"We meet again." Su Mo greeted the twin-tailed, violet-haired girl standing before him.
"...Ah, yes, we do." Pandora's expression was slightly dazed as she looked at him.
She had witnessed every moment of Su Mo's god-slaying battle, yet she still couldn't help but be surprised at the sheer speed of it all. It hadn't even been that long since he completed the reincarnation ritual and became a Campione—and now, here he was, having already slain another god.
"Among all the children I've ever had, you are by far the most exceptional."
Pandora knew Su Mo carried many secrets. The power of that golden giant of light—that wasn't a power that belonged to any human or god. And Su Mo himself… he had appeared in this world out of nowhere, not born of it like other humans.
But Pandora didn't care. So what if he wasn't from this world? She knew perfectly well that parallel worlds existed.
**As long as Su Mo was human—and had been reborn as a god-slayer—he was her child. And as a mother, she was only proud of her child's strength. Why would she ever pry into his secrets?
Su Mo, of course, had no idea what was running through Pandora's mind.
Although he still found it hard to deal with her always calling herself his "mother,"
he remembered how she had treated him—especially the way she stood by his side when it mattered most.
So when he heard her praise, he didn't think she was fishing for information.
Instead, he flashed a confident smile and replied:
"Of course."
"Most Campiones become god-slayers through guts and pure luck."
"But me? I earned this through hard work."
"A fighter who climbs through grit and effort—how can I be compared to those who just stumbled into it?"
If the other versions of Su Mo in the misty realm had heard him say that, they'd definitely roast him. But in a way, he wasn't wrong—everything he had now was the result of his own efforts.
...The only caveat being that there were a lot of Su Mos, and the number just kept growing.
"Oh my~! So you made it this far purely by your own strength?" Pandora's eyes welled up with maternal affection. Just how much hardship had this child endured to get to where he was now?
She was suddenly struck by the thought that there must be some tragic reason behind his arrival in this world—something painful that forced him to leave his home behind.
In that moment, her motherly instincts flared up again, and her affection for Su Mo soared to new heights.
"By the way, I don't see Melqart around this time," Su Mo suddenly asked, remembering his earlier conversation with Verethragna. Melqart's Authority didn't require modification, but teasing the god-king had been kind of entertaining.
Unfortunately—
"The great god-king?" Pandora gave a wry smile and shook her head.
"After you defeated him, Melqart looked completely crushed. Apparently, getting one-shotted for the first time really shook him up. He left in quite the daze."
It was the first time Pandora had seen a god so thoroughly disheartened by a Campione.
She honestly suspected the experience might've left Melqart with a psychological scar.
"Tch, that god's mental fortitude really needs some work," Su Mo muttered with a shake of his head.
Still, he had what he came for—the Authority was his. That was enough.
Now that Su Mo had already been reborn as a Campione, acquiring a new Authority no longer required going through all the earlier steps.
The moment he arrived in this realm, he immediately sensed the new power coursing through his body.
The Authority of [Lord of the Sky].
It was a power that allowed him to command the very skies.
Hurricanes, torrential rain, hailstorms, thunderclaps, blizzards…
All atmospheric phenomena were now his to control.
And because this Authority had manifested from Melqart's divinity as a supreme deity, its dominance ranked among the highest even within its category.
In simpler terms, should Marquis Voban ever use his own weather-based Authority—[Raging Storms]—in Su Mo's presence, the control over the heavens would be forcibly seized by Su Mo.
He was quite satisfied with this Authority.
It was not only versatile and destructive but also—
Absolutely stylish.
"The skies themselves bend to my will."
It was the kind of power every proper big-shot needed for dramatic entrances and awe-inspiring speeches.
Hearing Su Mo casually toss out such lines, Pandora couldn't help but fall silent for a moment.
What did he mean, "That god needs to work on his mental resilience"?
If Melqart heard that, he might cough up divine blood from sheer rage.
...…..
...…...
Meanwhile…
As Su Mo chatted with Pandora and grew more attuned to his new Authority in the Netherworld, the outside world was already in uproar.
News of the seventh Campione's birth—and how he had already slain two heretic gods in a row—spread like wildfire across the globe.
Even in this era where god-slayers were no longer as rare as they once were, such a feat was unprecedented. To start your career by instantly taking down two gods? That was unheard of.
In no time, magical societies across the world began scrambling to gather intel on Su Mo, eager to uncover his origins—hoping, perhaps, to curry favor or establish a connection.
And it wasn't just the magic circles.
The other Campiones had also received word of their newest sibling.
Whether it was the Wolf King of the North, Marquis Voban, or the Martial Queen Luo Hao, both were intrigued by this rising star whose debut had shaken the world.
Still, neither made any immediate moves.
Among the Campiones, there was only one who, upon hearing the news, couldn't contain himself.
Only one who acted on impulse.
—The King of Swords, Doni.