"Damn it! Why would the Dragon-Serpent and the Earth Mother Goddess be helping a God of Steel?!"
Kusanagi Godou let out a low, disbelieving growl.
"The reason is irrelevant."
Luo Cuilian was confident she could face two Heretic Gods and emerge victorious.
However, she realized that fighting a two-on-one battle might allow Godou to slip away and slay Sun Wukong himself. Abandoning that plan, she opted for cooperation instead.
"I'll leave that dark-eyed goddess to you. Even if you are Japanese, you should at least be able to handle a single Earth Mother Goddess without trouble."
Unlike the version of Kusanagi Godou who had grown through numerous battles, the young man standing here had never claimed Verethragna's Authorities or Athena's gifts.
Without a perfect partner like Erica by his side, he had spent most of his time being utterly thrashed whenever he wasn't actively slaying a god.
Before obtaining the sword Ame no Murakumo no Tsurugi, he had been ground into the dirt by Luo Cuilian; even after obtaining it, he still lacked the strength to truly fight back.
Because of this, Luo Cuilian held him in rather low regard. Still, low opinion or not, he was a Campione—it was unthinkable that he would lose to a Heretic God.
"The way you put things is really irritating..." Godou muttered, speechless.
He felt that this Martial King didn't have a polite bone in her body, even when forming an alliance.
To be bossing him around at a time like this was a bit much, but now wasn't the time to pick a fight over manners. "Fine. Don't worry, I'll finish this quickly!"
[Only handle a single Earth Mother Goddess? Finish this quickly?]
Athena's expressionless face was instantly veiled in frost.
Amidst a burst of dark purple flames, the petite girl in the yukata transformed into a mature, curvaceous young woman.
Her robe shifted into a pure white Greek dress, and the coldness in her eyes became far more intimidating than it had been in her child form.
Even Melusine could clearly feel Athena's rising fury.
It was only natural. In this world, Athena was a Trinity Goddess and a Queen of Gods.
Though she was a fallen monarch, it was only because she had been outnumbered; in terms of raw power, she had few equals among the divine.
To be so dismissed by two "fools" would make anyone snap, and as a Heretic God, her rage only sharpened her edge.
"I shall deal with the Chinese Campione," Melusine remarked, a subtle warning to Athena not to let her anger cloud her judgment.
"Very well. Then I shall teach this insolent, delusional fool exactly what attitude one should maintain before a goddess," Athena replied.
Her aura of rage pulled back slightly, but the killing intent in her eyes only burned brighter. "Provided he survives, that is."
With their targets set, Melusine dropped from the sky like a falling star.
She snapped into a sharp 90-degree turn without losing a shred of momentum, driving a fist toward Luo Cuilian.
The earth beneath them shattered from the sheer pressure of her speed; Melusine intended to tear this battlefield away from the ground and into the sky.
Luo Cuilian was arrogant—perhaps the most arrogant person on the planet.
That pride was rooted in a martial prowess that bordered on the divine.
Even without an Authority for Godspeed, she had mastered and refined countless martial arts, making her techniques her primary weapon in battle.
Her Clairvoyance allowed her to track any movement, her Qinggong let her traverse the world in a thought, and her Soul-Stealing Palm of Astral Absorption could rip the magical energy right out of an opponent upon contact.
Even without her Authorities, her physical constitution and skill alone would have placed her at the pinnacle of all Campiones.
"Fast! But not fast enough."
Watching Melusine plummet toward her, Luo Cuilian snorted.
She met the incoming fist and blade with an open palm, intending to teach this Western Dragon Girl—who clearly thought too much of herself after killing a few Campiones—a lesson in humility.
However, a mountain of force surged from the point of impact, nearly throwing her off her feet.
Before she could counter, the Dragon Girl slipped past her as if she had no mass at all, gliding smoothly to her side to launch another strike.
Luo Cuilian frowned at the strange lack of inertia, but her reflexes didn't fail her; she swung her other hand up in a backhand parry.
The ground finally caught up to the physics of the exchange, cracking violently beneath them. The shockwave expanded outward, uprooting the surrounding trees.
Melusine wasn't surprised that her opening moves failed to draw blood; she hadn't been putting much strength into them.
Just as she had to decelerate when returning to the shrine, the physical phenomena caused by her extreme flight speeds tended to obliterate everything in her wake.
This was why she preferred the sky—and why, if forced to fight on the ground, she sought to end things instantly.
Despite everything, she was a Dragon of the Leylines; even knowing that the aftershocks of her battles wouldn't truly harm the planet, she had no desire to cause unnecessary destruction.
After the two-blow exchange, she shot straight into the heavens. She knew the other woman would follow.
"Trying to run?"
Luo Cuilian knew the girl specialized in aerial combat.
Those fluid movements, seemingly immune to inertia, made it clear where her true advantage lay. But she didn't care.
Luo Cuilian possessed an absolute conviction that she would win regardless of the time, place, or circumstance.
"A great force is exerted! Great force vanquishes small evil!"
"Massive timber splitting mountains, producing great force! Stacking multitudes of golden bells, producing impenetrable iron cloth!"
"The root of my power of Vajra, now is the time for great might that can tear apart heaven and earth!"
Chanting the incantation for her Divine Might of Vajrapani, she took flight, trailing behind the streak of blue light like a chasing star.
Golden particles—the essence of her divine strength—began to swirl around her, accelerating her flight until the two figures pierced through the clouds.
Just as Luo Cuilian considered using her Dragon's Roar and Tiger's Howl to force the Heretic God to a halt, the blue light did something impossible.
It snapped into a 180-degree turn, screaming back toward her face in a perfect straight line.
No curve, no deceleration—just a brutal, instantaneous reversal of direction.
It caught Luo Cuilian off guard, but she didn't panic.
If anything, it saved her the trouble of chasing. She halted her ascent and threw a massive punch forward.
Her Authority granted her the peerless strength of the Vajra warriors.
The golden particles could manifest as giant palms or wrap around her like an impenetrable suit of armor. For a martial artist like her, it was the ultimate tool—an absolute offense and defense with no blind spots.
But...
She had timed her strike based on Melusine's incoming speed.
She expected that even if she didn't land a direct hit, the sheer pressure would stagger her opponent.
Instead, she watched in shock as the blue streak—already moving at terminal velocity—suddenly accelerated.
Melusine vanished from her line of sight, reappearing at a sharp angle to deliver a fist straight to Luo Cuilian's face.
BOOM!
The golden protection of the Divine Might of Vajrapani shattered into a cloud of shimmering dust.
Her consciousness flickered, and for a terrifying moment, Luo Cuilian nearly lost her flight and tumbled toward the earth.
How could this Dragon Girl have become so much faster in an instant?!
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.