Chapter 368: He Could Directly Bestow Upon Her Divine Authority
This before her was likely what was referred to as a holy relic.
When the flesh of the gods crumbled into dust and vanished, occasionally something would remain.
It could be the bones of a god, or some special artifact belonging to a deity—this was a holy relic.
By studying such relics, magicians could potentially harness them as a powerful source, drawing energy from them.
Of course, some individuals might even attempt to use holy relics to summon back to the mortal world gods who had been slain and returned to myth.
After a moment of observation, Erica couldn't resist reaching out to touch it.
It seemed fine, so she tried opening it, only to find the pages completely blank.
Unable to detect any issues, Erica eventually placed it aside and kept a watchful eye on it, not daring to sleep.
She intended to keep watch until her uncle sent someone over.
Of course, she wasn't staring at the book the entire time. Instead, she sat comfortably on her bed, reading some classic novels.
Unfortunately, her eyelids grew increasingly heavy, and she eventually closed her eyes.
Unbeknownst to her in her slumber, her magical energy was being absorbed.
It was absorbed to the point where she almost completely lost control over her body—not that her body was being manipulated, but rather, it felt as if it had been rendered powerless, unable to move.
Perhaps it would be more accurate to describe her current state as being under full-body anesthesia, making it difficult to control her body, almost as if she were paralyzed.
And when a person is fully anesthetized and paralyzed, certain bodily functions may become uncontrollable.
For instance, if she had drunk a lot of water before bed, she would normally wake up once in the middle of the night out of urgency.
But due to the full-body anesthesia-like state, she couldn't perceive it at all.
Thus, morning arrived in the blink of an eye.
"Hmm?"
Erica slowly opened her eyes as she began to wake up.
Why did she feel so unusually weak and listless today? It felt as though even moving a finger required immense effort.
As she pushed aside the covers and was about to get out of bed, she caught sight of something and froze instantly.
Uh, uh, uh, uh, uh—
"Good morning, miss."
"Good morning~"
The sudden, polite greeting prompted an instinctive response from Erica.
The next second, her body stiffened once more, and she immediately turned toward the source of the voice.
Sitting at the desk in her room was a young man with refined features, reading a book about a certain myth that was placed on the desk.
Snapping back to reality, Erica materialized a sword in her hand without hesitation, leaping forward in a burst of motion to thrust the sword toward him.
Of course, she wasn't aiming for a vital spot—just attempting to subdue him.
However—
"Wh-what?"
Erica stared in astonishment as the sword passed through his body as if piercing through a hologram.
So, is this an illusion?
But the eerie part was how the other party was flipping through the book as if they were actually touching it.
"A spirit?"
That must be the case.
But even if it were a spirit, it didn't necessarily mean she couldn't actually touch it.
Just as Erica was about to use a power that could harm spirits, her body suddenly went weak. She stumbled and fell.
Her beautiful eyes glared with a mix of shame and anger at the young man still reading in front of her. The way she had fallen was so undignified, making her look almost like a frog flipped onto its back.
As for why she had suddenly collapsed from weakness, it was because her magical power had been abruptly drained.
Erica's gaze shifted to a book—the same one from yesterday—hanging around his neck like a pendant, now shrunken to the size of a charm.
Her power was being absorbed by it.
In the blink of an eye—
"What is this?"
Now fully dressed, Erica gestured for him to explain the mark on the back of her hand.
She sensed that through this mark, she was connected to him, and that her power was flowing into it, linking to that book.
"It's the mark of our contract. Through this pact, I can draw on your power to sustain my existence."
It was a straightforward explanation.
"How awful, to forcibly take someone's power without a lady's consent,"
Erica grumbled with resentment.
Of course, if the person before her were an ordinary man, she would have already scolded him with the full force of her noble temper.
But being self-aware, she understood what this entity might be and wasn't foolish enough to provoke him.
He was likely the Plague Knight from yesterday who had nearly been destroyed.
Although he had successfully descended from myth to the mortal world, was he really so weak that he needed her magical power to sustain himself?
Despite his apparent frailty, Erica remained cautious and refrained from acting recklessly.
After all, how could she be sure that he had only tampered with her body to drain her power? What if there were other hidden consequences?
"Aside from draining my magical power, are there any other costs?"
"None. If I had to say, if I draw too much, your body might feel paralyzed, possibly causing you to... draw a world map on your bedsheet. I must say, it's quite worldly."
Erica's face turned as red as a boiled octopus, and her slender shoulders trembled slightly.
Her gaze was sharp enough to kill, as if she could pierce him through with a thousand holes.
"Don't worry, I'm not taking your power for nothing. In return, you have two choices."
"Two choices?"
"Yes. The mark on your hand can also be considered a mandatory spell. You can use it to issue three absolute commands to me."
Alice's eyes lit up at this, and a sly smile curled at the corners of her lips as a mischievous idea formed in her mind.
"Then I choose—"
Her voice cut off abruptly. In her eagerness to get back at him, she had almost forgotten that there were two options. She needed to hear the other one first.
"Are you choosing the absolute commands?"
"No."
"Then it's the second option?"
"No, explain everything clearly first."
"The second option is that you can obtain a god's authority."
This choice caused Erica's pupils to contract sharply as she stared at the other in astonishment.
Obtaining a god's authority—such a thing could only be achieved by Campiones who risked their lives to slay gods and seize it.
Yet she could obtain divine authority so easily merely by paying the price of providing magical energy?
...
Plague Knight—this was the ability of the character Renji could utilize.
He didn't need to role-play to activate the card's ability but could use it from the very beginning. Through remnants left behind by this world's God of the Bible, he had directly taken over the role of this world's Plague Knight.
In fact, Plague Knight could also be considered an incarnation of this world's God of the Bible.
However, using this character also came with issues—it wasn't entirely convenient, especially since activating the Noble Phantasm had its own conditions.
Moreover, bestowing so-called divine authority was merely one form of blessing among the skills.
But this divine authority wasn't something he could casually grant—it too required certain conditions.
Thus, after presenting the option of granting [divine authority], the golden-haired young lady before him—who possessed extraordinary beauty despite being only fifteen—became visibly shaken.
As for the Command Spells he mentioned, they indeed existed.
He hadn't expected to be surrounded immediately after arriving.
After narrowly escaping through various means and almost being annihilated or expelled, he had urgently adopted a method similar to maintaining Servants from the Fate world.
"Divine authority?"
Erica murmured somewhat dazedly.
Even though she was usually composed, even when facing a Heretic God's beast for the first time, hearing such a proposal visibly shook her delicate features, revealing clear desire.
After all, it was divine authority. Obtaining a god's authority would mean she'd be equal to those Campiones, right?
"Will you choose the divine authority?"
"Ah?"
Snapping back to reality, Erica looked at his smiling expression, feeling slightly embarrassed as she quickly reined in her emotions.
Showing such obvious desire was rather shameful.
"A-are there any costs?"
Erica still found it hard to believe things could be so easy, suspecting there must be some price.
Of course, her question might be pointless—if there were problems or costs, the other party might simply choose to lie and claim there were none.
"The cost is just you providing me with magical energy."
"That's all?"
"Correct."
Erica's eyes flickered as she considered this.
Suddenly remembering something, her tender lips parted slightly.
"Is this divine authority permanently bestowed upon me?"
This was a crucial question.
Would it become unusable after their contract ended, or when he returned to myth, or if they separated too far?
"It will be permanently bestowed upon you, becoming yours alone."
These words made Erica's desire surge even higher.
Calm down, Erica. Don't get so excited. Don't let excitement override your rationality—that's not good.
"What kind of authority is it?"
She asked in a seemingly calm voice, though traces of excitement still colored her tone.
"That's currently unknown."
"Huh?"
Erica was taken aback. What did he mean by "I don't know"?
"Wh-what do you mean, you don't know?"
"Because there are currently no divine authorities I can give you."
"..."
The corner of Erica's mouth twitched. Was he messing with her?
"My own abilities cannot be granted to you, but I can bestow upon you the authorities possessed by other gods."
So that's how it was.
"So, the divine authority you're going to give me—you can't determine which god it will come from?"
"No."
"Huh?"
"I can designate which god's authority to grant you."
"Then?"
"The prerequisite is that I've killed that god."
"..."
Erica fell silent again. She understood now—the guy before her was giving her an empty promise.
She almost couldn't resist rolling her eyes at him.
How could he possibly slay a god when he needed her to provide power just to maintain his existence?
"But now, there's an opportunity. He should be arriving soon."
What? What did he mean by "he's arriving soon"?
Suddenly, the light around them visibly dimmed at a rapid pace.
Sensing something, Erica immediately walked to the window, opened it, and looked outside. She saw an apocalyptic scene—thick, leaden black clouds that seemed capable of crushing an entire city were rolling in.
No, those weren't clouds. As Erica discerned what they truly were, her delicate body trembled.
They were actually dense swarms of locusts!!!
This had to be a joke. How could there be so many locusts? Moreover, locusts shouldn't appear in this region at this time of year.
One thing was clear: these locusts were the embodiment of a Heretic God, advancing toward them.
Was he the one who attracted them?
When Heretic Gods encounter each other in the mortal world, they almost always fight until one is defeated.
So, which Heretic God was this?
Which myth featured a deity with a locust incarnation?
Before Erica could figure it out—
"I sense it! That detestable aura! The vile presence that defiled this old one into a demon!!!"
The roar, filled with furious killing intent, shook the very atmosphere.
Following these words, terrifying thunderclaps erupted within the black clouds.
The locust swarm, originally gathered like clouds, now appeared to have transformed into genuine storm clouds, crackling with lightning.
Splash, splash, splash...!
A torrential downpour instantly poured down, pounding the earth heavily and striking Erica's delicate face.
Her face paled with terror as her frightened gaze caught a rugged silhouette illuminated by flashes of lightning within the clouds.
"Boom!"
Another thunderclap roared, turning the world white, and her vision was flooded with blinding light.
When her sight returned to normal, Erica nearly collapsed, for a distinct figure now stood in the courtyard less than twenty meters from the house.
It was a giant of a man with disheveled hair, half his face buried in a thick beard, and muscles that seemed ready to explode.
Though he wore crude, rough-spun clothing, he appeared magnificently divine and imposing, his body radiating an aura of terror that made Erica's legs tremble.
This was the true divine presence of a Heretic God!!!
"Found you!!!"
His low voice thundered in her ears like a blast, leaving her dizzy and disoriented.
The Heretic God was staring straight at her—no, at the one standing behind her.
So, who was this Heretic God?
Erica had already guessed his identity and understood the reason for his sudden, overwhelming rage.