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BOOM—
A violent storm tore through the sky. Night flipped to blinding daylight, then plunged straight back into darkness. Lightning split the sky as savage winds howled.
"Hermes is using his Authority?" Uesugi Kenshin stared in shock.
"Oh wow, wow, wow… this definitely isn't a joke anymore," Mata said, the smile on her face fading into something far more serious.
A three-digit existence, even without fully invoking their Divine Seat, could still unleash power on the scale of a four-digit freak just by fighting through an avatar and Authority alone. That was the gap in essence and understanding.
And for Hermes, the raging wind was the purest expression of his original divinity. It was one of the core symbols of his nature as a god of natural forces.
So he was serious now.
It seemed Ryo's earlier humiliation had truly enraged the god of commerce, Zeus' messenger.
Mata sighed softly. "In the end, he's still a Greek god. And Gods will never bow their heads to humans."
Was Ryo strong? Absolutely.
He'd defeated Perseus and reached a level comparable to a four-digit. That was no small feat.
But that didn't mean Hermes would see him as someone worth humbling himself before.
Zeus could humiliate him, and he'd endure it. After all, that was the Father of the Gods, a hidden three-digit standing at the peak of the four-digits.
Athena could push him around too. He'd never beaten her even once, and he couldn't fight back at all.
But you? Who do you think you are, Yagami?
Out of respect for Zeus, letting you punch me around a bit and cough up some blood was already generous. But now you send three men to f*ck me?
Then don't blame him for crippling you, beating you half to death, and letting you earn the "honor" of injuring a three-digit avatar.
Based on Mata's own experience beating Hermes up a few times, she was certain those exact thoughts were running through his head right now.
Which meant Hermes was about to show his wrath as a god, delivering divine punishment to the offender.
"Should we step in?" Mata asked calmly. "That kid might not be able to handle Hermes' counterattack."
"Let's wait and see," Kenshin replied without hesitation.
"Seems you've got a lot of faith in him. Fine then. Let's see what Arcadia's new leader is really made of." Mata smiled faintly.
The two of them subtly twisted the flow of time around them, slowing the world to give themselves space to talk and to better observe every detail of the clash between Hermes and Ryo.
...
Up in the sky, the lightning lion and the raging winds were locked in a stalemate.
Hermes let out a cold laugh and reached out with his free hand.
The Authority of Theft.
In myth, the very first thing Hermes did after he was born was steal Apollo's cattle. He was caught, then gave a lyre in exchange.
On the surface, it looked like a simple tale of theft, pursuit, and a magnanimous victim settling for little compensation.
In truth, the cattle and the lyre were metaphors.
They represented Apollo's Authority over livestock and Hermes' Authority over music.
Hermes stole Apollo's livestock Authority, was hunted down, and when he returned it, he also gave up his music Authority, closely tied to the gentle winds.
Apollo gained an extra Authority and naturally let Hermes off the hook.
That was the real core of the myth.
Now, Hermes intended to use the Authority of Theft to steal Ryo's Authority as punishment.
After all, if he was already fighting, why not steal something? What kind of thief god would he be otherwise?
But then…
He stole absolutely nothing.
"…You don't have an Authority? How can that be?"
Hermes froze.
A four-digit with no Authority? Was this a joke? Since when did Little Garden have four-digits without Authority?
It never occurred to Hermes that one day, he'd run into someone this poor.
In the sky, the lightning lion showed a very human look of confusion.
Leo Pemptos, the Fifth Familiar, didn't quite understand either, but following Ryo's fury, she roared anyway, as if something incredibly precious had just been stolen.
This was indirect guidance from Athena.
Ryo's order had been simple.
"No matter what, once he counterattacks, act like he stole something important. For emotional reference, imagine someone stealing your ice cream."
My ice cream was stolen…
The golden lightning lion's eyes went wide, blazing with rage as it stared at Hermes like he was a mortal enemy.
'Damn it, he's framing me. That bastard wants to force my hand…' Seeing that familiar look of a victim, Hermes reacted instantly.
He finally understood. Ryo had been deliberately baiting him from the shadows, intentionally escalating the situation.
From the moment Hermes demanded dancers, to the clash of power, to the attempted theft of Authority.
Step by step, Ryo had pushed things toward a point of no return.
'I've been played… No, this is Athena's scheme…' Hermes instinctively tried to disperse his avatar.
But then his body locked up.
"I can't move… what's going on?"
His pupils shrank as shadows crept across his face. He looked up and froze.
A sword hung in the sky.
Over three hundred meters long, pitch black, radiating the aura of judgment.
The Seventh Familiar: Libra Hebdomos, The Black Sword of Abraded Night.
The sword blotted out the sky as it descended, casting a dark shadow that swallowed Hermes whole.
"This judgment power… Libra's lineage… and it's alive?!"
With his vast knowledge, Hermes instantly saw through the source of the power binding him.
"This avatar can't take it. I need to escape."
Among Authorities, there weren't strict counters, but there were advantages and disadvantages.
And this was clearly "thief versus judge." A matchup made to be crushed.
Hermes tried to steal his own space, swapping himself to another Outer Gate.
And it failed.
He tried to steal the Sword Hebdomos's ability to think, only to have his interference shattered by a host of strange powers.
"It's over…"
Fear filled Hermes' eyes.
Libra's Authority came with inherent backing from Little Garden's central core system, giving it higher priority than normal Authorities.
To break free, he'd have to use the power of his Divine Seat. But he came here to take a beating. This was just an avatar, after all.
And now, that avatar was about to be killed.
Normally, losing an avatar wouldn't be a big deal.
But if it died here, with no witnesses left, Ryo or rather Athena, the one advising him from behind the scenes, would absolutely accuse Hermes of stealing Ryo's Authority.
He had just used the Authority of Theft. Everyone in the City had seen it.
A thief stealing someone else's property meant the stolen goods had to be returned, right?
But... he hadn't stolen anything! How was he supposed to return it?
Was he about to be forced to compensate with one of his own Authorities?
Hermes was stunned.
Authority was the foundation of a Divine Seat. After reaching three digits, with a Divine Seat already in place, acquiring another Authority was harder than upgrading the Seat itself.
Compatibility, balance, secret rituals to contain it… the cost was so high it could buy one intervention from Zeus. Hermes had worked a thousand years just to save up for a single chance like that.
'This… this is worse than fencing with the three gay guys.'
'One night, I could endure it, right? Zeus loved that sort of thing anyway. I could just say I was following in my father's footsteps.'
'No. I can't die. At least not with no proof left behind.'
Clenching his teeth, Hermes stomped his foot, stole a white sheet from a random household in the City, held it over his head, and shouted: "I surrender!"
.
.
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