Marquis Voban gazed into the distance. Even separated by a world, it was as if he could see the silhouettes of those two.
Shendu. Luo Hao.
Sooner or later, he would defeat both of them.
And Kusanagi Godou—
A cool gleam slipped into Voban's eyes.
A man who calls himself king yet fawns upon those in high places is unworthy of the title Demon King—still less of the name Godslayer.
His very appearance was a mistake.
And Voban would erase that mistake.
Godslaying? Heh. He wanted to see just how that little upstart planned to slay gods once he stepped into the game.
War God Verethragna. Divine King Melqart.
Two fine pieces of prey.
And Sun Wukong. Athena…
He would not spare a single one of those Heretical Gods.
As for Luo Hao, the Wuxia King of this world—without having joined the chat group, she no longer qualified to be his match.
And as for acknowledging a man from the island nation as your sworn younger brother—only you could stomach such a thing.
At that thought, Marquis Voban let out a cold chuckle or two.
Then he shifted his gaze to the empty space before him and spoke, voice frosted through:
"Attend me."
"My king, your orders."
With those words, a knight clad in armor appeared before Voban, dropping to one knee in respect.
"Prepare sacred relics for the summoning of a Heretical God."
A fierce killing intent burst from Marquis Voban.
In the past, just as Luo Hao had said, Authorities were merely methods of battle to him. Amassing more Authorities would not transform his essence, nor would it catalyze a qualitative leap in strength.
But now he had joined the chat group. Authorities could be sold to it.
As the dominions of divinities, even if the Heretical Gods of this world were far inferior to those lofty beings above and not nearly as mighty as myth describes, the prices of their Authorities remained high.
Treasures from other worlds, enhancements to his Authorities—these all required points.
With enough points, he could surpass the limitations of a Godslayer's nature in the shortest possible time.
"I will slay gods."
That killing edge in his tone made the kneeling knight tremble. Fear bled into the man's voice as he stammered:
"My king, we've exhausted our sacred relics."
"And the shrine maidens…"
Summoning a Heretical God was no simple rite. The right time, the proper place, and human agents—all were indispensable. It required sacred relics, maiden seers gifted with spirit sight, and the art of evocation.
Even then, success was not guaranteed.
Moreover, not only were they missing the most crucial sacred relics, but the shrine maidens had also been depleted by Marquis Voban's insatiable hunger for summoning Heretical Gods.
"If the maidens are gone, find more—from other countries."
"If the relics are gone, find them."
"John Bull, the Lighthouse, the Island Nation, the 'Hans Cat'—must I instruct you in everything?"
Voban's voice was arctic.
Aside from Luo Hao, he was the strongest Godslayer in this world.
Kusanagi Godou—were he not the protagonist of this world, by what power could he even hope to contend with Voban, let alone defeat him?
"Yes, my king."
Sensing the growing chill under Voban's words, the knight dared say nothing more.
For Marquis Voban, strength alone put him at the pinnacle of Godslayers—second to none save China's Wuxia King. His temper was also the most violent among them. A single misstep could mean death at his hand.
The knight departed, bearing his king's command. The palace was left to Marquis Voban's solitary figure.
"Kusanagi Godou—of all people, you I will never acknowledge."
The image of his defeat at Godou's hands rose again—along with Shendu's sneers. Voban's fists clenched tight.
To lose to any other Godslayer—humiliating, yes—but he could have at least sought out the deficiency within himself.
But that seventh Godslayer in the tale—
No wisdom in battle, no sense for the field, combat ability as weak as weak could be.
Like a boar that had just stumbled into strength, charging blindly across the battlefield, never once bringing its might properly to bear.
In a crisis he leaned on women's kisses—and that gilded sword besides.
As for a king's bearing—he had none. He still considered himself an ordinary high school boy.
To such a fellow… how could Voban accept defeat at the hands of someone like that?
Protagonist? Heh.
From today onward, there would be only one king in this world.
And that would be me—Voban.
In the chat group—
Come Be My Son: "Gurararara—Shendu's power is indeed formidable."
Come Be My Son: "Speed, strength, regeneration, combat methods… No wonder you beat Marquis Voban."
Whitebeard expressed his amazement in the chat.
After Voban's duel with Shendu, Whitebeard had also gone to spar with Shendu.
In terms of destructive power, the flames Shendu displayed were in no way inferior to Whitebeard's Gura Gura no Mi. In strength and speed, Shendu imposed tremendous pressure on him. Even when Whitebeard went all out and left no small injuries on Shendu, the demon simply relied on the Horse Talisman's regeneration to mend himself in an instant.
Whitebeard had gone in prepared—he knew well how frightening the Twelve Talismans were.
So long as his opponent wasn't orders of magnitude beyond him, a Shendu bearing the Horse and Dog Talismans could rely on immortality and regeneration to stand unbroken.
Shendu: "Your strength isn't bad either."
Shendu: " 'The world's strongest man'—not an empty title."
After back-to-back wins over Marquis Voban and Whitebeard in the chat group, Shendu was in fine spirits.
This was his strength.
As for all that talk about those humiliations in the memory replica—that Shendu had nothing to do with him.
He had never eaten dirt.
Ordinary Group Owner: "To be fair, Shendu's not weak."
Ordinary Group Owner: "Unless there's a way to strip him of the Twelve Talismans, you won't beat him without a massive advantage."
Ordinary Group Owner: "Sealing techniques might do it, though."
To Roxie Vale, the defeats of Whitebeard and the others were entirely expected—Shendu's power was what it was.
Though he had kept eating crow in the plot and kept getting sealed, Shendu's strength was anything but feeble.
The Twelve Talismans were originally Shendu's own power. To peg his might solely to the Talismans was a mistake.
In the chat group as it stood, perhaps only Angel Yan could suppress him; killing him, however, remained out of reach.
The Dog Talisman's immortality was one reason; more crucially, Angel Yan did not wield any sealing art.
Brandon White likely could as well. Though he had never trumpeted his own power, with the [Authority of Nature] behind him, he probably could manage it.
Think of Reinhard from Re:Zero—Brandon's "cheat" hardly seemed any weaker.
Uchiha Dance King: "@Shendu, a bout?"
He had wanted to test himself against Shendu even before Whitebeard—but Whitebeard had gotten in first.
Seeing Whitebeard also fall to Shendu, Madara's fighting spirit only surged higher.
Shendu: "Oh? You want to dance as well?"
Shendu: "Uchiha Madara."
Shendu: "I grant you a single defeat."
(End of this chapter)