"How could the Demon King's barrier magic nullify my White Star as if it were nothing?" Rama asked curiously.
The White Star he had unleashed earlier was not only capable of destroying mountains and leveling a vast area the size of a city. It also had the ability to poison the Demon Kings who managed to survive the missile attack and prevent them from using their immense magical power. Thus, it prevented them from exercising their authority for some time.
However, the poison also seemed to have no effect on Eiji.
Eiji was still floating in the air with ten rings on his hands, and a multicolored aura now enveloped his body. Rama couldn't sense the oppressive energy he radiated, but he felt threatened just by standing face-to-face with him.
'Is it because of those rings? Are they divine artifacts on par with the Holy Grail?' Rama wondered, a serious expression on his face.
His guess was correct.
If all ten of Solomon's rings were gathered and activated simultaneously, their user could possess the conceptual ability to nullify and control all forms of magic (magecraft) practiced by humankind. However, with Eiji's magical skills, his control wasn't limited to just human magic.
Eiji calmly said, "Surprised? After all, I'm not just the Demon King of this world. Right now, you're dealing with the King of Magecraft from another universe."
"King of Magecraft? Aren't you a God? Are you also a King?" Rama didn't know what Magecraft meant; his focus was solely on the title of King that Eiji held. Suddenly, he realized another implication of Eiji's words. "Wait... Does that mean you're holding back?"
Eiji replied briefly, "Yes, you could think of it that way."
Hearing such a casual confirmation, Rama felt slightly insulted. As the King of the End, destined to be a scourge to the Campione, the fact that his opponent wasn't even using his full strength was a harsh blow to his pride. However, as a Steel God, his emotions didn't erupt wildly. Instead, he tightened his grip on his sword and once again raised the silvery blade high into the sky.
"I'm still holding back, too. So, I'm going to get serious now," Rama said coldly.
Without waiting for Eiji to respond, Rama stepped forward and swung his sword downward with a speed that split the atmosphere. From the blade of the Sword of Salvation, the Divine Lightning of Salvation surged forth—a massive, silvery-white divine lightning that roared with tremendous force, tearing through space.
*WUSH!*
Eiji moved, teleporting just to the side to dodge the attack. He deliberately chose to dodge, not because he was unable to block it with Solomon's magic or even just his physical defense, but out of pure curiosity to see just how much destructive power was contained in the final boss of Campione's serious strike.
*BOOOOOOOOOOMMMM!!!*
The holy lightning struck the ground behind Eiji's previous position. The impact was incredibly devastating. A massive mountain standing in the distance was instantly split in two and exploded into fragments of rock, while the ground in a wide area around it was shattered into a chaotic mess, forming a deep chasm.
[That's still too weak for me. But the protagonist, Godou, would surely die if he hadn't dodged that attack.]
The heroines: In a situation like this, you're still mocking the protagonist?
In the action figure, the man in question suddenly sneezed.
Godou: Who's mocking me? Eiji, it's gotta be you! You bastard, I'm already dead. Can you stop badmouthing me behind my back?
Seeing his enemy dodge, Rama didn't let the momentum go to waste. He shot through the air, unleashing the same slashes in rapid succession once more. A storm of holy lightning once again rained down on that dimension from all directions, sealing off every escape route for his target.
However, Eiji didn't panic at all. Facing that devastating rain of lightning, he once again raised his left hand forward, once again creating a magical barrier—a circle layered with ribbons of light—capable of blocking all those serious attacks.
Every time Rama's holy lightning struck Eiji's magical barrier, the energy dissipated and vanished without a trace.
Seeing this, Rama's expression gradually darkened. Frustration began to show clearly in his golden-glinting eyes.
Eiji chuckled amusedly at the desperation of the man before him. "Is this the best you can do after getting serious, King of the End? How boring."
"You…" Rama's expression was terrible; he had never been mocked like that in a fight before.
Besides, Eiji was different. The Campione he'd faced in the past had all been quite respectful.
None of them dared to mock him the way Eiji did.
Veins bulged on Rama's forehead.
Eiji then stretched out his right hand, allowing the magical energy from the ten Rings of Solomon to resonate with terrifying intensity. The air around him suddenly trembled violently as he began to chant the name of his attack spell:
"Ars Almadel Salomonis!"
In that very instant, a pillar of purplish-red light—composed of pure heat—shot out like a storm from the magic circle in the sky, heading straight for Rama's body at an incredible speed.
The energy wave emitted extreme heat radiation that vaporized the rocks in its path, turning them into dust particles. Rama, who had just finished his series of slashes, was unable to dodge in time. He was forced to cross the Sword of Salvation in front of his chest to block the impact of the gigantic pillar.
*BANGGG!!!*
The impact was immense. Solomon's offensive spell instantly shattered Rama's defensive layer, which surpassed that of the other Steel Gods. His body was violently hurled through the rubble, crashing into the ground repeatedly for hundreds of meters. His tunic was torn in several places, revealing horrific burns.
"Cough! Cough!"
Rama slowly knelt, resting one foot on the severely cracked ground. He coughed violently, spitting a mouthful of thick blood from his mouth. With a trembling hand, he wiped the corner of his lips, staring at the bloodstain in disbelief.
Using the Sword of Salvation for support, Rama struggled to get back to his feet. His joints creaked as he endured the excruciating pain. A storm of confusion raged within his mind.
How was it possible that, with a body density far surpassing that of any Steel God, he could be so fatally wounded simply by taking a single spell attack from Eiji?
Rama stared at the man looking down on him from the sky with a hint of fear in his eyes. However, he immediately took a deep breath.
"Eiji Seiya… I acknowledge your power," he said, his voice sounding heavy and hoarse. "You're far stronger than any Campione I've ever faced before. Therefore, as a sign of respect for you, I will use my strongest ability!"
The King of the End's most powerful ability?
Eiji didn't remember.
He didn't even bother trying to remember it.
Rama raised the Sword of Salvation high into the sky, ignoring the burns on his body. "Fill the sky, O holy weapons that vanquish demons! Divine Weapons Mandala!!"
[Oh, I finally remember. The Divine Weapons Mandala is indeed the King of the End's most powerful ability.]
[Technically, it's somewhat similar to my Gate of Babylon.]
An ability similar to Eiji's Gate of Babylon?
The heroines who've seen Eiji use the King of Heroes' ability know just how powerful it is.
If it were them, many of them would panic a little and rush to kill Rama before he could use that ability.
But Eiji waited patiently.
*SHIIING! SHIIING! SHIIING!*
In that very instant, a giant mandala circle filled with thousands of projected images of weapons materialized and spun slowly in the sky. From within that sacred circle, hundreds of divine heirloom weapons—ranging from a sunbow, a mountain-cleaving halberd, twin storm-element swords, to a continent-shattering iron mace—appeared in a row. According to the myth of the King of the End, these divine weapons are gifts and tributes bestowed by various gods in mythology to help him slaughter the Campione.
In other words, the King of the End is that powerful because so many gods support him.
"Be destroyed!!"
Rama swung his sword forward. Hundreds of those mandala heirloom weapons streaked down from the sky like a storm, plummeting at lightning speed and carrying a destructive force capable of tearing apart the laws of space. However, Eiji simply stood tall with a relaxed smile. Facing the rain of divine heirloom weapons, he did not break his Solomon defensive spell. The gold rings on his fingers glowed brightly once more, expanding the web of light from his Ars Paulina fortress.
*BOOM! BANG! CLANG!*
The deafening sound of clashing metal echoed repeatedly. The divine spear shattered, the sun arrow fizzled out, and the continent-shattering mace split in two the moment they touched Eiji's defensive wall of light. Eiji effortlessly blocked and neutralized every attack from the various divine weapons Rama used. His conceptual magic repelled all forms of physical and divine damage from the mandala, rendering the storm of divine weapons completely ineffective, as if they were nothing more than fragile plastic toys.
Witnessing this utterly absurd sight, Rama finally lost all his composure. His eyes widened, his handsome face contorted in a grimace, consumed by deep frustration.
"I-IT CAN'T BE!! THIS MAKES NO SENSE!!" He shouted in disbelief, his voice shrieking high and piercing the silence of the battlefield, even startling Guinevere and Lancelot. This was the first time they had ever seen Rama lose his usual composure. "Those weapons were specifically crafted to slaughter the Demon Kings! How could… how could you block them all with just the same defensive magic without even a scratch?!"
"Is that really so surprising?" Eiji tilted his head slightly as if he were confused.
That attitude nearly drove Rama mad with rage. After all, all the weapons he had stored in the Divine Weapons Mandala had been destroyed without giving him the slightest advantage.
He'd only suffered losses!
"Well, since you've already used up everything you had. Now it's my turn, right?" Eiji asked casually.
[Host, do you think you're playing a turn-based game?]
Miss System... I'm just messing around. Besides, Rama is clearly much weaker than me.
He'd die instantly if I didn't give him a chance to show off.
[That doesn't explain why you're using turn-based combat.]
Ignoring Miss System, Eiji instantly teleported right in front of Rama, closing the distance before he could even blink. His right hand shot forward, immediately gripping the man's neck tightly with one hand, lifting his body into the air as if he were nothing more than a lightweight rag doll.
"Guh! Damn it…"
Rama struggled violently, his breath choked off by Eiji's powerful grip! With his last ounce of strength, Rama swung his Sword of Salvation in a vertical slash, intending to sever Eiji's arm.
However, Eiji didn't even flinch. He very casually raised his left hand, bringing his thumb and index finger together to pinch the sword's blade barehanded.
*CLANG!*
The sword's swing came to a halt between Eiji's two fingers. Rama was stunned, his eyes wide with disbelief as he watched his most powerful sword get caught so easily without any defensive magic. Before Rama could pull his weapon back, Eiji applied a little pressure with his fingers.
*CRACK!*
The blade of the Sword of Salvation snapped and shattered into useless shards of silvery metal on the ground.
"W-What kind of monster are you…?!" Rama gasped, his voice choked with the horror and despair he had never felt in all of his mythological history.
Eiji merely smiled indifferently, completely unfazed by the label. "Me? I'm Guinevere's new husband, and from now on, you're just her ex-husband."
"!!!"
Rama never expected to get an answer like that. It wasn't just pain—he now felt like a victim of NTR. Red and green flushed his face in turn.
Honestly, it would have been better if Eiji had just beaten him and killed him. But no, he deliberately kept provoking him using Guinevere.
Rama didn't love Guinevere that much, but knowing that after he died, she would serve another man with her body, he felt extremely uncomfortable.
If his gaze could kill, Eiji would surely have been torn to shreds by now, leaving him unable to touch Guinevere. Unfortunately, reality left Rama powerless.
The man in front of him was a monster more terrifying than the gods.
"I'm also Lancelot's new master. She's also one of my women. Before you woke up, I'd already had my fun with her."
Eiji added more information that made Rama even more uncomfortable. When talking about things like that, he used the Law of Vibration so the women watching wouldn't hear his words.
"L-Lancelot?"
Rama finally understood why his knight from the past had sided with Eiji earlier. He didn't have any romantic feelings for her and only saw her as his subordinate.
However, he still felt betrayed when Eiji bluntly told him that.
Rama felt utterly naive, just like the protagonist Godou, who was supposed to be the one to defeat him. If he'd known the original story, he'd have preferred to die at Godou's hands rather than Eiji's!
Seeing the despair and other negative emotions Rama displayed, Eiji felt satisfied.
"This is your end, King of the End."
He hurled Rama's body into the sky at extreme speed, sending him streaking through the high clouds like a meteor that had reversed course.
From the ground below, Eiji stretched out one hand. The ten Solomon rings on his fingers erupted with a magnificent, multicolored radiance, synergizing radically with the magical power of the Deepest Darkness, Anos Voldigoad.
Eiji unleashed a combined offensive magic formula of the highest level—a fusion of Ars Almadel Salomonis and Egil Grone Angdroa.
The two spells were combined even though either one alone was enough to kill the King of the End.
However, men love to show off, and Eiji was no exception. Even so, he had one small problem.
"I don't know what name would be suitable for this spell!"
Guinevere: ???
Lancelot: ???
The women in the chat group also had question marks floating above their heads. What do you mean you don't know the name of your own spell, Eiji!?
In that very instant, a seven-layered magic circle spun, forming a pitch-black spiral in the sky, firing a jet-black burst of cosmic hellfire mixed with millions of ribbons of light that obliterated logic. The combined attack surged like a storm toward the sky, completely engulfing Rama's body without leaving any room for his soul to reincarnate.
*BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMM!!!!!*
The explosion from the combined spell was so devastating it defied all reason. Rama was killed instantly, completely erased from the very concept of existence without leaving even a speck of dust behind. The burst of cosmic black fire continued to race upward, tearing through the atmosphere, piercing the Earth's sky, and emitting ripples of energy distortion that affected outer space and the very fabric of the Campione universe!
For your information, after reaching his maximum level in the original work, Godou bore an extremely heavy fate at the end of his world. He gained the ability to traverse dimensions and acquired an authority known as Anti-Fate. Godou's existence, as he moved from world to world, actually disrupted the cosmic balancing forces. His Anti-Fate authority triggers chaos throughout the multiverse and causes the boundaries between dimensions to overlap.
The Campione universe isn't just one—it's actually divided into several, forming what could be called a multiverse.
Eiji didn't realize this because he just wanted to show off, but the combined spell he had just unleashed to kill the King of the End in that world created a more or less similar effect.
Not only that, but many of his previous actions—such as stealing the heroines from Godou—also played a role in this. History in that world unfolded differently from the original story.
This created a domino effect that gave rise to a new timeline or parallel world where Earth's history unfolds differently.
Miss System: Should I tell my host about that? Never mind, he'll find out on his own later.
By the way, the visual impact caused by Eiji's attack this time was too great. So, many humans, the gods in hiding, and even Campione like Doni, Madame Aisha, John Pluto Smith, and other Campione in the parallel world saw that huge black flame soaring high into the sky.