Overall, the conversation left Akuto satisfied, and Zamparini satisfied.
The only person dissatisfied was Erica—who, a beat too late, realized she'd been played by Zamparini.
Still, considering Zamparini really had helped her loosen part of a knot in her heart, Erica wasn't in a position to say much.
After all… it wasn't as if she could drag everything out into the open.
If she did, the person who'd feel the worst in the end would still be her.
…
And so, once they disembarked, Akuto's group got into Zamparini's car and began driving through the streets of Palermo.
The city's architecture carried a strong Arab flavor—carved arches and enclosed balconies everywhere—wildly different from mainland Italy's usual style.
Throughout the ride, Erica clung tightly to Akuto's side like a girl in the middle of a honeymoon.
The faint perfume on her blended with a young woman's natural warmth, and her soft body brushed his arm now and then.
Zamparini's method was a bit crude, but it worked. After declaring her feelings, Erica was already able to make intimate gestures as if they were natural.
Come to think of it—this Zamparini really knows how to conduct himself. If he performs well, I can make him one of my "senior ministers."
Akuto considered it seriously.
He said "one of" because when it came to governing subordinates, if he hadn't planted a direct chess piece, he never gave all power to a single person.
If Zamparini continued performing well, he could be granted a walking position in Akuto's "Grand Secretariat."
But Akuto's "Grand Secretariat" would never have only one walking minister.
Besides Zamparini, the elders behind Erica and Liliana clearly deserved seats as well. Three forces checking one another would meet Akuto's minimum requirement.
"Beep, beep, beep…"
In the car, Zamparini checked a notification on his phone, then turned and addressed Akuto with careful respect.
"Your Majesty, the 'Pillar of Hera' you requested has been transported to Palermo as instructed. The one escorting it is a knight of the Blue Bronze Black Cross—Liliana Kronnie."
"If nothing goes wrong, the 'Pillar of Hera' will arrive in Palermo tomorrow morning."
As he reported, Zamparini's mind returned to the question he'd been mulling over for some time.
Why had Akuto demanded the Gorgon Stone—then, on top of that, demanded the Pillar of Hera as well?
So the king intends to use the Pillar of Hera against the gods. That makes sense. The god he slew was the defiant Athena, and Hera and Athena have deep ties in myth. His Majesty may borrow Hera's power through that connection—or use the Pillar of Hera as his weapon.
Yes. That's it. That has to be it.
Otherwise… there's no way His Majesty is planning to summon a second god, right?
Thinking that far, Zamparini couldn't help mocking his own wild imagination.
But… within twenty-four hours, he would realize exactly how wrong he was.
That "Pillar of Hera" really was being prepared so Akuto could summon a god.
…
"Good. I understand. It'll be here tonight, then?" Akuto rested his chin on one hand, looking toward the center of Palermo.
In the city center, faint, invisible divine power was converging in a strange pattern.
Within a single day, Verethragna has already gathered two divine incarnations. To pressure him—to push him into a fully defiant state—I must suppress him to the limit.
For that, I need to beat him once first. I also need to test 'the King' identity in advance—force him to kneel.
Only then can I thoroughly inflame his defiance, complete the system task, and obtain the method for dragging a defiant god's true body down from myth.
At this rate, the final incarnation's reconstruction is only a matter of time.
With that, the black luxury sedan carrying Akuto's group came to a stop.
Zamparini exited first and personally opened Akuto's door.
"Your Majesty, we've arrived. The leaders of Italy's major magic associations are waiting to receive you."
Zamparini's reverence for Akuto was completely sincere.
Because even without witnessing Akuto fight firsthand, he'd learned enough through various channels to understand what kind of king had appeared.
First, there was the way the Gorgon Stone's sealed Athena-power had been stirred. That alone implied the god Akuto had slain was extraordinarily powerful—the defiant Athena bearing the ancient stature of a Queen of the Goddesses.
Then there was the wager with the gods. Zamparini hadn't seen it personally, but the story said that with Akuto's support, Saint Raphael and Erica had subdued three divine incarnations in separate locations.
Divine incarnations.
Not divine beasts.
A divine beast was something Saint Raphael could handle alone. But a divine incarnation was far beyond what even a holy knight should be able to deal with.
And finally—and most importantly—there was the dragon-qi barrier sealing all of Italy.
At first, the magic associations had been baffled. Which god or godslayer could produce a barrier broad enough to cover an entire nation?
Their first suspicion was Alec, the Black Prince. After all, everyone knew Alec possessed the "Great Labyrinth" Authority—power enough to turn the land beneath his feet into a labyrinth under his control.
Then the Italian magicians established contact and discovered that the Black Prince was blocked outside the barrier.
And from the fact he remained outside without attempting to force his way through, they judged the barrier possessed enough power to obstruct even a godslayer.
Only after Akuto demanded the Gorgon Stone—only after they recognized him as a godslayer—did realization strike.
Akuto was most likely the terrifying existence who had created the dragon-qi barrier.
The reasoning was straightforward:
One: The god Akuto had slain was the defiant Athena, and like the dragon-qi barrier, Athena carried draconic and serpentine attributes.
Two: The dragon-qi barrier was an Authority no one had seen before, meaning it was likely a newly manifested Authority—and Akuto himself was a newly discovered godslayer who had appeared from nowhere.
Three: The barrier enclosed Italy, where two gods were present, and there were reports that Saint Raphael and Erica had subdued divine incarnations with "dragon-qi" assistance.
Put together, the conclusion became unavoidable—
Akuto had created the barrier. He had turned Italy into a hunting ground for gods.
Meaning the king standing before Zamparini now was someone who could casually lock down an entire nation and even keep other godslayers out.
A newly risen godslayer—yet already radiating pressure that hinted at superiority over the others.
Reports also said that André, the King's attendant, had begun searching for the roaming Sword King the moment he learned gods had appeared in Italy.
In two or three days at most, the Sword King would arrive.
And if by then Akuto had already slain the two gods in Italy, the Sword King would inevitably view him as a rival who had stolen his prey.
At that point… all of Italy, all of Southern Europe, would stand at a crossroads of fate.
If it was only a friendly spar, perhaps things could be smoothed over.
But Akuto seemed to have an interest in ruling Italy.
If the Sword King lost, Italy's entire internal order would likely be reshuffled.
Zamparini intended to earn a "follow-the-dragon merit" during that reshuffle—so Palomos could break through the blockade imposed by the ten great noble associations.
Palomos had already reached the limit of what it could achieve under the current structure. Only a gamble like this could push it higher.
More importantly, even if he and the other associations fled right in front of the Sword King, Doni likely wouldn't care.
At worst, André would retaliate afterward—and André's retaliation, without Doni's direct involvement, was only that level.
So overall, it was a high-reward, low-risk deal.
Not just Zamparini—other ambitious associations were restless as well.
In the end, it came down to this: honest men like the Sword King were the ones who got bullied.
If it were Marquis Voban or Luo Hao instead, these associations wouldn't dare to "place an early bet" at all.
Those were the kinds of monsters who would retaliate later even if you "switched sides" successfully, so long as they were displeased.
…
Click.
Guided by Zamparini, Akuto stepped onto the red carpet already laid out in March.
…
At the end of the corridor, a group was already waiting. They bowed together to Akuto. They were—
"She-Wolf"
Affiliation: Rome
Representative: Commander
"Sky Eagle"
Affiliation: Rome
Representative: Commander
"Shield"
Affiliation: Parma
Representative: Commander
"Old Lady"
Affiliation: Turin
Former Commander: Turin's former commander of "Old Lady"
Current Commander: Saint Binduliccio, Grand Knight. The new commander of Old Lady. Saint Raphael's formal disciple. Salvatore's teacher.
"City of Lilies"
Affiliation: Florence
Commander: The Purple Knight (male). Grand Knight. A tall man in his early thirties, nearly 190 cm, unkempt beard on the lower half of his face; his features were proper, yet he gave off a gloomy impression.
"Red Copper Black Cross"
Affiliation: Milan
Commander: Paul Brantry (male). Erica's uncle. Holy Knight, known alongside the Sword King as Italy's "Heavy Shield Knight."
Knight Leader: Clarence (male). Grand Knight. 31 years old. A bald Black man with proper features. Dutch. The de facto knight leader of Red Copper Black Cross.
"Blue Bronze Black Cross"
Affiliation: Milan
Commander: Old Kronnichar (male). Head of House Kronnichar, Liliana's grandfather.
Napoli Branch Head: Dianna Milito (female). Liliana's magic teacher; owner of the Milide House bookstore in Piazza Bellini, Napoli. Dresses very youthfully, but hates when people point it out.
Personal affiliation: Witch of Sardinia — Lucrezia Zola.
This is probably the full set of top-tier experts in Italy's hidden world.
Seeing their reverent posture, Akuto smiled warmly.
"First time meeting you all. I prepared a small gift."
He slowly raised his right hand.
"Rooooar—!"
In the next instant, a massive Underworld serpent burst up from beneath the city center.
Under the influence of its draconic-serpentine aura, the divine incarnation that had still been reconstructing abruptly completed its reformation.
(End of Chapter)
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