(3rd Person POV)
Three ancient ships appeared from the darkness. Arthur examined them closely, focusing on the figure standing at the front vessel's bow.
The creature had a man's body but a goat's head, with curved horns and strange honeycomb-patterned eyes. Six dark wings stretched from its back, giving it an imposing presence.
'That looks exactly like the demons from Earth's old myths,' Arthur thought.
"Is that from the demon race?" Firfel asked, studying the creature with curiosity and fear. "I've never seen such a primitive-looking demon." She glanced at Arthur—also a demon, but civilized compared to this ancient thing.
"That's no ordinary demon," Arthur said seriously. "I can sense divine energy from it."
"I can't feel its energy, but just looking at it makes me uncomfortable." Firfel froze as the creature's gaze settled on her—somehow piercing straight through Charon's hull as if the advanced metal were transparent glass. Despite the ship's barriers between them, those honeycomb eyes tracked her every movement with unsettling precision.
The entity smiled widely, showing sharp teeth, its gaze never wavering from Firfel's form even through the protective walls. The lustful intent in its stare was unmistakable, as if the physical barriers meant nothing to its ancient power.
Firfel stepped back instinctively, unnerved by the feeling of being completely exposed despite their ship's protection, but Arthur took her hand reassuringly.
"It's fine," he said quietly. "I won't let anything hurt you."
Firfel relaxed slightly, remembering Arthur's protection during their planetary visits. "I can feel it has dangerous intentions toward us."
"I know." Arthur's expression grew serious.
"Is this one of those 'aliens' you mentioned?"
Before Arthur could answer, the goat-deity let out a guttural chant in an unknown language, each syllable scraping like stone on metal: "Keth'mor valash neth korrim... thul'mora jeska velanti!"
Arthur couldn't understand the words, but the creature's lustful stare at Firfel made its meaning clear. He released a warning pulse of divine energy that rippled through space like invisible waves.
The ancient deity noticed the energy surge but wasn't intimidated. It crouched low on the ship's bow, then launched itself forward with powerful wing beats. Its massive form cut through space rapidly, six wings working in perfect synchronization as it approached their vessel with alarming speed.
[Alert: Unknown entity detected approaching at high velocity. Hostile intent confirmed. Activating defensive protocols.]
The creature hit Charon's defensive barrier and slowed considerably, its forward momentum fighting against the invisible wall of energy. But instead of retreating, it grinned wider and doubled its efforts, wings beating frantically as it pushed through the resistance inch by inch.
Firfel gasped as she watched the determined assault on their ship's defenses.
"Charon, charge the Divine Beam," Arthur ordered, recognizing the genuine threat.
[Divine Beam charging sequence initiated. Warning: This attack will consume 40% of current energy reserves. Authorization required to proceed.]
"Authorized. Fire when ready." Arthur wasn't worried about power—he had enough Nether Cores to refuel the ship.
Energy began gathering at Charon's forward array, crackling bolts of power converging into a single point. The charging process created a brilliant sphere of contained energy that grew brighter with each passing second, illuminating the surrounding space in harsh white light.
The deity's confident expression faltered as it recognized the gathering power. Its honeycomb eyes widened with genuine alarm.
[Divine Beam fully charged. Targeting locked. Firing.]
The accumulated energy discharged in a concentrated beam that tore through space toward the creature. The beam's passage left trails of crackling energy in its wake, and the raw power distorted the space around it.
The deity quickly raised both hands, casting multiple protective barriers in rapid succession. The first barrier shattered immediately upon contact with the beam. The second held for a fraction of a second before breaking apart. As the beam continued its approach, the creature desperately pulled out a crystalline mirror artifact, holding it up just as the Divine Beam struck.
The mirror's surface flared with blinding light as it redirected the attack. The reflected beam shot off at an angle, missing the deity by mere feet but continuing with undiminished power toward the two other ancient ships positioned behind it.
The vessels had no time to react or defend themselves. The first ship took the full force of the deflected beam and exploded in a massive fireball, debris scattering in all directions.
The energy continued through the wreckage and struck the second ship, which also erupted in flames before being torn apart completely. The third ship barely managed to veer away from the destruction, but the shockwave caught its hull, leaving it heavily damaged and listing to one side.
The goat-deity floated motionless in space, staring at the burning wreckage with complete shock and disbelief.
"Vorrak thren!" The goat-deity's voice trembled as it stared at Charon in complete disbelief.
Arthur found himself genuinely surprised by his ship's destructive capability, though he quickly noticed the significant drain on Charon's power reserves.
Beside him, Firfel gazed out at the wreckage with quivering lips. "That attack just now could have destroyed entire worlds..." Her eyes shifted to the goat-deity, which remained completely unharmed despite the devastating display. "Yet that creature survived it without a scratch."
The ancient deity seemed to shake off its shock, crouching low before launching itself toward them once again.
"It's coming back!" Firfel cried out.
The creature slammed into Charon's hull with both fists, the impact reverberating through the entire ship. Though the defensive systems managed to absorb most of the force, the raw power behind the attack was staggering.
Arthur's expression hardened. "Looks like I need to handle this bastard personally." He moved toward the exit, preparing to order Charon to teleport him directly into space near their attacker.
Firfel caught his hand before he could issue the command.
Arthur turned to her with a reassuring smile, gently patting her head. "I'll be fine."
"That creature possesses immense power... like it truly has the strength of gods..." Firfel's voice carried deep concern.
"Because it is a god," Arthur replied matter-of-factly. "Didn't I mention before? I'm a deity myself."
Firfel fell silent. When Arthur had first revealed his divine status months ago, she'd struggled to fully accept it. Despite witnessing his incredible abilities, the concept of deities seemed impossibly distant—beings like the Three Known Gods: Solarus the Sun God, the Moon Goddess, and the God of Craft. "Deities exist on an entirely different level. They're the creators of the things they rule over. They can't be just..." She gestured toward the goat-creature battering their ship.
Another thunderous impact shook Charon, but Arthur remained patient as he addressed her concerns. "Do you remember our visit to the moon?"
Firfel nodded, recalling her expectation of encountering the Moon Goddess—the supposed creator of that celestial body—only to find empty craters and ancient rock.
"You sensed her presence there, but she wasn't physically present," Arthur explained calmly. "By your reasoning, as the moon's creator, shouldn't she reside there personally?"
"Just as Solarus doesn't actually live within the sun," he added.
When Firfel remained quiet, processing this information, Arthur continued. "That's because they didn't create these domains—they claimed authority over them. Think of it like... taking ownership of a kingdom rather than building it from nothing. Once they establish that authority, they receive worship and power from everyone who reveres those domains. The Moon Goddess gains strength from all who pray to the moon, Solarus from sun worshippers, and so on. Divine power comes from claiming dominion over concepts, forces, or realms—not from actually creating them."
Firfel's eyes widened as understanding began to dawn on her. "Then that means the Three Known Gods could be out there somewhere with their actual physical bodies—"
Another violent tremor shook the ship as the goat-deity renewed its assault, cutting off her words completely.
Arthur's patience finally snapped. The space around him began trembling as overwhelming power started building within his form like a contained storm.
"It seems I have no choice," Arthur said with perfect calm, though dangerous energy began radiating from his body.
Suddenly, the entire ship's interior convulsed as Arthur became the epicenter of a supernatural energy eruption. Both Firfel and Charon's systems detected the massive power surge with alarm.
[Warning: Extreme energy buildup detected. Hull integrity may be compromised.]
What followed left Firfel speechless. Arthur's body began expanding and transforming before her eyes. His lean frame erupted with dense muscle mass, mysterious dark tattoos spreading across his skin like living shadows. Within thirty seconds, six magnificent black wings had unfurled from his back, each feather crackling with demonic energy.
His horns grew more imposing and razor-sharp, while his normally golden eyes blazed with true scarlet fire—the color of ancient demonic royalty.
The overwhelming force radiating from Arthur's transformed state made Firfel's heart race with involuntary awe and fear.
"Charon, teleport me directly in front of that bastard," Arthur commanded, his voice now deeper and infinitely more menacing in his altered state.
[Teleportation sequence initiated. Deploying to target coordinates in 3... 2... 1...]
Arthur vanished in a flash of light.
He materialized in the vacuum of space, floating directly before the goat-deity. The creature froze mid-attack, its honeycomb eyes widening in surprise at the sudden appearance of another winged being.
Before the deity could speak, Arthur's fist slammed into its face with cataclysmic force. The blow hurled the creature across the void like a living meteor, its body spinning through starlight until it smashed into a passing comet. The collision detonated in a blizzard of shattered ice and rock, spraying glittering shards across the darkness.
Arthur followed immediately, his wings propelling him through space with incredible speed. He grabbed the dazed creature by the throat, his clawed fingers tightening around its neck.
"Who are you?" Arthur demanded, his scarlet eyes boring into the deity's honeycomb gaze. "And why are you attacking my ship?"
The goat-deity struggled against Arthur's grip, attempting to break free, but Arthur silenced its efforts with a brutal punch to the gut. The creature doubled over, gasping and nearly losing consciousness from the blow.
"You have some nerve," Arthur snarled, delivering another punishing strike. "Lusting after my woman like some pathetic animal. Did you really think I'd just stand by and watch?" He punctuated each word with another hit. "You're nothing but a disgusting pervert who can't control his base urges!"
Finally, after enduring the relentless beating, the goat-deity raised its hands in surrender. "Please! Stop! I surrender!" it gasped out, speaking in perfect, clear language.
Arthur paused, his fist frozen mid-swing. He stared at the creature with surprise. "You know my language?"
The deity panted heavily, still recovering from the assault. "Your language?" it wheezed with confusion. "This is the Common Tongue—the language spread throughout this galaxy by the Radiant Empire. Most beings in civilized space know it for trade and communication. Of course I know it."