"Boom!"
On the city walls of the Holy City's main gate, a storm akin to a natural disaster raged violently.
This was not a mere physical phenomenon caused by Rozen unleashing his astonishing mana, stirring up the atmosphere. Instead, it was a force emanating from Artoria herself.
Rozen stood within the midst of this overwhelming power, his coat flaring wildly in the storm, fiery embers flying like sparks, and his mana surging uncontrollably to withstand the oncoming tempest.
Yet, even before this storm, Rozen seemed to be slightly outmatched.
"This power..."
Rozen's gaze fixed on Artoria, who wore a lion-themed helmet. His eyes gradually turned serious.
Because, at this very moment, the power Artoria was displaying had transcended the scale of magic, skills, or even Noble Phantasms.
This was...
"Authority."
Authority.
It was a mystery that surpassed magic, the manifestation of omniscience and omnipotence, the embodiment of natural laws—powers that only gods could wield.
Divinities were spirits of nature, parts of the world itself. Naturally, they held powers that governed the laws of the world to varying degrees.
The God of Fire could naturally control flames.
The God of the Sea could naturally command the waves.
The God of War wielded authority over combat and warfare.
In addition, gods possessed authorities aligned with their roles and status in mythology. The greater and stronger the authority they held, the higher and more transcendent their position.
For lower-ranked gods with little to no authority, they could be even less powerful than heroic spirits. On the other hand, gods with overwhelming authority often reduced most heroic spirits to mere ants before them. Only those standing at the pinnacle of heroics, such as Scáthach or Karna, could contend with such gods.
Having undergone divinization, the Lion King had become an unnamed goddess. While her identity was unclear, it was evident she was no weak deity, as she possessed the power of authority.
Now, what was unfolding before Rozen was precisely the power of authority.
"I am the King of Storms, the Lord of the End. I call myself the Lion King, a deity who has descended upon this era for the sake of the future."
Artoria declared this in a transcendent voice.
"Human, kneel and bow before me."
As she spoke, the storm surrounding Artoria turned into countless tornadoes, hurling themselves at Rozen.
The sheer might of these tornadoes shook the entire Holy City.
If the Holy City had been an ordinary city, this storm alone would have torn it apart.
In response...
"With this incantation, I pray to Vayu to quell all violence."
Rozen began chanting a spell he seldom used.
It was a prayer to Vayu, the Indian god of wind and atmosphere, the guardian of the northwest, and the embodiment of one of Hinduism's five great elements. Known as the Wind Suppression Incantation, this was a rarely practiced form of spellwork in the imperial-style jujutsu, designed to pacify violent storms.
"Clap!"
As Rozen completed the Wind Suppression Incantation, he clapped his hands, transforming his internal mana into spiritual energy and then into jutsuryoku, which permeated the surroundings, enveloping the entire space.
The raging winds abruptly paused.
Rozen had previously used this incantation to suppress storm-based magic.
But now...
"With just this technique? Unless the Wind God descends in person, how can you possibly quell my authority?"
Artoria coldly declared, and the previously stilled storm erupted once more.
"Boom!"
With a sound that seemed to pierce through space, Rozen's spell was shattered, and the storm's tornadoes surged forth again.
"As expected, it's impossible to counter divine authority with ordinary spells."
Faced with the earth-shattering storm, Rozen remained calm.
"In that case..."
Rozen clenched one fist and raised it before him.
"Come forth! Ninth Beast Vassal — Alnasl Minium!"
Crimson mist surged around Rozen's body.
Rozen summoned a Beast Vassal.
Against mysteries that transcended magic, ordinary spells and incantations were utterly ineffective.
Thus, Rozen directly unleashed a Beast Vassal.
At that moment, a second storm formed around Rozen.
The storm took the shape of a two-horned warhorse, its mane as crimson as blood. It stirred up a tempest that seemed to shake the very world as it appeared on the battlefield.
"That is..."
Artoria raised her head upon seeing this.
"Go!"
Rozen coldly commanded.
The unparalleled Beast Vassal charged forward, its storm converging around its razor-sharp twin horns, colliding ferociously with the incoming tornadoes.
"Boom!"
In the deafening roar, heaven and earth trembled.
The storm-beast and the tornadoes clashed violently, creating terrifying shockwaves and hurricane-like torrents that swept outward.
Under such power, countless figures on the battlefield below were sent flying.
The Knights were blown away.
Dragons were blown away.
Servants were blown away.
Even the earth seemed to be torn apart, with cracking sounds echoing as countless fragments of stone and rubble were flung into the air.
If not for Rozen casting countless Magic Defence shields to protect the thousands of refugees, they would have been torn apart by the storm.
"God!"
"It's God!"
Many refugees, witnessing this apocalyptic scene, collapsed to the ground, unable to flee any further.
Unbeknownst to them, their behavior was adding to Rozen's burden.
"Tsk..."
Rozen clicked his tongue as he continuously released mana to sustain the summoning of Alnasl Minium, while also pouring additional mana into creating Magic Defence shields to protect the refugees. The strain forced a sound of frustration from his throat.
This sound clearly reached Artoria's ears.
"To resist my authority as a mere human—admittedly, you are strong. Were you born in the Age of Gods, you might have been a target for both competition and persecution among the divine."
Artoria spoke in an icy tone.
"If you didn't have to protect the refugees, you might have wielded even greater power. Even now, the strength you display is a restrained version of your full potential. Remarkable. Yet, despite facing me, you dare to show such arrogance as to hold back. You are more insolent than I imagined."
With those words, Artoria raised one hand, causing it to shine brilliantly.
"This arrogance—I shall shatter it."
As her words fell, the light in Artoria's hand transformed into a blinding pillar of radiance, which erupted forth.
The dazzling light tore through the storm, carrying unmatched power, and hurtled toward Rozen with astonishing speed.
That light immediately reminded Rozen of the vision he had glimpsed with Mind's Eye when he first arrived in this Singularity: a light that descended from the heavens, obliterating the earth and leaving craters in its wake.
Undoubtedly, the devastation across the land had been caused by Artoria, the Lion King.
This goddess not only executed refugees during the Holy Selection but also hunted the Mountain People in the wilderness and mercilessly destroyed human villages.