After hearing Hades's words, Erica had no choice but to calmly speak to Kusanagi Godou. Erica wanted the Slate Grimoire, the Prometheus Grimoire, that Kusanagi Godou held, but Kusanagi Godou insisted on sending it to his grandfather's friend.
Roar—!!!
Just as their conversation broke down, a massive roar sounded, and the surrounding scenery suddenly dimmed.
A wild boar as huge as a mountain peak appeared, its two tusks resembled iron towers, and the mane on its back looked like burning flames.
"A wild boar?" Kusanagi Godou stared at the massive wild boar that had appeared, speaking with a mix of confusion and fear.
"That is!!" Erica widened her eyes after seeing the wild boar.
Immediately after, Erica leaped onto a building. A red light flashed over her body, changing her into combat casual wear with a red and black checkered shawl. She extended her right hand forward, a crimson magic circle shimmered, and she began chanting the Kotodama:
"O Lion of Steel and Lionheart King who is the ancestor—please heed the vow of the Knight Erica Blandelli. I am the successor of the Fierce Horn Flute, descendant of the Black Warrior. My heart shall not yield, and my sword shall never break."
"Roar—!!" An iron lion head emerged from the magic circle, opening its mouth wide toward Erica.
Erica thrust her right arm into the lion's mouth and grasped a hilt within: "O Lionheart King, the essence of struggle now manifests in my hand. The time for the duel has come, Reinhart!"
Erica drew out a Rapier whose blade was like a thin willow branch, then unleashed an attack resembling a Magic Bullet, but it was blocked by a Golden Rune Barrier released by the wild boar.
"As expected, it is a Divine Beast. A battle between gods is about to take place here," Erica said with a grave expression, tightly gripping the Silver Sword Reinhart in her hand.
Kusanagi Godou, oblivious to everything, was so frightened he collapsed onto the ground, his pupils constricted as he spoke in shock:
"What is going on..."
Hades helped Kusanagi Godou up with one hand and said, "Alright, can you stand up? Run along the road behind us. The farther away you are from here, the safer you'll be."
"What about you?!" Kusanagi Godou turned his head and asked Hades.
Hades put down the Sketchbox he was holding, adjusted his cuffs, and said, "I still have some ability to save myself. You, as an ordinary person, should evacuate first."
"This..." Kusanagi Godou stood rooted to the spot, feeling indecisive.
"Enough! Hurry up and go!" Hades pushed Kusanagi Godou away with one hand, urging him to run toward the back.
Hades also leaped up and saw Erica tightly grasping Reinhart with both hands, the blade releasing crimson shockwaves in a desperate attack, but she simply could not break through the wild boar's Golden Rune Barrier.
"Roar—!!" After the wild boar let out a long cry, "Aahhh—!!" the shockwave generated by the boar's roar flung Erica backward.
Hades, who had leaped into the air, caught the flying Erica in his arms. Hades then jumped onto the roof where Erica had originally been standing.
"Why are you here?! Get away quickly!! Leave this to me!!" Erica tried to push Hades away, but no matter how much strength she used, she couldn't move him.
Hades pulled Erica forcefully into his embrace and looked at her, saying, "Alright, you should know that even as a Great Knight, you probably can't defeat a Divine Beast. Just leave the rest to me."
"..." Erica blushed and remained silent. It was the first time she had been worried about and protected by a man. She leaned against Hades's embrace, listening closely to his heartbeat. For some reason, this heartbeat gave her an inexplicable sense of security.
"Roar—!!" After the wild boar roared, it charged violently toward Hades. Only Hades's figure was reflected in its red eyes, because the beast's instinct told it: this man is very dangerous, so it must defeat him.
Mental Attack—!!
Eye Attack—!!
Hades emitted an invisible ripple from his head, freezing the wild boar in place. With a slight movement of his eyes, he then released a shockwave from both of them.
Bang—!!
The massive wild boar instantly flew backward. It hadn't flown far before it was completely enveloped by a tornado and swept away in a certain direction.
After seeing this, Erica stared wide-eyed at Hades and asked, "What exactly did you just do?"
"Who knows? Perhaps it was simply summoned by its master and returned to where it belongs," Hades said mysteriously. After speaking, he jumped down with Erica in his arms and landed safely.
Rewinding time a bit, Kusanagi Godou worried about Hades and Erica and returned the way he came. Along the way, he tripped, and the Prometheus Grimoire flew out of his arms.
"Is this yours?"
It was then that Kusanagi Godou met the heretic god Verethragna, who was also the God of Victory, Bahram, in Persian Mythology.
During a conversation with Kusanagi Godou, Verethragna became interested in him. He gave the Prometheus Grimoire and his White Horse Incarnation to Kusanagi Godou before vanishing.
The vanished Verethragna, sensing the remnants of Hades's aura on Kusanagi Godou, revealed a rather ferocious, excited smile and said:
"Interesting! Truly fascinating!! To think that even the lord of the underworld has had contact with you! I am becoming increasingly interested in you!!"
Hades indirectly caused this War God's fighting spirit to instantly soar significantly. He was extremely looking forward to meeting and fighting Hades later on.
"A heretic god?"
At this moment, Erica, Kusanagi Godou, and Hades were sitting on a long bench in a mostly destroyed train station. Erica was explaining the concept of a heretic god to Kusanagi Godou:
"That's right. They are beings who break free from the garden called 'Mythology' and bring disaster to humanity."
"If the Sun God descends, the entire world will become unbearably hot. If the Sea God descends, the entire world will be swallowed by waves and sink to the seabed. If the God of the Underworld descends, plagues will spread to every corner of the world, turning it into a City of Death. If the God of Judgment descends, the people living here will suffer various different punishments. Merely passing through this world causes immense influence, creating Gods of Calamity who assume forms based on their own preferences—this is a heretic god."
As an ordinary person, Kusanagi Godou felt his world shatter upon hearing this, and he needed some time to digest it before he could feel better.
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