"Death Incantation?!" Upon hearing this, Erica's face turned pale.
She naturally knew what this was… a Death Incantation transmitted through a kiss. Even if Yusei was a Campione, he absolutely couldn't withstand it.
Among his Authorities, there was no power to resist 'death'.
However, suddenly, Erica remembered Verethragna's Authority… the 'Ram.'
Possessing this Authority meant Yusei couldn't die.
But Erica certainly also understood that they couldn't afford to delay. Otherwise, if Athena continued to press the attack, their Copper-Black Cross would suffer a great loss.
Just as Erica was trying to break the cage, Athena reached for the Gorgoneion on Yusei's body but frowned.
"Strange. Where is this one's Snake?"
Suddenly, a hand gripped her wrist.
Athena was startled, suddenly discovering that Yusei, who should have been dying, had opened his eyes. The pupils within were incredibly sharp, and those dark eyes showed no sign of being near death.
"How is this possible?! This one's Death Incantation... you can still stand?!" Athena looked in disbelief at the awakened Yusei.
"I should actually thank you. I never knew this thing had such a use."
As Yusei spoke, he stood up, his face showing some surprise and delight. He still held Athena's wrist, not letting go.
"How did you evade this one's Death Incantation?" Athena bit her lip, her tone still filled with disbelief.
"And how are you so sure it would work on me?" Yusei laughed.
"This is a technique this one developed based on her Authority. Although unused before, according to this one's wisdom, those struck should die without fail."
Because her Death Incantation had been broken, Athena, who is usually calm, now spoke with a hint of a desire for answers, wanting to know what had gone wrong.
Athena bore the title of Goddess of Wisdom. Transmitting the Death Incantation through a kiss... was her first time using it, but based on her wise judgment, she knew it should be fatal to anyone struck.
Originally considering that Yusei had hunted several Heretic Gods, she planned to use the Death Incantation for a direct sneak attack to cause his demise.
But she never expected her Death Incantation would fail. This made her deeply doubt her own wisdom.
'So her shock was also because her wise judgment had been wrong?'
Yusei looked at the flustered Athena and smiled inwardly. He knew Athena had this move and was worried about it, so he had copied Verethragna's Ram specifically for the Death Incantation.
The Ram was precisely prepared for the Death Incantation.
However, today's events took an unexpected turn. The Ram didn't activate, and something else did.
Rather than a thing, it was better to call it a divine artifact… the Yata no Kagami, deeply hidden within him.
That's right, it was the Yata no Kagami he had won from the Imperial family.
After the experience of obtaining Futsu no Mitama, Yusei followed the same method, similarly smearing his blood on Yata no Kagami.
Yata no Kagami vanished into his body, acknowledging him as its master, but he had never been able to use it. Yusei could sense it but couldn't activate it.
Just now, when Athena channeled the Death Incantation into his body, the Yata no Kagami was stimulated, triggering its activation condition.
Back when Yusei was fighting the Emperor of Demise, he triggered Futsu no Mitama. At that time, two conditions were met, allowing him to achieve it.
A desire for the power of lightning.
An extreme craving for strength.
For the first point, Yusei achieved it with [Sunshine Girl] and [Electricity Storage]. Because Yusei desperately desired to break through the Emperor of Demise's shield at the time, the second condition was also met.
Triggering a divine artifact requires conditions. He coincidentally obtained Futsu no Mitama.
As for Yata no Kagami? After triggering its awakening today, he also understood its activation condition.
Yata no Kagami only requires one condition: touching death.
As the foremost of Japan's Three Sacred Treasures, people or gods might focus more on the Yata no Kagami's powerful offensive capabilities, imbued with Amaterasu's divine power.
But in reality, its name means [Mirror of the Heart]. The heart is the vital point. So the meaning is 'protecting the vital point'.
Therefore, Yata no Kagami's greatest strength isn't attack, but protection.
Protection from death, defense against attacks. This is the strongest way to use Yata no Kagami.
'Only by truly touching death can you understand the preciousness of life.'
This phrase is the portrayal of the Yata no Kagami.
To master Yata no Kagami, you must understand how important it is to protect life.
And Yata no Kagami is precisely the barrier that protects life.
Understanding this principle, you can know how to correctly use Yata no Kagami. Yata no Kagami will only be triggered and awakened then.
Yusei genuinely felt grateful to Athena.
This is true damage immunity.
The Yata no Kagami has only one ability: Immunity to Death.
The lifespan limit of death is unknown for now. But for all killing, instant death, even conceptual death, etc., he is now completely immune to all of them.
For example, the effect of Athena's Death Incantation is to cause instant death to the target.
After Yata no Kagami's effect activated, it completely immunized against this death. His state showed no loss whatsoever.
The only drawback is that it can only immunize against death, not attacks. But as a defensive divine artifact, Yata no Kagami already possesses top-tier defensive power.
One could say that with Yata no Kagami, Yusei completely cannot die by any means.
Even if brought to the brink of death, it's a genuine, complete health lock.
Erica, seeing Yusei unharmed, finally breathed a sigh of relief. She didn't have to worry about the Copper-Black Cross's investment going down the drain now.
Athena felt the hand gripping her was like an iron clamp. A look of anxiety also appeared on her small face.
The failure of the Death Incantation left her momentarily at a loss. Now reacting, her priority was to consider retreat since the operation had failed.
With this in mind, Athena summoned her servant, an owl, to pounce at Yusei, hoping to make him release her wrist.
However, before the owl could even get close to Yusei, it was instantly pierced by countless lightning spikes, completely annihilated in a moment.
The next moment, Yusei pinned Athena to the ground, rendering her unable to move any further.