Multiverse's Holy Right

[Note: In the original work, Athena was incredibly powerful. Her defeat in the anime and the first volume of the novel was forced. Given her secret techniques later on, there's no way Kusanagi Godou could have defeated her back then. If Kusanagi hadn't learned Athena's secret techniques, he would have been instantly killed by the Last King...]

***

"Is this all you have, Roy Crowley? If this is your limit, then I can only express my disappointment."

Athena, wielding a shield in her left hand and a blade in her right, delivered a heavy slash that cleaved a massive boulder in half. She then gazed at Roy, who hovered in the air. Her imposing figure radiated divine majesty, her aura slightly disordered and her robes somewhat tattered. Yet compared to Roy, she could be described as unscathed.

Roy's body was crisscrossed with bloody gashes. Though none were fatal, continued bleeding would drain his stamina.

Athena was truly Roy's most formidable opponent. His authorities were limited in number and duration, and his primary combat method relied on the Hand of Jacob, a constantly active authority for close combat, seeking an opportunity for a decisive strike mid-battle.

But all of this hinged on Roy gaining the upper hand or at least holding his own in close combat. Athena, however, as the goddess of war, possessed peerless martial skills—surpassing even Luo Hao. She was a rare monster among Heretic Gods, one whose combat techniques had already transcended into the divine. Engaging such a monster in martial arts and close combat was tantamount to suicide.

Yet Roy had no choice. He could only rely on close combat to fight Athena now. His other authorities had already broken Athena's Gorgon Snake Body, temporarily depriving her of that formidable power and forcing her to abandon her authorities in favor of melee combat. But Roy hadn't anticipated her martial prowess reaching such heights.

'I have to force her to use her final move...'

Roy had once used Clairvoyance to glimpse the past, witnessing Athena's secret technique—a terrifying ability capable of annihilating a Campione in a single strike, a sword of wisdom rivaling the Last King's Divine Sword of Salvation.

If Roy couldn't compel Athena to use this technique, his strongest trump card, the Light of the Right, would remain unusable.

It could be said that Athena was a Heretic God who was nearly impossible to defeat without resorting to extraordinary means.

"What are you saying, Athena! Our battle cannot end like this—it has only just begun!"

Roy found himself in quite a predicament. Whether it was his fist techniques or swordsmanship, they all seemed like mere tricks in front of Athena. Yet, the divine weapon in her hand was exceptionally sharp. A strike to a vital point from the blade in her right hand would spell certain death even for a Campione. Especially the Medusa Shield in her left hand—not only did it possess formidable defensive capabilities, but the Medusa's head engraved upon it could unleash the Petrifying Gaze as a sneak attack during combat.

"This is more like it, Roy Crowley! If you were to fall so easily, how could you be called my fated rival? Come, let us fight like the great heroes of Greece who once roamed the battlefield. Let your blood and mine consecrate this battle of destiny between you and me!"

"...I am she who summons winter, the ruler of life and death, the frigid sovereign of the underworld, the queen of plunder. By my command, Roy Crowley, become a fallen king, turn into an eternal corpse!"

Athena chanted her divine words, and the blade in her right hand transformed once more into a scythe of darkness. As the incantation resonated, not only the scythe but even the surrounding air took on the aura of the underworld. Roy felt the chill and silence morph into a black mist, corroding his body. True to her words, this queen sought to turn him into a lifeless husk.

"Hahahaha, perish!! You who dare covet a goddess, turn to dust here and now!"

BOOM——————

Athena's delicate foot stomped upon the earth, shaking the shattered mountain peak and carving out another massive crater. Like a cannonball, she shot into the sky, her scythe the very blade of death itself, determined to rip Roy's soul from his body.

Taking a deep breath, Roy suppressed the frigid grasp of death with a surge of magical power far surpassing that of an ordinary Campione. Clenching his fists, the Rings of Solomon materialized on his ten fingers. Within those fists lay the seventh form of the Hand of Jacob, perfected through the fusion of Solomon's Wisdom and spiritual foundations.

Skipping the sixth form entirely, he went straight for the seventh—for this technique was designed specifically to slay gods. Just as Saintess Subdues the Dragon was a bane to dragons, the seventh form of Hand of Jacob was a bane to deities!

However, this technique consumed an immense amount of magical power, so Roy rarely used it, even during training.

Bible-infused energy surged within his fists as Roy's right hand expanded into a colossal palm, reaching out to grasp the onrushing Athena—

"Wrestling with God!"

The Bible recounts how Jacob once seized God by the shoulder, preventing His departure, thereby compelling Him to remain and bestow His glory upon Israel.

This was why the Hand of Jacob was hailed as the strongest combat art in the Bible—its true essence lay in this unparalleled secret technique, one that even God could not evade, ensuring victory by His capture.

"What?!"

Athena's beautiful eyes were filled with utter horror. Roy simply reached out toward her with a slow, deliberate motion. No matter how she tried to evade—her muscles executing 107 different dodging techniques—she concluded that his hand would inevitably seize her shoulder.

Even the black scythe in her grasp was useless. No matter how she attempted to slash at Roy's right wrist, he always managed to evade with eerie precision.

His right hand clamped onto her fragrant left shoulder. The goddess's fair skin was as smooth as polished jade, yet Roy felt no stirring of desire—only the momentum of his intent. The instant his fingers closed around her shoulder, he drove himself into Athena's embrace, his left elbow smashing brutally into her abdomen.

"Gah—!"

The excruciating pain in her stomach darkened her vision. A mouthful of blood sprayed from her delicate crimson lips, splattering across Roy's face. Yet his expression remained eerily calm, as if devoid of emotion. Without pause, he transitioned into a wrestling throw, twisting his right hand to flip Athena over his shoulder before hurling her into the ground like a shot put.

BOOM—!

The beautiful goddess cratered the earth, leaving a massive fissure in her wake. The divine-slaying curse energy within her wreaked havoc, severing nerves and muscles alike, forcing even the Goddess of War to scream in agony.

"AAAAAAHHHH—!"

Gritting through the pain, Athena clawed her way out of the pit.

"Cough... cough... This one underestimated you. To think you still had such a trump card... That technique carries the concept of inevitability, doesn't it? Even this one could not evade it, left helpless in panic as you struck."

Her robes were tattered, revealing glimpses of her graceful figure beneath the toga, her skin as flawless as white jade. Clutching her abdomen, she coughed violently, blood trickling from the corner of her lips.

"Hah..."

Roy exhaled deeply. That move had drained an immense amount of divine energy. Replicating the miracles of the Bible through divine power was no simple feat.

"Athena, do you have any more tricks? If not, then I must return your words to you—if this is all you have, then I can only express my disappointment! Though that technique took much out of me, I can still use it a few more times. The question is... how many more can your divine body endure?"

Roy's right hand trembled slightly, blood seeping from his palm. The miracle and concept embedded within Wrestling with God were far too profound—even he could not wield it unscathed.

"Ha... ha... ha... Do not look down on this one. If that was your final card, then you are merely flailing in your death throes!"

Athena's face twisted with fury. She had held the upper hand throughout, yet Roy had concealed this devastating strike, catching her off guard. Worse still, that bizarre divine-slaying curse energy continued to ravage her body, forcing her to expend divine power just to suppress it.

No—it wasn't merely catching her off guard. As Athena replayed Wrestling with God in her mind, she realized with despair that even if Roy used it again, she had no means of evading it.

In that case—

"Then let this concubine send you to the underworld with this secret art! Your eyes have witnessed my technique before—a thousand years ago, I severed the head of a Campione. If you fear death, flee now, as far as you can!"

Athena's voice was clear and resonant.

She spoke no lie, for Roy had glimpsed this moment in the past—a secret art likely only the Last King could withstand.

"I am the goddess of celestial wisdom. Behold—the Sword of Wisdom!"

Athena dismissed her blade and shield, and between her hands manifested the goddess's intellect!

Her most renowned title—Athena, Goddess of Wisdom!

***

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