The White Horse neighed, its golden hooves treading upon the moonlight, while its entire body radiated brilliance and beauty.
Looking at the White Horse, Melqart raised his hand, forming a motion as though he were holding a spear.
The sea then condensed into a long spear made of dark seawater, its tip aimed directly at the White Horse high in the sky.
"Hiiii!"
Sensing Melqart's hostility toward it, the White Horse cast a glance at the water spear.
As its golden mane fluttered in the night wind, a ring of fire suddenly ignited behind the White Horse.
"Go and trample everything."
Looking at Melqart with calm eyes, Yu's voice was tranquil, as though he were ordering the White Horse to do something completely insignificant.
Receiving the command, the White Horse, which had been holding itself back for a long time, immediately stopped restraining its golden hooves that trod upon the moonlight.
The air behind it was distorted by the scorching heat of a great sun, and even from a great distance the seawater was already boiling under that intense temperature.
"Foal of the Sun! Show me your power!!"
Roaring, Melqart suddenly threw the water spear.
The long spear, formed from seawater and filled with the power of the sea, shot toward the White Horse that carried the sun upon its back.
"Bang!"
After throwing the long spear, Melqart's enormous body immediately fell backward and crashed heavily into the sea, raising layers of waves.
At this moment, Melqart was already exhausted, but... he could not understand why, why he had lost in such an inexplicable manner.
He had not been this weak before.
As he muttered to himself, the phantom of a snake suddenly flashed through Melqart's eyes.
When he saw that phantom, a trace of surprise clearly appeared on Melqart's azure face hidden beneath his beard.
Only after a long moment did Melqart finally understand why he had become exhausted so quickly.
It turned out he had been drained from the very beginning.
When had it started? Was it when he had tried to place the Sin of Gluttony on that young man and had been discovered?
But Yu should have been the one exhausted at that time, shouldn't he? How did he still have the strength to use the authority of the Snake to weaken his power?
If this old man had not chosen to clash head-on with that enormous beast, perhaps he would have already defeated that authority user?
Heh, what a pity. I thought I would finally defeat that fellow for once, but I never expected such an outcome.
Forcing a self-mocking smile onto his face, Melqart could only feel his body growing weaker and weaker.
Above the sea, Yu's face was also pale.
He had continuously used Cut Through to reduce Melqart's power, but each time only by a very tiny amount, so small that the arrogant Melqart had never noticed.
Moreover, those repeated, subtle drainages placed very little burden on Yu, one that he could endure.
This was the strategy Yu had devised after careful consideration.
When he discovered that Melqart had somehow placed the Sin of Gluttony upon him, Yu began thinking about how to exhaust Melqart.
The recovery speed of Yu's magical power was extremely high because he could use Cut Through to exploit a certain loophole.
As long as his magical power was exhausted, his stamina consumed, and negative effects appeared, he could use Cut Through to sever those negative effects, and his magical power would return to its peak.
However, that also placed a significant burden on Yu. His brain throbbed with sharp pain to the point that he could no longer think rationally.
Of course, Yu had already devised a countermeasure before entering that state.
He only needed to attract Melqart's attention.
As long as Melqart's attention was not focused on him, Yu would have enough time to recover.
That was the reason why Yu, despite knowing that [Torn Silver Hand] could not injure Melqart, still chose to summon thousands of Moon Rock Demon Swords to attack him.
Even the Boar that Yu later summoned was intended to buy time for his recovery.
However, by then Yu had already regained the ability to think rationally, so he decisively used Cut Through on Melqart to affect his stamina.
That caused Melqart to become breathless after his direct clash with the Boar.
Now Yu had completely recovered. Aside from a slight throbbing in his head, all of his injuries and depleted magical power had been restored.
And now Melqart had reached a dead end!
The legendary Dragon-Slaying Hero, the God King of Phoenician mythology, had reached the end of his legend!
"White Horse!"
With that thought, Yu suddenly shouted, pouring all of his magical power into the White Horse.
At the same moment, the flames carried behind the White Horse suddenly expanded, truly resembling an enormous sun.
And Melqart's seawater spear, thrown with his final trace of strength, directly turned into steam and vanished before those terrifying flames.
Even the sea beneath the White Horse dried up at that moment, leaving behind only a seabed covered in salt, shining with silver radiance beneath the moonlight, and a god lying upon that seabed with a fate already decided.
"Campione! Look forward! Rejoice for our next meeting!
Next time, this old man will tame the thunder, unleash the furious winds, and crush your blood and bones!!!"
Looking at the White Horse rushing violently toward him, Melqart let out a roar.
With that final declaration, the White Horse, wrapped in flames beneath the moonlight, violently crashed into Melqart.
"Boom!!!"
With a thunderous explosion, the terrifying heat carried waves of smoke and dust, forming a mushroom cloud thousands of meters high.
The sea directly evaporated beneath the blazing flames, and even islands within a radius of a thousand li were reduced to ashes at that moment.
It was night, yet it looked like day.
All of it happened in an instant.
After an unknown amount of time, the night sky gradually darkened once more, but the smoke and dust filling the heavens covered the scorched seabed, making the entire world appear unbelievably desolate.
The young man stood high in the sky, treading upon the moonlight while his clothes fluttered in the wind.
Yu simply stood there, and silence ruled between heaven and earth.
"Drip..."
Suddenly, a raindrop fell from the murky sky.
The raindrop struck the scorched seabed and was immediately absorbed into the cracked earth.
"Shuuush~ Shuuush~"
With the first raindrop as an introduction, the rain that followed seemed like the lament of heaven itself.
Against the backdrop of deep gray, this downpour was profound, yet it also seemed to wash everything away.
"Huu~ It's over, isn't it? My head really hurts."
Letting out a deep sigh, the young man standing high in the sky finally came back to his senses.
Looking at the sea that the White Horse had flattened, Yu held his head and muttered somewhat bitterly.
He had used Cut Through to affect a Heretic God, and although he had done it little by little, the accumulated burden still placed a strain upon him.
It would certainly be a lie to say that his head did not hurt.
"Snap!"
Snapping his fingers, the young man made the rain even heavier, and then his figure flickered and appeared beside the deserted beach.
"Ding! Congratulations, Host, on killing the Heretic God Melqart! Reward obtained: Roulette Spins × 5!"
Hearing the system notification echoing in his ears, Yu was already too tired to care about it.
After descending from the sky, he immediately collapsed onto the ground and fell into a deep sleep.