People knelt on the ground, praying for the goddess's salvation. Humans who had lost the light yearned for fire. Without the comfort of modern technology, and with fear in their hearts magnified infinitely, humans could only place their faith in "illusory" deities.
"Athena, you truly are different from other Heretic Gods." Kaido looked at the goddess, whose divine power was constantly rising, and praised her inwardly.
The so-called Heretic Gods. It means gods who do not obey mythology. The arrival of the God of the Underworld would plunge local residents and other creatures into a plague. The arrival of the God of Judgment would subject different people to different punishments.
However, Athena was entirely at odds with the term "Heretic." At least, during her wanderings among humans, no human ever died by her active hand. And now, the goddess born in the dark night had clearly become the people's last hope.
In Greek mythology, Pandora accepted Zeus's malicious gift, along with a box full of calamities, and handed it to Epimetheus. If the box was opened, humanity would suffer severe disasters. But Athena, to save humanity's fate, secretly placed "hope" in the box. This scene was remarkably similar to the story depicted in mythology.
"I sing, I sing the hymn of the Trine Goddess, connecting heaven, earth, and darkness, for reincarnation and wisdom!"
"I sing, I sing the song of the degraded goddess, a queen yet seen as a forbidden serpent, for the queen's sigh!"
"I sing, I sing the poem of the goddess whose body and mind were torn, humiliated by her lofty father, for the humiliation of the merciful mother!"
"My name is Athena, daughter of Zeus, guardian deity of Athens, and eternal virgin goddess! In the past, I was the Earth Mother who gave birth to all things! In the past, I was the Lord of the Underworld who ruled darkness! In the past, I was the Queen of Wisdom who knew the wisdom of the heavens! I swear that Athena is about to return to her primordial self!"
Beautiful hymns of Word Magic were woven from the mouth of the little goddess. Like the prayers of countless believers, like the hymns of all holy maidens, like the praises offered by priests to heaven and earth. As the Spell Word was chanted, Athena's divine power and form also changed.
If the previous Athena was merely a clear spring, the current Queen Athena was on the level of a vast ocean! And her originally small figure underwent an extreme transformation. The young girl, delicate and slender, gradually lengthened under the light. The childish innocence on her face was replaced by majestic dignity, her mature cheeks were full of seriousness and indifference, and her elementary school attire was replaced by a white robe characteristic of ancient Greece. Her graceful figure swayed in the wind, and her flat, nondescript chest transformed into abundant fruits.
"With this level of divine power, it's no wonder she possesses the ability to slay a Godslayer!" A furious battle intent seized his chest, and his blood boiled. Under this influence, Kaido's eyes also showed a faint redness. This was a manifestation of intense emotion. Although Kaido didn't want to be controlled by this battle intent, the euphoria of encountering a Heretic God still made his pores open wide, making him feel as high as if he had taken drugs.
"I have retrieved the ancestral serpent and regained the status of the Trine Queen! Godslayer! I ask you one last time: do you truly intend to challenge the authority of the ancient Earth Mother Goddess?" Athena, having returned to her peak, spoke with uncontrollable joy, and even addressed Kaido, who had previously insulted her, with a relaxed tone.
"I've come this far; I can't back down. Breaking my word isn't my style!" She was no longer the frail, young goddess from before. The deity standing here was both a descendant of the Earth Mother and a ruler who led death and darkness, as well as the Queen who governed heaven, earth, and darkness.
"Hehe... I knew you'd say that! Godslayers are incredibly stubborn, but only then can you be considered my enemy, someone who bears the forbidden name of Demon King!" After declaring her resolution and will to the world with a majestic and solemn expression, the dignified and virtuous silver-haired goddess suddenly adopted a slightly frivolous tone. "Why don't you play with me first and make me happy?"
As soon as her voice fell, a substantial black mist surged from behind the goddess, and an ink-like darkness filled the space in all directions. They instantly enveloped Kaido, and even all of Tokyo. He couldn't see his hand in front of his face. The chilling evil energy corroded his flesh. Athena was also a goddess who governed death, and this aura could kill ordinary people in a very short time. For a Godslayer, while not fatal, it could slow his movements.
"My loyal servants, go and tear apart the prey before you!" The goddess in the darkness cried out.
Accompanied by strange sounds, dozens of black-feathered owls and scores of colorful-scaled venomous snakes instantly appeared in the dense darkness. Both owls and snakes were manifestations of Athena's divinity, and the monsters she summoned were usually related to them.
"There's no need for such boring probing. Show me your true power!" Even without using his authorities, Kaido's physical strength alone was enough to tear apart these monsters, which were only about five or six meters long. Coupled with the passive skills of 'Steel Bones' and 'Divine King's Seat,' Kaido could now deal with divine beasts using his bare hands.
"Of course, I won't underestimate you, so watch this! Godslayer!" A hundred-meter-tall building at Athena's feet suddenly shook violently. The originally flat and nondescript reinforced concrete twisted hideously, and the earth trembled intensely, as if some evil force was about to break through the ground.
"Boom—!" Soon, accompanied by the crunching of rocks and earth, a black giant snake hundreds of meters long surged out from within the building; its crimson eyes appeared extremely terrifying. Similarly, the three surrounding buildings also underwent the same distortion and collapse, and giant snakes of identical size roared as they burst from the ground.
"Come on, Fangs! Tear apart the Godslayer who disrespects the goddess, grind him into meat paste!" Athena cried out, standing atop a giant snake's head.
"Don't think you're the only one who can summon." Kaido snapped his fingers. Instantly, the surrounding darkness solidified, and in that viscous space, in the void behind the black-haired youth, three monstrous beasts of varied appearances but enormous size let out deafening roars.
Among the earth-shaking roars, three giant black serpents, hundreds of meters tall, destroyed everything in their path. The hard concrete roads shattered like foam, and the civilized city, which humanity prided itself on, was no match for them. With the appearance of these three divine beasts, the darkness covering the land had considerably weakened at some point.
However, before people could enjoy the joy of seeing the light again, the terrifying and hideous bodies rushing through the steel jungle appeared before everyone's sight.
"Hiss—!" At that moment, people froze in unison. They looked up and saw the roaring monsters that were not far away. They simply couldn't believe their eyes. In modern times, when most people received scientific education, legends of supernatural powers were merely considered jokes, but no one had ever considered that those legendary beings actually existed. Humanity felt incredibly small at that moment, so much so that they didn't know what to do.
"Monsters! They're monsters!"
"God, is the end of the world really coming?!"
"What's going on? Why are monsters suddenly appearing in Tokyo?"
"God bless, Amaterasu Omikami bless, Jade Emperor bless, Ultraman bless!"
"Where's our Self-Defense Force? Why aren't they moving yet? Are they freeloaders?"
The people of Tokyo fled through every street, some went mad, but most let out cries of helplessness. But before Ultraman and the high school students the residents had in mind could appear, three more horrific and massive beasts emerged from the void.
"Roar, roar, roar, roar—!" The shockwave generated by their roars alone easily shattered concrete buildings. Fortunately, after Athena became the Trine Queen, the icy power emanating from her body automatically formed a barrier to repel people, otherwise, with the collision of these six monsters, the streets would have been filled with corpses and countless casualties.
The collision between divine beasts easily tore apart buildings like thin cardboard, crushed steel cars like tofu, and leveled forests with their towering bodies. Everything that happened in Hollywood monster movies was perfectly recreated on this Tokyo night.
"My Lady Goddess really has a good sense of humor, choosing to make such a ruckus here with me." Kaido first used his fists and feet to smash all the flying owls, then spoke to Athena, who was controlling the divine beasts to wreak havoc on Tokyo.
"Although I dislike people who cover the earth with stones and reject darkness, I would not kill a human. Of course, if they failed to escape in time, it can only be said that they were unlucky. And after death, humans will enter the gates of the Underworld, which I govern. I believe that's quite good, really."
"You are truly worthy of being an arrogant goddess, but now I'm even more interested in you." For Athena, she certainly wouldn't attack humans out of interest, but in her eyes, the existence of humans was no different from ants, and she wouldn't feel sadness no matter how many died.
"Enough of your babbling. The arrogant Godslayer's attempt to defile the Trine Queen's purity has already committed a capital offense! However, precisely because of this, mutual conquest is our destiny. Let's see who laughs last and decides the victor!" An elegant voice echoed through the sky, and Athena's right hand clutched a swirling black mist. The next instant, she pulled a large, pitch-black scythe from within it.
The scythe's total length even exceeded Athena's height. Its blade glowed with a chilling and mysterious light, and the divine power and death qi emanating from it signaled to Kaido that, if struck, the sensation would be very unpleasant. After all, Athena was also the goddess who governed the Underworld, and even a slight touch of the death qi on the black scythe would instantly kill an ordinary person.
"Don't mistake me for a promiscuous philanderer like Zeus; after all, my standards for women are quite high." Kaido chuckled heartily, and after the power that surged from his legs caused the ground to sink, he sprinted across the earth at an extremely fast speed. A golden light flashed from his right hand, and at the same time, a spiraling spear inscribed with countless complex patterns and characters appeared in his palm. The divine beasts they had summoned were fighting joyfully, and as their masters, they naturally couldn't fall behind.
"Come on, Forbidden Hand!" The first and most powerful god-killing equipment. With that shout, a brilliant golden light, like the descent of the One God of the Cross Religion, burst forth from him, and his majestic voice was no different from the legendary arrival of angels, or even God himself. A surging magical power gathered within the spear, flowing with the power to destroy deities.
"Let the highest-ranking One God of the West and the goddess compare who is stronger and who is weaker!" In less than a second, the spear tip in Kaido's hand instantly arrived. Because the tip of the True Longinus had once been dyed with the blood of the Holy Son Jesus, it was endowed with an extremely strong piercing capability; even a Heretic God's body could be pierced by it.
"A disagreeable aura!" Athena's brows furrowed slightly, and the beautiful silver-haired maiden brandished her black scythe. The next instant, the black scythe and the Holy Spear collided with the greatest ferocity. The black light, imbued with dense death qi, and the sacred golden light eroded and resisted each other, with extremely terrifying power.
The shockwave that surged from there turned the surrounding buildings, trees, earth, and steel into fine dust. Buildings collapsed one after another, and humans in the distance screamed and desperately scattered, but in the face of the destruction wrought by the monsters, and the authorities of the Godslayer and the Heretic Gods, human resistance was meaningless, at most adding a few desperate screams to the end of the world.
Kaido, who was in the center of the battlefield, deeply experienced it. His first encounter with Athena pushed his Godslayer's vigilance to its limit. Although he had killed many gods in the past, the power of a Godslayer could not be measured by the number of authorities. Especially when facing Athena, he couldn't let his guard down. Furthermore, what Kaido had to do was not kill, but defeat and capture, which was undoubtedly several times more difficult.
"Bang—!" The ground beneath their feet cracked further, and both sides resisted each other's mountain-shattering attacks. However, Athena was slightly inferior in strength, and the heavy force transmitted from her arm caused the goddess to take a few steps back.