"Human?"
Melqart's eyes fell upon the golden-haired girl, who was but an insignificant speck to him, his face etched with displeasure at the interruption of his fervor.
"To dare disturb a battle between deities, thou art far too presumptuous."
"Now, now, no need to rush," Verethragna, in the form of a young man, still wore a calm smile, unlike Melqart.
"Compared to a fight that can start anytime, shouldn't we hear out what this human—who possesses such courage and conviction—intends to say?"
Melqart laughed in sheer irritation.
"A trespasser who disturbed my slumber dares to tell me to be patient?"
Wasn't it you who eagerly charged over here in the first place?
Melqart couldn't be bothered with either of them.
Swinging one of his clubs, the Chaser, he hurled it straight at Verethragna not far away, only for it to be blocked momentarily by a crimson magical array before Verethragna effortlessly dodged the blow.
"Human!?"
This time, Melqart's rage was fully ignited. His eyes, glowing with an eerie light, snapped toward Erica standing on the shore.
"Please forgive my offense, God Melqart!" Cold sweat broke out on Erica's forehead.
This pressure... is this what a true Heretic God is like?
She couldn't help but compare it to the 'Sir Lancelot' she had interacted with for over a day, feeling a twinge of absurdity at her earlier notion that 'gods could be reasoned with.'
Melqart clearly regarded her as nothing more than an ant.
Even Verethragna, who had spoken up for her, hadn't truly taken her seriously—his interest in hearing her out was merely a fleeting whim, something he found amusing.
Capricious and utterly self-centered—that was the nature of Heretic Gods.
But she couldn't retreat now.
"The clash between you two will cause catastrophic damage! The people on this island... no, the entire island itself will be destroyed by your battle!"
In truth, Erica had little confidence she could actually persuade these two gods. But doing nothing was something her conscience couldn't bear. "I beg for your mercy!"
"Unfortunately, this place has already become our battlefield for a decisive duel," Verethragna replied with a smile.
"Though your courage is commendable, to halt a god, one must wield power equal to that courage."
"Or are you prepared to stop us at the cost of your life? If so, in honor of your bravery, I would be willing to cease our battle for half a day."
Hearing this, even Melqart, whose fury had been stoked from the moment he emerged, now turned his gaze toward this young human.
As a God-King, he too possessed a degree of magnanimity.
While an ant wasn't worth a second glance, this human had reached the pinnacle of what humanity could achieve.
A 'hero' of this caliber was still worthy of his attention.
More importantly, if his opponent was displaying such tolerance, he couldn't afford to be outdone.
Seeing the attitudes of both gods, Erica understood they were waiting for her choice. And if given a choice, hers required no hesitation.
Even half a day would be enough to save countless lives.
With that thought, Erica took a deep breath, knelt on one knee, drew the slender sword from her waist, and placed it against her own neck.
"Thank you for your mercy, honored gods."
She didn't doubt that the gods would deceive her.
Thus, without a moment's hesitation, she swung the blade toward her head.
Clang!
An overwhelming gust of wind pressure, impossible to ignore, instantly made it difficult for Erica to maintain her posture.
Fortunately, her slender sword was clamped tightly by something unseen, preventing her from being blown away as she gripped it.
Yet this sudden anomaly left her stunned.
"To sacrifice oneself without hesitation for the lives of others—as a knight, nothing could be nobler."
A familiar voice sounded beside her ear, snapping Erica back to awareness as she looked to her side.
It was a figure she knew well, though now the frilly dress was gone, replaced by blue armor engraved with magical runes.
Three fingers pressed firmly against her slender sword, steady and unwavering.
"As my knight, you have exceeded my expectations beyond measure."
"Sir Lancelot...?"
Erica realized he must have been aware of the situation here all along, simply choosing not to reveal himself immediately.
"Lancelot...? The knight from Britain?"
Hearing the name Erica called out, both Verethragna and Melqart wore odd expressions.
From what they knew... even if Lancelot wasn't male, he should at least be human, right? The being before them was clearly not human.
(A/N: Though the Arthurian legends of this world were crafted tales, they had become true epics, even influencing their own authors. King Arthur had been summoned before and was slain by Alexander.)
But whether human or not mattered little.
"So there is a third god here," Verethragna's smile widened slightly.
"It seems I need not worry about lacking opponents... though I wonder if you can grant me the true defeat I seek."
"Enough of your soliloquizing, brat!" Repeatedly interrupted, even Melqart's famed tolerance had its limits. "Since you dare show yourselves here, I shall send you both back to myth together!"
"Protect yourself," Melusine stepped in front of Erica. "This will be over quickly."
"Arrogant, mere dragon-serpent."
Verethragna's smile twisted into a snarl as a bolt of lightning as thick as a person crashed from the sky to the ground.
But Melusine had already vanished from her spot.
So fast!? x3
Before Verethragna could react, a hard, razor-sharp blade attached to a fist came swinging straight for his head.
In less than a blink, a golden light flashed over Verethragna's body.
His reflexes and speed surged to a level that even he found astonishing, allowing him to narrowly evade the attack and reappear dozens of meters away.
"Oh? You dodged that?" Melusine showed a flicker of surprise.
Verethragna, however, was no longer smiling.
That was one of his Ten Incarnations—the Seventh, the Raptor.
When faced with a swift attack from an opponent, it granted him agility and leaping power surpassing theirs, enabling three-dimensional movement.
The cost was immense strain on his body, with sharp chest pain during activation and intense heartache corresponding to the duration of use.
Though it carried the limitation of 'only usable against high-speed attacks,' that was hardly a concern here.
The only issue was... this ability wasn't meant to be used so freely.
And judging by his opponent's demeanor, that earlier speed clearly wasn't her limit.
And... was she flying now?
"Just what about you resembles Lancelot?"
Feeling the blood boiling within him, Verethragna finally allowed a smile to return to his face.
An opponent like this... might truly be able to grant him the defeat he so ardently desired.
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.