"Still, Mother must praise you, little Roy. To think you defeated the Heretic God Sun Wukong! Even I didn't expect that monkey could complete a counterfeit of the Great Covenant. It startled me when I saw it attempt that—yet my little Roy still triumphed."
Pandora practically crawled toward Roy with unsettling enthusiasm rather than proper kneeling movement.
Observing the excited flush on Pandora's delicate face, Roy's brow arched slightly. Today's Pandora seemed excessively animated—her words and actions carried unusual purpose, putting him instinctively on guard.
"Hehe~ Seeing little Roy nervous again? Before anything else, let me reward you for defeating the Heretic God Sun Wukong," she murmured, her bewitching face drawing near. As the faint scent of flowers enveloped him, Pandora's Circle of Usurpation ritual activated once more.
This time, Roy clearly witnessed the entire ritual without any ambiguity. As the circular disk above Pandora's head rotated, the aura and divinity of the Great Sage Equal to Heaven were ground to pieces by this millstone. An extremely complex magic circle appeared within Pandora's divine domain, containing the most profound knowledge of this world.
At this moment, Roy paid no attention to Pandora, who was practically draped over his chest, nor did he have the leisure to savor the sensation of her petite body against his. Instead, he greedily observed the ritual, absorbing as much of the knowledge unfolding before him as possible.
The patterns on the magic circle rapidly transformed, and before long, they dimmed and faded away. Roy could feel that something new had taken root within his body.
That was a new Authority, the power of the Great Sage Equalling Heaven. As for its specific abilities, Roy couldn't fully perceive them yet. He would need to return his consciousness to his body to fully understand this Authority.
At that moment, Pandora gently pushed against Roy's chest with her delicate hand and softly parted her lips to speak, "...I know exactly what kind of Authority you want, little Roy. So, this time, I'll make an exception and grant it to you."
Roy's heart stirred as he gazed at Pandora's youthful yet bewitchingly beautiful face, understanding dawning on him. "...As expected, Mother, you can control the granting of Authorities in the ritual."
"Hehe~ That's right. But little Roy, you'd better not go around spreading this, or the other children might get upset at their mother for being biased."
Pandora lightly brushed aside a strand of hair by her ear and sat cross-legged in front of Roy, her slender, fair legs folded beneath her. Her skirt wasn't long enough to fully cover them.
"Little Roy... you've modified this ritual, haven't you?"
Pandora gazed at Roy with a complicated expression, her tone probing.
Roy thought for a moment. There didn't seem to be any point in hiding it. If Pandora had been watching him all along, and now that he had surpassed the limits of a Campione, trying to conceal something like this would be impossible. Rather than telling a lie that everyone knew would only cause mutual displeasure, it was better to speak the truth.
Although the modification of this ritual was primarily the work of Aiwass, since Pandora was unaware of Aiwass's existence, Roy saw no reason to mention it. Thus, he nodded in acknowledgment, attributing the achievement entirely to himself: "...That's right. The moment I became a Campione, I knew that Campiones had their limits. Unlike others who might revel in the power they possess, I only think about how to break through those limits with knowledge."
If Roy had been a native of this world, he might have been content with the power bestowed upon him as a Campione and sought no further growth. But having glimpsed the vastness of other worlds, he could never be satisfied with the meager strength of a so-called Campione. A far more brilliant future awaited him—he would never be content to remain a frog at the bottom of a well, ruling over this tiny world.
"Yes, exactly..."
Pandora's expression grew distant. She bit her lip, never having imagined that such an extraordinary Campione could emerge in this world. He had shattered the limits and laws of Campiones, broken the ritual she took such pride in, and left her both shaken and hopeful.
'If it's him... perhaps this millennia-long fate and cycle could truly end here.'
With that thought, Pandora seemed to make up her mind.
"Don't grow arrogant over this, little Roy... While the Great Sage Equal of Heaven could be called the strongest steel aside from the Last King, the gap between them is still as vast as heaven and earth. The Last King, entrusted by the gods with the mission to slay demon kings, won't be as easily defeated as the Great Sage."
Pandora whispered this warning, fearing Roy might grow overconfident.
"No need to remind me, Mother... My eyes have already witnessed the might of the Last King. Of course, I won't underestimate him."
Even as he spoke, Roy had no absolute certainty of victory against the Last King and was still searching for an opportunity to triumph.
Unlike the Great Sage, the Last King's Oath of the Great Covenant was far more formidable. This spell not only allowed the Last King to elevate his divine power limit based on the total number of contemporary Campiones, but the extent of that elevation far surpassed the Great Sage's imitation. Roy had calculated that even if his total magical energy reached the peak of a Campione's spiritual foundation—equivalent to five times that of an ordinary Campione—it would still be impossible to surpass the Last King.
When the Last King's Oath of the Great Covenant was activated, his divine power was estimated to be at least ten times that of an ordinary Campione. This was an absolute suppression by sheer force. No matter how many authorities or tricks one possessed, the gap from quantitative to qualitative change would inevitably lead to defeat.
Throughout history, the only Campione who forced the Last King to expend significant effort in battle was one who possessed an authority akin to Heracles' Noble Phantasm—ten lives. Yet even then, to the Last King, it was merely a matter of expending a little more time.
Even more terrifying was the fact that even if one miraculously defeated the Last King, he could resurrect indefinitely—a truth that would drive anyone to despair.
Though Roy believed his Holy Right possessed the power to shatter even the Last King's infinite resurrection, all of this hinged on gathering every necessary element to unleash the full might of his right hand.
"I actually already have an idea for defeating the Last King and am working hard to put it into practice. The only thing lacking is my own insufficient knowledge... But Mother, why are you so obsessed with the Last King?"
Roy stared at Pandora, unsure what ulterior motives she harbored.
Pandora's smile faded as her voice took on undertones of resentment and killing intent. "...I was once an ancient Earth Mother Goddess, but because of the Steel, I fell to my current state. Though I barely retain my divinity, I can never return to my former glory. Since you're now with Athena and Asherah, you should understand our Earth Mother Goddesses' hatred toward the Steel."
"...Moreover, over thousands of years, countless Campiones have been born—all children I could say are connected to me by countless ties. Yet every single one of them was slain by the Last King without exception! With old grudges and new grievances combined, I'm willing to pay any price to kill him, to end the cycle and fate between me, the Mother of Demon Kings, and the Last Steel once and for all!"
A fleeting sorrow passed through Pandora's limpid eyes as she gazed softly at Roy. "...Campiones slay Heretic Gods to protect humanity, while the Last King slays Campiones to preserve divine glory. This is actually a preordained cycle of fate. As the origin of Campiones, I've long been entangled in the gods' web of destiny, unable to free myself."
"...See, my range of activity is limited to this tiny divine realm—I can't go anywhere. The gods would never allow me to leave!"
The relationship between Campiones and Heretic Gods was like a perfected ecological cycle, with Pandora and the Last King as its two crucial points. Neither had any true freedom. To break this cycle, one of these points had to be disrupted.
As part of the Campione faction, Pandora naturally wouldn't want the problem to arise from her side.
Roy was gradually coming to understand the hidden sorrow beneath his seemingly cheerful foster mother's exterior.
She was much like her own mythological counterpart—played with by the gods and given to humanity. Even now, Pandora remained shackled by divine constraints.
"So now, Mommy has to rely on little Roy~~"
Pandora reverted to her playful, irreverent self, utterly devoid of a goddess's dignity. Yet knowing the pain and desolation in her heart, seeing this smiling face only made it all the more tragic.
'In the thousands of years since Campiones first appeared, you're the only anomaly. This is my one chance in millennia—I absolutely cannot give up!'
Pandora clenched her fists, sharp nails digging into her delicate palms.
"To prevent the Last King from growing stronger, I'll temporarily halt the ritual's activation until his awakening. Even if new humans slay gods, I won't allow any new Campiones to emerge!"
Though the core of Pandora's Circle of Usurpation was the usurpation disk, as the ritual's conductor, she held the authority to suspend the birth of Campiones for a period. To give Roy the best chance against the Last King, she was going all out.
"If you need to kill other Campiones to minimize the power of the Last King's Oath of the Great Covenant, I can also provide you with information on other Campiones, making it easy for you to eliminate them... Or, if you need divine knowledge..."
Pandora lowered her head shyly at this point, but her youthful body exuded a womanly allure, her eyes brimming with charm as she murmured, "...I can give that to you too. After all, I am the wife of Epimetheus. Surely such an identity would satisfy you, little Roy!"
***
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