Salvatore's strongest Authority—and the first he ever obtained—was the Ripping Silver Arm, usurped from the Celtic god Nuada.
As the divine king of the Tuatha Dé Danann, Nuada represented the core of Celtic mythology. While a Heretic God's power isn't necessarily tied to their mythological strength, the Authorities obtained by Campione after slaying gods are directly connected to their legends.
Thus, more prominent gods generally yield more potent Authorities. As king of the Tuatha Dé Danann, Nuada's myths were beyond question, and the Authority gained from this deity became Salvatore's foundation for dominating the modern era.
Ripping Silver Arm] possessed the ability to sever anything with a sword—whether sky or sea, solid, liquid, or gas—all would be cleaved by this Authority. If limited to just this, the ability wouldn't be excessively powerful.
But through Salvatore's relentless refinement, he ultimately uncovered its true potential: the power to transform anything he touched into a demonic sword. Touching light transformed it into radiant blades; touching earth allowed him to sunder mountains.
In the past, during a battle with a Heretic God that carried them into space, Salvatore had an epiphany. He touched approximately twenty-two meteorites beyond Earth's atmosphere, converting them into his demonic swords—thus creating a sword technique capable of bringing stars crashing down.
In the past, Salvatore had never used this ability, not even in his battle with Luo Hao. He knew that even his fight with Luo Hao was not a life-or-death struggle, so there was no need for him to resort to this ultimate, one-time-only technique that required extensive preparation afterward.
But now, because Salvatore believed Roy's claim that the Last King was the strongest Heretic God—especially since this Heretic God's mere awakening had triggered volcanic activity worldwide, an unprecedented phenomenon even among past divine manifestations—Salvatore held nothing back. From the very start, he unleashed his most lethal attack.
With his vast combat experience, Salvatore understood that if the Last King truly was the strongest Heretic God, failing to activate this ability immediately would mean never getting another chance. Conversely, if the title of "strongest Heretic God" was a lie, the Last King would undoubtedly perish under this sword technique capable of bringing down the stars!
In one breath, Salvatore summoned all twenty-two meteors he had connected with in the cosmos. Streaks of light descended from the distant void. If these meteors were allowed to crash onto the earth, no one could say whether they would shatter the continental plates, but at the very least, the land beneath their feet—Japan—would be utterly annihilated.
Salvatore was neither a kind man nor an evil one. He was simply a swordsman obsessed with the blade, to the point where he never even considered the catastrophic consequences for Japan if the Last King failed to intercept the meteors he had summoned.
"Amaterasu!!! Why must Japan suffer so many calamities? Dear God, what is happening? Why are so many meteors hurtling toward Tokyo?!"
In Japan's Natural Disaster Monitoring Center, the director clutched his hair in anguish, invoking every deity he knew in desperate lament.
"Sir, should we inform the Prime Minister now?!" a staff member shouted, sweat pouring down his forehead.
"It's too late! In just over ten seconds, those meteors will strike Tokyo. The Prime Minister is still in his residence—he won't escape either!! Japan is finished, and so are we!!"
The director knew all too well that if those meteors hit, Japan would sink beneath the waves. No one would be spared—not even this monitoring center, located within Japan's borders. All he could do was utter his final prayers and cries of despair.
In Tokyo, countless pedestrians stopped in their tracks, staring dumbfounded at the more than twenty flashes lighting up the sky. Some pointed at the meteor-like streaks, others paused to close their eyes and make wishes, while a few excitedly pulled out their phones to film the spectacle. At first glance, the falling meteors resembled a meteor shower. But for now, no one realized these beautiful streaks of light heralded absolute destruction.
Suddenly, amid the meteor shower, a dazzling platinum light shot skyward, racing toward the descending meteors.
BOOM——————————
The platinum light pierced the atmosphere, reaching the cosmos and colliding with the falling meteors. A brilliant explosion erupted like fireworks, though the deafening roar existed only in people's imaginations—sound couldn't travel through the vacuum of space.
"Your power is somewhat overrated, the Last King! You destroyed one of my swords, but I still have twenty-one left!"
Salvatore, floating in the sky with his magical power, shouted with disappointment in his voice. After the Heretic God destroyed the meteor he had summoned, the Last King appeared to be struggling. Judging by his performance, Salvatore couldn't believe that Veeraj could truly break his strongest strike—at most, after destroying a dozen or so meteors, he would be overwhelmed by the remaining ones.
If Veeraj only possessed such strength, it would be far too unworthy of his title as the Last King.
In reality, this was the true extent of Veeraj's power as a Heretic God. Whether it was Luo Hao, Salvatore, or Annie Charlton, relying solely on his own strength, he couldn't defeat any one of them.
And if Veeraj failed to block Salvatore's strike, the island nation beneath them would surely be destroyed. To ordinary humans, Heretic Gods were calamities—but Campiones were no better. They were demon kings.
"My King!"
Seeing Veeraj weakened, Guinevere quickly stepped forward, kneeling on one knee and raising a golden cup half the height of a person.
"My King, please absorb the essence of the Earth Mother Goddess within this and activate the Oath of the Great Covenant!"
Veeraj gazed at the meteors descending toward Earth. After only a brief hesitation, he sighed heavily. "...This day has still come."
Without further hesitation, Veeraj reached for the Holy Grail. The golden cup flashed with a blinding radiance before its brilliance gradually dimmed.
"Approved—the Oath to Exterminate the Demon Kings! Hereby, the ancient covenant's great rite is activated!"
With the Last King's solemn declaration, the entire planet trembled—a lament of the earth, a sorrow of the planetary mother.
The divine power Veeraj gained from the Oath of the Great Covenant was not conjured from nothing. He was drawing upon the essence of the planet itself, igniting the flames of the world to forge the Final Steel!
An overwhelming, suffocating surge of divine power erupted from Veeraj—a magnitude of magical energy more than ten times greater than that of any Campione. Currently, there were five Campiones in the world, and their existence amplified Veeraj's strength exponentially, as if he had activated the Kaioken!
"This is—!!!"
Salvatore's eyes widened in shock. The tangible divine power radiating from Veeraj was so immense that merely standing at a distance and witnessing it made the Sword King's body tremble, his limbs stiffen, and his thoughts freeze.
So powerful, so inconceivable—his mere existence was enough to slay Campiones. Such a being was truly worthy of being called the Last King, the hero destined to exterminate demon kings!
Yet, even as fear crept into his mind, Salvatore grew increasingly exhilarated. Only by facing such a formidable enemy could he prove his worth as the Sword King—only then could he fight with absolute exhilaration!
"Good! Let us settle this with a single strike!!"
Salvatore let out an excited roar as his body transformed into a longsword, merging with the meteorites descending from the cosmos. Twenty-one streaking stars formed a beaded chain, with Salvatore's body as the spearhead and blade tip, piercing toward the Last King with earth-shattering momentum!
Veeraj raised high the Sword of Salvation. Without chanting any divine words, a mandala-like ritual formation unfolded around the blade, from which countless bolts of lightning erupted.
The sharp-eyed Salvatore could see these were no ordinary lightning strikes—each bolt carried divine weapons: swords, spears, halberds, axes, hooks, and forks. Every weapon was a sacred artifact of the gods, every one a crystallization of myth!
Whoosh whoosh whoosh——————
CRACK————————
The lightning-wrapped divine weapons exploded midair with thunderous roars, instantly reducing the twenty-one falling meteors to dust that dissipated as starlight. Before Salvatore could react, Veeraj gave a gentle swing of the Divine Sword of Salvation. A mountain-cleaving sword aura tore through the Sword King's body, and with an ear-splitting blast, Veeraj sent the Italian Campione flying from Tokyo all the way to the distant Pacific Ocean!!
In the past, Veeraj would awaken whenever three Campione existed in the world, initiating the Great Ritual of the Old Covenant to eliminate them. Yet now there were five Campione—never had they been so powerful, and never had Veeraj been so mighty!
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