Under the gaze of countless onlookers—
The so-called Sun God exploded, transformed into a colossal, never-before-seen firework of light.
That radiant bloom was so vast that even those thousands of miles away could see the night sky illuminated without the need for a broadcast.
People poured from their homes, or pressed to windows, stunned into silence as the heavens shone.
The oppressive weight of the pantheons had hung over humanity like a mountain, smothering all hope of resistance. Against gods who looked down upon mortals, no ordinary person could believe victory possible.
But now—before the eyes of all—one of those "gods" had been annihilated. The Sun God was erased by the orbital cannons of the Orbital Great Wall.
The sense of despair was shattered. What had seemed untouchable was now proven mortal.
====
In Fuyuki City's grand hotel—
Mordred stood on the balcony, staring at the sky in shock.
"Incredible… he truly has regained the power he wielded as Lostbelt King!"
She remembered well the confrontation within the Lostbelt. The First Emperor had been holding back.
From the countless heroes of his Hero Repository, he had summoned only two heroic spirit.
From the Great Wall of the Stars, he had dropped but a fragment as a meteor strike.
Now, seeing the orbital batteries truly unleashed—her blood ran cold.
Even a god-ship of the Council of Gods had been erased in an instant.
Artoria's expression hardened.
"To wield the Orbital Great Wall as a Noble Phantasm… his strength now exceeds anything we had imagined."
Originally, the power of Heroic Spirits was meant to stand in rough parity. But to hold dominion as a Lostbelt King was to stand on a different plane altogether.
She thought of the legends: of the first wielder of the holy sword, who over fourteen millennia ago struck down a Vanguard—
That monstrosity had swept through West and East alike, devastating divine pantheons, forcing the Olympian gods themselves to abandon their star-forged vessels and take refuge within Earth's myths.
Only the First Sword of the Stars had stemmed that tide.
The Great Wall of the Stars was built across centuries for such an enemy—an entire civilization's bulwark against extinction.
Gawain, basking in sunlight, nevertheless felt chilled to the marrow.
"Erased… the Sun God was erased."
His epithet was the Knight of the Sun. His holy blade drew upon solar might. Yet the Council of Gods solar dreadnought had been shattered in moments.
He could only laugh bitterly—first Nameless stealing the light of Tamamo-Nine, now the First Emperor erasing the Sun God.
Did fate itself conspire against the sun?
Mordred asked,
"Just how strong are those cannons?"
Gawain answered gravely:
"A single shot is weaker than the main cannon of that god-ship, but equal to my own blade at full strength."
Mordred's eyes went wide.
"Then that last barrage… was like hundreds of you unleashing your strongest strikes all at once?!"
Hundreds of Gawains, each at full solar resonance—an absurdity beyond imagining. No wonder the god-ship had been melted away.
Elsewhere—
The Council of Gods reeled.
The Moon Goddess screamed,
"No! This cannot be! Jace!"
The Goddess of Wisdom faltered, unable to calculate what she was seeing.
The Lord of the Underworld bellowed, his voice echoing like thunder:
"Shikotei! You dare to strike us?! I will tear your soul apart and cast it into eternal flame!"
Their plan had been simple: subjugate the First Emperor and Nameless, claim dominion over Earth, enthrone themselves as the only true divinities.
But their "Sun God" had been erased before their very eyes.
Shikotei's voice rang out, calm yet inexorable:
"Between heaven and earth, humanity must establish its own law. You false gods are but thieves—your time is over."
The cannons of the Orbital Great Wall glowed once more, a thousand barrels brimming with apocalyptic light.
At that moment, Sanjiro raised his hand. In his grasp formed a weapon viewers remembered from the previous Lostbelt—
The Bow and Arrows of Hou Yi.
Though his one true Sun-Shooting Arrow had been spent, he now smiled and spoke:
"In my name, with the power of the sun itself—let a new arrow be forged!"
Behind him manifested an enormous forge, hammers striking iron, sparks like stars across the void.
He drew upon a skill learned from Tamamo-Nine herself—her divine smithcraft, surpassing even the gods. And from the lingering blaze of the fallen Sun God, he fed the flames of his forge.
The Council of Gods howled in outrage.
"Blasphemy! You dare to use our own essence to forge the weapon that will slay us?!"
But Sanjiro only worked faster, his forge consuming the broken sun, shaping it into a single shaft of lethal brilliance.
And the world watched—every broadcast camera locked, the Orbital Great Wall itself ensuring the feed remained unbroken—as the weapon that once felled suns was reforged before their eyes.
…
Down below in Academy City.
Tamamo-no-Mae's blood pressure spiked instantly. "That bastard Nameless, he really dared to do it!"
She hadn't forgotten—in the Lostbelt, it was she who had her solar power stripped away by that same Sun-Shooting Arrow.
As one of the Evils of Humanity, her Authority was "to forge every killing tool mankind could create" and "to push every human-made weapon to its ultimate extreme."
She was a living embodiment of the God of Weapon, the apex of destructive craftsmanship.
And yet—
Nameless had taken that very Authority, learned it from her, and used it against her to defeat her!
It was humiliating beyond words. She'd practically been reduced to an EXP piñata, existing solely to hand him power-ups.
After that farce, the internet dubbed her the most useless of the Human Evils. A walking embarrassment.
Now, Nameless had once again forged the Sun-Shooting Arrow before the eyes of the world, reenacting the same spectacle and publicly executing her reputation all over again!
"Unbelievable… that orbital artillery wall of his—it's almost on par with Artoria herself…" murmured Merry, eyes fixed on the gleaming cannons of the Great Wall in space.
As Artoria's teacher, she knew exactly how terrifying her power could be.
Put simply: with the revival of Shikotei's Lostbelt strength, one blast from the orbital wall was no weaker than Artoria unleashing Excalibur at full power.
If not for Artoria's explosive growth in strength after her exposure during the Sacred Round Table Domain incident, she might truly have been flattened by a single volley.
Merry let out a long breath. "Good thing we didn't provoke the First Emperor. Otherwise, we'd be in serious trouble."
After all, this vixen had once schemed to snatch Nameless away right in front of the Emperor, planning to lock him in her dungeon for… "private lessons."
Now? She could only be glad she hadn't acted on that whim.
Otherwise, she wouldn't just have lost a tail as compensation—her entire fox pelt might have been turned into a fur coat.
"…Agreed," Tamamo admitted bitterly, even as her fury simmered. Still, a thread of relief lingered.
In a sense, the Council of Gods had done her a favor.
Let them clash. Let them bleed each other dry. She could play the patient sparrow, swooping in to reap the spoils.
And her eyes gleamed with desire—for the solar might of the fallen Sun God.
If she could claim it, she could grow an eighth, perhaps even a ninth tail. The true Golden Fur Nine-Tailed Fox would be reborn.
Under the eyes of all, Nameless coolly absorbed the Sun God's shattered essence and forged new Sun-Shooting Arrows.
Not just one—ten of them!
He had woven them through the concept of "Shooting Down the Nine Suns", binding that myth with the stolen solar divinity to create a new arsenal.
Hummm—
At that moment, the Moon Goddess moved. Her brother had been obliterated by the Great Wall's cannons, her grief twisting into wrath.
But her target was not the First Emperor.
It was Nameless.
The Sun God's warship had embodied pure destructive power, raw solar annihilation.
The Moon Goddess's ship was different—built for the perfect hunt, the ultimate assassination strike.
Artemis, after all, bore the Divine Authority of the Hunt—the same source of the blessing that Nameless had once received.
Hummm—
Silver moonlight blossomed across the sky, a radiant full moon materializing in orbit.
The Moon Goddess's main cannon glowed softly, but the light it shed was deathly cold.
And then—
An anomaly struck.
Just as the warship prepared to fire, it froze.
Shikotei, who had not so much as lifted a finger, allowed himself a faint smile. "So, even these so-called gods still serve a purpose."
For the truth was clear: the one interfering was none other than the real Artemis.
The Council of Gods gaped in shock.
The Olympian machine-shells had long since been hollowed out, their original divine souls gone. How could Artemis exert influence over them?
The Goddess of Wisdom narrowed her eyes.
"Impossible…"
According to their calculations, they were the true Olympians now. The old gods were obsolete, incapable of manifestation.
And yet—here Artemis was, affecting the vessel directly.
The implication was terrifying: could the old gods seize their bodies back?
The Goddess of Love hesitated.
"It… it might be because of love?"
Only such an incomprehensible force could bypass every boundary.
"No! Machines cannot feel love. And besides—those machine-gods abandoned their forms fourteen thousand years ago when the Vanguard defeated them. Nameless can't possibly be the First Sword, can he?" The Goddess of Wisdom snapped back, clinging to cold data.
To her, numbers never lied.
And yet—Artemis' affection was undeniable.
The Goddess of Love whispered, almost incredulous, "Her love reached across time itself… across worlds. It was enough."
Still, it wasn't enough to halt the Moon Goddess's will entirely.
The warship's voice shifted, now speaking with Artemis' true tone:
"Nameless… the fleeting moments we shared felt like an entire lifetime. You came with the stars, and now you fade with them. It makes me ache. With every sunrise, I long for the night's return."
From the ground, Athena muttered,
"She can breach the walls between worlds. Nameless, beware."
The true goddess had descended.
Sanjiro blinked. "…Artemis?"
He had never imagined this. That a god who could not incarnate would possess the machine.
But her love was not warming—it was suffocating.
That innocent-seeming girl was, in truth, utterly deranged. A yandere goddess who sought only to cage him forever.
He remembered: she and Apollo had once even plotted to divide him between them.
Athena sighed. "I don't understand her either. Perhaps… that is love."
But this "love" was a blade in disguise.
Because to Artemis, love meant the hunt. Her partner must endure her arrows, even return the strike, so that their deaths would bind them together.
"To be hunted, and to hunt in return—that is true love."
Otherwise, only death awaited.
BOOM!
The Moon Goddess's cannon gathered lunar radiance, erupting as a silver death-ray that lanced toward Nameless.
At the same time, he drew back his bow. "Fine. As you wish. If you love me—then die for me!"
Mercy had no place here.
The Sun-Shooting Bow was drawn to its limit.
Nine arrows fused into one.
All of the Sun God's essence poured into it, igniting into a miniature sun.
SHOOOM—
The arrow soared upward, a radiant star in flight, colliding head-on with the moonlight cannon.
Light devoured light.
The solar arrow burned through the lunar ray, ripped it apart, and surged onward.
It struck home—ramming into the Moon God's primary gun barrel.
BOOOOOOM!
The Sun-Shooting Arrow exploded inside the Moon Goddess battleship.
No matter how strong a fortress was, it couldn't withstand an explosion from within.
The entire battleship was completely blown apart.
A new miniature sun bloomed in the heavens, its light illuminating the entire sky.
The second false deity had fallen!
For a moment, the battlefield fell silent.
Everyone just stared blankly at Nameless, bow drawn and arrow released—
HungryGames-[Holy shit, Nameless sniped the Moon Goddess in a shootout, and actually blew up the Moon God's battleship?!]
AlayaRiggedThisShit-["Only by killing each other can we have an equal love"—yep, that's the yandere Moon Goddess for you. Nameless really got the short end of the stick being her target…]
YoMamaBeenSlobbin-[It's only been a few minutes, and already two Council of Gods have fallen. Are they really about to be wiped out?]
HungryGames-[Nameless and the First Emperor, go all the way—slaughter every last one of these false gods!]
Arashimoto-[Hero Arash gives you a like—wait no, a dislike. Why aren't you dead after using that shot?!]
====
Greece.
Medea pouted, pointing at the livestream:
"Your goddess just exploded!"
"..."
Atalanta suddenly didn't know how to respond.
Before the eyes of the world, Nameless had exchanged fire with the Moon Goddess—and succeeded in blowing her up.
As a devotee of the Moon Goddess, even knowing that the one destroyed was only a false god wielding her power, her feelings were… complicated.
Congratulate Nameless? But he'd just blown up her goddess.
Hate him? But that was just a fake.
Medea's eyes gleamed:
"The Moon Goddess… seems rather interesting."
This goddess felt a lot like her. If they ever met, Medea thought they might have much to discuss.
Someone who disregarded everything, ignored the eyes of the world, and followed her will to the end.
Even if it meant crossing time and space itself, she still descended—just to hunt you.
Yes, this goddess was like her: a witch through and through.
"Moon Goddess-sama…"
Atalanta whispered softly.
She could clearly tell that in those final moments, it was the true Artemis, the genuine Moon Goddess, who had taken control of the battleship.
A goddess who had always demanded her followers remain as pure as she, the eternal virgin goddess…
And yet, when her followers were prepared to fight to the death, why did the goddess herself surrender first?
Then again—if her goddess defected, shouldn't she, as leader of the FFF Brigade, follow her example and betray her single-witch comrades?
No… this wasn't betrayal. This was answering the goddess's call!
But wait—if she and her goddess both tried to snatch Nameless, could she really win against Artemis?
Atalanta clenched her fists tightly. The future suddenly seemed very bleak.
As her goddess's devotee, she was hopelessly suppressed.
Unless… they shared?
While she wrestled with such thoughts, high above—
With both the Sun God and Moon Goddess fallen, the once-dominant deities were suddenly shaken and enraged.
Never had they expected the First Emperor and Nameless together to wield power capable of threatening their very lives.
Goddess of Wisdom said without hesitation:
"Everyone—we must unite. We cannot allow them to pick us off one by one!"
The two who'd fallen had fought alone—that was what gave their enemies the chance.
If they wanted to suppress the First Emperor and Nameless, only the united gods could succeed.
The remaining nine Councilors gathered together, preparing to fight in unison.
At that moment—
Shikotei smiled calmly:
"More numbers, you say? It seems we have more than you."
He deliberately shifted the broadcast feed toward the mechanical body of Epang Palace.
Before the world's eyes, a hole split open at its center.
Its true interior was revealed for the first time—
A real, fully formed little world!
Shikotei's personal Reality Marble—
[Supreme Great Empire]!
Unlike Sanjiro's barren Unlimited Blade Works, this Reality Marble contained mountains, rivers, and lakes.
And within it, the legendary—
[Hero Repository]!
Those who had once appeared in the Lostbelt, once living, had long since become true Heroic Spirits through the shifting of time.
One after another, Heroic Spirits emerged, instantly doubling the number of Heroic Spirits!
Not only that—
The Twelve Metal Colossi that had once cut down the Fantasy Tree also strode forth.
They were true battle-mechs, massively boosting their pilots.
Kou couldn't hold back his excitement:
"Your Majesty, we have long awaited this day!"
"At last, a chance to fight—and against gods, no less. Magnificent!" Ryofu Hōsen bellowed, battle lust blazing.
Behind them, countless famed generals stood in line.
An entire legion made of Heroic Spirits!
The Lord of the Underworld snarled in fury:
"This is impossible! How could you have so many Heroic Spirits?!"
Other nations had at most a dozen.
Even them, hegemon of the world for centuries, only had a handful.
And all of theirs were science-based Heroic Spirits—not one true hero from history.
So why did they have so many?
Komei lightly waved his feather fan, his expression mocking:
"Why not? You are nothing but bandits who stole the lands of natives. What history do you have?"
"We are humanity's true beacon, bringing them hope and freedom!" The Lord of the Underworld snapped without hesitation.
"Heh. You looted the remnants of Olympus, slaughtered innocents—and you claim to bring hope?"
Komei's tone sharpened:
"Now you brazenly proclaim yourselves mankind's guardians, while seeking to stand above all and usurp the throne of God. Treacherous usurpers, steeped in sin—we will not tolerate you!!"
"You… peasant, you dare—"
The Lord of the Underworld's fury burned as a so-called god was publicly denounced.
He raised his hand, intent on striking him down.
"Silence! Shameless old thief!" Komei cut him off without hesitation.
"Do you not know that the people of the world would gladly tear your flesh? How dare you prattle here? By fortune, we have not been abandoned. The First Emperor has returned. We raise our banners to smite the traitors. You, brigands who pillage and murder without end, dare bark before our army? When you fall to Hell, what dignity will you have to show your so-called God?"
His words rang with fury.
The Lord of the Underworld's finger trembled, pointing at him:
"We gods are eternal! I am Hades itself, ruler of death—"
"Heh. You false gods dare claim to guard mankind, while only ever plundering and invading, never once accomplishing merit!"
Komei's anger grew sharper:
"Mere criminals, false gods steeped in evil—how dare you bark before the Emperor's might? Never have I seen such shamelessness!"
"You! You!!"
Humiliated before all, the Lord of the Underworld roared, unable to endure it:
"Cursed human! I will grant you true death!"
That a mere mortal dared to scorn him—unforgivable!
He immediately maneuvered his battleship, breaking away from the other gods.
Vmmm—
Gray-white light blazed from the vessel.
The power of [Death] burst forth at full strength, an endless Hell manifesting around it, as if to swallow all life.
The world itself threatened to be dragged into the underworld!
This was the authority of Hades—enough to erase humanity with ease.
The Goddess of Wisdom instinctively tried to stop him:
"Don't go alone!"
But it was too late.
The battleship accelerated too fast, breaking from their formation in an instant.
Before the Lord of the Underworld could unleash his annihilating death strike—Above, the Great Wall Orbital Cannon lit up once more.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Massive beams of destruction converged, raining down upon him.
The distant, dazzling power swallowed him whole.
In that moment of peril, the Lord of the Underworld hastily deployed his Reality Marble, enduring a barrage to force his way free of the blast zone.
But as he emerged—
Before him stood twelve towering colossi, each a hundred meters tall.
The Twelve Metal Giants forged from the weapons of the world by the First Emperor.
Now, with twelve mighty Heroic Spirits piloting them, their power had skyrocketed.
Kou brandished his massive halberd, tens of meters long:
"Mountainous Power and Matchless Valor—die!"
His overwhelming might crashed into the enemy, slamming the Hades battleship down.
Ryofu Hōsen, also piloting a colossus, thrust his spear.
The strike carried terrifying force, piercing clean through the vessel.
"Cursed mortals! Do you really think you can oppose me?!" The Lord of the Underworld howled.
Had he not already endured the orbital cannon's bombardment, he could have crushed these Heroic Spirits at will!
Gray-white death surged outward, seeking to erase them.
But it was useless.
They were piloting the Twelve Giants—soulless constructs, immune to the power of death!
At that moment—
A massive figure rushed upward.
"Heroes never fade!"
Zilong thrust his spear, piercing the enemy straight through its rear and cruelly twisting the weapon inside, breaking through all defenses.
"Now—!" roared Kan'u.
His Green Dragon Crescent Blade suddenly expanded, swelling to over a hundred meters in length—a true warship-slaying weapon.
With a single swing, he cleaved through the [Hades] warship's main cannon, nearly slicing the vessel in half.
"No!!"
The Lord of the Underworld let out a terrified scream.
With the coordinated assault of the Heroic Spirits controlling the Twelve Golden Men, the so-called god had no chance to resist.
He was hacked apart on the spot.
The third god—had fallen.
…
Sanjiro exhaled lightly.
"Pathetic."
These so-called gods were merely humans wielding divine power.
They lacked the will to match their strength.
If they had been true gods, they wouldn't have been provoked by Komei's taunts into breaking ranks and attacking alone.
Then again… Greek gods were much the same.
Perhaps it was hereditary?
Sanjiro recalled their notorious pettiness—for unlike the guardians born of human prayers, the Greek deities were filled with humanlike vices, ruled by lust and whims.
Like Zeus, who would bed anything with a hole. The very definition of if there's a hole, there is a goal.
Ah. That explained everything.
With a third god slain, the Council of Gods had fallen into panic.
Counting the earlier loss of the God of War, one-third of the Twelve Councilors were already gone.
In desperation, the God-King gave his command without hesitation:
"Sea God, God of Forge, Goddess of Harvest, Goddess of Wisdom—engage together!"
"Yes!"
Three responded at once.
Among the remaining deities:
The Goddess of Wisdom excelled at buffs and support.
The Goddess of Harvest functioned as supply and healer.
The Goddess of Love specialized in intelligence gathering.
Only the three named could still fight directly—along with the God-King himself, the flagship.
At his order, the Sea God unleashed the full might of Ocean and Storm.
To the east of Fuyuki, the sea churned into chaos.
A monstrous cyclone formed, large enough to shred the entire city.
He cared nothing for human lives.
The million ordinary people of Fuyuki would become his hostages, preventing the First Emperor and Nameless from attacking freely.
Shikotei's voice rang cold:
"I will not permit your insolence."
Behind him, a radiant golden dragon appeared—the Dragon of Human Order itself.
He summoned it with all his strength, manifesting as a colossal wall of light stretching hundreds of kilometers, shielding the coastline.
The orbital batteries of the Great Wall, cooled and ready, unleashed their fury once more.
BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.
Thousands of dazzling beams rained down, targeting the Sea God's vessel.
"Help me!" cried the Sea GOd, panicked under the storm of light.
Not even his power, which surpassed the Sun God, could withstand such overwhelming force.
"I will shield you!" declared the God of Forge.
His ship burned with fire, shaping itself into an immense shield.
Wielding dominion over Flame and Forge, he was the strongest defender among them—meant to tank the hardest blows.
Yet even his shield strained under the barrage of orbital cannons.
"By my name, I grant you unbreakable strength. Victory shall be yours!" shouted the Goddess of Wisdom, expending vast divine energy.
Her power over Victory verged on destiny itself—a force even the God-King treated with caution.
"By my name, I grant you endless renewal!" cried the Goddess of Wisdom, pouring healing energy into the shield.
So long as it wasn't utterly annihilated, she could restore it.
Together, the four gods managed to hold against Shikotei's barrage.
"First Emperor! You will bury all of Fuyuki in ruins—this is your fault for resisting us!"
The Sea God laughed madly.
"Divine judgment! Behold the end!"
His Ocean and Storm were among the most destructive forces imaginable.
Most of humanity's cities stood on the coasts—and the Dragon of Human Order drew its strength from mankind's faith.
If he could brand the Emperor as an unstoppable terror, carving despair into the hearts of humanity, then the Dragon of Human Order would collapse—and with it, the Great Wall in orbit.
At that instant, he caught sight of Nameless on Fuyuki Bridge, bow drawn once more.
"Hah! You've exhausted the Sun God's essence," the Sea God sneered. "You can't threaten me anymore."
Earlier, Nameless had only managed to slay the Moon Goddess by consuming the Sun God's core to empower his shot.
But now, that fuel was gone.
How could he harm him?
"I am humanity's protector," Sanjiro's eyes blazed. "False god—if you would strike at innocents, then I will strike you down."
He saw clearly: the Sea God intended to use a million human lives as leverage, the ultimate weapon to bind his hands.
"You're broken, crippled—you can't possibly defeat me!" the Sea God laughed. "Nameless, watch helplessly as Fuyuki burns—there's nothing you can do!"
"Oh? You're certain?" Sanjiro's voice dripped with scorn.
If he had his full strength, one strike would be enough.
Even now, half-crippled, he could still kill him.
He only needed one weapon.
From atop a streetlamp, a golden figure smirked.
"My dear friend… only now do you remember me? Did you truly think I would lend my treasure so easily?"
"So—are you lending it or not?" Sanjiro rolled his eyes.
The man on the lamp was unmistakable.
The golden king himself.
There was no way he wouldn't notice a battle this loud.
But of course, he had to make it dramatic.
And no, he was not some shy maiden.
Gilgamesh's lips curled.
"Annoying as it is, when the gods dare challenge me, I cannot ignore it."
"Hero King, think carefully—stand with him, and you stand against all of us!" the Sea God warned.
This was no idle threat. Gilgamesh was one of the most powerful Heroic Spirits of all—the very king who had banished Tiamat in the Absolute Demonic Front.
"Oh? You dare to tell me what to do?"
His crimson eyes burned with loathing.
Once enslaved by gods as their puppet, he had never forgiven them.
With a hum, golden ripples opened at his side.
From the Gate of Babylon, he drew forth the sword of rending.
Ea, the Sword of Rupture.
Gilgamesh tossed it toward Sanjiro.
"My dearest friend, if you die this time, I promise to dance and sing at your grave!"
The Council of Gods had come to oppress.
As one of mankind's guardians, Sanjiro could not turn away.
But with his body still broken, only a weapon of true might could allow him to prevail.
Otherwise, he would be forced to sacrifice himself to forge one.
That was why Gilgamesh came.
To ensure his friend did not throw his life away.
"Don't worry," Sanjiro muttered, exasperated.
"If anyone's dying here, it won't be me."
One day, he swore, he'd spike that golden bastard's drink with genderbending potion, lock him in a dark room, and teach him some humility.
Wait... that came out wr—
Buzz!
Behind him, a colossal dragon's silhouette materialized—
[Platinum Dragon!]
Earlier, when Shikotei had bestowed upon him the title of "Imperial Teacher," his very being became linked with the empire's destiny and the collective will of its people.
Now, further strengthened by Shikotei as the Dragon of Human Order, that connection deepened.
From the spectral dragon's vast form came the indistinct roar of countless voices, a chorus of human will.
It was the cry for peace, the rejection of tyranny, the burning hatred toward false gods.
That boundless yearning and fury condensed into surging magical energy, flooding into his body like an explosion.
The torrent of power was compressed to its utmost limit and channeled into the Sword of Rupture.
Sanjiro raised his gaze toward the Poseidon-class battleship looming in the sky, then slashed with all his might:
"Arrogant pretender… behold how you are torn asunder!"
[Enuma Elish — The Star of Creation That Split Heaven and Earth!]
A blinding, blood-red radiance erupted, transforming into a massive column of light that roared toward the Poseidon councilor.
The divine storm was ripped apart as if it were nothing before the Sword of Rupture's world-severing edge.
"No! Stop!"
The Poseidon councilor's horrified roar echoed out.
The ship's defenses were utterly incapable of withstanding that strike.
Crack!
The scarlet blade of light sheared through the warship's hull as though slicing paper, detonations bursting one after another as the vessel was hurled back.
It crashed into the Hephaestus-class ship that had been maintaining the defense line against the orbital cannons.
Unable to endure the blow, its shield collapsed.
Thousands of orbital cannon beams rained down in unison, engulfing the four councilors in a cage of annihilation.
Their screams were swallowed within the storm of light.
This time—
Sanjiro, wielding the King of Heroes' Sword of Rupture, joined forces with Shikotei's orbital barrage, the two pressing from above and below like a divine vice—slaughtering four of the false gods in one strike.
Brilliant blossoms of destruction flared across the heavens, leaving countless onlookers stunned into silence.
====
In the skies above, where once the fleet had loomed with overwhelming might, half their number had been eradicated in less than thirty minutes.
Even if the survivors fled, the so-called Council of Gods would be forever broken, trampled beneath the feet of their enemies.
But Sanjiro frowned.
"…Strange. Why hasn't the God-King made a single move?"
As the Council of Gods' strongest, there was no reason for him to remain idle.
Just then, the God-King burst into booming laughter.
"Nameless! First Emperor! My thanks for crushing these traitors on my behalf!"
"…What?" Shikotei's eyes narrowed.
Was the man insane?
Before their eyes, the shattered battleships' remnants—crystalline god-cores, each the equivalent of a divine soul—rose into the air and were drawn into the God-King's grasp.
Even his companions—the Queen of Olympus, the Hearth Goddess, and the Goddess of Love—stood paralyzed, their god-cores forcibly ripped from their bodies and pulled to his hand.
The God-King roared with laughter.
"I am Zeus—the almighty who rules the sky, the one who commands all that exists beneath the heavens!"
He sought to devour Olympus itself, seizing every divine authority—sky, sea, earth, death—becoming a god who reigned supreme over all creation.