Whoa—
The hatch of the Machine God's true form, which had only just sealed moments ago, burst open once again. Shiomi, who had been bound inside, was ejected outward like a discarded time bomb, hurled from within.
Aphrodite could no longer contain Shiomi's presence. Continuing to keep him within her true form would have plunged her entire system into a severe logical malfunction.
"…That damned Goddess Tiamat… to go so far as to shield a mere human…"
Aphrodite burned with fury, yet there was nothing she could do.
The gap in their fundamental standing had already decided the outcome of this encounter in the Sea of Mind. The moment Aphrodite was dragged into it, victory and defeat had been settled.
By forcibly analyzing and rewriting Shiomi's psyche, Aphrodite had inadvertently come into contact with Tiamat's consciousness, something far beyond the scope she could interfere with. As a result, the Machine God's true form fell into a temporary overheated state.
"A mother protecting her child is only natural," Shiomi said, floating in midair as he slowly lifted his head. "The Aphrodite of Proper Human History was the mother of the Roman ancestors. Even if none of this had happened, the Crypters should have told you that already, shouldn't they?"
"…"
Aphrodite was left speechless.
Before Chaldea's arrival, she had already held more than one exchange with Kirschtaria and the Crypters he had gathered. She knew about the Aphrodite of Proper Human History.
But knowing was all it amounted to.
From beginning to end, the Aphrodite of the Lostbelt had only ever set foot on the path of the forging god Hephaestus. She was nowhere near as emotionally rich as her Proper Human History counterpart.
"But all of that is meaningless," Shiomi continued calmly. "I have no intention of seeking understanding with a Lostbelt god at a time like this."
He slowly extended his hand and grasped the divine spear Gungnir.
"After all, unlike Demeter, there won't even be any resonance between your authority and mine."
Below them, the thunderclouds continued to churn violently. Zeus had originally believed that the moment Shiomi approached Aphrodite, he would be swallowed by her authority and enslaved. That was why Zeus had refrained from attacking after Shiomi broke through several thousand meters of thunderclouds.
Yet now, the exact opposite result was unfolding before his eyes.
Zeus had no choice but to immediately move to provide support. Even if all the other Olympian gods were lost, as long as he himself emerged victorious, this world could still continue to prosper. Even so, he had no intention of abandoning Aphrodite.
One god after another under his command had been struck down by the same man. That fact alone was the greatest possible affront to Zeus's divine authority.
For that reason, Zeus could not tolerate Shiomi's continued actions.
Countless bolts of lightning shot forth from the thunderclouds below, racing toward Shiomi and enclosing him in a ceaseless barrage of attacks.
This, in turn, bought Aphrodite the time she needed to recover from her overloaded state.
"Code name: Pandemos. Input confirmed. Enemy sentient lifeform confirmed. Psionic intelligence station, initiate."
『Thou, Star Disrupting Emotion』 (Mind Hack Mycenae). "I'll tear that heart to pieces!"
As her Machine God state recovered from the overload caused by Tiamat, Aphrodite once again activated her Noble Phantasm. The three massive crystalline structures of her true body rapidly drew in mana.
This was no mere mental assault. It was a colossal attack on a scale rivaling Demeter's Noble Phantasm.
All of that power was concentrated into a single point, aimed squarely at the man surrounded by lightning before her.
Fall. Powerless, without the strength to resist.
Carrying that intent, Aphrodite released the true name of her Noble Phantasm.
"In the name of my god, I swear this oath, and make a wish for the stars to fall three times. I am not the great power of the Throne of Gods. Everything I do is for the sake of reclaiming the future that belongs to humanity. Even if thunder strikes me down, this blow will never miss its mark...
"Fall to the earth, Aphrodite! 『Great God Proclamation·Dawn of Divinity』 (Ragnarok Gungnir)!"
A radiance as dazzling as the morning star tore through the curtain of lightning. At the instant Aphrodite fired her Noble Phantasm, Gungnir flew from Shiomi's hand.
Even without the ritual assistance that had brought down Artemis, at this close range it was already more than enough to bring down Aphrodite.
Aphrodite's Noble Phantasm, a mass of high-density mana gathered by the three true-body crystals, was split down the middle the moment it met Gungnir.
The divine spear surged forward like a fish swimming upstream against a raging current. It was slow, but unstoppable, as it pierced straight through Aphrodite's Noble Phantasm.
"No... no... no, no, no! I... a god... how could I be beaten by a mere human...!"
Staring at the spearhead closing in, Aphrodite let out a hoarse, frantic cry.
Even now, she refused to admit it. The man before her was human, and yet not human. He stood on the boundary between man and god, a new deity fighting for humanity.
The divine spear, like a meteor streaking through the night, pierced Aphrodite's true form, punching through and shattering her divine core.
The immense Machine God true form began to collapse and disperse the moment it was pierced. She couldn't even revert to a human shape. Aphrodite could only watch as she dissolved.
After enduring countless bolts of lightning, and focusing everything on that Noble Phantasm strike, Shiomi had still managed to throw a single blow that could kill a god.
He smiled in satisfaction, then the force holding him aloft gave out, and he began to fall.
The lightning had grown ever more violent. It wouldn't take his life, but the accumulated damage had already reached a troublesome level. Once his vision was swallowed by the thunderclouds, Shiomi could no longer see how Aphrodite fell.
The next instant, a massive shockwave exploded outward. The blast caused by the true body's dissipation even tore apart the storm clouds Zeus had been using to rain down thunder.
By sheer coincidence, it helped Shiomi as well. At least, until he hit the ground, the lightning's assault would ease.
He raised a hand and caught Gungnir as it returned to him. His fingers and his entire body were already numb.
It really was Zeus, a chief god who, like Odin, bore the title of a great god. Fighting him would surely be even harsher.
With that thought, Shiomi plunged from ten thousand meters up. A fall that would have reduced a human to pulp merely smashed a crater several dozen meters deep and wide into the earth.
He had landed in the forested region between the western and southern sectors of the Interstellar City.
Clutching his aching body, Shiomi, dust-caked and battered, struggled to his feet and coughed up a little blood. The grievous wounds from the impact healed in just a few breaths. What remained was the toll this battle had taken.
If only Zeus hadn't gotten in the way...
"Surviving a fall from that height and still not dying. Impressive."
A voice rang out, unfamiliar yet strangely familiar.
Shiomi lifted his eyes and saw a pink-haired woman standing at the edge of the crater, studying him with a hint of amusement.
"Looks like you're severely spent now, Mr. Shiomi of Chaldea. Like meat on a cutting board, ready for anyone to carve up. Or would it be more appropriate to call you Your Majesty, the God King?"
"Koyanskaya..."