A golden sword—its sacred radiance restrained, its entire body seemingly forged from pure gold, with divine runes symbolizing wisdom and victory engraved upon its blade—appeared in her grasp. The moment it manifested, intense fear surged into the eyes of every deity present.
Yet this terror wasn't born from their hearts but rather from their divinities themselves. The sword's divine aura made their very godhood tremble uncontrollably.
"How…how can this be?" one of the gods murmured in stunned confusion. "Why does that sword bear Lord Bahram's divinity?"
The deity who spoke was the representative sent by the Zoroastrian pantheon—a Persian war god.
But then, another god abruptly interjected:
"Bahram? That can't be right. Clearly, what I sense is Lord Indra's divinity!"
The speaker, a representative from Mount Sumeru, frowned deeply, bewildered by the Persian god's statement.
Unlike those two, Shiva, the Hindu God of Destruction, saw far more clearly:
"Bahram…Indra…Mithra? And even the Greek Heracles, the Egyptian Horus, Nergal of Babylon, and Adamas of Manichaeism...? And most crucially, that terrifyingly sharp aura that even pains my divinity… Just what is that sword?"
The weapon Jeanne Alter wielded was the [Golden Sword of Verethragna], the Persian God of War—the protagonist's greatest trump card in "Campione," capable of severing divinity itself. Now, in this world, it appeared again as a Sacred Gear integrated within the [Sword of Salvation].
Originally, the power to sever godhood was a divine Authority belonging to Verethragna himself—the "Warrior with the Golden Sword." The [Golden Sword] sealed within the [Sword of Salvation] shouldn't possess this ability. Yet perhaps, due to Jeanne Alter's prior existence as "Saber Alter," having slain and earned the acknowledgment of the Heretic God Verethragna—though without fully usurping his Authority at the time—she now grasped this capability upon wielding his blade.
Casually, Jalter raised the [Golden Sword] and pointed its tip past Zeus and Poseidon, directly at Hades.
Hades couldn't grasp her words' meaning nor understand her intentions—but the instant the sword's aura locked onto him, an overwhelming dread filled his heart.
"Zeus! Poseidon! Stop that woman—save me!!"
The eldest of the three supreme Greek gods, Lord of the Underworld and Death, one of the world's top ten—now cast aside his dignity as a supreme deity, desperately begging his younger brothers Zeus and Poseidon for help.
That was how dangerous this golden sword truly was.
Yet Jeanne Alter's expression remained utterly indifferent. Her red lips parted, releasing a majestic, resonant chant echoing across heaven and earth:
It was Verethragna's divine proclamation of "Victory" and "Supremacy":
"I am the Strongest, who grasps victory in my hand! Humans or Devils, all enemies are crushed beneath my feet! I shall overcome any foe that stands before me!"
As these words fell, the golden runes inscribed upon the blade ignited brilliantly, the divine golden flame enveloping the sword surged skyward, forming a mighty pillar of light that pierced the heavens.
Though gentler than the Sword of Salvation's merciless brilliance, the golden sword filled Hades with a terror far greater.
Although Zeus and Poseidon couldn't fathom Jeanne Alter's intent, their brother's desperate pleas compelled them to act. Zeus summoned bolts of lightning imbued with terrifying destruction and royal divine might, while Poseidon manifested an endless ocean behind him.
Yet, they were too slow. Before their attacks could even fully manifest, the Authority of the [Golden Sword] activated.
"You two—your attacks are pathetic compared to the thunderbolts of Zeus, the Machine God!"
Eyes sharpening, Jeanne Alter shouted fiercely, swinging the golden sword downward.
A thin, golden thread of sword-light surged forward effortlessly, tearing apart the two Greek gods' attacks, dissipating Zeus's divine lightning, and calming Poseidon's raging sea instantly.
In the blink of an eye, that golden sword-light passed harmlessly through Zeus and Poseidon, striking directly into Hades, slicing diagonally from his shoulder down to his side, nearly splitting him in two.
Zeus and Poseidon frantically patted their chests, checking themselves in panic—only to realize they felt no pain, nor had any injury appeared at all.
Was it all a bluff? Merely intimidation?
Just as this thought crossed their minds—
"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH—!!"
—a howl of unbearable agony, heart-rending and soul-shattering, pierced the air.
Alongside Hades's scream, immense black winds imbued with death erupted violently from his wounded form. Under shocked, horrified gazes, these deathly energies rapidly condensed into a black crystalline substance, floating gently into Jalter's outstretched palm.
Gazing upon the dark crystal in her hand, Jalter furrowed her brows slightly, dissatisfied.
"Since you were born a natural god, it seems I only extracted…around three-quarters of your divinity, huh?"
The golden sword vanished from her hand. Now she stood calmly, [Sword of Salvation] held loosely in one hand, the black crystal suspended thoughtfully in the other.
"My Authority… My power… My divine essence…"
Hades sprawled pathetically like a dying dog, stripped entirely of his former might and pride. His feeble, deteriorating divinity made it impossible to associate him any longer with the majestic Greek deity who once commanded death itself and ranked among the world's strongest.
His skeletal body, riddled with cracks, had grown dim and frail, looking as though a mere gust could shatter him to pieces.
Watching this scene unfold—hearing Jeanne Alter's casual words, witnessing Hades's wretched state—the gods felt an unbearable chill grip their hearts.
Then, a flash of sword-light erupted.
Blazing platinum brilliance engulfed Hades completely, leaving not even ashes behind.
After losing three-quarters of his divinity, Hades couldn't withstand even a casual strike from Jeanne Alter.
Thus, another of the world's top ten met his abrupt end.
Slowly, Jeanne Alter raised her gaze, her platinum-gold eyes shining fiercely with an overwhelming divine presence that swept across every deity present, her voice low and filled with absolute dominance:
"The fool who needed punishing—I have dealt with him. The strength I needed to demonstrate—I have shown it clearly."
"Now... it's your turn. Give me your answer."
The gods, their eyes flickering anxiously between the [Sword of Salvation] in her right hand and the black crystal held gently in her left, fell into an oppressive, dead silence.