"Hmph."
"Having lost his reason and left with only instinct, the so-called King of Gods is nothing more than a brainless beast."
Diablo easily gained the upper hand in his battle with Zeus.
As for Zeus—
After a final burst of light, his aura began to wane, and he was ultimately struck down by Diablo's sword, severing his arm and casting him back to the mortal world.
"Boom!!!"
Without giving Zeus a chance to rise, Diablo plummeted rapidly, then impaled his body with a sword, pinning him firmly to the earth.
"Rin!!!"
Zeus had already lost the ability to resist.
Now was the perfect time.
"You've worked hard."
Rin's figure appeared beside Diablo. Without hesitation, he took the sword of dawn offered by Diablo and simply cut off Zeus's head.
There was no exchange, no need for mutual appreciation between heroes.
To Rin, the Heretic God of this world was merely prey he had marked, a usable resource.
Would you feel affection for a piece of meat?
Don't be ridiculous.
Rin casually returned the sword of dawn to Diablo.
He watched the remains of Zeus dissipate into golden particles, then closed his eyes, beginning to sense the transformation brought by the circle of usurpation.
Logically speaking, becoming a Campione wasn't supposed to be so simple.
Like a veteran guiding a rookie.
The former cripples a Heretic God, the latter finishes it, and becomes a Campione.
Such a scenario would never be acknowledged by the circle of usurpation.
In fact, according to the rules of the circle of usurpation, without achieving a miracle, the ritual left by Pandora to usurp the power of a Heretic God could not be triggered at all.
In other words, Rin would not have been able to obtain Zeus's power this way.
But.
That was only for the people of the Campione World.
What did their outdated rules have to do with him?
"Violet."
Others needed the circle of usurpation to become Campione, but did Rin need such a cumbersome thing?
No, he didn't.
He had Violet.
The moment the god-slaying was complete, Violet had already analyzed the circle of usurpation and turned it into her own.
"This is the triumphant song of the Campione, boasting of the Authorities usurped from the gods."
"This is the defiance of one born human yet becoming an earthly demon king, standing against the gods they consider enemies."
"This is the fierce will to seize the Authority of the god one has slain."
"Oh, gods of the heavens, hear my spiritual words, and rage at the death of your humiliated kin."
"Oh, gods of the earth, hear my spiritual words, and curse the tyranny of the Campione you shall one day face."
"Oh, gods of the sea, hear my spiritual words, and weep and sigh for the tragic song from which you cannot escape."
"I am the enemy of the gods."
"I am the Usurper of divine power, the beast that slays gods."
Like a sacred hymn, the chant echoed through the high heavens as Violet activated the circle of usurpation.
The dark clouds dispersed, the hellfire began to fade, and light returned to the mortal world.
Only that lone figure remained, standing on the wasteland, back facing all living beings.
Unlike other Campiones, Rin did not fall unconscious, nor did he enter the Immortal Realm to meet the loli goddess named Pandora.
Yes, although the result was the same, and Rin obtained Authority from Zeus,
He had no relation to Pandora whatsoever.
Even if he were to call someone 'mother,' it would be Violet.
After all, it was Violet who presided over the usurpation ritual and granted Zeus's power to Rin in the form of Authority.
"Hoo..."
Rin clenched his fist. He didn't immediately check the Authority he gained, but focused on the changes in his body.
First of all, the benefits of becoming a Campione went far beyond simply gaining Authority.
Rather, Authority was merely the software installed by a Campione.
What truly reflected the difference between an earthly demon king and an ordinary human was the hardware.
"Humans who become Campiones automatically acquire the Thousand Words, gain night vision, their flesh becomes incredibly tough, their bones are harder than any alloy in the world, muscle fibers difficult to tear, bleeding stops instantly, and pain sensation dulls..."
"Additionally, a Campione's body contains hundreds of times the magicules of an ordinary magician. As long as they strengthen the magicule flow within their body, they can ignore external magic, and wide-area magic is automatically nullified."
"At the same time, Campiones possess extremely high resistance to magic. Both beneficial and harmful effects are repelled. Only by directly injecting magic (or potions) into the body through mouth-to-mouth contact can it take effect temporarily."
"Not only that."
Rin carefully sensed the enhancements gained by becoming a Campione. "No matter who the opponent is, a path to victory can always be found."
This miraculous talent was exactly why Campiones were so difficult to deal with.
"Whether it's knight swordsmanship, Chinese martial arts, magic, or mystic arts, any skill can be mastered instantly with just a bit of effort."
Campiones also possessed terrifying learning abilities, which was the fundamental reason they could continuously explore and develop their Authorities.
In short, the benefits of becoming a Campione were nearly equivalent to the Awakening of a Demon Lord in the Cardinal World.
If the Authority, which was comparable to an Ultimate Skill, was included, it might even surpass that of an ordinary Awakened Demon Lord.
"Authority: In the Name of the Father."
Spiritual Words: Before heaven and earth took form, what enveloped all and filled the universe was one form, now named Chaos.
Oh Earth, oh Abyss, oh Love, oh Darkness, oh Night. Gods born from all things in heaven and earth that you nurtured, all shall kneel before me!
I am the one who wields the Authority of Olympus. I am the Father of all gods.
Here, In the Name of the Father, I command the gods.
"In the Name of the Father?"
Rin had originally thought he would usurp Authority related to judgment, thunder, the sky, or storms from Zeus.
But the result far exceeded his expectations.
The Authority "In the Name of the Father" wasn't merely elemental manipulation, but a divine proclamation.
Simply put, it was all-encompassing, almost omnipotent.
When using this Authority, Rin would take the form of the King of Ice Gods, seated upon the Olympian throne, issuing commands to the gods, and forcibly invoking their Authorities...
(To be continued.)
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◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)