Divine Right of Various Anime and Manga

Roy paused slightly, turning his head to look back at the young Italian maiden with delicate features and a tender age. Her red dress bared her snow-like shoulders, her collarbone as slender as bamboo exuding a woman's unique fragility and beauty, stirring an irresistible urge to lick.

Both were clad in red formal attire, one with golden hair, the other silver, standing out strikingly against the sparse green of the forest.

Hearing Roy's question, Erica answered without hesitation: "...I have just been appointed as your exclusive knight, 'King.' I do not expect my meager strength to aid you, but as a knight, how could I flee before battle begins? If I did so, my blade would weep."

She drew her Magecraft Artifact, 'Lionheart,' her tone firm, her expression like a lioness lying in ambush.

"Then do as you please. But I warn you one last time: don't let your mind wander like before. Even the mere aftershocks of battle demand your full focus, or you will die. I won't help you in the fight. If you perish here, it only proves that the woman named Erica Blandelli amounts to no more than this."

At just fourteen, Erica had already reached the rank of 'Great Knight.' Though there were distinctions among 'Great Knights,' even the commanders of the 'Bronze Black Cross' and the 'City of Lilies' were only Great Knights. To possess such strength at her age, wielding 'Lionheart'—a top-tier artifact in the magical world—and with her innate intelligence, all these factors combined made the maiden as proud as a phoenix.

Having never witnessed a Disobedient God or the overwhelming power that mortal mages cannot resist, this proud girl naturally harbored a sense of 'defiance.' Perhaps Erica even entertained the thought that she herself could slay a god.

Only when she truly faced a Disobedient God would she realize how laughable human talent and ability were before a deity. Mortals slaying gods never relied on strength, but on a measure of wisdom and a great deal of luck.

Roy's repeated warnings made Erica grow cautious. She tightened her grip on the long sword and walked out of the forest with Roy.

Ahead lay a hundred-meter cliff, beneath which was the only small town on Ponza Island. Directly opposite the cliff was the island's most famous bay, Crescent Beach.

And there, at the cliff's edge, stood a figure.

The moment Roy saw that figure, he felt his blood boil as if he were an addict just after a fix, his entire being immersed in pleasure and the peak of his senses.

"'Celestial Scribe' Metatron!"

Roy stopped a hundred meters from Metatron and shouted his name loudly.

Hearing the voice behind him, Metatron slowly turned around. This was Roy's first time seeing Metatron's true appearance; earlier in Israel, he had only glimpsed him from afar.

Compared to Michael's unmatched handsomeness and fearless courage, Metatron's features were very ordinary, and his demeanor was gentle and scholarly.

In The Book of Enoch, it was recorded that Metatron was originally the angel Enoch became after ascending to heaven. That is, Metatron's current appearance should be that of the mortal 'Enoch.'

Suddenly, Metatron's face grew illusory, then quickly solidified into reality. Roy abruptly felt as if, through Metatron's face, he was gazing upon an extremely exalted being—Metatron's face and that exalted being's face became one.

At the same time, an unimaginably terrifying 'curse' flowed into Roy's body along his line of sight toward Metatron. Roy's vast Magic Power as a Campione and his resistance to magic instinctively fought against this 'curse.' A concept Roy could not comprehend entered his mind, the sublime and sacred transforming into utter damnation, causing Roy to lose his reason, his SAN value plummeting as if he were about to go mad.

In shock, Roy quickly mobilized his powerful Magic Power and began to visualize The Book of Law, barely managing to suppress the 'curse.' Yet even so, Roy found his body had grown much weaker.

"'King'!"

Seeing Roy swiftly cover her eyes with his hand, the broad, gentle palm pressing against her face, plunging her vision into darkness, Erica dared not move, only shouting in panic.

"Erica, don't look at Metatron's face!"

This 'curse' was likely one of Metatron's Authorities. Even he, a Campione, could barely withstand a single glance. If Erica looked, she would instantly go mad and be cursed to death.

"I stirred up a commotion here, waiting for the false Michael, but I never expected that He had already been slain, giving rise to a terrestrial Demon King."

Metatron sighed softly, his tone very gentle. As the Archangel's words fell, thirty-six pairs of flame-like wings sprouted from His back, and a halo appeared above His head.

"But whether it's that angel who betrayed the Lord or you, Demon King, my task remains the same: to judge the heretics!"

"...Child of the Fool, Demon King who slew the heretical angel, come and pay homage to the 'Chancellor of Heaven'!"

Metatron's tone gradually grew stern. His body began to expand like a blaze of light, instantly becoming a giant-like being. According to The Book of Enoch, He was the tallest among the angels.

"Chancellor of Heaven? Ha, don't make me laugh. You heretical angel born from apocrypha—today, in the Lord's name, I shall cut you down here!"

Fearing Metatron might have other bizarre Authorities, Roy ignored his own discomfort and lunged forward like a wild beast.

"'BEAST' 777, I Shall Transcend Human Evil!"

He chanted his Magic Name, expressing his killing intent toward Metatron.

The Authority of 'Jacob's Ladder' activated, and vast Magic Power gathered in Roy's swinging left fist. He leaped high, then descended like a meteor, fist falling.

This was the strongest martial art recorded in the Bible, one of the seven forms Roy had named 'Jacob's Ladder':

--'Saint Martha Subdues the Dragon'!

Chapter 20: King of Israeli Boxing

Saint Martha was one of the twelve holy women of Christianity, a renowned Christian saint. Legend held that Martha had a younger brother and a younger sister, both famous figures: Lazarus and Mary Magdalene.

Records of Martha were sparse. In legend, aside from being a devout Christian, her greatest achievement was encountering a monster rampaging in Tarascon and, at the residents' plea, subduing the dragon Tarasque. From then on, Saint Martha settled in Tarascon, and the locals, inspired by her, converted to the then-new religion of Christianity.

Roy's 'Jacob's Ladder' was the strongest martial technique in the Bible. Based on his own research and understanding, he divided it into seven forms, each invoking the power of the Bible to recreate legends and myths.

With 'Saint Martha Subdues the Dragon,' a single punch carried the force to subdue dragons and tigers, enough to fell even legendary dragons.

Regardless of how Saint Martha's legend depicted her inspiring and subduing the dragon, in the 'Jacob's Ladder' combat method, it was reinterpreted as subduing it with fists.

Metatron's towering, giant-like stature was no different from a legendary dragon. The punch of 'Saint Martha Subdues the Dragon' delivered absolute force, surpassing even a dragon's might.

"Boom------"

Roy's seemingly small fist collided with Metatron's arm. A terrifying shockwave erupted, shattering the rock wall beneath Metatron's feet. The heretical angel let out a pained cry, its massive body smashed into the earth by Roy's punch, the mountain rock trapping its waist, leaving the 'Celestial Scribe' momentarily unable to stand.

"Second form, 'Moses Parts the Sea'!"

In that instant, Roy seemed to transform into a martial artist from ancient Eastern tales, reaching the 'Pinnacle of Martial Arts.'

Roy's right hand, which had been in his pocket, suddenly shot out. A mosaic-like pattern appeared on his right shoulder, distorting everything—this was the anomaly of his right hand. He raised his right hand high, turning his fist into a blade, and swung it down at Metatron's left arm.

His blade-hand was sharper than any sword. Blade energy burst forth, slicing through Metatron's arm. The Disobedient God's limb severed cleanly, Blood of God spraying out. The remaining blade force did not stop, splitting the only small town on Ponza Island in two, tearing through Crescent Beach, and dividing the Tyrrhenian Sea in half, reaching the distant horizon.

The magnificent, awe-inspiring scene was like the sea god Poseidon parting the ocean with his trident.

"Boom——"

After the sea was parted, once the force of 'Moses Parts the Sea' dissipated, the ocean closed back together. Hundreds of millions of tons of seawater collided, sending up a massive wave that completely submerged Crescent Beach and the city on the island.

In the Book of Exodus, Moses led God's chosen people out of Egypt, no longer slaves, and parted the sea at the Red Sea so the chosen could cross over to the Land of Canaan.

Roy, using 'Jacob's Ladder', reenacted the legend of Moses parting the sea, twisting the 'record' within it so that Moses no longer parted the sea with a staff, but split it with the palm of his hand!

"Third form, 'Abraham Sacrifices His Son'!"

After two moves, Roy gave Metatron no chance to react. He turned his right palm into a finger and thrust it toward the angel's chest.

This move reenacted the finger strike of Abraham, who was about to kill his own son Isaac to prove his devotion.

In the biblical account, Abraham steeled his heart and raised a knife to sacrifice his son to God. Roy twisted this legend, turning it into Abraham piercing Isaac with his finger to take his life.

This form condensed the piety of faith and the ruthlessness of killing intent. For the sake of God, one would even slay their own child. Ten thousand threads of killing intent gathered on a single finger, and nothing could block it—everything would be pierced through.

'Jacob's Ladder' was not the strongest of Roy's Authorities, but it was the most practical and best suited for combat.

Roy infused 'Jacob's Ladder' with various biblical myths and legends, using his fists to fight with unrestrained vigor, directly expressing a man's spirit and pride.

Right now, Roy only wanted to contend with that Demon Sect Leader, to see if her 'Twelve Divine Palms of the Flying Phoenix', which contained the principle of yin and yang mutual restraint, was more formidable, or if his 'Jacob's Ladder', imbued with the principles of biblical legends, would come out on top.

Jacob's other name was 'Israel', the ancestor of the Israelites. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call Roy the 'King of Israeli Boxing' now.

His finger pierced through the chest. Before Metatron could counterattack, Roy exploded with magic power from his legs, leaping away quickly. 'Jacob's Ladder', being called 'Ladder', was a grappling technique that used both hands and feet, but Roy placed all his attacks on his hands, using his legs solely for shifting and repositioning.

Metatron's left arm was severed clean off, and a massive hole was left in its chest. If it were a mortal, it would have been dead long ago, but the vitality of a Disobedient God was extremely tenacious; human vital points didn't apply to them.

Roy's flurry of punches left Metatron dazed. When it came to its senses, it let out a pained roar and swung its thirty-six pairs of wings, shattering the cliff entirely. By then, Roy had already retreated far from its attack range, standing amidst a pile of rocky rubble, facing off again against the massive angel.

Erica, who had been not far behind Roy, had already run far away. She gasped for breath, her red dress torn in several places, revealing her delicate skin beneath.

The Italian maiden held 'Lionheart', using her swordsmanship and magic to block the flying debris and the roaring shockwaves. When everything temporarily stopped, she looked at the scene before her and felt a chill run down her spine, her scalp tingling. The hand gripping her sword trembled, and her sapphire-blue eyes were filled with disbelief.

With just one punch, one palm strike, and one finger thrust, Roy had completely torn apart the Italian tourist destination of Ponza Island. The only city had become history under falling rubble and tidal waves, and a third of the entire island had sunk into the sea.

Was this the power of a Campione? Magicians could achieve this level of destruction, but it required many magicians working together, using rituals to unleash Great Magic. Yet a Campione could level a marked island on the map with just three moves.

Disobedient Gods were moving calamities, and Campione were demons on earth. In that moment, Erica finally understood the meaning of those words, and she felt ashamed of her earlier boldness and defiance.

Erica believed that with all her might, she might block one of Roy's punches, but she absolutely couldn't block a second or a third!

"Metatron, it seems the wound Michael gave you back then was quite severe, since you still haven't fully recovered."

Roy thrust his right hand back into his pocket. The distorted, mosaic-like anomaly on his right shoulder vanished. He looked at the 'Celestial Scribe' before him, already heavily injured. His blood still boiled, but his tone was relaxed.

Chapter 21: Authority Three, 'Sounding the Seventh Trumpet'

"You don't have a healing-type Authority, do you, Metatron."

Roy forcefully suppressed the surging, passionate thrill. He didn't like the beast-like way Campione fought Disobedient Gods. On the contrary, Roy believed in wisdom and knowledge, just as humans evolved from eating raw meat and drinking blood to having civilization. In Roy's view, those who fought with beastly instincts were merely turning into beasts.

And Roy didn't want to turn into a beast. Instead, he wanted to tame the beast.

"You speak truly, Child of the Fool. I do not possess a healing-type Authority. That counterfeit, Michael, damaged my core. I am now nothing more than a crippled Disobedient God."

Metatron's severed left arm and the large hole in its chest did not heal, showing that Metatron did not have strong immortality or healing-type Authorities.

Although in the Book of Enoch, Metatron was called the angel closest to God, apocrypha was still apocrypha. Metatron had no actual achievements, so it couldn't turn myths and legends into Authorities. Moreover, as a 'Celestial Scribe', it was a civil official, with almost no combat-type Authorities.

It could be said that Metatron was a Disobedient God that ordinary magicians couldn't resist, but for any Campione, it was very easy to deal with.

Compared to Metatron, Roy knew from the Authorities he had seized just how powerful Michael, whom he had slain, was. That he succeeded in killing Michael in one go was partly due to wisdom and decisiveness, but a greater reason was luck—and luck was Aiwass.

"Return to the myths of your apocrypha, Metatron! Your time wandering the earth is over. Now is the time to end it!"

Roy took a deep breath and raised his right hand high.

Of his seven Authorities, he had already used the most practical, 'Jacob's Ladder', and the subsidiary ability of 'Sodom's Sin', 'Sodom's Eye'. Now, Roy was about to unleash his third Authority, named—

'Sounding the Seventh Trumpet'!

This was a passage from the Book of Revelation in the New Testament of the Bible. It was also the origin of Michael's title as the Archangel and Supreme Commander of the Angelic Host. It was the apocalyptic legend of Him, as one of the seven archangels, being the first to sound the trumpet of doom on the Day of Judgment, leading the angelic army to battle the beast!

"Angels, sound the trumpets of doom!!"

Roy chanted the Word Spirit loudly, and then the sky above him opened a gate to the heavenly kingdom. The sound of seven trumpets came from afar. If a devout Christian were here, they would surely recognize this as the arrival of the Day of Judgment!

"The Day of Judgment?!"

Erica, as an Italian, was also a Christian. Although as a Great Knight of the 'Bronze Black Cross', her faith in Christianity was not firm, she still had faith and had read the Bible. When she saw the gate to the heavenly kingdom open and heard the seven guardian angels sound their trumpets, she knew that Roy's Authority was recreating the scene recorded in Revelation!

From behind the heavenly gate, over a hundred angels flew out. These angels were condensations of magic power, with basic human forms, indistinguishable as male or female, with wings on their backs and bodies emitting a holy light like an Ether Body.

Erica was also shocked to see these angels. Each one was formidable. They flew in the air, forming ranks like a disciplined army, making Erica have no doubt that this Angel Legion could slay even Divine Beasts. Even a Disobedient God would need to expend considerable magic power to eliminate these angels, and someone like her, a top-tier Great Knight in the world, would surely die if surrounded by the angelic army.

Roy naturally couldn't truly summon tens of thousands of angelic troops, but these hundred or so angels were already powerful enough. Under his leadership as the 'Archangel', any Disobedient God would find them a headache.

But when Metatron saw these angels, instead of being alarmed, it rejoiced and shouted loudly, "...I am God's agent. All deeds in heaven and on earth shall be recorded by me."

When Roy heard Metatron also chanting a Word Spirit, he became fully alert. He had used this Authority to summon the angels because he saw that Metatron was already on its last legs, so he decided to have the Angel Legion destroy it.

No Disobedient God could be underestimated. Roy didn't know what Authorities Metatron had, and he feared it might have a powerful Authority that could only be activated near death. Roy had already gained the upper hand and was only one step away from victory, so he naturally didn't want to take risks. Metatron was no match for the Angel Legion now, so Roy planned to kill it through encirclement.

When Metatron activated its Authority, a book and a pen appeared in its hands. The book was formed from its Authority. As soon as it appeared, the quill automatically wrote on it. Immediately after, Roy sensed that the effect of his just-activated Authority, 'Sounding the Seventh Trumpet', had vanished, and the angels in the sky actually turned their weapons toward Roy.

"Could it be a usurpation-type Authority? Did it steal one of my Authorities? What's the activation condition? Why could it usurp my Angel Legion but not my 'Jacob's Ladder'?"

Just as Roy was contemplating the limitations and effects of Metatron's Authority, a cry of alarm came from behind him: "...'King,' please be careful!"

The Angel Legion in the sky charged at Roy. Seeing this, Roy furrowed his brow, shifting his feet to dodge within an extremely narrow space, evading the thrust of the angel directly in front of him. Then he threw a punch, blasting that angel into basic Aether particles.

By now, Roy was completely surrounded by these angels on all sides. Each one was like a powerful knight or an elite soldier, their coordination flawless.

Roy kept moving his feet, either throwing punches, striking with his palms, or lashing out with kicks, blocking every attack from the angels. At the same time, each counterattack slew one of them.

But over a hundred angels were still too many. It wasn't difficult for Roy, as a Campione, to kill them all, but it would consume a massive amount of stamina, energy, and Magic Power. This was precisely the purpose of this Authority—to wear down the opponent through large-scale group combat and seek a killing opportunity.

Roy glanced sideways and saw that after Metatron had usurped His Angel Legion, He did not coordinate an attack with them. Instead, He turned around and flapped His Thirty-Six Pairs of Wings, clearly preparing to flee.

Seeing this, Roy exclaimed in shock and anger: "...Metatron, you actually choose to run away again!!"

But soon, Roy calmed down, realizing it wasn't surprising that Metatron would make this choice. After all, in all the records of both true scriptures and apocrypha, Metatron was the only being who had ascended from human to angel. That meant His humanity was strong, and it was only reasonable that He would make a human-like decision.

"'King'!"

Seeing Metatron preparing to flee, Erica—who had already Witnessed the terror of a Disobedient God and a Campione and knew she could not fight them—still resolutely raised her Long Sword, mustering her courage and pride. Even facing an invincible enemy, she did not flinch. Chanting a spell, she intended to hold Metatron back with her own power:

"Wedge of the Crimson Cross..."

But just as Erica began her chant, Roy interrupted her: "...Stop, Erica! I'm ordering you now—run immediately!"

"'King,' what are you saying?"

Erica, who had just raised her 'Lionheart' before her, stopped her chant and asked in astonishment.

"I won't repeat myself a third time. Now, immediately, right this second, get out of here, or you might die next!"

Seeing the serious expression on Roy's face, Erica hesitated only briefly before obeying: "...Yes, 'King'! As your knight, Erica will prioritize your command above all else."

If Roy were in a Desperate Situation, Erica might have chosen to disobey his orders and bravely face the enemy. But seeing that Roy was in no danger at all, she unhesitatingly chose to follow his command. This woman, though quick-witted and sometimes too opinionated to the point of arrogance, would truly stake her life as a knight once she pledged her loyalty.