There were no flashy special effects, no grand gestures, and no bloodcurdling screams. Cid merely raised his hand, spread his fingers, and clenched his fist. A pitch-black magic wand appeared in his grasp.
Pinned to the ground, Katerea could only watch helplessly as Cid approached. The instant the magic wand appeared, the fear and anxiety on her face froze in place. Her body stopped struggling as though someone had pressed a pause button.
Then Katerea was silently erased from existence.
"Swish!"
Before everyone's eyes, the black-haired youth who had just obtained a magic wand acted like a child receiving a long-awaited toy. He eagerly waved it through the air, elegantly twirling it several times.
Yet no one dared look down on him for this seemingly childish behavior. Instead, their eyes widened instinctively as chills ran down their spines.
As the seemingly ordinary black magic wand swept through the air, everyone saw the image of a colossal sea monster rising from the ocean, its enormous jaws opening toward the sky as though it intended to swallow the entire world.
You've got to be kidding me!!!
Azazel had been invited to Laugus's press conference, so his knowledge and experience were beyond question.
In fact, when it came to sheer experience, Azazel could certainly be called an old monster. In his early years, he had served beside the God of the Bible and participated in wars against other Pantheons. He later fell from Heaven because of his desires and fought in the War of the Three Realms. Eventually, his fascination with Sacred Gears led him to become a researcher.
With all his experience, Azazel naturally understood what had happened. Roland had used his absolute power to erase Katerea's life, then extracted the bloodline she had inherited from Leviathan, one of the Four Great Satans of the Underworld, and forged it into a Sacred Gear.
But that was precisely why Azazel understood how unbelievable this seemingly simple act truly was.
To put it plainly, had the God of the Bible possessed such an ability, the other Pantheons would never have survived into the modern age. They would have been utterly destroyed during the Biblical Faction's ancient campaigns of expansion.
Gods were absolutely immortal.
Even if they were killed for some reason, they would eventually revive within the divine flames formed from their faith.
That was why the gods of other Pantheons could still appear in the modern world despite the Biblical Faction having defeated them in ancient times. Most gods and Demons had already won their resurrection matches.
Incidentally, this was also why the question of whether the God of the Bible was truly dead ranked among the ten greatest mysteries debated by the upper echelons of every mythology.
Even the meager faith possessed by those other gods had allowed them to revive given enough time. The God of the Bible commanded one of the most powerful religions in the world. The faith of all the other Pantheons combined might not even equal his.
Yet he had still failed to return from ancient times to the present day?
Creatures such as gods and Demons were absolutely immortal. The Dragons turned into Sacred Gears by the God of the Bible were no exception.
Even after being killed, most Dragons would revive after enough time had passed. This included the Red Dragon Emperor and the White Dragon Emperor. The God of the Bible had simply seized their souls by force, preventing them from reviving and making them serve as spirits within Sacred Gears.
That method could not be applied to gods.
Unlike Dragons, whose entire bodies were treasures that could be directly forged into Sacred Gears, a god's soul would not match an ordinary vessel. Once the soul and vessel proved incompatible, the god would be treated as dead and enter the normal process of waiting to revive through the divine flames of faith.
That was simply how the world worked.
From ancient times to the present, not a single god had ever truly died. Even during Ragnarok, Odin had prepared to revive upon the glaciers afterward and rebuild Asgard.
As long as the world continued to exist, gods could never truly die. At worst, they could only be beaten into a deep slumber.
Azazel firmly believed that even the "World's Five Strongest," whose individual power surpassed the world itself, could not change that fact.
He had personally witnessed how his supposedly "omniscient and omnipotent" God had been troubled by the immortal gods of other Pantheons.
Azazel's confidence in that truth had endured until one second ago.
He stared in horror at the magic wand sweeping rapidly through the air. His eyes fell upon the enormous sea monster that seemed to sense his gaze from beyond the illusion and look back at him.
Azazel would never believe that the Leviathan bloodline inside a disgrace like Katerea, who had only reached SS-class strength with the help of Ophis's "Snake," could possess power of this magnitude.
Which meant...
His neck stiffened as he slowly turned toward Serafall in several jerky movements.
He could hardly be blamed. The thought in his mind was so terrifying that even Azazel, who usually handled every situation with ease, felt genuine fear.
Noticing his gaze, Serafall forced a smile that looked as though she might burst into tears at any moment.
Without saying a word, she confirmed Azazel's suspicion.
Yes.
What had been captured and forged into a Sacred Gear was the very essence of "Leviathan."
Serafall was certain because she was the Devil who currently held the position of Leviathan among the Underworld's Four Great Satans.
Originally, as long as she did not relinquish that position, even if she died, she would eventually revive in the Underworld after a long period and resume her place as one of its leaders.
The reason that was only how things had worked originally was probably because she now had a direct superior above her.
Katerea, you fucking bitch!!!
Although Serafall was still the Leviathan of the Underworld, the position of "Leviathan" itself had ceased to belong to the Underworld during those few brief seconds.
Rage burned in her eyes as she furiously cursed Katerea and every relative she had lost during the war.
She had come out here once, only to lose ownership of her own position.
There were only four positions of this level in the entire Underworld, and now one of them was gone.
They might as well have killed Serafall outright. At least that would not have hurt this much.
Ignoring the fury in Serafall's eyes, Azazel gave an ugly smile.
His suspicion had been correct.
The being before him truly possessed the means to kill gods.
If the essence of "Leviathan" could be forcibly transformed into a Sacred Gear, then the divine source-flames of other gods could be transformed into Sacred Gears as well.
It would be as though Zeus lost his authority over thunder, Poseidon lost his authority over the sea, and Hades lost the Underworld.
A "god" would cease to be a god because they would no longer be part of the world itself.
While Azazel was horrified by what he had witnessed, Giada arrived at a rather different line of thought.
She remembered the Beast Vassal that the First Primogenitor had once told her was killed.
According to Laugus's theory, the Beast Vassals belonging to the Three Primogenitors were seeds of gods that had yet to be born. Like the gods and Demons of World No. 1, they were manifestations of the world's natural laws.
Although they had been extracted before fully developing, they still possessed the traits of gods.
That was why Beast Vassals were immortal.
In that case, where had the Beast Vassal the First Primogenitor claimed was dead actually gone?
Giada believed she now knew the answer.
In other words, before the God of Magic, every god in the world was merely a walking treasure chest filled with fragments of the world's laws, ready to be opened and forged into a Sacred Gear at any moment.
Giada herself carried dozens of Beast Vassals that could be used to create Sacred Gears.
That meant she was also a treasure chest walking around on two legs...
Cold sweat unknowingly beaded across Giada's forehead.
It had been thousands of years since she had last felt like prey that could be hunted at any moment. Realizing that she was the prey while standing so close to the hunter only made her fear worse.
Giada looked toward the black-haired man before her. He had closed his eyes and seemed to be feeling the path traced through the air by the black magic wand.
She breathed a sigh of relief.
Fortunately, he had not attacked them from the beginning, and that Devil had already borne the full force of his disgust.
As long as they did not behave like that Devil, they should be fine.
Having reached that conclusion, Giada relaxed. She stepped forward without being discourteous, maintaining both her confidence and composure as she spoke.
"If the revered God of Magic came here personally merely to dispose of such an insignificant figure, then this little island has certainly received an extraordinary surprise. However, I imagine that a being as indisputably great as Your Excellency must have another reason for coming. Might you allow us to offer some small assistance?"
"Hmm. What do you think?"
Seeing the confident smile on Giada's face, and noticing that even Serafall had shaken off her previous timidity, Cid narrowed his eyes and responded in an amused tone.
Just as he had thought.
Whenever the atmosphere became awkward, all he had to do was find some excuse to kill someone. As long as the remaining people did not look like the sort who casually murdered others, they would conclude that the danger had passed and become talkative again.
"I believe Your Excellency would not make things difficult for a helpless woman attempting to make amends for her companion's past offense against you, would you?"
Sorry, but I'm a staunch believer in gender equality. I make no distinction between men and women. I kill both equally!
Naturally, Cid did not say that aloud.
There was no particular reason. Saying it would ruin the atmosphere.
Instead, he maintained his mysterious demeanor, curled his lips into a faint smile, and silently shrugged.
His gaze swept across Serafall.
Cid noticed that she was staring at him with an inexplicably complicated expression. Every so often, she opened her mouth as though she wanted to step forward and say something, only to stop herself each time.
Cid found this strange.
He had already killed someone. Logically, Serafall might still be wary of him, but she should not be so frightened that she could not even speak.
Did he really look that intimidating?
"Your revered Majesty Augustus, allow me to introduce myself. I am Serafall Leviathan. On behalf of myself and the Underworld Government I represent, I wish to express our friendship toward Your Majesty..."
Under Cid's gaze, Serafall found herself unable to voice what she truly wanted to say. She could only force out a few official pleasantries to gloss over the situation.
Otherwise, she feared she might suddenly lose control of herself.
Ever since the essence of "Leviathan" had been taken from her, merely standing before it caused the connection between them to unconsciously disturb her thoughts and emotions.
The effect was especially severe because Leviathan was the Satan who governed envy.
Fortunately, Serafall had never been completely bound to it, allowing her to retain some measure of reason. Had she been a god such as Zeus or Indra, she would probably have lost consciousness the instant her authority was taken and fallen into eternal slumber.
"If you have nothing to say, you may leave."
Cid did not understand what Serafall was trying to convey, but he could clearly sense her rejection and loathing toward him.
He had no idea where that hostility came from.
So far, he had only killed one Devil, and according to them, that Devil had been one of the culprits responsible for nearly destroying the world.
Surely, they were not blaming him for stealing the kill.
Could those two really have been that close?!
Cid looked down at the magic wand in his hand with satisfaction.
Within it, a miniature sea monster was surrounded by mermaids, snakes, dogs, and cats.
A gleam flashed through his eyes.
He seemed to have figured it out.
Those two were probably related.
The fact that both of them carried such powerful traces of the same "sea monster" was enough to prove their connection. It was similar to how most Greek gods carried traces of Zeus's thunder, though usually at far lower concentrations.
Remembering Serafall's practically perverted obsession with Sona Sitri, Cid began considering whether he should kill Sona Sitri right now.
He had no desire to be pursued by a deranged pervert.
"..."
Serafall froze at his merciless dismissal.
Behind her, Rias and the others were already tugging at her clothes. They had no idea what the sea monster they had just seen represented. They only wanted to escape this chaotic situation as quickly as possible.
Feeling the anxious gazes directed at her, including her younger sister's, Serafall began to hesitate.
She had to determine whether retaining ownership of "Leviathan" was important enough to risk her life.
Perhaps "Leviathan" was not as indispensable to her as "Thunder" was to Zeus.
To the Underworld, however, Serafall was certainly less important than "Leviathan."
After struggling with the decision, Serafall spoke again.
At this critical moment, she needed enough power to act.
Besides, she was not being asked to confront the World's Strongest directly.
This battle would be decided through words.
As the person responsible for the Underworld's foreign affairs, Serafall was undoubtedly an expert in that field. Victory was not necessarily beyond her reach.
The title of World's Strongest represented power that transcended the world itself. It did not mean its bearer was unbeatable in every field.
In the realm of negotiation, he was the challenger.
With that thought, Serafall's fighting spirit burned brightly.
She bowed as respectfully as possible, then began speaking in a sincere and earnest tone.
"I would like to ask the great Nether..."
"Enough."
Before she could finish, the black-haired youth interrupted her without the slightest concern.
The grand speech Serafall had prepared remained lodged in her throat.
"Put away your little tricks. I have... absolutely no interest in any of you..."
His gaze met theirs evenly, yet not one of their figures was reflected in those indifferent black eyes.
His voice remained calm, as though he were merely speaking to himself.
"The chief culprit has been executed. Next time, I hope you can prepare toys for me that are interesting without being troublesome. I sincerely look forward to it..."