A Certain Multiverse's Holy Right

(A/N: In the original novel, Athena was exceptionally powerful. The anime and the first volume of the novel depicted her defeat rather simplistically. Considering Athena's later revealed secret techniques, Kusanagi Godou's victory at that point seems nearly impossible. If not for his learning of Athena's secret techniques, Godou would have been instantly overwhelmed by the Last King.)

"Is that all you have, Roy Crowley? If you're stopping here, I can only express my disappointment."

Athena, holding a shield in her left hand and a knife in her right, shattered a massive boulder with a single downward slash. She then turned her sharp gaze to Roy, who floated in the air. Her commanding presence radiated divine majesty, a mixture of elegance and intimidation. Though her breath carried a slight irregularity, and her ceremonial white robe bore a few tears, compared to Roy, she could almost be described as unscathed.

Roy's body was crisscrossed with bloody wounds. None were fatal, but the steady blood loss was draining his stamina.

For Roy, Athena was the most challenging foe he had ever faced. All his authorities were limited by strict usage and time constraints. His primary combat strategy relied on The Hand of Jacob, a consistently active authority for close-quarters combat, using it to find an opening for a decisive kill.

But for this to work, Roy needed to dominate or at least hold even in close combat. However, Athena, as the goddess of war, possessed martial prowess that surpassed even the likes of Luo Hao, the peerless martial artist. Among all the Heretic Gods, Athena was a rare monster whose martial arts alone had reached divine levels. To engage such a being in hand-to-hand combat was tantamount to suicide.

Yet Roy had no other choice. His other authorities had already shattered Athena's "Gorgon Body," temporarily robbing her of that formidable authority and forcing her into close combat. What he hadn't anticipated, however, was the sheer level of her martial mastery.

'I have to force her to use that last move…'

Roy had once used his "clairvoyance" to glimpse into the past and witness Athena's secret technique firsthand. It was an ability so fearsome it could obliterate a God Slayer in one stroke—a Sword of Wisdom that could rival the Last King's Divine Sword of Salvation.

If Athena didn't use that move, Roy's strongest trump card, the Holy Right, would remain sealed and useless.

Athena was, without exaggeration, a Heretic God who was nearly impossible to defeat without invoking a cheat-level power.

"What nonsense are you spouting, Athena?! How could our battle end so soon? No, it's only just beginning!"

Roy was in a precarious position. Neither his fists nor his swordsmanship seemed to pose any threat to Athena. In contrast, the divine tools in her hands were impossibly sharp. A single strike from the knife in her right hand could kill even a God Slayer if it landed on a vital spot. Meanwhile, her left-hand Aegis Shield provided unparalleled defense and even carried the potential for sneak attacks, such as the petrifying "Evil Eyes of Medusa."

"Now that's more like it, Roy Crowley!" Athena exclaimed, her voice laced with triumph and exhilaration. "If you were to fall so easily, how could you possibly call yourself my nemesis? Come now! Let us fight as the great heroes of Greece once did—on the battlefield, with blood and steel! Let your blood and mine sanctify this fateful clash between us!"

The goddess raised her voice, and her words echoed like divine commandments.

"I am the bringer of winter, the arbiter of life and death, the ruler of the cold underworld, and the queen of plunder! I command you, Roy Crowley, to become the king of the dead—an eternal corpse!"

Athena chanted her Words of power, and the knife in her right hand transformed into a dark, ominous scythe. As the Words of power filled the air, even the surrounding atmosphere turned into the breath of underworld. A black mist of cold and death seeped into Roy's body, threatening to freeze him from the inside out. Athena, the queen of the underworld, sought to turn him into nothing more than a lifeless husk.

"Hahahaha! Die! You, who dare to covet a goddess, will turn to dust here!"

Athena's jade-like feet slammed into the ground, leaving another crater on the shattered mountaintop as she launched herself like a cannonball into the sky. The scythe in her hand was like the blade of the Grim Reaper, aimed to reap Roy's soul.

Roy inhaled deeply, suppressing the frigid death aura with a spell power far beyond that of ordinary God Slayers. He clenched his fists, and Solomon's rings appeared on his fingers. Contained within those fists was the culmination of the seventh style of The Hand of Jacob, completed through the fusion of "Solomon's Wisdom" and his spiritual foundation.

This time, Roy skipped the sixth style entirely and activated the seventh. It was a move reserved for combat against gods, just as The Saint Subdues the Dragon was a special technique for slaying dragons. The seventh style of The Hand of Jacob was specifically designed for defeating divine beings.

The move came at a tremendous cost in divine power, which was why Roy rarely used it, even in practice. Yet now was the time to unleash it.

The power of the Bible surged through his fists. Roy opened his right hand, which transformed into an enormous, heaven-piercing palm. It reached out to grab Athena as she closed in on him, the blade of her scythe whistling through the air.

"Wrestling with God!"

The Bible tells of Jacob, who once wrestled with God and seized His shoulder, preventing Him from leaving. In doing so, Jacob compelled God to bless him, leaving His glory in Israel.

This technique was the essence of The Hand of Jacob, the reason it was hailed as the Bible's strongest combat skill. It was an unparalleled secret art, one that even God Himself could not escape. To grasp and hold one's opponent without fail—to achieve victory by sheer, divine wrestling—this was its true and invincible power.

"What?!"

Athena's beautiful eyes widened in shock. Roy's hand moved toward her in a slow and deliberate motion, yet no matter how she tried to evade it, she couldn't escape. She executed 107 different evasive maneuvers with her perfectly trained body, but regardless of her efforts, the conclusion was the same—his hand would inevitably seize her shoulder.

Even the black scythe in her hand was ineffective. No matter how she tried to slice through Roy's wrist to stop him, his movements defied her attacks, bypassing them with an unnatural precision.

Roy's right hand closed on Athena's left shoulder. Her exposed, snow-white skin was as smooth as jade, but Roy's mind was devoid of anything improper. He simply followed his instincts. The instant his right hand gripped the goddess's shoulder, he surged forward into her embrace. With his left elbow, he struck her squarely in the abdomen with immense force.

"Ugh—!"

Athena's vision went black from the searing pain in her stomach. Blood spurted from her delicate lips, splattering across Roy's face. Yet Roy's expression remained unnervingly calm. Following his elbow strike, he transitioned smoothly into a wrestling maneuver. Twisting Athena's body with his right hand, he flung her to the earth with the force of a catapult.

"Boom——!"

The goddess's stunning form plummeted through the ground, creating a massive crater. The anti-divine magical energy within Roy's attack wreaked havoc in her body, severing nerves and disrupting muscles. Even the goddess of war let out a pained wail.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaa——!"

Athena climbed out of the pit, her expression grim with fury and discomfort.

"Cough... ahem... I underestimated you," she admitted, coughing heavily and pressing her hand against her abdomen. Her torn garments revealed glimpses of her elegant figure beneath the tattered toga, her skin pale and luminous as ivory. "I didn't expect you to have such a technique. That move carries a concept of 'inevitability,' doesn't it? Even I couldn't avoid it, and I had no choice but to fall victim to it in my moment of panic."

Blood trickled from the corner of her lips as her sharp breaths betrayed the pain she tried to suppress.

"Phew..."

Roy exhaled heavily, dispelling the tension from his chest. The move had drained him immensely. Reproducing miracles from the Bible required an almost impossible expenditure of divine power.

"Athena, do you have any other cards to play? If not, then let me return those words to you. If you're done, then I can only express my disappointment!" Roy smirked. "That move, though taxing, can still be used a few more times. I wonder, though—how many times can your divine body withstand it?" (T/N: Provoked successfully)

Roy's right hand trembled slightly, blood oozing from his palm. The profound miracle and conceptual weight of Wrestling with God were too immense, leaving even him wounded in its execution.

"Hah...hah...hah...do not underestimate me!" Athena hissed through gritted teeth, her voice tinged with fury. She had held the upper hand for most of the battle, only for Roy to unleash a technique that injured her so gravely. The peculiar anti-divine curse that coursed through her body continued to threaten her, forcing her to use her divine power to suppress and expel it.

She paused for a moment, reflecting on the mechanics of Wrestling with God. To her dismay, she realized that even if Roy used it again, there was no escape.

In that case——

"Then I shall use my ultimate secret technique to send you to the underworld!" Athena declared, her tone both melodic and commanding. "You've seen it before, haven't you? My secret art. A thousand years ago, I used it to sever the head of a God Slayer. If you're afraid, run now—run as far and as fast as you can!"

Her voice echoed with unshakable resolve.

She wasn't bluffing. Roy had witnessed it during his clairvoyant glimpses into the past. It was a technique so powerful that only the Last King might have had the strength to counter it.

"I am the goddess of heavenly wisdom. This is the Sword of Wisdom!"

Athena dispersed the knife and shield in her hands. Between her palms, something new materialized—a radiance representing the very essence of her wisdom.

This was Athena's truest identity: the Goddess of Wisdom!