Granted, blue-rank abilities like "Sage Body," "Many-Minds Sight," and "Valon, Avatar of God" don't sound particularly impressive.
But that is only because most people cannot push their own divine power to its absolute limit.
Most High-Class Devil bloodlines are blue-rank. Under normal cultivation, once they reach adulthood, they can obtain High-Class Devil-level strength.
In reality, however, the upper limit of a blue-quality High-Class Devil bloodline is not merely "High-Class Devil," but ascension to the King-class.
If one trains with extreme diligence, even a blue-quality pureblood Devil bloodline can still reach Ultimate-Class Devil-level strength upon adulthood.
If one keeps pushing into middle age, even a blue-rank pureblood Devil bloodline can break through into Maou-class.
Of course, under normal circumstances, everyone trains "normally." An ordinary pureblood Devil will usually reach around Ultimate-Class Devil-level strength in middle age. Only the Great King Houses, the Grand Duke Houses, and the Four Old Maou Houses can reliably reach Ultimate-Class Devil-level strength at adulthood, and Maou-class in middle age.
As for Akuto, with the assistance of "Many-Minds Sight," even with only a blue-rank Sage Body, he successfully raised his strength to Maou-class before adulthood, reaching the realm where most "God Ancestors" and "False Gods" reside.
…
And that was only Akuto's condition before he recovered his memories.
After recovering his memories, although many of his other abilities still required "clearing instance worlds" and unlocking them through capturing the heroines, Akuto's knowledge, experience, and combat instincts came with him by default.
Main-god-level combat experience and a vast store of knowledge were enough for him to bring his current strength to full bloom. Even if he collided head-on with a Godslayer, he would not necessarily be at a disadvantage.
After all, a Godslayer's baseline combat power is only Super Maou-class. It is merely that when facing the Last King or an exceptionally powerful god, it becomes difficult for them to erupt with power beyond the Maou threshold.
"In a sense, these Godslayers are quite similar to 'God's Envoys,' except that it's their baseline that is Maou-class."
"When they use Authorities, it's equivalent to a God's Envoy using a Divine Artifact, boosting their baseline Maou-class battle power up to Super Maou-class."
"A God's Envoy can use the power of 'the heart' to evolve their divine core, entering a buffed state similar to Balance Breaker or a Wing Dragon mode."
"A Godslayer can also use the power of 'the heart' to make their Authorities erupt with greater force than usual. For example, when facing a god, their high-risk willpower and unshakable conviction can drive their anti-magic output and combat energy to surge beyond the limit."
"Normally, Godslayers shouldn't be able to defeat main-god-level existences from the DxD world. Gods who reach that level through orthodox cultivation are well-rounded monsters—besides attack power, their defense is also top-tier."
"However, Godslayers have their own unique edge. If they truly go up against a main-god-level deity, then under the stimulation of Godslayer traits and the amplification of conviction that strengthens their Authorities, their combat power can still reach King-class."
Through years of collecting hidden-world knowledge, Akuto had gained a deep understanding of what Godslayers were, and how the Godslayer world worked.
And so…
"I…"
Akuto dropped to one knee.
"RRAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!"
Dragon energy erupted from the ground, surging straight into the sky!
…
From his earlier walk across Roman soil, Akuto had already injected his power into the Hell of all Southern Europe.
At this moment, Akuto had become the Lord of Hell for Southern Europe!
With the God of the Bible's knowledge supporting him, even though Akuto was not a Hell God who naturally governed Hell, he still obtained Maou-class holy-sword-tier power.
As Hell fully activated, it grew increasingly lively.
Most importantly, the entirety of Italy was sealed beneath an expanding barrier!
…
Elsewhere.
Black Prince Alec had transformed into lightning-fast divine speed, rushing toward Southern Europe as Alice-hime indicated.
Unfortunately, before he could arrive, Italy had already been locked down.
"Hm? This is…"
Stopping before the barrier of dragon energy, Alec sensed something from this unknown wall.
In the next second, his expression changed sharply.
"Hm? Not an Authority construct? How is that possible?"
"Creating a massive field comparable to demonic power—purely through a sorcery formula?"
"Could this be something Italy's magi formed jointly?"
"But a large-scale ritual like this would require at least the magi of all Southern Europe chanting together for months. How could it possibly have been deployed so suddenly?"
Alec could reach this conclusion because if such a ritual were truly being laid down, it would demand long-range control at the level of an Overlimit Domain, as well as the governing precision of a God's Domain.
And even if the Italian magi had the patience to squat through it, there was no way they could conceal the changes in the ley lines.
"Which means… someone is actively completing control over Europe's Hell and sealing Southern Europe's ley lines at high speed, without relying on Authorities? Impossible!"
Even Alec, with Many-Minds Sight, could not help letting astonishment leak out.
Because building a ritual of this scale in a short timeframe, without using Authorities, smashed the foundations of what he considered "common sense."
It was effectively telling him that a Godslayer's Authorities were not the strongest power in the world, and that the holy sword's attack effect could be even stronger.
"Since it's confirmed this isn't an Authority belonging to a ley-line Earth Mother, then the greatest possibility is… a main-god-level existence has descended—one who excels at magic—and used a powerful spell formula to lock down all of Italy."
"And when it comes to gods famous for overwhelming spellcraft… could it be Odin of the Norse?"
"To run into something like this while searching for Saint Prince Akuto-sama… truly is a troublesome time."
Alec did not rashly offend the unknown existence behind this barrier.
Because in his understanding, if it were a god connected to the God of the Bible, then most such beings would belong to a monotheistic system. Monotheistic gods were typically supreme, and their methods were "Authorities." Who would be casting massive spell formulas instead?
Under normal circumstances, Alec's reasoning would be sound.
But unfortunately for him, the "God of the Bible" portion within Akuto was not the same as the God of the Bible Alec understood.
In the DxD world, the God of the Bible's "Authority" is, itself, spell formulae.
…
In the end, Alec abandoned the idea of forcibly breaking through with Authorities.
"If I use my highest-output technique, I might be able to open this Hell barrier."
"But that would also drain Southern Europe's Hell dry."
"So I can only wait and observe for now?"
All one could say was: it was fortunate that the one who arrived was Black Prince Alec.
If it had been the true wielder of the holy sword—the Sword King—coming from the northeast instead, then under the holy sword's heavy strike, Southern Europe's Hell would already have been completely ruined.
…
Meanwhile, on Akuto's side.
After completing the formula that isolated the outside world from magic, Akuto calmly left Rome's Hell core as if nothing had happened, and continued walking through the streets in a casual manner.
Through the ritual just now, Akuto had already taken control of all Southern Europe's Hell, and had performed limited practice with the God of the Bible's Authority.
"Mm. Erica's position should be to the south. She's fairly close—only around ten-odd kilometers. I'll head to Erica first."
"Hm? Liliana is also rushing this way? That makes sense. They're members of Italy's magic associations. It's normal that they weren't sealed outside."
"The most unusual one is the so-called lord in the east. He's supposedly the Godslayer who rules Southern Europe, yet he's constantly not in Southern Europe—always running around the world."
"Still, even though I'm closest to Erica right now, the first one to find me won't be Erica."
"It'll be… that boar goddess."
Just then, that figure appeared in his sight.
At the corner of an alley ahead, a silhouette stood quietly, as if fused into the brick walls of the old houses around her—yet also radiating a strange sense of presence that did not belong.
It was a girl.
She had shoulder-length, silver-white hair like rolling waves, shining with an almost transparent sheen under the sun.
Her face was so exquisitely shaped it looked like a work of art carved by a master craftsman. Her features were perfection beyond the human realm, carrying a sacred, ethereal depth that transcended gender.
Most striking of all were her eyes—like the purest crystal, gleaming silver in their clarity.
Those deep, ancient purple irises were as though they reflected the turning of billions of stars, containing a wisdom that saw through all things, and a pride that seemed to gather the totality of mysteries in the world.
Yet in sharp contrast to those ancient, divine eyes was what she wore.
This goddess—so classical, so antique in her aura—was dressed in a standard deep-blue sailor-style school uniform.
The fitted top outlined a slender frame. Beneath the pleated skirt, her legs were wrapped in black knee-high socks, and she wore black leather shoes.
The Heretic God—
Athena—
stood there, wearing a foreign school uniform.
No, calling it "out of place" was not entirely accurate.
Akuto had already anticipated that Athena would be the first to appear before him.
The moment he saw her, Akuto's heart sped up—rarely.
Not from fear.
But from… excitement.
After all, Athena possessed a voice and presence worthy of a god, and she also carried an unpredictability that promised trouble at any time, alongside formidable power.
Even though Akuto had experienced much, he was still moved by the aura Athena displayed at this moment.
In the next second, the system notification sounded in his mind.
[Ding!]
[Congratulations, Host, you have triggered the main storyline mission — Petite Goddess Athena.]
(End of Chapter)
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