A Certain Multiverse's Holy Right

That was an undeniable feat of speed, piercing the sky like lightning.

And among the known powerhouses in this world, aside from Roy, only one other person possessed such divine speed—England's Campione, the Black Prince, Alexander Gascoigne!

Black Lightning was the name of this godspeed, an authority Gascoigne usurped from the first heretic god he slew—Remiel, the Fallen Angel. When activated, lightning surged around him, completely different from the radiant flames Roy unleashed when using the godspeed he usurped from Michael.

And now, Alexander Gascoigne was reaching for the Holy Grail in Roy's hand at a speed that surpassed lightning. If he succeeded, even Roy, who also possessed godspeed, would not have enough time to catch up.

How fast was it to snatch something at lightning speed? Faster than a blink. Faster than thought itself.

Closer. Closer. Gascoigne could already see the Holy Grail right before his eyes. A joyous smile appeared on his face—

His long-held wish was about to be fulfilled!

…

Gascoigne had first heard the legend of the Holy Grail from his father when he was very young.

His father was a mage—not a particularly powerful one, but also an adventurer who was fanatically obsessed with seeking the legendary Grail that carried the blood of God.

Growing up in such a household, Gascoigne had been indoctrinated with knowledge of the Holy Grail from an early age, which ignited in him an intense longing and fascination for the holy artifact.

But his father died—perishing on his quest to find the Grail.

Gascoigne had no time to mourn. Instead, he inherited his father's will and, despite being a mere weak mage and explorer, he embarked on the same journey to seek the Grail.

It was during this journey that fate smiled upon him—

He killed a god and became a Campione.

To Gascoigne, becoming a Campione was a blessing. With this power, he was certain that he would find the Holy Grail and realize both his own dream and his father's wish.

And he did it.

Through meticulous investigation, Gascoigne discovered the Divine Ancestor, Guinevere, uncovered information about the Last King, and learned that the Holy Grail was in Guinevere's possession.

Three years ago, in his attempt to seize the Grail, he incited a massive upheaval in England—an event so chaotic that it nearly cost Princess Alice her life.

But in the end, he had underestimated Guinevere. Though she had lost her divine authority, she was still under the protection of a Heretic God. Moreover, Gascoigne had been unaware of a critical fact—the Holy Grail was not merely an artifact in Guinevere's possession. It was a part of her very body.

Thus, three years ago, he failed.

…

But now, he had another chance.

Because the New King—the man he feared most—the man who wielded wisdom, had done the unthinkable—

He tore the Holy Grail from Guinevere's grasp!

Gascoigne knew he could never hope to take the Grail from Guinevere, but he was confident he could seize the one in Roy's hands.

And now—

He was but a breath away from claiming it.

Just as the Black Prince's fingers were about to touch the Grail—

It vanished.

His eyes widened in shock as he saw Roy's left hand flip, and the golden Grail, roughly the size of a child, disappeared without a trace. (T/N: I have some thoughts about that description that I would keep to myself)

"Concealment magic? Spatial manipulation?"

As a mage, these thoughts flashed through Gascoigne's mind, but the exact nature of the magic didn't matter.

The only thing that mattered was this—

Roy had anticipated his arrival.

Otherwise, it would have been impossible for him to react in such a short span of time and execute a spell with a speed that even surpassed Gascoigne's godspeed.

This was the same principle as dodging a bullet.

No matter how fast a human was, outrunning a bullet was impossible.

But—avoiding a bullet was possible.

All one had to do was react before the trigger was even pulled.

And that was precisely what Roy did.

His magic could never be faster than godspeed. But if he preemptively activated his magic before Gascoigne even launched his attack—

The result was entirely different.

"Thou art guilty!"

Gascoigne's eyes widened in disbelief.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a blood-red cross-shaped sword descending upon him, slicing through the lightning that had surged forth from his authority. A searing jolt surged through his body. His godspeed was severed.

Though he immediately felt his authority return, the brief interruption had broken its continuity.

And that was enough. Gascoigne reappeared before Roy—no longer in motion, no longer untouchable.

"Impossible! Your authority—doesn't it only work once per day?!"

The Black Prince shouted in disbelief.

Of all the Campione, Gascoigne was one of the few true tacticians.

After the Tokyo Incident, after Roy defeated Marquis Voban, Gascoigne had closely studied him. Through relentless investigation and deduction, he had formed hypotheses regarding Roy's abilities and their limits.

For instance, the authority known as Sword of Judgment. He didn't know exactly how it worked, but he had deduced that it could sever anything.

He had seen it cut through even conceptual connections, such as Guinevere's bond with the Holy Grail.

And that confirmed his theory.

The ability to cut through anything was undeniably terrifying. But Gascoigne had identified what he believed to be its flaw.

Through his research, he had come to a single, crucial conclusion— "That sword can only be used once per day." (T/N: No idea how he did that "research". Honestly feels like bs to me since its all hearsay at most, unless he has spies in Roy's camp)

That limitation made sense. After all, Roy had only slain a single Heretic God—Michael—yet possessed multiple authorities.

There had to be a balance.

Gascoigne had calculated everything. (T/N: But boy is he bad at math 😂)

But now, everything he thought he knew was falling apart. His entire theory was crumbling before his eyes.

Gascoigne stared at Roy—now standing there with that same calm smile. And at that moment, he realized something terrifying.

'I miscalculated.'

But Roy? Roy had no obligation to answer his enemy's questions. He simply smiled.

Because in truth, ever since he had fused Solomon's Spiritual Foundation and evolved his The Hand of Jacob. He had already set his sights on Metatron's Spiritual Foundation remnants.

After Aiwass's relentless efforts, the Holy Guardian Angel finally perfected the Pandora's ritual. Not long ago, Aiwass imparted this knowledge to Roy, allowing him to personally complete the ritual and undergo yet another Spiritual Foundation Fusion.

This fusion was an overwhelming success—Roy achieved Spirit Foundation Rebirth, an impossible feat for a Campione, whose body is usually incapable of further growth. The most significant transformation was his reserves of divine power, which had now reached nearly twice that of an ordinary Campione!

'But there is a limit to this fusion…'

Roy reflected on the process. Simply fusing more Spiritual Foundations wouldn't indefinitely increase his power. It was akin to developing resistance to a drug—as he absorbed more, the room for growth diminished.

Based on his calculations, his maximum potential would be a divine power capacity five times greater than the average Campione. Beyond that threshold, no matter how many more Heretic Gods he fused with, his divine power would cease to grow.

This was the fundamental limit of being a Campione.

'That means from now on, I need to be more selective…'

Roy knew that each fusion counted. He could no longer fuse with any Spiritual Foundation at random. Every choice had to be deliberate, as Spirit Foundation Rebirth had limited uses.

Just like when he previously fused with Solomon, this new fusion had a similar dynamic. Metatron and Michael shared deep connections, just as Solomon had parallels to The Hand of Jacob.

When Roy fused with Solomon's Spiritual Foundation, his authority The Hand of Jacob underwent evolution.

And now, with the fusion of Metatron—his Sword of Judgment had evolved.

It was like acquiring a brand new authority.

The most crucial upgrade was that Roy's Sword of Judgment was no longer bound by a one-use-per-day limit. As long as he had divine power, he could now wield it an unlimited number of times.

By altering the sequence of existence, the sword was now capable of cutting through all things, even abstract concepts.

However, it was not without limitations—Roy could only alter one thing's order at a time. Concepts had inherent restrictions—certain things were simply beyond reach. Right now, he could not yet achieve something like "Sword Above, World Below", where he could split reality itself with a single swing.

But given time—given growth—such a feat was no longer out of reach.

**********

(T/N: So, real talk guys. I actually kinda forgot about posting this and I am sorry about that. This happened because I am not really using the app a lot these days, hence the thing. I am not saying that I am completely back right now but I will try my best to post 1 chapter a day from now on so that I get back in the flow of things. Also I don't know what word I used for Spiritual Foundation before but it shouldn't be that different, whatever term I used before doesn't matter its Spiritual Foundation now. Anyway, do try Regressor's Tale of Cultivation its pretty amazing. The start is a bit meh, but things start to really heat up around chapters 50-60 so do give it a try since Tremendous is a great author.)