Chapter 433: They Saw the Demon God Who Would Destroy the World!
When they emerged from the end of the memory tunnel, what greeted their eyes was—
"What is this?"
"A mythological world?"
The scene imprinted in Alice and Yuri's minds was an incredible world brimming with Greek aesthetics.
It looked exactly like the divine realm of Greek mythology—after all, how could an ordinary human world have temples floating in the air without any solid ground beneath them?
What was eerie was that they saw several gigantic golden swords in this world, as if they had been thrust into it from beyond the world's boundaries.
"Is this meant to tear this world apart?"
Yuri couldn't help but murmur this.
"No, quite the opposite—that golden sword is binding this world!"
So this is why Athena submitted to him, right?
What should we do now?
I thought that after passing through that tunnel, I would catch a glimpse of that mysterious figure, but instead I witnessed this scene.
Should I try to deduce his identity from the golden sword?
"This golden sword possesses the power to sever myths and the ability to seal divine authorities."
Alice had realized this, but which god in mythology wields a weapon with such power?
As her Spirit Sight delved deeper, she saw—
"God of War?"
"Verethragna?"
Both murmured in astonishment, seeing the former God of War holding a nearly identical golden sword.
In other words, the Heretic God behind Athena was the God of War Verethragna.
Of course not, as Alice knew that the God of War Verethragna had already been returned to the mythological world.
Did this mean the opponent possessed abilities similar to Verethragna's?
Wait, was it possible that the opponent had stolen Verethragna's abilities?
Just as a Campione could usurp a Heretic God's Authority by slaying them, could this mysterious god also usurp Divine Authorities?
Not only claiming them for itself, but even distributing them to humans it favored, creating Campiones—no, these individuals didn't obtain Authorities by killing gods, so perhaps they should be called divine apostles instead.
If her speculation was correct, Alice shuddered at the thought.
A god capable of stripping other gods of their Authorities and claiming them for itself—how terrifyingly powerful would it eventually become?
An omnipotent and omniscient god?
Was that an opponent they could possibly defeat?
Suddenly, both their expressions changed drastically. It seemed they were about to be noticed by the golden sword's owner.
At that moment, two owls abruptly landed on their shoulders without warning. The sword's owner, who had been about to notice them, appeared confused, as if failing to detect them.
So, both were equally puzzled: why were the owls helping them?
To be precise, was Athena assisting them by making them invisible to avoid detection?
Why?
The reason was simple. Athena clearly resented being controlled by the opponent and hoped their actions could aid her in breaking free.
Hmm? Were these owls guiding them?
Toward that temple? It must be Athena's temple.
Arriving at the temple and stepping inside, they saw three figures—no, one figure, a trinity of Athena.
A golden sword was piercing her body, pinning her to the divine throne.
So, were they supposed to pull out that golden sword?
But how was that even possible?
They were only witnessing this scene through Spirit Sight—how could they possibly pull it out?
Wait, it seemed they could touch it through mental connection, reach this Athena's body.
Should they pull it out? If they did, Athena would break free, no longer under the control of that mysterious figure.
Biting her lip, Alice extended her mental senses, wrapping them around the golden sword.
In that instant, Alice felt as if her very existence was about to vanish, her spirit on the verge of disintegration.
Was this... the feeling of death?
Her consciousness gradually sank into darkness.
The next moment, it was like a television suddenly turning off—the screen went black, but instantly lit up again.
Simultaneously, a new scene emerged.
"W-What is this, Princess Alice?"
Yuri's voice trembled, as the three-dimensional image before them was too horrifying to behold.
Beneath their feet lay a human city, a modern metropolis.
But the city was almost completely leveled.
Looking closer, it wasn't just this city—the entire visible surface of the earth appeared shattered by unimaginable destructive force.
They even saw what appeared to be a massive abyssal chasm that had completely severed the continental plate, splitting the earth in two, and witnessed seawater in the distance beginning to pour into the rift.
They also noticed the culprit behind this devastation—a monstrous creature with ten horns and seven heads, whose claws had shattered the earth, tearing it asunder.
Moreover, they glimpsed numerous figures in the distance—were they gods?
The gods watched from afar, their gazes filled with terror as they observed the monster.
Suddenly, the two noticed the ten-horned, seven-headed monster raising its head to gaze skyward.
What was in the sky?
Looking up, they saw an anomalous band of light, beneath which floated a suspended divine palace.
Using their Spirit Sight, they peered into the palace and saw a figure seated upon the divine throne—a non-human form, that of a Demon God.
The figure looked down from on high, creating the illusion that the ten-horned, seven-headed monster was its agent of destruction, sent to annihilate everything.
"Huh?"
Yuri suddenly found herself unable to see anything—no, someone had abruptly reached out to cover her eyes, preventing her from glimpsing a portion of the vision, from seeing the Demon God's form.
In that instant, her entire body trembled violently. Her Spirit Sight had attempted to read the entity, only to result in her thoughts inexplicably halting. Her consciousness began to scatter, and she felt as though she were on the verge of vanishing.
"Stop looking!"
Alice's voice was low, and one could sense the exhaustion in her spirit.
Moreover, Yuri could also feel the intense emotion of fear emanating from her.
"Princess Alice, is... is our world destined to meet such an... an end?"
"I... I don't know!"
Alice had intended to say that this likely wasn't their world, that it was probably the world she had glimpsed before.
But it seemed as though that entity had set its sights on their world.
So, though she wanted to offer words of comfort, the terror instilled by the Demon God's presence left her unable to speak reassuringly. Instead, she could only mutter to herself in confusion.
The next moment, Alice felt a chill so profound that goosebumps erupted all over her body, as if all her strength were being drained away.
She sensed that the motionless Demon God in the vision was about to turn its gaze toward them.
Escape!!!