'Oh? The holy sword Excalibur? One of the five holy blades born from the world itself, said to even have the abilities to harm gods… this mortal can wield it?'
Ishter whispered to herself, her eyes narrowing as they fixated on Artoria, standing amidst the carnage below.
'She managed to choose who Excalibur would harm too, for a mortal that is impressive. But my patience has worn thin. I need only the boy. The death of these fools who worship holds no importance, though it's a pity the one who read my stories falls here too… mortals are such delicate beings.'
Ishter raised a finger and pointed it directly at Artoria. "No, she must be punished. She did just kill my followers, after all."
Artoria, panting heavily, struggled to her feet, the weight of her blade nearly too much for her exhausted body to bear. Her legs trembled, but she forced herself into a fighting stance, determination fueling her aching limbs.
Pant!
'I... I still need to get rid…of the goddess,' she thought, her vision blurring.
In the distance, the few survivors left in the main capital watched. Their eyes, which had been filled with despair, flickered with sothing they had not felt in a long ti—hope.
Artoria's bravery sparked sothing within them.
A faint cry rose from the crowd—a whisper at first. "Our king… she's still fighting…"
More voices joined, their whispers growing into a chant. "Long live the King!"
Suddenly, a massive torrent of flas shot forward from Ishter's hand, roaring toward Artoria. The king gritted her teeth, her feet digging into the ground as she raised her blade to et the attack. The force of the flas was overwhelming, pushing her back, her arms shaking violently as she tried to hold the line.
But it was too much. She knew she couldn't keep it up. Her muscles burned, her vision darkened—this was it.
Tap.
A gentle touch on her shoulder snapped her eyes open.
Standing in front of her was Ha Joon, his jacket resting lazily on his shoulders, flowing with the breeze. His back was turned to her, shielding her from the fire.
Artoria could barely process what was happening.
"You've done well, Your Royal Highness. Let handle the rest," Ha Joon said softly, his voice calm amidst the chaos.
"Uhn?" she whispered, falling to the ground, her exhaustion finally overcoming her as she watched Ha Joon step forward, one hand extended toward the oncoming flas.
With a single wave of his hand, the flas froze mid-air, their intense heat turning into shards of ice that shattered and fell like rain.
Ishter, hovering above them, smiled—a cold, twisted smile. "I knew you'd do sothing unexpected, traveler. Yet, you think you can win against with such parlor tricks?"
Ha Joon's grin only widened as he pointed directly at her, "Young lady! Get your ass down here this instant!"
"Traveler," Ishter's voice bood across the battlefield, "I had thought you dead. Perhaps I should not have bothered to revive you after all."
"Oh trust , you didn't need to do anything, you seem to have underestimated the kind of person I am, Ishtar!!!" Ha Joon replied, his voice steady, his eyes gleaming with confidence.
The crowd, those few who could still stand, watched in disbelief. Was this the sa man who had fallen not so long ago?
Ha Joon grinned even wider, "Watch, watch as your secret unveils before !".
Ishtar stared at him, confused, "Secret?"
"The world knows you as one of the three gods of the world, the Goddess of the heavens! Your powers rival that of a deity, you commanded the sun, and challenged the darkness, ruling over other gods."
Ha Joon spread his arms apart, "You acquired all this feat and got the title, Goddess of the Heaven, but yet, you hid one tiny detail... you weren't supposed to have gained that title in the first place! It belonged to your friend, Erekshigal, or should I say, abandoned clone?".
Ishter's eyes widened, her calm deanor crumbling. No one had ever spoken of this—her deepest, most carefully guarded secret. Yet, sohow, Ha Joon knew everything.
And as he spoke, she felt sothing strange—her divine authority was slipping away, being drained.
'What is this…no…sothing's wrong,' she thought, her panic rising.
"After you were banished from the heavens for falling in love with a moral man, you went to the underworld to hide from everyone, killing the man since he wasn't in love with you."
"Shut up!!!" Ishtar lost it, sending a huge surge of energy towards Ha Joon.
Using his infinite layers of barriers, Ha Joon was able to protect himself from the attack, his smile still hitched on his face.
"But soon, you got tired of hell and created a clone, one you nad Erekshigal, the Goddess of the Underworld. She ruled the Underworld in your stead, while you went up to earth, in search of the man you love, but since you were split in half, your title as the Goddess of the heavens was taken… but instead, you took on the title of Istar, Goddess of Discord!
Thus, Erekshigal took on your responsibilities, she fought for the title and you refused it of her".
Before Istar could tell what was happening, she had fallen from the sky and violently crashed on the ground.
Everyone watched the screen in awe, Ha Joon had brought down the Goddess.
Ishtar struggled to her feet, her anger evident on her face as she scread -
"What on earth are you?!!! What have you done to ?! Answer!!!" She shouted, her lack of power making her mad.
Ha Joon simply looked down at her and smiled, his finger pointed to the side of his head before he spoke,
"Throughout heaven and earth, I alone, am the honored one".
Ishtar looked up at him, her face twisted in horror, "No way… t..this can't be happening".
[You have gathered the needed knowledge regarding the Goddess of Discord.]
Ha Joon spread his arms apart, his jacket flowing behind him as if it were alive.
"And so I pray: Decide for the law of the world, and cower under the might of my knowledge. I, Ha Joon Kim permits that…. SYNCRO!!!".
A brilliant flash of light erupted around him as his connection to Ishtar's divine power solidified.
Red patterns glowed across his skin, and the goddess scread, her essence being drawn into the magic circle at his feet
He had successfully stolen the authority of the Goddess.
And since she was a half made, he didn't need to do much as he did with the Demi Human.
There was nothing more the Goddess could do to harm him, all her authority was gone– Ha Joon beca the first to defeat a high level god, all by himself.
[Congratulations, you have successfully tad the Goddess of Discord.]
Ha Joon watched as Ishtar's body was sucked into the magic circle that opened in front of him, her screams echoing before she was gone, dragged into the void.
Artoria and the rest who witnessed it could barely believe their eyes — it wasn't even a fight, Ha Joon had just defeated a Goddess without any effort needed, complete domination.
And it didn't seem like he was done there.
"Activate the soul plates."
[Request confird.]
From across the capital, blue light shot into the sky, cascading down like rain. And as it touched the bodies of the fallen, sothing miraculous began to happen. People—those who had been dead—were being brought back to life, their bodies knitting together from re drops of blood.
Ha Joon fell to the ground, a huge amount of mana getting pulled from his body to carry out the process.
.
In the streets, those who had once perished were now breathing again.
Artoria, her eyes wide, could barely comprehend it. A city once dead was now alive, reborn...
The Ultimate Rival.
"Un…Unbelievable."
The once silent survivors erupted into cheers, their voices shaking the very ground. Their happiness was evident as they watched their loved ones get brought to life before their very eyes.
Ha Joon turned to look at Artoria, and with a smile he whispered, "I told you, didn't I? I'll take care of it".
He then collapsed to the ground.
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