In the Shinomiya Family Meeting Room
The air inside the room was thick with tension.
The family elders stared at the large screen in front of them, where two monsters—no, two Campiones—were fighting.
They watched in suffocating silence, their breaths held, bodies frozen, as if afraid that even the slightest sound might disturb the intense duel unfolding before them.
They had seen lightning strikes splitting the sky, punches creating giant craters, and arrows piercing through the air with destructive power that defied all logic.
This was no CGI movie—this was real!
At the head of the table, Shinomiya Gan'an appeared calm on the surface. However, inside, a storm of emotions raged.
'Looking back, I was too hasty. Who would have thought that Japan would give birth to two Campiones within a day of each other?'
When Gan'an first heard about Rokuhara Ren—the seventh Campione born in Japan—he immediately made a monumental decision. Without hesitation, he offered the loyalty of the Shinomiya Family to the young man.
However, the very next day, news of the eighth Campione, Kusanagi Godou, spread across the world.
At first, Gan'an didn't pay much attention. It was only after hearing about the eighth Campione, Kusanagi Godou, defeating Salvatore Doni and Marquis Voban that he began to regret his rash decision.
'If I had to choose between Kusanagi Godou and Rokuhara Ren, I would have chosen the former.' Gan'an thought, simulating the decision he would have made in the past.
Even for a consortium like the Shinomiya Family, betting their future on a newly born Campione was a huge gamble.
If Ren turned out to be weaker than Godou, the Shinomiya Family would be at a disadvantage against the consortia supporting Godou.
Gan'an thought he had made a mistake, but now all the doubts haunting his mind began to fade.
Ren was not only able to hold his own against Godou but even overwhelmed him. With just one Divine Authority, he was still putting up a fierce fight against a Campione who had defeated Doni and Marquis Voban!
'Thank goodness… I didn't make a mistake.' Gan'an sighed inwardly.
Although Ren's name was almost unknown among the other Campiones, the power he displayed today proved that he was not someone to be underestimated—even among the Devil Kings.
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
The sky above Aogashima was swallowed by dark clouds, forming a dome of lightning that seemed to engulf the world.
Thunder continued to roar, deafening the ears, while relentless lightning strikes rained down on the earth, creating explosions that shook the ground.
The villagers, unaware of what was happening, hid in their homes, praying desperately.
"Gods, please save us…!"
"Do not be angry with us!"
They did not know that this natural phenomenon was caused by two Campiones, but rather believed it to be the manifestation of divine wrath.
On the battlefield…
*WHOOSH!*
Ren moved swiftly, his body like a shadow darting between lightning strikes. However, no matter how fast he moved, it was impossible for him to avoid all of them.
*CRACK!*
Lightning struck his shoulder. A sharp pain instantly spread throughout his body.
His clothes were tattered, his hair stood on end, and a faint burnt smell emanated from his skin. Yet, his gaze remained sharp, and the hand holding the bow did not tremble in the slightest.
Quickly, he drew an arrow from his quiver and continued firing arrows toward Godou.
*SWOOSH!* *SWOOSH!* *SWOOSH!*
On the other side, Godou's condition wasn't much better.
His clothes could hardly be called clothes anymore, with burns and bleeding wounds scattered across his body.
'My magical energy reserves… About 30% left.'
Although the Ten Incarnations were an incredibly powerful Divine Authority, they had a significant limitation—only one Incarnation could be used at a time.
This meant that if Godou wanted to heal himself with the Ram Incarnation, he would have to deactivate the Goat Incarnation first.
'When that happens, Ren will definitely not waste the chance to bombard me with a rain of arrows.' He thought with a frown, not expecting this level of difficulty to be more troublesome than fighting Doni.
At this point, the two of them were at a stalemate. Ren couldn't completely avoid the lightning, and Godou couldn't heal himself without putting himself in danger.
But Ren had an advantage over Godou—his magical energy was still abundant.
Meteoric Ascent was just a basic archery skill within the Divine Authority: Sun Conqueror, so its magical energy consumption was minimal.
If he continued to stall until Godou's magical energy ran out, victory would undoubtedly be his.
But…
Would he do something as boring as that?
The answer was no!
*SWOOSH!* *SWOOSH!* *SWOOSH!*
Suddenly, Ren stopped firing arrows at Godou. Instead, he aimed all his shots at the lightning still raining down from the sky, destroying bolt after bolt with perfect accuracy.
Then, he shouted loudly.
"Enough, Godou! Let's end this with one final attack!"
"...?!!!"
Godou was surprised by the challenge but did not refuse. Honestly, he also wanted to end this battle as quickly as possible.
He took a deep breath, then raised his head to look at Ren.
"Alright! I agree! Use your strongest attack, and I'll use my strongest Incarnation!"
The two of them locked eyes for a moment, then simultaneously stopped all their attacks.
The clouds gradually thinned, the roaring thunder slowly subsided, and the wind stopped howling.
But…
The magical energy around the two men only intensified, forming a substantial aura that blazed like fire, shaking the air and causing the ground to tremble.
The wind, which had momentarily calmed, began to blow fiercely again, this time not due to the weather but purely from the pressure of the two Campiones preparing to unleash their final attacks!
On Godou's side…
The stone slab in his mind rotated, selecting the White Stallion Incarnation.
"Huh?"
'How is the activation condition for this Incarnation met? Isn't the White Stallion Incarnation only usable against those who have committed great sins against the people?'
'What kind of sin has Ren committed?'
But there was no time to think!
Godou pushed aside his doubts and quickly began incantation the incantation.
"Come to me, for the victory! Immortal Sun, lend me a quick, shining steed. Fire of the Sun that dispels the dark, may it engulf you!"
The next moment, a pseudo-sun manifested above Aogashima, shining brightly as if a god had descended to the world.
On Ren's side…
He raised his bow, gazed at the pseudo-sun, and then incantation the incantation to activate Solar Annihilation.
"You who shine in the sky, bringing light to the world and unbearable heat! Abundant light is a blessing, yet a curse to those who cannot bear its blaze. Even the sun has its limits, and today, that limit has come. With this bow, I pluck your radiance from the sky and let eternal shadow swallow your arrogance!"
A terrifying aura enveloped the arrow on his bow!
*SWOOSH!*
At the same time, the pseudo-sun shot a spear of light toward Ren.
The flames were equivalent to a solar flare, solar energy that could devour an entire city in an instant!
But Ren remained unshaken!
He finished his incantation and shouted:
"From the hands of an archer, the end of the sun is born! This arrow brings destruction to the rulers of light, and with one shot, your arrogance shall vanish! In my name, and in the justice of the heavens, disappear from the sight of the world!"
*SWOOSH!*
Ren fired his arrow!
*KA-BOOM!*
The shockwave from the arrow's launch spread beyond Aogashima!
The arrow and the spear of light collided in mid-air!
*Pu-chi!*
However, the spear of light was instantly destroyed without resistance!
After all, Solar Annihilation was the antithesis of all Sun God powers!
The arrow continued to soar toward the pseudo-sun, piercing through its radiance…
The next moment…
The pseudo-sun was shot down!
*BOOOMMMMMM!!!*
A massive explosion occurred!
The burst of energy illuminated all of Japan, making the sky brighter than usual, as if the sun were just a few meters above their heads.
The people of Japan were stunned, many of them experiencing temporary blindness from looking directly at the sunlight.
For ten full seconds, all of Japan was bathed in light, before it gradually faded away.