LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 91: I Need a Master!
"Your sins will be heard by the Lord, and brimstone and fire from heaven will consume everything!"
Roy was startled by the massive owl descending from the sky. He had no time to focus on the arrow lodged in his left shoulder. Raising his hand swiftly, he chanted his words of power.
Under the influence of Athena's divine authority the already darkened sky, turned a sinister crimson, and the snow-white Alps became stained with a fiery hue. Countless meteoric flames descended from vortexes in the sky, while hellfire reeking of sulphur erupted from the depths of the earth.
"Gugugugugu——!"
"BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM——!"
The massive owl screeched—its cry a blend of a night owl and a mourning dove—as it was struck by the heavenly firestorm. Streams of radiant flames, akin to a missile barrage, honed in on the creature, delivering relentless explosions. The ground shattered, the sky split, and entire mountain peaks were flattened, reduced to desolate plains.
The hellfire from deep within the earth also engulfed the Gorgon's massive serpentine body, turning it into charcoal. Yet even as the flames consumed it, the giant snake—despite being cleaved in two—did not perish. Instead, it began shedding its skin, initiating a horrifying process of regeneration.
Roy felt a chill crawl down his spine at the sight. It was as though he were trapped in a horror film, confronted with an indestructible monster. Even the purging flames of his Sin of Sodom had failed to kill the Gorgon. Its level of immortality defied logic.
Fortunately, the owl had been temporarily neutralized, extending the Gorgon's resurrection time and providing Roy a moment to breathe.
Unlike Prometheus, Roy had no capacity to endure such brutal punishment. If that enormous owl managed to eviscerate him, Roy was certain that his death would be final.
Clenching his teeth, Roy grabbed the arrow protruding from his left shoulder and wrenched it free. Blood sprayed from the wound as he gritted through the searing pain. Before he could catch his breath, however, a fresh barrage of arrows cut through the sulphurous mist left by the divine fire and rained down upon him.
"Will this ever end!?"
Roy roared in frustration and recited another chant.
"Holy! Holy! My glory fills the heavens and earth!"
Gigantic angelic wings unfurled from his back, and a radiant halo appeared above his head. With the activation of the Lord of Radiance, Roy evaded the incoming arrows at blinding speed. He watched as the arrows collided with the mountain wall, reducing it to a sieve of crumbling stone.
As the chaos settled, Roy found himself hovering in the air, staring down at the land below, which had been reduced to a barren wasteland of salt and alkali. There, Athena stood defiantly. The ancient goddess held a bow and arrow, her gaze fixed firmly on Roy.
"It's truly a terrifying immortality," Roy muttered to himself. "Even if her body is torn apart, it regenerates. Even if she's cast into the underworld, she crawls back out. Even if her soul is annihilated, a single wisp ensures her resurrection. She's simply an unkillable monster!"
Hovering above, Roy considered his options, finding Athena's regenerative abilities more daunting than any adversary he had faced before. No matter how much damage he inflicted, she would eventually recover, waiting until exhaustion overwhelmed him. Then, with the scythe of death in hand, she would strike the killing blow.
"What foolishness are you spouting now, Roy?" Athena's voice rang out, elegant and filled with pride. "I am the goddess of snakes. No matter how a snake dies, it sheds its skin and is reborn. No matter how a woman bleeds, she does not perish. And I am the goddess of the underworld itself. The underworld is my domain, my realm. Even if I fall into its depths, my return to the mortal world is inevitable."
Athena's words carried a confidence born of countless victories. Her smile radiated grace and triumph, but the killing intent in her serpent-like eyes was enough to freeze the very earth beneath her feet.
"Your authority," she continued, "comes mainly from Michael. Though formidable, it is riddled with limitations. Let's see how long you can endure in my hands. Running away will not lead you to victory!"
Athena's words darkened Roy's expression. She truly lived up to her title as the goddess of wisdom. Even amidst battle, she had completely deciphered the nature of his authorities, discerning their limitations with ease.
Even with clairvoyance that could pierce the past, Athena stood at the pinnacle of all Heretic Gods.
Campiones were unique and magical entities. The first act of slaying a god was always the hardest, fraught with peril and uncertainty. However, once the first kill was achieved, the path became clearer. With every victory, a Campione gained new authorities, growing more powerful. There was never an insurmountable gulf between a Campione and a Heretic God—only a threshold to surpass. With increasing authorities, each subsequent god slaying became easier, creating a positive feedback loop.
For this reason, Campiones like Marquis Voban, given enough time, could reduce the act of killing gods to mere amusement. Their authorities multiplied over the years, whereas the Heretic Gods remained static, their powers unchanging.
This balance only shifted with the arrival of the Last King, whose transcendent power eliminated all Campiones and reset the cycle for a new era.
Across the ages, of all Heretic Gods, only Athena—aside from the Last King—had managed to kill a Campione. Every other god was ultimately defeated, their authorities stolen. This fact alone demonstrated the extraordinary strength of Athena.
The goddess of wisdom and war had now fully revealed her martial prowess. Her white robe flowed like the garb of a high priestess, exuding majesty. The bow and arrow were gone, replaced with a gleaming knife in her right hand and the legendary Aegis Shield in her left. She leaped into battle with the grace of a Spartan, engaging Roy in a brutal melee.
Roy's The Hand of Jacob, coupled with his speed powers, allowed him to dart across the shattered landscape, fists flying. But each punch landed with nothing more than a metallic clang against Aegis shield. Athena's blade, undoubtedly a divine weapon, sought his neck with every stroke. Were it not for his accelerated reflexes, Roy would have already been decapitated. Even with his speed, however, his body was riddled with a crisscross of bloody wounds.
Athena, by contrast, seemed to thrive in close-quarters combat. Though Ares was the nominal god of war in Greek mythology, Athena embodied the pinnacle of martial excellence. Unlike Zeus, who relied on his thunderbolts, Athena's combat brilliance lay in the art of the blade. She was the true embodiment of war.
Her martial techniques had long surpassed mortal comprehension, reaching divine perfection. Athena had once fought Typhon, the king of monsters, to a standstill, a feat that underscored the vast chasm between her and the combat prowess of ordinary gods.
Roy's mastery of the The Hand of Jacob, which had propelled him to the zenith of human martial prowess, now seemed woefully inadequate. While it marked the peak of mortal ability, it could not pierce the veil into the realm of the divine.
The opponents Roy had faced in the past—whether Metatron or Solomon—had not relied on such extraordinary martial skills. He had been able to clash with them in close combat without issue. Now, however, confronted by the true war goddess of Greek mythology, Roy's limitations were laid bare.
I need a master! Roy thought in frustration.
He was entirely on the defensive, unable to retaliate. His speed was his only saving grace, enabling him to avoid Athena's killing blows. But the sheer disparity in skill rendered his efforts futile. No matter how formidable his The Hand of Jacob or how sacred his powers from the Bible, the gap in raw technique left him overwhelmed.
For Roy to truly overcome this chasm, he needed guidance. Not from an ordinary knight, and not even from the likes of Luo Hao. Even the revered Cult Leader Luo Hao, despite her mastery of martial arts, relied on her authorities and empowered techniques when facing gods. Pure, unadulterated martial skill capable of rivaling divine beings was beyond her reach.
The only path forward was to acquire true divine-level combat techniques, the kind that could slay gods with skill alone. Such mastery was essential if Roy was to claim victory over opponents like Athena.