Chapter 33: Heretic God—Verethragna! (Patreon)

"Guoooo...!"

The giant goat let out a high-pitched roar, and suddenly a storm wind howled.

Another cry, and lightning struck the earth. Fortunately, most buildings in the nearby town weren’t wooden, and the rain minimized the risk of a major fire—a small mercy in this misfortune.

Just then, a powerful gust swept through, and a massive shadow flickered across the sky.

As if summoned, or perhaps drawn by something, it descended.

"Gwaaaah...!"

A strange bird’s fierce cry assaulted them. Erika looked up and saw a golden "phoenix"!

Its enormous wings glided across the broad, overcast sky—a giant raptor with golden feathers.

From one wingtip to the other, its wingspan measured fifty to sixty meters long.

The giant bird of prey circled powerfully overhead, its majestic loops perfectly matching the name "phoenix" from myth and legend.

Each time the newly appeared divine beast, the phoenix, beat its wings in its circling flight, it generated vortices of wind.

Strong gusts became whirlwinds, then fierce gales, escalating rapidly into tornadoes.

In an extremely short time, the wind from its wings unknowingly transformed into tornadoes that swept across the land.

Objects large and small were swept into the air. If such a powerful tornado were to form right in the center of a town’s streets, the destruction would be immense—far surpassing the lightning strikes from the goat earlier.

Thud, thud, thud—

At the same time, a sacred white light flashed through the wind and rain.

Erika saw a powerful white horse appear within her field of vision, so vivid it seemed real. But the young maiden watched as the white horse transformed into a streak of white light and shot away.

Its speed was incredible, far outstripping the speeding car. It vanished from sight in an instant.

One divine beast after another appeared. Erika knew perfectly well how serious the situation was.

Let’s not forget—just one wild boar had caused massive disaster at the port earlier. Now, several divine beasts were gathered here!

And, even more terrifying, a Heretic God was present.

Could it be that a war of the gods was about to erupt on Sardinia?

Vroom—

Finally, amidst the lightning and thunder of the storm, the car struggled to a wide, open area.

This was largely thanks to the maid’s driving skills, though the ride had been jarring enough to invite, and the experience was far from comfortable.

But it had to be said, the maid Arianna’s driving skills were impressive—she was definitely a veteran behind the wheel!

However, that wasn’t the important part. What mattered was that the road ahead was either gone... or had become a battlefield. A terrifying pressure emanated from the scene, deterring any living being from approaching.

Left with no choice, the three inside the car had to get out.

"Arianna, you should leave first."

"Understood, my lady. Well then, to both of you, I must quickly find a place to take shelter. After all, I have absolutely no talent for swordsmanship or magic. I’ll be taking my leave now."

Following Erika’s order, the maid immediately sped off in her beat-up car—the one that had been shedding parts all along—racing away through the storm with a howl, leaving behind a trail of fragments and components.

"..."

That driving skill made so-called "racing gods" look utterly pathetic. And the fact that the car hadn’t completely broken down after all that was nothing short of a miracle.

It was almost like she was cheating!

"Come, my sword! Cuore di Leone! Blade that guards the Lion’s throne! Please protect my knightly path!"

After getting out of the car, Erika immediately transformed her attire, radiating a splendor like flame and gold.

A very fierce and intense will resided in her beauty and her eyes.

Her presence was as imposing as a top-tier athlete right before a match, making it difficult to casually approach her. Then, Erika began chanting words that sounded like incantations.

Next, the familiar slender sword and a red mantle—seen for the first time—materialized out of thin air.

The young maiden held the sword in her right hand and gracefully draped the mantle over herself with her left.

The mantle had a red base with several bold black stripes in its design.

It suited Erika’s beauty and blonde hair exceptionally well, enough to captivate anyone’s gaze.

The weapon the young maiden summoned wasn’t a divine artifact or sacred tool, but it was still a powerful armament, with top-tier abilities and attributes.

When the three of them reached a hillside and looked into the distance, they saw the towering giant in the storm had, at some point, come to a halt.

Opposing him, from another direction, a youth as swift as the wind ran with wind-like speed, and a countering wind suddenly began to blow around him.

He was a beautiful young man with black hair reaching his shoulders and a slender face!

His eyes seemed as if they could see the future, and he wore a serene smile reminiscent of a Bodhisattva statue.

It was the same mysterious youth who had appeared during the giant wild boar incident.

He was slender and not very tall.

Yet, he possessed an incredibly powerful presence. His delicate features gave the impression that he was an incomprehensible, non-human being.

This face wasn’t human; it was merely an imitation of one.

Thus, it was a work of art more beautiful than any human. A sense of power emanated from his slender body, and a divine aura resided within his exquisite beauty.

Although his appearance was completely different, and even from a distance, he shared the same extraordinary quality as Melqart. This figure, existing outside the norm, was another Heretic God!

Heretic God—Verethragna!