What happens when someone forcibly fuses divine authority?
Aesc could not say for certain.
But in general, it depended on the divinity of the authority's original owner.
The authority Shiomi possessed was extremely close to that of a Chief God.
Even if he offered no resistance and allowed Aesc to seize and devour it, she still would not be able to easily control it while avoiding every possible side effect, or even a rampage.
The Unified Divine Form was Shiomi's solution.
But swallowing authority like this without preparation, forcing a fusion simply to obtain the power of a Divine Spirit...
There was only one possible outcome.
Aesc withdrew the crimson spears and used the [Chosen Spear] to brace herself against the violent storm of rampaging mana.
It reminded her of the anomaly she had encountered at that tiny Singularity in the past.
But the sensation was completely different.
Rampage.
"Such deep obsession..." Aesc sighed softly. "But if it's gone this far, hasn't the purpose already been reversed?"
Morgan, who had forcibly fused with the authority, became its core.
The waters of the First Netherworld gathered around her, spontaneously constructing a special divine body, transforming her into an utterly merciless god.
True to its name, 'Severity' was the harshest aspect within Tenkei Shiomi, a one-sided manifestation of his authority.
Within the scope of its gaze, it held the power of life and death over all living things, imposing trials that none could surpass.
For some reason, it reminded Aesc of the expression Shiomi once wore when slaughtering fairies in the Fairy Kingdom.
There was no trace left of the will of Morgan from Proper Human History.
The moment she forced the fusion, her consciousness had been drowned by the authority itself. Only the lingering obsession remained, guiding the still-forming divine body.
Aesc, who had originally intended to thoroughly defeat the Morgan of Proper Human History before reclaiming the authority, let out a quiet sigh.
She released the [Chosen Spear], allowing it to float beside her, then calmly raised her hand and untied the ribbon that bound her hair.
Her silver hair fell like a waterfall.
With a few swift movements, she gathered it again and tied it tightly into a more practical style.
Eyes closed, Aesc carefully observed the rampaging divine body.
The First Netherworld had already fallen into extreme chaos.
If the situation here was not resolved quickly, the entire Tlatlauqui could collapse. The waters would surge back, unleashing a flood that would drown all of Mictlan.
If that flood could somehow eliminate the still dormant ORT, it would be fortunate.
But realistically, a mere flood would likely have little effect.
Which meant there was only one option.
The master of Tlatlauqui had to be dealt with here.
Morgan of Proper Human History, the one occupying the First Netherworld.
Time was running out. The disturbance here would inevitably attract the attention of other enemies, including the Alien God.
Compared to unleashing a large-scale Noble Phantasm, a precise strike would be more appropriate.
Fortunately, before coming here, she had listened to his advice and brought that spear as well.
Otherwise, going back and forth would have wasted precious time.
Now the First Netherworld was filled with dense mist. The shoreline and the water were completely obscured. She could not even determine her exact position.
"I originally had no intention of killing you," Aesc said quietly. "But now that things have come to this... even if you are the 'other me' of Proper Human History, there is no other choice."
With her hair now tied, Aesc summoned Fergnir and gripped it in her hand.
Mana surged as the very heavens and earth seemed to overturn.
Holding the spear tightly with both hands, she began to recite words that sounded like a prayer.
"I declare, in the name of my husband's divinity, awaken the sleeping power of the divine spear. It is redemption for the forsaken, reward for the forsaken. Like a meteor that tears across the heavens, proclaim the destined death of all things..."
Overwhelming mana surged to its absolute peak.
Rising into the sky, Aesc opened her fairy eyes, which shone with radiant magical light. Her lips moved slightly as she spoke the spear's True Name.
[Ragnarok Gungnir]
For a moment, time seemed to stop.
A golden meteor streaked across the sky of the First Netherworld, piercing the divine body that was still forming and passing straight through Morgan at its core.
The massive arm of the divine body, stretching dozens of meters long, froze just before it could complete the encirclement.
Then time resumed.
The towering water god, as immense as the flame giant Surtr, collapsed in an instant.
A torrential rain began to fall.
Morgan lay on the surface of the water, blood spreading beneath her and staining the water red. She stared blankly at the sky, as if unable to understand what had just happened.
"People cannot live only by 'Severity.' And gods cannot exist with only 'Severity' either."
Aesc stood beside her and looked down.
"That applies whether it's toward others... or toward yourself."
"That sounds like the words of someone with experience as a god..." Morgan murmured. Then she shook her head slightly. "No... you always were."
"Only halfway," Aesc replied calmly. "I only became a Unified God by borrowing the affection of my husband."
"My husband's affection..."
Morgan slowly closed her eyes.
"What a distant phrase."
The authority that had been forcibly devoured and fused began to emerge as Morgan's Spirit Origin dissipated. There was no longer any need to separate it manually.
Aesc reached out to guide it, intending to bring it back to shore and return it to Shiomi.
"With this, that makes one third recovered."
She looked at the water, now stained only with blood, and was about to sigh in relief and turn back.
But suddenly the authority in her hand became unstable.
Before she could understand what was happening, the authority flowed directly into her body on its own.
Her breathing halted for a moment. Aesc thought it was her turn to rampage.
But that did not happen.
When she came back to her senses, she had already taken on the form of the Unity God.
The power was incomplete, but the form itself was unmistakable.
"Huh?"
The form lasted only a few seconds before it faded away on its own, before Aesc could even finish being surprised.
Yet she could clearly feel it.
If she wished to activate it again right now, it would not be difficult.
The problem was that the authority had somehow attached itself to her and become her possession.
And she had no way to separate it on her own.
The compatibility was absurdly high.
It was a gap that the Morgan of Proper Human History had never realized, even at the moment of her death.
In the end, carrying that confusion with her, Aesc returned to the shore somewhat dejected and reunited with Shiomi and Skadi.
Scáthach was nowhere to be seen.
"I sensed the authority rampaging earlier. Luckily you handled it properly. Are you alright?" Shiomi asked with concern.
"Are you injured anywhere?"
After all, Aesc had temporarily disabled the damage compensation ritual earlier out of concern that it might affect him.
"I'm fine..." Aesc shook her head.
"Then why do you look so down? Did you lose?" Skadi asked, now worried as well.
Aesc pressed a hand against her chest.
"I won. And I recovered the authority too... The problem is that it somehow fused with me."
"I see." Shiomi let out a relieved smile. "In that case, just hold onto it for now. Once we've recovered all of them, you can return everything to me then."
Hearing that, Aesc relaxed considerably, reassured that the authority had not completely transferred to her.
Though she still could not be certain whether the instability of the authority had been caused solely by herself.
"By the way, where's Scáthach?" she asked.
"There was a bit of trouble on the Storm Border side. She went back first to help," Shiomi explained. "We stayed here so we could meet you and return together."