According to the King himself, his name is Lucius.
However, after investigating individuals worldwide with the same name, no one matching his past was found, suggesting the possibility of a pseudonym.
It's also plausible that he is a recluse who has long been in seclusion.
The first to witness the new King and note his uniqueness was Liliana, a rising member of Italy's Bronze Black Cross. At the time, the new King held an object suspected to be a divine artifact, but as it triggered no Spirit Vision or unusual aura, it was initially overlooked. Later, the two encountered each other again near Mars' temple, where they clashed.
Based on the location of the battle and Spirit Vision from nearby mages, it was confirmed that the descended Heretic God was Mars, the Roman god of war.
Mars, in Roman mythology, is the god of land, war, agriculture, and spring, one of the twelve major deities. Son of Jupiter and Juno, husband of Bellona, and lover of Venus, he is among the most revered gods of the Roman legions, second only to Jupiter in importance. He corresponds to Ares in Greek mythology.
In Roman mythology, Mars is not only a fierce warrior but also an ancestor of the Romans. The famous statue in Rome of a she-wolf nursing two children depicts Romulus and Remus, whose father is the great war god Mars, illustrating his towering image in ancient Roman culture.
This Heretic God has been confirmed defeated by the new King within his own temple.
Due to the complexity of myths surrounding Mars, it is currently difficult to deduce the Authority gained by the new King.
(Note: The new King appears amiable but is inherently dangerous. Under no circumstances should one pry into his Authority. He is one of the Devil Kings who stand above us all.)
— Greenwich Sage Assembly's Report on the Seventh Campione, Lucius
"Your Majesty, the Bronze Black Cross has brought the divine artifact you requested." Liliana, visibly tense, respectfully presented a wooden box with both hands.
"Oh? I hope it's something useful." Lucius, one eye closed, looked at Liliana with a hint of surprise.
Her use of the distant term "Bronze Black Cross" Suggested she was positioning herself as an outsider to the association.
Someone must have advised her to distance herself from the Bronze Black Cross and align with him.
This might seem like a loss for the Bronze Black Cross, losing a promising talent, but in reality, Liliana remained one of their own—an inescapable fact.
In a way, this could strengthen the bond between the Bronze Black Cross and himself.
Lucius's mind stirred with these thoughts.
Given Liliana's personality, even if she understood this strategy, she wouldn't have acted on it herself.
But Lucius didn't care about such maneuvers.
As long as the mage associations completed the tasks he assigned, he wasn't bothered by their internal scheming.
At most, if he felt "irritated," He'd let them experience the "casual" retaliation of a Campione.
Idly pondering these matters, Lucius opened the box and gazed silently at its contents.
Or rather, he fell silent upon seeing the mysterious object in his hands.
"Your Majesty, are you satisfied with this divine artifact?" Noticing a shift in Lucius's mood, Liliana cautiously glanced at his expression and asked tentatively.
The new King's face was unreadable, showing no hint of emotion.
Lucius was indeed contemplating an issue.
By now, Italy's mage associations should have received news of the Gorgon Stone.
And they were likely agonizing over how to handle this troublesome divine artifact.
Keeping it was out of the question—an unstable divine artifact, if mishandled, could bring catastrophic ruin.
Especially since the magical community had prophecies explicitly stating that this artifact would summon a Heretic God.
Yet, despite this, these mage associations hadn't immediately handed the artifact over to him.
Even when he ordered his subordinate mage associations to search for divine artifacts, they acted similarly.
Did they distrust him so deeply? Or were they resentful because he'd taken advantage of the Sword King's absence to claim their loyalty?
This realization struck him as both surprising and… amusing.
Lucius was quite eager for the Gorgon Stone. The artifact itself contained significant divine power and could summon the Heretic Athena.
In his eyes, Heretic Gods were both formidable foes and… nourishment.
Especially Athena, who, to Lucius, was practically a gift-wrapped experience package, waiting to be claimed with the Gorgon Stone.
Of course, he'd need sufficient strength to avoid being overwhelmed.
Taking the divine artifact from the box—a polished stone slab that might have once served as a mirror—Lucius placed a hand on it, feeling its power flow slowly into his body.
In his view, the power was modest, far less than what he gained from absorbing Mars' divine power.
But in this world, even a Great Knight's power wouldn't surpass this.
Over the past few days, the power from the beast tooth and Mars' divine power had been fully absorbed and converted, leaving no trace of Mars or the Wolf God of the Huns in his mana.
However, the templates of their divine power were etched in his memory.
This meant Lucius could replicate their divine power, use its characteristics, and even reverse-engineer the specifics of these gods through their power's traits.
In the future, when his strength grew, he could use these memorized traits to reconstruct the corresponding Heretic Gods.
"It's been this long, and you've only brought me one?" Lucius's eyes narrowed, a faintly dangerous smile curling his lips.
"Are they all so loyal to their old master that they're only pretending to obey my orders?"
***
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