---o---
Dark clouds gathered, and thunder roared with a terror that reached the extreme.
A majestic pressure swept out in all directions, the surging power pushing everything nearby backwards. The terrifying fluctuations caused palpitations in the hearts of all gods and demons present.
As if thousands of lightning dragons were dancing together, the distant horizon was covered by spears of lightning falling like torrential rain. In a single instant, the sea of clouds was bombarded into scattered fragments!
This was the wrath of the Thunder God, or rather, the wrath of the Heavens!
The Authority named Indra's Thunder was undoubtedly a lightning Authority of the highest tier.
That thunder possessed a terrifying power that even the Lord of Devas—Indra himself—could not evade.
Like an eagle with broken wings, the Warlord, injured by the reflected force, fell from the sky.
"Heh."
Standing in the distance, looking indifferently at the Warlord who had been swept away by his own thunder, a sneer appeared on the young boy's face.
"You're quite tenacious. Truly impressive."
"To... to reflect my Indra's Thunder back at me intact..."
The Warlord, weaker than ever before, climbed out of the large crater on the ground, staring fixedly at Li Zihan.
It seemed he had suffered considerable damage; his gaze was unfocused, his expression haggard, and his voice hoarse.
If not for those eyes still burning with a fighting spirit like a raging fire, one would hardly recognize him as the all-powerful Warlord.
"Well, that's about right. By the way—for something claiming to be able to end all things in the world along with their concepts, Indra's Thunder sure failed to finish off someone protected by the Victory Bow, didn't it?"
The boy, flanked by the three Goddesses of Vengeance, spoke as if despising something.
"Truly incompetent."
"Is it really okay to insult your own Authority like that?"
Fully aware that the guy opposite him also held the Authority of Indra's Thunder, the Warlord coughed violently.
With every cough, a shocking streak of red appeared at the corner of his mouth.
It was obvious he was injured.
Although holding the Victory Bow allowed him to negate a massive amount of damage, the power of Indra's Thunder, magnified by the bow, had still inflicted great harm upon his body.
The combat power of Karna, the son of the charioteer, wasn't actually 'god-modding' (overpowered) in the original Hindu mythology.
Due to his pitfall of a mother, the teachings he received weren't very sufficient. Thus, even though his natural talent was extremely high, he was actually at a disadvantage in terms of martial prowess compared to Arjuna, whose talent was equally absurd but who had received a very complete education.
However—
In battle, Arjuna, who was theoretically stronger than Karna, could do nothing against him and was even suppressed.
The reason was simple: After combining the Sunwheel Armor and Earrings granted by Surya, Karna possessed a super-invincible 'turtle shell.'
When Karna wore only the armor or only the earrings, a fight was still possible. But once Karna wore both, divine weapons that could destroy heaven and earth were no different from an Exia-brand polisher against him.
To prevent his son, Arjuna, from dying of exhaustion while trying to polish that armor during the great war—and subsequently getting killed—Indra chose to use deception.
As the price for scamming the Sunwheel Armor and Earrings, Indra gifted his divine spear to Karna.
Karna, therefore, possessed Indra's Authority.
"What's wrong with that?"
The boy, commanding the three goddesses summoned by the Black Prince's Authority, smiled nonchalantly.
He had plenty of skills. It wasn't as if he lacked skills stronger than the Indra's Thunder derived from the God-Slaying Spear. What did it matter if he mocked it a bit?
"But, that sort of thing doesn't really matter."
With a gaze as gentle as warm sunlight, the boy extended his hand in the direction of the Warlord.
Then—
The three goddesses beside him raised their longbows.
Those bows were filled with the aura of the Great God Shiva, and the arrows formed of thunder carried an endless aura of destruction.
Verethragna's Victory Bow and Indra's Thunder had been copied by them.
Although the three goddesses could only exert seventy percent of Verethragna's level, if all three attacked simultaneously, even Verethragna with his God-King status would spill blood.
Is he truly a monster that only the King of the End can defeat?
Having already displayed his Authority as a God-King yet seeing no dawn of victory, and instead being forced into a desperate corner, the Warlord looked at those three goddesses with a mind cooler than ever before.
The situation was very bad.
The Child of the Prophet was completely different from the Child of the Fool who slaughtered gods based on impulse and intuition. His strength level was already unreasonable.
So far, he hadn't even used the God-Slaying Spear obtained from Verethragna himself, nor had he activated the Fire-Bringer granted by his 'father,' nor had he fully utilized the Authorities of the other God-Slayers.
If Verethragna used the Golden Sword of Words now, he could probably seal the boy's Silver Hand, the Goddesses of Vengeance, and perhaps the Ten Incarnations.
But—
If he were hit by the Fire-Bringer during the time it took to use the Golden Sword, then all would be lost.
Verethragna did not fear battle, nor did he fear defeat.
Whether trampling his enemy to death or fighting until his last drop of blood was shed, it was all glory to him.
However, he had a pact with Mithra to assist in slaying the worst Demon King in history.
If he died before fulfilling the contract, allowing the worst Demon King to roam free in the world, it would be the shame of his life.
So, let's gamble everything on this.
The Warlord's eyes flickered as he sensed a Divine Realm secretly connecting with this space.
His comrade, Mithra, was not idle.
While Verethragna fought, that King was driving his Divine Realm to connect with this world.
When the Divine Realm connected with the real world, the strongest Demon King raised by the Sage would be pressed onto the guillotine.
No one can resist the glory of the Divine Sword of Salvation!
And Mithra is the master of the Divine Sword of Salvation!!
As long as he could get him into the Divine Realm, the final victory would belong to their side.
Thinking this, Verethragna quietly released "Wind" to disturb the surrounding space, masking the aura of the approaching King of the End.
"At a time like this, you still want to keep fighting?"
Li Zihan uttered words that were ambiguous between praise and mockery.
What followed immediately was killing intent.
The dense killing intent seemed to condense the air into water, squeezing the oxygen out of one's lungs drop by drop.
A feeling of extreme danger assaulted him. His soul felt as if it had fallen into an ice cellar; a piercing chill that made Verethragna's spine shiver invaded his entire body.
The three goddesses moved!
They simultaneously raised the Victory Bow and called upon Indra's Thunder.
Terrifying thunder agitated the atmosphere for dozens of kilometers. Shockwaves formed a wildly violent windstorm, sweeping down from above the clouds in an instant, spanning heaven and earth.
Blinding thunder exploded in the sky, occupying a massive swathe of the heavens and sweeping out in all directions. The sound of the explosions resonated through the firmament like the roar of dragons.
Each bolt of thunder possessed the terrifying power to make a god fall, and there were three such attacks in total!!
"Crush his spine, dig out his bones, hair, and brains, and trample his blood together with the mud!"
Without any hesitation, the Warlord, certain he would die if hit, chanted his spell.
From beneath the ground, a wild boar leaped out—its fur pitch-black, sharp tusks protruding from its mouth, its physique magnificent with bulging muscles, its size even a notch larger than the Bull. It moved to resist the violent lightning dragons.
It roared, the sonic boom contained within its bellow sounding like thousands of thunderclaps exploding at once.
However, the Warlord, knowing full well how terrifying his Authority was when amplified by the Victory Bow, did not continue to inject power. Instead, he abruptly transformed into a gale and dispersed.
Theoretically, the best method at this moment would be to use the Warrior incarnation to tear apart the Goddesses of Vengeance Authority.
But—
Hindered by the Authority known as Fire-Bringer, Verethragna could not do so.
It was fine when not using Authorities; he possessed the power to resist the theft of the Fire-Bringer to some extent. But if he displayed the Authority, his Warrior incarnation would likely be stripped away directly.
Therefore, he could only find a shield to resist for him.
The Boar incarnation was merely his shield for now.
almost instantly, the Boar let out a terrified wail.
The terrifying thunder swallowed it.
Under the assault of the triple Indra's Thunder, this Divine Beast, which theoretically could sweep across the entire island nation, melted into smoke like a rat thrown into boiling water.
In exchange, his main body escaped the fatal lightning strike.
"For victory, come before me! O Immortal Sun, grant me a shining steed!"
Having fled the Indra's Thunder, the Warlord roared furiously while calculating the distance between himself and Mithra.
Li Zihan instantly looked up, gazing towards the sky.
In just a split second, the sky was covered in gold and red.
Scorching explosive flames lit up the horizon, looking like molten iron yet possessing the brilliance of the sun. They effortlessly dyed half the sky a terrifying crimson, creating a scene like the end of the world.
The field of vision was filled with explosive fire. Golden rays of light danced continuously; with every pulse, searing sparks flashed violently, and the sea of clouds was instantly blown away by the heatwave.
Very simply, the boy saw the true form of what was coloring the sky.
It was a massive fireball.
To describe it, it was as if the sun itself was falling.
BOOM—!
The fireball smashed through the sky curtain and crashed down, burning toward the earth with firepower sufficient to cover a city.
"A very nice power."
"But still a bit lacking."
Though his skin stung as if pricked by knives, Li Zihan's expression remained incredibly indifferent. He held the demonic sword high.
"I... allow nothing to exist that I cannot sever."
The light of the Silver Hand intensified, and the same light attached itself to the demonic sword derived from the Celtic God-King.
God-Slayer Authorities are completely a "Because I Think So" series.
As long as one firmly believes in their will and pays the price in cursed magical energy, one can extend the Authority to achieve the desired result.
In an instant, the sword swung.
A horrifying scene occurred.
The sky was split in two, cracking open from above. Naturally, the fireball was also cleaved in half.
BOOM—!!
An unprecedented explosion ensued.
Verethragna instantly outputted magical energy, stabilizing the space and causing the severed fireball to detonate, generating a divine fire that swallowed the entire city in a flash.
Flickering firelight completely filled the field of vision, turning into a pillar of fire reaching the clouds, seemingly scorching the entire sky and turning everything around it into a dead zone.
But, was this really effective against a certain individual?
"Utterly boring."
The voice of the boy, who possessed not only the Fire-Bringer but also the Authority known as the Ring of Usurpation, was very cold.
His clothes were burning with golden, ultra-high-heat flames, and his taut, strong body had also turned a scorching crimson red—no, it was glowing hot like metal placed in high temperatures.
Even if the body is crushed and bones shattered, the sword is absolutely indestructible! The broken blade melts in the furnace once more, is forged again, and is reborn as a new sword.
This is the immortality of Steel.
[Steel Protection]
The Authority Salvatore Doni usurped from the Nordic hero Siegfried. It is a power that grants the body the hardness and weight of steel, protecting oneself. Ordinary collapses are less than rain to him.
The Authority provides unparalleled weight and hardness, making it so Doni cannot be easily blown away. Furthermore, his movements do not become sluggish due to the increased body weight, so he can utilize this super-weight for attacks, making strikes with such a body extremely effective against enemies.
The greatest weakness of the Steel Undying Body is high temperature, but even so, it can endure high-heat attacks equivalent to solar flares for over ten minutes with only a sunburn to show for it.
Relying on crushing strength and two shameless defensive Authorities effectively stolen from his compatriots, the boy evaluated the explosive flames from Verethragna.
"If you have no other moves, today is the moment of your death."
"No, the one who should die is you."
It was not Verethragna who answered Li Zihan, but another voice.
As if the world began to flip, in just an instant, the real world transformed into a Divine Realm.
Verethragna had welcomed his reinforcements.
It was a man in the prime of his life, radiating the majesty of a king from his entire body.
Beside him appeared a "Lion Stone Mask." The mask floated in mid-air. From the sides of the mask, modeled after the King of Beasts, grew "living snakes."
The two snakes bared their fangs at Li Zihan, emitting threatening hisses.
The weakened Verethragna was behind him, gasping for breath, but his face was filled with a smile.
He had won.
Because his reinforcements had arrived.
"Now begins your judgment. God-slaying beast raised under Prometheus's doting... what is your name?"
Mithra, holding a divine sword in one hand and a royal scepter in the other, spoke calmly.
"Is that sort of thing important?"
The boy, who didn't think there was any point in announcing his name before a fight, raised an eyebrow.
His true enemy for this trip had finally appeared.
"Indeed, it is not important."
Mithra, clad in royal attire, pointed the scepter in his hand at the smiling god-slaying beast before him.
He was the source of the world's turmoil, a Rakshasa whose very existence was a disaster, while Mithra was the hero endowed with the destiny to end chaos.
Now, he was the Demon King that he, as the Hero, must subjugate.
Do a Hero and a Rakshasa King need to understand each other?
Of course not.
An expression that was completely unlike a hero, arguably even more tyrannical than a ferocious beast, appeared on the man's face, which was filled with a sense of majestic virtue.
He narrowed his eyes, brimming with divinity, and gazed forward. The iciness in his gaze seemed capable of freezing time and space.
"Nameless Rakshasa, right here and now, I—Mithra, the Guardian of Oaths and the King of the End—sentence you to death."
Author's Note:
PS: Two-in-one chapter.