"This is… divine power from the Underworld. Divine power of the Earth Mother. Which means… that person really is—!"
Because Akuto had used Athena's power, Italy's upper echelon immediately confirmed his identity. The way they looked at him was filled with dread.
They couldn't understand why this newly risen King would summon his familiars right in the heart of Palermo.
But whether they understood or not, they all understood one thing: this Godslayer—who greeted them with a "present," or rather, a straight-up warning the moment they met—was absolutely not someone easy to deal with.
"More or less. I've got a bit of a grudge with that Athena."
Akuto admitted his identity without hesitation.
Strictly speaking, he wasn't a Godslayer yet. Right now, he was closer to a "god within a divine domain."
If he wanted to become a true Godslayer, he would need to offer at least one complete god into the Usurpation Disk, then designate himself as the reincarnation vessel. Only then would he gain the Godslayer physique—the special constitution that makes one thrill at the mere presence of gods.
Still, if the standard for a Godslayer was "wielding a god's Authority in a mortal body," then Akuto already qualified.
…
The leaders of the various mage societies exchanged looks. In the end, the one who stepped forward was the "Crown Prince" himself—Paolo Blandelli, Erica's uncle.
"O King—may I ask why you have summoned your familiars?"
Paolo dropped to one knee and asked with sincere caution.
He had no choice. Among everyone present, he was the one with the closest connection to Akuto. Only he was "qualified" to ask a question that might provoke the King.
Just a few minutes earlier, Paolo had learned from Zampalini's message that "Erica has declared herself the new King's woman and knight." In an instant, he became the liaison representative between everyone and Akuto, edging out the originally designated contact—Old Kronnie.
Old Kronnie's daughter had indeed been saved by the new King and had met him once before, but compared to Erica—who had positioned herself as the King's companion—that connection was simply too thin.
.
Before Akuto could speak, a mature, elegant woman in a violet gown with a burgundy sash stepped forward and spoke first.
"If I'm not mistaken, the King is preparing to deal with a god, aren't you?"
The woman was Lucrezia Zola, known as the "Witch of Sardinia."
She and Saint Raphael were from the same era, and her achievements were comparable.
If Saint Raphael could be called a "holy knight," then Lucrezia could just as well call herself a "holy witch."
Of course, the hidden world had no such naming convention.
Typically, witches whose power and standing matched that of a holy knight would be granted a personal "title." In other words, they became "titled witches."
"Witch of Sardinia"—that was Lucrezia's title.
"…"
As Italy's hidden-world leaders fell into silence at Lucrezia's decision to speak over Akuto, he finally spoke in a calm voice.
"She's right. It is to deal with a god."
Akuto gave Lucrezia an appreciative look, then slowly turned to face her fully, his gaze settling on the chestnut-haired beauty mark beneath her eye.
"If I'm not mistaken, you're Lucrezia Zola-san?"
"Yes. I am Lucrezia Zola. It's an honor that the new King knows my name."
Lucrezia dipped her head slightly as she replied.
Akuto's gaze was openly invasive—yet rather than turning shy, Lucrezia displayed her charm with complete ease. She even pressed her vivid red lips together and gave him a look that was unmistakably teasing.
With that kind of brazen allure, Akuto could tell her interest in him was abnormally high.
Even with a gold-tier succubus bloodline, that level of instant favor was excessive.
As if noticing his doubt, Lucrezia blinked several times in exaggerated innocence, then sent him another clear, flirtatious look.
"…"
Being openly seduced in front of a crowd like this, Akuto suspected he might have taken her on the spot—if there hadn't been other people present.
But since he had no habit of flirting with a woman in front of a whole room of men, he suppressed the impulse, gave a small shake of his head, and extended his hand. A gray-white, ancient-looking stone slab floated out from his sleeve.
"This is something that old man Sunan Ichirou asked me to bring you. I'm pretty sure you won't want it, but the formalities still matter."
The moment Akuto said that, cold sweat beaded on the faces of the hidden-world leaders.
Because once those words were out, Lucrezia wouldn't be able to "take it back" even if she wanted to.
Of course, everyone knew the reality: whether Akuto offered it politely like this or shoved it into her hands by force, she would normally refuse it either way.
And yet, in the very next second, Lucrezia did something that made jaws drop.
She slowly extended her slender hand from within the violet fabric and accepted Prometheus' Stone Tablet from Akuto.
"No, O King—right now, I actually need this tablet very much. Since you've brought it all the way to me, I can only accept it… reluctantly."
With no hesitation, Lucrezia took the slab.
Then… she calmly tucked it into her cleavage, the implication so blatant it hardly even counted as implication.
"King, you've helped me so much that I truly don't know how to repay you."
"But if it's you… then no matter what you ask, I'll do everything in my power to satisfy you."
As she said those shamelessly inviting words, Lucrezia smiled with undisguised delight and reached out her hand to him again.
And Akuto—someone who had never been in the habit of refusing an invitation—responded immediately.
Dark divine power erupted from him. Through Lucrezia's hand, he pulled her wholly into that darkness.
A fragrant, mature scent filled his arms. Without any pretense, Akuto slid one hand beneath the layers of her violet gown.
"Mm…! Ah—!"
Between Akuto's forceful yet precise touch and the overwhelming pull of his gold-tier succubus bloodline, Lucrezia's expression shifted quickly—from a sharp flinch to an indulgent, breathy pleasure.
As for everyone else…
All they saw was Akuto and Lucrezia swallowed by thick, roiling dark divine power—until their figures vanished completely from sight.
A full thirty seconds later, Akuto withdrew the darkness, and the two of them reappeared.
There had been no sound, and no one had seen what happened inside. But from Akuto's sudden veil of darkness—and the way Lucrezia emerged with flushed cheeks and softened eyes—everyone could tell exactly what she had just experienced.
Truly worthy of the Godslayer King who had "claimed" the Crimson Devil Erica within only two or three days of arriving in Italy—he showed the Witch of Sardinia no mercy at all.
…
Even as their mouths twitched, the leaders of Italy's mage societies quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
After all, liking women was one thing. Compared to casually summoning gods, "liking women" barely even counted as a vice.
Besides, if the new King liked women, didn't that mean they could draw closer to him by offering women? For them, that was practically good news. What noble house didn't have a few beautiful, outstanding descendants?
So overall, while they felt a bit helpless, they remained optimistic—and even supportive—about Akuto's taste.
The only one unhappy was Paolo, whose jealousy had practically become a smell in the air.
He'd thought his niece had found true love. Now it looked more like Erica was simply one among the King's favored beauties, still far from the position of principal wife.
Paolo glanced toward Erica.
Erica was watching Lucrezia's flushed, satisfied face with calm composure, showing no particular emotion.
Naturally. Long before Lucrezia, Erica had already seen even more intense scenes involving Saint Raphael and Arianna. Compared to that, this was hardly enough to shake her.
"It's here."
Akuto spoke suddenly.
Here? What was here?
Before anyone could ask, a gale of golden wind swept across all of Palermo.
At the spot where the Underworld Serpent had appeared, golden particles began to gather in a violent spiral.
A few seconds later, standing before the Underworld Serpent was a towering figure—
A gigantic warrior holding a golden sword.
This was Verethragna's final divine incarnation.
As a war god who wielded "weapons of steel," the golden-sword warrior was the incarnation in which Verethragna's "Steel War God" nature was at its strongest.
So the moment it sensed the aura of the Underworld Serpent, the Warrior Incarnation instinctively accelerated its reconstitution, driven to purge its mythic nemesis.
"This is… Verethragna's Warrior Incarnation!"
Lucrezia looked toward the city center. With her exceptional powers of observation, she immediately understood why it had manifested.
"So that's it. This is the 'gift' the King mentioned, isn't it?"
Hearing that, everyone finally understood what Akuto had meant by a "present."
"So, O King, you're planning to warm up on this god's incarnation before you go to subjugate the god proper?" Paolo asked.
"Mm… not exactly a warm-up."
Akuto considered for a moment.
"I just need this divine incarnation for an experiment. A mere incarnation isn't even worthy of being my practice."
As he spoke, Akuto raised his foot and stepped forward.
Kami no Keshin — Vāmana (Godly Avatar — Vāmana).
High above, an enormous foot descended in perfect synchronization with Akuto's step.
"Boom—!"
The Warrior Incarnation reflexively tried to block.
It did nothing.
"Bang… crack-crack-crack—!"
First, its armor exploded outward. Then came the sound of bones snapping, one after another, as if being crushed into place.
A few seconds later, the sky-filling giant foot vanished.
And at the city center, all that remained were three shattered, broken warrior bodies.
(End of Chapter)
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