At the Sun Ship Casino on Sardinia, the atmosphere in the hotel had now returned to normal. A Persian girl in a white gauze dress, after a polite bow and apology, left the esteemed regular customers, her mind somewhat elsewhere.
Although a long time had passed, she had been thinking constantly about the boy of her own ethnicity. She knew she shouldn't, but whether it was day or night, at work or not, she couldn't help but think of the white-robed youth who so resembled the victorious Verethragna. There were no romantic thoughts, she just wanted to know how he was doing. Had he been caught by the manager, or had he already gone home?
But she could only think these things in her heart, because she still had to work. She walked towards the elevator in the center of the lobby, its doors engraved with a sand-colored sphinx.
It was an elevator that could only be opened with a key card, and it led to the most luxurious suite here. Some said it was specially prepared for the head of the Lucchese family. Others said it was set up with evil secret arts that would make gamblers lose all their money without even realizing it.
But today, the elevator doors opened, and appearing from within was a man she never would have expected.
"Eh? Mr. Seiya?"
Seeing Seiya dressed in a white robe, she covered her mouth in surprise. In her three years of working here, she had never seen a VIP like Seiya return to this hotel. But looking at the obsequious manager beside him, she suddenly seemed to understand something.
Seiya gave her a polite nod. Just as he was about to disappear from her sight, she couldn't help but ask, "Excuse me, what about the gentleman who was with you?"
Looking at the girl's face full of concern, Seiya smiled and said, "He went home first. If we come to Sardinia again next time, we'll be sure to come back here."
Seiya returned to his temporary lodging, where he finally heard the God King's declaration, relayed to him by Erica.
"To use me as a sacrifice for the masses before the end of the world... gods are all such arrogant creatures." Seiya could sense the faint connection between himself and the other, which meant a battle between them was inevitable.
This was fate, and it was a bond forged on this island, one that had to be concluded with the death of one of them.
After Erica had also left the room, Seiya finally called up the system panel he hadn't seen in a long time.
[Name: Seiya]
[Class: Saint]
[Realm: Sixth Sense (Complete)]
[Combat Techniques: Revival Strike, Pegasus Meteor Fist, Pegasus Comet Fist, Pegasus Corona Punch, Pegasus Rolling Crush (Cloth-Exclusive), Fierce Tiger Raging Wind Violet Lightning Fist (Cloth-Exclusive), Fierce Dragon Blizzard Frost Fist (Cloth-Exclusive), Strong Wind Air Current (Cloth-Exclusive), Freezing Fist, Flame Vortex, Psychokinesis, Fist Pressure, Holy Sword Drawing, God-Slaying Power]
But what had truly undergone a qualitative change was his passive talent list.
[Demon King (Steel Bones and Iron Sinews):] A characteristic of the Godslayer physique. Bones tougher than any metal in the world. Physical defense and willpower are enhanced.
[King of Chaos (Immunity to All Evil):] A characteristic of the Godslayer physique. Curses and evil arts have no effect (effective against god-level and above).
[Great Rakshasa Lord (Anti-God, Anti-Magic):] A characteristic of the Godslayer physique. Gains resistance to mystery. Grand magics of the mortal realm, ritual spells, and other large-scale magics cannot cause harm. An ability beyond common sense that can only be countered by a god or a fellow Godslayer.
[Divine Son of Epimetheus (Affinity for All Things):] A characteristic of the Godslayer physique. Can easily climb to the pinnacle of any power system.
[King of Magicians (The Crown):] A Godslayer is a Magic King. The moment one becomes a Godslayer, one already stands at the crown of the magical system, possessing a total amount of magical power hundreds of times greater than even a Caster of Grand Order.
[God-Slayer (Ability Solidification):] A Godslayer is a natural-born warrior. No matter how neglectful, any skills related to combat will never degrade.
[Power of Hope:] You are not a Godslayer because you slew a god; you are a Godslayer because you were born with such talent. A Godslayer is one who creates miracles. No matter how disparate the battle, as long as there is a possibility of victory, a Godslayer can seize that faint glimmer of hope and turn defeat into victory.
[Stronger with Every Battle (Double Reinforcement):] When fighting against the strong, techniques continuously improve, physique is constantly strengthened, and even Cosmo and Authorities are constantly enhanced.
[Super Learning Ability (Double Reinforcement):] By withstanding the techniques of the strong, one can not only develop a counter but also turn the opponent's techniques into one's own.
[Super Battle Continuation (Double Reinforcement):] Having crossed the line of death countless times, regardless of grievous injury, spreading curses, or being shattered to pieces; even if the body no longer exists, the concept of one's existence is erased by a god, and the soul is cast into the void beyond reincarnation—as long as belief remains, one can continue to fight.
[Growth Through Injury (Double Reinforcement):] Every injury makes Seiya grow. Even when on the brink of death, trapped in a desperate situation, it does not mean defeat.
[Infinite Potential (Seiya-Exclusive):] For any living being, no matter how much effort is put in, there is a limit to growth. This is the so-called bottleneck. Even if one forces oneself to break through the bottleneck and surpass the limit, there will still be another bottleneck. But for Seiya, there is no such thing as a limit. His Cosmo contains infinite potential.
[When the world falls into darkness, a Saint who symbolizes hope will appear. For the sake of the Earth and humanity, please embark on your journey!]
[Please complete the main quest—Participate in the Galaxian...]
Seiya closed his eyes. When he opened them again, there was not a hint of doubt left.
Compared to the Authorities that the world considered to be trump cards, Seiya valued the essential talents he had gained after becoming a Godslayer more. These talents were far too compatible with the Saint system. Slaying a god, devouring its soul, and obtaining its divine Authority—that was just the outward manifestation.
They are warriors, they are kings, they are monsters, and at the same time, they are human. They are beings who transcend common sense. What creates a Godslayer is not innate talent, not hard work, and certainly not bloodline or fate. Only victory can create a Godslayer. Even someone with innate talent, even the most diligent cultivator in the world, cannot become a Godslayer without ever having won.
And Seiya was a Saint, a warrior destined to fight evil gods. And these specialized, anti-peer or higher-level Godslayer talents were exactly what Seiya needed.
There are two conventional paths of cultivation for a Godslayer.
The first is the path of quantity, taken by the most ancient Demon King, Marquis Voban. He continuously challenges gods all over the world, enjoying the pleasure of fighting on the razor's edge between life and death, suppressing his opponents with a rich variety of Authorities.
The second is the path of the White Lotus Martial Empress of the Eastern Continent, Luo Hao. She cultivates for long years in the deep mountains of Fujian, constantly developing the Authorities she possesses to their depths, ultimately wielding power that far surpasses the scope of mythology.
Interestingly, Marquis Voban and the Martial Empress Luo Hao are mortal enemies who despise each other. The Marquis thinks that old hag Luo Hao is a complete idiot, while Luo Hao thinks the old wolf-head is a demonic Rakshasa whose path obstructs her own.
In Seiya's view, there was no conflict between these two paths. The King of Swords, Doni, whom he had just met, was a practitioner who combined both paths. And it was at this moment that he whipped his head around to look out the window.
With his eyesight, he could gaze far into the distance, taking in the entirety of Sardinia to the west.
And what made him show a slightly astonished expression was the very same King of Swords, Doni, he had just been thinking about.
—Northwest Sardinia, Sassari. The original site of Seiya's battle where he slew the war god.
This land had already been eroded into a desert wasteland by the God King Melqart's Authority. The scorching, blinding sun overhead was enough to make one dizzy.
Andrea Rivera, the King's Steward loyal to Doni, didn't understand why the King had to come here specifically before returning to Milan. Was it to feel the lingering traces of power from another compatriot on the battlefield? That grand aura was indeed eye-catching.
"The Eastern war god Verethragna, the King of the ancient Phoenician pantheon Melqart, and my friend Seiya... what a blood-boiling battle," Doni suddenly laughed out loud.
Andrea didn't understand why the King had come here, but he clearly understood the meaning behind the expression on Doni's face. Ordinary matters, even the start of a third season, wouldn't move him. For him to show such an expression meant only one thing: he was completely serious.
Just as Andrea was about to step forward and offer his counsel, he saw Doni wave his arms. Although his voice was lazy, his expression was one of eager anticipation.
"O spirits and nymphs who dwell in the narrow lands between heaven and earth—call forth the advent of nature! O glory of all things, manifest by my divine might!"
It was a spell, it was an incantation, and it was the might of a god unfolding upon this desertified land.
The land here, which had been buried by yellow sand, which had only sand and the sparse grass characteristic of arid zones, began to ripple with green. To the magicians and knights in the distance, it felt as if a vast amount of spiritual power was gathering towards Sassari along the ley lines.
"What is happening?" A young witch from a local Sardinian magical society also felt this immense power gathering. She looked in terror at her senior, the witch of the highest terrestrial order, Lucretia Zola.
"It's not just this island of Sardinia. It's more like he's commanding the spiritual power of all the nearby sea regions' ley lines and the magic permeating the air to gather there," Lucretia Zola said, gazing into the distance.
"To command the oceans and the atmosphere, to remake the world... is such a thing really possible?!"
"Of course. A god or a Rakshasa King can do it," Lucretia said.
At the old site of the God War, Doni raised both hands high. To his sides, stone tablets inscribed in Hesiodic script with the words nudus ara (plow naked) and sere nudus (sow naked) hovered, and the magical power they gathered, as if with a will of its own, began to create a new world.
The Authority—Return to the Ancient World!!!
A miracle that could not be described by science, or even by magic. The desertified soil turned into fertile land, streams began to flow in the dry riverbeds, and trees grew at an incredible speed from the ground, covering the domain of the Authority. The earth began to heave with a powerful torrent of life.
From meadows of rockrose and mastic to myrtle, wild pear, and dwarf oak, from the pleasant coastline, the translucent sea, the isolated reefs, the long sandy beaches, to the caves—all were restored by his will.
Was this truly something a human could accomplish? To surpass the god who had once held such an Authority, and to develop the Authority over civilization into an effect that could change the natural environment.
Seiya, over seventy kilometers away, also felt this rising torrent of nature. "What a self-centered fellow he is, Salvatore Doni," he remarked.
"Is that being self-centered?" Erica, who had also felt the change in the ley lines, had come into the room and heard this remark.
"Because he's showing off to me. Showing off the new Authority he's acquired. It's precisely because he's driven by this emotion that he's displayed such a beautiful scene," Seiya said, his spirits high. But in the next second, a slightly mournful expression appeared on his face. "A pity. His magical power is now mostly spent."
Doni had displayed his Authority and created a miracle. Seiya should likewise respond with his own "Authority" out of respect.
But creation is always more difficult than destruction. This grand feat of changing the heavens and the earth had also emptied most of his magical power. For at least a few days, it would not be suitable to start a battle between the two of them.
If before, Seiya had only been somewhat interested in this King of Swords, Doni, now he was full of fighting spirit. For someone to heal the scars left by the God War for him, how could he not repay it with a corresponding show of strength?
But on the morning of the second day, a young woman wearing quaint, baggy robes and riding a broomstick knocked on Seiya's window.
A broomstick, black robes, a witch. Seeing the girl before him, who embodied all these fantasy elements, Seiya's eyes lit up. After spending so much time with the buxom Lucretia and the knightly Erica, he had forgotten what a proper witch looked like. Faced with such a traditional witch getup, Seiya couldn't help but adopt a serious expression.
The little witch on the broomstick confirmed the youth's identity, bowed slightly, and then respectfully presented a brownish-red envelope to him. "Greetings, esteemed little master. This is an invitation. The Herodias Manor awaits your presence!"
After placing it in Seiya's hands, she gave a somewhat clumsy salute, then turned her broomstick around and flew back the way she came.
Little master. The title brought back distant memories for Seiya. Well, actually, they were only from a few days ago.
The wax seal on the envelope bore the crest of a Holy Grail. Seiya broke the seal and opened the envelope. It was just a letter inviting him to a banquet, but the name signed at the end was Salome.
That was the name of the big sister who had accompanied and escorted him all the way to this island after he left the Fairy Realm. If it had been before, he wouldn't have thought much of it. But now, he remembered.
This was the name of the daughter of Herodias in the Bible, the stepdaughter of Herod II.
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