On a battlefield permeated with divine might, a giant god looked down upon the god-slaying beast that had once been his nemesis.
The witch and the knight, having crossed the spatial distance through the spirit world, had arrived on the battlefield and were joyfully guarding the Saint's side. But the moment Erica lifted her head, the blood in her veins seemed to freeze.
A familiar feeling washed over her once more. The thing standing beside them was not a tawny mountain peak. When the sand and earth covering its body were blown away by the fierce wind, what was revealed before the witch was the King of Gods, the guardian of the sky and the city-state, the God King Melqart.
King of Kings, King of Gods.
He who governs the heavens, whose destruction of the world and all of humanity would be permitted, the absolute wielder of power. For the first time in her fifteen years of life, Erica truly understood the meaning of the words "God King."
"Your Majesty Melqart, you are still here?" Erica finally managed to squeeze the strength and courage to resist from her body, questioning the god before her.
"Heh, that is right. What came before was the fated entanglement between the Eastern war god and the god-slaying beast. A king, naturally, sits and waits. But now that their slaughter has been decided, the reincarnation of that little brat seems to have ended peacefully. I can feel the aura of a Godslayer. The scent of my nemesis, that ancient warrior, emanates from him!"
The God King certainly did not possess the war god's mind's eye or the Authority to perceive an enemy's weaknesses in battle. But as a hunter, He too could smell an extremely mysterious and ancient aura on Seiya.
The God King's laughter shook the heavens and the earth. This was not a metaphor. The ground, the mountain walls, and the clouds were literally shaking as if in an earthquake. The distant sea churned with waves, and Erica felt a shocking sensation on her skin, as if from an electric current.
His laughter alone made the world tremble. His mere existence forced her to face him as if he were a great enemy. But with her sworn lord unconscious, the only thing Erica could do was draw her sword.
"O lion of steel, and your ancestor the Lionheart—hear the oath of the knight, Erica Blandelli! I am the heir to the Horn of Valor, the descendant of the Black Samurai! My sword shall never break, unless my own heart is broken! O Lionheart, manifest the essence of battle in my hand—Now! It is time for the duel of the Lionheart!"
Even though her chances of victory were almost zero, Erica still drew her sword.
Like Don Quixote charging the windmills. And at that very moment, a bright light shone from the distant sea horizon.
"It seems I haven't missed everything. If you're still in the mood for a fight, then allow me to be your opponent!"
The voice was as bright as a summer's sun. But the one who tore across the sea's surface, split the sandstorm, and made the God King treat him as a great enemy was just such a person.
Treading the wind and waves to this remote battlefield, the sixth of the seven Godslayers, the King of Swords who commanded the magical societies of Southern Europe—Salvatore Doni—had arrived on the isolated island of Sardinia.
He was a young man wearing a cheap, plastic-looking beach shirt, with golden hair as brilliant as the sun and a smile as bright as his voice. All the magicians in the magical societies of Southern Europe thought he was an unreliable and whimsical king, but when faced with a Heretic God, he displayed an unprecedentedly powerful demeanor.
"As a thief who has trespassed upon the territory of a God King, you have some nerve appearing before me. Even if your entire body were to be devoured by locusts, you would have no room to complain."
"But Your Majesty the God King, you don't seem to have any intention of brandishing your club at me," the King of Swords said, looking at the giant god with some vexation.
A petty thief occupying his city-state and territory, and the fated nemesis, a god-slaying beast. The meeting between the God King and the King of Swords should have led to an immediate battle. But this sky sovereign who ruled over all creation in myth merely sized up the newcomer, his voice like rolling thunder.
"I will certainly take your little life, make no mistake, boy who cannot escape the fate of death! When your own toys are covered in mud, I believe you would do the same, no? This island, along with that filthy continent on the other side of the ocean, I will sink them all into the sea! But all of this will happen after I have dealt with this ancient warrior. The war god he slayed was the God King's prey! As compensation, he himself shall be offered as a sacrifice before the world's destruction!"
The God King then ignored the battle-ready King of Swords. His gaze fell upon the stunned Erica, and he announced in a clear voice:
"Tell him when he wakes up! Your first enemy was the war god Verethragna, your second enemy is me—Melqart! Soon I will regain my full power. At that time, in place of that war god, the spearhead of my wrath will be aimed at you! Sharpen your sword and wait for my arrival!"
Boom! A fierce wind blew, and the magnificent giant god vanished on the horizon in a flash of lightning.
At this moment, Erica whipped her head around to look at the witch Lucretia, who had been acting nonchalant from the very beginning, and said in disbelief, "So you already predicted that the God King wouldn't attack?"
"What a young witch you are. He is the King of Gods. A warrior as proud as Him wouldn't even deign to participate in a brawl, let alone strike a newborn nemesis." Lucretia looked at Erica with a smile that wasn't quite a smile. Besides, she had already foreseen the arrival of the King of Swords with her spirit vision.
When Seiya opened his eyes again, it was already a night full of shining stars.
He felt no discomfort. The Cosmo within his body was more abundant than ever before. The mysteries of all creation were unveiled before his eyes, and the entire world seemed to open its arms to him. He leaped lightly from the bed and, like a wisp of wind, passed through the open window and into the moonlight.
He seemed to have obtained something closer to the foundation of this world. He looked up, just as that ape 370,000 years ago had gazed at the starry sky. With every breath, he moved the power between heaven and earth. Merely by watching, new knowledge gathered in his mind. The elements that magicians and knights relied on, the spiritual power flowing in the ley lines of the earth, and even the overlapping but not intersecting spirit world—he could see them all clearly.
Magic King. He suddenly remembered this term.
Before the ancient Marquis Voban had forged his cruel throne of bone and blood, Godslayers were not called Demon Kings. They were hailed by magicians and other powers, who raised them up on thrones, because a Godslayer themselves symbolized the pinnacle of the system.
What was the pinnacle of the power system in this world again? The Crown? Seiya didn't bother to think too hard about it. He could feel his stronger bones, the mysterious blessing, and the core talents and Authorities.
And it was at this moment that he lifted his gaze, because in his field of vision, a man in a beach shirt had appeared before him.
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