Tap, tap, tap.
From above this starry sky, a figure descended step by step from the heavens.
With each step the figure took, rings of light spread outward in layered ripples.
Though silent, every step felt like a hammer striking against the hearts of all present, drawing everyone's attention irresistibly upward as they craned their necks to look at that figure.
Marquis Voban, standing upon the dragon's back, likewise raised his head to look up.
"You..."
Shh—
The figure made a silencing gesture in midair. Whatever Marquis Voban had intended to say was forcibly cut off by that simple motion.
It was not that he cooperated willingly. A tremendous force suppressed him in all directions.
It was as if some kind of Kotodama had taken effect. The power within his body instantly fell into stagnation. Even the netherfire beneath his feet was extinguished in an instant by an inexplicable force.
With several rapid flashes, the figure in the sky closed the distance swiftly—and then those gold-and-violet heterochromatic eyes appeared before the black dragon.
"From the first moment I saw you, I knew that body was not your true self..."
A gentle voice came from Satsuki, who had transformed into the Goddess of Darkness. "The divine eye of the Goddess of the Underworld can see the souls of all things. Yet within that humanoid shell, I could not find your soul. So—you hid it."
"Then where did you hide it?"
Satsuki advanced slowly, step by step. When she was less than twenty meters away from the enormous black dragon, she stopped and fixed her gaze upon it.
"A mythological dragon species not only possesses Divine Protection, but also an undying nature reinforced by myth itself, ensuring the soul's immortality. Even if the dragon's body is destroyed, it can regenerate from the state of a soul. And if a human body is slain—even reduced entirely to ash—it can be restored intact by expending curse power..."
"I have to say, it's a rather impressive concept."
If the Golden Sword had not sliced open the outer layer of draconic scales, breaking through the obstruction that had concealed the dragon's essence from her Tenseigan, Satsuki might not have noticed it so quickly.
For a Godslayer who had lived this long, Marquis Voban truly had his own unique methods of preserving his life.
"You were probing for my weakness? Is that why you refrained from acting all this time?"
The one who spoke was not Marquis Voban's human form—that was merely a shell. The voice now came from the massive black dragon beneath him. By this point, he understood that his true great enemy was the girl before him.
"You separated your soul from your body and used the authority of Servants of Death to fill it into the body of a demonic dragon, achieving a state close to eternal immortality—this is the true nature of your authority, 'Black Dragon of the Underworld,' isn't it?"
"...!"
Though the expression of a black dragon's face was difficult to discern, the green light flickering in its pupils fully betrayed the storm raging within Marquis Voban's heart.
He had never expected that the joint assault by two Godslayers had merely been a means for her to test the extent of his immortality.
But once he realized he had been ensnared and forced into an unprecedented killing trap, Marquis Voban cast aside the mask of a refined old gentleman. Viewing the world from the dragon's perspective, he let out a ferocious roar.
"Yes—you have discovered my trump card. But—do you possess the ability to take my life?"
Born a warrior, though aged, he had never lost his feral nature. A man like a beast—that was the true essence of Dejanstahl Voban.
It was not as though he had never faced despair. On the contrary—what he pursued was precisely this thrill of standing on the brink of death, hunting the strong.
In response, Satsuki merely looked down at him with indifferent eyes.
"Ignorant."
For the first time in this world, several violet Vipralopa Truth-Seeking Orbs manifested around Satsuki.
In the next instant, five Vipralopa Truth-Seeking Orbs intertwined, transforming into a violet sword-light that pierced from heaven to earth, slashing downward toward Voban and his black dragon body.
In a single flash, her sword erupted. Its trajectory was not a straight line but branched across the sky like lightning, splitting into countless arcs in an instant.
Space itself trembled helplessly under the unmatched force and speed, twisting and cracking open into black spatial fissures.
Even a single glance felt as though one's eyes would be sliced apart.
More terrifying still was the power of Vipralopa contained within that strike—a force capable of annihilating history, erasing myth, denying legend, and reshaping the world itself.
The black dragon of the underworld in myth did indeed possess immortality.
Once, Satsuki had asked the King of Swords whether the gods of this world could be completely slain.
His answer had been this: so long as the myth and legend of a god still existed, that god would not truly die. Given the right moment, it could return again at any time.
Thus, to annihilate myth itself, Satsuki directly invoked the Vipralopa Truth-Seeking Orbs.
The sword formed from them—even though it was not the Vipralopa · Earthly Wheel Reincarnation Annihilation that once split open the 'Everdistant Utopia' in another world—still possessed the power to obliterate myth.
Earlier, the King of Swords had only briefly been infused with the realm of a Sword Saint through Satsuki's assistance. Now, Marquis Voban faced a genuine Sword Saint.
That dreadful killing intent—like guiding the entire world into the underworld—echoed words once spoken by Princess Alice.
—When that god reclaims its true body, the starless night will cover all skies, and the world shall be lured into the underworld.
Even at a distance, Erica and Doni could feel it. Compared to the overwhelming power Satsuki displayed at this moment, their own strength as Godslayers was the difference between ants and stars.
Within those heterochromatic eyes shone an indifference cold enough to freeze blood.
In everyone's perception, the ground beneath their feet seemed to sink violently, as though it were about to collapse.
Unstoppable.
For no clear reason, this single thought rose in the hearts of all present—whether it was Marquis Voban and the black dragon, shaken by that sword, or Erica and the King of Swords, blown away by the surging air currents, their expressions frozen.
The raging gale lashed viciously against Voban's enormous wolf face, causing his skin to tremble wildly. His silver fur was pressed downward by crushing pressure. Under the weight of that sword's aura, he could only assume the humiliating posture of half-kneeling.
As for the massive black dragon—facing this slash, it did not even have time to mount a final resistance. The strike was too fast. By the time the dragon realized what had happened, the violet greatsword had already passed through its body.
A brilliant violet line cut straight down the center of the dragon's form, cleaving through both the wolf-transformed Marquis Voban and the black dragon beneath him.
Under that terrifying force, all expression on the dragon's face froze. The green light in its pupils shrank violently.
Then—
A thunderous explosion resounded between heaven and earth.
The entire space began to shake violently. The air let out a sky-splitting roar of strain. The erupting shockwaves blasted outward, forming visible white tides that surged along the path of the sword's trace in all directions.
Amid this world-upending scene, Satsuki's voice rang out—ethereal and distant—echoing through the shattered space.
"Now—you know whether I possess that ability."
...
Seven Heroes Shrine, Tokyo District.
Within this shrine—so obscure it was not even marked on most maps—the most significant meeting in its history was taking place.
Lush greenery of early summer surrounded the torii gates and most of the shrine's buildings.
Occasionally, birds with brilliant plumage flitted through the forest, their melodious chirping echoing through the air. Sunlight filtered faintly through the leaves, falling upon the shrine maidens quietly sweeping the grounds, forming a tranquil and unique scene.
At this moment, however, two Campiones sat facing one another in the shrine's main hall. Standing beside them were Andrea Rivera and Touma Amakasu.
Three days had passed since the battle against Marquis Voban.
Over those three days, the Committee for the Compilation of True History had worked tirelessly—coordinating with government agencies, media outlets, and even the underworld—to suppress public opinion and conceal the truth. Only after handling countless matters were they barely able to guide the incident's narrative toward that of a natural disaster.
After all, the apocalyptic battlefield and the tens of thousands of cubic meters of overturned soil truly did resemble the aftermath of a massive earthquake.
This, in turn, strengthened the Committee's determination to consult with Erica regarding the next "Agent."
From that battle, they had sensed urgency.
The power of a Godslayer was terrifying beyond measure. Without forces of equal standing to restrain them, there was simply nothing the Committee could do.
Yet at this moment, the two Campiones engaged in discussion were still immersed in the battle from three days prior.
"I thought the two of us might not be able to defeat that old man," Doni said. "But I didn't expect your Golden Sword to counter divine power. As expected of the former 'Red Devil.' Even after becoming a Godslayer, you're still just as eye-catching."
The slender blond man had changed into a different outfit after the battle.
As usual, his attire was exceedingly casual—a short shirt and shorts, offering almost no protection or warmth. It looked less like proper clothing and more like something hastily thrown on to avoid being mistaken for a pervert.
"It was just luck," Erica replied calmly. "Thanks to the information Satsuki passed to me in time, I was able to defeat the black dragon he summoned."
Hearing this, the King of Swords spoke in an envious tone. "I'd love to have a partner like that—reliable, powerful, and beautiful. Hmm, that Liliya girl would be a good choice."
Andrea Rivera nodded seriously from the side. "I believe that is an excellent idea."
"Wow~ Andrea, that's the first time in a year you've agreed with me. When I suggested absorbing 'Bronze Black Cross' before, you asked if I'd been drinking fake whiskey."
"If you had said this before, I would have assumed you'd drunk too much and damaged your brain," Andrea replied evenly. "But now, the proposal is perfectly timed."
Erica also nodded. "Andrea is right. The Bronze Black Cross, to which Liliana once belonged, was an organization hostile to the Copper-Black Cross. It was subordinate to Marquis Voban. Her family, too, were believers of that Marquis. While he lived, changing their stance would have been impossible."
She did not finish her sentence, but the implication was clear.
While Marquis Voban had lived, such a shift would have been unthinkable. But now, with his death, everything would change completely.
Not only Liliana's family, but the entire magical societies of Eastern Europe would soon descend into a chaotic power vacuum.
And at that moment, it would be the best opportunity for the King of Swords to bring them under his banner.
If the leaders of those societies were intelligent, they would understand that their options were limited.
Even without Doni acting personally, his subordinates would never let such a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity slip by.
Moreover, over the years Marquis Voban had made countless enemies in his reckless pursuit of summoning Heretic Gods. The combined strength of those resentful forces would not be something those scattered factions could withstand.
It could be said that with Marquis Voban's death, Eastern Europe was on the brink of a sweeping purge of power.
Yet neither of the two victors seemed particularly concerned about territorial arrangements.
After experiencing such a battle, matters of influence felt almost trivial.
In a Godslayer's battle, those without sufficient strength could not even intervene before being blown away by the aftermath.
Numbers had lost all meaning. Only the clash of high-end power remained.
Their battle with Marquis Voban had been fraught with peril and reversals. Only beneath that golden sword-light had they finally achieved a hard-won victory.
"Even if we call it a victory, it was a miserable one," Doni admitted. "Two against one, and there was nothing glorious about it."
"He was the oldest Campione. A difficult battle was to be expected," Doni continued with a shrug. "Otherwise, I wouldn't have avoided seeking him out for four years. In any case, a win is a win."
"Yes. A win is a win."
"Oh right, I forgot to ask—why didn't Miss Satsuki come with you?"
"She's been staying at home these past few days. Seems she has something important to handle. I haven't seen her."
"Is that so?" Doni sighed regretfully. "I wanted to schedule our next sword duel. Looks like I won't get the chance this time."
After dealing with Marquis Voban, he would inevitably have many matters to handle upon returning to his territory. For the time being, he likely would not have the leisure to come courting Satsuki.
As for Satsuki herself...
Just as Erica had said, she was very busy.
Having returned to her usual appearance, she now stood within her room—isolated from the external flow of space and time—observing the body before her.
It was the body of the goddess Metis, whom she had personally created earlier.
Purple cracks spread across that body like fractures in porcelain. If not for Satsuki forcibly maintaining its condition through the authority of Status Infusion, constantly refreshing its state, the body would have shattered apart instantly.
"I truly didn't expect the power of Vipralopa to cause such a reaction..."
Satsuki murmured softly, her thoughts drifting back to the battle three days earlier.
After that single sword strike had ended Marquis Voban and the black dragon, she had not anticipated that the erupting force would also violently impact Metis, who had been possessing her.
The main reason was that she had not been in her Demon Buddha form at the time, but rather in a state of divine descent. In that condition, directly contacting the Vipralopa Truth-Seeking Orbs had inflicted tremendous damage upon Metis.
The moment the strike ended, Satsuki immediately sensed Metis' instability. Vision in her violet eye vanished instantly.
With barely enough time, she used prepared memories and ocular suggestion to implant a false impression into Erica and the King of Swords—making them believe that they had defeated Marquis Voban together, and that Satsuki had merely provided intelligence during the process.
After doing so, she immediately teleported back to her room and had the system cancel the possession state, allowing her to return to her complete form.
But when Metis appeared before her, the goddess' body resembled cracked porcelain, riddled with fractures.
And within those fractures flowed her own power of Vipralopa.
—
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