As the light faded, the colossal divine boar let out a thunderous groan and collapsed heavily to the ground.
"He actually… did it—!"
From a distance, Erica's eyes widened in disbelief. She had considered the possibility, but to see it play out before her eyes was still beyond comprehension.
That divine beast, which she hadn't even been able to approach, had been felled by this man in a single strike.
Absurd. Completely unbelievable.
Not even her uncle Saint Paul or someone like Saint Raphael, the renowned paladins, could boast of this kind of power.
Could he be… one of those extremely rare Grand Mage?
Or worse—was he a newly ascended Campione?
Meanwhile, Su Mo stood silently, gazing at the collapsed divine beast with little joy on his face.
Only mild surprise.
"It's still not dead?"
Yes—even after taking a direct hit from Fairy Law, the boar, while limp and unmoving, had not lost its life force.
"As expected of a divine beast… That level of magic resistance and vitality is monstrous."
Though in its current state it had no real strength left to fight back, and Su Mo could easily finish it off if he wanted, he knew something important:
The divine boar wasn't even considered one of the hardier breeds of sacred beasts.
Dragons and serpents—those were the true monsters, with vitality so overwhelming that they could survive blows that would annihilate lesser beings.
If he had been facing one of those, Su Mo suspected that even his Fairy Law might not have done much more than tickle them.
"No wonder in the original story, Makarov never even considered using this move on the Black Dragon Acnologia…"
He must have known it would be useless.
With beings like that, even if you injured them, they'd probably regenerate in the blink of an eye.
As these thoughts passed through his mind, Su Mo didn't go in for the finishing blow.
Instead, he raised his voice and spoke clearly to the open air:
"Still not planning to show yourself? I didn't think the Zoroastrian War God was the type to hide in the shadows."
The moment his voice echoed out—
A gust of wind swept across the battlefield, and a boy suddenly appeared in front of Su Mo, as if stepping out of thin air.
"Was that really necessary?"
The boy had violet hair and golden eyes that shimmered with divine radiance. His tone was calm, but slightly amused.
"I was actually giving you time to finish off your prey and bask in your glorious victory, you know."
There was no doubt now.
This was a god who had defied the heavens.
The Zoroastrian War God —Verethragna himself.
"…So this really was a trial?" Su Mo muttered, unable to hold back his disbelief.
"But this is the modern world, not the age of antiquity. People don't parade their enemy's severed heads around as proof of valor anymore."
"That's truly a shame," Verethragna replied, shaking his head with genuine regret. "So many excellent rites lost to history…"
Displaying one's prey after a successful hunt—it was a custom from the age of gods.
"You're not even the least bit sentimental, huh?" Su Mo gave the injured boar a glance full of sympathy. "That's one of your incarnations, isn't it? You're really okay with letting it get destroyed like this?"
Verethragna responded seriously, "A trial is a trial. Even if it was something I came up with on a whim, as a god, I must accept all its consequences. To go back on my word now would be beneath my dignity."
Sure, he would lose one of his incarnations.
But to Verethragna, principles of divine combat and pride meant far more than just raw power. A god who couldn't endure the loss of a single incarnation had no right to test mortals at all.
Su Mo admired his conviction.
"As expected of a true War God," he said, smiling as he smoothly started to press his advantage.
"If this was a trial, then surely the god overseeing it would grant a reward to the one who passes it, right?"
"Of course," Verethragna nodded.
"But before that, you must finish the [Boar]—complete the rite."
He wasn't a stingy deity, but he placed great emphasis on the etiquette of battle. As long as Su Mo delivered the final blow to the divine beast, Verethragna had no intention of going back on his word—he would offer a fitting reward.
To him, this requirement was nothing unreasonable. The divine beast had already lost most of its life force; putting it down now would be no trouble at all.
However, what happened next surprised him.
"Must I really kill the [Boar]?"
Su Mo asked without hesitation, and almost immediately shook his head.
"Then I'd rather not."
His tone was casual, as if giving up the reward meant nothing at all.
That one sentence piqued Verethragna's interest even more. He had originally descended only to retrieve one of his avatars—never did he expect to come across such a fascinating mortal.
"Why?" Verethragna couldn't help but ask. "You still have enough magic left to cast that same spell again. Finishing the [Boar] should be trivial for you."
To that, Su Mo responded with a brilliant smile.
"The reason's simple— I've heard that if a god who refuses obedience isn't slain properly, their Authority won't be passed on."
His tone was calm, almost like he was chatting with a friend. But the words he spoke made even a herectic god like Verethragna tremble.
"Hahahahahaha!" The Zoroastrian God of War burst into laughter.
"So that's how it is! You're just like those other 'Children of Fools'—you've set your sights on my life too!"
"Hahahaha! Delightful! Truly delightful! To think, before my final battle with Melqart, I would meet such an interesting human! It seems this descent to the lower world was well worth it after all!"