Using the power of my words to manifest the justice of the world!
Takeyo focused his will, weaving together divine authority and ancient knowledge as golden energy coalesced around his hand. The Sword of Victory, a blade forged from truth itself, materialized to seal away the Apocalyptic Beast.
The words flowed from him with absolute certainty, each syllable carrying the weight of prophecy:
You are the Beast among beasts! The Emperor of Apocalypse!
The absolute Beast recorded in the Bible's Revelation!
You have two horns resembling a lamb, yet you speak like a dragon.
You stand before the first Beast, exercising all its authority!
You make the earth and all who dwell upon it worship the first Beast, whose mortal wound was healed!
You perform great signs, even causing fire to fall from heaven to earth in the sight of all!
All people, great and small, rich and poor, free and slave, receive a mark on their right hand or forehead!
Without this mark, the name of the Beast or the number of its name, no one can buy or sell!
Here is wisdom: Let those who have understanding calculate the number of the Beast, for it is the number of a man. That number is six hundred sixty-six!
The golden sword pulsed with divine light, drinking in every word, every truth about Trihexa's nature. Because the Apocalyptic Beast itself was tremendously powerful, and because Takeyo wasn't using his original incarnation, constructing this particular weapon required considerably more time than usual.
"This thing is..."
The God watched the small golden object taking shape, her eyes narrowing thoughtfully. She could perceive fragments of its power, glimpses of its true nature, but the essence remained elusive.
The blade seemed to contain knowledge about Trihexa itself, prophecies, truths, weaknesses woven into its very structure.
"A very useful little tool," Takeyo said with a slight smile, gently setting the God down from where he'd been holding her.
Had he used the incarnation directly instead of channeling its power through himself, he would have been instantly ejected from this timeline. The temporal fabric of this era simply couldn't support that level of power without violently expelling the source.
But this was only a temporary measure. The Sword of Victory couldn't permanently seal someone vastly stronger than its wielder. To completely seal Trihexa using this method alone would require strength at least equal to the Second Dragon God level.
"A useful little tool?" The God's eyes gleamed with understanding. "You're planning to use this to seal Trihexa?"
She didn't believe the incarnation that had just emerged from Takeyo could indefinitely suppress an Apocalyptic Beast with infinite regeneration. Which meant this golden sword must be the young man's true trump card.
"Yes, precisely." Takeyo's expression remained calm and confident.
If he first weakened Trihexa with the sword's sealing power, then the remaining strength of the God of the Bible would surely be enough to finish the job.
"In other words, you possess the power to seal the Beast Emperor," the God said softly. "But... do you understand the price of sealing it? Boy?"
Perhaps it was because this young man carried an aura of divinity similar to her own that the God felt such immediate affinity toward him. Her initial impression was surprisingly favorable.
"I know." Takeyo's smile turned rueful. "I'll be ejected from this timeline. I'm mentally prepared for that consequence, after all, this situation is ultimately my fault."
He couldn't let his incarnation fight indefinitely. The incarnation drew upon his own strength to maintain itself, and given the temporal instability already present, he had perhaps a few minutes before being forcibly expelled regardless.
"Really... your fault?" The God studied him carefully. "In other words, I should have been the one to seal Trihexa. You chose to seal it yourself to make up for your mistake?"
"Yes, that's correct."
Takeyo saw no reason to hide the truth. He was planning to leave this era shortly anyway.
The God nodded slowly, pieces of the puzzle falling into place in her mind.
The young man before her had likely used some special method to suppress his own strength because he needed to travel through time and space. That made sense of everything she'd observed.
Driven by her own sense of responsibility and guilt, she made a decision in that brief moment.
When things have developed to this point, I also bear some fault. This can be considered a small act of atonement on my part.
"The boy who wants to seal the Beast Emperor..."
The God opened her golden eyes fully, sunlight seeming to radiate from their depths as she looked at Takeyo.
Her cherry lips parted to speak.
"Mm?"
Takeyo turned his head, suddenly finding the God very close to him, close enough that this distance would be inappropriate for anyone except lovers.
Is she going to give me a few pieces of divine blessing as a parting gift?
Well... even though they'd be basically useless to me, I could always pass them on to someone else.
But this distance is a bit much, isn't it? We've only just met. This kind of proximity is only suitable for,
His thoughts were cut short as reality proved even more surprising than his speculation.
"I give you the protection of the Divine..."
The God spoke softly, then moved even closer.
"Tch..."
The soft sound of contact. Takeyo felt the sacred scent of her hair wash over him, a fragrance that could only be described as holy, as if divinity itself had a smell.
This is... what holy smells like?
If the God truly had a distinctive scent, it would be exactly this.
Takeyo's eyes widened slightly, completely stunned.
Because for the first time, he was witnessing a truly novel application of divine power!
Elsewhere, Grayfia observed the two figures standing so intimately close, her expression utterly calm.
The younger version of Grayfia beside her, however, was anything but calm.
"They... what are they doing?"
The girl covered her eyes with her hands.
Of course, she left gaps between her fingers. Otherwise, how could she continue observing?
Though she appeared extremely flustered, the mature Grayfia understood exactly what her younger self was actually thinking right now.
"They're conducting important business," Grayfia stated flatly.
This seemingly absurd explanation was, surprisingly, entirely accurate.
The God was indeed conducting important business.
Takeyo remained frozen for several seconds, sensing the profound changes occurring within his body.
"Huang..."
The God before him began transforming into bursts of golden light that flowed directly into his body.
Gradually, as her physical form disappeared, Takeyo felt this timeline's rejection of him fading away!
The portion of his divine essence that originated from the God of the Bible surged dramatically!
The God was using her own method to successfully eliminate this timeline's rejection of Takeyo! This would allow him to remain in this era indefinitely!
She had deceived the world itself!
She was originally part of this timeline's natural fabric, meaning she would never be rejected by temporal forces. By using a method similar to merging their divine essences, she'd successfully gained this timeline's recognition for Takeyo!
Even if he now used strength beyond the Transcendent-class, he wouldn't be ejected from this space-time.
This was the God's wish. She didn't want this special existence, this special existence who shared her divine origin, to disappear from her sight so quickly after their first meeting.
"Then... let's begin."
Feeling the explosive power now coursing through his body, Takeyo smiled helplessly.
Only the God could have used such a method, but it perfectly addressed his urgent need. Now he could find a stable timeline and wait peacefully without fear of temporal displacement.
"Since I've temporarily gained such power, how could I possibly not use it properly?"
Takeyo's lips curved into a dangerous smile. This was the first time he'd used Second Dragon God-level power without any side effects or limitations.
The power he currently wielded was completely different from the God's original abilities. After passing through the countless magic circle enhancements within Takeyo's body, his Sub-Dragon God-level power had reached true Dragon God level in both attributes and actual output!
"Time to have some fun."
Takeyo recalled the Sword of Victory. He preferred more direct, violent methods to elegant solutions like the golden blade.
Dismissing his incarnation, Takeyo turned toward Trihexa with a predatory grin.
The Beast Emperor saw the human face before it. Though it couldn't consciously perceive danger, it possessed the most powerful wild instincts imaginable!
Those instincts screamed warnings about the malice in Takeyo's smile.
Malice directed specifically at it!
"JIEEEE ONNNG!"
Trihexa unleashed a domineering roar toward Takeyo!
However, within a few seconds, its roar would become more like a kitten's mewl.
[Violet Thunder: Sky Fall!]
Takeyo casually threw out a Super-Tier spell.
Starting with Super-Tier magic, just to show proper respect...
In almost an instant, the spell expanded to hundreds of meters in diameter!
"BOOM! CRASH! RUMBLE!!"
Endless torrents of lightning erupted from the magic circle!
This was Thunder's judgment!
Of course, this was merely the beginning. Since he didn't need to worry about temporal ejection anymore, and since he'd temporarily gained the God of the Bible's power, Takeyo had no intention of holding back.
After all... he really hated ugly things.
This level of attack wasn't enough to instantly kill Trihexa. With its nearly infinite regeneration and stamina, even the God of the Bible could only choose to seal it in another dimension rather than destroy it completely.
Still, causing it substantial pain was absolutely within his capabilities!
After the magic circle dissipated, the Beast Emperor, now hammered into the ground, let out a weak, pained roar.
How is this possible? How could I, who have barely encountered any opponents, be so easily beaten into such terrible condition?
The gap between Second Dragon God-level and Dragon God-level beings wasn't as vast as the difference between Maou-class and Transcendent-class.
Even the True Red Dragon God Emperor and Trihexa itself had dared to challenge those heights. But the Beast didn't understand why it seemed so fragile before this man.
The truth, however, was exactly that cruel.
Before Takeyo wielding the God's power, Trihexa truly was that fragile!
[Three Thousand Ways: Path of the Holy! Three Thousand Ways: Path of Formations!]
[Pseudo-Heaven Realm Array!]
This time, no golden ring fell from the heavens.
Instead, a golden halo appeared above Takeyo's head, an omnipotent aura covered in endless mysterious patterns!
This was the Omnipotent Halo he'd obtained before, containing infinite possibilities, capable of being refined even into divinity itself!
Takeyo had previously used a similar formation called the Heaven Realm Array. During that time, he'd managed to completely read and absorb all information about the formation's structure.
During his subsequent training period, Takeyo had directly engraved the Heaven Realm Array onto his halo!
Now, the golden halo gradually expanded behind him. Just like when he'd used the Heaven Realm Array and Underworld Array before, this formation floated quietly at his back.
With the simultaneous enhancement of both the Path of the Holy and the Path of Formations, it would definitely be more than enough to make Trihexa suffer.
The reality matched his expectations exactly.
"What does a medium-power light cannon even mean to you?"
Utilizing the weapon system within the Heaven Realm Array, holy light equivalent to the Star Holy Sword's power instantly burst forth from the formation!
"FWOOOOM!"
The light cannon that seemed capable of piercing through entire worlds easily obliterated half of Trihexa's body. The intense agony instantly drove the Beast into a frenzy!
"Too loud!"
When the Beast Emperor roared in rage and pain, Takeyo casually threw a [Greater Wheel of Light] at it!
The Ultimate-class flash-heat Gift directly annihilated most of Trihexa's remaining body mass!
And this still wasn't using the Heaven Realm Array's full power!
Meanwhile, the two observers watched from a safe distance.
Grayfia remained as composed as ever, but her younger self was completely shocked by the scene unfolding before her eyes.
"That's... that's the legendary Beast Emperor? And that woman... was that really the God of the Bible? Where exactly are we?"
Young Grayfia finally registered a critical problem.
Am I even in my original timeline right now?
As a member of the Lucifer Clan serving the True Maou, she'd heard one particular secret, that the God of the Bible had actually died.
This wasn't classified information among the upper echelons of the Three Factions.
So... who was that woman?
"Actually, the situation is like this..."
Seeing her younger self experiencing an existential crisis, the mature Grayfia sighed and removed the magic circle disguising her face.
While this conversation progressed, Takeyo's "close and friendly" exchange with Trihexa was finally reaching its conclusion.
After being brutalized by various techniques for half an hour straight, even the Beast Emperor's body couldn't endure the punishment.
In Trihexa's eyes, which showed something almost like relief, Takeyo finally deployed the sealing formation against it.