World of Campione!, central Mediterranean Sea, Port of Sardinia.
A massive shockwave swept through the city, reducing the modern metropolis to rubble in an instant. The sea at the port churned with colossal waves.
To an ordinary person, it would look like a natural disaster.
But if anyone from the world of magic were present, they would surely see that this so-called natural disaster was merely a storm kicked up by a gigantic boar, over twenty meters long.
Its wrathful, tyrannical posture and sinewy strength fit the name "god" far better than any clay idol or wooden statue in a temple.
Fortunately, this boar was not a true god, but a Divine Beast—a being one tier below a Heretic God.
Unfortunately, even a Divine Beast was far beyond what an ordinary mage could handle.
Though, a moment ago, Erica had been unwilling to admit that.
"Damn it! A Divine Beast... is this strong?!"
Staring at the enraged Divine Beast Boar, Erica struggled to her feet, not daring to relax for a second.
A short while ago, she had received a call from her uncle, Saint Paul, reporting a suspected Heretic God appearance on Sardinia and asking her to investigate.
With her strength as a Great Knight, a reconnaissance mission like this was well within her capabilities.
However, her uncle clearly didn't understand the drive of the youth.
Erica, a genius since childhood, felt that such a mission was looking down on her. She decided to ramp up the difficulty for herself.
For example, by slaying a Heretic God and becoming a God-Slayer.
Perhaps it was because the only God-Slayer she knew was an idiot like the Sword King, but her reverence for them was lower than that of the average European mage.
If that brainless beast can succeed in slaying a god, why can't I?
With such thoughts, she went directly to the epicenter of the disaster. When she discovered the culprit was not a Heretic God but a Divine Beast, she wasn't disappointed.
"Well, I can use a Divine Beast as a warm-up before I try slaying a god!"
That's what Erica had thought at the time.
It wasn't her fault for being overconfident. After purchasing the Master Edition mana refinement technique from Su Mo, her strength had indeed taken a significant leap forward. While she hadn't reached the level of a Paladin, she was much stronger than before.
At her previous strength, she would have at most tried to stall the creature. Now that she had gotten stronger, her ambitions had naturally grown.
My Paladin uncle can hold off six Divine Beasts. Taking on one shouldn't be a problem for me, right?
With this simple thought, Erica found the Divine Beast Boar, Erica charged, Erica prepared her victory speech, and then...
Erica got GG'd in a flash.
BOOM!
She was hit directly by the shockwave, her body smashed into the ruins of a building.
Clearly, she did not understand the gap between herself and a Divine Beast—the gap between Tier 1 and Tier 2. To make matters worse, even among Divine Beasts, this particular boar was one of the strongest, on par with a top-tier dragon or serpent.
In fact, if Erica hadn't gotten stronger, she might not have been attacked so fiercely. In the Divine Beast Boar's eyes, a mere Great Knight was nothing but a mayfly.
But she just had to go and get several times stronger, with her hostility so blatant. In the boar's eyes, she had evolved from an ant into an annoying mosquito.
The Divine Beast Boar, the very embodiment of wrath, could not tolerate such an existence and immediately took the initiative to attack.
It was only thanks to her newfound strength and a timely defensive spell from the Council of Elders that she managed to survive the blow at all.
"This is bad!"
After forcing her nearly shattered body to stand, Erica suddenly realized something even more terrifying awaited her than a failed subjugation attempt.
The Divine Beast Boar's slightly reddened eyes and its constantly shifting, restless hooves.
That posture, no matter how she looked at it, seemed to say it had completely locked onto her and was about to eradicate her root and stem.
I just poked you in the nose! Do you really have to hold such a grudge?
Feeling the mortal danger and the overwhelming power difference between a Divine Beast and a regular being, Erica realized with despair that she had almost no way to break the current deadlock.
After growing stronger with the technique Su Mo had given her, she now had a thirty percent chance of successfully casting the Sacred Banishing Words, a spell she previously had little confidence in.
If she could successfully use this Sanctuary-level magic, she would gain the Sacred Annihilation Prerogative, an authority capable of harming even a Heretic God. With this prerogative, she could definitely inflict effective damage on the Divine Beast.
The problem was, the Divine Beast Boar was massive, and she was tiny.
Fighting the boar with this magic would be like challenging a Green Dragon Crescent Blade with an embroidery needle.
Even if you can kill me, I can still prick you once...
Isn't that just suicide?
Decisively abandoning such a self-destructive tactic, she chose to swallow her pride.
No matter how Rin would mock her afterward, she had to call for help when she needed it.
And so...
"Lord Su Mo, help meeeeeee!"
In the chat group, seeing Erica's cry of anguish, Rin's heart skipped a beat.
Rin Tohsaka: "What's going on, Erica? What kind of danger are you in?"
At this critical moment, she was genuinely worried about her friend.
Kanae: "Erica! Describe the situation first, so Mr. Su Mo can make a judgment."
Kanae: "If there's anything we can do to help, please don't hesitate to ask!"
Madoka: "Mhm, if we can help Erica-oneechan, just say the word!"
Erica's good rapport with the group paid off, as everyone offered their help.
Before everyone could chime in, Su Mo, who had just finished his epiphany, also appeared.
Su Mo: "Crisis type, level, acceptable response time. Report everything."
Su Mo: "@Erica."
Unlike the others, Su Mo's words were devoid of superfluous comfort—calm and efficient.
Seeing the concern from the others, a warm feeling washed over Erica. The little sisters in the group really are good kids.
But upon seeing Su Mo's inquiry, for some reason, almost everyone in the group felt an inexplicable sense of security.
Erica immediately began her report.
Erica: "Encountered an enemy. It's a Divine Beast, power level Tier 2! It has me completely locked on, I can't escape!"
Erica: "As for the acceptable response time... ten!"
Rin Tohsaka: "Ten minutes?"
Seeing Erica's message cut off mid-sentence, Rin breathed a sigh of relief. If that was the case, it wasn't too bad. There should be time to discuss a strategy. With the wisdom Su Mo had shown, at the very least, he could help Erica find a way to escape, right?
But to her surprise, Erica's reply followed immediately.
Erica: "Nine!"
Erica: "Eight!"
Rin Tohsaka: "..."
So you were counting down from the start?!