Though perhaps a bit irreverent, Erica's inner thoughts weren't too far off from Verethragna's.
Especially Verethragna's line—'mere dragon-serpent'—had truly rocked Erica's world for a whole year.
So, the 'Lord Lancelot' she served was not only a Goddess and Steel, but also a dragon-serpent?
How could one being cover all the categories?
Well... the 'Steel' aspect might still need verification, but judging by that suit of armor, it was pretty much a given.
"This title was bestowed upon me by His Majesty," Melusine replied casually.
Unaware of the others' thoughts, she was only amused by the attack Verethragna had just launched at her. "Your speed seems quite impressive as well. You've piqued my interest a little."
"More than just fast," Verethragna maintained his smile.
"I am the strongest, the one who grasps Victory. In every aspect, I have never known defeat."
"The strongest?"
Raising an eyebrow slightly, Melusine shifted into an acceleration stance.
"That is a statement I cannot simply let pass."
"Oh? Then let us have a proper contest," Verethragna matched her tone without backing down.
However, he was already contemplating how to handle this unimaginable speed.
The [Raptor] allowed him to consistently outpace his opponent, but this power also subjected him to unimaginable agony at every moment.
Moreover, since he could only use one incarnation at a time, it left him with close-quarters combat as his sole means of attack.
It wasn't that he couldn't use magic aside from his authorities, but... were you really suggesting using magic against a dragon-kind?
Their physical resistance might vary, but their magic resistance was always maxed out.
"Two insolent fools!" Melqart was practically furious now.
These two were carrying on their own powerful dialogue, completely excluding him from the picture.
Without a second thought, towering waves rose from beneath his feet, enveloping his entire form.
Simultaneously, his body transformed into an all-consuming storm, with hundreds upon thousands of lightning bolts scattering from his storm-wrought frame, forcing Melusine and Verethragna to momentarily evade.
"First water, now storms—there has to be a limit to this headache!" Melusine found the hulking figure ahead exceedingly troublesome.
It wasn't that she lacked means to deal with large opponents, but such chaotic battlefields did little for her mood.
"As expected of the ancient Phoenician God-King. Rather than watching tigers fight from a mountain, you place greater importance on the dignity of a superior being," Verethragna's brow furrowed as well.
This chaotic melee was not the domain his current manifestation excelled in.
More importantly, the fighting styles of the two opponents were too different.
To defeat Melqart, he would have to abandon the [Raptor] and use an incarnation with greater destructive power and specificity.
But each of his incarnations could only be used once per day. Abandoning the [Raptor] would mean temporarily forfeiting his qualification to fight that 'Lancelot'.
Unless he could find a way to limit her speed.
If he dragged things out, the side effects of the [Raptor] would only grow worse.
He couldn't afford to wait for these two to decide their fight first, nor did he wish to simply hand his opponent over.
"Lancelot," Verethragna turned his gaze to Melusine.
"Shall we postpone our decisive battle? As the opponent I have long since chosen, I should first respond to Melqart's... enthusiasm."
"Why trouble with that? You two can come at me together," Melusine said with a placid expression.
"Isn't the best way for the weak to oppose the strong to band together?"
Even though they already knew this dragon-serpent with steel attributes was incredibly arrogant, both Verethragna and Melqart couldn't help but be angered into bitter laughter.
One of them stood at the pinnacle of his own mythos, the other an undefeated, ever-victorious god of war.
And here was some dragon-serpent, whose true nature was unknown, having the audacity to flaunt such arrogance right in their faces?
In mythology, dragon-serpents were bottom-tier existences.
If goddesses were beings looked down upon and suppressed by male gods, then dragon-serpents were those who huddled together with goddesses for warmth, even groveling before them. And this pure bottom-feeder was acting without any bounds at all.
Although the strength of a Heretic God wasn't solely determined by myth, but also by personal will and self-perception, both Verethragna and Melqart felt profoundly insulted and incensed.
"If you put it that way, I have no issue disposing of our sworn enemy first," Verethragna said, and without hesitation, he materialized a giant sword and swung it at Melusine.
Seeing this, Melqart also ceased his hesitation.
After all, what Verethragna said held truth.
As a dragon-serpent, she was inherently an object of contempt for male gods, a target to be slain by steel heroes.
Moreover, this was originally his and Verethragna's battle; this 'Lancelot' had inserted herself into the fray of her own accord.
Striking down this annoying third party first—there was nothing wrong with that.
With that thought, the myriad lightning bolts ceased their aimless scattering.
Instead, following Verethragna's movements, they crashed down upon Melusine as one.
The combined assault of the two caused no trace of panic in Melusine. Even the lightning seemed to crawl at a snail's pace in her eyes.
Even though Verethragna, leveraging his speed, intentionally tried to pin her down, the gap was too vast for it to be effective.
But soon, Verethragna realized something was amiss.
In terms of speed, he was faster.
Due to the authority of the [Raptor], he was necessarily swifter than his opponent.
No matter how much she accelerated, he would always be one step ahead.
Yet... as the combat speed and rhythm gradually intensified, Verethragna was shocked to discover that even if he could react to her speed, he was somehow failing to keep up with her movements.
This wasn't merely a matter of speed!
Every action should have a follow-through, a recovery motion, because movement possesses inertia.
Therefore, one cannot commit full force, or else a huge opening would appear during the recovery.
But after less than three seconds and thousands of exchanges, Verethragna found that his opponent was completely unaffected by this common sense.
Regardless of the action, she could ignore inertia, changing direction arbitrarily without the slightest delay.
There was no deceleration in shifting techniques, no slowdown in turning or circling—her movements remained in a state of constant, smooth acceleration!
This was no longer just about speed!
As the two accelerated faster and faster, inertia and resistance also expanded continuously.
At this point, Verethragna could no longer freely switch between offense and defense at will.
Even his heart and flesh simultaneously transmitted an agony intense enough to make a god writhe.
Realizing that not even the [Raptor] could erase the disparity in their speeds, and that his opponent's velocity had reached an unimaginable level, Verethragna felt only terror.
Now, he was in a predicament with no easy way out.
The relentless acceleration meant he couldn't even switch incarnations. In the split second of changing forms, his opponent, with her current speed, could cut him down instantly.
Was the defeat he had sought yet never found about to manifest here and now?
Melqart was also stunned by the astonishing speed of the two.
His eyes could no longer capture the details of their offensive and defensive exchanges, unable to discern which side held the advantage.
His lightning, no matter how fast, couldn't accurately lock onto that 'Lancelot's' form, leaving him utterly incapable of intervening in the current battle.
"Melqart!" Verethragna's shout made Melqart realize the dire turn of the battle.
If he disregarded targeting, he could blanket the entire sky with lightning, striking both indiscriminately.
His hesitation stemmed from the fact that lightning belonged to 'heat,' which strongly countered steel.
Although that dragon-serpent possessed the concept of steel, Verethragna's steel concept was clearly far stronger than hers.
However, now was not the time for hesitation.
With that thought, Melqart unhesitatingly commanded the lightning, engulfing both figures completely in a blaze of blue-white radiance.
--+--
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.