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Chapter 5 - The Deathblow from Knight and Lord

Part 1

"Thus I do declare the name of God, that the world may now offer service, offer praise to the Eternal!"

Halfway through her incantation, an aura of despair began to surround Erica.

In addition, the actual temperature of the beach also fell to around twenty degrees.

Sounds unable to be heard by the common ear – cries of despair, screams of futility, and the wailing of the hopelessness – all these sounds coalesced into a single body, hanging in the freezing air.

All this were the effects brought forth by Erica's incantation.

"Goddess Athena, as a subordinate of Kusanagi Godou, the knight Erica Blandelli humbly beseeches. If it pleases you, depart immediately. If thou suffers not to heed my pleadings, I shall defend mine Lord with mine blade!"

The air rang with her firm declaration.

Her back guarded by a magically summoned crimson banner, she faced the goddess with Cuore di Leone in her hand.

Having heard her declaration, the goddess turned and acknowledged the girl for the first time.

"Oh? As a stepdaughter of Prometheus —— as a follower of Hermes, thou art willing to die for your master?"

"If necessary. To perish in a glorious manner for one's Lord, the knight feels only pleasurable satisfaction. In choosing as enemy the most ancient of goddesses, Athena, an understanding such as this is only natural."

'Why is Godou… always making life hard for me?!'

Erica mouthed quietly.

That Athena could completely grasp the weaknesses of the Campione; and more specifically, Godou.

Just from their short exchange, she managed to not only realize that unless Godou was forced into a corner, he wouldn't fight, and that he was a goody-two-shoes, and most of all, he even got kissed!

Looking at the corpse-like Godou, sprawled on the floor, Erica's stare grew fiercer.

When was this man ever going to learn?!

Although this wasn't something that happened very often, there were simply too many holes in his defenses, plus he was too open to women, and so a kiss was easily stolen from him.

As a general rule, Campiones had ridiculously high natural defenses against spells and other incantations.

Even though his opponent was a god, the fact remained that he would not have been easily overwhelmed. But if the spell was somehow able to be performed directly on the body, then there was nothing to be done; if such a method was employed, even a mage such as Erica would have easily succeeded.

"You're really such a troublesome fellow, making me work so hard…"

While continuously muttering complaints, Erica formed her spell into an arrow, which shot towards Athena.

If her opponent were a human, that strike alone would have been enough to finish him.

Even if it was an extremely accomplished mage, it would have left him unable to stand.

Her verses of despair were incantations of death, which chilled the hearts of her enemies, yet Athena merely shook her head.

With a goddess as her foe, a weak attack like that would obviously have no effect at all.

Erica lightly touched Cuore di Leone, then chanted:

"O lion of steel, thou art the mind and body of sorrow and fury. Thou art the harbringer of grief to gods and spirits, one who will bathe in the blood of your foes— Appear before me, the spear of Longinus ——!"

Gathering together the already coalescing incantations, she directed them to the blade of her favorite weapon.

Erica raised Cuore di Leone, now charged with power, and dashed forward.

In a flash, she crossed the gap between herself and Athena, then thrust with her sword.

As though merely amused, the goddess simply leaned to the side, and so evaded the sword thrust. Erica, of course, was not impressed by this, but…

She didn't end her move there.

Face, skull, left shoulder, thighs, abdomen, chest, throat, and finally, her right wrist.

Erica set those parts of the body as her target and kept up her attacks.

Without a trace of hesitation, like a bolt of lightning or the gust of wind, she continued to press Athena.

Each time Erica's blade neared the goddess, she would evade the strike.

However, facing Erica's unpredictable and multi-directional style of combat, Athena finally gave up on dodging, and used the back of her hand to stop the final swing at her wrist.

Under normal circumstances, something like that would have left her with half a hand, but the goddess's hand was as strong as steel, and warded off the blow.

Having succeeded, Athena glanced at her hand; then her expression suddenly changed. She seemed… excited.

"—— I see, as expected of one who dared challenge me— certainly, thou doth possess some ability."

On the hand which just blocked Cuore di Leone, a thin red line had appeared.

From that fresh cut, blood was trickling out.

It was a sword wound.

It was a simple fact that human weapons were completely incapable of harming a deity, let alone bother them. Forget swords, neither gunpowder weaponry and explosives, nor even chemical or biological weapons were able to do any damage.

On what was a supposedly immortal body, somehow a fresh wound had appeared.

While smiling and gazing at the blood dripping from her hand, Athena spoke.

"How rare. One had long forgotten her previous instance of injury from a mortal."

"My sword is currently infused with a spell on the same lethality level as the holy spear Longinus, with a power capable of extinguishing the Son of God or any wicked demon or deity. Even you, Athena, wouldn't escape unharmed if you were struck by this sword."

Whilst lightly rattling her Cuore di Leone, Erica flippantly spoke thus.

If her opponent showed any sign of movement, she planned on instantly attacking; however, Athena seemed completely unconcerned.

What she did feel, was that due to the previous attack, Athena's attention was now truly focused on her body, and the previous uncaring attitude had disappeared.

"Truly, mortal, your words ring true. That blade is extremely lethal to one's body, and may even be able to steal the very breath from me. Truly, one pities your current position. If thou had not stupidly vowed loyalty and devotion to that Campione, one wouldst have bestowed upon you a blessing, and accepted you as one's devotee."

Even though Erica was facing her with a blade, Athena only gazed at her with a loving and caring expression, her eyes those of a protector, as though looking at a lovable pet, or a laboring gardener in a park.

—— What to do now?

Erica asked herself; if Godou was with her, perhaps the two of them could do something, but since she was alone, the situation was not exactly a rosy one.

And her opponent was a goddess in combat.

Even with a blade on par with the god-subduing spear Longinus, and her skills in swordplay and sorcery, just how much of that would make a difference – she was very uncertain about the outcome.

In the past, Godou, before he was a Campione, much less a mage, managed to defeat Verethragna as a mere mortal.

But that victory should be considered a combination of many coincidences, and a ridiculous amount of good luck. Furthermore, it was because the very person who fought was Kusanagi Godou, that he managed to pull it off. In addition, he had his 'secret weapon', the [Secret Tome of Prometheus], which no longer existed in the mortal world.

It looked like escape was the only option.

'Right now, the most important thing is to evade the deathblow she will send my way.'

"Saint George! By thine holy title, bestow upon me the dragon slaying strength!"

Erica loudly proclaimed thus.

Even if she was planning to escape, there was no way she would just let her opponent off like that.

Even when retreating, she must do so with awesome presence and grace —— that was Erica's knightly code.

Cuore di Leone's form began to change.

From a thin rapier, it transformed into a two meter long spear.

Erica superbly wielded the heavy spear, and struck with speed three times.

How would Athena respond? Would she retreat, evade it, or counter and advance?

—— She retreated.

The goddess leaped back with agility, far exceeding the striking range of the spear.

Seeing Athena's response, Erica let a brilliant smile show; for those who knew her, it was a smile that showed that she believed her ploy would succeed.

Advancing to combat a retreating enemy was the most effective means of employing her style of combat, which focused on devastating speed.

"O Copper Red Cross, rend apart the armor of the dragon, rip out its organs! O my departed forebears, knights who lie now in eternal rest, I beseech you— bestow upon me thy outstanding military service!"

Finishing her incantations, Erica flung out the spear she held.

Originally an attack meant to be used against those that were even further away; these petty details were not something she would worry about now. The spear, flying from her hand, hurled like a silver-hued comet towards Athena's heart.

—— This method of ranged javelin combat was particularly favored by the Etruscans^{[1F 1]}.

Eventually, the Romans learned this method of warfare from them, and during the Middle Ages, the Knights of the Round table raised it up to yet another notch^{[1F 2]}. However, facing this attack, Athena merely smashed it aside with her fist.

The strange thing was, the spear that should have lain on the sand, somehow savagely continued to fly towards the goddess.

"……Oh?"

The silver spear had become a silver lion.

Cuore di Leone had, in the blink of an eye, changed its form and jumped up while riding the force of the blow. Athena gazed at the teeth of the nearby lion while showing an admiring smile.

"Really, you do quite amaze one ——"

Athena evaded the lion's leap, and quickly struck with the side of her palm.

Less than half the size of Cuore di Leone, she nevertheless attacked it anyway, hacking at the natural lines of the head, body and shoulder, turning it into a pile of animal parts.

What really shocked Athena came immediately after this.

"Cuore di Leone! Having received the blessings of both Holy Spirit and saint, complete thy work with an indestructible body!"

Erica chanted the final line of the incantation, instructing her faithful blade with a new objective.

……The now fragmented Cuore di Leone changed form again, each part shifting to the shape of a lion. Athena now found herself surrounded by seven lions.

"Ahahaha, you really know how to waste my time!"

Having heard Athena's strident laughter, Erica whistled, and one of the surrounding lions bounded over to her side.

—— with this, she didn't need to use any more tactics.

Erica quickly picked up Godou, then jumped onto the lion's back.

While her opponent was surrounded by six lions, as long as she did her best to escape without looking back – Even if the opponent was Athena, facing a dueling ground charged with a despairing incantation, and a Cuore di Leone blessed by God, there was no way she could easily deal with them and then still catch up with them… at least, she hoped.

Erica sincerely prayed that her enemy would not come running, while encouraging the lion to hurry.

In front of her, Godou was lying on the lion's back in deep sleep. Of course, there was no way he would just die like this. No matter how ridiculously unfair the circumstances, he was a man who would always find the means and path to victory; there was no way he would die so easily.

She placed her hand on Godou's chest, confirming his warmth and his pulse.

Having received the encouragement she was looking for, Erica let out a pleased, knowing smile.

Part 2

This so called near-death experience really was extremely discomforting.

Godou, who had yet to fully awake, thought in his foggy mind.

The eighth incarnation, the [Ram], offered miraculous powers of recovery. Regardless of how critical his body's condition was, its divine power would always bring a full recovery.

While Verethragna was a god of victory, he was also a defender of kingship.

Among the ten forms, the [Ram] had the deepest relationship with kingship. In ancient times when herding could be equated with wealth, the sheep, able to grow quickly and reproduce with abundance, was a symbol of vitality and prosperity.

Fertile, productive, rich.

The power to demonstrate vitality was a perfect representation of the sheep that exhibited these traits.

But if he was killed instantly, then this ability would become useless... considering this, he couldn't help but break out in cold sweat every time he woke up from unconsciousness, since he must consciously use this ability before dying for it to work.

To make it even more dangerous, this ability was only useable when he was on the brink of death.

Godou personally experienced before the inability to use this power to heal conventional serious injuries.

Of course, even with such harsh restrictions, it was still an astounding ability.

Godslayers could seize the abilities of the god they killed.

A divine power acquired this way was called an [Authority].

This meant that the more gods one killed, the more powerful a godslayer becomes.

Godou had only defeated one god so far — Verethragna, but it had been said that many godslayers were monsters holding multiple [Authorities].

— Born to this world to fight the gods, warriors who represented mankind.

Erica once described godslayers as this: they are warriors, kings, monsters, but at the same time also people; they were existences that went beyond common sense.

Godslayers were born from neither innate ability, nor effort, and definitely not blood or destiny.

Only victory could give birth to a godslayer.

Even if one had innate talent, even if one worked harder than anyone in the world, without victory, one could never become a godslayer.

That was way too strict, Godou thought.

His own victory over Verethragna had entirely depended on a series of unbelievably lucky events.

Forget normal people, even special people like prodigies or legendary masters would never be able to defeat a god. The difference in power was simply too great, great enough to make any comparison between the two completely meaningless.

Only after a series of miraculous occurrences was it possible for man to defeat god.

Yet a chain of unbelievable coincidences could give birth to a godslayer, granting them more power than any man could ever have.

......Even Godou himself thought this wasn't such a good idea.

Only those born as gods or those reborn as godslayers could oppose one another, that was simply beyond all common sense.

For such a thing to be achievable only through luck, that definitely wasn't a good thing. This kind of power should never be given to a single man, so Godou hoped to restrain himself as much as possible, not to abuse this power, but......

He realized he was starting to gain control over Verethragna's powers.

The first time he used the [Ram], it took him six hours to recover from unconsciousness. The second time it was only four hours. Every time he used it, the time to regain consciousness decreased.

How short can this period shrink?

When he switched to an incarnation, he could use numbers like these to describe his proficiency with the power. Of course, Godou didn't like falling to the brink of death, but to slowly gain control of such powers was yet another reason why he didn't like using them.

His consciousness began to clear.

As he woke up, Godou found himself lying on a stiff bed.

Seemed like the bed came with pillows, but he wasn't sure why it was so soft and warm behind his head.

"How does it feel? Can you get up?"

Erica whispered beside his ear.

Just like every time up until now, she had stayed beside his near-dead self this time as well.

"......Where are we? And, how long was I gone?"

"This is a bench in some park we escaped to, and you were only unconscious for two and a half hours this time. Congratulations, it's a new record."

"This kind of new record doesn't make me happy at all. I rather have the time increase."

"Knew you would say that, but this time the time reduction dropped again, and probably wouldn't decrease anymore? — Does that make you a little more relieved?"

Erica answered with a gentle smile.

Even though she always dragged Godou about everywhere, it was surprising that when he was at his weakest, Erica's attitude would also become very gentle.

"Hn, a little relieved."

It seemed like he still hasn't awakened fully; Godou's eyesight was still somewhat blurry, and he couldn't see the surroundings very well.

The only thing that reassured him was Erica's presence beside him.

"......If possible, I really wish someone else could defeat this god. Even though, it's rather ungrateful for me to say this after just barely managing to keep my life."

"That's impossible. Our opponent isn't someone you can defeat through sheer luck— Of course, having good luck is a necessity, but final victory will be decided by your strengths and character. You're someone qualified to defeat the gods, so you should have some more confidence in yourself."

Erica said this as she gracefully twirled her wrist.

Using her hands as a comb, Erica was grooming Godou's hair; her gentle, rhythmic movements made Godou feel extremely comfortable... 'Wait, she's combing my hair?'

"You may only have a portion of the power now, but one day you will definitely control all of Verethragna's authorities, because you're someone who will break through any obstacle to achieve victory. Until Godou becomes a true king, I will always protect you— no matter who the enemy is, I will never allow them to kill you, or hand you to anyone else."

Erica's whispers changed from her usual gentle tone to one filled with determination.

It truly made him happy.

To be honest, Godou felt like he didn't deserve this treatment, and he sort of wanted to apologize. But......

"T-Thank you. I always cause troubles for Erica, but Erica still treats me like this. I'm really thankful, but also feel a little bad......"

"You don't need to apologize to me, since it's me who wanted to do this from the bottom of my heart. I only want Godou to love me honestly. Simple enough?"

"Eh, I have to apologize for saying something like this during such a time, but this position really isn't good!"

At this moment, Godou finally awoke fully and realized his situation.

There was nothing abnormal about his body; his hands and feet were as good as ever.

He was lying on a long, dirty bench in a small park. Erica sat beside him, with his head on her lap, while her hand combed through his hair—

"No way. You've just returned from death's door— be obedient and rest."

As she said that, Erica used her unusual strength to press Godou, who was attempting to get up, back down to where he was.

Erica's legs were as thin and elegant as a deer's, while her thighs were particularly soft and made him feel very comfortable.

This really was a dangerous situation.

It wouldn't be good if he kept laying here like this without saying anything.

Godou wanted to escape his current circumstances, to the point of thinking about rolling off the bench.

"Godou, don't you think it's impolite to refuse the good gestures of another so stubbornly? Especially after saving your life?"

Even though she said that, Erica's tone sounded extremely happy.

Godou was embarrassed to the point that he didn't even dare look at Erica's face. All he wanted was to escape the current situation.

"Regarding that, I'm really grateful towards you, and I apologize. But, no matter how you look at this situation right now, it isn't good!"

"But why? Isn't this just the basics of developing our relationship? It's about time we stopped the introductions and started our skinship stage. We should spend more time to properly foster our feelings for one another."

Stop saying such selfish words.

How could the man named Kusanagi Godou have the courage to take such a step!

"But we can leave this for later, since we need to plan for when you get better. Godou, how do you plan to deal with Athena? After reaching this point, don't tell me you still want to sit down and negotiate?"

Erica seemed to realize that it was too cruel to keep pushing, so she changed the topic.

Finally they could talk normally. Godou let out his breath as he replied to Erica.

"You're right, but I plan to go find her first, then I'll decide on the final course of action based on the circumstances......"

"That's to say, you plan to attack immediately, and then force the situation into a standoff, right?"

Erica gave an interpretation that was completely off from Godou's words.

"How did you arrive at that conclusion? When did I say it like that?"

"Because it ends up like that every time, so in the current situation, I'd suggest we start preparing [Sword]— you know what the consequences of being ill-prepared against an opponent like Athena will be like, right?"

"......Right, we need to prepare for the worst after all."

Godou began to think.

Since he had let Athena off, she could have retrieved the Gorgonieon at any time. He needed foolproof preparations to face an even more powerful Athena.

Without sufficient power at hand, even negotiations wouldn't go anywhere. This was the core of the problem that Erica pointed out directly.

"Since that's the case, how are you going to ask for my aid? Come on, say it already."

Erica looked smug.

Even though she was fully aware of what it took, she was intentionally making Godou beg her. What a cruel woman.

"......Fine, I take back what I just said. Please teach me everything you know about Athena. I must prepare myself to fight that goddess."

Without the help of this person before him, Godou had no chance in a fight against Athena.

As he thought of this, he lowered his head to beg Erica.

"Very good, now my answer is decided."

Erica left the long bench and knelt down before Godou's feet.

With a joyous grin, she respectfully said:

"My liege, I shall do as you wish. You are the master of my sword, and the king of us mages. So long as you wish it, I shall grant you the key to victory."

Every once in a while, Erica would take this kind of respectful attitude.

Godou felt uncomfortable, so he pulled her back up.

"I told you, don't say it like that......I want Erica to be her usual self."

"Really? Then let's do it like usual. Godou, sit over here, we'll start now."

Godou was suddenly pushed back down by Erica to sit on the bench.

Realizing the signs of danger, Godou started panicking.

Were they really going to do this?

"When I said please teach me, I meant telling me using your mouth, please don't use any strange spells or ritualistic items."

"How long do you think it would take me to tell you? Athena is descended from the most ancient goddesses, so there are countless pieces of history and mythology surrounding her. No way am I going to talk about all of them, way too troublesome."

Erica moved closer to Godou as she said this.

Since she quickly sealed Godou's mouth with her lips, he could no longer continue his resistance.

......After a long kiss, Erica briefly parted her lips and said:

"Hehe, I'm really happy right now, since Godou had been so cold to me recently. You had kept me at such an obvious distance, yet you had secretly met up with that strange woman or being forced into a kiss with Athena, so I had been really unhappy."

Although she said she was unhappy, her tone was sweet.

Their faces were extremely close, almost to the point of their foreheads touching one another.

"I-I wasn't being secretive, and the case with Athena was a completely unexpected accident. But seriously, I still don't think this is a good idea. We should use a more complete, more permanent method than this!"

"What could be better than meeting the lips of your lover. Besides, the one who took my first kiss was Godou, and you've done so again several times since then. After all that, why do you still mind it?"

"But that was all done to fight the gods! It wasn't like that kind of love—"

Godou's mouth was blocked again before he could finish.

This time even the tongue stuck in.

—Was it really necessary to go this far!?

He couldn't open his mouth even if he wanted to ask; it was such an annoying situation. For a high school boy to be treated this way and still arouse no desire, it could only be that kind of extremely abnormal guy.

Godou struggled to escape the honey trap before him.

But he just couldn't get away.

Their wrist strengths were simply far too different; how could this woman be so strong?

"Let's start with Athena's birth, such as who was Athena's mother? Then there's the relationship between Athena and Medusa."

Erica spoke gently in between her soft kisses with Godou.

"In Greek Mythology, Athena's mother was Metis^{[1F 3]}. She was Zeus' first wife, as well as the goddess of wisdom, but their history wasn't a good one. According to one legend, Zeus raped Metis by transforming into a fly, which caused her to conceive Athena."

Serpent.

A tail appeared within his mental imagery, and formed into the shadow of a complete snake. It was followed by a cow, and then wings — which meant the shadows of birds coming by.

"To Zeus, Metis was merely an object of his desire. The only reason he took her as wife was to maintain his image by rewriting the myth. After finding out about Metis' pregnancy, Gaia and Uranus^{[1F 4]} predicted that if she gave birth to a boy, then he would be even more powerful than Zeus himself."

Godslayers had powerful resistances against magic.

That wasn't only effective against enemies, but also affected harmless and beneficial spells.

Even spells from his companions would still bounce off a godslayer, unless the magic was directly inserted into his body like what Athena did.

What Erica used right now was her magic of endowing her knowledge upon another.

Every history that was related to Athena.

The goal was to quickly teach Godou all of the mythology and divine traits related to Athena.

"Fearing the unborn child, he swallowed both Metis and her child, hoping to destroy both mother and child while absorbing Metis' wisdom for his own use. But the child Metis was pregnant with, Athena, ended up being born from Zeus' head."^{[1F 5]}

The words that came from Erica's lips transferred phenomenal amounts of knowledge into Godou's mind.

The tenth incarnation of Verethragna, the [Warrior], was said to own a golden sword.

And this process was indispensable for forging that sword.

Only after receiving sufficient knowledge about the opposing god could Kusanagi Godou change his form to [Warrior].

In other words, Athena is a goddess born from the death of her mother. This is an extremely important detail— in Greece, 'Metis' also means 'Wisdom', but it's also the origin of 'Medusa'.

Metis and Medusa.

These two words both contained the same meaning, and they were also the names of goddesses with deep connections to Athena.

The trinity goddess, a single body formed from Metis, Medusa, and Athena.

Godou suddenly realized the meaning within.

It was all thanks to the knowledge that Erica had transferred using her lips and tongue, her sweet breath and saliva, that the true face of Athena had finally been unlocked.

Erica's tongue squiggled flirtatiously to find the location of Godou's tongue.

The enormous knowledge that filled him and his pleasant sensations raced through Godou's mind.

He should let things fall naturally into place like this.

Godou's consciousness was losing itself within the captivating and powerful emotions.

While Erica seemed to have read Godou's thoughts as she revealed a light smile.

"How is it? You still want to stop using this method and return to a more normal method of teaching?— I rather like it this way. Which one does Godou want to use? Should we continue like this, or return to some boring teaching method?"

Before realizing it, their lips had parted from one another, and even their link had weakened.

Erica relaxed her arm.

Normally, Godou would have requested for her to stop long ago. But after going this far to just stop now would be very hard. However this situation still wasn't very good......

Erica's expression was full of joy as she stared at Godou's distress.

This devil's smile was far too alluring and hard to resist. Just as his resistance thinned and his body lost all strength...

Godou realized.

In the corner of his sight, a blushing, flustered lady stood nearby.

"Anna-san? Don't tell me Anna-san, you were there... watching the entire time?"

"I had forgotten. Anna, when did you return?"

Godou and Erica turned to look in the same direction.

Anna had been hiding behind the streetlight post, watching the pair's every move. Just from looking at Anna, it was obvious that she had been very interested in what they were doing and had been mesmerized.

"L-Let me just say this first, I wasn't peeking. I was only worried that two young people might temporarily be unable to control themselves and do something irreversible, so I had been keeping watch. Originally I was relieved to see Erica-san let Godou-san rest on her lap, but I never thought you two would be so daring! It was so embarrassing to watch......"

Anna hurriedly explained with a flustered face.

Godou could only see darkness through his eyes.

Could it be that she had seen his image just then without any holding back?

"When did we meet back up with Anna?"

"When you were still asleep. After we escaped from Athena, I had contacted her and scheduled to meet back up here. When you first woke up, Anna had just left to buy things, so you hadn't seen her."

That seemed to be the case. After a careful look, Anna was carrying coffee, red tea, and other drinks in her arms.

That was far too careless.

'If I had just thought about it, it would have been easy to realize that there was a third person here, but I had been...' — the embarrassed Godou wanted to dig a hole and bury himself in it.

"Well, if you two don't mind, please continue. You don't need to mind me; just pretend I'm not here."

"Of course. Since Anna already says that, then let's hurry back—"

"There's nothing to hurry back to, and we don't need to continue!......I plan to return to Tokyo, so I need to bother Anna-san to drive the car. Erica you can use 'the normal way' to teach me the rest."

Godou depressingly gave his orders.

Could he really defeat Athena like this? He felt really uncertain.

Part 3

Nighttime.

Moon, stars, and darkness filled the skies; it was the Goddess Athena's favorite time.

But night-time during this era remained far too bright.

The night was filled with man-made lights. Even when looking at the sky, the light of the stars would feel weak and barely noticeable.

The fear and aversion humans had towards the darkness did not begin recently.

Within the well-lit city, Athena walked leisurely.

Although she looked to be slowly moving forward, she was doing so in a way that was impossible for humans to achieve.

Her goal was the nostalgic aura coming from the Gorgoneion.

As Athena continued to advance down the coastal road, the [Serpent]'s smell steadily grew stronger.

The time of revival was nearing. Athena's face couldn't help but reveal a smile.

Even though the staggering people she walked past would stare at her with fascination, Athena didn't care.

It was natural for humans to be fascinated by gods.

It was also natural for humans to worship gods, to convert in the name of the gods.

It was natural for humans to pray to gods, to hope for blessings in return as well.

It was just as natural for humans who meet a [Heretic God] that descended upon Earth to lose themselves, become disorderly, or go insane.

None of them deserved the slightest attention from her.

If Kusanagi Godou was here, the two of them might have to fight for their very existence; but right now, she didn't even need to worry about that.

What happened to that guy afterwards?

That recent scene reappeared within Athena's mind. Even though she defeated him with her Death Spirit, would he actually die that easily?

Most likely not; a human that could kill even a god was a godslayer.

Devil kings, archfiends, fallen angels, chaos lords, godslayers.

Since he was among those whose titles stood equal with gods, then he might be able to revive even from death.

That was fine too.

If that happened, she would just beat him by force this time; either way, she wouldn't need to defend against any more godslayers.

She could finally relax a little.

Athena's mood rose, and the traits that she carefully hid unraveled themselves.

This place was simply unbearable.

The world man created was simply far too unnatural for her.

Athena leisurely strolled through the nighttime city.

Every time she stepped forward, every time she breathed out, a light in the city will extinguish.

At first, the street lights were put out.

That was followed by homes, offices, department stores, shops, bars, neon signs, and car lights; not even flashlights and small light bulbs could avoid it.

All man-made light must disappear.

Once the hypocrisy of sunlight leaves, the city should be filled by the purity of darkness.

An endless abyss of darkness that would make it impossible to see even a few meters ahead.

Those people who noticed the abnormality gathered unhappily toward the streets.

Those on the streets could only endure their instinctive fear while looking up towards the dark skies.

Those lucky enough to return home safely were at a loss as their homes plunged into darkness.

People gathered before their homes and offices in twos and threes, shaken by their anxieties while wishing for the light that showed no signs of returning.

Their aversion to darkness.

Their yearning for light.

Humans held onto their anxiety, fear, discouragement, and weakness as they waited for the sun to reappear.

This was what night should be like.

Sensing what the people felt, Athena declared her mandate in satisfaction.

"By the decree of the true Athena. Night, reveal thyself, disperse the grace of sun, and erase the flames of Prometheus. The starry skies and dark winds shall return to recreate the ancient night."

Athena sang as she continued moving forward.

After spreading the night, only the Gorgoneion remained. That's right, she wasn't fully satisfied yet.

[Heretic God] Athena was a god of earth and darkness.

The dark, deep night without a trace of light was already revived. What remained were the strong smell and rich life of the earth.

"I seek but the Gorgoneion! Athena shall retrieve the ancient Serpent tonight!"

Every time Athena sang her divine words, bird silhouettes would appear in the skies.

Birds that continue to fly without regard for the night could only be owls.

Under dozens of flying owls, Athena continued her unstopping advance, single-mindedly chasing the scent of the Gorgoneion...

—————

An abnormality that quickly hurled the entire city into paralysis.

All lights had been extinguished regardless of their size.

All vehicles have been stopped; even trains could no longer move.

The time was just past 9pm.

Although there were fewer pedestrians than during daytime, there were still plenty of office workers and local residents.

Dragged into this situation, some people got angry, some anxiously watched their surroundings.

Some also panicked.

Anger, turmoil, panic, confusion, worry......

Despite being plunged into darkness, as long as one kept their calm, it was easy to notice the distress of others nearby.

"This is incredible. Things are progressing far too hastily."

"Amakasu-san, your words are far too heedless, please be a little more serious."

A car that refused to budge.

As the young driver muttered to himself, Mariya Yuri reprimanded him openly.

Even though the two have only met for several hours, she already came to a realization. This Historical Compilation Committee member named Amakasu Touma didn't take things very seriously.

"Ah, I'm sorry— but in this kind of situation, whether we're serious or careless doesn't help the situation one bit. Since that's the case, then why worry more about it?"

"I'm talking about your attitude. Seriously, be it Amakasu-san or Kusanagi-san, people are far too careless, it really troubles me!"

Yuri complained as she continued to observe the situation outside.

The unnatural existence of a [Heretic God] seemed to have surfaced in the Urayasu region.

Amakasu had brought this news to Nanao Shrine around twenty minutes ago.

He was commissioned to investigate the region, so he drove Yuri from Shiba Park^{[1F 6]} towards Tsukishima.^{[1F 7]}

Then it happened suddenly.

The vehicle Amakasu drove suddenly underwent rapid deceleration, slowing down to little more than a pedestrian's speed, and after two minutes it stopped completely.

After looking around, they finally realized that all the streetlights were also put out, and so were all the other lights within the city.

Large numbers of stopped cars laid on the road. But unlike a traffic jam, they weren't going to move forward no matter how long they waited.

Many drivers left their cars, fidgeting anxiously as they looked around.

"Yuri-san, how about we leave the car behind and move on— waiting here won't do anything."

"Is that really alright? Just leaving the car here might cause people trouble."

"With the situation now, it's useless to worry about that— come on, let's go let's go."

Urged by Amakasu's prodding after he got off the car, Yuri also stepped out.

The two of them moved towards the sidewalk.

Their eyesight plunged into complete darkness.

Their only sources of light were those of the blurry moon and faintly visible stars.

"Darkness' domain... seems like the one who descended here was a [Heretic God] with the divine trait of the night— plus they're spreading the influence nonstop, talk about troublesome."

Amakasu grumbled nearby.

Compared to when the news first arrived, things were falling under the god's influence far too quickly.

To create such a reaching and powerful influence, as expected of Athena — the most powerful goddess of Greek Mythology.

But why would she spread darkness? Yuri couldn't understand this part.

—Yuri quivered.

No, it wasn't the chills, but because as a hime-miko, she felt the presence of a god approaching.

She thought of the 'Gorgoneion' that was placed on the obsidian badge in Nanao Shrine.

It was the powerful will to find an important item.

There was no mistake; this was a sign that the [Heretic God] was closing in on the presence of the artifact.

Yuri shivered.

That place was in danger; just like insects attracted by light, Athena will eventually reach Gorgoneion's location. That was an easily expected scenario.

"Amakasu-san, we must leave this place. We must leave this dark area and return to Nanao Shrine. I must return to protect the [Gorgoneion] I spoke to you about."

"You mean the item that's similar to Medusa, I understand. But, this stage really is grand. Now, if that devil king Yuri-san acknowledges to be true — Kusanagi Godou, would arrive, then all the actors will be assembled."

"That's why I say, you're being far too heedless!"

The two of them continued to walk through the darkness without any light to guide them.

Amakasu's footsteps did not show the slightest hesitation, as if he was already used to the darkness.

Yuri took each step carefully as she followed the only road sign — Amakasu's shadow, and even then she would occasionally find herself almost tripping.

Just the disappearance of light from the city could cause such inconvenience to everybody.

The utter darkness exerted an unbearable pressure, bringing people endless fear.

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