Embarrassing. Painfully, visibly embarrassing.
Just moments ago, Erica had been brimming with confidence—looking every bit like a proud, elite warrior. Yet less than twenty seconds later, she was flat on the ground, covered in dust, a complete mess.
Gone was her earlier pride and bravado. All that remained was an overwhelming urge to find a hole and bury herself in it.
"Are you alright?"
Thankfully, Su Mo wasn't the type to mock a girl for falling short—especially not one like Erica, who had thrown herself into battle out of a sense of duty to protect public property and uphold the ideals of a knight.
He extended a hand and gently helped her up from the ground.
"Ugh... I'm fine." Erica responded awkwardly, noticing that Su Mo hadn't said a word about her embarrassing tumble.
"Didn't think this Divine Beast would be so powerful."
It was humiliating, no doubt. But since Su Mo was kind enough not to mention her earlier boasting, Erica was more than willing to pretend like nothing had happened either.
Despite being blown back hundreds of meters, she hadn't taken a direct hit from the boar's shockwave—just the aftermath—so, at least physically, she was fine.
"That boar is one of the avatars of the Zoroastrian War God," Su Mo said with a nod, affirming her observation. "It's a manifestation of his Authority. Naturally, it's far more dangerous than your run-of-the-mill Divine Beast."
Hearing that, Erica's expression changed dramatically.
"The Zoroastrian War God ... you mean Verethragna?"
She looked at him, eyes wide in shock. "You're telling me… there's a rogue god involved this time?!"
Su Mo's words struck her like a bolt of lightning.
Up until just now, she'd still harbored some hopeful fantasies. That maybe, with her talent and strength, she too could one day slay a god and earn the title of Campione—Godslayer.
But her devastating defeat at the hands of that boar incarnation had crushed whatever confidence she had left. The gulf between her and a Divine Beast was already unimaginable—how could she even hope to stand against an actual rogue god?
"Why now, of all times..."
Her voice sank, tinged with despair.
"The King of Swords is off in Antarctica. The Wolf King of Scandinavia is missing. The North American one's busy guarding the West Coast. And the rest... can't even be contacted. Not a single Campione is available!"
Only Campiones could fight gods who refused to obey the laws of the world—Heretic Gods. But right now, not a single one was around. The King of Swords, the one tasked with protecting this region, had run off to the South Pole. By the time he returned, it'd be far too late.
A terrible thought entered her mind—this port city might not survive. If things got any worse, the entire island could sink beneath the waves.
Su Mo, however, didn't seem fazed by her pessimism. He was looking around with a thoughtful expression, sensing something off.
"By all accounts, Verethragna should've reclaimed this incarnation by now. Why didn't he, after the [Wind] avatar was destroyed?"
He had witnessed the [Boar] avatar overpower and defeat the [Wind] incarnation firsthand—clearly the work of Verethragna.
If the god had already begun reclaiming his avatars, then it didn't make sense for him to just stop after one. With his proud and combative nature, a War God like Verethragna wouldn't simply walk away after a minor setback.
The [Boar], no matter how ferocious, was still just a fraction of the god's full power—it stood no chance against its true master. So it wasn't a question of not being able to reclaim it.
Then what...?
"Don't tell me..." A thought crossed Su Mo's mind.
"Did he leave the [Boar] avatar on purpose... because he saw Erica trying to challenge it?"
It wouldn't be the first time a god had tested a mortal. Throughout mythology, there were endless tales of deities handing down trials, rewarding those who overcame them.
Su Mo didn't claim to understand divine temperament, but if it were that War God, known for his love of battle and challenges...
"...Then maybe this [Boar] avatar is a trial."
At that thought, Su Mo let out a faint smile.
There was no better way to test a theory than to try it out in action.
If his guess was right, it would soon be proven. —All he had to do was take down the divine beast before him.
Even if that wasn't the god's true intention, Su Mo couldn't possibly stand by and watch the Boar be slain. He still needed to collect all ten incarnations. Either way, this confrontation would force Verethragna —lurking somewhere nearby—to show his hand.
With that resolution, Su Mo sprang into motion.
In an instant, magic surged from his body, transforming him into a beam of pure light.
"Wait! Don't be reckless! That divine beast is incredibly powerful!"
Erica, realizing what he intended to do, shouted in alarm. But she had no chance of stopping him. Her speed couldn't possibly compare.
In the blink of an eye, Su Mo's figure vanished from her side and reappeared next to the colossal Boar.
"So fast!"
Erica's pupils contracted in shock as she watched his movement.
His body had literally transformed into light—true elemental conversion. This magic bore a striking resemblance to the Authority of the Black Prince Alec, one of the Campiones, whose [Lightning Flash] allowed him to become lightning itself.
But Alec's was a god-stolen Authority.
This man… was using pure magic. And he had turned into light.
"Who is he…? To wield magic of this caliber…"
Despite her shock, Erica couldn't help but feel a flicker of hope in her heart.
If someone this powerful was stepping up… then maybe, just maybe…
Meanwhile, in the distance—
As Su Mo appeared before the divine Boar, the creature had already begun gathering energy again.
It opened its mouth, and a deafening roar erupted—a shockwave strong enough to pulverize mountains.
It didn't carry the full force of its earlier clash with the [Wind] incarnation, but it was far more destructive than the attack that had sent Erica flying. This wasn't a focused beam—it was a sweeping, wide-range blast meant to annihilate everything and leave no escape.
But Su Mo wasn't planning on escaping.
Before the shockwave landed, he raised his hands and deployed a defensive magic circle.
"Three Pillars of the Gods!"
A massive tri-layered magic formation erupted beneath his feet, erecting three towering columns of light that encased him in an impregnable shield.
The earth shattered and caved in beneath the divine beast's onslaught, forming a massive crater. Cracks began to spread across Su Mo's magical barrier, but it held firm—for now.
And that window was all Su Mo needed.
Without hesitation, he pressed his hands together and invoked another spell.
"Fairy Law!"
A glowing magic circle, several dozen meters wide, bloomed high in the sky. For a moment, its brilliance scattered the looming darkness, casting down divine radiance.
They say battles between the Ten Saints can alter the very weather—this moment was living proof.
A sacred beam of light descended like a barrage of holy arrows, falling upon the monstrous Boar that had devastated half the city.
To an ordinary onlooker, it might've looked like divine judgment—punishment from the heavens against a beast that had run amok.
But Erica, and others versed in the magical world, knew the truth.
What they were witnessing… was not divine punishment.
It was a human… challenging a god.