Satsuki's words—and her composure—seemed, for a moment, to plunge even the torrential rain and roaring thunder into silence.
"Ha... haha... HAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Melqart's suppressed chuckle swelled into a stormlike roar of laughter. Tempests and whirlwinds coiled around his bulging arms. His lion-like beard radiated boundless arrogance.
Erica, meanwhile, was utterly stunned.
She was neither a fool nor a true powerhouse. Precisely because of that, she could not comprehend—how could anyone dare speak to a supreme Heretic God in such a manner?
Yet Satsuki's "arrogance" was not without effect.
At the very least, Erica found that she could breathe again.
Then, before Melqart's crushing gaze descended upon them, she suddenly darted forward, placing herself in front of Satsuki as if to shield her from the divine pressure.
"...Miss Satsuki, although Miss Lucretia said you are very strong, provoking Melqart and standing face to face with that kind of being is absolutely impossible. If Melqart becomes displeased, we certainly won't survive."
She tried desperately to dissuade her.
Earlier, she dared face a divine beast even with limited power. And now, overwhelmed by fear, she can no longer see the situation clearly?
Satsuki watched Erica's trembling back but did not voice the thought.
Erica had drawn her blade against a lower-ranked Heretic God because she possessed confidence in her own strength.
But before a true supreme god—
Even a genius witch felt unprecedented humiliation and anger at her own helplessness.
And yet, at the crucial moment, she still upheld her code as a Knight and moved to protect Satsuki.
That courage was worthy of praise.
However, without reaching a certain level of existence, anyone who crossed blades with a god would inevitably feel terror—and flee like a startled hare. Erica simply lacked that tempering.
Satsuki's gaze passed beyond the laughing Melqart and lifted toward the clouds.
There, the dark masses began to part. Within them, a grotesque face resembling that of a beast flickered briefly—then a massive bolt of lightning descended!
The lightning was not aimed at Satsuki or Erica.
It struck Melqart.
"Hmph!"
Crossing his arms before his chest, Melqart received the thunderbolt without strain. His attention shifted upward toward his true opponent.
"Still as adept at changing forms as ever. Is this your invitation to our final duel? HAHAHAHA!"
Faced with the adversary who had grievously wounded him, Melqart finally withdrew his focus from the two "mortals" before him.
With thunderous steps, he advanced toward his target.
High above, if one looked closely, it seemed as though something enormous was cleaving through the clouds while racing into the distance.
A goat... and a phoenix?
Through the wide-ranging perception of her Tenseigan, Satsuki quickly identified two other divine incarnations converging upon a location on the island.
"The divine beasts have begun to stir at last," she murmured.
It seemed the god wielding the golden sword was close to reclaiming his incarnations. The true battle between gods was about to begin.
"Miss Erica, what comes next—"
"—Leave it to me."
The latter half of her sentence was spoken without hesitation by Erica, who had moments ago been filled with humiliation and anger.
Something about her had changed.
Even within Satsuki's consciousness, the system flickered briefly with calculating sigils—surprised.
"Is this what is called courage?"
Like copper being forged in flame, a fierce and resolute will was taking shape in Erica's eyes.
She began to chant words like a spell.
"Come forth, my sword—Lionheart. Blade that guards the Lion's jeweled throne! The forerunner of red and black makes this plea. Grant me protection for my body, and protection for my chivalry!"
The slender rapier and crimson mantle appeared once more from the void.
Sword in her right hand, cloak draped elegantly over her shoulders, she stood tall. The red fabric adorned with black stripes complemented her golden hair and beauty perfectly.
"No matter what, as a Knight, I have the duty to protect the people. Miss Satsuki, there is no need for you to risk yourself. Please allow me to investigate. Find somewhere safe and we will regroup afterward."
A faint smile touched Satsuki's lips.
This knight still believed her earlier words to Melqart had been mere bluster.
After all, within the common sense of a Witch, a human capable of conversing calmly before such a god simply did not exist.
But now was not the time to argue. Nor did Satsuki intend to justify herself.
At that moment, Ariana—almost as if reading the situation—drove the red SUV to their side.
Erica leapt onto the roof of the vehicle and sprang beyond Satsuki's rain-repelling barrier. Just as she was about to urge Ariana to drive inland—
Satsuki appeared silently beside her.
In her hand, she held the Prometheus' Grimoire.
"Why...? This has nothing to do with you, Miss Satsuki."
Satsuki merely lifted the stone slab slightly.
"That would be true—if I had not accepted this Prometheus' Grimoire."
Erica froze.
Then her expression shifted—back to the confident, defiant look she had worn when facing the Boar.
"Let's go, Ariana."
"Yes."
The driver released the brake, and the red SUV shot forward like a streak of flame through the torrential rain, racing toward the inland epicenter of divine power.
Along the way, they glimpsed the formless Phoenix soaring through the skies and the Goat summoning storm and thunder.
At the same time, the stone slab in Satsuki's hand began to change subtly.
Now that she knew its true name from the Witch of Sardinia, she had fully recorded its abilities with her Authority—and deduced another intriguing possibility.
"The Prometheus' Grimoire possesses the power to deceive the gods and seize their divine power and authority for oneself. After obtaining a god's power... what would a human become?"
She found the question fascinating.
With that thought in mind, they finally reached the center of the storm.
Above them in the sky stood the youth they had encountered before—the so-called "Versailles" boy—confronting Melqart.
The power emanating from his slender frame was entirely different now. Having reclaimed several incarnations, the Undefeated Victor had grown significantly stronger.
Though he still bore the appearance of a boy, the aura he radiated rivaled that of Melqart.
Within Satsuki's consciousness, the system analyzed his identity.
"Verethragna. Ancient Persian god of war. Number of Authorities possessed: 1 (10)."
"Hm? This number of Authorities...?"
Satsuki found herself slightly surprised. What did this peculiar "1 (10)" signify?
Within her consciousness, the system replied, "This god possesses the power to control ten distinct incarnations, each with different abilities—including Gale, Bull, White Stallion, Camel, Boar, Youth, Raptor, Ram, Goat, and the Warrior. Each incarnation possesses its own independent special abilities. That is why it is displayed in this format."
"And the level of these Authorities?" Satsuki asked. That was what truly concerned her. If he possessed ten world-level or even apocalyptic-level incarnations, she would have to exercise caution. But judging from earlier performances, their strength seemed relatively ordinary.
The system's internal sigils flickered once more before it reported, "The incarnational Authorities do not reach world-level intensity."
Understood.
That made sense.
From Lucretia, she had already learned that the previous clash between these two gods had ended in mutual defeat.
That alone suggested their strengths were roughly equal.
Melqart did not register as a true threat in Satsuki's assessment. Therefore, this flamboyantly versatile war god was likely no different.
If that was the case—then the outcome of this battle held little suspense.
Unaware of having been calmly evaluated, the two Heretic Gods glared at one another within the storm.
Unlike the earlier Youth incarnation, the war god now carried an air of transcendence. His gaze upon Melqart was almost that of a sovereign surveying lesser beings.
"The wound I left when we fought before has yet to fully healed, has it? To answer my challenge in such a state—won't that prove rather taxing, King Melqart?"
His tone was teasing as he looked at the lightning-flickering sword wound upon Melqart's chest.
"To awaken me with divine power merely for the sake of battling the strong—if I did not respond to such arrogance, where would the dignity of a king remain?"
"Indeed. I am a Heretic God whose essence is struggle and victory. Whenever I desire an enemy—an adversary worthy of battle—such an opponent shall appear. I came to this island because this land is fated to host the strongest foe I have faced thus far. I... seek defeat."
The youthful god murmured with a faint smile.
"That is my nature. When I arrive upon an island where a powerful enemy lies dormant, I pray—grant me defeat, grant me a formidable foe, grant me a true battle! Thus, clashing with King Melqart this time is inevitable. No—rather, it is delightful."
Such were the Heretic Gods—divinities who defied the myths woven by humankind.
Then the final incarnation approached—like a bulldozer tearing across the land—the intruding White Stallion.
"Hahaha, good child! You have returned to offer your strength to me!"
The youth's form vanished.
The statue-like beauty of his body dissolved into wind.
A tornado.
The sacred gale that lifted divine beasts into the sky—another of his Authorities.
Soon, the wind thickened into a spiraling vortex.
"...Mm. With the Raptor and Goat reclaimed earlier, my power is now fully restored."
The fully restored war god turned his gaze toward Melqart.
"Now the anticipated battle shall begin."
Yet amidst such an awe-inspiring battlefield, a crimson figure intruded.
Holding a shield formed from her transformed rapier, Erica cried out from the edge of the battleground,
"I have an impertinent request—could the two of you cease hostilities?"
In Melqart's hand, a massive wooden club manifested—his divine weapon. Around him gathered ominous Black Clouds.
This was the authority of Baal, the power to command the armies of the underworld.
"This place is now reserved for the resolution between us. There is no room for retreat."
After his thunderous declaration came the war god's almost admiring murmur.
"Your courage in defying gods is commendable. But perhaps you should consider the situation more carefully."
Erica could only raise her voice once more in desperate plea.
"O gods, please show mercy!"
However—
What answered her was a voice that seemed to arrive simultaneously from all directions, threefold yet unified.
"Unnecessary!" ×3
With that proclamation, the earth began to quake violently. The sky froze in an instant. The storm clouds that had gathered under divine influence were seized by an even greater force, twisting upward into a colossal vortex. Within it, black lightning writhed like serpents.
The very heavens transformed in a heartbeat. Ominous clouds swallowed the sky.
At the sudden change, the expressions of the two gods shifted sharply.
Both retreated at once from the lightning-spewing vortex.
Melqart summoned swarms of locusts and legions of the dead to shield himself, while the war god who sought defeat gripped his golden sword, white tornado winds coiling about his body.
Even so, both stared toward the center of the vortex with disbelief.
"Such overwhelming power—what manner of god is this?!"
The muscles of King Melqart bulged to an unprecedented degree, as if resisting infinite gravity. In his perception, the sky itself had grown heavy as earth, descending upon him. The King of the Gods exerted all his strength merely to remain standing.
"You would suppress me with mere presence? What arrogance!"
The undefeated war god had never endured such humiliation. The youthful figure immediately began chanting a divine incantation.
"I am the strongest, the one who holds all victories in my grasp. Against men or demons—against all enemies—I crush their hostility. I shall defeat any foe who stands before me! O Bull with the shining golden horns, lend me your strength!"
This was the power of the Bull incarnation.
It granted him overwhelming strength beyond limits, enhancing his physical body. The greater and heavier the opponent, the more his monstrous strength increased. Its activation condition was the presence of an opponent possessing abnormal strength surpassing human limits—including nonliving entities.
Now, the pressure emanated from the entire heaven and earth.
Thus, the war god's power surged to its peak.
"Oh? You have some substance after all." ×3
The layered voice echoed with faint approval.
But what followed was a pressure dozens of times heavier than before.
"What?!"
"Impossible!"
One was a war god who stood undefeated beneath the heavens.
The other was the King of the Gods—a great warrior, the mightiest dragon-slaying hunter.
And yet, in that instant—
Both were forced down by the immense pressure.
Their knees struck the ground.