I raise my sword above my head, unleashing a pillar of light towards the sky. Ready to unleash Reid's divine power, I swing it at the woman before me. I witness a beam of destruction hurtling towards her, the last sight being her face morphing before light envelops my vision.
As the light dissipates, I see the woman still standing, a gate materializing before her. Observing Reid's divine energy being absorbed by the gate, I can't help but exclaim, "That's cheating!"
The woman only responds with a mocking laugh, "How dost thou fare, mortal? Hast thou finally realized thy foolishness?"
Clicking my tongue, I dash forward. Once again, she releases a barrage of magic spells aimed at me. Yet amidst the storm of spells, I notice something—they're weaker and slower than before.
Discarding the thought for the moment, I thrust my sword at her as I reach her. However, instead of erecting a barrier, she smirks and allows my swing to continue.
"This is…!"
My sword halts before striking her, seemingly stuck against an invisible force. Though I push forward, it's akin to trying to move a boulder. I watch as she conjures a giant magic circle, and a blue light engulfs me, hurling me into the sea.
As I hit the ocean floor, a new Divine Protection emerges—[Divine Protection of Water Breathing], enabling me to breathe underwater. Taking a battle stance, another Divine Blessing manifests—[Divine Protection of Water Step], allowing me to traverse underwater as if on solid ground.
Resurfacing before her, I swing my sword again, only to find it thwarted once more. As frustration mounts, a new Divine Protection surfaces in my mind.
"Dammit!"
Blocking an incoming attack, I take a moment to gather myself. Now equipped with [Divine Blessing of True Hit], I can ignore space-switch abilities, revealing the ability she uses in this fight. She can create an invisible barrier that will let my attack hit other things than her. However, now it is useless.
Drawing a deep breath, I channel a tremendous amount of mana into Reid. From above, I hear the woman's mocking laughter.
"Hast thou not learned aught? Thy attacks shall never reach me, mortal!"
Hmph! Time for a surprise. With Reid saturated with mana, I raise my sword high and bring it down, unleashing a beam of destruction toward the woman in front of me, who creates another gate to absorb my attack. Yet, instead of striking the gate, it hits the woman directly, eliciting a scream.
Capitalizing on her vulnerability, I thrust my sword at her, absorbing more mana from the surroundings. As the explosion ensues, her face changes into the third one.
Enraged, she screams, sending me crashing to the ground. A new Divine Protection emerges—[Divine Protection of Ear Protection], granting resistance against sound-based attacks.
Shaking my head, I watch her desperately heal herself, her eyes filled with hatred. Summoning hundreds of ghosts, she directs them towards me. I take a battle stance and am ready to fight in close combat. To my surprise, my attacks can't connect with them.
Gritting my teeth, I endure the onslaught, waiting for my cheat ability to activate. After a brief struggle, a new Divine Protection emerges—[Divine Protection of Spiritual Bane], allowing me to strike spiritual beings that are impervious to physical means.
"Take this, you bastard!"
I swing, thrust, and hurl my swords at the approaching enemies, dodging and weaving to evade the ghosts' onslaught. My target? The woman, writhing in pain.
As I leap towards her, she summons a monstrous ghost, but Reid slices through it effortlessly. With one swift motion, I sever her neck, ending the battle.
Plunging into the sea, a new Divine Protection manifests—[Divine Protection of Endless Vitality], ensuring I cannot succumb to blood loss. That's good. However, why did my vision darken? Well, at least I can breathe underwater now.
===
When I open my eyes, I see a slender young woman with pink twin tails and long, pointy ears. She gives off the air of a motherly person, but her figure breaks that air and instead makes her look like a teenager who tries to look older.
"Did you just insult your new mother?"
"I beg your pardon?"
She smiles kindly at me and says,
"Fufufu~ It is because you are now my adopted child!"
"What?! I refuse!"
"I refuse your refusal! The black art that Epimetheus and I left behind. The sacred birth of an illegitimate child, shrouded in darkness, born of a fool and a witch."
"Oi! What are you doing? I already have a mother!"
She still smirks and continues.
"A secret rite of usurpation, only possible through the sacrifice of a god. In short, all the conditions have been met. A gift from the heavens."
"What are you talking about?"
"Well, to put it simply, your life as a human has been sacrificed when you slay Hecate!"
"Wait! I will no longer be a human?!"
"That's right! From now on, you will be Godslayer! Devil King! Campione! My Eight Child!"
I look at her for a few seconds and say.
"Who are you?"
"My name is Pandora! The ever-giving woman! You will be reborn as Campione!"
When I see my body slowly disappear, I decide to humor her and say.
"Then, until next time, mother!"
The last thing I hear is the sound of someone squealing in happiness before my vision returns me back to the bottom of the ocean. I look around for a second and notice Reid standing on the bottom of the ocean. I walk there and store it inside my pocket dimension before leaving the ocean.
"Damn"
As I get out of the ocean, I finally see the damage of the fight. That bitch, Hecate, caused a lot of damage to the area around me. As I land on the ground, I can see a group of people running toward me.
If they do anything stupid, I prepare to take my sword, but I will watch and see for now.
As they were getting closer, I could hear them saying something in the language I did not understand. However, the more I hear it, the more I understand what they are saying. What kind of magic do I get to learn a new language this fast?!
I put that away for now as one of them walks toward me and bows at me.
"Thank you for saving our country, my lord!"
What? Seriously, what? What is wrong with this world?!
