Ancient ruins and the beautiful sea are the two major tourist resources on Sardinia. Across the island, over seven thousand stone towers, known as Nuraghe, have been discovered. The civilization that built them dates back to the 15th century BC. The native residents of Sardinia built villages around the Nuraghe. Later, the Phoenicians occupied the island, and finally, the Romans arrived. The Romans destroyed Phoenician rule and made the island their home. Therefore, the island is littered with ancient Phoenician and Roman ruins.
The largest concentration of ruins is in Oristano, in the western part of the island. One ruin, named "Tharros," is half submerged in the sea and half preserved on land. This ancient site was established by the Phoenicians, who worshipped the God King Melkart.
In this era, the ubiquitous ruins inadvertently caused Melkart to descend as an Unconquered God. Following this, the foreign God of War, Verethragna, clashed with him. The initial battle ended in a mutual draw. Verethragna's Ten Incarnations were scattered and appeared across Sardinia as Divine Beasts. Melkart retreated underground to heal his wounds.
Erica Blandelli of the Bronze Black Cross, a self-appointed investigator, was originally supposed to meet another young boy from a foreign country. However, the news of the Seventh Campione's arrival disrupted the girl's original timeline. When Erica went to consult with the Sardinian witch, Lucrezia, her fate was already on a non-intersecting parallel line with that boy's.
The girl continued her investigation. Near the break of dawn, Erica, sleeping in a hotel, suddenly awoke. The weather, which should have been clearing, was once again overcast. Ink-black clouds, like a canvas, rolled across the sky from one end to the other, signaling a fierce storm.
Then, Boom! Boom! Boom!
Thunder shook the air, lightning flashed, and the wind rapidly intensified, howling like a vengeful spirit through the cracks of the ill-fitting windows. A strong storm immediately struck. Other guests in the hotel were startled awake by the severe weather. Children pressed against the windows, wide-eyed at the lightning and thunder, while adults scolded them to stay away from the glass and electrical appliances. Before they could finish speaking, all of Oristano lost power. Listening to the roar outside, ordinary people were terrified.
Yet, in the midst of the violent, rainy night, Erica, dressed in neat, capable clothes, braved the wind and rain and ran out. The innkeeper called after her, but the girl's silhouette vanished in the blink of an eye.
Unlike ordinary people, Erica, a genius sorceress, could see more. The howling sounds were not just the wind; they were the shockwaves and tremors from the clash of two powerful Unconquered Gods.
A massive Goat (Verethragna's Incarnation), leading the wind, rain, and thunder, soared through the clouds. The intense storm did not affect the pure white behemoth; in fact, its roars seemed to command the storm, violently whipping it toward its opponent: the figure of the God King Melkart.
The God of War, Verethragna, who had spent less than two days gathering all of his scattered Incarnations, chose the predawn period to launch a second attack on Melkart, who was hiding in his sanctuary. This was the time before the sun rose, when Verethragna's magical power was at its strongest throughout the day. Choosing this moment to attack was a small tactical cleverness.
But the God King Melkart confidently met the challenge. Thus, a battle of immense magnitude erupted once more.
As the sole spectator, Erica felt the mighty Divine Authority up close. This oppressive force, like an insurmountable chasm, constantly squeezed her nerves and body. It was then that the girl realized how ridiculous her previous idea of slaying a god had been. She was indeed a prodigious sorceress and knight, but that alone did not qualify her to challenge a god. The two Unconquered Gods paid her no mind, yet the residual shockwaves from their confrontation were enough to stiffen her body.
Her face turned pale. She stood dumbly in the rain, lacking any thought of resistance.
The moment Oristano was hit by the gods' shockwaves, houses collapsed, and people's cries for help echoed through the rainy night. Erica finally snapped back to consciousness. Although the divine pressure made her tremble and uneasy, the girl resolutely moved closer to the gods' battleground, intending to save as many pitiful people as possible.
A casual misdirected strike from the gods could reduce a section of the city to scorched earth. The only mercy, perhaps, was that the victims left without feeling pain. Yet, the Unconquered Gods, the perpetrators, felt nothing. Humans were merely ants, like the status of ants in human eyes. Would you be careful not to kill a few ants during a life-or-death battle? Moreover, this was a battle of life and death for them.
Melkart, with a colossal, mountain-like body, released a massive locust army, but Verethragna summoned lightning to incinerate them easily.
"King Melkart, do you think such an obstacle can stop me?"
"Of course, God-Slayer, Great God of War! Those fellows were merely guards. How could such simple guards stop the advance of the God of War?" Melkart's laughter boomed like thunder. He then unleashed a powerful storm capable of blowing away an entire city. But Verethragna also possessed an Incarnation that controlled storms, resulting in an equal match.
Afterward, the two sides continued to attack each other with various divine powers, calling forth legions of the dead from the Underworld, tidal waves that swept away everything, and thousands of bolts of lightning that fell like rain. The gods, even when struck, only sustained minor injuries. But these attacks were an apocalypse for ordinary humans.
Erica had entered the disaster zone and began rescuing people, but her single effort was a drop in the ocean. The girl's rational mind finally broke when she saw a little girl, crying and refusing to let go of her mother's hand, who was pinned by a fallen beam, only to be crushed by the roof herself before Erica could reach them.
She didn't know how much time had passed. She thought she heard a voice.
"Get up. I'll leave them to you."
A strange figure suddenly appeared before Erica. The man held the young girl and her mother in his arms.
"You are...?"
Erica stared blankly and reached out, receiving the two people from his outstretched hands.
Luo Guang did not answer. After handing the two he had just rescued to Erica, he turned and walked into the rain without looking back.
Through the roaring wind and rain, Erica and the survivors only seemed to hear one voice.
"Watch closely now. The radiance of the shining sun."