— — — — — —
A meteor tore through the sky and crashed into the sea just off the island, erupting with a thunderous boom.
A towering tsunami—tens of meters high—rose from the impact and surged toward the shore like a wall of fury.
"εμποδίζω"
Hovering in the air, Athena chanted a divine incantation, her words echoing through the sky. The raging waves calmed instantly, the ocean falling silent once more.
When the winds died down, Rama emerged from the mist—his body soaked, his expression weary.
Beside him stood the Wind King, Hanuman, and Lancelot. Both were barely on their feet, their chests heaving, their bodies streaked with blood.
Clearly, Rama hadn't managed to protect his subordinates from that earlier attack.
Lancelot, wounded but composed, gave a bitter smile as he looked toward Ryo, who stood calmly on the beach.
"Quite the over-the-top move, Ryo Yagami."
To think an attack launched from Earth to space could injure her with just a glancing blow… even to gods, that kind of power was downright absurd.
Ryo tilted his head slightly, his gaze falling on Lancelot with mild curiosity.
"You're the god who protected that Guinevere, right? The witch who used a spell to parade a fake body in front of me?"
At that, Lancelot sighed softly. "Guinevere has already fulfilled her duty to her lord."
"I see," Ryo murmured, shaking his head with faint regret. "A shame. She was a good woman."
Then his attention shifted to the handsome man with long deathly white hair standing before him.
"So, you're the King of End—Rama. You look worse off than I expected. No battle spirit at all, huh?"
Rama gave a faint laugh and raised his tired face. "As you can see, I'm just a weary traveler."
Then, narrowing his eyes at Ryo, he added, "Oh? Is this… an illusion created by the Circle of Usurpation?"
"Well, look at that—you noticed," Ryo chuckled, mildly impressed. "You're the second one. The monkey saw through me not being a Campione because of his eyes. What about you?"
"What?!"
Lancelot's face paled.
Not a Campione? Ryo Yagami wasn't a godslayer? Impossible! No damn way!
Rama, however, spoke with calm certainty.
"I've fought enough Godslayers to tell whether someone is one or not."
As he said this, he raised his hand to summon his true weapon.
A bolt of crimson-gold lightning descended from the sky and landed in his grasp—his sword, the Divine Sword of Salvation, returning to its master.
With the weapon in hand, Rama's eyes sharpened.
"Compared to the Campiones who merely disrupt history," he said heavily, "you've committed an even greater sin."
"Sin?" Athena scoffed from above, her tone dripping with disdain. "Please. It's just survival of the fittest. Where's the sin in that?"
Rama cast her a sidelong glance and sighed.
"So you're the one aiding this visitor from another world. I never thought your hatred for Steel would drive you to destroy the gods themselves. You've gone too far, Athena."
"Such meaningless words," Athena replied coldly. Her black eyes betrayed no emotion. "They're nothing but illusions. I merely sent them to their end a little sooner."
Faith had created the gods—but faith had also doomed them.
As long as Ryo continued to observe this world, the gods were fated to vanish.
Athena knew that truth all too well. Without Ryo's support, she would have long since been devoured by her stronger self, reduced to nothing but a memory.
Now, what she was doing was simple: delivering vengeance before oblivion claimed them all.
"It seems words won't change your mind," Rama sighed. His gaze returned to Ryo.
At that moment, Ryo pulled out a pocket watch and glanced at it. The hand pointed to "10."
Rama frowned. "That watch…"
But Ryo simply closed it, then gave a regretful shake of his head.
"Too bad. Looks like I can't let you live."
Just as in Demon Slayer, where Muzan had to die, Ryo realized that to observe the world of the Campiones, he needed to eliminate Rama, the final obstacle.
Otherwise, Rama's existence would remain a volatile variable—a living bomb capable of blowing up the entire Little Garden.
He would've preferred to keep him alive. After all, Rama was practically a fusion of divine concepts—Rama, Arthur, and countless other myths. Some even believed he was Jesus.
So basically, if anything went wrong, Rama made the perfect scapegoat.
What a waste.
That regret flickered briefly in Ryo's eyes.
Though, perhaps killing the Bearer of Fate—the one who granted Rama his title as the King of End—could achieve the same result.
Defeat Rama or destroy Fate itself. The ultimate choice.
Ryo's eyes narrowed slightly.
Seeing that, Rama gave a tired smile. "Would you mind dialing back that murderous intent?"
"Oh? You noticed?" Ryo replied with faint amusement.
Rama shook his head, still smiling. "So it's decided. I thought we could talk about it."
He turned to glance at Lancelot and Hanuman, then looked back at Ryo with firm resolve.
"In that case, follow me into the Netherworld. I'd rather our battle not destroy this planet."
"Hmm?"
Ryo raised a brow—and then felt the overwhelming surge of Rama's divine power. His eyes widened slightly.
"I see.."
When he fought Sun Wukong, the blessings channeled through the Covenant ritual had raised the Great Sage to a level comparable to a five-digit being.
But Rama—who was even more attuned to that divine covenant—was on another level entirely.
Though both were technically "five-digit freaks," Rama's energy output was nearly ten times greater.
In raw power, he stood nearly equal to Ryo.
"You could say this is the gods' rage made manifest," Rama said, his voice solemn.
He raised the Divine Sword of Salvation and sliced open the air, creating a rift leading to the Netherworld.
Before stepping through, he turned to his followers and spoke softly: "If I fall… will you at least spare them?"
He knew the odds weren't in his favor. Their earlier clash had already told him that much.
Ryo's eyes flicked toward the two battered gods, and after a brief pause, he nodded.
"Fine. Let's make it official—a gentleman's agreement. No matter who wins, the loser's subordinates won't be hunted down."
"Thanks," Rama said with a weary smile.
He gave his companions one last look, then stepped into the rift.
Behind him, Ryo and Athena exchanged glances.
The silver-haired goddess of wisdom smirked. "Go on, my saint."
"You sure have it easy," Ryo muttered with a crooked grin. "Guess I'm the one risking my neck for you… ah, well. You're worth it."
He laughed under his breath, then dissolved into light and followed Rama into the Netherworld.
.
.
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