"Roar!!!"
The giant wolf, coveting the crimson sun and the bright moon, roared, its eyes fixed on Asclepius.
"Is that... a demon wolf?!"
At this moment, Asclepius also felt the terrifying power emanating from the giant wolf above his head. His face changed drastically, and his heart was filled with dread.
He was the son of the Sun God. Although his own divine authority was Medical, facing such a monster, Asclepius still felt some fear.
Before Asclepius could react further, the demon wolf high in the sky plunged down without hesitation, like a falling planet, carrying high temperatures and flames towards Asclepius.
"Beast, how could I let you kill me?!"
With a roar, Asclepius raised his Golden Snake Staff, and the phantom of a crimson-gold giant python emerged behind him.
The giant python's phantom continuously solidified, eventually transforming into a venomous snake with half its body.
The venomous snake exhaled poisonous mist, and its sharp, slender fangs dripped with venom. Just one drop caused the earth and ocean beneath to lose their vitality.
"Ha!!!"
The venomous snake declared war on the wolf's head, then rushed into the sky, enveloped in a sky full of poisonous mist.
In the clouds, the giant wolf and the venomous python met. For a moment, the sky seemed to fall silent. The clouds, which had been constantly drifting due to the strong winds, suddenly stopped. Everything seemed as if time had been frozen.
But everyone knew that this was merely the calm before the storm.
As expected, the large expanse of clouds was suddenly shattered, and the sky became distorted. Streaks of black and purple thunderfire tore the azure sky into fragments.
"Boom!!!"
Finally, as if unable to be suppressed, an explosive roar erupted high in the sky. Terrifying flames mixed with poisonous mist rose, and this explosion directly overshadowed the light of the sun, illuminating the entire world with its fire.
With the aid of the poisonous mist, the flames exploded in succession, burning into a series of sparks in the sky.
Seeing that the giant wolf had been successfully intercepted, Asclepius let out a long sigh of relief. Just as he was about to turn and deal with Nakano Yu, he suddenly found that half of his body had once again turned into salt stone.
Before Asclepius could react, golden lights illuminated, spreading across the sea and covering the land.
"What new trick is this?"
From the golden light, Asclepius felt no threat. Just as he was about to use asclepius's bowl to undo his salt crystallization, he waved his hand and found that asclepius's bowl was not in his hand.
"Are you looking for this?"
Just then, Nakano Yu's contemptuous inquiry came.
Hearing this, Asclepius turned his head to look, only to see Nakano Yu had landed not far from him at some point. And at the young man's feet, a bronze bowl emitting a verdant silver glow was trembling.
That bronze bowl was none other than the asclepius's bowl that Asclepius had been continuously summoning!
"Give it back to me!"
Seeing his divine artifact being stepped on by Nakano Yu, Asclepius became enraged. With that, poisonous mist began to spread, assailing Nakano Yu.
However, just as the poisonous mist reached the young man, Nakano Yu smiled, showing no intention of dodging, as if the poisonous mist couldn't harm him at all.
Asclepius would not be fooled by Nakano Yu's feigned composure. He saw his eyes turn cold, and the poisonous mist grew even denser, quickly enveloping Nakano Yu.
"How foolish, asclepius's bowl cannot resolve the potent venom of Gorgon's Blood! Just wait for death, foolish commoner!"
Seeing this, Asclepius simply assumed that Nakano Yu wanted to use asclepius's bowl to neutralize the venom, just like him. However, using asclepius's bowl required a sufficient understanding of pharmacology, and furthermore, the venom of Gorgon's Blood was incurable!
However, just as Asclepius was waiting for the poisonous mist to completely corrode Nakano Yu, turning him into a puddle of pus, the next moment, a silver light beam emerged from the poisonous mist. The silver light beam continuously expanded, quickly pushing away all the poisonous mist released by Asclepius.
"Hmm?"
Seeing this, Asclepius frowned. After waving his hand to recall all the poisonous mist, he saw Nakano Yu standing there quietly, completely unharmed.
Around the outside of the young man, a silver light barrier enveloped Nakano Yu, isolating the poisonous gas.
"This is… moonlight?"
Squinting his eyes, Asclepius frowned and murmured the origin of the silver light barrier.
That's right, it was moonlight!
It was just that the sky was clear and bright now, it was no longer night. How could Nakano Yu attract moonlight?
Just as Asclepius was puzzled, he suddenly seemed to remember something. He abruptly looked up at the sky, only to be completely shocked by the sky at this moment.
The sky, which was originally clear and blue, was now half azure and half deep purple. On the deep purple side, a bright moon hung, with twinkling stars, presenting a stark contrast to the clear sun on the other side.
The sky was strange, half morning and half night. This scene left Asclepius completely dumbfounded.
"This… How is this possible?!"
Looking at the sky, Asclepius's expression was filled with dread and uncertainty. The sun and moon cannot coexist; this was common knowledge among all gods. But why—
"The Wolf! It's that Wolf!!!"
Recalling the Wolf of the Twilight of the Gods that Nakano Yu had released earlier, Asclepius gnashed his teeth. He finally understood what was going on. His appearance had turned the world, which was originally night, back into day, but that demonic wolf had devoured the light of the Sun.
That Sun was not the true sun, but a materialized existence that appeared because of him. This damned human released that evil wolf not to target him, but to devour the light of the Sun, allowing the Moon to appear!
Thinking of this, Asclepius felt a chill down his spine. This human was truly cunning!
Clutching the Golden Snake Staff tightly, Asclepius's expression was grim. With the moonlight protecting Nakano Yu now, his poisonous mist couldn't harm that fellow, unless...
Thinking this, Asclepius gripped the Golden Snake Staff tightly, and blood flowed again. Green leaves once again sprouted on the Golden Snake Staff, but this time, the green leaves were noticeably much yellower and withered compared to before.
Asclepius's intention was clear: he wanted to use Cut Through to once again sever Nakano Yu's authority!
Although frequent use of Cut Through would put a burden on him, even as a god, he couldn't withstand many such burdens. But as long as he could kill this ignorant human and win a glimmer of hope for himself!
No matter what the outcome for him, Asclepius felt it was worth it!
"Sever Destiny!"
A few seconds later, the Golden Snake Staff once again transformed into a jade-green wooden staff. Holding the jade-green staff, Asclepius immediately activated Cut Through, intending to sever Nakano Yu's authority over the moonlight.
But no matter how Asclepius wielded the jade-green wooden staff, the moonlight that completely protected Nakano Yu showed no sign of dissipating.
"How is that possible?!"
Seeing this, Asclepius looked at the jade-green wooden staff in his hand in disbelief, then at the moonlight, and, not believing his bad luck, wielded the jade-green wooden staff again. However, no matter how Asclepius activated Cut Through, the moonlight protecting the young man simply refused to dissipate.
Just as Asclepius was tirelessly trying to sever the Moon Authority, Nakano Yu sneered, looking at Asclepius as if he were watching a clown.
Has this guy still not noticed the golden light around him? He's truly astonishingly arrogant. One might say he's a hero who stepped into immortality with a demigod's body...
It's just a pity he's about to die by his hand!
Thinking this, Nakano Yu snapped his fingers. The next moment, Holy sword Joyeuses of various shapes suddenly fell from the sky. The Holy sword Joyeuse pierced into the earth and into the ocean, but their hilts and half of their blades remained exposed.
These Holy sword Joyeuses seemed to be telling their master that they could win victory for him at any time, emitting buzzing sounds:
"Buzz!!!!"
"These swords... Damn it, they're just swords made of gold. I am the hero of the Serpent, I am Asclepius, the God of Medicine!"
Looking at the Holy sword Joyeuses falling like rain around him, Asclepius's expression became extremely ugly. He couldn't discern the origin of these swords. They had the aura of the Sun, the feeling of a Hero, and also... a power that Asclepius couldn't identify.
"You are the offspring of a god and a human, you are a demigod, but your mother, while carrying you, betrayed your father, Apollo, the Sun God. Therefore, your mother was shot and killed by Artemis, the Moon Goddess, with an arrow, but you survived and were raised by the centaur race. This is your birth."
Raising his hand, illuminated by the many Holy sword Joyeuses, Nakano Yu began the final judgment.
"Shut up!!!"
Listening to Nakano Yu recounting his history as a demigod and a god, Asclepius became frantic. He roared in anger, losing his composure, and directly shattered the salt stones binding him with his vast curse power.
Roaring, Asclepius dismissed the jade-green wooden staff, brandished the Golden Snake Staff, and once again summoned a golden giant python. The moment the giant python appeared, it paid no attention to showing off its might, raising its head and charging towards Nakano Yu.
Seeing this, Nakano Yu's expression was cold, and his Divine Word continued without pause:
"Under the guidance of the centaurs, you learned medicine and vowed to save people who were bound by the gods with illness and death. Thus, skilled in medicine, you began your path as a hero. By chance, you discovered that serpents seek medicinal herbs, and so you became inextricably linked with the Serpent!"
"Buzz!!!"
As the Divine Word landed, Holy sword Joyeuses suddenly pulled out from the earth, transforming into a golden torrent that instantly submerged the golden giant python. With the disappearance of the golden giant python, the Golden Snake Staff in Asclepius's hand shattered, turning into a sky full of golden dust.
"I told you to shut up!"
Seeing Nakano Yu about to continue speaking, Asclepius's body trembled. He used poisonous mist to form poisonous snakes and attacked Nakano Yu.
However, as soon as the poisonous mist appeared, it was instantly shattered by the Holy sword Joyeuse.
"You once obtained the Gorgon's Blood from Athena, the Goddess of Wisdom, allowing you to step into the immortality of a god with a demigod's body. You also saved all living beings because of this, becoming a Hero, but you were executed by the jealous Zeus with divine lightning under the charge of usurpation. Not long after your death, you were consecrated by Zeus as the constellation of the Serpent—Ophiuchus!"
"By now, your identity is clear. You, Asclepius, possess the essence of the Serpent, the divinity of Medicine, and at the same time, you are the Hero Demigod of Poison!"
As his words fell, countless orbs of light formed from the Divine Word rose and floated into Nakano Yu's hand.
Under Asclepius's horrified gaze, countless Divine Words transformed into a massive snake-shaped Holy sword Joyeuse. Runes on the Holy sword Joyeuse moved like snakes, and its brilliance shimmered, making the sword even more majestic.
Looking at the Holy sword Joyeuse of the Serpent, Asclepius was stunned. At this moment, he finally understood what that distinguishable aura was… it was himself!!
"By the art of my Divine Word, manifest justice in the world!"
When Nakano Yu's final Divine Word fell, the Golden Snake Sword also struck down heavily. In an instant, the world was left with only this Holy sword Joyeuse capable of slaying gods!