Crossover: With Heaven-Defying Insight, I'm Shaking the Very Aeons

Half a day later, in the Astral Plane.

"Pandora, I have a question for you," Su Mo said suddenly.

"A question? Just ask your dear mama anything you want to know! Mama knows all and tells all!"

Hearing Su Mo speak up, Pandora—who had been passing the time by relentlessly teasing Guinevere—immediately came scampering over with an excited pitter-patter of her feet.

"What's the difference between the gods in the Divine Realm and the Heretic Gods who descend upon the world?" Su Mo asked.

"The difference?"

Pandora tilted her head, thought for a moment, and answered, "Aside from some slight variations in their Divine Authorities, there isn't much of a difference, is there?"

"Heretic Gods are essentially avatars that the gods of the Divine Realm use when they go out. If you really want to pinpoint a difference, it's that there can be countless avatars, but each god in the Divine Realm is unique."

The gods in the Divine Realm could descend countless times, creating countless Heretic Gods, but their true forms remained singular.

"Then what causes that difference?" Su Mo pressed.

"If they are both forms of Divinity, why can the Divinity of the gods in the Divine Realm manifest countless Heretic God Divinities, but not the other way around?"

"That, I don't know." Pandora shook her head. That was outside her scope of knowledge. "Is this what you've been researching, little Su Mo?"

"Yes." Su Mo gave a slight nod. "If I'm not mistaken, the Divinity held by the gods in the Divine Realm is a 'Primordial Divinity,' distinct from the standard kind."

"Just as you can mass-produce Simulated Divinities using a Standard Divinity as a template, you can also mass-produce Standard Divinities using a Primordial Divinity as a template."

Through his recent research, Su Mo had become mostly certain of this point.

Even among Divinities, there was a hierarchy of quality.

The gods in the Divine Realm possessed Primordial Divinity.

When they descended to the mortal world, this Divinity would degrade into an avatar, which was the Standard Divinity held by a Heretic God.

And if one were to use magical arts to replicate this Standard Divinity, the result would be a Simulated Divinity.

"And from a structural standpoint, it is the Stardust Particles that determine the form of the Divinity."

The distinction between Primordial, Standard, and Simulated Divinity was based on their external manifestations.

The difference in their internal structures, however, lay in the Stardust Particles they contained.

Through his research, Su Mo had roughly determined the properties of these particles. They were a substance capable of replication and proliferation, but each replication was accompanied by a degree of degradation.

If the Primordial Divinity contained the Codex of Stardust Particles, then the mass-produced Standard Divinities were its degraded Canon. A further degradation into a Simulated Divinity produced the Apocrypha.

When a Heretic God returned to mythology, the Divinity created from the Apocrypha would either dissipate or be passed on to a Godslayer through Pandora's dark ritual.

But the core of the god—the original Stardust Particle Codex that first descended—would return with the god's consciousness to the undying Divine Realm.

This was the complete process of a Heretic God's descent and return.

"Hmm, that sounds very plausible. Does this mean you're interested in Primordial Divinity, little Su Mo?"

Pandora didn't quite grasp the structure of Stardust Particles, but she keenly picked up on Su Mo's intentions.

"That's right." Su Mo nodded.

A god's power was rooted in their Divinity, and Divinity originated from mythology.

If his theory was correct, then Primordial Divinity was the key that packaged the power of myth for the gods to use, and it was also the key to how Stardust Particles functioned.

If he could master Primordial Divinity, he could not only study its internal structure to grasp the Stardust Particle Codex but also mass-produce the power of Divinity itself.

At that point, he would have directly surpassed the gods.

Of course, that only applied to the gods native to the Godslayer world.

"So, is there a way to enter the Divine Realm?"

Having set his goal, Su Mo asked casually. He had long been curious about the Divine Realm and wanted to see it for himself.

If he remembered correctly, he still had a promise with Verethragna to meet again in the Divine Realm.

"The Divine Realm? My dear child, do you have a death wish?"

Pandora's eyes went wide.

"You're a Godslayer! What do you think you're going to do in the gods' home turf? Those shameless God-Kings will gang up on you! I know the gods there have their own conflicts, but even you can't possibly fight an entire pantheon, can you?"

She felt Su Mo's decision was far too dangerous and couldn't help but worry.

"One man against an entire pantheon?" Su Mo pondered for a couple of seconds. "It would be a little troublesome, but not impossible."

This was no exaggeration.

Just as a Standard Divinity's power output was no better than a Simulated Divinity's, the source material indicated that a Primordial Divinity's output was no better than a Standard Divinity's. The gods in the Divine Realm were not significantly stronger than their Heretic God counterparts.

If that was the level of his opponents, Su Mo had no lack of confidence in his ability to overthrow a pantheon single-handedly.

"Huh?"

Pandora was utterly dumbfounded. She knew Su Mo wasn't one to boast, which only made his statement more shocking.

She knew he was strong, sure, but hadn't it been less than three days since he became a Godslayer?

In just three days, he had grown strong enough to rival an entire pantheon?

Wasn't that a little… ridiculous?

"As expected of my lord. You truly put your retainers to shame." Lancelot couldn't help but give a wry smile.

She had been hoping to achieve great deeds under her new king, but now, it seemed that was unlikely.

A master who was too powerful wasn't always a good thing; it left his followers with nothing to do.

"No, impossible! This can't be real!"

Guinevere covered her ears, unable to listen. If Su Mo truly possessed such power, didn't that mean not even the Last King was his match?

If that was the case, she would never be free!

After the shock wore off, Pandora saw Su Mo's unwavering resolve and sighed.

"Alright, alright! I can't persuade you anyway, so I won't waste my breath. If you're really going to do this, you have to be careful. If you can't win, run. There's no shame in it!"

After voicing her concerns, Pandora scratched her cheek, looking a little embarrassed.

"However, if you want to know the way back to the Divine Realm, you're asking the wrong person… I've been exiled. Even if I wanted to go back, I can't."

As the mother of Godslayers, she was naturally not welcomed by the gods.

"Don't worry. I was just wondering if there were other ways," Su Mo replied, not at all disappointed. "Even if there aren't, I have my own method."

Su Mo's method was simple. Since a Heretic God must eventually return to mythology, didn't that mean he could just follow the god's core to break through the confines of this world and travel to the Divine Realm?

The inspiration came from the Holy Grail War ritual. If mages could follow the path of a returning Heroic Spirit to reach the Reverse Side of the World, there was no reason Su Mo couldn't do the same.

The Godslayer world didn't have a Counter Force. The path to the world's outer layers was far less restricted than in the Nasuverse.

However, according to his plan, he would need a few Heretic Gods as materials.

Fortunately, he was not lacking in said materials.

---||---

In the underground prison beneath the Copper Black Cross headquarters, a facility Erica had been ordered to oversee.

"So, that man's special Authority… the key determining factor is Godspeed? As long as one has an Authority of Godspeed, one can evade the fate of initial defeat?"

In a dark prison cell, an old man dressed as a white-haired gentleman sat on a stone bed, his emerald eyes glowing like a wolf's in the dark.

Despite being defeated, imprisoned, and having his Authorities and magical energy completely sealed, Marquis Voban had not given up. He was constantly thinking of a way to turn the tables on Su Mo.

He had been misled by the fact that Su Mo hadn't instantly killed Lancelot. Unaware that Su Mo was simply testing the Blade of Salvation, Voban had assumed he was incapable of killing her instantly.

If that was the case, this new King was not invincible. As long as he could figure out the rules of his Authority, a counter-attack was possible.

Carefully replaying the battle in his mind, he had keenly noted that Lancelot's key ability reached the godlike speed of sub-light travel.

One had to credit the powerful intuition of a Godslayer.

Though his reasoning was flawed and his premise was wrong, he had stumbled onto the right track.

The ultimate reason for his and Doni's defeat was their lack of a Godspeed Authority.

If he could solve that problem…

"Sword-boy, does that man's Authority have any other special rules?"

After a few seconds of hesitation, Marquis Voban took the initiative to speak to the Sword King Doni, a man he had always looked down on.

Compared to Voban, who prided himself on his seniority, Doni was much more easygoing. He wouldn't deliberately ignore even an old nemesis like the Marquis.

However…

"Give it up. You can't beat him."

That lazy attitude, along with the deep contempt he held for Voban, was still enough to make the old wolf of the Balkans' blood pressure spike.

"Despairing after a single defeat? As a Godslayer, is this all you amount to?" Voban snapped, furious with Doni's defeatist attitude.

"The new King's Authority only looks invincible. Don't be frightened by its surface-level power. As long as we figure out its rules and avoid triggering those bizarre defeat conditions, we still have a chance to win."

"We are both Godslayers. He can't possibly be on a completely different dimension from us. He's just relying on a bizarre Authority."

"So, as long as we can crack his strange Authority, we can—"

"—we can find out what true despair feels like," Doni cut in.

"You—!"

Voban's brows shot up. If they weren't in separate cells, he would have already marched over and beaten Doni to a pulp.

"'You' what? You can't reach me. And even if you could, you think you could beat me now?"

Though they were both prisoners, Doni was exceptionally relaxed. When you hit rock bottom, all you can do is have fun. Besides, Voban couldn't get to him.

He had even asked Erica to put him in the same cell as Voban. Normally he couldn't beat the Marquis, but right now, he held the absolute advantage.

Without the enhancement of Authorities and magical energy, he was still a young man in his prime and a powerful master swordsman. Voban, on the other hand, was just a somewhat muscular old man.

Youth trumps age. If Voban dared to fight him now, Doni could break the old man's bones with ease.

Unfortunately, Erica had denied his request, costing him a great opportunity for revenge.

But while his fists couldn't reach, his words certainly could.

"Instead of wasting your time thinking about useless counter-attacks, old man, you should really think about this: do you actually believe the reason you lost was because you lacked a Godspeed Authority?" Doni asked mockingly.

"Wasn't it?" Voban didn't understand what he meant.

"Hah~ The wisdom of a mere mortal."

Doni didn't answer his question, a profound-looking smile playing on his lips as if mocking Voban's ignorance.

"!"

Being looked down upon intellectually by the notoriously foolish Sword King made a vein pop on Voban's forehead.

Before he could retaliate, the scraping sound of a metal gate's chain echoed through the prison.

A moment later, Erica of the Copper Black Cross walked in.

"Marquis Voban, my Lord has invited you to participate in a magic ritual."

"A magic ritual?" Voban was taken aback, unsure of what she meant.

When he asked for details, Erica remained tight-lipped, stating she had nothing more to say.

From the opposite cell, Doni shot him a look of pity.

"Old man, you'll understand soon enough… both the reason for your defeat, and the truth of this 'magic ritual.'"

"…"

Get this cryptic bastard out of my prison!

Voban suppressed his annoyance. Choosing not to make a disgraceful scene by refusing, he followed Erica out of the cage.

Half an hour later, he finally understood what Doni had meant.

"I see."

Lying on the ground, he stared up at the flashing lightning overhead and the bodies of Heretic Gods raining down around him, lifeless and returning to mythology.

Marquis Voban finally understood. He understood why Doni had been so utterly nonchalant, why he had said Voban's theory was wrong.

So that was it. The fool of a Sword King had been right.

The reason for his defeat wasn't the lack of a Godspeed Authority.

The reason for his defeat was his own lamentable weakness.

"This… this kind of dimensional gap… how is one supposed to cross it?"

Even for someone as strong-willed as he was, Voban was now completely and utterly lost.