To Hell with Being a Pawn!

An unheard roar echoed through Rovi's heart, reverberating with the desire he had always harbored.

To live gloriously, to die magnificently.

Like a hero, not a clown—

"Damn it... you... bastard!" Gilgamesh gritted his teeth, veins bulging across his forehead.

"Rovi..." A strained flush appeared on Enkidu's delicate face as well.

They pulled with all their strength at the same time, but to no effect. They could only watch as the earth-shattering force clamping down between heaven and earth slowly pressed toward Rovi, standing in the middle.

The gods looking down upon the mortal world could no longer understand. Was Rovi not afraid of death?

Why could he be so resolute?

And at that very moment, when it was infinitely close—

An invisible tremor reverberated.

Bzzz... A violent hum arose, and a streak of light burst from Rovi's body.

Like a kettle exploding under immense pressure, wisps of light seeped from every pore beneath his black uniform.

In the end, it formed into a gleaming golden "key."

Key of Heaven.

The shadow cast outward by the divine object the gods had bestowed upon him, which he had kept hidden within his body.

Rovi froze, and the gods froze as well.

This thing... could do that too?

Over the past seven days, Rovi had thoroughly studied this divine artifact capable of opening the Boundary between Heaven and Man.

But he had never discovered... that it possessed any defensive ability!

Yet Rovi quickly realized that the key truly had no defensive function.

The emergence of that radiance merely caused his entire body to loosen abruptly, freeing him from the suppressive pressure bearing down on him.

It could adapt to any environment.

It allowed free movement in any environment without being suppressed.

Just as Rovi had already figured out, that was the Key of Heaven's ability. But it only allowed him to adapt; it could not stop the impact of actual damage.

Damn it, he could still die.

He instinctively let out a breath of relief.

Then he noticed a black mark appearing on the "key."

Was it dirty?

No, that was wrong—the Key of Heaven was a supreme treasure jointly forged by the gods. A divine artifact was flawless; it could not be tainted.

That was... a crack?

The Key of Heaven had shattered.

Cracks appeared within Rovi's body.

First there was a spot, then a line. That line branched into countless pitch-black, threadlike cracks. Amid their mottled interweaving, the projection of the golden key directly dissolved into dust scattering across the sky.

Before Rovi had time to draw any conclusion, an inexplicable force suddenly emerged within him.

It was like injecting highly concentrated fuel into an engine.

He instinctively stretched out his hand and planted his feet, following that utterly inexplicable sensation.

He stopped the sky above and the earth below.

As if returning to the beginning, like a god creating the world with one hand holding up the sky and one foot bracing the earth.

The golden, gleaming Royal Authority falling from above was halted inches beyond Rovi's palm.

The verdant edge of the earth surging up from below was also firmly pinned beneath his feet, unable to rise again.

With his own strength, with his own body, he separated the ultimate battlefield dividing heaven and earth.

Yet with every movement, he seemed to be creating heaven and earth.

"So much power resides within this barking mongrel?" Gilgamesh narrowed his eyes, a smile unconsciously curling onto his lips.

"Rovi. I knew it... You must be the strongest!" Enkidu appeared quite excited as well.

The gods' quiet exchange then reached Rovi, the "sacrifice."

So that's it?

He used the force generated by the collision between the Lock of Heaven and the Keystone of Heaven to shatter the Key of Heaven within his body, then...

He made the power contained within it truly his own!

The Key of Heaven is a divine object of the same rank as the Lock of Heaven and the Keystone of Heaven. Only this method could accomplish it.

No wonder he feared death so little.

Such wisdom, such courage...

We gods were not mistaken... This truly is a perfect "pawn"!

A pawn capable of perfectly restraining the Keystone of Heaven!

No, you were wrong.

Rovi remained expressionless. He genuinely had not expected this to happen at this moment.

Forget it... It seemed he could only accept his bad luck this time.

He shook his head helplessly, but Rovi still accepted reality quickly.

The power released by the shattered Key of Heaven surged continuously through him. He knew that even if he did nothing, the power of the Lock of Heaven and the Keystone of Heaven could no longer injure him, much less kill him.

Just like Gilgamesh and Enkidu.

Having "fused" with the Key of Heaven's power, Rovi could henceforth be called the Key of Heaven itself.

Rather than its holder.

Not even the gods could reclaim it anymore.

The ability it granted Rovi was no longer adaptation.

It had become "opening" and "closing."

He could regard all things as doors.

Once closed, they could form an immensely powerful barrier, blocking most attacks beneath the Key of Heaven's rank, and even attacks on its level.

Right now, it was automatically open.

Rovi still could not use it skillfully, much less close it.

Then—

"Worrying is useless. Regret is useless too."

Rovi spread his hands.

He knew he could not die now. In any case, sooner or later, he was bound to die anyway.

Since there was no way to settle accounts afterward,

He might as well make an attempt now.

Try again... to court a spectacular death!

He released all the power surging within him.

Dazzling ripples shimmered like glinting waves, eventually turning silver-white.

They drew upon the power of the Lock of Heaven and the Keystone of Heaven.

Calling for their aid.

From Rovi's earlier act of stopping their battle, both Enkidu and Gilgamesh understood that this had merely been a misunderstanding. They were not enemies.

And naturally, neither would refuse this call for help.

"Rovi, whatever you wish to do, I will follow you closely." Enkidu lowered her eyes and, at the same time, followed that pull and pushed the power within her to its utmost limit!

She did not know what Rovi wanted to do.

But the initial sense of closeness had already transformed into absolute trust over the past seven days together.

"Oh? Interesting!" Gilgamesh paused in surprise.

The king standing upon the Star Vessel looked down at the faint light emerging from Rovi's body.

From it, he sensed an inexplicable resonance.

Same origin, same nature.

The connection between the Keystone of Heaven and the Key of Heaven.

Though he could not infer cause and effect from Rovi's actions, at this moment, Gilgamesh, who possessed the highest-ranked Clairvoyance, vaguely glimpsed Rovi's purpose.

Thus he laughed loudly. "Hahahaha... So even a barking mongrel can possess such resolve? Interesting, too interesting!"

"Then, for the sake of such ambition, this king shall indulge your request—" As he spoke, he spread his arms just as Rovi had.

"Look to the heavens and break through the boundary!"

"Of course."

Rovi closed his eyes, then opened them.

The pupils of his eyes took the shape of keys. A terrifying torrent swept up from his body as the powers of the Keystone of Heaven and the Lock of Heaven converged upon him, exploding outward in a threefold spiral.

What is he doing?

...Have the three pawns joined forces?

This power is indeed formidable. As expected of tools we created... If we make greater use of them, our faith-based rule over the mortal world can continue for a long time yet!

The gods continued to watch.

At this moment, they still did not know that, as Gilgamesh had said, Rovi's purpose was actually very simple.

He would use the Keystone of Heaven as a path, the Lock of Heaven as a guide, and this body as a "key," merging the three into one to attain power beyond the boundary.

With it, he would roar at the heavens. He would shake the lofty realm where those watching gods resided...

This time, it was not because he wanted to die.

It was because those gods of the heavens regarded them as tools for ruling the mortal world.

Calling them pawns at every turn.

And now, he would answer that malice.

He would tell them...

To hell with being a pawn!

We are human.

Living, breathing human beings!