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The greatest weakness of a steel-like immortal body was extreme heat. Even so, it could still withstand the scorching temperatures of a solar flare for more than ten minutes, with nothing worse than a sunburn.
Alex's "Adamant Body," however, was even stronger than the usual blessing of steel. Its resistance to heat was on another level entirely.
Beyond offense and defense, a body of steel didn't need oxygen or food. Even if submerged underwater or left drifting in a vacuum for years, it wouldn't die.
All in all, the authority known as the "Eight-Nine Mystical Art" was just insanely overpowered.
After returning to the hotel, Alex wasted no time and messaged Hestia through the chat group.
Alex: "Hestia, I've successfully slain a god. Send me two red packets so I can update my blessing and level up."
Hestia: "That fast? Alex, you're getting stronger and stronger. At this rate, I'm not sure I could even beat you anymore."
Alex: "No matter how strong I get, I'm still your Alex, and still a member of the Hestia Familia!"
Hestia: "Now that's what I like to hear. Catch the red packets!"
Very soon, Alex received two red packets.
One was for updating his blessing, the other for leveling up.
He opened the update packet first. A drop of divine blood mixed with divine power appeared and sank into the blessing on his back.
The tattoo of the blessing emerged, glowing brightly as it began to update on its own.
The process finished quickly.
Name: Alex
Level: Lv6
Attributes: Strength: I0 → SSS9999 Endurance: I0 → SSS9999 Dexterity: I0 → SSS9999 Agility: I0 → SSS9999 Magic: I0 → SSS9999
Development Abilities: Luck E, Mystery F, Divinity G, Godslayer H, Demon King I
Authorities: Eight-Nine Mystical Art, Lord of the Sky, Black Dragon of the Underworld, Eastern God of War, Rending Silver Hand
Magic: Type-Moon Magecraft, Godslayer Sorcery, Jobless Magic, Fairy Tail Magic
Skills: Martial God, Godslayer Body, Infinite Regeneration
There was no denying it. Slaying gods was a terrifyingly glorious achievement. Every single time, it pushed his stats straight to the limit.
Next came the level-up packet. This time, Hestia wasn't present. Instead, the development abilities appeared before Alex, leaving the choice to him.
He skimmed past all the ordinary options and immediately locked onto the final special ability.
Divinity.
Well damn. Even Divinity showed up.
If he kept leveling like this, was he really going to become a god?
He remembered Pandora once saying that compared to a true god, he was only missing a divine core.
Ever since he broke past the Godslayer's limits, he no longer forgot his memories of the Netherworld.
But was this development ability called Divinity the same thing as an actual divine core?
With his heart pounding, Alex chose Divinity.
After the level-up succeeded, the description of Divinity appeared.
And it contained only three characters.
"???"
Alex wasn't disappointed at all. He knew how skills worked in the DanMachi world. The shorter and vaguer the description, the more ridiculous the effect usually was.
Something with nothing but question marks was obviously a top-tier reward.
"Level 7. Guess that makes me one of the highest-level adventurers in Orario now," Alex said with a smile, opening the chat group's shop interface.
With five thousand points to spare, he planned to buy another authority.
He came to the Godslayer world to farm points, sure, but he wasn't about to be stingy with himself.
If he ran out of points, he could always kill another rogue god.
After all, he had already memorized the ritual to summon disobedient gods. Once he combined it with the Type-Moon "Heroic Spirit Summoning" ritual, he could summon gods endlessly.
At that point, gods would just be tools for farming authorities and points.
After browsing the shop, Alex ultimately chose Lady Aisha's authority, "Fairy Corridor."
With an ability that allowed him to return to the past or even travel to parallel worlds, he could recruit far more talented members for his Familia.
He could go back to the prequel era of Akame ga Kill, return to Orario's Dark Age to save Alfia, Zard, and the Astraea Familia.
More than that, he could use Fairy Corridor to prevent countless tragedies that had already happened in other worlds.
Once the purchase was complete, Alex felt a new authority settle within him.
Perhaps because it came from the chat group's shop, he could use this authority with perfect control.
Unlike Lady Aisha, who couldn't control her power and would randomly trigger it, getting thrown into ancient eras at random.
After resting for the night, Alex and Luo Hao left Sakura Country early the next morning.
The previous night's summoning of a disobedient god had wiped out more than half of the shrine maidens. On top of that, the battle between Alex and Yuan Hong had devastated the outskirts and edges of Tokyo, triggering volcanic eruptions and constant tsunamis.
Sakura Country's losses were massive.
But that was how Godslayers were. If they weren't this overbearing, they wouldn't be called Demon Kings.
The country's upper echelons didn't dare utter a single complaint. They could only bow and scrape, not daring to show even the slightest displeasure.
There was no helping it. Their country didn't have a single Godslayer.
When Alex left Sakura Country, he also took four shrine maidens with him. Yuri Mariya, Ena Seishuuin, Yuri's younger sister Hikari Mariya, and Kaoru Sayegami, head of the Tokyo branch of the Official History Compilation Committee.
With Erica and Liliana not by his side, these four would serve as his attendants during his time in the Godslayer world.
None of the girls were willing, but none of them dared disobey Alex's orders either.
After leaving Sakura Country, Alex and Luo Hao split up.
Luo Hao headed to New York to capture the divine ancestor Anshela.
Her divine core was that of a dragon-serpent, the first requirement to break the Monkey King's curse.
Alex, meanwhile, took the four shrine maidens to Sardinia.
Luo Hao had already given him the Gorgon Stone. He planned to meet Athena and see if he could bring her to his side.
At the same time, he would pick up Erica and Liliana's attendants and take them along when he returned.
Europe, Sardinia.
The moment Alex stepped off the plane, he saw the Seven Sisters Alliance waiting to welcome him.
A huge number of magi were present, along with heavily armed troops.
The airport had been completely cleared. The scale of the reception was overwhelming.
There was no choice. Word had already spread through the magic world that Sakura Country had been punished by Alex and Luo Hao for not making their welcome grand enough.
Even though the Seven Sisters Alliance already served under Alex, they still had to tread carefully.
Seeing this spectacle, Yuri Mariya and the others finally understood why Alex had been dissatisfied with Sakura Country's reception.
Comparison really did hurt.
Alex swept his gaze across the crowd. Among the magi at the front stood Erica and Liliana's attendants.
Arianna and Karen waved excitedly when they saw him.
They hadn't seen Erica and Liliana in a long time and missed them dearly.
They also knew Alex had come to Sardinia specifically to take them with him.
Alex smiled and waved back at the two adorable girls.
The high-ranking members of the Seven Sisters Alliance immediately understood.
So their king was a young man with a fondness for beautiful girls.
Whether it was Erica and Liliana, Arianna and Karen, or the four shrine maidens from Sakura Country standing behind him, every one of them was a rare beauty.
After leaving the airport, Alex was driven straight to the best hotel on Sardinia.
The same hotel as last time. Even the same room.
After resting a bit, Arianna and Karen led him to the baths, then gave him a full massage.
His body finally relaxed completely, followed by a meal of the finest European cuisine.
Yuri Mariya and the others had never seen anything like this. They were completely stunned the whole time.
Her younger sister, Hikari Mariya, on the other hand, was quick to adapt. The lively girl was friendly by nature.
Everything fascinated her. She kept darting around Alex, calling him "Demon King big brother" over and over.
Alex liked the little girl a lot and decided to take her to Orario as a playmate for Sakura and Illya.
When it came time to eat, Alex didn't dine alone.
He had Arianna, Karen, Yuri Mariya, Ena Seishuuin, Hikari Mariya, and Kaoru Sayegami all sit down and eat with him.
The six girls didn't dare refuse and sat down together.
As Alex chatted with them over the meal, Arianna, Karen, Ena Seishuuin, and Hikari Mariya gradually relaxed and lost their sense of restraint.
But Yuri Mariya and Kaoru Sayegami remained tense, clearly uncomfortable.
Perhaps Alex's actions in Sakura Country had filled them with fear and resentment, emotions they couldn't show.
Seeing their expressions, Alex chuckled. "What, not fully recovered yet?"
Because of the summoning ritual the night before, even these top-tier shrine maidens had been injured, though they hadn't died.
Still, Alex had already healed them with magic on the flight to Sardinia.
Hearing his question, Yuri Mariya and Kaoru Sayegami both shuddered.
Yuri Mariya was so frightened she couldn't find the words. Kaoru Sayegami stammered, "N-no… we're already… recovered."
"..."
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