Multiverse's Holy Right

"Your sins cry out to the Lord, and sulfur with heavenly fire shall consume all!"

Seeing the enormous owl descending from the sky, Roy was startled. He had no time to worry about the arrow embedded in his left shoulder and quickly raised his hand to chant the incantation.

The dark sky, tainted by Athena's divine power, turned crimson. The pristine snow of the Alps transformed into a sea of red as countless meteoric flames rained down from the swirling vortex, while hellfire reeking of sulfur surged from the depths of the earth.

Hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo————————

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom————————

The massive owl let out a shrill cry, somewhere between an owl's hoot and a pigeon's coo. Struck by the heavenly fire descending from above, countless beams of radiant flame, like a barrage of missiles, relentlessly bombarded it. Deafening explosions shook the earth, shattered the sky, and leveled mountains into plains.

Meanwhile, the hellfire erupting from the earth's core burned Gorgon's serpent, turning it to charcoal. Yet, even bisected, the serpent refused to die—it began shedding its skin.

Witnessing this, Roy felt a chill crawl down his spine, as though he were trapped in a horror film facing an unspeakable monstrosity. Even after being scorched by the hellfire summoned by his Sin of Sodom authority, Gorgon still refused to perish. This level of immortality defied all reason.

Still, at least the owl above had been temporarily dealt with, delaying Gorgon's revival and buying Roy some much-needed breathing room.

He was no Prometheus—if that massive owl tore him open, he wouldn't survive having his organs devoured. Roy was certain of that.

Gritting his teeth, Roy gripped the arrow in his left shoulder with his right hand and yanked it out. Blood sprayed from the wound, but before he could even catch his breath, dozens more arrows shot toward him through the lingering haze of sulfur and heavenly fire.

"Enough already!"

Roy growled and chanted another incantation.

"Holy! Holy! My glory fills heaven and earth!"

Giant angelic wings unfurled behind him as a radiant halo materialized above his head. Activating Lord of Light, Roy evaded the arrows with Godspeed. The projectiles struck the mountainside, riddling it with holes like a sieve.

Then, standing proudly upon the salt-scorched earth, the ancient goddess nocked another arrow and fixed her gaze on Roy in the sky.

"Truly terrifying immortality. Even when bisected, it regenerates. Even when cast into the underworld, it crawls back out. Even when its soul is annihilated, it revives from a single remnant. It's just an unkillable monster!"

Hovering midair, Roy felt utterly stumped. This version of Athena was more untouchable than a porcupine. No matter how he slashed or struck, she simply wouldn't die. And once he exhausted himself, she would swing her scythe and reap his life.

"What foolish words are these, Roy! I am the Goddess of Serpents—snakes shed their skins and are reborn no matter how they perish, women do not die no matter how much they bleed. I am also the Goddess of the Underworld, and the Underworld is my domain. Thus, even if I were to descend into the Underworld, it is only natural that I would return to this world once more."

Athena's smile carried an air of elegance and triumphant pride. Though her voice was gentle as she addressed Roy, the killing intent in her serpentine eyes froze the very earth beneath them.

"Your authority was chiefly usurped from Michael—powerful, yet burdened with many limitations. Let me see how long you can last against me. Fleeing alone will not bring you victory!"

Her words darkened Roy's expression. Truly, she was the Goddess of Wisdom—to have discerned the nature and restrictions of his authority in the midst of battle.

Even when using Clairvoyance to peer into the past, Athena undoubtedly stood at the pinnacle among all Heretic Gods.

A Campione was a miraculous existence. When one, through fate, slays a god and becomes a Campione, the first deicide is always the most difficult. But once that first step is taken, the Campione gains more authorities. There was never a vast gap between Campiones and Heretic Gods—the more authorities a Campione possessed, the easier it became to defeat gods and usurp further powers, creating a virtuous cycle.

One could say that any Campione who lived long enough could, like Marquis Voban, treat deicide as mere entertainment. For while a Campione's authorities multiplied, those of a Heretic God remained unchanged.

Only with the arrival of the Last King, whose power transcended all ranks to eradicate the Campiones, would the cycle begin anew.

Among all Heretic Gods throughout history, aside from the Last King, Athena was the only one to have ever slain a Campione—while all others fell to them. This alone spoke volumes of her prowess.

The valiant goddess had fully embraced her aspect as a Goddess of War. Clad in white robes resembling those of a priestess, her bow absent, she wielded a blade in her right hand and the famed Shield of Medusa in her left. Like a Spartan warrior, she lunged forward, engaging Roy in close combat.

Roy, utilizing the authority of divine speed and his fists, clashed with Athena amidst the ruins of the shattered mountain range. Even the Hand of Jacob striking against the Shield of Medusa only produced metallic reverberations. The blade in Athena's right hand was no ordinary weapon—each slash aimed for Roy's neck. Were it not for his Godspeed, Roy would have been decapitated long ago. Yet even so, his body bore countless crisscrossing wounds.

In contrast, Athena moved with effortless grace in this melee. Though Ares was the God of War in Greek mythology, when it came to true martial prowess, Athena was unrivaled—even Zeus could not compare, for he relied on thunder rather than close combat.

Athena's martial arts transcended mortal comprehension—techniques honed to divine perfection, capable of standing against Typhon, the King of Monsters, without defeat.

Though Roy had mastered the Hand of Jacob, propelling him to the pinnacle of mortal combat, it remained just that—a mortal's limit, unable to breach the realm of the divine.

In the past, neither Metatron nor Solomon that Roy had encountered possessed such exaggerated martial prowess, which allowed Roy to engage them effortlessly in close combat. However, now that he was facing the true goddess of war from Greek mythology, Roy's shortcomings in martial arts were laid bare.

'I need a master!'

Roy was practically defenseless, barely managing to parry attacks solely by relying on his speed. No matter how formidable his Hand of Jacob was or how sublime the biblical power he wielded, the vast gap in skill left him utterly helpless.

As for someone who could teach Roy, an ordinary knight would never suffice—not even Luo Hao could manage it. Luo Hao's martial arts merely brushed against the divine realm; her battles against Heretic Gods relied on her authorities and martial prowess enhanced by them, rather than pure martial techniques.

True combat skills that reached the divine realm were capable of slaying gods with technique alone!

***

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