Chapter 76: The Evil Eye of Medusa
Although the authority "Ancient Night" had been sealed by the Words of Power, Athena possessed other formidable authorities she had yet to unleash; thus, she displayed no hint of panic.
The only thing that remained was the lingering rage from the humiliations she had previously suffered at Shirou's hands.
"I will absolutely not let you go today; I will definitely defeat you! You sinful person who has defiled a goddess!"
"Defiled... Did I do something like that...?" Shirou's brow quirked as he couldn't help but search his memories.
"Do not think about it!"
Seeing his expression, images involuntarily flashed through Athena's mind as well, and her face immediately flushed crimson with indignation.
In the next moment, driven by urgency, the goddess activated her authority. Her deep violet eyes released an eerie, supernatural brilliance. Her beauty was arresting, and those eyes emitted a haunting light that compelled one to gaze into them.
"『The Evil Eye of Medusa』!"
The moment he saw those eyes blooming with violet light, Shirou understood exactly which authority Athena had invoked.
"Do you even know the authorities I possess this clearly...? However, you have already used the Golden Sword to seal my other authority, so naturally, you can no longer resist my 『Words of Petrification』!"
Seeing Shirou's body gradually becoming covered in stone starting from his lower half, Athena broke into a confident smile. Immediately after, his left arm, caught in her gaze, began to petrify. The phenomenon continued to spread, threatening to reach his shoulder.
At this moment, everything that entered Athena's line of sight turned to stone.
The ground she stepped upon became stone. The swaying grass and the flowers with tiny petals became cold stone. The lushly growing trees became stone. The pond filled with seawater became stone.
Athena was wielding the Evil Eye of Medusa, which turns all it beholds into stone.
"A temporary death, a coffin of stone—this too is the power of the Ancient Mother."
Saying this, Athena glanced at Shirou, whose body was gradually petrifying. She wanted to savor the wonderful scene of this man, who had brought her shame, dying before her.
However, in the next instant, she saw a golden wheel manifest behind Shirou's back.
"That is...?"
Under Athena's astonished gaze, the golden wheel spun rapidly and pointed toward—『The Ram』!
While Verethragna is a god of victory, he is also a guardian of kingship. Among his ten incarnations, the 'Ram' has a particularly deep connection to royal power. In ancient times, when pastoral capability was directly equated with wealth, the sheep—able to grow in a short period and possessing vigorous reproductive energy—was a symbol of life force and fortune.
Abundance, fertility, prosperity... the ability to manifest such vitality is perfectly suited to the sheep that represents these traits.
"I am the strongest, and the one who holds all victory. I shall annihilate all enemies who dare stand before me! I shall crush every obstacle!"
A white light surged forth. It wasn't blinding, but Athena could clearly see the petrification receding from Shirou, who she had placed under a death curse.
"This... how can this be... I absolutely will not lose to a fellow like you!"
Athena looked indignantly at Shirou, whose body was pulsing with pure white light. She raised her pitch-black scythe high, absorbing all surrounding light.
Before anyone realized it, the spreading darkness had even blotted out the night sky; the light of the moon and stars was swallowed by deep gloom. Aside from the thousands of golden swords Shirou had summoned, no light-emitting objects remained.
In the abyss-like darkness surrounding them, the grass, trees, and vivid flowers withered in an instant. Even the chirping of insects, common for a night so close to summer, grew weaker and weaker until it vanished entirely.
This was "Death." It was the divine power of the Underworld God, who governs ruin and demise.
Athena gripped the pitch-black scythe, pouring into it the most dangerous divine power she possessed.
"I am the one who summons winter, the one who governs life and death, the cold ruler of the underworld, the queen of plunder! I command! Orihara Shirou, become a dead god, become a corpse!"
Athena's Words of Power transformed into a curse, aggressively invading toward Shirou.
"Useless!"
The Flame incarnation burned fiercely, directly driving away Athena's cursed energy.
"It's actually useless..." Athena's beautiful eyes widened slightly. Once the salt-transformation was dispelled, she lunged forward, swinging her pitch-black scythe to attack Shirou.
Whoosh—!
The blade of the scythe cut through the air, leaving a trail of darkness as it clashed with the golden greatsword Shirou swung.
Clang—!
The black scythe was shrouded in the aura of death. Although Shirou was immune to the curses she bestowed, he would still be injured if struck by such a non-physical attack.
"Dammit! Just die!"
Athena's figure moved as if dancing, continuously swinging the black scythe in a barrage of attacks. But Shirou blocked them one by one with his golden sword. Intense sparks flew between them, accompanied by the clear ringing of clashing weapons.
Suddenly, a peal of thunder echoed from the sky.
A bolt of lightning abruptly descended. Sensing the strike, Athena hurried to put distance between herself and Shirou.
Boom—!
The lightning struck right between them, sending grit and sand flying into a misty shroud.
"Lightning and storms... Is it the authority of Melqart?" Athena murmured, knitting her brows.
However, it seemed slightly different. The rolling thunder and the onset of heavy rain were similar to Melqart's authority, yet there were distinctions.
"What on earth is this..."
Before Athena could deduce the truth, the clouds gathered once more in the sky, and a dense barrage of heavenly lightning crashed down. This time, Athena had no way to dodge!
Boom—!
Though she tried to evade, the simultaneous activation of the authorities "Wrath of the Heavens" and "Ocean Storm" triggered a massive onslaught of lightning strikes and violent gales that Athena could not easily escape.
"Aaaaaahhh—!!!"
Her body was struck violently by lightning. In an instant, electricity coursed through her entire being, causing black smoke to rise from her head. The lightning did not stop despite her screams; without Shirou's control, it would continue to fall incessantly.
This area had been transformed into a domain of thunder.
Caught within it, Athena had no power to fight back. Her divine power had been heavily depleted by the large number of Words of Power used in the previous battle. Weakened, she lost her slender, tall form and reverted to her previous youthful appearance.
Her white dress was tattered from the lightning strikes; she now looked as if she were about to go begging on the streets.
Prostrate on the ground, the goddess looked up at the hateful man walking toward her. Powerless and exhausted, she could only grit her teeth in fury.
"I've wanted to see this for a while—this cute, annoyed expression you make when you can't beat me and can only glare."
"...!!"
This man, even after defeating her, was still being so infuriating!
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