Izumi naturally sensed the change taking place within Kanon's body.
When a Campione encounters a god, their blood ignites.
Whether they desire it or not, this instinct forces them toward battle against divinity. It is an unavoidable impulse carved into the very essence of a godslayer.
And that was precisely why Izumi had said Kanon could no longer remain a saint.
As long as the Church possessed even a shred of common sense, they would never allow Kanase Kanon to ascend and reincarnate as an angel again.
At this point, if Kanon were to encounter an angel—
She would probably draw a blade and rush in to kill it.
Who in their right mind would bring someone that dangerous into Heaven?
That alone meant one thing was certain—
The position of "Saint" was gone forever.
Izumi reached out and pressed a hand against Kanon's shoulder, smiling gently.
"Kanon," he said softly.
"Stay back and watch."
"I'll finish this quickly."
Hearing his words, Kanon forcibly suppressed the surging excitement boiling within her blood and nodded.
Izumi turned his gaze toward the towering figure before him.
Melqart.
The Phoenician god of kingship and storms.
Izumi's lips curved upward slightly.
"Melqart, huh?"
"Then I'll be taking your power."
The moment his voice fell—
A Rift of Subspace manifested and cleaved forward.
Seeing a mere human dare strike first, Melqart roared in fury.
"Insignificant human—!"
"You dare challenge a god?!"
As divine words rang out—
[Chase! Exile! O pursuer—become the twin weapons that serve my claws!]
Despite the overwhelming sense of danger radiating from Izumi, Melqart launched his counterattack without hesitation.
To a god, even the strongest human was still nothing more than an insect.
As the King of the Gods, he possessed pride that could not be shaken.
With the invocation complete—
Two divine weapons manifested in midair.
Yagrush, the weapon of banishment.
Aymur, the weapon of repulsion.
They crashed down toward Izumi's subspace blade—
Only to be severed instantly.
Like cutting through soft tofu, the subspace rift sliced both divine weapons apart without resistance.
And then—
It continued onward.
BOOM.
In a single exchange, Melqart's arm was severed cleanly from his massive body.
The sea in the distance was split apart as well, a deep chasm carved straight through the ocean itself.
The sheer destructive force was unmistakable.
Izumi clicked his tongue.
"Too weak."
He raised his hand.
A Spear of Subspace formed instantly and fired forward.
"You damned human—!!"
"AAAAAA—!!"
SHLK.
Before Melqart could activate another Authority, the spear pierced straight through his chest.
The gap in power was absolute.
To Izumi, killing Melqart was no more difficult than breathing.
Staring down at the spear embedded in his chest, Melqart's eyes widened in disbelief.
He hadn't even been able to fight back.
His massive body sank to one knee.
Then—
It began to dissolve into countless motes of light.
As Melqart faded from the world, Izumi suddenly felt a powerful pulling force attempting to drag him somewhere else.
However, in the very next instant—
The Simulated Creation Star Map within his body forcibly rejected it.
The pull vanished completely.
Izumi froze.
"…What?"
It was rejected?
Before he could process it—
A terrifying surge of power erupted from within him.
The world trembled.
Across the globe, countless people felt a chill crawl up their spines.
Especially the Campiones—and the Heretic Gods.
For the first time in their existence, they felt true despair.
This was power beyond anything they had ever known.
Even the world itself was shaken.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Within the Netherworld—
Pandora trembled violently.
"…I seriously messed up."
She had attempted to summon Izumi for a reincarnation ritual.
But the power within his body had rejected her outright.
Not only that—
It had erupted with a force capable of annihilating the entire world.
This wasn't just beyond a Campione—
It was far more terrifying than the Last King.
Pandora was genuinely frightened.
What kind of monster did I provoke…?
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Back on the battlefield—
Izumi stared in shock as Melqart's fading form was suddenly pulled by an unseen force and transformed into golden light.
That light poured straight into Izumi's body.
As the divine energy merged with him—
Changes began to occur.
Traits unique to a Campione manifested within Izumi.
His power surged violently.
Once the absorption was complete, Izumi immediately opened his status panel.
[Izumi]
Race: Human (Hourai lineage), Pureblood Dragonkin, Campione
Vitality: A+
Strength: A+
Defense: EX
Agility: A+
Magic: EX
Luck: EX
Overall Rating: SS+ (Five Digits)
Special: Personal World
Skills:
Projection
Unlimited Blade Works
Phantasm Disruption
Third Magic: Materialization of the Soul
Infinite Martial Refinement
Flight Magecraft
High-Speed Divine Words
Dragon's Afterimage
Aurora Pillar
Human Order Safeguard Sphere
Second Magic: Parallel World Interference (Time Travel)
Authority of the Void
Passive Skills:
Golden Rule
Thousand Tongues
Magic Immunity
Godslayer's Power
Items:
Spear That Shines at the End of All Things
Alchemy Material Pack
Stone of Time
Stone of Space
Vimana
Object Transfer Blessing Card
World Gate
Three new passive abilities.
His defense had reached its limit.
And his race now officially included Campione.
Izumi closed his eyes, sensing the changes within.
His eyes snapped open.
"…So that's it."
His path toward SSS-rank had accelerated.
Heretic Gods could be used as nourishment.
While he hadn't gained a direct Authority—
He could feel it.
His abilities were beginning to merge.
Evolving.
Transforming into new Authorities.
If he continued slaying gods—
Then within this world, reaching SSS-rank—
A Four-Digit existence by Little Garden standards—
Was entirely possible.
Using Heretic Gods as fuel to grow stronger.
The realization sent a thrill through Izumi.
"How interesting…"
"Very interesting!"
He laughed softly.
"This world is practically begging me to cause trouble."
If that was the case—
Why not sweep through its gods?
And if one were to ask where gods gathered in greatest number—
The answer was obvious.
Japan.
The land of eight million gods.
Sure, most of them were weak—
But quantity had a quality of its own.
And worse still—
That disgraceful Monkey King was there.
Izumi's gaze turned dangerous.
As someone of Chinese descent, the Monkey King held special meaning. (TLN: I hate you author for making him chinese!)
Yet in this world—
Sun Wukong was enslaved.
Unacceptable.
Absolutely unacceptable.
"In that case…"
"I'll give them a proper Grand Order."
His eyes lifted toward the sky.
There—
Another Heretic God was waiting for him.