Chapter 9: Circle of Usurpation
"Huh... Why are you here?!"
Within the boundary between life and death.
Pandora was right in the middle of executing the Circle of Usurpation for the newly arrived Erica when she suddenly caught sight of Yumesaki. She couldn't restrain herself from letting out a panicked shriek. Yumesaki's sudden intrusion had caught her completely off guard.
Yumesaki offered a slight smile, turning his head to look at her. "Why shouldn't I be able to appear here?"
This version of Pandora looked to be around ten years old, possessing delicate features and a slender frame. Compared to the well-endowed figures of Lucretia or Erica, she definitely fell into the petite category. She had a round, doll-like face and a physique that practically demanded people to call her cute. Her long, violet hair parted to the left and right, and she wore a thin, white dress. Yet, compared to almost anyone else, she exuded a remarkably alluring feminine aura. This was likely the natural presence of a Goddess; otherwise, relying solely on that Lolita-like physique, it would be quite difficult to evoke such a mature impression.
At the exact same time, after realizing that Yumesaki had forced his way into her domain without her permission, Pandora's immediate instinct was to evict this uninvited guest.
One had to understand that the Circle of Usurpation she managed was designed to grant divine power to humans, giving them the means to fight back against the heavens. In the eyes of the Gods, such actions were barely distinguishable from outright treason. It wasn't that no Gods had tried to cause trouble for Pandora over this matter; it was simply that none of them could ever find her. This was also the primary reason Pandora always stayed within this realm and never left. As long as she dared to step outside, she would receive an incredibly warm welcome from the pantheons. As for just how severe that welcome would be, Pandora had absolutely no desire to find out, not now and not for the rest of her eternal life.
Yet now, a God had blatantly walked straight into her domain. To say Pandora wasn't panicking would be an absolute lie. In reality, she was utterly terrified right now, wishing more than anything that she could kick Yumesaki out immediately.
"Don't waste your energy in vain. You are no match for me, you cannot possibly win against me, and you certainly cannot force me out." As he spoke, Yumesaki casually dispelled Pandora's attempts to reject him.
This left Pandora incredibly angry, but what she understood even better was her own helplessness. To the outside world, Pandora was indeed a Goddess, but even among deities, there was a strict hierarchy. The highest tier consisted of entities like Odin and Zeus, who held the status of God Kings. Below them were Gods akin to Apollo and Michael. As for Pandora, even though she was a Goddess, her status couldn't even compare to Apollo, let alone Odin or Zeus. Therefore, she possessed absolutely no means to eject Yumesaki from her own territory.
To use an analogy, Yumesaki was like a massive, heavily built robber who had suddenly broken into someone's house, while the homeowner inside was merely a seven or eight-year-old child. Do you think a seven or eight-year-old child would be capable of throwing a hulking robber like Yumesaki out the door? Of course it was impossible.
To make matters worse, this child had run afoul of the authorities due to certain illicit dealings and didn't dare call the police. Because if she did, the moment the police arrived, the first person they would lock up wouldn't be the robber, but the child herself.
Thus, the moment Yumesaki entered Pandora's domain, Pandora had lost completely. Yumesaki could do whatever he pleased here.
In reality, however, he had no intention of attacking Pandora. Yumesaki possessed absolutely zero interest in a young, undeveloped Loli. Even if Pandora was technically a legal Loli by age, Yumesaki didn't give her completely flat chest so much as a second glance.
His sole objective in coming here was the Circle of Usurpation.
The Circle of Usurpation was actually a creation that Pandora had crafted alongside her husband. Indeed, in this Campione world, Pandora actually had a spouse, and her husband was none other than the younger brother of Prometheus—Epimetheus. Therefore, every single Campione in the world was technically a child born from Pandora and her husband, Epimetheus. Pandora frequently viewed herself as the mother of all Campiones, affectionately calling them her children.
Unfortunately, the boundary between life and death was incredibly unique. Anyone who entered this place would completely forget everything that occurred here the moment they left. Only when they entered again in the future would they recall what had transpired. Of course, whether Pandora had intentionally implemented some small trick to cause this memory loss was something only she knew for certain. Yumesaki figured that the Campiones forgetting this place was highly likely a subtle mechanism Pandora deliberately put in place to protect herself from being discovered by the other Gods.
And this particular trick had indeed protected her perfectly. From the distant past up to the modern era, quite a few Campiones had been born, yet from beginning to end, not a single one had ever managed to trace Pandora through their connection. Until today, when Yumesaki relied on his own capabilities to shatter Pandora's safeguards and locate this realm.
After confirming that she was utterly powerless against Yumesaki, Pandora retreated to the side, unable to stop herself from asking, "What exactly do you want?"
"I came for the Circle of Usurpation."
As Yumesaki spoke, he began observing Erica's condition. The moment Erica entered the boundary between life and death, the Circle of Usurpation had already commenced. With the aid of the ritual, the current Erica was undergoing a fundamental transformation into a Campione.
Yumesaki observed this entire process with absolute clarity. He had always felt that this Circle of Usurpation carried a powerful sense of déjà vu. He quickly discovered that the underlying logic of this ritual bore a striking resemblance to the Grimoire of Prometheus he had obtained. The Grimoire of Prometheus could steal a God's power and store it within its pages, releasing it whenever necessary. Meanwhile, the Circle of Usurpation essentially extracted a God's power and funneled it directly into a human body to forge a Campione.
The core mechanics of both processes were virtually identical. No wonder Yumesaki felt such a sense of familiarity.
If one thought about it carefully, the Circle of Usurpation was created by Pandora and her husband Epimetheus, and her husband Epimetheus just happened to be Prometheus's younger brother. Therefore, it was entirely natural for the two things to share common ground. Who knew, perhaps Prometheus himself had dropped a few hints during its creation. This aligned perfectly with Prometheus's personality; after all, he was the original fire thief who, for the sake of humanity, was willing to bring heaven's flames down to the mortal realm.
By the time Yumesaki finished analyzing the Circle of Usurpation, he had mastered roughly seventy to eighty percent of its mechanics. Throughout this entire period, Pandora kept a wary, vigilant eye on him. The moment Yumesaki made any unusual movement, she would launch an attack without a single shred of hesitation. In her eyes, Erica—this newly forming Campione—was her child. As a mother, fighting to protect her child was only natural. Even though she knew perfectly well she couldn't defeat Yumesaki, she would still fight.
Yet from start to finish, Yumesaki remained perfectly still. Or rather, he simply didn't care about Pandora's scrutiny in the slightest. Having fully grasped the Circle of Usurpation, Yumesaki departed from the boundary between life and death, leaving behind a completely bewildered Pandora.
Ah, this...
That guy really just came purely for the Circle of Usurpation? Do even Gods find themselves interested in this kind of ritual? Pandora was completely speechless.
...
On the other side, after Yumesaki left the boundary between life and death, he returned to the underground temple from before. Erica's physical body was still lying right where she fell. The one that had entered the boundary between life and death was Erica's soul, not her physical form.
Not long after Yumesaki returned, Erica gradually awoke from her deep slumber. At this moment, she had officially become a genuine, bona fide Campione. However, regarding the events inside the boundary between life and death, her mind had been wiped entirely clean. She couldn't even remember meeting Pandora at all.
But that didn't matter; whether she remembered it or not wasn't important. What mattered was that Yumesaki was highly curious about what kind of Authority Erica had actually managed to acquire. Having witnessed the Circle of Usurpation firsthand, Yumesaki knew very well that although the ritual could turn Erica into a Campione, the specific Authority she obtained was entirely dependent on luck. Some people could instantly inherit a God's entire arsenal of Authorities in one go, while others might only walk away with a single one. From this, it was clear that the joys and sorrows of humanity were truly not interconnected.
"What I received is the Authority of Lightning." Hearing Yumesaki's question, Erica raised her right hand, and sparks of electrical energy began dancing across the tips of her fingers one after another.
Yumesaki asked curiously, "Only one Authority?"
Erica nodded her head. "Just one."
Yumesaki couldn't help but click his tongue, commenting dryly, "I didn't expect Melqart to be so stingy."
"This is already more than enough." Erica stated that being able to become a Campione was already a massive blessing from the heavens; the sheer quantity of Authorities didn't really matter to her.
Compared to a God's Authority, she actually cared far more about Yumesaki's magic. An Authority was undoubtedly powerful, but Yumesaki's magic was absolutely nothing ordinary either. The sheer power of some of his spells defied all logic—take the ability to freeze time within Time Magic, for instance. Just that single technique alone would be enough to secure her an invincible position. Therefore, when it came to Time Magic, she absolutely had to obtain it.
As for how she was going to acquire this magic from Yumesaki's hands, Erica already had a rough plan taking shape in her mind. The current her was now a Campione. As long as she revealed this identity upon her return and pulled a few strings, she would easily be able to amass a massive following. Whole groups of Mage Associations would undoubtedly gather under her banner to swear their absolute loyalty.
When that time came, she could use her status as a Campione to order these Mage Associations to copy every single piece of precious magical knowledge they had stored away and hand it over to her. Afterward, she would deliver it all to Yumesaki in exchange for learning other spells from him.
It was truly a flawless plan that maximized her gains from both sides.
As expected of me, to be able to come up with such a magnificent strategy. Erica puffed out her chest, thinking to herself with absolute triumph.
To set her goals into motion as quickly as possible, the moment they left the underground temple, Erica immediately bid Yumesaki farewell.
"Lord Yumesaki, I plan to leave the Island of Sardinia and return to the Copper Black Cross to copy all of our grimoires, so I can present them to Lord Yumesaki as a token of my gratitude for this time. I wonder what Lord Yumesaki's thoughts are on this?"
"Sure, I don't mind. Go ahead and handle it yourself." Hearing that Erica's return was specifically to prepare magical knowledge for him, Yumesaki nodded his head in quick approval.
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