Group Mission Returns!

Under the watchful eyes of everyone in the live stream, Erica swung her right hand upward, her red ceremonial dress transforming into a more combat-suited outfit. She began chanting a long incantation:

"Come forth, O lion of steel!

You, who embody the heart of a lion and the essence of battle, heed my call and answer with courage!"

As Erica recited her chant, a red magic circle appeared before her, and at its center, a silver lion's head materialized. As she continued the incantation, the lion's mouth opened wider.

"I, Erica Blandelli, knight of valor and honor, swear by my courage to answer your loyalty with my sword!"

With a quick dash, Erica thrust her hand into the lion's open mouth, pulling out a slender silver sword. The blade shimmered, reflecting the faint rain, making it glow with a soft, silver light.

Holding the sword, her eyes sharpened as she glanced at the distant figures of the two Heretic Gods, Verethragna and Melqart. Without hesitation, she shouted, "Let the duel begin, Cuore di Leone!"

With that, she sprinted toward the battlefield, where Verethragna and Melqart were locked in a godly standoff. Meanwhile, Eriri remained comfortably seated on her chair, watching Erica's actions with interest.

The two Heretic Gods, Verethragna and Melqart, initially ignored Erica, considering her an insignificant human. Even as she entered the battlefield, neither paid her much attention.

However, Erica was undeterred. She swung her silver sword, and a red beam of energy shot out from the blade, speeding toward Verethragna. Yet, when it reached him, a golden shield appeared around his body, effortlessly deflecting the attack.

"How dare a mere human interfere in the affairs of gods!" Melqart, the giant god, bellowed angrily. His voice echoed across the battlefield, though Verethragna remained silent.

"A bold move, knight. However, I must remind you to consider the gravity of the situation," Verethragna spoke calmly, his gaze fixed on Erica as he summoned a bolt of blue lightning and shot it toward her.

Seeing the incoming lightning, Erica instinctively dodged, narrowly avoiding the attack. The lightning struck the spot where she had been standing moments before. Unfazed, Verethragna sent several more bolts in her direction, but Erica's enhanced speed allowed her to evade them with relative ease.

Her strength, now at the level of a holy knight, was far beyond what she had before. After dodging the last of Verethragna's attacks, Erica pointed her sword at him and boldly declared, "Verethragna, today, I, Erica Blandelli, will bring about your defeat!"

Hearing her words, Verethragna burst into laughter. "Ha! A human challenging a god? How amusing. Very well, knight, let's see if you can make me taste defeat!" With a sweep of his hand, Verethragna summoned a massive surge of lightning, lighting up the sky and turning the darkened battlefield into a blinding white inferno.

The storm of lightning rained down on Erica, who tried to dodge but was struck after a few evasive maneuvers. A deafening explosion followed, engulfing her in smoke and debris.

Verethragna smirked, his voice laced with disappointment. "Knight, with such weak strength, you couldn't hope to defeat me."

But as the smoke cleared, Erica emerged completely unscathed, her silver sword still in hand. Not even a single thread of her clothing was out of place.

Both Heretic Gods were visibly taken aback by this. "What's this? A human who can withstand the might of Verethragna's lightning without a scratch?" Melqart mused aloud, surprised by Erica's resilience.

Verethragna, too, was shocked, though his astonishment soon gave way to excitement. "Interesting. You are no ordinary human, knight. Perhaps you are worthy of my full strength!"

Erica, however, knew that her durability was only thanks to the powerful defenses Eriri had placed on her earlier. Without those, she would never have survived Verethragna's assault.

At this point, Erica saw her opportunity to use the Prometheus' Grimoire. While keeping Verethragna occupied with her sword, she silently summoned the legendary artifact, aiming to steal one of his powers.

After about half a minute of clashing, the golden shield around Verethragna finally gave way, only for him to block Erica's sword effortlessly with his body. His physical defenses far exceeded his magical ones.

Seizing the moment, Erica activated the Prometheus' Grimoire. A faint white light emanated from the tablet, coursing through the red glow of her sword and into Verethragna's body.

Moments later, the tablet lit up with a bright white glow—an indication that one of Verethragna's ten powers had been successfully stolen.

Erica glanced at the restored Prometheus' Grimoire in her hand, a satisfied smile forming on her lips. She had succeeded in stealing a divine power.

Verethragna, however, quickly realized what had happened. His eyes widened, and he let out a deep, amused laugh. "So that's your game, knight. You've stolen one of my powers. Impressive! But know this: no matter what, my avatars cannot be used to defeat me!"

The Warrior God summoned his ultimate attack, the White Stallion, one of his most powerful avatars.

"For victory, come forth to me!" Verethragna began his incantation. "O undying sun, grant me your blazing steed! Swift-footed and noble, bring forth my divine light!"

The storm clouds parted, revealing the blazing sun. From the sun, a fiery white horse descended, galloping toward Erica at an incredible speed.

Meanwhile, Erica raised the Prometheus' Grimoire once more, ignoring the approaching White Stallion. She trusted in the invincible defense Eriri had bestowed upon her and was certain the attack wouldn't harm her.

Seeing the White Stallion descending, Melqart braced himself, casting a defensive spell around his body. As a god, his pride wouldn't allow him to flee, even in the face of such a devastating attack.

As for Eriri, she didn't even flinch. She remained comfortably lounging on her chair, sipping on a drink she'd pulled from her storage space, completely unaffected by the chaos unfolding around her.

Just as the White Stallion was about to reach her, the Prometheus' Grimoire shimmered, and from it emerged a massive black boar, the divine beast Kalydonian Boar, which stood between Erica and the incoming horse.

"Tch, not the 'Warrior' avatar..." Erica muttered in disappointment. She had been hoping to steal Verethragna's Warrior avatar, which granted the golden sword capable of killing gods. Without that, she knew the boar wouldn't be able to defeat Verethragna.

Nonetheless, Erica sent the boar charging toward the White Stallion, hoping it would at least delay the attack and minimize the damage.

The two beasts collided mid-air with a deafening roar, but it took only a few seconds for the boar to be consumed by the flames of the White Stallion. The fiery horse continued its charge toward Erica, finally exploding in a massive ball of solar fire.

The blast covered an area of nearly a kilometer, scorching everything in its path.

...

Several kilometers away, an elderly man in a black tuxedo, wearing a long black coat and sporting white hair, looked toward the direction of Sardinia.

"Such powerful energy. Did I arrive too late? But according to my information, Verethragna and Melqart only recently descended, and it's not yet time for Kusanagi Godou to slay Verethragna..."

This man, the oldest of the Godslayers, the Sasha Dejanstahl Voban, had come to Sardinia after receiving intelligence that two Heretic Gods would soon descend upon the island. His goal was to hunt the gods, but now he feared he might have missed his chance.

"Hmph. Whoever dares steal my prey—Kusanagi Godou, you'd better be prepared to die this time," Voban muttered, quickening his pace toward Sardinia.

...

As the weakened solar flames dissipated, Melqart effortlessly brushed them off, not even his first layer of defenses having been damaged.

Eriri, of course, remained entirely unaffected. The flames disappeared the moment they approached her, leaving her and her lounging spot untouched.

When the flames finally cleared, Sardinia was left with a massive crater nearly a kilometer wide. However, there was a large gap in the crater's perimeter where Eriri's lounging chair sat, untouched by the devastation.

Erica, protected by her invincible defense, stood unharmed at the center of the crater, though the ground beneath her had been completely incinerated, leaving her standing in a ten-meter-deep pit.

"Hmm? Even my White Stallion couldn't hurt you?" Verethragna's voice rang out from the sky, tinged with genuine surprise. "Knight, how is it that you possess such defense, when you cannot even pierce mine?"

Erica, feeling emboldened by Eriri's protection, smirked. "There's a lot you don't know, god. After all, you gods have such limited vision."

With Eriri backing her up, Erica no longer felt any need to respect the gods. Before joining the chat group, she would have had to show deference to avoid massive collateral damage, but now, things had changed.

"Hah! You're quite arrogant, knight. Are you trying to provoke me? Very well! Let's see if your defense can withstand the might of my Golden Sword!"

With a maniacal laugh, Verethragna raised his left hand. A golden flash filled the sky, and a uniquely-shaped golden sword appeared in his grasp, aimed directly at Erica.

Just as Verethragna was about to launch his final attack, a notification suddenly rang out in the minds of all chat group members:

The second group mission has arrived!