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

Su Mo, of course, was unaware of Jibril's challenge.

Even if he had been, he wouldn't have cared much.

On the island of Sardinia, the triple goddess Athena commanded nine colossal hydras and a sea of divine beasts to charge at Su Mo.

At the same time, her dark pupils transformed into the vertical slits of an owl's, glowing faintly under the shroud of her domain of night.

An immense pressure bore down on Su Mo as Medusa's petrifying Mystic Eyes activated, their power to turn all creation to stone operating at full force.

As an Authority, the Mystic Eyes of Petrification could affect even Godslayers. However, due to the powerful innate magic resistance of a Godslayer, the effect was slower than on other targets.

Thus, Athena focused the petrification on Su Mo's lower body, intending to restrict his movement while her summoned beasts went on the offensive.

It had to be said, Athena was quite experienced in combat.

Unfortunately for her, her opponent was Su Mo.

"By Steel, evil is purged, justice revealed."

With that very brief incantation, he activated the Mythological Art: Sword's Origin.

The divine attribute of the Heroic Gods of Steel coated his entire body, providing him with a defense surpassing the Divine Protection of Steel while simultaneously granting him a sacred anti-magic property.

Instantly, the pressure from the Mystic Eyes of Petrification vanished, unable to affect Su Mo in the slightest.

Next, looking at the host of monsters Athena had empowered to a level where they could briefly match a Heretic God, Su Mo simply stomped his foot lightly. In that instant, an invisible wave of sword energy swept across the battlefield, pulverizing every last divine beast.

"Dragons and serpents are powerless against Steel. As an Earth Mother Goddess, you of all people should know this."

Su Mo looked at Athena, his tone casual, having not moved a single step.

Most Heroic Gods of Steel had made their names by slaying dragons and serpents, so the attribute of Steel held a special advantage against them and most other monsters.

With the additional boons from the Divinities of dragon-slaying gods like St. George, Lancelot, Siegfried, and Melqart, using these divine beasts against the Sword's Origin was a fatal miscalculation.

"Damn you, Steel… How do you have so many Authorities?"

Seeing the flash of sword light, Athena's expression was one of shock, as if she couldn't believe her eyes.

She had clearly felt that the single slash that had so easily obliterated her forces was a composite of more than six different gods' Authorities.

He was just a Godslayer, yet he displayed an affinity for Steel stronger than even the Heroic Gods of Steel themselves, to the point where he was approaching the very Origin of Steel—a level qualifying him as a candidate for the Last King.

Wasn't he a fledgling Godslayer? How could he be this strong?

"I've just encountered a few more Heretic Gods than most," Su Mo replied casually, a platinum-colored longsword materializing in his hand.

"Let's end the warm-up here. It's time we finished this battle and discussed our advance on the Divine Realm."

As he spoke, he raised the sword.

"Warm-up?" Athena was stunned. Who's warming up with you? I'm going all out here!

Before she could voice her protest, she saw the blade in Su Mo's hand and felt an extremely dangerous aura from it.

"The Blade of Salvation?!"

BOOM!

The moment she recognized the divine artifact, several bolts of Salvation's Lightning erupted from the platinum blade.

Caught off guard, Athena only had time to form a shield with the dark divine power enveloping the island, barely withstanding the first strike that could have easily killed a Godslayer. She then used the Aegis to block the second.

And then, the third bolt of Salvation's Lightning that followed struck her squarely, sending her crashing onto the beach.

The triple goddess Athena was officially defeated.

"Compared to the Sword's Origin, the Sword of Victory is indeed better for stomping noobs."

Looking at the result, Su Mo mused to himself.

Just as Erica had thought, Su Mo had never considered Athena a real opponent, regardless of her triple-goddess form. The only reason he hadn't used the Sword of Victory Art to instantly kill her was to test his new Mythological Art.

If Athena had been willing to play her trump card—the Blade of Black Wisdom of the Earth Mother Goddess—Su Mo might have been willing to give her a little more time to perform.

Unfortunately, that particular ace required advance preparation and wasn't suited for a surprise encounter. As the Goddess of Wisdom, she naturally wouldn't employ such a troublesome power in this battle.

Therefore, after a brief test of the Sword's Origin, Su Mo immediately ended the fight.

From the moment he attacked to the moment he won, not even ten seconds had passed.

Only after his victory did he have time to look at the chat group. As soon as he opened it, he was met with a strange boast.

---||---

Rin Tohsaka: See that? A normal Heretic God can't even withstand a single move from Lord Su Mo!

Rin Tohsaka: @Jibril, so, Lord Su Mo is the strongest.

Like a child cheering for her idol, the young Rin had sparked a competitive fire over a strange point.

Jibril: Hmph! You think that would be difficult for me?

As an arrogant Flügel, she didn't fully understand the exchange. She didn't know how Su Mo had destroyed the divine beasts, nor why Athena had been defeated so quickly. But not understanding didn't matter.

She only needed to confirm that the scale of energy Athena had used was far less than her own.

In the world of No Game No Life, an individual's affinity for the Elemental Corridors determined their maximum storage of Elementals, which in turn determined their maximum energy scale.

And energy scale often determined an individual's strength. More energy meant a stronger individual; other factors had very little influence.

That was why even a race as powerful as the Flügel, ranked sixth in affinity, had to hunt in packs to take down a Gigant or a Dragonia.

With this mindset, she naturally looked down on the gods of the Godslayer world.

An energy reserve less than a tenth of her own? What right did they have to be compared to her?

Rin Tohsaka: …

The young Rin was speechless.

As much as she disliked this arrogant newcomer, she had to admit there was a qualitative difference between Tier 3 and Tier 4.

What Su Mo could do would surely not be difficult for this Tier 4 powerhouse.

Just then, Su Mo, having seen that a new member had joined and finished reading the chat log, finally made his move.

He didn't waste any words, simply replying to Jibril's challenge.

Su Mo: Okay.

[System: Group member Su Mo has accepted the invitation from group member Jibril.]

Without a moment's hesitation, he agreed on the spot.

His decisive attitude left everyone in the group stunned.

Rin Tohsaka: Wait, Lord Su Mo, she's Tier 4!

Rin Tohsaka: Even if you accept the duel, there's no need to be so hasty! You could totally wait a couple of days and raise your power level first!

Rin was starting to panic. Her belief that Su Mo could defeat Jibril was based on his ridiculously fast growth rate. A man who could leap from Tier 0 to Tier 3 in a single day could surely reach Tier 4 in a week.

At the same level, Rin was confident Su Mo could thrash this arrogant Flügel.

But she never expected Su Mo to be so impulsive, giving himself no time to get stronger and jumping straight into a fight with Jibril. Wasn't that a little too risky?

Madoka Kaname: Big Brother Su Mo, you just finished a battle. Don't you need to rest?

Kanae Kocho: Yes!

The two shared the same concern. No matter how arrogant the opponent was, couldn't he just endure it for a couple of days?

Jibril: I'm not the type to be unfair. I can wait for you to recover.

Believing she held an overwhelming advantage, she wasn't in any hurry. Tier 4 versus Tier 3. With a dragon breathing down your neck, how can you lose?

Faced with their concern, Su Mo, visible in the live stream, just shook his head calmly.

"It's fine."

Rin Tohsaka: Lord Su Mo… I believe in you!

Rin had wanted to say more, but after hearing his usual, unwavering tone, she felt a strange sense of solid confidence. Come to think of it, Lord Su Mo was definitely not the reckless type to get hot-headed over a provocation.

Since he chose to accept the duel, he must be certain of victory. Therefore, they didn't need to doubt him, only believe in him.

Seeing Su Mo's attitude, the others voiced their support as well.

Jibril: In that case, I'm coming over!

Jibril: It's my first time visiting another world, I'm actually a little nervous! After the battle is over, remember to give me a proper tour of your world.

Her words were filled with absolute confidence, as if she hadn't even considered the possibility of defeat.

Su Mo wasn't surprised by this attitude.

Looking around, he suddenly changed his mind.

"Wait!"

Jibril: What, had a change of heart? Or are you too scared to fight me?

She tried to taunt him. According to the chat group's rules, if Su Mo didn't actively invite her, she couldn't do anything but rage impotently.

"No." Su Mo shook his head faintly. "I just feel this place is unsuitable as a battlefield."

A Tier 4 battlefield could potentially shatter a continent. If they fought here, it wouldn't just be Sardinia that sank; all of Southern Europe could be annihilated.

Even as the King revered by the magical associations, Su Mo had a duty to protect them.

Therefore…

"I've thought of a suitable place."

Su Mo looked toward the horizon.