Chapter 7: Three Choices
The interaction and dialogue between Lucretia and Godou Kusanagi had been clearly heard and perfectly observed by Erica.
As someone who possessed full knowledge of the original storyline, she understood perfectly well that the plot had suffered a massive deviation due to Yumesaki's direct intervention.
Yet, she offered no warnings and made no attempt to interfere.
Instead, she watched the scene unfold with deep amusement. Even when Godou Kusanagi turned around to leave, she didn't step forward to stop him from departing.
She was incredibly eager to find out whether the boy—who was supposed to be the main protagonist of the original story—could still somehow manage to become a Campione now that the timeline had warped.
If he could still pull it off, it would prove he truly possessed the destiny of a protagonist.
If he failed, it would mean this so-called protagonist amounted to nothing more than that, completely unworthy of further note.
Because of this, she was highly anticipating the upcoming developments.
Meanwhile, Lucretia, having secured the Grimoire of Prometheus, walked back into the library archive and handed the tablet directly over to Yumesaki.
The moment Yumesaki received the Grimoire, he began to examine it with a serious expression.
This item had indeed been personally forged by Prometheus, and the lingering traces of Prometheus's power, along with a portion of his Authority, were still very much intact within it.
No wonder Godou Kusanagi had been able to use this very relic to bypass and steal Verethragna's Authority, severely wounding him in the process.
Yumesaki found himself thoroughly intrigued by the artifact, analyzing its structure with total focus.
The current him was no longer the clueless amateur he had been at the very beginning. Spending just a single night of concentrated study, he successfully unraveled the core secrets woven into the Grimoire.
He had completely mastered the power contained within it.
When the following morning arrived, Yumesaki met Lucretia at the dining table.
"The Grimoire you provided gave me some excellent insights."
Yumesaki spoke casually while eating the breakfast Erica had prepared for him—a meal she had gone out to purchase early in the morning immediately after waking up.
As for why she hadn't cooked it herself, Erica had bluntly stated that she didn't possess that particular skillset yet.
Hearing Yumesaki's praise, a small smile formed on Lucretia's face. "Being able to provide useful insights to the Lord God is my absolute honor."
Yumesaki continued smoothly, "Because of that, I shall grant you a reward. I have three excellent methods of compensation prepared here, and you may choose one."
"First, there are currently two Heretic Gods active on the Island of Sardinia. Tell me which God you want gone, and I will personally slay them for you, paving the way for you to become a Campione."
"Second, I can bestow several spells upon you—magic originating from another world entirely. If you train these arts to an exceptionally high and profound level, you will easily gain the power to slay a God yourself and become a Campione."
"Third, you may make a single wish, and I shall fulfill it for you."
Hearing these words, Lucretia's face lit up with a brilliant smile, and she praised him straight from the depths of her heart. "Lord Yumesaki, you truly are an incredibly generous and magnificent deity."
She had certainly never encountered a God who displayed such immense generosity as Yumesaki.
After all, the Heretic Gods she knew each possessed an arrogance that towered above the heavens, completely refusing to look down at mere mortals like her.
Compared to Yumesaki, that group of Gods amounted to nothing more than a bunch of absolute troublemakers.
Aside from bringing endless chaos to their lives, they were completely useless.
Faced with Lucretia's lavish praise, Yumesaki accepted it without any awkwardness, taking a sip of water before speaking calmly. "I am a person who prefers mutually beneficial arrangements. When everyone wins, that is true success."
Lucretia chimed in with deep agreement, "That is incredibly true, Lord Yumesaki. Your magnanimity is as vast as the sun and the moon. Those Heretic Gods who do nothing but bring misery to humanity aren't even worthy of carrying your shoes."
"Alright, cut the flattery and give me your choice," Yumesaki said, waving his hand dismissively.
Lucretia instantly fell into a thoughtful silence.
All three options were incredibly spectacular, and she wanted every single one of them. However, she ultimately managed to suppress her own inner greed.
She began to carefully weigh the pros and cons of each path.
Becoming a Campione was undoubtedly a spectacular choice, one that could elevate a person to the heavens in a single bound, allowing them to stand atop all living creation and act entirely as they pleased.
However, doing so would instantly paint a massive target on her back for the other existing Campiones.
In her eyes, the current Campiones were an utterly exhausting bunch of people. If she could help it, she had absolutely zero desire to involve herself with them.
Furthermore, she didn't personally yearn for a life of endless, terrifying conflict.
Rather than becoming a Campione, Lucretia vastly preferred a quiet life dedicated to researching the mysteries of magic.
She was also intensely curious about what kind of form otherworldly magic took, and whether it could be woven together with the magic of her own world to pioneer an entirely new pathway.
Yumesaki had also explicitly stated that if she trained this magic to a sufficiently high realm, she could still eliminate a God on her own.
This indicated that the absolute ceiling of this so-called otherworldly magic was incredibly high.
The temptation of that alone was simply too massive to ignore.
Yet, the option that truly tempted Lucretia the most was the final choice.
Being able to make any request whatsoever of Yumesaki was an even more powerful asset. Judging by his casual confidence in offering to turn her into a Campione, his raw strength had to be utterly staggering.
That made this single request function much like an all-powerful wish-granting machine.
It might not be literally omnipotent in every conceivable aspect, but it could absolutely resolve the vast majority of any crises she might ever encounter.
After deliberating for several long moments, Lucretia finally made her ultimate decision.
"I choose the magic, Lord Yumesaki."
"A wise choice."
Yumesaki nodded his head in approval, before asking, "The magic arts I command are as numerous as the hairs on a sheep. Take a look for yourself and see exactly what kind of magic you wish to select."
As he spoke, he raised his hand and gave a sharp snap of his fingers.
A shimmering curtain of light resembling a massive projection screen expanded into the air, listing spell after spell in neat rows.
Every single magic art displayed came with a detailed explanation of its function and inherent power.
"Based on the value of the items inside your archive, as well as the significance of the Grimoire of Prometheus, you may select ten magic arts from this list to master."
Lucretia had already known Yumesaki was incredibly proficient in the magical arts, but looking at the screen, she realized she had still drastically underestimated him.
Because the magic listed across the glowing screen easily numbered in the thousands.
This was completely absurd—no, it had to be described as completely mind-blowing.
Even Erica couldn't help but draw in a sharp breath, staring at Yumesaki with a look of intense suspicion.
Yumesaki had claimed to be a Shinigami, and Erica had fully believed him.
But seeing this massive compendium of magic today, Erica suddenly found herself doubting reality. Was Yumesaki truly just a Shinigami, or was he actually a God of Magic disguised as one?
Likely only a true God of Magic could possibly master such a staggering variety of spells.
Lucretia spent several hours meticulously scanning the screen, finally managing to pick out ten exceptionally powerful magic arts from the massive, overwhelming pile.
The first was Time Magic. This magic was completely heaven-defying, capable of not only halting the flow of time entirely but even forcing time to flow backward. Even among the Gods, only a tiny fraction of entities ever mastered this domain.
Failing to choose it would make her an absolute fool.
The second was Spatial Magic, chosen for the exact same reasons as Time Magic.
The third was Enchant Magic. This was a highly versatile, multi-functional art; the more types of magic the user mastered, the more absurdly overpowered the scaling of this enchantment art became.
The fourth was Hearing Magic, granting the user the ability to perceive the inner thoughts, voices, and information of all individuals. Its practical applications were massive, allowing one to hold an absolute, flawless advantage in active combat.
The fifth was Crash Magic, an incredibly advanced form of destructive magic. It could instantly shatter the atomic bonds of any physical matter it touched, causing it to tear itself apart in a flash. When applied to living organisms, the effect obeyed the user's explicit will, capable of reducing the target to ash on the spot or dividing them into thousands of tiny, harmless clones.
The sixth was Terrain Effect Magic, capable of reshaping the form and structure of an object completely. It could transmute a mere rock into a massive island, or compress an entire island down into a tiny pebble.
The seventh was Heavenly Body Magic. This art allowed the user to call down falling stars, massive meteorites, and other celestial bodies to launch devastating attacks, unleashing incredible speed and apocalyptic destructive power.
The eighth was Resurrection Magic, which could pull a deceased individual back to the land of the living, though the absolute prerequisite was that the physical body had to remain entirely intact.
This particular spell was an art Yumesaki had developed by referencing the magic systems of the Fairy Tail world.
He had then fused it with concepts from other dimensions alongside the intrinsic power of the Revive-Revive Fruit, successfully forging this technique.
It was an authentic, true magic of resurrection.
The ninth was Soul Magic, another art Yumesaki had created by synthesizing multiple disparate power systems together, granting full authority to manipulate souls, forge new souls, and alter existing soul structures.
The tenth was Travel Magic, enabling the user to instantaneously travel to locations they had never previously visited, and even perform journeys across entirely different dimensions.
Once Lucretia finished finalizing her ten choices, Yumesaki offered a serious warning. "The other magic arts are perfectly fine, but you had best use that final travel magic with extreme caution."
"Because this spell will displace you to another world completely at random. If you do not possess the exact coordinates of this native world, attempting to return here will be a task as difficult as reaching for the stars."
"If your luck is good, you might simply drift from one world to the next, never able to locate the path back to your home."
"If your luck is bad, who knows, you might drop straight into a hyper-dangerous world and get instantly obliterated."
Lucretia nodded her head solemnly, promising that she would absolutely handle this magic with the utmost care.
As for whether she would actually stay true to those words, Yumesaki didn't particularly care.
He had already fulfilled the obligations he set out to perform.
Following that, he activated Archive Magic, directly transferring the complete training methodologies for all ten magic arts straight into Lucretia's mind.
By the time Lucretia finished organizing the massive influx of newfound knowledge within her brain, several hours had already slipped by.
Yumesaki and Erica had already departed from her home.
Staring out toward the empty space where the two had been, Lucretia couldn't help but sigh softly. "Truly just like the wind. A God who defies all conventional expectations."
So, where exactly had Yumesaki and Erica gone?
Naturally, they had set off to hunt down the Heretic God.
Deep within a certain vast stretch of forest lay the ancient ruins of San Basilio.
The historical site was not particularly well-protected or preserved, but situated right in the center of the ruins' open plaza was a distinctly triangular cave entrance.
Inside the cave, a stone staircase stretched continuously down into the subterranean depths, leading directly into a hidden underground temple.
The interior of the temple had been masterfully constructed out of stacked stone blocks, with every single gap and crevice meticulously sealed with matching masonry work.
At the deepest point of the sanctuary, a natural underground spring bubbled up from beneath the earth.
The Heretic God, Melqart, was sitting right alongside the edge of the flowing spring water.
Despite his status as a literal God, his hair was completely wild and tangled as though it had never seen a comb, and a thick beard covered the entire lower half of his face, leaving a striking impression. It was an incredibly savage, unrefined appearance.
To be perfectly honest, judging strictly by his outer looks alone, this individual gave off the impression of a wild caveman rather than a divine being.
Yet, absolutely no one who looked upon him would ever mistake him for a mere wild human.
Because his physical body was simply too massive, robust, and radiating an unmistakable air of sacred divinity.
Even though he wore incredibly crude attire—dirty, tattered cloth wrapped around him, a worn leather breastplate strapped across his chest, and an old, frayed cape draped over his shoulders—he still exuded an undeniable aura of absolute majesty.
Just standing face-to-face with him would instill an overwhelming urge in any mortal to bow their head and drop to their knees.
Such was the undeniable presence of a God.
The benevolence of a deity was as vast as the boundless sea, while the wrath of a deity was as terrifying as the depths of hell.
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