[ The Pegasus, clad in the golden Cloth, put down Pandora, whom he had been holding, and charged towards Partita with a roaring bellow.
Partita's expression grew increasingly ferocious, facing Pegasus's full-force attack with fearless confidence: "IF THAT IS THE CASE! HOW ABOUT I JUST RIP IT RIGHT OUT OF YOU?!"
The next moment, their fists collided, creating a terrifying sound like a meteor falling to earth. A massive surge of energy erupted from their center, sweeping outwards!
Wherever it passed, the earth was ripped apart. The stalemate lasted only for an instant!
Moments later, the meager cloth of Partita's Surplice on her arm began to shatter in large chunks. In this round, Pegasus clearly had the upper hand!
However, after they exchanged blows, Partita's face was still filled with disdain: "It's not good to show off with a gilded Cosmo! And your chest wound is clearly just being endured."
She believed that with Pegasus's current injuries, he couldn't last much longer.
By the pillar below the battlefield, Pandora was also startled awake by the intensity of their duel. The grey world was instantly broken by golden light.
She felt Pegasus's fervent yet sorrowful Cosmo, then looked towards the center of the battlefield, understanding already: "Is that so… those two are still fighting?! Mother and son…!"
"!!" But the next second, Pandora was startled. She sensed a sinister and dangerous aura emanating from Partita, who was falling behind.
"What's going on?! I feel something unfathomable from that woman…"
"Come to think of it, who exactly is she?! To my knowledge, there are no Saints or Specters named after owls!" ]
[ .....]
〜Projection of All Worlds〜
"I was just brainwashed by the complex plot development, and suddenly realized that Pegasus's mother's Surplice seems a bit revealing!"
"Huh?! Wait, what does Pandora mean by that? Is there a twist to the situation?..."
Everyone was surprised by this revelation, yet also somewhat speechless towards Pandora. Good heavens! After being knocked down several times, Pandora finally calmed down, and her clever mind was back online.
But… if you had this information, why didn't you say it sooner? They've been fighting for so long, and now you're only just considering us. There's no such person among the Specters and Saints?!
.....
〜A Certain Magical Index World, Academy City〜
Kamijou Touma, seeing this scene, speculated about Partita's identity:
"Since she doesn't exist among the Saints or Specters, Partita must be some kind of deity."
"It's also very possible that, like Yoma, her divine power was sealed by the gods, so she plans to seek revenge on the heavens!"
Only this explanation seemed very reasonable. After all, someone who planned to pass through the Divine Gate with Yoma to launch a revolution against the Olympian gods shouldn't be an ordinary person.
Hearing Kamijou's guess, Index also had a sudden realization:
"I see, that guess is very likely."
"But… Pegasus only has one God Cloth. How will Yoma and Partita both pass through the God Passage?!"
"Uh… why did your brain suddenly become so sharp?"
Kamijou was slightly stunned. Index seemed to have a very good point!
Why hadn't he noticed this before? Yoma and Partita's so-called grand plan would probably leave them staring at each other in front of the God Passage, after all, there was only one God Cloth, so who would wear it?
〜Overlord World〜
In the Great Tomb of Nazarick's throne room, the Guardians of all floors gathered. Ainz wanted to hear their opinions on the information Pandora had provided.
Sebas bowed to Ainz and slowly said,
"Since Partita doesn't exist on either side, the only guess is that she's a deity!"
He had some confidence in his guess. After all, Pandora, as the commander of the Underworld, had both insight and experience.
Only a god could make Pandora feel something unfathomable. After all… gods in that world weren't exactly rare.
Shalltear was somewhat surprised:
"If that's the case, there are quite a few gods on the Underworld's side!"
Albedo shook her head:
"The main thing is that the Twin Gods aren't here, so all sorts of stray cats and dogs have come out. Haven't you seen how the entire Hades' army is in disarray?"
Within Hades's army, Yoma, a false god, and Partita had their own agendas.
Pandora, along with Radamanthys, rebelled. Alone stole Hades's power, intent on destroying all humanity…
Above them, on the throne, Ainz listened quietly to his subordinates' words, appearing as steady as an old dog, but in reality, he was a bit flustered.
Who knew if his own world would have such strangely-minded gods!
.....
[ Just as Pandora was pondering, Pegasus and his mother fiercely clashed again!
But…
This time, Pegasus's powerful punch was easily blocked by Partita, whose sharp eyes fixed intently on Pegasus!
Then something strange happened. An eye suddenly opened on Partita's shoulder, and wherever her gaze fell, the Pegasus Gold Cloth began to shatter!
"Stop…"
Partita ignored Pegasus, slowly raising her right hand. A suction force surged from her palm, firmly pressing onto the wound on Pegasus's chest: "Let me painlessly extract your soul!"
In an instant, Pegasus distinctly felt something being pulled from within his body.
The next second, a graceful and strong Pegasus with massive wings appeared before Partita: "This is the soul capable of slaying gods!" ]
[ .....]
〜Projection of All Worlds〜
"The Pegasus Gold Cloth shattered so easily, is it really ripped out as Partita said?!"
"So the soul of Pegasus really is a Pegasus, just like his name! It doesn't even have a human form!"
Everyone was stunned. Painlessly extracting a soul?! There's a little motherly love, but not much. How unlucky is Pegasus to have encountered such deranged parents?
And what is Partita's background? To be able to so easily shatter a Cloth infused with the blood of Asmita, who awakened the Eighth Sense, if she truly is a god, her rank should not be low.
.....
[ Just as Partita was about to take Pegasus's soul, she found that he had firmly grasped his own soul!
"It can't end like this. Because the cloth you destroyed along with this soul is both part of me...!"
Partita sneered: "Heh, you're still saying such things in this situation?!"
Then she attacked Pegasus again, as if the boy before her was just a stranger. Blood continuously gushed from his body…
Again and again, Pegasus was brutally slammed into the ground. Finally, Pegasus's strength gave out, and he could no longer stand up!
"Asmita… everyone… I'm sorry!"
Partita was like a killing machine, her furious attacks constantly landing on Pegasus. Now, Pegasus had no strength left to stand, but his hand still firmly held onto his soul!
He was unwilling to give up like this, unwilling to have the soul protected by everyone snatched away.
In a trance, the companions he had lost reappeared before his eyes. This unbreakable bond, connecting life and death, once again awakened the power of Pegasus!
The soul of Pegasus seemed to hear the summons, beginning to neigh towards the sky, turning and pouring into Pegasus's body!
This action caused Pandora to be greatly alarmed, and she quickly warned the reckless Pegasus: "What are you doing! Damage to the soul will backlash onto the body."
"You… this isn't a minor injury that the Pegasus Saint can just shrug off!!"
But Pegasus ignored her. Blood once again sprayed from his wounds, and the immense pain made him cry out in agony again and again!
"Ugh, ahhh—!!"
But the infusion of the soul did not stop. For his fallen comrades, he had to endure this pain; he had to reclaim his power: "Pour forth… my soul!"
Under Pandora's shocked gaze, the previously shattered Cloth began to glow, gathering onto Pegasus!
A brilliant Cloth shimmering with divine light appeared before the three of them. The power that had been extracted returned to Pegasus's hands!
At this moment, the Cloth and his soul merged into one. Pegasus's God Cloth was finally awakened! Pure white wings spread across the sky.
Pegasus now looked down at Partita with an unmatched gaze.
"The legendary Sacred God Cloth, which only the Olympian gods are worthy of wearing, and the ultimate Cloth closest to these Fabled Cloths, is the Divine Cloth!" ]
[ .....]
〜Projection of All Worlds〜
"If they didn't say it, it would be truly hard to imagine that Partita and Pegasus are mother and son. She's treating Pegasus like a stranger with such ruthlessness!"
"Did Pandora forget the scene where she was at loggerheads with Pegasus the moment they met? Now she's actually warning Pegasus! She truly loves him so much…"
"To merge one's soul with the Cloth, the Divine Cloth, which is closest to the Olympian gods, this awakening method is far too painful!"
Everyone from other worlds found Pegasus's actions incredible. As Pandora said, if something went wrong with the soul, the damage wouldn't be simple.
It would directly feed back to the body. A slight mishap could lead to complete annihilation, just like Veronica, whose soul was burned by Manigoldo's technique, causing both her body and soul to dissipate.
Now Pandora truly became like an older sister, actually worrying about Pegasus…
.....