Chapter 8: You, Go Give Him Two Slaps
The condition of this particular God, however, was not looking good at all.
Driven deep into his thick chest muscles was a golden sword. The blade had snapped right down the middle, leaving it completely without a hilt, with only about two-thirds of its original length remaining.
To add a bit of context, this weapon was actually the Golden Sword of Verethragna.
As mentioned before, Verethragna possessed ten great incarnations, which also represented his ten Authorities. Among them was the form of a knight grasping a golden sword. When he possessed detailed, thorough knowledge about an opposing God, he could chant the Spell Words to transform into tens of thousands of light spheres, shaping a glittering golden sword to execute an attack.
Against a God, it served as both the ultimate shield and the ultimate sword, but if used continuously, it wore down just like a real blade. This Authority was incredibly potent, even capable of sealing a Campione's Authority, though it could only seal one at a time. During the activation of this ability, the user's physical body received a massive enhancement, while simultaneously granting the vision needed to see right through the true essence of a God. By transforming the Spell Words into a golden-yellow light, even the physical body and divine might of a God could be cleaved apart by this sword Authority—an attack that directly sliced through divinity itself.
The sole reason Melqart was so severely wounded and had failed to heal was entirely due to this golden sword.
"Is there a need for me to report my own name, unknown God, and human?" Melqart asked the two of them, his voice carrying the faint trace of a smile.
Yumesaki shook his head calmly. "That won't be necessary. You are Melqart, aren't you?"
"Indeed! I am precisely Melqart! The name Baal pleases me greatly as well, and Baal Hadad is also a fine title. However, on this island, I suppose I should be called Melqart, shouldn't I? Hahahahaha!"
Melqart's roaring laughter caused the underground temple to tremble violently. This was no mere figure of speech; it was genuinely like an earthquake, making the ground shake, the walls vibrate, and the ceiling shudder.
Furthermore, the reason Melqart referred to himself as Baal was deeply tied to the mythological framework of the Campione universe.
In the world of Campione, Melqart was the king who led the ancient Phoenician pantheon. His original name was Baal, and his mythology later spread to Greece, becoming the prototype for the hero Heracles. Within Christian culture, he was also viewed as the demon king of gluttony, one of the seven deadly sins. Milton's Paradise Lost depicted him as a demon king standing equal to God, who was also the ghost king Beelzebub, leader of the seventy-two pillars of the demon Baal.
In short, the mythological lore in the Campione world was incredibly chaotic and heavily altered. Even Athena did not escape extreme modification, ultimately merging into a single entity alongside Medusa. Therefore, it was perfectly natural for Melqart to bear the name Baal.
"Tell me, unknown God, what business brings you here? Have you come to take advantage of the situation and look for trouble with me?" Melqart interrogated.
Yumesaki nodded, stating without the slightest hint of concealment, "Don't speak so politely, Melqart. My arrival this time is precisely to kick a man while he's down and seize this opportunity to take what I can."
"At first, I thought you were a cunning God, but I never expected you to be so surprisingly straightforward instead." Melqart was somewhat taken aback, yet he had absolutely no intention of just lying down and accepting defeat. Even though he was catastrophically injured, he still retained the strength to fight a mortal enemy one last time.
"Chaser! Exiler! O pair of weapons that became my fans, chase! Let him witness the power of my fury!"
As Melqart chanted the Spell Words, a fierce torrent of lightning materialized out of thin air, snapping and crackling as it lunged toward Yumesaki and Erica in the blink of an eye.
Erica instinctively darted behind Yumesaki's back. As an ordinary Great Knight, facing a God—even an injured one—was simply too far beyond the limits of her capability. She did not doubt for a single second that this God needed only a single bolt of lightning to completely end her life. Tucking herself behind Yumesaki was undoubtedly the smartest choice.
At the exact same moment, facing the sky-filling lightning that materialized from absolute nothingness, Yumesaki did not dodge at all. Instead, he simply raised his right hand. An intangible black hole manifested before him, and with a sharp, rushing whoosh, it completely swallowed the entire sky of lightning inside.
Melqart could not help but freeze in pure astonishment. Just as he was preparing to offer a few words of praise to Yumesaki, he watched as Yumesaki gave his hand a sudden flick.
In the very next second, the sky-filling lightning that had just vanished burst back into existence. Except this time, the lightning discharged directly from Yumesaki's hand, tearing violently across the space straight toward Melqart.
Melqart's pupils quivered violently. He did not even have the time to dodge before the lightning struck him dead-on. His entire body became like a cannonball, flying backward until he smashed into the temple wall with a massive, echoing crash. Instantly, the entire temple shuddered violently.
This left Erica utterly stunned.
Melqart was the God King revered by Semitic linguistic groups like the Canaanites and the Phoenicians. Locusts were his loyal servants. He was the God of Storms, the God of the Sea, the God of the Sun, and the God of Life who governed over both bountiful harvests and absolute destruction. He wielded winds powerful enough to blow away human cities, legions of the dead summoned from the underworld, tidal waves akin to flash floods, and thousands of lightning bolts that struck like heavenly spears. Yet now, Melqart had actually been taken down by lightning.
"How did you do that?" she asked in pure curiosity.
"You... you stole my Authority, didn't you?" Without waiting for Yumesaki to speak, Melqart called out, his voice filled with absolute certainty.
Stole?
Erica suddenly realized what was happening. "The Grimoire of Prometheus?"
In the original timeline of the world, Godou Kusanagi had relied precisely on that Grimoire to steal Verethragna's power, subsequently using Verethragna's own strength to slay him. Now, that very Grimoire had fallen into Yumesaki's hands; she had witnessed Lucretia handing it over to him with her own eyes. She just hadn't expected Yumesaki to crack the secrets of the Grimoire so incredibly fast.
"Correct. This is precisely the Grimoire of Prometheus," Yumesaki spoke, his tone casual. "I have grasped the essence of this power from within the Grimoire, which is why I can steal a God's Authority to use as my own."
Melqart let out a booming laugh. "So that's how it is. The fire thief, huh? Truly a troublesome ability."
Even though he had sustained terrible wounds, had been sent flying by Yumesaki's lightning, and was already standing at death's door, his divine majesty did not diminish in the slightest. Instead, there was a sense of calm resignation. And this kind of acceptance most likely stemmed from their unique nature.
When a God in the Campione world died, they did not perish permanently; rather, they simply returned to the realm of Mythology. If they wished, they could descend into the human world once more. For instance, during the eleventh volume of the original story, Melqart would manifest a second time, fighting Godou Kusanagi at full strength, which ultimately ended in a mutual draw before he returned to Mythology again. Therefore, when it came to the concept of death, this group of Gods had always been quite open-minded. After all, it wasn't a true, permanent demise.
Yumesaki turned his head to look at Erica, then said to her, "You, go give him two slaps."
"Huh? Me?" Erica pointed at herself, completely blanking out.
Melqart flew into a rage. "Are you insulting me, unknown God?" It was highly obvious that if he still possessed a decent amount of power right now, he would have blown himself up along with Yumesaki.
"Ah, I misspoke. Go kill him and become a Campione."
"Me?" Erica could barely believe her ears. Yumesaki was actually willing to let her become a Campione. She couldn't comprehend how a stroke of good fortune as incredible as a pie falling from the sky could land right in her lap. Could it be that, rather than a mere Great Knight, this God preferred a Campione to be part of his harem?
Brushing the thought aside, Erica no longer refused. She took a step forward and walked right up to Melqart.
Initially, Melqart hadn't paid her any attention at all, but now, seeing that he was about to meet his end at the hands of a mere human, he felt a bit disappointed deep down. "I never expected that I would ultimately become your stepping stone."
Erica took a deep breath, then offered a formal, respectful bow toward Melqart. "Please forgive my insolence, Lord God King."
"It matters not," Melqart declared. "It won't be long before I reclaim my full strength. When that time comes, the spearhead of my wrath shall be aimed directly at you!"
Simply put, he had marked Erica. The moment he recovered his full glory, he would break free from Mythology and give her quite a surprise.
"It is a tremendous honor," Erica responded. She raised the sword in her hand, then chanted her Spell Words aloud, her voice clear and resonant.
"O Heart of Lion——You are the unyielding steel. Unless my heart submits, my sword shall never break!"
"O Lion, manifest once more into my hands!"
To ensure she finished Melqart off, Erica chanted several Spell Words back-to-back to maximize her power. Finally, with a single fluid strike, her blade severed Melqart's head.
With that, Melqart was officially dead.
Erica, having just decapitated the God King, turned around intending to thank Yumesaki. Instead, her eyelids fluttered shut, and her entire body collapsed limply to the ground.
This wasn't due to exhaustion; rather, it was because the Circle of Usurpation had begun.
The reason a human could obtain a God's Authority after slaying them and ascend to the heavens in a single bound was entirely due to this Circle of Usurpation. Only after passing through it could a human truly become a Campione.
And the architect behind the Circle of Usurpation was none other than Pandora, the Witch of Mythology.
In this world, Pandora's origins were far from simple. Before the Olympian Gods occupied Greece, Pandora was an Ancient Earth Goddess who possessed immense authority and wisdom, a deity who bestowed various blessings upon both the Sky Gods and humanity. Typically, she resided within the boundary between life and immortality, managing the Circle of Usurpation. Every single person who fought a God and successfully emerged victorious did so with Pandora's assistance. She transferred the Authority of the defeated God and a physical vessel capable of rivaling a deity into the slayer's body as a reward, refashioning them into a demon king.
Namely, what was known as a Campione.
Yumesaki's sole reason for allowing Erica to become a Campione was to draw out Pandora. No, more accurately, it was for the sake of the Circle of Usurpation that Pandora controlled.
He didn't know Pandora's exact location, and moreover, in the eyes of the world's mechanics, he was viewed as a God. Even if he killed another God, it was impossible for him to trigger a class change into a Campione. Therefore, Yumesaki let Erica take the kill.
The moment Erica's soul was drawn to Pandora's side, Yumesaki instantly discovered where Pandora was hiding. He had placed a small trick upon Erica's soul beforehand, leaving a distinct marker.
Just as Erica entered the boundary between life and death to meet Pandora, Yumesaki took a single step forward, and his entire being vanished from the spot. When he materialized once more, he appeared right beside Erica and Pandora, causing Pandora to gasp in sheer shock.
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