A Certain Multiverse's Holy Right

A dazzling light flashed, engulfing all darkness. The black hole that could scour the planet's surface clean was transformed into the brilliance of a supernova.

From space, one could see a radiant burst originating from the Alps in Switzerland, Europe. This brilliant light shot into the cosmos in all directions, spreading rapidly across low-Earth orbit. In mere moments, it formed a massive sphere, stretching north to the Arctic Circle, west past the English Channel into the Atlantic, south across the Mediterranean, and eastward to the boundary between Asia and Europe. The entire continent of Europe was encompassed in its glow.

For an instant, everyone in Europe witnessed the sky turning a brilliant golden hue, triggering panic across the region.

Magicians from various factions in Europe, as well as government agencies, naturally saw the light that enveloped the continent. How they chose to explain this to the general public was a mystery that only time would reveal.

As the light faded from its peak intensity, it disappeared completely. Where once stood a mountain range in the Alps, the land had been leveled. The snowfields were gone, the peaks erased. Whether this destruction of an entire section of the mountain range would lead to long-term changes in weather patterns was a question for the future.

This destruction was not caused by Roy's The Light of the Right Hand but by Athena's Black Sword of Wisdom, which wreaked havoc on the earth's surface.

Roy's The Light of the Right Hand targeted Athena specifically. Although its brilliance was exaggerated and spanned the entire European continent, it caused almost no damage to the physical world.

Sometimes, Roy wondered how his right hand could define something as vast as a planet as an enemy, and how he could measure the "maximum output" of a planet. If such a measurement were possible, then a wave of his right hand should be capable of shattering an entire planet into fragments.

If he pushed the boundaries further—to stars, the solar system, the Milky Way, sub-galactic clusters, the Local Galactic Group, the Local Galactic Supercluster, or even the entire universe—his right hand could indeed become a true "Hand that Shatters the Universe."

Roy firmly believed that his right hand held this miraculous power. After all, it was the kind of power that a Magic God could wield. At present, he simply lacked the means to fully utilize the hand's complete potential.

"This is absurd..."

Amidst the shattered landscape of the Alps, Athena lay on the ground, gasping for breath.

"It's so absurd... I was defeated so inexplicably... I can't accept it. I refuse to acknowledge it. I... I cannot agree with this outcome!"

Athena bore no visible wounds. The bloodstains and bruises on her body were remnants of Roy's earlier strikes. The The Light of the Right Hand's attack was incomprehensible, indescribable, and devoid of a perceivable process. It was neither a physical collision nor a magical assault. Those struck by the The Light of the Right Hand, like Athena—and earlier Marquis Voban—found themselves stunned and disbelieving.

They simply could not understand how they had been defeated, nor why the defeat was so absolute.

"Ugh…"

Athena propped herself up on her arms, attempting to sit upright. Even this simple act proved excruciatingly difficult.

The Black Sword of Wisdom was Athena's trump card, but it was not a move that left her entirely incapacitated after use. On the contrary, given Athena's strength, she could normally wield the Black Sword of Wisdom two or three times before succumbing to exhaustion.

After unleashing the Black Sword of Wisdom against Roy, she should have still had plenty of power left to continue the battle. However…

Her divine power was gone, her physical strength depleted, and her energy drained—as if that mysterious right hand had, in the aftermath of a single flash of light, taken everything from her.

"No, it didn't take my divine power... That light isn't something so shallow…"

Athena's sharp mind engaged as she pondered deeply. At last, a realization dawned upon her.

"...That light took away my 'victory.' Every factor that could lead to my victory has vanished. Because 'victory' is gone, I am destined to 'fall'... It's incomprehensible, utterly incomprehensible. This ability is beyond reason!"

Her amber eyes locked onto Roy, who was slowly approaching her. Her gaze shifted to the mysterious hand on his right shoulder.

"Hahahahaha!! I'm dying of laughter! Dying of laughter! This hand isn't the authority of a god at all. I swear, no god possesses such a power! This power is yours, Roy Crowley. You already hold within yourself the ability to save or destroy the world. Michael's authority? It's nothing more than a trigger to draw out the strength you already possess!"

Athena's laughter rang out, her voice as melodious as a zither played under the moonlight. Even in defeat, she carried herself with the elegance and grace of a goddess, devoid of the despair or ugliness often seen in losers.

"What's so funny, Athena?"

Roy walked slowly to Athena, his body drenched in blood, resembling a figure carved from gore. Outwardly, he appeared more like the defeated one, yet the reality was clear—Athena was entirely powerless now. As a demon king, Roy was in a position to do anything he wished to the goddess.

"A human being, even before becoming a Campione, wields a power unmatched by all the gods combined. How could this not be laughable? I laugh at the vastness of the world, at my own narrow-mindedness, and at the arrogance of the gods. Roy Crowley, I finally see infinite possibilities in you—possibilities that even fate cannot bind. If it is you, I believe the outcome will be different!"

Athena laughed wholeheartedly. Her captivating and graceful figure quivered as she laughed, her chest rippling with an enticing rhythm...

After a long moment, she finally stopped, her noble features taking on a serious expression. "…I too have been blinded by my own preconceptions. When you proposed the agreement, I suspected you had some sort of fallback plan, but I was too arrogant. I believed that no matter what you prepared, it could not surpass my wisdom. Yet reality has given me a hard slap.

"…Though I have the wisdom of heaven, there exists a world beyond the heavens, one far greater than my understanding."

Roy concentrated his divine power to stop the flow of blood in his wounds. Thankfully, the body of a Campione was remarkably resilient. Were he an ordinary human, he would have long since succumbed to blood loss and fainted. Suppressing the light dizziness in his head, he gazed upon his prize—the famed goddess of Greek mythology—and said: "…Athena, does the agreement still stand?"

He harbored no illusions that the agreement could fully restrain this goddess. Athena, the embodiment of wisdom, was also synonymous with cunning, as mythologies would attest. This goddess was not one to adhere strictly to rules; if the circumstances touched upon her core principles, she would surely shred the agreement and dismiss you with her unyielding arrogance.

"I am not one to be unable to accept defeat. Besides, do I have any means left to resist? Come, Demon King, you have already claimed your goddess. Whether you wish to sever my head and usurp my authority, or indulge in your absurd and primal desires upon me, as a defeated captive, I can only endure!

"…But Athena will never simply become yours. The moment I find the chance, I will rise again and sever your Rakshasa head!"

Even in her powerless state, Athena's pride remained undiminished. It was not hollow bluster but an indomitable pride that accepted all consequences with grace. Yet, it carried the absolute certainty that she would rise again to reclaim her honor.

Now, here was the dilemma—a goddess lay defenseless before him. Not just any goddess, but one of undeniable divinity and fame, known as the world's most famous virgin goddess. Should he seize this moment to shatter their relationship irrevocably by having sex with her, ensuring enmity forevermore, or should he simply take her authority and leave room for reconciliation in the future? It was indeed a difficult choice.

But Roy quickly made his decision.