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[Crossover] Ch 236: The Prison Of Gods
🕑 Added 2025-09-04 00:22:27 +0000 UTC— — — — — —
"Scared me half to death…"
Erica had just stepped out of the car, her knees nearly giving way.
That feeling—it was like realizing you'd been targeted by a nuclear warhead.
Melqart's lightning strike might not have matched a nuke in destructive power, but in terms of raw intimidation, it was just as bad.
Liliana, who had also climbed out of the car, looked up at the sky, still shaken. "That's… the God King of the Mediterranean, Melqart?"
High above, standing on storm clouds, loomed a giant over two meters tall.
His hair was wild and matted, the lower half of his face buried in a thick beard. He wore only tattered scraps of leather and cloth, a cape riddled with holes hanging from his shoulders.
He looked more savage than civilized, yet that savagery carried with it an aura of ancient holiness, as if he embodied the worship of the primordial age.
Ryo, stepping down from the car, dusted off his sneakers, then glanced up with clear irritation. "Lurking on the roadside for a sneak attack? Some 'God King'—looks more like a coward."
Melqart's thunderous voice boomed back. "So you're the one who stole my prey—who killed that damned war god!"
"Oh?" Ryo arched an eyebrow, gaze lingering on the scar across Melqart's chest. "Funny. I'd say you should be thanking me. If I hadn't killed Verethragna, you wouldn't be recovering this quickly. You certainly wouldn't have the guts to show your face in front of me."
"Arrogant brat!" Melqart spat, eyes blazing. "You think killing a petty thief means you can take on me? Too naïve!"
"O Wind, O Rain, O Thunder! By Melqart's true name of Baal Hadad, I summon! O Storm, listen to the calls of the cloud rider, make haste and come!"
Twin rigid clubs materialized in his hands, crackling with divine power. These were no ordinary weapons—they were the magical clubs Melqart had once used to bring down gods. Yagarrish the Chaser and Ayyamarri the Driver.
"You killed Athena and Verethragna, and you think that makes you strong? I'll show you what a true God King is!"
"Oh?" Ryo's lips curled in amusement. "So you can tell I've only killed two gods? Pandora's little trick must be working nicely."
That "trick" was the false trail Pandora had wept onto him, disguising the full extent of his power. Clearly, it had fooled Melqart completely.
The so-called God King raised his Clubs and hurled lightning from the storm.
A jagged arc of violet light tore across the sky, spearing down at Ryo.
"Leo Pemptos."
A golden lion appeared, roaring as it met the lightning head-on.
"Grrraaaah!"
"Just a beast!" Melqart bellowed, swinging his cudgels down onto the lion's head.
A deafening boom.
Melqart smirked—then froze.
That blow, powerful enough to kill gods, had done nothing.
The lion raised a paw, claws gleaming like blades of sunlight, and brought it down with crushing force.
Crash!
Melqart's body shot like a meteor into the distant highway. A pillar of dust and smoke mushroomed into the night, and all of Sardinia shook under the impact.
Erica nearly toppled over, barely managing to stabilize herself with magic. She stared wide-eyed at the rising mushroom cloud. "One strike… just one…"
Liliana's face had gone completely pale. In her vision, the lion wasn't a beast at all—it was the sun itself, blazing and merciless.
"Don't use spirit vision," Ryo warned calmly. Then he glanced at the disappointed beast above. "Too sloppy, Number Five."
The lion rumbled awkwardly before dissolving back into golden light, vanishing into Ryo's body. It was his 5th Familiar Pemptos, the Lion of Gold.
Liliana looked at him in alarm. "My king, power like that… won't the side effects be…"
Every Campione's authority came with a price. The stronger the power, the harsher the backlash—that was magecraft common sense.
Seeing Ryo casually unleash something that crushed Melqart in one strike, she couldn't help but worry.
"Side effects?" Ryo blinked, then smirked as if struck by inspiration. "Ah, right. Something like… having to drink some blood of beautiful maidens. The higher their magical talent, the better it works."
"Then take mine."
Liliana immediately pulled off her shawl, tugging her collar aside to bare her neck.
"If Liliana isn't enough, my king, please use me instead."
Erica boldly unfastened the top of her blouse.
"…The backlash doesn't kick in until two hours later. We'll have time to handle it then. For now, let's finish dealing with Melqart."
Ryo said it all with a perfectly straight face.
The two girls hesitated, then both flinched as the air grew heavy with a wave of killing intent. They turned toward it—the direction Melqart had crashed.
A low drone rose, swelling until it became a roar. A black cloud surged toward them.
Erica went white. "Locusts…"
Yes, the cloud was made of countless green-black locusts, a living tide.
Liliana recoiled, horrified. "Melqart is a god of harvest and blight—locusts are his punishment upon humanity and the earth."
"This many… over a hundred million at least…" Erica muttered. She turned toward Ryo, about to suggest retreat—then froze.
Golden light shimmered at his fingertips, tiny sparks that swelled and swelled until they drowned her sight.
When her vision cleared, the locust swarm was gone. The storm itself had broken, leaving only starlight scattered across the night.
"What… what just happened…?" Erica whispered, utterly lost.
Ryo smiled. "Come on. Let's go pay Melqart his last respects."
"Wha—" Erica stumbled after him, flustered. But Liliana had already followed, and she had no choice but to grit her teeth and catch up.
...
The highway lay in ruins. Deep in a massive crater, Melqart lay gasping, his chest torn open with a claw-shaped wound.
"Well, well. The God King of the Mediterranean looks awfully pathetic."
Liliana blinked, realization dawning. "So the locusts were just a stalling tactic…"
"Haha! Hahaha!"
Melqart threw back his head and laughed, his eyes bloodshot.
"Campione, you've won. Who would've thought I'd fall for something so foolish—brought low by a beast. Absurd!"
He coughed, then fixed Ryo with a glare. "But before I die, tell me… that beast. Whose power did you steal it from?"
"The Fourth Primogenitor," Ryo replied with a smile. "Now, can you die in peace?"
"The… Fourth Primogenitor?" Melqart muttered. "What god is that…?"
He never got his answer. Ryo flicked a finger, opening a crack of pure darkness that swallowed him whole.
Melqart's final whispers were still of that name: the Fourth Primogenitor.
Liliana let out a long breath.
A god had fallen, yet the damage was little more than a ruined road and a brief quake. Practically nothing.
Her chest warmed with relief. 'My king is merciful… thank goodness.'
Then her face flushed pink. 'My king… ugh, that sounds so corny.'
Erica broke her reverie with a playful bow. "Shall I arrange your audience with Salvatore next?"
Clearly, Erica had no intention of staying a nameless hanger-on.
"As you wish."
Ryo shot her a long look, then turned back toward the car.
Erica's lips curved into a smile.
She then teased Liliana as they followed. "Looks like we'll be sisters from now on."
---
In the fractured Netherworld.
Melqart groaned awake, clutching his chest. "What… where am I?"
A girl stood before him, tapping his head with a plunger as if to mock him.
"Pandora… Mother of Fools," he growled. "Tch. Even worse than death, meeting you. Get it over with. Take my powers."
But Pandora only tilted her head, smiling sweetly with malicious delight. "Oh? It seems you haven't realized your situation, Melqart."
"You're not dead. Not yet. You've just been… taken prisoner."
"What?" His brows knit.
Her smile widened. "Welcome to the prison of gods, Melqart."
.
.
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