"For victory, come swiftly before me!"
"O immortal Sun, grant me a radiant steed, a spiritual horse of swift hooves, and summon the halo that symbolizes your master!"
Divine words representing Heat, Light, and the Sun echoed beneath the night sky. A dazzling light suddenly flashed across the endless starry heavens, then vanished in an instant, and immediately afterward the beautiful and elegant White Horse came galloping down from the night sky.
The White Horse shone with blinding white light, and behind it carried a scorching sphere of fire. That sphere of fire was the sun, an explosion of flames, a terrifying temperature capable of turning everything into ashes!
Upon seeing the White Horse, Ebisu's eyes suddenly narrowed. Gritting his teeth, he waved his hand and instantly vanished from where he stood, trying to escape. However, just as he desperately tried to distance himself from the White Horse, a ray of moonlight suddenly appeared before him.
The moonlight was incomparably solid, like white glass, pure and beautiful.
But in Ebisu's eyes, that radiant white moonlight was the announcement of his death.
"Break apart!"
Roaring loudly, Ebisu struck the moonlight barrier blocking his path of escape with fists and kicks. The barrier of moonlight continuously trembled, yet it showed no signs of cracking.
Of course, how could the current Ebisu possibly break the moonlight? Moreover, Nakano Yu was watching him from nearby.
Raising his hand to summon the White Horse beside him, Nakano Yu gently stroked its golden mane that resembled flames, and the White Horse affectionately rubbed its head against the young man. The White Horse's flames were extremely terrifying, for they represented the sun itself.
But where there is a scorching sun, there is also a warm sun. How could the White Horse possibly harm Nakano Yu?
Not rushing to order the White Horse forward to burn Ebisu into ashes, Nakano Yu watched the frantic Ebisu with a faint smile in his eyes, no one knowing what he was thinking about.
Honestly, Nakano Yu was rather disappointed by Ebisu's behavior.
After all, Ebisu was one of the gods greatly respected by the people of Japan. And yet... someone who accepted human offerings and then massacred humans, and as a Heretic God possessed an extremely fanatical obsession with remaining in the mortal world.
Compared to all the Heretic Gods Nakano Yu had seen so far, Ebisu could be called the worst.
Not even the other Heretic Gods, even when killed by him, ended up in such a frenzied state. After all, even Heretic Gods possessed their own pride and dignity; they would calmly return to mythology, unlike Ebisu, who merely raged helplessly.
"This... how is this possible?!"
At this moment Ebisu was already exhausted. His constant attacks further drained his already limited strength. But the moonlight barrier was like jelly, swaying and rippling, yet showing no signs of breaking.
Soon the moonlight barrier stopped trembling and appeared completely intact before Ebisu's disbelieving gaze.
Shivering, Ebisu swallowed hard, truly unable to believe that he would meet his end here today.
Not far away, Nakano Yu saw that Ebisu had finally stopped moving. He patted the neck of the White Horse beside him, and as if understanding, the White Horse neighed and charged toward Ebisu, carrying the fiery sphere of the scorching sun.
"Neeeeigh~!"
The swift neigh of the White Horse reached Ebisu's ears. Ebisu turned his head toward the White Horse rushing toward him, and his previously hysterical state completely disappeared.
Had the White Horse slowed down, or had Ebisu simply accepted his fate?
Ebisu was not sure; he only knew that he was tired.
When had it started? Thousands of years ago? Tens of thousands of years ago? Ebisu did not know. Ever since he could remember, he had wandered the endless ocean.
At first he did not even know who his parents were. In the end a man told him that he was the noble god of Takama-ga-hara, that his father was Izanagi, the father of all gods, and his mother was Izanami, the Mother of the Dead from the underworld.
Ebisu did not agree with those words. He had opened his eyes upon the ocean; the sea was his mother, and he had no father.
But listening to that man recount events of the past, Ebisu's heart became filled with confusion. He felt anger and incomprehension. He could not understand why his parents had abandoned him. Was it merely because he was not beautiful?
Ebisu wanted to question the gods of Takama-ga-hara, but he had long since lost the right to step into Takama-ga-hara. After all, he was merely a discarded failed child.
It seemed that from then on he had become very tired. Every day he listened to human greed, stirred wild winds upon the ocean, and occasionally overturned a ship for amusement, but... it was exhausting.
Ah...
With a quiet sigh, Ebisu looked at the ocean beneath his feet, which had already become crimson, and a self-mocking smile appeared on his face.
He said that he wanted to punish humanity, but it seemed that the destruction he caused was even worse.
Forget it, it is time to return.
With that thought, Ebisu spread his arms toward the White Horse galloping toward him. The White Horse's speed suddenly increased, and in a single instant it arrived before Ebisu.
Flames, accompanied by blazing heatwaves, rushed toward Ebisu and embraced him.
Boom!!!
In the very next second, heaven and earth trembled. An enormous pillar of fire erupted toward the sky, carrying with it scorching white steam from the evaporated sea.
Watching that pillar of fire that shook the world, Nakano Yu's figure flashed, and with the Power of the Moon he returned to his dormitory room. At the same time, a system notification rang in his ears:
[Ding! Congratulations to the host for completing the hidden mission: Heretic God, Ebisu!]
[The host has received rewards: Gacha Draws ×10, one opportunity to obtain a specific Authority ×1!]
Hearing that sound, a smile appeared on Nakano Yu's face.
It had been a long time since he had encountered a wild Heretic God, and a long time since he had obtained an opportunity for a specific Authority.
Thinking about it, Nakano Yu lay down on the bed.
The dizziness in his head became increasingly intense. Nakano Yu was certain that he would soon lose consciousness and go to Pandora. Rather than simply fainting without knowing where he would end up, he could at least choose a comfortable position to lie in.
The throbbing in his head made Nakano Yu feel extremely uncomfortable. In the past Nakano Yu would have already met Pandora long ago, but for some reason today a long time passed before he felt his consciousness gradually fading away.
When his consciousness formed once more, Nakano Yu was already before Pandora.
Just like during their first meeting, Nakano Yu lay upon Pandora's lap, while Pandora merely watched him with a faint smile on her face.
"We meet again, Yu."
Looking at Nakano Yu, Pandora smiled and greeted him.
Seeing Pandora like this, Nakano Yu also returned the greeting, but suspicion arose in his heart toward her behavior.
When they met last time, Pandora behaved as though she were on the verge of death, so why was her attitude toward him now so... intimate?
If someone said there was nothing strange about this, Nakano Yu would not believe it even if he were killed.
"You... we meet again."
Nakano Yu opened his mouth, wanting to say something more, but in the end he only managed to say: "We meet again."
"I did not expect Yu to be so efficient at killing Heretic Gods. How long has it been since your last godslaying?"
Looking at Nakano Yu, Pandora's tone was filled with surprise and curiosity.
In the past Nakano Yu would always wait for a certain period before once again hunting gods. Why was he now acting as though he had entered the den of Heretic Gods and came to see her every few days?
"Well, this time the other side really did come to me on its own."
Shrugging his shoulders, Nakano Yu rose from Pandora's embrace. When it came to the Heretic Ebisu, Ebisu truly had come before him himself, because Nakano Yu had no intention of summoning the Heretic Ebisu.
Speaking of which, he wondered what kind of Authority he would receive this time after killing the Heretic Ebisu. If he could choose, Nakano Yu wanted the Authority resembling water waves, since Ebisu had escaped from him several times using that ability.
Nakano Yu was greatly attracted to such an Authority. Another thing was Ebisu's ability to summon the holy sword Joyeuse. That thing was practically like Gilgamesh's Gate of Babylon, but... only in appearance. In terms of actual power, Ebisu's holy sword Joyeuse was far inferior to the Gate of Babylon.
After all, those holy swords Joyeuse were merely creations condensed by Ebisu using his Golden nature. Their destructive power was rather weak. The reason Nakano Yu wanted that Authority was because he himself possessed an Authority capable of compensating for the holy sword Joyeuse's lack of destructive power — [Torn Silver Hand]!
Those holy swords Joyeuse might not possess great destructive power, but there were enough of them, and the speed at which they could be summoned was much faster than summoning moon rocks from the Moon. As long as Nakano Yu desired it, he could launch a devastating attack upon the enemy.
Thinking about the torrent of golden magical swords that would follow, Nakano Yu inexplicably felt excited.
"Well, no matter what happens, you always say that, but... you have a familiar aura around you."
Nakano Yu rose from her embrace, and Pandora also stopped kneeling on the ground. After standing up, she placed her hands on her hips and looked at Nakano Yu, as though murmuring to herself, yet also as though questioning the young man.
"I do?"
Hearing that, Nakano Yu looked at Pandora in confusion and asked.
"Hmm... perhaps I merely imagined it."
Rubbing her chin, Pandora thought for a moment, then shook her head and said. Earlier she had sensed the aura of Pandora's Box around Nakano Yu, but her Pandora's Box had already been returned, so she had most likely mistaken it.
Seeing that Pandora did not continue the topic, Nakano Yu also let out a long sigh of relief.
Earlier, when he had drawn Pandora's Box from the unreliable system, he had held it in his hands and observed it. He estimated that the aura of Pandora's Box had remained upon him ever since then.
Fortunately, Pandora was not overly suspicious, otherwise Nakano Yu truly would not have known how to explain the situation.
After speaking with Pandora for a while, Pandora activated the reincarnation spell to return Nakano Yu to the present world.
Upon returning to the present world, Nakano Yu discovered that it was still night. He thought he had slept for another day and night, but when he checked his phone, Nakano Yu realized that he had only been unconscious for three minutes.
"Has the flow of time become the same?"
Murmuring that, Nakano Yu opened the system panel, wanting to see what kind of Authority he had obtained from killing the Heretic Ebisu this time.
After opening the system panel, Nakano Yu quickly found his newly acquired Authority — [Wealth and Gold Treasure].