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

Erica Blandelli: If you knew what happened over the last two days, you wouldn't be surprised by a single Heretic God either.

As she typed, Erica let out a small sigh.

She thought back to herself just three days ago, anxious over a mere mythical beast, the awe of the gods carved into her very bones since childhood.

The her of back then could never have imagined so much would change in such a short time.

The growth of her own power was the least remarkable thing that had happened.

God-slaying, once an act that seemed like a miracle, had become numbingly routine after being repeated so many times.

Rin Tohsaka and the others had only witnessed two god-slayings, both one-on-one. Their threshold for shock naturally hadn't been raised, so the act still held some novelty for them.

But anyone who had seen Su Mo deal with Heretic Gods in batches, cutting down seven or eight at once like reaping wheat, would find it difficult to feel any reverence for them.

Now, a battle against a single Heretic God held no suspense whatsoever.

Granted, even with Erica's current strength, her odds of winning against a Heretic God weren't particularly high. But that didn't stop her from thinking they were chumps.

After all, she'd seen far too much.

Madoka Kaname: I don't know why, but I feel like you've been through a lot, Erica.

Rin Tohsaka: I'm so curious what happened to completely reshape Erica's worldview into Lord Su Mo's.

Erica Blandelli: Words can't really do it justice. You'll see for yourselves soon enough.

Although there was only one Heretic God before them now, Erica was certain it wouldn't be long before Su Mo's next mass god-slaying. After all, there were still four Godslayers who had yet to submit, and all of them could serve as key materials for a god-summoning ritual.

Rin Tohsaka: Get out of Fuyuki City with your riddles!

Rin Tohsaka: Huh, an owl?

Rin's sharp eyes had spotted something out of place in the live stream. It was still daytime, so why would an owl fly into the Copper Black Cross headquarters?

Even before seeing Rin's message, Erica had already sensed an unfamiliar presence.

Gazing at the enormous owl, she rested a hand on the hilt of her sword and posed the question with basic courtesy.

"May I ask who you are, honored one?"

"Hmph! You stand before me, yet you do not know my name? As a witch of Hermes, is your sight so poor?"

The owl suddenly spoke, its tone distinctly feminine.

Madoka Kaname: Wow, the bird is talking!

Rin Tohsaka: An owl for a familiar… which god is this?

The group was intrigued by the owl and began guessing which Heretic God it might be. But before they could find any clues, Su Mo provided the answer.

"Athena, the Bright-Eyed Goddess. I knew you'd come."

Athena's epithet, the Goddess of Radiant Light, actually meant "the goddess with shining eyes," with its most ancient meaning being "the goddess with the eyes of an owl." Thus, the owl was Athena's most fitting symbol.

"As expected of the Rakshasa King. It seems you have some insight after all."

Hearing Su Mo recognize her, the owl nodded in satisfaction. Then, it transformed into a silver-haired little girl who looked no older than twelve or thirteen. Her body was incredibly petite, yet she emanated an aura even stronger than that of a typical Heretic God.

Rin Tohsaka: So this is the famous Goddess of Victory, Athena? Why does she look so… cute?

Madoka Kaname: She does look really young!

Unaware that she was being judged, the manifested Athena stared at Su Mo with an exceptionally serious expression, her dark eyes fixed on the Gorgoneion in his hand.

"O, child of a fool! Since you deliberately used this artifact to lure me here, you must have been aiming for my Authorities and prepared for battle, yes? I shall reclaim what is mine, so you must—"

Clink.

Before Athena could finish her threat, she saw Su Mo casually toss the Gorgoneion—the very artifact so crucial to her—right at her.

"Huh?"

Athena froze, her legendary wisdom completely failing to process what had just happened. She had been prepared to clash with Su Mo head-on, to fight him if necessary to reclaim the Gorgoneion. She never expected him to hand over such a precious artifact so nonchalantly.

"Isn't this what you wanted? It's yours again." Su Mo waved his hand, looking completely unconcerned.

"…"

Athena's first instinct was that it was a trap. But after clutching the Gorgoneion and carefully inspecting it, she found nothing wrong with the artifact itself.

And so, she was left bewildered.

Instead of immediately using the Gorgoneion to complete her Divinity, she asked with confusion, "Godslayer, what is the meaning of this?"

This sudden act of goodwill had thrown her completely off balance.

"Just a basic show of sincerity," Su Mo said with complete frankness. "There's something I need your cooperation for, so I wanted to ask if you were willing."

"You return this artifact to me merely to ask? Are you not afraid I will refuse your invitation?" Athena asked, puzzled.

No matter how she looked at it, his actions were far too risky. With the Gorgoneion, she was more than twice as strong as she had been before!

"Of course not. I trust the Goddess of Victory wouldn't do such a thing. Besides, this artifact is just a greeting gift to get you to the negotiating table. It was originally yours anyway. Whether you accept my invitation or not, it belongs to you."

Su Mo naturally didn't care about such a minor power-up.

If Athena accepted his invitation, great. If she didn't, Su Mo could simply slay her and take all of her enhanced Divinity for himself.

No matter which path Athena chose, he wouldn't lose a thing.

Athena might not have considered that, but Su Mo's tone still pleased her greatly. There was hardly a god who didn't appreciate having their honor acknowledged.

The corners of her lips curled up slightly. The petite, silver-haired goddess clutched the artifact and asked with great interest, "What matter could possibly be worth such a price, just to have me involved?"

"The matter itself is simple, but I must confirm your personal opinion on it." Su Mo carefully observed the goddess before him and asked, "Before that, I want to ask: as a triple goddess, is your current ambition to unify the Divinities of Medusa, Metis, and Athena, and reclaim the glory of the Earth Mother Goddess… am I correct?"

In the world of Godslayer, Athena's Divinity was clearly that of an Earth Mother Goddess who had been defeated and splintered by the Heroic Gods of Steel.

As an ancient Earth Mother Goddess, she was once a widely worshiped queen of the goddesses in the Mediterranean. But as myths spread, matriarchal societies were replaced by patriarchal ones, and her legend was gradually diminished.

In the end, her Divinity was split into three parts: one a goddess of wisdom, one a goddess of victory, and one shamefully slandered as a monster.

Unlike an Earth Mother Goddess like Guinevere, who chose to submit to the Gods of Steel, Athena was a type with a strong rebellious spirit. That was why she had chosen to defy mythology, descend to the mortal world, and attempt to complete her Divinity, returning to her original, ancient form.

"You even know of this?"

If it were anyone else, Athena would likely have been angered by Su Mo bringing up her old wounds. But he had just given her such a significant gift upon meeting, and his tone was completely serious, not mocking.

Having accepted his gift, she couldn't bring herself to be too harsh.

"Excellent."

Confirming his guess from Athena's response, Su Mo continued, "To reclaim the glory of the Earth Mother Goddess, how far are you willing to go?"

"What do you mean?" Athena was now completely baffled. As the Goddess of Wisdom, she couldn't guess Su Mo's intentions at all.

"What I want to ask is… I can give you a chance to defy Zeus, to defy the Gods of Steel. Do you dare to rise up against the gods?"

The moment he said it, Athena was completely stunned.

Defy the gods. This was the first time she had ever heard anyone dare to say something so outrageous. Even Godslayers would, at most, kill one or two Heretic Gods and celebrate it as a great honor. Yet this man before her was aiming directly at the gods themselves?

"How do you intend to defy the gods?" Not saying whether she would agree or not, Athena asked out of sheer curiosity.

Seeing her reaction, Su Mo felt a surge of confidence. It seemed his assessment was correct. When it came to rebelling against the gods, Athena was far more radical than he had imagined.

That being the case, he wouldn't need Pandora and Guinevere to bolster her confidence.

And so…

"My plan is this…"

In concise terms, Su Mo laid out his entire plan, neither hiding anything nor feeling any need to.

"Your target is the Divine Realm itself?"

Hearing his plan, Athena was even more struck by the sheer madness of this Godslayer. To willingly step into the gods' main camp as their mortal enemy—what was that if not suicide?

"So, are you interested?" Su Mo asked bluntly.

"If you truly possess the power to stir up a storm in the Divine Realm, I don't mind helping you find the path there," Athena stated. "However, how will you prove your strength? And, for me to return to the Divine Realm, I must first return to mythology. Do you think I would abandon this journey for such a pipe dream?"

If he couldn't resolve those two points, anything else was just empty talk. She was willing to be a godly traitor, but not one with no future.

She wouldn't mind helping with other matters, but returning to the Divine Realm was tantamount to asking for her current life. Without sufficient trust, she would never agree.

Su Mo had already considered this.

"Proof of my strength? Returning to mythology? Could there be anything simpler?" He spread his hands, his tone making it sound like the most obvious thing in the world.

"We'll follow the most ancient of battle protocols. The winner takes all; the The loser has to fall. The moment you are defeated, neither of those will be a problem anymore."

"An excellent proposal."

Though she still felt Su Mo was overly confident, Athena did not refuse his offer. As an ancient, triple Earth Mother Goddess, she had her own confidence.

If Su Mo could truly defeat her at her full power, what was the harm in following him? Accepting a loss was a basic tenet of a battle goddess.

And if he failed, then it would be his turn to obey her commands.

Ordinarily, Godslayers and Heretic Gods were mortal enemies, but faced with such a generous opponent, Athena felt that even if Su Mo lost, he wouldn't be unworthy of becoming her retainer.

"Then let's change venues!"

Having decided to settle things with a battle, Su Mo casually opened a spatial passage. On the other side was his personal battlefield: Sardinia.

Seeing that Su Mo and the Heretic God Athena were, in the end, going to fight, the members of the chat group perked up. For them, god-slaying was still a relatively fresh event.

Rin Tohsaka: Here we go, here we go! Place your bets now! I bet on Lord Su Mo to win!

Rin Tohsaka: You're not allowed to bet on the same outcome! Hurry up and place your bets!

Madoka Kaname: How is that a bet?

Erica Blandelli: Is it possible she's just trying to rob us?

Seeing the usual excitement in the chat, Su Mo simply muted the notifications, focusing almost all of his attention on Athena.

The chat rarely contained any vital information anyway. It was better to focus on how to get Athena to call out to him from within the Divine Realm.

It was precisely because of this that Su Mo missed a rather important notification in the chat group.

[System: Welcome, new member, to the chat group.]