Chapter 409: Acquiring a Loli Goddess
The darkness had solidified into a tangible hemispherical wall, now being bombarded by a barrage of golden weapons.
One after another, they pierced into it, making it resemble a spiky ball in the blink of an eye.
Protected within, Athena watched as the weapons continuously pierced deeper into the barrier.
If this continued, the dark wall would eventually be penetrated.
Thus, she was desperately draining her divine power to maintain the Dark Barrier, which must not be pierced by the opponent's golden swords.
These swords undoubtedly possessed the same characteristics as Verethragna's—the more one understood their own mythology, the more powerful the swords' efficacy became.
If struck, her entire divine power would likely be severed, and she would be cast back into her myth. She had no desire to return to that cage.
Crack—crack, crack!
The hemispherical Dark Barrier began to show fissures, but simultaneously, the opponent's volleys weakened.
Correction—to be precise, the quantity of projectiles plummeted abruptly, yet their potency did not diminish; instead, it intensified.
This didn't imply the opponent's attacks had grown stronger, but rather indicated that they, too, were nearing exhaustion, thus concentrating their remaining strength into fewer strikes.
Suddenly, it ceased. Had the opponent's power almost run dry?
Athena could also sense that the two identities confined by the opponent's mythological stage were no longer restrained.
So, victory was—
Hm? Why had this bounded world suddenly brightened so miraculously? A radiant sphere of light had appeared in the sky?
At the same time, the Dark Barrier was rapidly dissipating like dry ice.
Thus, Athena's initially joyous expression instantly turned ashen.
"To think you possess this Authority as well? This goddess shall not yield!!!"
Immediately recalling her two identities, she unleashed her full power, causing the swiftly vanishing Dark Barrier to solidify and replenish.
She had to withstand the opponent's solar assault!
Boom—!
It felt as though the sun itself had crashed down, and for a moment, Athena nearly buckled under the pressure.
Simultaneously, the terrifying light was dispelling the darkness, thinning and rendering transparent the once-impenetrable Dark Barrier that had blocked all rays.
Light was beginning to seep through.
"Ugh, aah!"
Athena let out a genuine cry of anguish as a single strand of light pierced through and struck her hand.
The moment it made contact, it burned through her skin like a laser, setting it ablaze.
"O night, this is the time ruled by the Queen of the Netherworld! Heed this goddess's call, draw down the celestial curtain!"
Words of power flowed from her lips as she sought to banish the sun, pouring forth all her strength in release.
For a time, the world became a surreal spectacle of light and darkness locked in struggle, dividing the realm in half.
This division split heaven and earth.
The sky was occupied by light, the earth submerged in darkness.
Then, both light and dark contracted, transforming into opposing pillars of radiance and shadow.
The contraction continued until it resembled a silver sun contending with a black hole.
But all things have their limits. The impact between the two forces, compressed at the center, had reached its breaking point.
Thus, the moment the forces collapsed, a destructive shockwave engulfed both sides.
The devastating impact warped the sky beyond recognition, like a sheet of smooth, transparent glass now twisted into chaos, or transparent plastic warped by intense heat.
As for the earth, the shock shattered the entire ground to pieces.
Crack—crack, crack, crack!
The sound of the world fracturing echoed, and several spatial rifts became visible—signs that the bounded space was on the verge of disintegration.
Through these increasingly faint fissures, the outside real world could be glimpsed.
"It appears I've won."
"You've won?"
Athena, who had degenerated into a young girl and was slumped in a crater, couldn't fathom what the person before her had actually won.
After all, his body had become so transparent it seemed he might vanish at any moment. She could sense he no longer had the strength to confront her.
Of course, Athena herself was nearly drained of power, now little different from an ordinary human girl.
Thus, neither could do anything to the other at this point.
Worse still, if a Campione—no, even without a Campione—just some human mages or knights could eliminate them both.
"Of course I've won."
Renji reiterated with certainty.
He truly had no strength left to deal with Athena, but his lack of power didn't mean others were in the same state.
"Lucretia."
At his call, a gust of wind blew in from the real world outside the bounded space, and a bewitching witch appeared beside him.
This scene left Athena momentarily stunned.
"My, what a fierce battle. Is this little one the goddess Athena?"
Lucretia, summoned by his call, approached the young girl and pinched her cheek, earning a furious glare from the goddess.
"Despicable!!!"
The word escaped Athena's lips. She hadn't expected him to collaborate with humans.
As a god, didn't he find this beneath his dignity?
Then, Athena watched as the man and the witch kissed?
What was this about?
"Wh-what!"
Athena's eyes widened in disbelief at the scene before her.
The witch's magical power was draining away, while his strength was recovering.
In the blink of an eye, he had regained most of his power, while the witch was completely depleted.
This was utterly illogical.
How could he replenish more power from the witch than she even possessed, especially when the witch was weaker than him?
"This... it's too strange, how is this possible!"
"Why wouldn't it be possible?"
Renji held Lucretia, whose body trembled slightly, and looked at Athena.
He knew exactly what she was astonished about.
So, why did this violation of energy conservation occur?
To put it in simpler terms, it's like the same combustible material releasing different amounts of energy depending on the efficiency of the burning equipment in different environments.
If that were the case, couldn't a Heretic God simply capture a witch and drain her power once their own was exhausted?
But that's like trying to run Android software directly on iOS—it doesn't work. It needs to be converted into a program compatible with iOS.
Combining these two analogies roughly describes the situation between Renji and Lucretia.
Thus, he now had a pitiful, helpless, and weak young goddess in his grasp.