---o---
In an otherworld distinct from that of the God-Slayers, a God-Slayer and a majestic god stood in opposition.
The young man, whose stature was that of a dwarf compared to the giant, held a demonic spear in his hand, a demonic sword following at his side.
Opposite him, the giant bearing the names Prometheus and Loki was empty-handed.
"Aren't you going to use a weapon?" the handsome youth asked the majestic giant.
"Perhaps."
The giant, who radiated a sun-like brilliance, gave off an impression of rationality even as he was being consumed by madness.
The young man, knowing full well that it was impossible for the giant before him to be completely unarmed, narrowed his eyes.
Without any warning.
The demonic spear, Brionac, thrust out.
Like lightning tearing through the night sky, the demonic spear shot forth abruptly.
The ice-cold weapon appeared like a phantom, flickering in and out of existence in the air, like a venomous snake awakening from slumber to deliver a fatal bite to its prey.
Brionac was one of the four great treasures of Celtic mythology. The divine king Lugh had used this very spear to kill the Demon King of Instant Death, Balor.
One could imagine that being pierced by this demonic spear would gravely wound even a god, perhaps even causing them to perish in regret.
"Very fine spear arts."
Facing the fatal assault, the majestic giant god reached out his hand.
Then, a trident appeared in his grasp.
It was "Pinaka," the armament of the destroyer god Shiva, corresponding to the power of the Trimurti.
Legend has it that Surya's entire body emitted a blinding light, constantly shedding brilliant fragments.
Those fragments were the highest-grade material for armaments in Hindu mythology. The Sudarshana Chakra of the god Vishnu, the trident of the god Shiva, and a series of other divine weapons were all forged from fragments that flew from Surya's body.
And now, the god who also held the identity of Surya reclaimed the weapon that was a part of his own body and brandished it.
There was no storm of magical energy, no sword aura that could slice through everything, no bombardment that could turn a city block to ash in an instant, and no heavy blow that could shatter the earth.
There were only plain and simple techniques.
The sharp side-blade of the equally terrifying trident carved a graceful arc through the air, meeting the demonic spear.
The moment the two fearsome weapons connected, time itself seemed to stand still. It was as if those two weapons were the center of the world, governing its motion and stillness.
Then—
"BOOM—!!!"
A shockwave from the immense force rapidly expanded outwards. With the point of impact as the center, the ground within a hundred-meter radius violently collapsed and caved in.
The air vibrated at high speed. The gale generated by pure physical force shook the very earth. The shockwave, like a ripple, spread across the entire field, leaving deep scars upon the land.
However, this was only the beginning of the battle.
In the next instant, the demonic sword, in what could be called a killing blow, struck out like a vicious wolf pouncing.
Fragarach, also one of the four great treasures of Celtic mythology, had an extremely sharp tip that could slice through any armor as if it were butter. Wounds inflicted by this sword could not be healed.
To be struck by this demonic sword meant to enter a state of constant decay, to be gradually dragged into the abyss of death.
Seeing the demonic sword that had suddenly appeared before him, even the Titan giant felt a chilling killing intent.
"What a fearsome weapon."
The giant god, still maintaining a high degree of rationality, exclaimed. Then, a new armament appeared in his other hand.
It was the spear of Shiva's eldest son—Skanda.
The spear, also forged from the brilliance of Surya's body, was as ferocious as a tiger. It easily met the demonic sword and even took the opportunity to press its advantage, advancing on the enemy.
For a moment, silver light danced as the blade and spear crossed, sparks flying at their point of contact.
Then—
An even more terrifying force was transmitted from the giant god's hand, applied to the demonic sword Fragarach, and slammed into it viciously.
Caught off guard and without its master's support, the demonic sword was flung into the sky by the immense force.
As expected of a Titan giant, perhaps?
Even if he disliked conflict, he still possessed terrifying martial prowess.
The instant the demonic sword was sent flying, the giant in the midst of battle swung his spear once more.
The spear, wreathed in terrifying divine power, tore through space. A powerful gust of wind vibrated outwards, aimed straight for Li Zihan's head.
"How terrifying."
Sensing that dreadful piercing power, a chilling sense of crisis, long unfelt, washed over the young man.
Without any hesitation, the young man's figure, along with the demonic spear and demonic sword, vanished into the void.
In the next moment, the spear, carrying that dreadful divine power, slammed into the ground.
As expected, the earth was pulverized into dust. The expanding shockwave left a deep trench in the ground, like a ghastly scar.
However, that terrifying spear, like a demonic beast, tore through space, left the giant god's hand, and pursued him relentlessly.
Space, which was nigh incomprehensible to mortals, was not so difficult for gods to traverse.
Tsk—
The young man, who had once toyed with countless beings far stronger than himself with his spatial magic, made a sound of displeasure as he watched the spear follow close behind.
He tightened his grip on the demonic sword.
And then—
He drew it in an instant.
Like a mad dragon emerging from the sea, the whirlwind caused by the draw easily tore the earth asunder.
The sharp edge of the blade extended infinitely, cleaving the air, cleaving the earth, crossing space, and viciously slamming into the terrifying spear.
"BOOM—!"
The roar echoed through the clouds, as if countless demonic beasts were howling.
The entire world was instantly lit by a scorching brilliance. The fury of a god swept through the surroundings, exploding outwards like a tornado.
Everything within several thousand meters was turned into a sea of fire.
Having effortlessly executed this blow, the so-called young man returned to reality.
He raised his head and saw the giant god's eyes, a mixture of madness and reason.
As if by tacit understanding.
The two figures, one holding a demonic sword and the other a trident, charged simultaneously.
A series of explosions resounded across the sky.
Terrifying sounds of impact echoed from within the space. Rubble and debris blasted outwards in all directions like a storm, pulverizing the ground even further away into dust.
Their high-speed movement blew away all obstacles in their path, leaving terrifying blast waves in their wake that instantly tore apart the rising dust clouds.
Without a doubt, this was a battle of epic proportions.
One participant was a malevolent beast who slays gods; the other was a Titan god of immense wisdom.
If this battle were not taking place in an otherworld, the shockwaves alone would be enough to reduce a small city to ruins!
They were, quite simply, mobile natural disasters.
If scenes of this battle were to leak into normal society, it would surely subvert the worldview of countless people.
But—
For the two participants, this was merely a small scuffle.
Thus far, neither combatant had even used their Authorities or released their Noble Phantasms.
"Still not getting serious, Karna from another world?"
The giant god, who was not particularly skilled in combat from a divine perspective, pulled away from the enemy after a clash. He looked at the young man who had slain Susanoo and stated a terrifying fact.
Susanoo was a God of Steel.
As conquerors, Gods of Steel were born more valiant and skilled in battle than other gods.
And Susanoo was an extremely cunning one among them.
Setting aside his character, in terms of strength alone, Susanoo was undoubtedly an extremely troublesome existence.
The god-slaying beast who could defeat the valiant and cunning Susanoo had no reason to be locked in a stalemate with him for so long.
"I am already fighting very seriously," the young man said, having given up on using his Herrscher Authorities and time magic. He calmly took a step back.
This was the truth.
His combat experience came from three parts: his own adventures in Albion, the battle experience of Cú Chulainn and Karna, and his innate talent as a god-slaying beast.
Among these three, his experience in Albion and the power from the rebirth ritual were his own accumulations, while the combat experience from Cú Chulainn and Karna was clearly an external force.
He had not yet completely digested the experience from Cú Chulainn and Karna to form a fighting style that was most suitable for himself.
His close-combat skill was, in fact, evenly matched with Prometheus's.
"But you have a trump card you haven't used, don't you?" the giant god slowly said, having yet to see the young man use Vasavi Shakti or the bow Vijaya.
"That is true."
The young man, who held trump cards that could stun even the strongest 'Steel', Rama, several times over, did not hide it.
"Then, my beloved son, show me your true power."
The giant god, who from the very beginning never thought he could win this fight, began to shrink, returning to the form of a refined, Greek-style man.
The so-called madness could not affect his thinking.
Holding the similarly shrunken trident and spear, he looked at the young man who had absolutely surpassed the level a god-slaying beast—a Campione—should possess, and spoke slowly.
God-Slayers were weaker than gods.
This was an unchangeable fact.
The reason they could repeatedly slay gods was entirely because the deities who wandered the mortal world were Heretical Gods whose minds had been eroded by madness.
(In the novel, Kusanagi Godou, who was practically undefeated against Heretical Gods, nearly got his ass handed to him when he encountered a rational Erlang Shen.)
And now, Li Zihan, without even using his Authorities, could fight him to a draw while he remained rational. This was clearly overpowered.
Bestowing an Authority that could flawlessly seize the powers of others upon such an anomaly was an absolutely irresponsible act. He was already terrifying enough; adding more power to him was just creating a monster.
But—
What did it matter, creating a monster?
The god who possessed the power to steal the Authorities of others looked at his beloved son, his smile as gentle as a breeze.
Gods, too, had their selfish desires.
"Then, as you wish."
Sensing the god who had appeared for a somewhat baffling reason, the young man reached his hand towards his feet.
Then, the God-Slaying Spear from Indra began to manifest.
---o---
Author's Note:
PS: It's over, it's over, I've really forgotten how to write fight scenes.