Tension. Humiliation. Plain as day.
Just seconds ago, she was the picture of confidence and strength—
Now, not even twenty seconds later, she looked like a mess.
Her earlier pride and arrogance were nowhere to be seen.
If shame could kill, Erica would've already jumped off the nearest rooftop.
"You okay?"
Thankfully, Hajime wasn't the type to mock a girl in this situation.
Especially not one who'd charged in out of a sense of duty and public protection.
He didn't see anything laughable about that.
He extended a hand and helped her up.
"Uh... I'm fine."
Seeing he didn't tease her, Erica replied awkwardly.
"I didn't expect that beast to be that strong..."
Yeah, it was humiliating.
But since he was nice enough to not bring up her earlier bravado, she was willing to pretend it didn't happen either.
Despite being flung hundreds of meters, she hadn't taken a direct hit—just the shockwave. So she wasn't seriously hurt.
"That boar is one of the avatars of Verethragna—the war god of the Zoroastrian faith," Hajime explained. "It's a direct manifestation of divine authority. Of course it's stronger than the average divine beast."
Elrica's eyes widened in disbelief.
"Verethragna, the war god...? You mean... this isn't just a divine beast—there's a Heretic god involved?!"
Her face turned pale.
Earlier, she'd still had dreams—thinking that maybe, just maybe, she could slay a god and become a Campione herself.
But her humiliating defeat at the hands of the boar crushed all those illusions.
Reality had hit her like a truck.
If she couldn't even fight an avatar, how could she ever stand against the real thing?
"This timing... of all times..."
Despair crept into her voice.
"The King of Swords is in Antarctica... The Norse Wolf King is missing... The North American one's busy guarding the West Coast... And no way to contact the others... There's not a single Campione around!"
Only a Campione—a godslayer—could stand against rogue gods.
And now, not a single one could be reached.
The hero meant to protect this region had gone off on an expedition.
By the time he came back, the whole city might be wiped out.
Maybe even the whole island.
But Hajime didn't panic.
Instead, he scanned the area with a puzzled expression.
"Wait... If Verethragna was planning to reclaim this avatar, why did he stop after just the [Wind] one was defeated?"
He'd seen it with his own eyes—[Wind] had been taken out by the [Boar].
And he was sure it was Verethragna's doing.
If the war god had gone that far, there was no reason to back off now.
Especially someone like Verethragna, who thrived on victory and battle.
[Boar] would never stand a chance against its master.
So if it wasn't because the boar was too strong…
Then maybe—
"He left the boar here on purpose, because Erica tried to fight it?"
Hajime couldn't help but wonder.
Since ancient times, there had always been tales of gods testing mortals and rewarding those who passed.
He didn't know much about divine personalities, but for a war god who loved battle...
This theory actually made sense.
"So this boar is a trial left behind by a god, huh…"
Hajime smiled to himself.
Well then—
Let's see what happens when I take that trial.
Whether his theory was correct could be easily verified—he only needed to take down the divine beast in front of him.
Even if that wasn't the real reason, since he was gathering ten incarnations, he couldn't sit by while the boar was hunted.
Either way, this situation would surely force Verethragna, who was hiding nearby, to show himself.
With that in mind, Hajime moved into action.
He activated his magic, and his entire body turned into a beam of light.
"Wait! Don't be reckless! That divine beast is really powerful!"
Seeing Hajime's movement, Erica immediately guessed his intention and tried to stop him. But she had no way to catch up to his speed.
In a blink, Hajime vanished and reappeared next to the divine beast boar.
"So fast!"
Erica's pupils constricted in shock. He had transformed his body directly into light—this magic was very similar to the authority [Ramiel Authorities: Black Lightning] used by the God Slayer, the Black Prince Alec. However, Alec had stolen that power from a god and transformed into lightning, whereas this man used magic to become light itself.
"What is this man's background to wield magic of this caliber?"
Despite her shock, Erica couldn't help but feel a bit of anticipation. If he was this powerful, then maybe—
Not far away, the divine beast boar, seeing Hajime appear before it, began gathering energy and unleashed another mountain-shattering shockwave. Though not as strong as the one it had used against the incarnation of [Wind], it was still far more powerful than what Erica had endured.
The shockwave enveloped the area around Hajime, clearly aiming to prevent any escape.
But Hajime had no intention of running.
Before the blast landed, he constructed a defensive spell.
"[Three Pillar Gods!]"
A massive magic circle opened beneath his feet, and three cylindrical formations rose up to enclose the space in divine protection.
The shockwave struck, gouging a huge crater in the earth.
Cracks began to form in the defense, but it held for now.
Taking advantage of the moment, Hajime brought his hands together and activated a powerful spell.
"[Fairy Law!]"
A giant magic circle, dozens of meters wide, appeared in the sky. Blinding light briefly drove away the darkness. This was the kind of battle between Saints that altered the heavens—a clear demonstration of that truth.
The holy light rained down like arrows, delivering divine punishment upon the monstrous boar that had destroyed half a city.
Anyone who didn't know better might have thought a god had descended to punish evil.
But only those like Erica in the world of magic understood—the truth was the opposite.
This was humanity fighting back against the gods.