Words are light, and words are power.
Seiya could clearly feel the formless constraints growing ever stronger. However, he did not bow his head. Instead, he abruptly raised it, his pitch-black eyes staring directly at the lofty Zeus, the corner of his mouth twisting into an exaggerated arc. "Is this your final trump card? Gathering a bunch of old, weak, sick, and disabled gods, plus a few broken chains? You old fool!"
"Don't get it twisted, Pegasus!"
Zeus sensed the ferocious nature within Seiya, which, despite being suppressed layer by layer, still surged like an erupting volcano. A smile befitting the God King finally appeared on his face. "This is a miniature garden that indulges us gods in our play! It is only natural that gods should govern heaven and earth and establish the rules! It is you Godslayers, who wield the power to slay gods, who are the true beasts of defiance!"
This time, He did not retreat! The power of the God of the End surged, bolstered by the world itself, as He took the initiative to launch a furious assault on the heavily bound Seiya! Because at this moment, among all the gods present, only He, the God King, could barely contend with Seiya in his greatly suppressed state, buying crucial time for the nine Muses who were all-out chanting the final incantation!
Zeus's gaze quickly flickered toward the Muses, the goddesses of poetry and art.
There were nine Muses in total. They recited poetry, sang, passed down history, and chanted epics, thereby spreading the deeds of gods and heroes, the stories and rules of the world, to all corners of creation. Their very words contained a powerful defining force!
At this moment, the nine Muses, as goddesses of poetry, spoke in unison with ethereal and solemn voices, like a choir singing a holy hymn. Their words transformed into golden runes, merging into the rules of Tartarus:
"The beast of defiance slays the gods, seizing their sacred flesh and immortal souls for its own. A person who commits such a heinous blasphemy... shall acquire the very power that makes a god a god—namely, an Authority!"
"Which is to say, the right to challenge the gods."
"No matter how you harm it, no matter the blow you deal, it will survive like an immortal demon, becoming an even more valiant warrior, a more terrible foe—submit once more to fate, Godslayer!"
As this final incantation was fully declared, a secret rite originating from the core of the God's Domain, specifically targeting Godslayers, was completely formed! Even the Victorious Fighting Buddha God Cloth dimmed for a moment!
He could clearly feel that the power of the Authorities he had seized and fused through countless god-slaying battles was being forcibly suppressed and imprisoned by an invisible hand. Faced with this joint ritual of the gods, his power level was instantly crushed to an unprecedented low.
BOOM!!!
The Pegasus Meteor Fist, a golden torrent that could once destroy heaven and earth, now produced a dull, heavy thud as it collided with the scepter in Zeus's hand, which was wreathed in the lightning of the end!
The difference in power was starkly clear for the first time!
Zeus laughed maniacally, finally feeling that, in terms of raw power, he could completely overwhelm this beast of defiance, now that its fangs had been pulled!
"Lightning—gather in my hand!!!"
Zeus roared, the lightning of the end converging in his palm to form a spear of destructive light. With a momentum that could crush all before it, he viciously stabbed down at the heavily bound and suppressed Seiya!
Athena only half-believed Stella's words.
Compared to the talk of Cosmo and other-world systems, as the war goddess of the God's Domain, she knew far better just how powerful this secret rite was.
It was time for the goddess to save Pegasus!
Stella watched Athena's resolute departing figure, a meaningful arc hooking her lips. Her form transformed into a brilliant rainbow, flying up towards the now-ruined remnants of Olympus.
Athena, however, plunged like a falling silver star, rushing headlong into the all-devouring abyss—Tartarus!
She, too, traversed the chaotic, shattered Underworld. The sights along the way were horrifying:
The ley lines of the earth, torn asunder by the terrifying collision between Seiya and Zeus, were gushing scorching magma like bleeding wounds; the bronze gates of lamentation, meticulously forged by Poseidon to mark the border of the Underworld, were now twisted scrap metal; the triple dark veil symbolizing despair and imprisonment had been violently pierced through.
Athena's heart burned with anxiety as she raced onward, until a powerful throb originating from her connection with Pegasus forced her to a dead stop—
—Ahead, she once again witnessed the sight of all the gods and buddhas.
The Fates and the Muses chanted their incantations in high-pitched song, Apollo drew his bow, Artemis activated her hunting permit, Eris cast down curses... The gods' banquet was slowly being opened by the God of Wine, and at the very forefront was Zeus of the End.
Zeus laughed wildly and leaped into the air.
He raised the scepter named Lightning high, the Authority of the God of the End pushing him beyond his limits. The power of all the gods accompanied him.
He saw the Saint at the center of the banquet, the Cloth upon him no longer dazzlingly brilliant.
His left hand wielded the lightning that controlled the heavens, his right, the fate-severing Hades.
Zeus slammed both hands down.
What the gods saw was a look of panic in his eyes.
"Namu—!"
Seiya uttered the true word, his hands forming the Dharmachakra Mudra. This was the hand gesture used by the Buddha Shakyamuni when he first preached the Dharma long ago.
The index fingers and thumbs of both hands touched, while the other three fingers were slightly bent, held before his chest.
Whether it was Zeus's lightning or the other gods' attacks, they all slowed as they neared him, eventually dissolving into nothingness. All that remained was the Saint at the center of the banquet, his entire body radiating golden light.
The Victorious Fighting Buddha Authority from the Prometheus Slate was, this time, completely fused into the Victorious Fighting Buddha God Cloth.
The Eighth Sense, Arayashiki, awakened once more within Seiya's will.
At the very center of this chaos, Seiya suddenly felt the power within him fall silent, but at the same time, another, far grander will was born from within his body.
He opened his eyes again. One finger pointed to the heavens, the other to the earth.
"—In the heavens and on the earth, I alone am the honored one."
This will enveloped the entire world. Even the gods felt an instinctual fear, for even Tartarus itself was trembling.
Only Zeus still charged forward. "Hmph, I am Zeus, the God King!"
He recklessly activated his power as the God of the End, pushing the might of his lightning scepter to its absolute limit!
If his power could break through the boundary of Current Drive and sublimate to the ultimate realm of Magnetic Field Rotation, he wouldn't be throwing lightning but a universe-class killer move like the "Sea Tiger Blast Roar," which might have forced Seiya to temporarily retreat. But now, the attack that shattered Olympus reappeared.
"Tenma Kofuku—!"
From where she stood before the Wailing Wall of Tartarus, Athena saw the vision of the Twenty-Four Devas manifest once again, and the gods scattered like frightened birds. God King Zeus roared, trying to break through the suppression of this buddhist paradise like a great whale swimming against the current!
However, in the instant his roar still echoed in the abyss—
—Squish!
A fist clad in a divine arm guard had already pierced through Zeus's chest, which was covered in the power of the end!
The Fist that Surpasses Time, once used by the Zeus of the Valkyrie world, was also comprehended by Seiya at this moment.
In the final moments of his life, Zeus was shocked to find his death delayed by several seconds, a result of the Saint's Covenant of Decay and Revival. Just as he was wondering why, he saw the divine tool of his cousin. The light of the Prometheus Slate covered his entire body.
"This isn't stealing anymore, it's straight-up robbery, kid."
After speaking his last words, Zeus's body began to turn transparent.
Zeus's Mandate of Heaven had faded. This was a far greater indicator of the God King's defeat than the loss of his life force.
Seiya looked down at the God of the End, Zeus, who was dissipating into dust, and was suddenly struck by a wave of emotion. "Zeus, I don't think I'll ever forget you in my entire life."
This time, Seiya clearly heard laughter from the netherworld.
"Since you were able to defeat Zeus, the God of the End, you should properly enjoy the gift brought by the god-slaying ritual."
Pandora's voice gradually faded, and what answered Seiya now was the ringing of the God-Slaying Disc.
[Authority: The Great Authority of the Heavens]
[After achieving great victory in the Titanomachy, Zeus and his brothers divided the dominion of the world. Zeus is the god of the sky; the firmament is His domain. When he is in a good mood, the sky is sunny and clear. When angered, the sky becomes overcast with dark clouds and roars with thunder and lightning.]
[Absolute control over the domain of the sky, atmospheric phenomena, and all weather. Can summon, dispel, or change winds, clouds, rain, snow, hail, and fog at will. The sky is his domain, where he can soar freely and perceive everything.]
[Authority: Wielder of Lightning]
[Lightning is Zeus's exclusive weapon, a gift from the Cyclopes, and the most direct symbol of His power, used to defeat the Titans and punish mortals and those who disrespected the gods. Summon, shape, and accurately hurl lightning bolts of immense power. This is Zeus's most iconic and destructive weapon, symbolizing His unbeatable power and divine punishment. The lightning not only causes physical destruction but also carries the power of sacred judgment.]
[Authority: The Scales of Fate]
[In the Iliad, Zeus once used scales to weigh the fates of Hector and Achilles. He often discusses fate and attempts to realize his own will within its framework. At critical moments, he can exert significant influence, accelerating, delaying, or subtly altering the details of an event's course, especially concerning the state of the world or the destiny of heroes.]
[Authority: Divine Master of Shapeshifting]
[Zeus is the most famous shapeshifter in mythology; a great number of his romantic tales involve him changing his form. Can freely change his own form, transforming into any creature (such as a bull, swan, eagle, golden rain, satyr) or object, or even the guise of a mortal. While in a changed form, he will uncontrollably attract the affection of both the opposite and same sex.]
As the God King, the number of Authorities Zeus possessed was among the highest. And as the God of the End, any Authority he held would, upon being acquired, instantly reach a level of power far exceeding what a normal Godslayer could develop over many years.
Yet at this moment, Seiya was surprised to find that his will, after awakening the Eighth Sense, could slightly interfere with the workings of the God-Slaying Disc.
As if sensing something, Seiya perceived the important Authority he needed most, the one truly suited for him.
[Authority: The Invisible Blade (Hades)]
[The Orphic cult revered Zeus as the 'origin and end of all things.' A fragment of the Orphic version of the Argonautica records that Zeus once used this sword to strike down the Titan Cronus, causing his divine power to scatter.]
[The sword's name, Hades, does not refer to the King of the Underworld, but originates from the roots of the ancient Greek word ᾍδης (Haides): α- ('un-') + ιδεῖν (idein, 'to see'). Its true name is—The Invisible Blade.]
This ultimate weapon, which possessed the ability to sever fate, was indeed what Seiya needed.
"But I have a feeling this still isn't enough, it's not quite complete..."
Seiya murmured, rubbing his chin.
As if sensing Seiya's wish, the God-Slaying Disc pointed towards the not-yet-dissipated God of the End, and a ray of golden light shot out from it, landing on Seiya's chest.
He felt nothing. If he wasn't certain that he had acquired a new Authority, Seiya would have thought his own actions had failed, causing an error in the ritual.
But the next moment, the expression on his face, which had remained calm even when facing all the gods, changed. Because He suddenly sensed the essential power of Pegasus the Godslayer: the God-Slaying Power.
That God-Slaying Power, which had been no longer than a dagger, was now perceived by Seiya under the fusion of the new Authority, and it had grown to the length of a short sword.
"Are you all right, Pegasus?"
Athena appeared in mid-air, the bright-eyed princess looking with astonishment at the Godslaying Pegasus who was, nominally, her own.
The light of the Cloth faded, and Seiya returned to his usual appearance. He looked at the bright-eyed princess, the goddess Athena, and said, "Victory was assured. I've kept you waiting."
"You have achieved victory, but what will become of this world's future?"
Athena looked up, her gaze seeming to pierce through the shattered abyss to see the land and sky of the God's Domain.
"Humanity naturally has its own destiny. However, it seems someone has snatched the fruits of our labor..."
Seiya wore a strange expression.
At Seiya's reminder, Athena's face changed drastically. As one of the twelve Olympian gods of Greek mythology, she too sensed the subtle change between heaven and earth.
With Zeus's defeat, the curtain had fallen on their generation of Greek gods. And on Mount Olympus, a new fate was already taking shape.
Who? Who was worthy of receiving the destiny of the fourth-generation God King? Athena's expression was grim, because the only ones who could bear this Mandate of Heaven were either one of the twelve Olympians, Pegasus who had defeated Zeus, or one of a few other special deities who were also qualified to bear this destiny.
She thought of Apollo and the others who had fled. At that moment, a look of anxiety appeared on Athena's face, but when she looked at Seiya, she found his expression was incomparably calm.
"...Since you're curious, let's go. It might be an acquaintance, though. Oh, I should say, an acquainted god."
"Hahahaha, the fourth-generation God King is none other than me, Stella!"
The goddess of love couldn't help but let out a burst of hearty, exuberant laughter.
The originally incomplete, fragmented parts of her being were instantly made whole. The Authorities she had once lost were fully restored, and her power continued to climb without end.
Until the next second, when her smile froze on her face.
Because her Wheel of Friendship burst into light, and the figures of Pegasus Seiya and Athena emerged from within.
_____
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