A god's divine power—Arcanum—was something close to a law of reality.
It could destroy the earth, restore everything that had been destroyed, repair the world itself, or even turn back time. It was a force of overwhelming magnitude.
For gods, competing through Arcanum was meaningless.
However, some gods possessed "abilities" rooted in their own essence.
For example, the Charm possessed by goddesses of beauty was an innate power, not part of divine power itself.
By the same logic, a war god's martial skill, a sword god's swordsmanship, and the moon goddess's spear and bow were all powers that belonged to them personally.
Even with their Arcanum sealed and their full might unavailable, the techniques gods displayed were still genuine martial arts of the divine realm.
In other words, they were literally godly techniques.
Artemis had fought adventurers more than once, and when her Familia accepted monster-slaying commissions, she even charged at the very front.
In practical terms, she was the strongest member of her own Familia.
A battle-loving goddess like that was naturally very interested in the "legendary" stories told by her child.
"More or less."
Rayleigh casually brushed it off, then picked up his drink and took a sip.
However, Artemis seemed to have become interested and had no intention of letting him go.
She showed a smile and said, "You said your body has already recovered, didn't you? In that case, how about a spar with me?"
"Nani?" Rayleigh froze.
The moon goddess had actually issued him a challenge.
Their conversation was also overheard by the others.
"What, what? Lady Artemis is going to spar with Rayleigh?"
"I want to see!"
"Lady Artemis, do your best!"
"Idiot, you should say Lady Artemis is definitely going to win!"
Seeing the girls scatter instantly and clear out an open space for them to spar, all of them looking expectant, Rayleigh realized that even if he wanted to refuse, it was already too late!
Or perhaps, from the moment he had piqued Artemis's interest, there had been no escaping this.
'Fine.'
"Then let's stop before anyone gets hurt."
Rayleigh stood up. His four Zanpakutō were still leaning nearby.
He picked up Ruri'iro Kujaku and stepped into the sparring area.
However, Artemis frowned slightly.
She asked, "You carry four swords. Surely they aren't just spares, are they? I can tell they are all first-rate blades."
"Is that so? Seems like you have sharp eyes."
Rayleigh offered a compliment.
If Artemis was regarded as a martial-type goddess, then being familiar with weapons was only natural.
But among goddesses, that was still quite rare.
"However, they are not first-rate swords. They are the finest swords."
Rayleigh held the sheath horizontally and slowly drew the blade.
"Are you boasting?"
"No. Merely stating a fact. Even if they are not yet the finest now, they certainly will be in the future."
"Hehe. A fine conviction."
Artemis did not seem to dislike Rayleigh's "arrogant" words.
On the contrary, she looked rather appreciative.
One could not underestimate gods.
Especially goddesses.
The goddesses of this world were terrifying.
In every sense of the word.
Just speaking of combat ability, the strength of Artemis before him was still unknown.
But when it came to another pure goddess, Astraea, he knew exactly how frightening she was.
That goddess of justice possessed swordsmanship that truly belonged to the realm of gods.
Among the adventurers Rayleigh had seen so far, excluding Zald and Alfia imitating him, Kaguya was the strongest in swordsmanship.
If judged purely by sword skill, even Ais, who would later reach Level 6 and bear the title Sword Princess, would still look as immature as a child in front of Kaguya.
And yet, that same Kaguya had been beaten to tears by the gentle and ladylike-looking goddess Astraea.
A goddess of justice.
Since she was meant to carry out justice, of course she required power worthy of that duty.
That goddess's swordsmanship had already far surpassed the realm of mortals.
It was not a level that swordsmen of this world could even begin to measure.
In that case, Artemis would not be weak either.
In terms of technique, Rayleigh first placed himself in the lower position and did not look down on her.
But he would not underestimate himself either.
Even divine techniques would inevitably have their power and speed limited without the physical ability to support them.
If he wanted to win this fight, suppressing her with his ability values should give him the highest chance of victory.
A goddess with her Arcanum sealed was no different from an ordinary delicate woman in terms of physical ability.
If that was the case...
Then he would crush her with speed and power!
"You may begin whenever you like."
Artemis nocked an arrow to her bowstring and showed a confident smile.
That smile was beautiful.
But Rayleigh did not stare at it in a daze.
Shunpo.
To everyone else, Rayleigh vanished as if he had disappeared into thin air.
Only the faint dust stirring where he had stood and the falling leaves that suddenly changed their path in midair slightly exposed the trace of his movement.
In the eyes of an expert, such details would never be missed.
Artemis instantly drew her bowstring.
Her fingers rotated slightly, making the arrowhead spin, and then she released.
While moving at high speed, Rayleigh saw a sharp arrowhead flying straight toward him.
His pupils contracted.
He immediately swung his sword and cut that arrow cleanly in half down the middle.
But before he could retract his arm, while he was still in the posture after finishing the slash, another arrow had already arrived in front of him.
'A second arrow?'
She calculated his position and field of vision, even predicted the speed of his sword swing, then controlled the distance between the two arrows so one followed directly after the other?
That was ridiculous!
Rayleigh raised his left hand.
"Bakudō #8: Seki."
Ping.
The arrow was repelled.
But Rayleigh suddenly realized Artemis's figure had vanished.
"That move is quite good."
Her voice came from the five o'clock direction.
Rayleigh's eyes widened, his pupils shrinking.
'What?'
The moment he turned his head, he saw Artemis, who had somehow appeared there, swinging the bow in her hand toward him like a club.
Rayleigh bent his upper body backward and barely avoided it.
Was she really that fast?
No.
That was wrong.
A god's physical ability should not be much different from an ordinary person's. In fact, it might even be inferior to that of some physically strong mortals.
She had just said "move," didn't she?
A thought flashed through Rayleigh's mind.
No way...
"What you used just now was it.... Shunpo?"
Artemis smiled and said, "So that move is called Shunpo? What a simple and fitting name. When I saw you use it just now, I felt that I could do it as well, though it does require a few supporting techniques."