NOVEL WEB Chapter 66: Pandora
"I'll try to capture you without killing you." Kaido smiled, seemingly pleased, as he grappled with the True Longinus.
"Arrogant son of a fool, this goddess will make you pay the price for offending me!" The sensation of having regained her original form only to fall into a disadvantage in the first round of combat deeply infuriated Athena. Her beautiful face was somewhat contorted, and Kaido's verbal jabs completely stripped the Goddess of her elegance. Athena shed her veneer of noble grace, transforming into a goddess of war, death, and battle.
With a furious roar, the black scythe was skillfully wielded, batting away the True Longinus. After breaking apart with a single blow, against the backdrop of the continuously collapsing city and land, the cold moonlight poured down on devastated Tokyo, telling the people that all of this was not simply a dream.
"That spear gives this goddess a very bad feeling, and judging by the magical power fluctuations on it, it shouldn't be an authority obtained from a Heretic God." Athena's wisdom quickly analyzed the general information of the True Longinus. "But it possesses the aura of a god. Could it be that a god resides within it?"
The True Longinus gave her a very strange feeling. It felt like a true God, not a Heretic God.
"Bingo! But to be precise, it's not a god, but a remnant of a god's soul. Guess who it is again; if you get it right, I might even give you a reward."
"..." Athena, who was about to reflect unconsciously, scoffed, and then released an astonishing aura of magical power from her body. "This goddess said before that I would defeat you and force you to obey me eternally! At that time, no secret will be hidden from me!"
"That's what you should say, my Goddess!" Accompanied by the clash of their auras, Athena and Kaido collided once more. The goddess, dressed in white, held a pitch-black scythe. If one were to let their guard down against Athena's beauty, the outcome of defeat would undoubtedly be worse than death.
"Whoosh!" A whistling sound was heard, and the black scythe, radiating black light, tore through the air, causing violent tremors in space and heading directly for Kaido's head. Seeing the scythe swinging at a complicated angle, Kaido could only switch from offense to defense, raising the True Longinus in front of his head to block Athena's fierce attack.
Although Kaido had been through so many battles and had considerable experience fighting Heretic Gods, in terms of martial arts and personal technique, Athena, who was born thousands of years ago and was a goddess of war, undoubtedly surpassed Kaido by a large margin. In terms of martial arts and combat skills alone, perhaps only Luo Hao could surpass Athena.
Kaido dodged the scythe Athena aimed at his head and used the tip of the True Longinus as a pivot, exerting force with his right hand. His entire body flew into the air and he raised his right foot to kick Athena in the waist in close combat. However, because the movement and its prelude were too open, Athena had considerable reaction time. She quickly raised her right hand, holding the scythe vertically to block her side and deflect Kaido's kick.
However, that was just a feint from Kaido. The True Longinus's Balance Breaker ability instantly activated, and his figure vanished from Athena's sight.
"What?!" Seeing a living person suddenly disappear, the Goddess's expression couldn't help but change. The next instant, a howling gust of wind surged from his other side. And Athena's reaction speed was not slow at all. She abandoned the scythe, and the Goddess's delicate body shifted nearly a centimeter to the right, dodging Kaido's sudden kidney-piercing spear.
But before Athena could counterattack, a sharp screech reached her ears. Then, the Goddess felt a tremendously hard object strike her left cheek, and the immense force completely sent her flying away.
"Rumble—!" Her small body turned into a cannonball, shattering several supporting pillars within a shopping mall.
Although the Balance Breaker and the True Idea are the true powers of the God-Slaying Equipment, it must be said that the True Longinus's Balance Breaker has a rather rich set of abilities. In addition to high-powered energy explosions, it also possesses flight, short-range teleportation, and cloning, and even has the effect of sealing female abilities. However, the Balance Breaker's sealing ability alone isn't enough to seal a Goddess. Otherwise, if Kaido only used his "female treasure," any woman he met in the future would have to obediently surrender at his feet, and everything would be fine. But if other minor abilities are combined, they can still produce unexpected effects. For example, right now Athena suffered a great loss because of it.
"Rumble—!" However, very quickly, Kaido felt a surge of magical power. The nearby building continuously collapsed with a thunderous roar, raising a mountain of debris and gray dust that obscured the view. The next second, a terrifying sound exploded in his ears, like thunder. From the collapsed ruins, a figure filled with death qi shot into the sky from the pile of rubble.
It was Athena! Unfortunately, her elegant and proud posture was nowhere to be seen. Her white clothes were covered in dust, and Athena's left cheek had a bruise, with blood flowing from her delicate lips. Such a disheveled appearance was truly pitiful.
"Damn Godslayer!" The terrifying pressure made the earth tremble. Before the Goddess's cold vertical pupils, Kaido's body tensed for an instant, feeling a bone-chilling cold. The Goddess's chest heaved violently, and the bruise on her left cheek gradually disappeared, but the anger in her heart grew even stronger.
Besides valuing purity, Athena was also very proud of her beauty. As the saying goes, don't hit someone in the face. Especially a Goddess who valued her face so much.
"Despicable man! You have completely enraged this goddess!" The Goddess let out a long howl between heaven and earth. Immediately afterward, the sky and the surrounding environment were once again enveloped by infinite darkness, and the black qi, a symbol of death, stirred the surrounding air currents. By virtue of the authority of her divinity of death, Athena had transformed this world into the Underworld, with a plague causing instant death spreading across the surface and in the atmosphere. It seemed Kaido's previous blow had truly enraged Athena.
Athena tossed aside the black scythe, and suddenly a long bow and three arrows appeared in her slender hands. Her sharp gaze fixed on Kaido's body. Instantly, she drew the bowstring to its fullest, and the arrows turned into streaks of light, rushing towards Kaido's vital points. Not his head, nor his heart, but the lower body, every man's most precious and valuable part!
"Whoosh!" Kaido's expression changed drastically. Even before the attack arrived, he felt a painful sensation in his groin.
One of the Ten Incarnations, [Phoenix], activated simultaneously with the Great Sage Equal to Heaven's authority, [Iron Body]. The power bestowed upon him by the Lord of the Desert allowed Kaido to tear through the air currents, deflecting Athena's arrows to both sides and clearing a path.
"What a vicious woman!" Kaido exclaimed.
Countless owls and venomous snakes stormed in, their hissing sounds disproportionate, distorted, and piercing. The writhing bodies covering the ground were not only disgusting but also chillingly terrifying. Owls were one thing, but humans naturally fear creatures like snakes and spiders. Although Kaido knew these common demonic snakes couldn't harm him, the colorful, venomous snakes coiling and flicking their red tongues still caused him considerable mental contamination.
Facing such a large-scale attack, Kaido could only activate another authority.
"[Guardian of the Sea]!"
"Seawater that floats and sinks, Gods present to purify the body!" Ling Yun invoked the Spell Word. This was the authority he obtained after dealing with Susanoo in the Underworld.
A surge of magical power instantly erupted, and the softly spoken words were imbued with immense power, transforming into the Godslayer's sword.
"Rumble—!" A large amount of seawater suddenly surged from the void, completely submerging an area of several thousand meters in a matter of seconds. If Kaido were to unleash his power fully, in less than an hour he would turn Tokyo into a vast ocean. However, the power of such a large-scale authority was not very strong; the wider the range, the lower the damage, and the consumption of magical power would increase exponentially. Naturally, Ling Yun wouldn't be so foolish as to flood all of Tokyo, as the Eleventh District was now considered his backyard. Causing too much destruction would not only be detrimental but also reduce the effectiveness of his attack against the venomous snakes summoned by Athena. Therefore, Kaido only controlled a thousand-meter radius. This not only kept magical power consumption low but also increased the power of his authority.
"Another authority that irritates this goddess. How long, Godslayer, will you keep provoking her?" Athena, already furious from the slap, became even more enraged upon seeing the seawater summoned by Kaido, completely losing her previous composure. The sea god Poseidon was Athena's nemesis. Although her detestable father's brother couldn't appear there, the pervasive smell of seawater still reminded the goddess of the unpleasant elements of mythology.
"Can you blame me for this too?"
"..." Athena's movements in the darkness became swifter. She put away her bow and arrow, holding a black scythe in her right hand and a shield with a gorgon's image on her left, and charged at Kaido.
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Seeing the goddess's attack, Kaido knew a fierce battle was likely to ensue. Athena's combat skills were astonishing, and her elegant martial posture was even more appealing than an actor's on a stage. However, every move the goddess made was a ruthless, deadly strike, with attacks primarily aimed at Kaido's lower body, excluding his head. It seemed the previous slap had indeed made Athena very angry. *You hit my most prized possession, so I'll hit your most prized possession!*
Athena's attack changed rapidly like a strong wind. Her dark scythe could even transform into a shadow blade, attacking Kaido when he was occupied with the main body. Kaido quickly noticed her little trick. When the shadow blade was about to hit his 'little brother', he instinctively jumped to dodge, but still received a graze on his thigh. If not for the amplification of the [Iron Body] and the Balance Breaker's armor, the black blade, filled with death qi, would probably have corroded that piece of flesh.
Kaido's fighting style leaned towards close combat, and Athena was definitely a goddess who excelled at close quarters. Otherwise, the statues in Greece wouldn't depict the goddess holding a shield and a long sword. The storm of slashes, like a deluge, each strike contained immense power. If he couldn't dodge them, new wounds would appear on his body.
However, it was a good thing Kaido recognized Luo Hao as his older sister and it wasn't in vain. A single move affects the entire body. No matter who it is, when attacking, there will inevitably be a slight reaction, and when moving, the shoulder will move first. Therefore, in most cases, by simply closely observing the shoulders, one can tell the direction of the opponent's next move. This may be difficult for ordinary people, but a Godslayer's eyesight and reaction time far exceed those of normal humans, making it not impossible to reach this level.
It's worth noting that Athena, as a goddess of war, possessed incredibly strong mobility and perception. While she couldn't surpass the Ape God, she was close. Additionally, and more importantly, Athena did not possess the Monkey King's beastiality. She maintained absolute rationality during combat, practically having no flaws.
"I must finish this quickly." After a fierce engagement, Kaido and Athena separated again, each taking a moment to catch their breath. Their physical stamina and magical power were slowly recovering. But this recovery rate simply couldn't keep up with the pace of consumption. His battle with the goddess seemed to be in his favor, but in reality, if it dragged on, he would be the one to lose. A Godslayer was, after all, just a human. Although his body and spirit had been modified by Pandora's **Dark Birth Sacrifice**, there was still a clear difference from a true God Heretic. He relied more on magical power and authorities for combat. And how to most effectively control magical power consumption was the most important thing a Godslayer had to consider in battle.
"That you can reach this level exceeds this concubine's expectations. If you had been a little more polite before, perhaps this concubine would have invited you to my couch for a chat, but... those who offend a queen must be severely punished!" Athena narrowed her eyes, and a dark divine light gradually filled the goddess's eyes. That look was filled with the goddess's affection and tenderness. He seemed to see a half-naked silver-haired girl, lying on a bed, beckoning him over.
Kaido initially thought she was making an insinuation, but upon noticing the eyes full of darkness, his entire body felt an invisible chill. *Right, this damned woman's divinity also included the divinities of deception and charm.* The famous Trojan War in history was related to Athena. He had actually been unknowingly spellbound!
The divine light blossomed in his eyes.