After hearing Takeyo's noncommittal "I'll try my best," Grayfia knew that Diodora's fate was all but sealed. The wager between them had consequences far beyond what the spectators in the Underworld could imagine.
Grayfia bowed slightly as a teleportation circle materialized beneath everyone's feet.
"Then, let the game begin. I wish you all good luck."
Her silver-gray eyes lingered on the golden chess piece Takeyo had handed to Sona, a piece far more significant than anyone else realized. The light of the magic circle pulsed, and their figures vanished in a burst of radiance.
"As I mentioned before, I'll be leaving first," Takeyo announced to everyone gathered in Sona's base camp.
The moment the Rating Game had begun, he'd detected an intruder entering this dimensional space. He hadn't used his power to prevent it. Instead, he'd waited, and then sealed every exit from this dimension to the outside world.
Want to escape? he thought with cold amusement. The only way out now is through me.
Takeyo had configured this pocket dimension into a deathmatch arena. No one could leave without defeating him first. Of course, there would only be one death here today, and it wouldn't be his.
"Takeyo, good luck!" Momo called out with quiet encouragement, her voice soft but sincere.
"It's a shame I can't fight alongside you," Tsubasa said, her tone carrying a hint of disappointment. She genuinely wanted to help the Student Council President, but the battle strategy had already been determined.
"Lord Takeyo, may victory be yours," Tsubaki added with formal grace.
Tsubaki Shinra possessed considerable acting skills. Even after what she'd witnessed between Takeyo and Sona the previous night, she maintained her composure flawlessly, addressing him as though nothing had changed.
Sona said nothing at first. She simply stepped forward, reaching out to adjust Takeyo's collar and smooth the fabric of his clothes. When she finished, she looked up at him with a faint smile, her violet eyes shimmering with complex emotions.
"I'm sorry... for everything," she whispered.
Takeyo's gaze softened for just a moment before he pulled her into his arms.
I'm sorry too, he thought. I'm a man who can't belong to just one person.
"It's fine," Sona murmured against his chest, her fingers lingering on his cuffs as she smoothed them one final time.
"I'll be back soon."
With those words, Takeyo stepped forward and vanished from the base camp.
The battlefield was a vast wasteland stretching toward the horizon, neutral ground positioned at the center of both teams' territories. Under normal circumstances, Grayfia would be reading the rules to the Underworld's observers right now. But given the chaos erupting on Diodora's side, the audience was likely in an uproar.
After all, this Rating Game was only one front of the Khaos Brigade's coordinated attack.
"Quick and decisive," Takeyo muttered, narrowing his eyes.
Layers of golden light rippled outward from his body, spreading across the wasteland like waves on still water. He was announcing his presence to every living creature in this dimension.
Every being touched by the wave received a vision: a man standing alone on the wasteland, radiating power that made the air itself tremble.
[Sacred Heart of the True World Dragon, Forbidden!]
[Kurma Dragon Balance Breaker!]
Platinum light erupted around him as the World Dragon Armor materialized, encasing his body in azure scales embedded with gleaming gems.
[My liberation!]
[The origin that bears the world... the dragon among dragons...]
[World Dragon on which I ride, ascend to the pinnacle of dimensions, ]
[We who transcend the end shall cross beyond finality, ]
[Come to me with your brilliant radiance and galactic power!]
[Advent!]
[Kurma Incarnation, Over-Limit!]
His injuries from the battle with Vishnu had mostly healed. The Over-Limit form of World Dragon Kurma required only physical stamina to maintain, allowing him to sustain it far longer than his other transcendent transformations.
"Oh? What's this?"
The first enemy materialized before him moments later.
The figure had gray hair that floated behind him like a serpent's tail, with two chest-length bangs framing a face that could have been handsome if not for the cruel twist of his lips. Three blue jewels gleamed on his forehead, and his yellow eyes burned with malevolent intelligence. His power signature approached Maou-class levels, not quite there, but dangerously close.
This was Loki, the Evil God of Norse Mythology.
[Ding!]
[Congratulations to the host for triggering a plot sign-in! Sign-in level: Gold!]
[Sign-in plot: The Worthless God-Devouring Wolf]
[Plot description: Is the legendary Fenrir truly so fearsome? His reputation rests entirely on his God-Killing Fangs. But teeth of that level cannot harm the host. Take Fenrir's attack head-on!]
[Sign-in time limit: 1 day]
[Remaining time: 1 day]
And of course, the Evil God hadn't come alone. Beside him stood his greatest creation, Fenrir, the God-Devouring Wolf. The massive beast's ash-gray fur rippled in the dimensional wind, standing nearly ten meters tall at the shoulder. His presence alone had once frozen the entire Occult Research Club with primal terror.
The God-Killing Fangs embedded in that massive jaw were what made Fenrir truly dangerous. Those teeth could pierce the flesh of gods and devils alike, leaving wounds that even divine healing struggled to mend. Before Vali had captured him, Fenrir had ranked among the Top Ten Strongest Beings in the World, not for his raw power alone, but for those terrifying fangs.
"You're the Norse god Loki?" Takeyo called out, a slight smirk playing at his lips. "It seems you're rather dissatisfied with me?"
"Dissatisfied? Of course I'm dissatisfied!" Loki's voice rose to a near-hysterical pitch. "Because of your Defender Team's existence, Odin and those weaklings in Asgard dare to hope for peace! To bring about Ragnarök, human, you must be destroyed!"
He thrust his arm forward, summoning a massive magic circle.
"Go, my children!"
From the swirling portal emerged hideous beasts one after another.
First came Fenrir himself, padding forward with predatory grace.
Behind him appeared Sköll and Hati, Fenrir's sons, who had inherited their father's God-Killing Fangs, though at reduced potency.
Finally, a dozen serpentine dragons slithered through the portal. These were mass-produced clones of Midgardsormr, the Sleeping Dragon and one of the Five Great Dragon Kings. The original Midgardsormr measured over five hundred meters in length, but these knockoffs were far smaller and weaker, perhaps High-Class Devil strength at best.
Loki was renowned throughout the supernatural world as a master of creature creation. Fenrir was his magnum opus, and Midgardsormr, the genuine article, was a Dragon King in his own right. But these clones required only time and materials to produce in unlimited quantities.
"Is this your confidence?" Takeyo surveyed the assembled monsters with an unimpressed expression.
Fenrir hadn't yet reached Transcendent level. Half-step at best, his ranking in the Top Ten had been entirely due to those fangs. Sköll and Hati were weaker still, and the Midgardsormr clones barely registered as threats.
This lineup might be sufficient to annihilate an obscure mythological faction, but against Takeyo? They were nothing.
His dismissive attitude only inflamed Loki's rage.
Just a human, the Evil God seethed internally. Yet you dare interfere in the affairs of gods? If you're human, then stay on the ground where you belong, waiting for divine favor or judgment!
"Fenrir! Devour him!"
The God-Devouring Wolf lunged forward with blinding speed, his massive jaws gaping wide to reveal fangs that gleamed with divine-slaying power.
Takeyo didn't move.
He simply activated another incarnation.
[Fourth Incarnation: Narasimha, the Man-Lion!]
The power of the lion avatar surged through him, reinforcing his already formidable defenses.
CRACK!
Fenrir's jaws clamped down, and immediately, the wolf's expression shifted to one of utter bewilderment.
His God-Killing Fangs, capable of tearing through Scale Mail armor and piercing the flesh of Satan-class devils, couldn't leave so much as a scratch on this human's body.
Worse, from the look on Fenrir's face, he'd actually hurt his teeth attempting the bite.
[Ding!]
[Congratulations to the host for completing the plot sign-in! Sign-in level: Gold!]
[Sign-in plot: The Worthless God-Devouring Wolf]
[Congratulations to the host for receiving reward: God-Killing Fangs (Additive)!]
[God-Killing Fangs (Additive): Can be attached to the host's weapons to grant powerful effectiveness against divine beings!]
"Norse god Loki," Takeyo said, vibrating the wings of his World Dragon Armor as he casually freed himself from Fenrir's jaws. His pentagram-marked eyes fixed on the Evil God with cold amusement. "You came at just the right time."
[Eighth Incarnation: Black Sky Krishna!]
In an instant, Takeyo had downloaded every technique in Loki's arsenal directly into his mind.
Previously, Odin had gifted him a complete compendium of Norse magical arts to curry favor. But such official gifts naturally excluded techniques belonging to traitors like Loki. Now, having scanned the Evil God directly, Takeyo dismissed most of what he saw as garbage, parlor tricks unworthy of serious consideration.
A golden sword materialized in his hand, its edge gleaming with divine power.
The Golden Sword of the Divine Word, one of the ten incarnations of the Persian war god Verethragna, which shared common mythological roots with Vishnu's avatars. Now enhanced with the God-Killing Fangs, its effectiveness against divine targets had multiplied exponentially.
"Fenrir! Protect me!"
Loki felt a surge of mortal terror emanating from that golden blade. He immediately recalled his wolf to serve as a shield.
Cowardly, but wise, Takeyo acknowledged silently.
With Fenrir between them, the sword's god-slaying properties couldn't reach Loki directly.
"A dog should act like a dog," Takeyo murmured.
Behind him, a divine phantom began to manifest, humanoid in shape but radiating both celestial majesty and bestial ferocity in equal measure. The Fourth Incarnation of Vishnu, given tangible form.
Narasimha, the Man-Lion.
Though this manifestation couldn't match the power of Takeyo's actual body, it was more than sufficient to handle Fenrir. Without his God-Killing Fangs being effective, the wolf couldn't even maintain a half-step Transcendent evaluation.
"Attack!" Loki retreated while launching spell after spell, summoning his remaining creatures forward.
He was primarily a magician and creature-crafter. Direct combat against someone like Takeyo would be suicide.
"RAAAGH!"
The Midgardsormr clones surged toward Takeyo, flames building in their throats.
"You seem rather confident in your research," Takeyo observed. "Allow me to demonstrate what absolute power truly means."
A second phantom materialized behind him.
[You are the beast that raises up continents!]
[Before your tusks, all evil shall slumber eternally!]
[You are the beast of salvation!]
[A manifestation of divine will and power!]
[Before me now!]
[Show forth your violent sanctity!]
[Third Incarnation: Varaha, the Divine Boar!]
A massive boar phantom emerged from Takeyo's body, its tusks gleaming with the power that had once lifted the entire Earth from cosmic waters. In Hindu mythology, Varaha had used those tusks to defeat the demon Hiranyaksha and restore the world to its proper place.
This was the incarnation of absolute, overwhelming physical might.
"That boar... WHO ARE YOU?!" Loki screamed.
He refused to believe that this so-called descendant of Rama could summon a divine beast capable of matching his Fenrir blow for blow.
"Who I am doesn't matter," Takeyo replied, shaking his head slowly. "You only need to understand that you've outlived your usefulness."
Since he'd already revealed incarnations beyond the Rama template and the World Dragon Kurma, there was no point in holding back. Loki's survival was no longer a consideration.
More importantly, none of the enemy forces who had infiltrated this dimension would be leaving alive.
Well, Takeyo amended mentally, except for the ones I've specifically permitted to enter.
Outside the dimensional barrier, Kuroka and Arthur Pendragon waited with growing frustration. They'd heard intelligence about Diodora and Loki's conspiracy and had intended to slip in and claim Fenrir for themselves. But somehow, they couldn't breach the dimensional walls.
Meanwhile, the person Takeyo had allowed entry had no difficulty at all.
Just as Takeyo pinned Loki beneath his foot and prepared to deliver the killing stroke with his golden sword, a silver-haired maid materialized beside them.
Grayfia Lucifuge.
"Lord Takeyo," she said, her voice utterly calm despite the carnage surrounding them. "Lord Odin asked me to deliver a message."
She surveyed the battlefield with an impassive gaze.
Fenrir, the legendary God-Devouring Wolf, was currently having his fangs forcibly extracted by a lion-headed humanoid figure. The Divine Boar avatar was casually batting around Midgardsormr clones like toys, treating them more like playthings than threats.
Even witnessing such a spectacular scene, Grayfia's expression remained unchanged, as if nothing in this world could truly surprise her.
"What message?" Takeyo asked, keeping his foot firmly planted on Loki's chest.
"Lord Odin wishes you to know that regardless of what Loki has done, it has nothing to do with the Norse pantheon. Whatever fate befalls Loki, Asgard will raise no objections."
There was no emotion in Grayfia's silver-gray eyes as she delivered this pronouncement.
"Is that so?"
The moment Grayfia finished speaking, two voices erupted from across the wasteland.
"Hahaha! So THIS is what a god amounts to? Just another creature for dragons to trample!"
The first voice was deep and majestic, resonating with ancient power.
"AHAHAHA!"
The second was pure, unhinged laughter, the sound of someone who had been waiting for this moment for a very, very long time.