Like a golden arrow tearing through the curtain of darkness, this astonishing pincer attack from heaven and earth forced even Athena to respond with full seriousness.
"Impressive."
At the final instant, Athena unleashed her divine power. Behind her surged once more an aura of darkness like the abyssal underworld. Within that darkness, countless eyes of unknown creatures emerged, staring fixedly at the incoming godslaying spear.
Under that nameless gaze, the godslaying spear was forcibly halted in midair. Though Words of despair spiraled endlessly around it, the golden shaft was stopped half a meter before Athena, as if nailed in place.
However, judging by the way it continued drilling forward, Athena was not able to stop the divine spear completely.
And from the sky above, the radiance of the sun descended in the next instant.
Faced with such an attack, Athena did not move from where she stood. She raised both hands upward. Darkness condensed within her palms, forming a shield of strange design—its four corners imbued with fear, battle, ferocity, and pursuit, while at its center was mounted the head of Medusa, capable of turning anyone who beheld it into stone.
Boom!!!
The dozens-of-meters-wide pillar of golden light from the heavens slammed down upon the petite goddess. Yet the strike, like a satellite weapon descending from orbit, was forcibly endured by that shield.
The body of the goddess did not waver in the slightest.
"That is—the Aegis Shield. I see!"
Within Erica's mind, her thoughts raced at lightning speed. From this shield alone, she gleaned a great deal of information about her opponent.
And so, she manifested her trump card.
"By the technique of my Words, let the justice of this world be made manifest! This spell is mighty and eloquent. It is the sword of wisdom that heralds victory."
Without warning, a golden magic circle flared beneath Erica's feet. Amid a blaze of golden radiance, she drew forth a golden sword from within the formation.
It was the strongest Authority among the war god's ten incarnations—Warrior Who Holds the Golden Sword.
The moment the golden blade entered her grasp, the surrounding space changed abruptly. The originally gray-white earth was dyed into a golden domain. Across the space and ground stood countless golden swords.
This anti-divinity armament designed specifically against gods caused a trace of solemnity to appear upon Athena's face.
"Very well, Godslayer. You have made me feel pressure long forgotten. In gratitude... I shall show you what it means to be the goddess of war."
As she spoke, a shockwave of starless night erupted from the shield in Athena's hand, shattering the White Stallion in the heavens.
And that was not all. In the next instant, crimson cracks spread across the surface of the holy spear.
With a sharp crash—it disintegrated into fragments.
Having done so, the black shield in Athena's hands shifted form once more. In the end, it manifested as a massive scythe.
This was the sign that Athena had fully unleashed her Authority of Instant Death. Though she had not yet reclaimed her trinitarian ancient true body, she had grown serious.
A suffocating darkness overflowed from the scythe. Killing intent surged like towering tidal waves crashing down. In the next moment, even the enhanced vision granted by Authority—eyes capable of perceiving divine speed—could only see the massive scythe as a single sharp edge, expanding and swelling until it filled heaven and earth.
Fortunately, the golden sword shielded her from that aura, allowing Erica to recover from the illusion in an instant. Then she charged forward, slashing out. A gale howled up to collide head-on with Athena's tide-like killing intent, producing a shrill screech of friction.
Clang!
The reaper's scythe and the golden blade locked together.
Their weapons seemed entwined, yet Erica suddenly felt a strange suction force. In that instant after the clash, Athena, through exquisite technique, sought to break the center of Erica's stance.
But Erica had anticipated this. She stomped her feet hard against the ground. Instead of retreating, she used the pulling force to spin rapidly through the air, lunging straight toward Athena's chest.
This combat technique was not something Erica could have executed through her own skill alone. It was technique bestowed upon her by the Authority of the war god.
Though a trace of surprise flickered at the corner of Athena's eye, her wrist remained as steady as a mountain, unmoved by Erica's offensive. At the same time, she transformed the withdrawing motion of her wrist into a forward push to block.
That push was exactly what Erica wanted. She twisted her body midair, shedding the tremendous force transmitted from Athena's weapon, then raised one hand.
From the sky and the ground beneath, countless golden swords turned their tips, all pointing at Athena.
"A boring trick."
Athena was utterly disdainful of this attack that resembled a rain of projectiles. She did not even summon a shockwave of darkness.
Instead, she spun the massive scythe in her hand so tightly that not a single gap remained, parrying every one of the countless golden blades in a manner so exaggerated it bordered on the unimaginable.
As the scythe whirled, a storm of darkness rose from Athena's body, forming into a colossal and illusory Winged Serpent.
The moment Erica met the gaze of that enormous black serpent, her body fell into immobility.
The golden domain beneath her feet petrified in an instant, the stone creeping upward to her ankles and calves.
Then Athena advanced, killing intent surging like a rising tide. She attacked.
Black radiance like the abyss of the underworld appeared once more. It was the omen of Athena's imminent strike.
In desperation, Erica activated the golden blade's ability to dispel negative effects. Now that she understood Athena possessed Medusa's Authority, the golden sword could counter it.
Yet Athena's attack was already upon her. Even with Raptor and Gale, she could only barely erect a defensive stance.
Clang—clang—clang
...
Relentless blows poured from the other side of the golden blade. The sound resembled the roar of a dragon. That immense strength, wholly disproportionate to Athena's slender frame, tore at Erica's sword like savage fangs.
Because Erica's golden sword was a specially constructed long weapon empowered by Authority, even the incomplete Athena could not close the distance without first breaking through it.
Thus, Athena simply shifted her target directly to the golden sword in Erica's hands, intent on forcing her to lose her grip.
In that lightning-fast exchange, the web between Erica's thumbs and forefingers split under the tremendous force. Blood seeped from torn skin. Even so, she maintained her unmoving defensive stance, gripping the golden sword tightly.
Erica now deeply felt Athena's strength. She knew she could no longer allow her opponent to maintain the initiative. The moment the golden sword left her hand, the next instant would be her death.
With that thought, Erica resolved to take a risk. She activated another Authority, forcibly restoring her body's condition, and launched multiple slashes in rapid succession toward Athena's neck, chest, and shoulders.
"Too shallow."
Athena's mocking voice rang out. The scythe in her left hand swept across before her, not only parrying Erica's attacks but hooking her golden blade. Drawing a circle through the air, Athena effortlessly dissolved Erica's entire offensive and carried the golden sword off to one side.
"Damn it!"
In an instant, Erica's guard lay completely open. The distance between them was less than an arm's length. Facing the scythe that arced back toward her throat, she could neither dodge nor defend.
In that moment, regret surged through her heart. Though the golden sword possessed overwhelming Authority, she was not a warrior skilled in wielding such a massive curved blade. Her expertise lay with slender rapiers like Reinhard's.
The disparity between those two weapons had now plunged her into a fatal crisis.
Claaang—
The deafening crash of clashing steel made Erica's entire body shudder. Fierce wind scattered from her twin golden ponytails.
Startled, she lifted her gaze. A divine sword radiant with holy light extended from above her head, intercepting Athena's strike that had been certain to kill.
At the same moment both she and Athena revealed expressions of astonishment, Satsuki's voice came from behind her.
"To fight a god to this extent on your first attempt... I suppose that barely counts as acceptable. Leave the cleanup to me from here."
Seizing the instant when Athena's attack was obstructed, Erica's figure disengaged in a flash, vanishing from Athena's side.
The goddess did not pursue. Instead, she focused her entire attention upon the newly emerged opponent.
Erica, who had abruptly reappeared some distance away, wore a look of astonishment. The spatial shift just now had not been initiated by her. Another force had forcibly replaced the space she occupied.
Among those present, the only one capable of such spatial manipulation was Satsuki.
On the battlefield, the black-haired, black-robed Satsuki stood holding the Samsara Reincarnation Sword she had created. Even in the face of a god, her bearing remained calm and elegant, as though what she had stepped into was not a duel, but merely a refined tea gathering.
In the next moment, her wrist flicked—
Clang—!
A crisp metallic ring and bursting sparks erupted where scythe and sword met. Athena, wielding the scythe with both hands, was forcibly driven back by an incomprehensible and overwhelming power.
Step by step, she staggered in retreat.
Under that pure force, even the goddess of war could only step back to dissipate the impact. The arms gripping her scythe trembled involuntarily.
"This power... it defies comprehension. No mortal could possibly possess such strength."
Even Erica could hear a trace of panic within Athena's seemingly indifferent voice.
Standing steadily in place, Satsuki lightly held her sword in her right hand, its tip pointed toward Athena. Her left hand hung naturally at her side, faint spatial ripples not yet fully dispersed around it.
Facing a god, her entire body remained relaxed and natural. Yet she gave the two beings present an extraordinarily strange sensation—as though the person before them had fused with the surrounding space, becoming an inseparable whole. That peculiar harmony extended infinitely into heaven and earth, evoking the boundless sky and the endless cosmic expanse.
Though impossible to comprehend, the feeling struck awe into the depths of one's heart.
Witnessing Satsuki in this state, a current like electricity shot up from Erica's feet, numbing her entire body in an instant and causing her to tremble uncontrollably. Even with the Golden Sword, she could only exhale softly. By presence alone, she now believed that Satsuki's defeat of the King of Swords had been anything but luck.
For a fleeting instant, Satsuki even reminded Erica of the so-called "Invincible Under Heaven" martial king of Jiangnan.
Compared to such an existence, even as a Godslayer, Erica suddenly felt unbearably small.
Meanwhile, Athena steadied her trembling arms and fixed her full attention upon Satsuki. Unlike Erica's vague perception, the more Athena attempted to sense and understand her, the more she perceived multiple unfathomable forces radiating from Satsuki's body into the surrounding space. Even the portion of the goddess of wisdom within her mind screamed warnings without cease.
Under Satsuki's casual, almost effortless confrontation, a drop of cold sweat slid down the cheek of the silver-haired girl-shaped goddess.
Unconsciously, she drew the massive scythe before her, forced into a defensive stance merely by the pressure of those golden eyes.
In terms of sheer presence alone, the god had already suffered total defeat.
This cannot continue. If it does, I will lose even the courage to strike first.
With that thought, two enormous illusory Winged Serpents rose beneath her feet. They transformed into twin black dragons. In the same instant, the goddess leapt through space, her form shifting and flowing unpredictably as she surged toward Satsuki.
There was no overwhelming killing intent, no roaring wind. Yet the aura of instant death contained within those two black dragons made Erica's heart quake in fear. Had she faced that blow, she could only have relied on the Golden Sword to shield herself.
But Satsuki did not dodge.
Within her slightly lowered golden eyes lay a lofty detachment that seemed to look down upon all things. The sword in her hand moved naturally. For a fleeting moment, it was as though the transformations of sun, moon, and stars revolved within that motion, dazzling and mesmerizing.
"Ha—!"
Athena unleashed a sharp cry as she exerted her full strength. Black radiance scattered amid the clash of weapons. The two inhuman figures crossed in a single instant, and space itself trembled violently.
Boom—
A formless shockwave of pure destruction radiated outward from the center of their clash, obliterating the entire rooftop and carving out a massive crater that sank downward.
Erica barely managed to transform her holy spear into a shield to protect herself before the aftershock blasted her away.
In midair above the utterly ruined rooftop, the two figures had exchanged positions. Then they turned and faced one another once more.
One of Athena's arms was gone. Blood streamed continuously from her severed shoulder.
The body of a god was eternal and imperishable. Even when facing the Holy Spear Longinus, Athena had been able to deflect it with her bare palm. Yet now she had suffered an unprecedented grievous wound.
Her expression grave and silent, Athena had no leisure to examine her injury. Though wounded, the divine power of death around her did not diminish in the slightest.
Satsuki's expression remained calm. Her ethereal voice sounded once more.
"In your current state, you stand no chance against me."
Athena understood this as well. Yet the opportunity to reclaim her trinitarian true body lay before her. She would not relinquish it easily.
"I will reclaim what belongs to me!"
Hearing this, Satsuki rarely allowed herself a faint smile and nodded.
"Very well."
Without any visible motion, the Gorgon Stone appeared in her other hand.
At such close range, resonating with Athena's divine power, the Medusa engraved upon it seemed almost alive. Its serpentine hair writhed and twisted, straining desperately toward Athena.
Yet all its efforts were futile. Under Satsuki's power, the divine artifact containing the Earth Mother Goddess's divinity could not escape.
Until—Satsuki loosened her grip.
The sudden change caught not only Erica off guard, but even Athena failed to react at once.
By the time she did, she had instinctively caught the flying divinity in her mouth. One arm had been severed, and the other had to maintain her guard. She had no choice.
"You... what do you intend?"
Something they had just fought over with life and death at stake was now tossed to her so casually by the one holding absolute advantage.
What kind of confidence was this?
What kind of arrogance?
As the goddess accepted the divinity, violet radiance burst from her body. It was the sign that her power was rapidly recovering—and even growing stronger.
Even the voice of the goddess of wisdom carried rare anger and confusion.
"Are you saying that even if I reclaim my true body and return as the trinitarian queen, you can still defeat me?"
In response, Satsuki merely lifted her gaze slightly and spoke words that left Athena frozen where she stood.
"Restore yourself to your full strength, Athena. Otherwise... you will not live to see a second night."