"The Rogue Athena... and the Heretic Savior?!"
Kusanagi Godou's eyes widened in sheer disbelief as Ritsuka and her group materialized directly between the two clashing Devil Kings.
Standing in the center was Ritsuka, radiating a calm but suffocating pressure. Beside her stood Athena in her maiden form, her eyes cold and sharp. And hovering above them, treading the air upon her divine vessel Maanna, was the shimmering goddess Ishtar.
"So these are the legends who turned Japan upside down?" Marquis Voban's eyes gleamed with a predatory, emerald light. "How magnificent! Coming to Tokyo was the right choice after all. Not only do I get a shrine maiden for my rituals, but I also get to test my claws against a Savior-class deity I've never seen before!"
Godou felt a cold sweat break across his brow. "Oi, oi... this is bad. Really bad. That girl can summon high-tier spirits and divine familiars like it's nothing. There's no way we can handle this chaos! Last time I barely made it out alive, and I still don't know how!"
"Don't compare me to a fledgling like you, brat," Voban sneered, his voice a low, guttural growl. "Summoned familiars are always weaker than the original. Trash remains trash. No matter how many she calls, I will slaughter them all the same."
Godou scowled but didn't argue. Trash?! Those "familiars" were stronger than most Rogue Deities he had encountered! Still, he noticed that Georgios and Oppenheimer were absent this time. Ritsuka only had Athena and one new subordinate.
Maybe... just maybe, we have a chance, Godou thought desperately.
"Hey, old man!" Godou shouted at Voban. "I'll handle one of them. You let Yuri go, and we settle this later!"
"As if I need help from a whelp," Voban scoffed. Then, he let out a sharp, cruel laugh. "But fine clearing away the small fry is a waste of my time. I shall hunt the Rogue Athena. You deal with that golden girl on the flying boat. As for the shrine maiden... that depends on how much blood I spill today."
"Tch." Godou clicked his tongue, then charged straight toward Ishtar, while Voban lunged at Athena with the speed of a thunderbolt.
"Hmph! Know your place, mortal!"
Athena waved her hand, summoning a massive flock of ghostly owls that dove toward Voban like living arrows.
Not to be outdone, Voban unleashed his fearsome Authority: [Legion of Hungry Wolves].
Dozens of colossal wolves, each the size of a heavy truck, materialized from the shadows. Their dark fur bristled as they leaped into the air, their claws shredding the owls with terrifying efficiency. Athena countered by calling forth several serpentine dragons, their scales clashing against the wolves' fangs in a brutal melee.
Voban responded by activating another of his dark powers: [Death Ring].
The ground groaned as those slain by his hand rose again as the undead. Knights from the Middle Ages, warriors from the Age of Gods, and soldiers from modern wars all bound to his will as mindless thralls. The undead swarm surged forward, clashing against Athena's dragons in a sea of rotting flesh and divine scales.
Athena, though a Goddess of the Underworld, found herself struggling. Her power lay in commanding spirits and expanding the darkness, but Voban's Authority over the dead was a direct, conceptual counter.
While their minions tore each other apart, the two titans joined the fray. Athena swung her colossal scythe of death with divine grace, while Voban's body twisted, transforming into a thirty-meter-tall, silver-furred werewolf.
Scythe clashed with claw. Sparks flew, and shockwaves leveled the surrounding trees. Athena's relentless strikes sought a lethal opening, but Voban's monstrous speed and predatory instincts allowed him to evade and counter with savage swipes that left deep gashes in the earth.
On the other side of the battlefield, Godou was having a much harder time.
He had initially assumed that the new goddess, Ishtar, was just another support-type familiar. He was wrong. Dead wrong.
Ishtar rained down concentrated mana blasts from the Maanna, forcing Godou into a desperate dance of evasion. The sheer output of her attacks was staggering; a single near-miss left his skin scorched and his lungs burning.
Damn it! Voban isn't even fighting seriously yet, and I'm already at my limit! Godou thought, his mind racing through his Authorities.
[Phoenix]? Useless—she was too high in the sky. [Boar]? Also useless—she was out of range for a ground-based charge. [Warrior]? He didn't know her True Name. Without it, he couldn't forge the Golden Sword to sever her divinity.
As he dodged another barrage, his eyes landed on Mariya Yuri, who was lying unconscious nearby. A desperate plan formed in his mind: his [Ram] Authority.
Its effect was simple but devastating: by harmonizing with an ally, he could draw upon their life force to unleash divine lightning. It was his only shot to knock Ishtar out of the sky.
He gritted his teeth and began the incantation:
["O guardian of righteousness, to you alone I pray and devote my offering! O protector of justice, I extol your name and beseech your guidance! O one who upholds the sky and expands the earth show me the true and righteous path!"]
As the words left his lips, Yuri's body went limp, her energy fueling the storm. The sky turned a bruised purple, and a massive bolt of divine lightning split the heavens, striking directly at Ishtar.
"Pathetic trick!" Ishtar sneered, activating her defensive skill: [Gleaming Brilliant Crown: A].
A colossal, jeweled crown manifested above her head, radiating a protective barrier. She stood proud, ready to tank the hit.
Only–
"Ghh-!" Ishtar let out a choked gasp as smoke poured from her mouth. The lightning had ignored the shield entirely, striking her square in the chest.
"Ahh... I forgot..." she muttered, clutching her charred shoulder, her face twitching. "The Brilliant Crown's protection is... completely random."
A dark, static-like curse clung to her body, disrupting her mana flow. (<- Just another day of the Tohsaka bloodline's "E-Rank Luck" sabotaging them at the worst possible moment.)
Godou stared in shock. The lavish crown had done absolutely nothing. I actually hit her?!
"Perfect chance!" Godou cheered. He summoned a fragment of the Golden Sword and leaped into the air, aiming to finish the goddess while she was reeling.
He closed the distance in a heartbeat, swinging his blade with everything he had.
Ishtar tilted her body with casual, feline grace, letting the sword slice through nothing but air. She looked at him with a mocking smirk. "Did you really think the Maanna was just for show, brat?"
Godou's momentum carried him past her. With no ground beneath his feet and his energy spent, he began to plummet.
"Uwaaahhh!! BOOM!"
He hit the ground with a resounding crash, creating a small crater. Miraculously, he wasn't seriously hurt, but he was covered in dirt and his pride was in tatters.
"Pffft—phhh, blegh." Godou spat out a mouthful of grit, glaring up at the sky. Damn it... if I use the [Ram] again, Yuri won't survive. She's already drained.
While Godou struggled with his dilemma, Athena was reaching her breaking point.
Voban was a relentless predator. He had evaded every one of her scythe swings, countering with lightning-fast strikes that left her bleeding from a dozen wounds. Her elegant white dress was now a mess of rags and crimson stains.
"Hah... hah..." Athena panted, her eyes burning with defiance.
"What's the matter, Rogue Athena?" Voban sneered, his fangs glinting in the moonlight. "I expected a feast, but you're barely an appetizer. Is this truly all you amount to?"
Enraged, Athena lunged forward, but Voban was faster. He clenched his massive, silver-furred fist and swung.
THUD.
The blow smashed directly across Athena's face.
"GUHHH—!"
She flew backward like a ragdoll, tumbling across the dirt for thirty meters before coming to a halt, lying motionless.
Ritsuka winced, her eyes narrowing. Seriously? Why does everyone keep hitting her in the face? Does she have a hidden taunt skill I don't know about?
Ritsuka rushed over and helped the battered Athena up. The goddess struggled to stand, her face flushed with shame and fury, but Ritsuka held her down firmly.
"You've done enough, Athena-chan. You fought well. Now, let the professionals take over," Ritsuka said, her voice dropping to a dangerous, low register.
Voban's eyes gleamed with hunger. "At last! The Heretic Savior! Will you fight me yourself? Excellent! Show me the power that threatens the world!"
Ritsuka looked at him with cold, detached pity. "I'm not going to fight you."
Then, a vein pulsed on her forehead. Her smile turned sharp, jagged, and utterly terrifying.
"But you dared... to punch my goddess in the face. Again."
The air around Ritsuka began to freeze. A heavy, suffocating aura of "Primeval Sin" started to leak from her Command Seal.
"Now, prepare yourself to face... a completely different kind of Wounded Beast."
Voban frowned, sensing a shift in the environment that made his instincts scream Danger!
Snap.
Ritsuka snapped her fingers.
A vortex of absolute darkness swirled open at her side. The moment it appeared, Voban's undead legion instantly disintegrated into fine dust. His wolves let out mournful, terrified howls before collapsing, their life force erased. None of them could be resurrected.
"What... what is this terrifying pressure?" Voban muttered, his werewolf form bristling. "Heretic Savior, what kind of deity have you summoned? This Authority... it feels like the end of all things!"
Ritsuka sneered. "Unfortunately, you won't get a chance to analyze it. The one I'm calling forth is far beyond a mere 'Devil King' like you."
The aura from the vortex swelled, growing heavier and more oppressive by the second. On the other side of the battlefield, Ishtar landed beside Ritsuka, her face pale. Even Godou, barely standing, froze in place as the presence emerged.
"Wait... Master," Ishtar whispered nervously. "Don't tell me... you're summoning that one?!"
"Of course," Ritsuka replied flatly.
A figure began to take shape within the swirling void. The pressure was so intense that the very ground began to crack and liquefy into black mud.
Finally, a slender, majestic silhouette stepped out of the darkness.
"Finally... you've chosen to rely on my power, Master! I shall crush these insects for you!"
"Wh-what in the world is that?!" Godou gasped, his heart hammering against his ribs.