Multiverse: Becoming a Giant of Light, Godslayer from the Start

As it turned out, a god's so-called dignity only held meaning when backed by power. On the back foot, Dionysus could only dodge Su Mo's strikes in abject desperation. All the skills he had honed fighting wild beasts in the wilderness were utterly useless against Su Mo's mountain-cleaving, sea-splitting swordplay.

The divine strength he'd inherited from Zeus?

It didn't give him the slightest advantage against Su Mo's monstrous might. The once-proud god of wine was now nothing more than a panicked figure fleeing across the battlefield. Gone was the majestic aura of a deity. All that remained was the pitiful weakness of someone hopelessly outmatched.

"…Is this guy really not a War God?" Dionysus couldn't believe what he was seeing.

Even with all powers and Authorities sealed, without using mana or any magical enhancement, Su Mo had unleashed a slash powerful enough to split the ocean. Even a War God might not be capable of such a feat. Only now did Dionysus finally understand—why those two godslayers had been "foolishly" arguing before the battle. It wasn't that they lacked strategic sense or didn't value conserving strength.

It was simply because Su Mo's strength was so overwhelming, so absolute, that he didn't need help. That realization marked the moment of his defeat.

"It's over."

Su Mo closed the distance in an instant, using Ground Shrink, and drove his sword straight into the Heretic God's heart. With that blow, Dionysus was defeated, and the god of wine was slain.

Doni, who had been watching from the side, wasn't surprised in the slightest. After all, even he had managed to defeat Dionysus before—there was no way someone like Su Mo would struggle with him.

What did surprise him, however, was what happened afterward. Just moments after finishing off the god, Su Mo suddenly vanished, as if he had been summoned.

"Huh?"

Doni's eyes narrowed thoughtfully. The sensation felt… familiar. Hadn't something like this happened to him as well, back when he first became a godslayer? Then again, that was a long time ago, and he hadn't really paid attention at the time. The memory was hazy at best.

"Ah, whatever. If it's something this easy to forget, it probably wasn't important anyway." Shrugging, he lay back on the beach, lazily waiting for Su Mo's return.

—

Meanwhile, in the Netherworld— Su Mo once again arrived in Pandora's room. Strangely enough, the witch didn't immediately pounce on him this time. Instead, she sighed dramatically and then looked up at Su Mo, her eyes sparkling with anticipation.

Her gaze practically screamed: Come on, ask me! Ask me what's going on! Hurry up! Normally, Su Mo wouldn't mind playing along and indulging her. But seeing her act like this, he couldn't help but want to mess with her a little.

He immediately took a step back. "Well, if I'm not welcome, then I guess I'll be going." Su Mo gave a deliberately exaggerated sigh and turned to leave.

"Eh? Wait… Hey! Don't go!" she cried out. The moment he lifted his foot, he found he couldn't move. Pandora had clung tightly to his leg, preventing him from taking another step.

"Alright, alright! I admit it! It's my fault! Please don't misunderstand!"

"My dearest child, don't leave your mother behind like this—sniffle sniffle sob sob!"

The loli goddess wailed dramatically. There were no actual tears, but her surrender was completely sincere. Seeing her like this, Su Mo gave a helpless sigh.

"Well, since you've gone through all this effort to win me back, I'll let you off this time."

"Thank you for your boundless generosity!" Pandora bowed deeply in a full-on dogeza, before pausing and frowning in confusion.

"Wait a minute… why does it feel like you were just messing with me?"

"Bullying your own mother is wrong, you know!" She puffed out her cheeks and glared at him indignantly. Su Mo, of course, expertly changed the subject.

"By the way, that sigh earlier—were you hoping I'd ask you something?" As expected, the single-thread-minded Pandora completely forgot the previous conversation. Placing her hands on her hips, she struck a proud pose.

"I was simply lamenting how—even in this petite maiden form—I remain far too charming!"

"Why else would my darling child be so eager to see Mommy again, after only a single day?"

"It must be my divine allure… my endless maternal affection! That's what's completely enchanted little Su Mo!" She beamed with pride, clearly convinced of her own delusion.

Ever since Su Mo became a godslayer, he had been visiting her more frequently. First with Verethragna and Melqart, and now with Perseus and Dionysus—it had only been a day between his last visit and this one. Pandora had assumed she'd have to wait quite a while to see her favorite child again. She never expected Su Mo to slay another god so soon. And so, she convinced herself—Su Mo must have done it just to see her again. Her sigh at the beginning had come from being overwhelmed by her own supposed charm.

"…"

Su Mo was at a loss for words. After a moment of contemplation, he decided to offer a gentle rebuttal.

"Delusions may not be a disease… but I still recommend seeing a therapist."

Well, maybe that wasn't so gentle. Pandora didn't seem upset, though. Instead, she giggled and looked at him with bright eyes.

"No need to be shy! It's just the two of us here—you can tell Mommy how much you love her!"

She puffed out her chest and opened her arms wide in a classic "Come to Mama" gesture, waiting for her reward hug. Su Mo's eyes drifted downward toward her chest.

With a deadpan expression, he said, "The only thing I respect about you is the vast, unbroken expanse of that airport runway you call a chest."

"And your confidence, despite the hard facts staring us all in the face."

Pandora instantly understood the meaning. She was well-versed in modern internet slang, thanks to her constant surveillance of the mortal world. She immediately realized what he meant—yes, he was calling her flat. The little witch was outraged.

"Airport runway?!"

"I do have something if I really try! Look, look!"

Pandora made a valiant attempt to squeeze some kind of cleavage out of her petite frame, hoping to imitate someone like Erica. But alas—there are things that even gods cannot achieve. Like what Pandora was attempting right now. Su Mo gave her a pitying look and gently patted her head.

"There, there. Being flat can be a rare and valuable trait in itself."

His "comforting words" only made her feel worse.

"My adorable yet cruel child… that's not comforting at all!"

"You've stabbed Mommy right in the heart…"

The little witch looked devastated. All her life, she'd been proud of her looks. She was, after all, a goddess—hailed as a masterpiece of divine art. Undeniably cute, yes—but now that Su Mo had pointed it out, she couldn't help but realize…

Her face might be adorable…

But her figure had absolutely no impact. For a moment, Pandora looked genuinely disheartened. She clearly needed a head-pat and some affection from her most beloved child to feel better.

As for Su Mo—seeing Pandora, who always postured as the dignified "Mother of Godslayers," now waiting so obediently just for a pat on the head was a rare treat. Naturally, he didn't waste the opportunity. While comforting the loli goddess, he also enjoyed the feel of her petite, delicate form. Roughly half a minute later, Pandora finally emerged from her sulking.

She was just about to speak when she suddenly wrinkled her cute little nose, as if she smelled something that couldn't be ignored.

"—Wait, don't move!"

Grabbing Su Mo, Pandora leaned in and began sniffing him suspiciously. The scene resembled a jealous wife catching her husband red-handed—or a mother discovering her child had snuck out to the internet café all night.

"What is it?" Su Mo asked, confused by her sudden intensity.

Pandora's expression was like that of a girlfriend who just discovered her boyfriend had been to a shady massage parlor. The comparison made him uneasy. Instead of replying immediately, Pandora began patting him down, examining every inch of him with her powers as a mother goddess. After a while, her expression darkened, and she frowned deeply.

"Why… why do you smell like Inanna?" she asked sternly. "And even more outrageous, why did that goddess bestow her blessing upon you?"

Inanna—goddess of storm, war, fertility, and thunder in Sumerian mythology. She also had another, far more well-known name: Ishtar.

"Oh, that," Su Mo responded, finally realizing what she meant. "That power came from a different world." It was Ishtar's blessing.

He had obtained it during his time in another world—specifically, the Nasuverse. During the Holy Grail War, the goddess Ishtar had been summoned, and, true to form, had fallen for the dashing version of himself from that world. Moved by her feelings, she had granted him her divine blessing. Su Mo wasn't quite sure what exactly had happened back then, but the power had been shared with his current self.

"Is that a problem?" he asked, puzzled.

A goddess's blessing—even if it didn't reach the level of an Authority—was still a formidable asset. Especially one from Ishtar. It was probably the highest grade of divine blessing; something usually only shared between divine spouses. Su Mo could even partially access her domains.

By all accounts, it was a great power to have. So why was Pandora making that face? She looked like a worried mother who'd just discovered her child had started dating far too early—or a wife who just found her husband's secret VIP spa card.