Chapter 51: The Manifested Divine Sword and the Holy King
To this day, Hikigaya had seen quite a few Divine Artifacts. Though they varied in form, any tangible object of such power usually reflected a certain aspect of human pursuit from an artistic perspective. To put it simply, anyone seeing one would surely let out an admiring "Tsk, tsk, tsk."
The thing the Goddess had just drawn was also "tsk-worthy," but not at all in that sense. It was, quite literally, a piece of junk.
However, one thing was certain: the Goddess was calling for backup. Not a Divine Beast, but a deity of the same rank. Nor was it a subordinate god, but an independent deity of equal status.
According to a normal person's logic, this would be the moment to stop the Goddess from finishing her incantation. Indeed, the Campiones present felt a growing sense of danger brewing. But no one moved to stop her. Both Doni and Uldin sat back with expressions of keen interest, watching the Goddess perform the ritual to summon another deity.
Aisha, on the other hand, seemed hesitant, though Hikigaya felt he couldn't quite guess what exactly she was hesitating about.
At that moment, a wind began to blow. At first, it was a mere swirl, but it rapidly intensified into a violent gale, eventually forming a tornado that circled the hill where Artio stood. A scent drifted through the wind that only gods and God-slayers could "smell"—it was like the scent of a human sniffing a cold block of iron.
The tornado's presence had already thrown the area into chaos; the sky turned murky and oppressive, filled with lightning and thunder, signaling an imminent storm. Yet, several Campiones remained standing firmly. Even in such harsh conditions, it wasn't enough to knock them off their feet.
As the person among them with the most exquisite mastery over wind, Hikigaya could clearly see the Goddess protected within the tornado. He saw Artio thrust that wretchedly broken longsword into the earth. The moment the blade pierced the soil, the white lightning hovering above her head seemed to receive guidance, plunging into the sword's blade and vanishing.
But the ritual was not over.
"I am the Goddess of the Earth. I hereby authorize the ancient covenant to seek the crusade against the terrifying Devil Kings. I shall shield the youth, Atis—and entrust a portion of my life to testify to this covenant."
The Goddess raised her left hand toward the sword planted in the ground, slit her own wrist, and spilled divine blood. The blood of a goddess looked little different from that of a human. Once the divine blood fell upon the rust, it was instantly absorbed without a single drop remaining.
"O Holy King manifested at the end of the world, descend to the mortal realm at once!"
With the final word of power, the tornado vanished. In front of the Goddess, a youth dressed in archaic clothing appeared out of thin air. He appeared so abruptly that it looked as if he had been standing there all along.
The youth slowly turned his head, looking down at the God-slayers at the foot of the hill. He had white hair, with a shadow falling over his forehead that obscured his features, but his nose and mouth were well-defined and his jawline slender; he undoubtedly possessed a handsome, beautiful face. The deity wore a simple blue trench coat and trousers, topped with a white overcoat that resembled a cape.
"O Child of Destiny..."
Artio called to the youth from behind, but a sudden clap of thunder drowned out the rest of her words. Or perhaps she hadn't said anything at all, for the god in the form of a youth kept his head down, completely ignoring her—acting incredibly cool.
"Do you wish to hide your true name? Truly, you are a man as eccentric as the rumors suggest."
Artio exposed the truth with a slightly dissatisfied tone. Clearly, the previous thunder was no coincidence but the work of the youthful god; otherwise, there was no explanation for why her voice would be masked by the sound. Natural thunder didn't have that kind of precision.
"It matters not. I shall call you Atis. This is the holy name originally intended for my child; it should be worthy of your great fame."
Artio unilaterally made her announcement to the silent youthful god. He remained as he was—ignoring her completely, as if her words were just background noise.
Of course, that's just the narrator adding flavor. What happened next proved that this youthful god—no, the King of the End whom the modern Black Prince, Alexander, had been tirelessly identifying, the one who had annihilated all Campiones time and again—simply didn't want to reply.
"Atis, I have but one request: annihilate the God-slayers of this era."
Having finished listening to the summoner's chatter, the King of the End, who had been standing motionless, finally moved. He slowly walked toward the longsword thrust into the ground, reached out, and pulled it out.
Instantly, ten thousand rays of light pierced the dark, heavy firmament. It was the radiance of the sun. Every anomaly in the sky vanished in an instant; a holy light dispelled all shadows, and a brilliant splendor spilled across the earth once more, falling upon the blade of the sword.
Upon the thick longsword, which was about a hundred centimeters long and shaped like a cleaver, the mottled rust vanished at a speed visible to the naked eye, erupting with a dazzling
white-gold crystalline glow. The Divine Sword of Salvation that Alexander had been searching for—the blade that annihilates Devil Kings—had revealed its true form in this era!
The white-haired hero raised the divine sword toward the heavens. A white-gold orb of light appeared in the sky, its brightness rivaling the actual sun.
Facing this unmistakable action, the Campiones present took action in response.
"Silver arm that slashes, receive my oath and grant me an invincible blade!"
"Before good karma matures, the good man complains. When good fruit matures, only then does the good man know bliss... There is currently a goddess bringing calamity to the people. Before excluding her, please grant me the power of protection—!"
"Rudra! Grant me the radiance of the sun!"
Three Campiones chanted their words of power almost simultaneously. Doni's right arm turned to silver, pouring Divine Power into his longsword. Aisha prayed for the power of protection—she likely prayed for the strength to survive the immediate crisis rather than for combat power. Uldin manifested a golden arrow.
All three drove their Divine Power and Authorities to the limit to withstand a strike that, by all appearances, was something one absolutely could not take to the face.
Hikigaya did not use words of power; he summoned the wind to quickly envelop everyone.
Then, he saw the King of the End gently swing the divine sword.
The white-gold sun fell from the high heavens. Doni's slash and Uldin's solar arrow were swallowed by the terrifying pillar of light. It then became a horrific column of energy that pierced the very earth where the God-slayers stood.
When the light dissipated, a massive crater dozens of meters in diameter remained. The light of the Divine Sword of Salvation had swallowed everything.
The King of the End raised his head and looked into the sky. There, the Campiones were being protected by the wind.
Then, everyone heard his voice.
"Why? I thought that it was precisely because you refused this request that I would be the one to shoulder this heavy burden and battle the heroes upon the earth."
The shadow over the King of the End's forehead vanished, revealing his true face. His gaze was calm as he looked directly at Hikigaya.
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