Multiverse's Holy Right

"Are you feeling masculine desires toward me... Hmph, but it matters not. I've long been prepared for death. If satisfying you vile Campiones' depraved desires before my demise is required, I care not."

Though the Serpent Goddess in the aquarium-like tank didn't open her mouth, a young girl's ethereal yet cold voice resonated through the air.

The white serpent then twisted her long, beautiful body, transforming into a prepubescent girl of about eleven or twelve.

Previously, when moving in human form, the Divine Ancestor Asherah had bandages covering her private areas. But now, the ancient goddess stood completely naked. Her body showed no curves, resembling an undeveloped young girl, yet the maturity bestowed by her ancient years made her youthful form exude ultimate feminine allure—enough to corrupt any man.

The Heretic Serpent thus revealed everything before Roy, her flawless body like a piece of fine jade.

Roy raised an eyebrow. Crossing his legs and leaning back on the sofa, he kept his gaze fixed on the aquarium while holding his coffee cup. He suddenly felt like one of those wealthy perverted tycoons who kept young girls in tanks for their amusement.

"There's no need to take human form. Even in serpentine appearance, I can appreciate your beauty, Asherah... Beelzebub, the Heretic Serpent Leviathan!"

Though the scene could easily be mistaken for something perverse, Roy paid it no mind.

In her young girl form, Asherah sneered and said, "...Then should I thank you for your~ admiration, Campione?"

As she spoke, the girl-form Asherah transformed back into her beautiful serpent shape. Coiled within the massive tank, her cold serpent eyes fixed on Roy as she flicked her crimson tongue.

"I thought you might commit suicide or flee, yet you followed Erica and Liliana, allowing them to keep you~ in this tank."

When Roy was caught in Aisha's authority, Asherah, who was severely injured, was also nearby. However, this serpent goddess was not drawn into the authority and thus remained in modern-day Manhattan Island.

With Asherah's power, even severely wounded, she could have escaped now that Roy and Annie Charlton—the two Campiones—were gone. Yet the serpent goddess chose not to flee, allowing Erica and Liliana to capture her and keep her barely alive in this aquarium.

Erica and Liliana dared not heal her injuries completely. After all, a Divine Ancestor was a fallen form of a goddess, and a fully recovered Divine Ancestor would be more than they could handle. It wasn't until Roy returned that Anxela's wounds were fully healed.

Having lost her immortality and temporarily unable to revert to her form as the Heretic Serpent Leviathan, Asherah posed no threat to a Campione like Roy.

"I will neither flee nor take my own life. Since the goddess Athena says she needs me, I shall obey her will," Asherah said coldly.

"Even if it means your death?"

"Indeed. Even if it means my death, I will follow the goddess's command."

"Hmm... That kind of answer leaves me at a loss for words."

Asherah's unwavering resolve made Roy sigh. It was the ancient Earth Mother Goddess's resentment toward the world, her hatred for the Steel Heroes.

Thus, for Leviathan, who had fallen into a Divine Ancestor, Athena—who still bore the divine authority of an Earth Mother Goddess—was someone she would pledge absolute loyalty to, for Athena represented the hope of the Earth Mother Goddesss.

"Later, I'll need your dragon-serpent blood for a ritual. The amount required will be substantial, but it won't kill you—at most, it'll leave you weakened. I'm telling you in advance so you can prepare."

"Spare me your false kindness, Campione! Even if you intend to kill me, so be it. I don't know why Lady Athena is willing to aid you, but she is the goddess of wisdom. I trust she has her reasons. Since it is her will, I am already prepared."

The beautiful white serpent raised her head proudly and declared with unshakable resolve.

Faced with someone so stubborn and unafraid of death, even Roy found himself at a loss.

"Don't be so absolute about throwing your life away... Then, in Athena's name, I command you: I forbid you from seeking death. After completing your task, you shall live as my pet."

Roy had no intention of letting such a rare Divine Ancestor—such a rare white serpent pet—die. Whether it was a man's desire or simply an appreciation for beauty, this was Roy's true wish, and he would follow his heart.

This was what Scáthach had taught him: to boldly follow his true desires, even if they contained repulsive urges. As long as he acted according to his genuine will, whether for good or evil, he would be an honest man worthy of respect.

As Scáthach had said, she did not dislike straightforward people—in fact, she admired them.

"If this is Lady Athena's command, I shall obey."

Asherah lowered her serpentine head and spoke after a brief silence.

Yet her expression was tinged with resentment.

"Such terrifying hatred... Just how deeply must you have despaired of this world to become like this? Very well, I will show you how I slaughter the Steel Gods—even the Last Steel shall be broken by my hand! I know you despise the gods of steel and loathe us Campiones, but compared to us, the cursed ones who have slain gods, your hatred for the Steel Gods runs even deeper, doesn't it?"

Roy sighed. For a Divine Ancestor like Asherah, who had nurtured her hatred for millennia, it was impossible to alter her ways or soothe her grudges with mere words. He was no protagonist from a passionate anime, capable of swaying enemies with a few impassioned speeches. All he could do was seek common ground—a shared interest that would make her willingly walk alongside him.

Bonds of passion were important, but chains of interest must never be severed.

As expected, Asherah's expression softened slightly at his words, though she still replied with scorn, "...The Last Steel has slain countless Demon Kings. Do you truly believe you stand a chance against it?"

"Whether I have a chance or not, whether I break the Steel or am slain by it—either outcome would surely delight a Divine Ancestor like you, wouldn't it? So let me ask you: Do you wish for me to shatter the Last Steel, or would you prefer to see me fall by its hand?"

Roy's question made Asherah writhe slightly. After a moment of hesitation, she reluctantly muttered, "...I'd prefer you both dead. But if I must choose, then I'd rather you break that damned Last Steel."

"Hah! Then it seems we've reached an agreement. From now on, behave and be my pet. It's not impossible for a Divine Ancestor to reclaim her divinity. Who knows? If I'm in a good mood someday, I might even restore you to your identity as the 'Serpent Goddess.'"

Then, without warning, Roy stretched out his hand, fingers curling like claws as he made a grasping motion toward Asherah in the fish tank.

Splash—!

A torrent of water erupted as a massive hand formed of magical energy yanked Asherah out of the tank.

In the past, Roy had only used his immense magical power to activate Authorities. But under Scáthach's training, he had learned to control every ounce of his magical power with precision—something the old Roy could never have achieved. Manipulating magical power into an ethereal hand to seize and restrain his target would have been unthinkable before.

"What are you doing?"

Though she asked, Asherah didn't resist, allowing Roy to pull her from the aquarium.

As a being of dragon and serpent, an ancient goddess, she was no mere aquatic creature. The seas, the earth, the skies—all were her domain.

Her fifty-meter-long serpentine body coiled upon itself, water droplets scattering as she landed on the carpet below. Her gleaming silver scales shimmered under the light, their brilliance only enhanced by the glistening moisture.

"Some animals were once regarded as incarnations of deities, and the four ancient civilizations all had traditions of communing with gods—such as in ancient Egypt and Rome, where these practices were even legally recognized. Take the famous Cleopatra, for instance, who was said to have kept a pack of hounds... But I find it rather repulsive, incompatible with modern civilization. I consider it the folly of ancient people, and I simply cannot comprehend what beauty animals could possibly hold to captivate humans."

"...However, after meeting you, Asherah, I've finally come to believe that beauty is a quality shared by all species. It seems the ancient interactions between humans and gods were real—a kind of mystical ritual."

Roy's hand caressed the noble, beautiful serpentine head of Asherah, stroking her scales as he sighed in admiration. "...In ancient China, there was a touching folk tale called The Legend of the White Snake. As a child, I only admired the beauty of Lady White Snake, but as I grew older, I came to respect Xu Xian's love that transcended species. If Lady White Snake was also a goddess who took the form of a serpent, possessing a beauty like yours, Asherah, then I can finally understand Xu Xian's feelings."

"...Beelzebub, the Lord of the Flies, was originally revered as a god by the Mesopotamians—a sun deity worshipped by the Phoenicians. Later, when Christianity conquered the region, he fell from divinity into a demon of hell, becoming a symbol of gluttony and one of the fallen angels. Similarly, Leviathan appears in the Bible as a monstrous entity. This must have been your true form before your fall, Asherah. In other words, you possess the knowledge of a sun god, as well as the wisdom of demonology and angelology. And 'knowledge' and 'wisdom'—these are precisely what I seek."

Roy gazed at Asherah's serpentine head and spoke leisurely.

The Roy of the past, though desirous, would never have so boldly voiced his cravings. But under Scáthach's tutelage, Roy had gradually learned to embrace his own avarice—his pursuit of beauty, his thirst for knowledge and wisdom.

His greatest affinity lay with 'knowledge' and 'wisdom.' Only through them could he attain power of a higher dimension. Thus, he treasured every fragment of knowledge.

Asherah's serpentine head curled into a coquettish smile. The serpent goddess flicked her tongue, straightening her body as she nodded. "...I understand. You wish to perform the ancient ritual of communion between god and man, to seize wisdom and knowledge from me—a fallen Earth Mother Goddess."

Then, the serpent goddess gave Roy a firsthand experience of what it truly meant to have a sinuous, water-like waist. Her long, beautiful, pure-white serpentine body coiled around him as they engaged in the most ancient ritual between man and deity.

This rite, deemed unacceptable by modern humanity, was once considered the most sacred of divine ceremonies in antiquity.

And Roy—he would use it to usurp the knowledge of the Lord of the Flies!

***

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