to give them all an opportunity to explain themselves. Including Zeus. If he found Zeus' explanation to be reasonable, he wouldn't punish him. That being said, if Zeus' reply wasn't satisfactory then Heimdall would be forced to punish him to the best of his abilities.

"Zeus, do you have anything to say in defence of what you just did?" Heimdall asked the god in a cold voice. 

"This mortal was continuously disrespecting me. I had no other choice but to retaliate." Zeus said in an indifferent tone knowing fully well he was fcked.

As he uttered those words the gods either started giggling or shaking their heads. Hera was one of the latter gods who could not believe how Zeus could be so stupid. 

"So, you attacked the mortal in question because he was mocking you?" Heimdall asked once again to confirm what he had heard was correct. 

"Yes."

"Zeus... with all due respect, who are you?" Even Heimdall couldn't help but feel disappointed in his answer.

"Pardon?" Zeus was strong but he wasn't someone capable of concurrently using his brain to comprehend what was Heimdall trying to say and focus on Arnold. 

"You are a god! One of the strongest ones to have ever lived and you're saying that the provocation of an insignificant mortal was enough to trigger you to such an extreme?"

"... He kicked my son-"

"No. He kicked his pet, who used to be your son. There's a difference in both of those things." Heimdall interrupted Zeus immediately, "It's the mortal's personal decision to do whatever he wants with his pet. He could kill him right now if he wanted to do so and none of us would lift a finger to stop him. Do you have anything else to say?"

"..."

Zeus didn't say a word and kept staring at Arnold who did not even spare a single moment to look back at him. He didn't know why but the way Arnold was ignoring him after their altercation seemed to piss him off even more. The worst part of it all? Arnold had once again covered his face so no one could see his face and say whether he was smiling or not. 

"Thought so," Heimdall mumbled after waiting for several minutes hoping Zeus would have something else to say, "Your actions have been a disgrace to our kind. That being said, you are hereby banned from entering the colosseum until the tournament comes to an end. Furthermore, you will no longer be allowed to remotely watch the event, nor would you be able to donate prizes to the contestants."

Thanks to Zeus a lot of time had already been wasted. Heimdall could not waste a moment more on the topic than he absolutely had to. Everyone expected Zeus to throw a fit as he usually did, but this time, he didn't. For the first time in his life, he accepted the punishment and left the colosseum as he was requested to. 

However, as he was leaving he looked at a certain someone and nodded. Even in his absence, their plan had to proceed accordingly. They had to put an end to Arnold there or else... they could kiss their authority as gods goodbye. 

"I would like to formally apologise for the misconduct shown by one of our kind." Heimdall looked at Arnold, "And thus, I would like to set things straight. Arnold Ling, I will grant one wish of yours as long as it is fair to the other contestants and within the limits of my powers."

Arnold smiled as if he was waiting for Heimdall to say something like that. After all, he was a preacher of justice and was ought to try and set things right. However, Arnold didn't need anything other than the task they had been gathered there for: To fight. 

"I wish to be the one to open this event. I don't care who the enemy is," Arnold said before walking to the centre of the stage along with Tiamut and Talos, "I just want to fight."