Chapter 244: "Yes, I am the God of Space, wielder of the Authority of Space."
...
The First-Year Teacher turned his head, only to see "Kirito" grinning at him with a macabre, savage expression. He glanced down at where Kirito's right arm should have been—it was completely gone. Nothing but empty space!
The director gulped, his throat dry. He looked down at the floor, where a blood-soaked, severed arm lay, twitching rhythmically in the pool of gore.
Cold sweat instantly drenched his back. The director gasped, his breath hitching. What is happening?! His lips trembled, his mind unable to process the sheer horror of the scene.
Plip. Plop.
A round object rolled across the floor and bumped against the director's foot. A chill shivered down his spine, as if he'd been plunged into a frozen abyss. He didn't know what was resting against his shoe, but he knew, with terrifying certainty, that it wasn't anything he wanted to see.
"Teacher... could you please pick up my head for me?"
"!!!"
H-head?!
The director's eyes bulged. Mechanically, as if forced by a puppet master, he twisted his neck to look down at his feet. A severed, blood-streaked head was resting right against his shoe. As he looked, the eyes on the head darted sideways and locked eyes with him!
"AHHH...!!!"
THUD!
The teacher's eyes rolled back into his head, and he collapsed, frothing at the mouth as he slipped into unconsciousness.
"..."
The members of Class 1-D stood in stunned silence. As they watched, the severed head and arm simply vanished, as if the entire nightmare had been nothing but a collective hallucination.
Kirito stood up, clutching his side, and strolled over to the fallen director. "This guy's got no guts. We're barely getting started, aren't we?" he muttered with a hint of disdain. The rest of the students slowly snapped out of their shock and gathered around.
"Hachiman-kun, Kirito-kun, could you two carry him outside?" Kaguya Shinomiya requested.
Neither Hachiman nor Kirito had any objections. They hoisted the unconscious director up and hauled him out of the classroom.
"That illusion was top-tier, but... wait, does Seito-kun even have illusion skills?" Eriri Sawamura asked, looking confused. She'd never seen him use any such ability before.
"Do you not realize that my beloved friend has awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan?"
Rikka Takanashi declared with gravity.
The whole class: "???" While Seito does have Kamui, that's not a Sharingan! They sighed, exhausted by the chuunibyou girl's antics.
Maple, Sally, and Shoko Nishimiya were also puzzled. They were with Seito every single day—surely they would have known if he had illusion magic. Maple thought for a moment, then leaned over to whisper in Sally's ear: "Sally, don't you feel like Seito-kun is... different today?"
"Different?" Sally froze, falling into a deep, contemplative silence. "Actually... now that you mention it, he is different."
Recalling the faint, holy aura that had been radiating from Seito all morning, Sally's eyes widened in realization. "Don't tell me...
Seito-kun has ascended to Godhood!"
Her voice wasn't quiet. It echoed through the room, and the entire class fell into a deathly silence. A God?! Seito is a God?!
"Sally-san," Kaguya asked, her voice calm, though her heart was racing. "Could you explain what you mean?"
She was terrified. Gods were immortal; as a powerless mortal, she felt the distance between her and Seito widening into an unbridgeable chasm.
"Let me think," Sally said, organizing the information in her mind. "It all started back on the 51st floor." She then proceeded to explain the data they had found, the "Path to Godhood," and the significance of the Godhead.
When she finished, the class remained in heavy silence.
"So..." Asuna Yuuki was the first to speak. "Seito-kun has spent the last few days grinding for a Godhead, and the reason he wasn't at school was that he was in the middle of ascending?"
"Exactly," Maple nodded. "The first God in the world gains the power of 'Omniscience and Omnipotence.' That must be the power Seito-kun is using now."
It was the only explanation that made sense. Without that level of power, Seito wouldn't have been able to pull off such a convincing illusion.
"By the way," Utaha Kasumigaoka asked out of the blue, "do you, Yukinoshita-san, and Nishimiya-san possess Godhead fragments?"
She was incredibly envious of Maple and Sally. They had manifested their abilities in the real world and had already begun their journey toward godhood. In fact, everyone in the class felt the same way.
"No," Maple shook her head, then added, "but Amou-san in the class next door has one."
"Oh? What kind of Godhead? And how does she plan to ascend?" Eriri asked, brimming with curiosity.
"A War Godhead. She's planning to ascend via the first method," Sally answered, dropping the secrets without hesitation. They felt comfortable speaking freely because Seito had become a God, and they knew everyone in the room was a trusted classmate.
Most of the class looked confused at the mention of a "War Godhead"—they couldn't imagine Kirukiru Amou being suited for such a thing. But Eriri and Yukino, who had been in the same middle school as Amou, shivered uncontrollably.
"That actually suits her perfectly," Eriri muttered with a grimace.
"Um..." Hideyoshi raised his hand, asking the question on everyone's mind: "Is Seito-kun's Godhead... the Space Godhead?"
Since Seito was the master of spatial abilities, it was the first thing that came to mind. Before anyone could respond, Seito's voice echoed throughout the room.
"Yes, I am the God of Space, wielder of the Authority of Space."
He stepped into the room, a faint smile on his face, holding a handful of shimmering Divine Orbs.
"One for each of you. Go ahead and manifest your true potential."
The sudden, generous act left the entire class completely stunned.
.....
Thank you for reading.