"Hm? That aura is…"
As the presence on Akuto's body grew more and more transcendent, Athena was drawn to him almost instinctively.
"What? How is that possible?!"
The moment she realized the aura on Akuto had already surpassed the chief-god tier, even Athena, restored as the triple-bodied Athena, couldn't stay calm!
Damn it. He got power fast enough to rival her complete form in the divine realm already?
Then what the hell was she even fighting for?!
"Hm? Wait…"
But after a closer look, Athena discovered that the chief-god-plus presence didn't come from Akuto himself.
The source of that overwhelming aura… was the Holy Lance in Akuto's hand.
"Whew…"
Athena let out a breath. If Akuto's true body strength had already reached sub-Dragon God tier right now, she honestly wouldn't know what to do with herself.
What Athena didn't know was that what Akuto was showing her now was only a sliver of him.
Sub-Dragon God tier was something Akuto had already reached long before he ever came to the Godslayer world.
...
"Now then. Time to test the effect."
Akuto noticed the shift in Athena's gaze. He didn't comment. He simply raised the Holy Lance in his hand.
A crystal-toned radiance flashed (translucent white as the base, with prismatic highlights), and Akuto triggered that move with practiced ease.
[explosion: create-the-world! (Creation Explosion!)]
"Thoom!"
Centered on the Holy Lance, a pitch-black orb shimmering with iridescent colors expanded rapidly, swallowing the surrounding dozens of kilometers in an instant.
"Hm? This is…"
Athena, shrouded in dark divinity, frowned. Just now, that strange fluctuation had swept across her body. She didn't feel injured at all, but she was certain something had affected her.
And very quickly, Athena realized what felt wrong.
"Everyone can disperse for now. After I deal with Athena, continue gathering intel on the other two gods and report it to me."
"As for me, my battlefield isn't here."
With that, Akuto tapped the Holy Lance lightly, and he and Athena vanished from where they stood.
"Wumm…"
Wrapped in an unseen spatial law unlike anything she'd ever felt before, Athena finally realized that the rules of the world around her had already been rewritten!
So that was it. Akuto's actions just now hadn't been meaningless at all!
In that instant, Akuto had seized complete control of heaven and earth in the surrounding area.
The reason she hadn't sensed the change was simply because Akuto hadn't flipped the rules yet.
...
"Whoosh…"
Just like that, Akuto and Athena disappeared completely from everyone's sight.
The crowd stared at each other. In the end, with perfect unspoken agreement, they all turned their eyes to Saint Raphael.
In their view, Saint Raphael was Akuto's strongest knight, and she'd just achieved the feat of slaying a god. With Akuto gone, it only made sense to listen to Saint Raphael.
But Saint Raphael was good at fighting, not managing situations like this. So she turned her head toward Erica.
"Erica, it's yours. Don't disappoint Akuto-kun and my expectations."
Saint Raphael had weighed her options among "Erica, Liliana, and Lucretia Zola."
Liliana was new here and, frankly, not very sharp. Lucretia Zola was a lazy dog. In the end, Saint Raphael decided to dump the burden on Erica.
"Eh? Me…? Okay, Saint Raphael-sama. Understood."
Erica was startled at first, but after she looked around, she had to admit she really was the best candidate.
Karen, Arianna, and Alesa were too young, too weak, and didn't have enough standing.
Liliana was too naive. Lucretia Zola and the witch Diana both looked like they couldn't be bothered.
So yes, it had to be her.
Saint Raphael's "dumping the work" sparked a sharp burst of inspiration in Erica's mind, giving rise to a fascinating idea.
Maybe, in addition to being a "knight" and a "lover," she should also add a role like "secretary," "assistant," "steward," or "manager."
Erica had come to understand this deeply: competition in the "knight" lane and the "lover" lane was simply too fierce.
As a knight, she wouldn't even mention the others. Liliana alone was already on par with her, and above Liliana stood Saint Raphael, stronger and with even more of that female-knight presence.
As a lover, it was worse. Lucretia Zola and Athena had given Erica a level of crisis she'd never felt before.
So Erica decided to change her approach. If she couldn't crush everyone head-on, she'd switch tracks and stand out in a different way.
That kind of thinking was actually pretty similar to how Ravel operated in the DxD world.
If you don't have confidence, build a small team. If you can't win on one track, switch to another.
Rias believed she still had plenty of room to grow, so she chose to keep training and getting stronger.
But if you weren't confident in your potential, changing your approach could be the smarter play.
Normally, Erica wouldn't have sunk into the mindset of "I'm not as good as others."
But after hearing the conversation between Akuto and Athena, Erica was thoroughly shaken.
Those magic society leaders couldn't hear what Akuto and Athena said, but Erica could.
The moment she heard Akuto intended to stir trouble in the divine realm, and that Athena had effectively accepted that the queen-goddesses of other pantheons would agree to cooperate with him, Erica felt crushing pressure.
Wait, not just goddesses, but queen-goddesses too?
Was Akuto really that in demand?
Erica didn't doubt it for a second: even if Akuto didn't bring all those queen-goddesses into his harem, he would absolutely take at least a few.
Based on the last few days she'd spent with him, she was certain Akuto was exactly the kind of man who would do it.
And so, the confidence Erica had carried since childhood, the confidence that made everyone call her a genius, took another heavy blow.
After brooding for a long time, Erica finally came up with this "team-building" approach.
...
"Just now, Lord Akuto said that we should continue gathering information on the remaining two gods and report it to him."
"In other words, after defeating the goddess Athena, Lord Akuto will move on to subjugate the other two gods."
Erica spoke with absolute certainty, holding not the slightest doubt that Akuto would defeat Athena.
"I believe every magic society has already performed a basic investigation into those two gods' relevant information. But in my view, this level is nowhere near enough."
"I hope the magic societies don't hold anything back from one another. Don't rely only on your own networks. We need to unite every society's intelligence network."
"When we do, we'll get far more detailed and accurate information, and we'll be able to serve Lord Akuto better."
The moment she said it, the leaders reacted in different ways.
Unifying everyone's intelligence networks? That was asking for the impossible.
Their mindset had always been, "Cling to the new king and elevate our own society," not "cooperate."
But Erica's next words snapped everyone awake.
"You're probably wondering why I'm asking you to integrate everything, why I'm asking you to 'unite,' something that sounds impossible."
"Do you remember Lord Akuto's family name, and… the country he's always lived in?"
"Hiss…"
A collective chill ran through them as they understood instantly.
"That's right. Lord Akuto isn't Italian." Erica smiled in satisfaction.
"Based on the habits of past Godslayers, once someone becomes a Godslayer, most prefer to remain in the country where they were born."
"That means Lord Akuto will most likely return to Fusō later. It's even possible he'll go to Huaxia and challenge Leader Luo Hao."
"I believe that with Lord Akuto's strength, whether he faces Leader Luo Hao or Fusō's new king, Kusanagi Godou, he'll win."
"And whichever of those two countries he chooses, it's unlikely he'll remain in Italy."
"In my estimation, Lord Akuto will most likely return to Fusō," Erica concluded.
Erica already understood Akuto well enough to know his personality. She was certain he'd go back to Fusō and scoop up every beautiful girl he'd ever been interested in since childhood.
But for the sake of protecting Akuto's prestige, she didn't say that part out loud.
Some things can be true and still must never be spoken.
"I'm sure you all know Fusō's national habits. Once they learn what Lord Akuto likes, they'll absolutely cater to it."
"If our Italian magic societies still can't unite by then, then with the new king Akuto absent from Italy, our standing in Lord Akuto's heart will only sink lower and lower."
"So, to resist Fusō, Italy's magic societies must unite!"
Erica raised one hand high and looked across the crowd with force.
"Yes! We unite!"
"We can't let Fusō's women steal His Majesty's favor!"
"Fusō? How can it compare to Italy? A fringe people! How could they ever stand alongside us, the true heirs of Rome!"
"That's right! We'll prove to His Majesty that Italy's warriors and beauties are the best in the world!"
"Fusō is a defeated nation, what right do they have to compete with us for His Majesty?!"
After declaration after declaration, the will of the magic societies fused into one.
If you want to unify the inside, what's the best method?
Find an outside enemy.
That trick had never failed, from ancient times to the present.
(End of Chapter)
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