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"King? What king?" Kusanagi Godou had absolutely no idea how the magical world worked, let alone what a Godslayer was.
"Erica, why are you wasting words on him?" Liliana reminded her. "Don't keep the King waiting."
"Then let's just take it," Erica said, losing her patience. She moved in an instant.
She was blindingly fast. A blur flashed past, and the stone tablet in Godou's hands was already gone.
"Give it back!" Godou finally reacted and lunged forward.
Liliana answered with a ruthless whip kick, sending him flying. His body slammed hard into a roadside wall.
Pff!
Godou spat out a mouthful of blood and passed out on the spot.
From inside a black business van parked in the distance, Alex watched the scene unfold. His voice echoed directly into Erica and Liliana's minds.
"Kill him."
The two women exchanged a glance, then nodded.
They walked up to Godou. One clean thrust through the heart ended his life. After that, they erased the corpse completely with magic, leaving no trace behind.
When everything was finished, they returned to the van with the stone tablet in hand.
Luo Hao watched Alex's decisiveness and nodded in approval.
That was how a King should act.
Alex bore no personal grudge against Kusanagi Godou. But Godou was the protagonist of this world, someone favored by fate itself.
What if, during the battle with Verethragna, Godou swooped in at the last moment and stole the victory?
The odds were slim—but slim wasn't zero.
And the best precaution was simple.
Kill him.
Erica slipped into the driver's seat, turned around, and handed the tablet to Alex."My King, we've retrieved what you wanted."
"Good work. Both of you," Alex said with a satisfied nod as he took it.
With this in hand, he no longer had to fear Verethragna's Golden Sword.
He only possessed a single Authority. If it got sealed by the Golden Sword, the fight would become a nightmare.
But Prometheus's grimoire could steal Authorities.
As long as he seized the Golden Sword first, he could turn it around and kill Verethragna with his own weapon.
That was exactly how Godou had done it in the original story.
If an ordinary human could pull it off, there was no way Alex couldn't.
The catch was that using the Golden Sword came with harsh requirements. You had to know your opponent—truly understand them—before you could seal their power.
Alex glanced at Erica and Liliana.Should he have them force that knowledge into him?
A Godslayer's skin had absurd magic resistance. Using magic to directly transfer information meant… mouth-to-mouth contact.
He lowered his gaze to the tablet.
On the front was a carving of Prometheus stealing fire from the gods and gifting it to humanity.
On the back was a short passage—the spoken words required to activate the divine artifact.
With Alex's current mastery of magic and sorcery, one glance was enough. He already understood how to use it.
To ensure the upcoming godslaying went smoothly, he opened the chat group's shop and filtered for items from the Campione world.
Weapons, magic, sorcery, spells, martial techniques, Authorities—an overwhelming list appeared.
Alex selected Authorities.
Every Authority that had ever appeared in this world was listed.
The price, however, made his eyebrow twitch.
Five thousand points per Authority.
"They really planned this out, didn't they…" he muttered.
The points he'd earned last night for killing Melqart were exactly five thousand.
Alex scrolled through the descriptions, greed creeping into his eyes.
Steel Protection.The Rending Silver Hand.Black Dragon of the Underworld.The Chanting Grimoire.
Each one was tempting—absolute defense, power that tore through anything, an immortal soul, the ability to wield all magic.
After some thought, he made his choice.
Black Dragon of the Underworld.
Survivability came first.
Once Verethragna was dead, the chat group would definitely reward another five thousand points. He could buy an offensive Authority then.
Decision made, Alex purchased it.
In that instant, he felt a new Authority settle within him.
Other than that, nothing else changed.
That was how Godslayers worked. The first transformation was dramatic; after that, killing more gods only added Authorities—it didn't increase raw magical power.
Alex didn't care.
He still had the Blessing system.
As long as his stats improved and his Blessing evolved, his mana would continue to grow.
By noon, Verethragna's presence was finally discovered.
The weather over Sardinia had gone completely berserk.
Clear skies shifted to torrential rain, then to raging storms. Towering waves slammed into the island's shores.
"Verethragna's Ten Incarnations are gathering," Luo Hao said, her eyes glowing as she activated her clairvoyance.
"Stay in the car. I'll be right back," Alex said, stepping outside.
Rain poured down—but every drop split apart before it could touch him.
Hestia hurried after him."I'm coming too. The girls in the group are demanding a live stream."
"Then let's go together," Alex replied with a nod.
Luo Hao stayed behind and opened the group broadcast instead.
The moment the group learned Alex was about to slay a god again, excitement exploded.
Miko Yotsuya:"I'm still just a normal person, and the captain's already killing his second god…"
Erza:"Alex's growth is like a snowball rolling downhill. He started as a normal human, but with Leader Luo and Hestia helping him, the snowball's already moving. From here on, his strength will skyrocket."
Tsunade:"That's a good thing. Even if we don't grow as fast as he does, having someone like him in the group means we've got backup when things go wrong."
Shinobu Kocho:@Alex "When I face Muzan, I'm calling you."
Miko Yotsuya:"Shinobu, that feels like using a cannon to kill a mosquito."
Takatsuki Sen:"That's exactly the point. Total domination. Crush him until he despairs."
Shinobu Kocho:"Exactly."
Brunhilde:@Alex "When the war between gods and humans begins, you're helping me."
Alex:"Sure."
Kurumi Tokisaki:@Alex "If I can't beat the Origin Spirit, I'm dragging you in."
Alex:"No problem."
Mikoto Misaka:@Alex "The Level 6 Shift experiment is starting soon. Come help me deal with Accelerator."
Alex:"That depends. Your world's extremely dangerous. If I show up, Aleister and those Magic Gods might notice."
Mikoto Misaka:"Then what am I supposed to do? Even after learning those lightning-based ninja techniques, I still can't beat him. Do I really have to rely on the protagonist like in canon?"
Alex:"You could ask Kamijou Touma. But if you want to handle it yourself, join Hestia's Familia and grow stronger through Blessings."
Mikoto Misaka:"But I'm an esper. I can't use magic."
Alex:"Idiot. The Blessing system just draws out your potential. You don't have to awaken magic. And even if you do, you don't have to use it. More importantly, is Dungeon magic really incompatible with esper powers?"
Hestia:"That's right! Join my Familia!"
Mikoto Misaka:"…Alright."
Hestia:"Yes! Welcome to the Hestia Familia!"
Alex:"Welcome aboard."
Roxy:"Welcome, Mikoto!"
Shinobu Kocho:"Welcome!"
Miko Yotsuya:"Welcome!"
Saeko Busujima:"Welcome!"
Kurumi Tokisaki:"Welcome!"
Mikoto Misaka:"Thank you, everyone!"
Takatsuki Sen:"Can ghouls join too?"
Alex:"Yes. Orario already has plenty of demi-humans. Ghouls are just mutated humans."
Takatsuki Sen:"Then I'm joining as well."
Hestia:"This is amazing! Two geniuses joining in one day!"
Esdeath:@Hestia "You won't mind my villain status or methods, right? If not, I want in too."
Hestia:"Of course not! Welcome!"
Alex:"This is getting scary. Our Familia's about to take off."
Hestia:"Hahaha! We're finally going to surpass the Loki Familia!"
With Alex becoming a Godslayer, plus Mikoto Misaka, Takatsuki Sen, and Esdeath joining, the Hestia Familia's combat power now rivaled—if not exceeded—both the Freya and Loki Familias.
Frankly, Alex alone could probably overturn both of them.
Hestia sent welcome gifts to the three newcomers, bestowed their Blessings, and then exited the chat.
Because at that very moment—
Alex had encountered a divine beast.
She had to focus on the stream.
Before Alex stood a massive boar, a monstrous creature rampaging across Sardinia.
It was one of Verethragna's Ten Incarnations.
Seeing the destruction, Alex casually projected a long spear and hurled it.
The boar reacted instantly, activating Divine Protection.
A golden barrier formed, stopping the spear.
Still, the weapon pierced halfway into the barrier.
After becoming a Godslayer, the power of Unlimited Blade Works had risen significantly.
The boar roared in fury and charged, tusks aimed straight at Alex.
Alex activated Lord of the Sky, taking to the air and avoiding the impact.
The buildings behind him weren't so lucky. Several were flattened instantly.
"Tough hide," Alex muttered.
Chains erupted into existence, binding the boar tightly.
He followed up with rune magic, reinforcing the chains with a toughness buff.
"Nice. Even rune magic's stronger now," he said, nodding in satisfaction.
Just as he was about to finish the beast—
Lightning split the sky.
"The Ninth Incarnation. The Goat," Alex said, looking up as he seized control of the lightning with Lord of the Sky.
Above the black clouds, a pair of colossal eyes opened.
The lightning that should've struck Alex abruptly changed direction, blasting into the boar instead and leaving it half-dead.
In the next instant, the boar transformed into a beam of light and fled.
Alex gave chase and soon reached the coast.
Above the sea stood a beautiful young man.
Verethragna.
The light from the boar incarnation flowed straight into his body.
Verethragna looked at Alex and smiled."You're the one who killed Melqart?"
Alex shook his head."I killed him, yes. But I wasn't the one who defeated him."
Verethragna's interest was immediately piqued."Oh? Then who was?"
"I was," Hestia said as she flew over, landing beside Alex.
Verethragna frowned the moment he saw her.
He could sense that she was a god—but there was no aura of rebellion, no sign of a fallen deity.
Impossible.
"How did you do it?" he asked.
"Secret," Hestia replied lightly.
Traveling between worlds wasn't something she'd reveal to outsiders.
Verethragna looked disappointed, then turned back to Alex.
"Lord of Rakshasas, do you wish to fight me now, or wait until I gather all ten incarnations?"
Alex laughed."Today's battle is my graduation exam. I'm aiming for top marks."
What he really meant was that Verethragna needed to be restored to his peak. Only then would defeating him earn top marks.
Watching the livestream from inside the SUV, Luo Hao couldn't help but smile.
Verethragna smiled too. He lifted his right hand and began summoning his avatars.
A phoenix, a camel, a bull—one after another, they came soaring from the distance, merging into his body.
As the last avatar fused with him, his power was fully restored.
In that instant, an immense, godlike pressure radiated from him.
"This power… it's way stronger than Meikar was last night!" Alex raised an eyebrow.
"Idiot, Meikar was injured last night!" Hestia rolled her eyes at him.
"I know, I know. I'm just saying," Alex chuckled, pulling out his weapon.
This time it wasn't a projection. It was a real, tangible weapon.
And not just any weapon—his very first forged Tier-One weapon.
Sky's Pride.
"..."
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