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

The god who appeared wore a deep crimson cloak, silver-plated arms, and wielded a longsword. Unlike Siegfried—who was purely a warrior—this god radiated not just martial sharpness, but a true kingly presence. The moment their eyes met, Su Mo's Haki of the Conqueror instinctively surged forth. Of course, a heretic god wouldn't be disturbed by Haki. Still, in that brief clash of aura, both understood who the other was.

—They were both kings.

The heretic god looked to be in his early forties—prime of life—and stared directly at Su Mo, eyes flickering with fighting spirit.

"My opponent this time… is another king, is it?"

"If a Demon King counts," Su Mo replied offhandedly.

"Hmph! A god-slayer like you, a so-called Demon King, doesn't qualify as a true ruler." The heretic god sneered, then glanced disdainfully at Doni behind Su Mo.

"You call that one a king?" Clearly, this god had fought Doni before—and understood his nature well. To him, Doni was just a swordsman. No matter how powerful, that didn't make him a ruler.

Su Mo nodded in agreement.

"True. That guy doesn't have what it takes to be a king." A king and a swordsman were fundamentally different. It was like in the world of One Piece. Even though Dracule Mihawk held the title of the world's strongest swordsman—his power perhaps even rivaling the Admirals or Emperors—no one saw him as a king.

A true king is someone admired, respected, and followed by all. Only then could one be called a King. Doni, by contrast, was merely a man who happened to possess great power.

"It seems we share the same perspective," Su Mo said.

The heretic god nodded in satisfaction.

Their meeting was unlike most encounters between god-slayers and rogue gods. There was no hostility—instead, the atmosphere was almost pleasant, like a meeting of kindred spirits. But standing behind them, Doni was clearly not pleased.

"Hey! Whose side are you even on, my friend!?" he grumbled toward Su Mo, displeased.

Then, narrowing his eyes at the all-too-familiar heretic god standing nearby, he shouted, "And you—Nuada! You've got some nerve talking like that after I already beat you!"

"If not for that cursed contract, I'd slay you again without hesitation!" Doni would never forget the first god he'd ever defeated—or the origin of his most used Authority.

And that striking silver arm, paired with the unmistakable attire, made Nuada's identity plain to anyone: King of the Tuatha Dé Danann, the Silver Arm Nuada, original wielder of the [Ripping Silver Arm].

"Hmph," Nuada snorted dismissively when Doni mentioned his past defeat.

"Sure, you won by exploiting an opening and picking up the scraps. But for a mere human, you did well. Let's say you earned that win."

Back when they fought, Doni had been possessed by Saint George. During the clash between the two heretic gods, Nuada had managed to kill the saint—but at that moment, Doni regained control of his body and, through sheer human swordsmanship, defeated the god-king. It had been a lucky win, certainly, but Nuada wasn't the type to hold a grudge. He accepted his loss with grace.

"Still, you can't interfere in this fight, can you?" Nuada said, glancing at Doni knowingly.

Even without considering Doni's drained magic, the very placement of the combatants made it clear—this duel was meant to be between Su Mo and Nuada, two kings in their own right.

"Shall we begin?" Nuada asked, showing the politeness expected of a warrior-god.

"I'm ready whenever you are," Su Mo replied with a smile, gripping the golden sword in his hand.

"Very well!" Nuada responded loudly.

Even as he spoke from several dozen meters away, by the time the sound of his voice reached Su Mo's ears, the god-king had already closed the distance. His silver blade flashed, swinging directly at Su Mo's chest—seizing the initiative. Su Mo sensed the attack, of course, and had more than enough time to block it with his golden sword. But instead of doing that, he decided to test his newly acquired Authority. He raised his arm and caught the blade head-on.

Clang!

The silver sword struck Su Mo's arm with a metallic ring, like steel against steel. Dozens of glowing runes spiraled across his body—the [Man of Steel] had activated, completely neutralizing the ambush.

"Huh?" Nuada blinked, surprised to see his blade halted by a bare arm. But then he quickly understood.

"I see... the Steel Undying Body, is it? A fine Authority you've gained." High praise from a god-king—this Authority was no joke. When Siegfried had used it, the Man of Steel had a fatal weak point—his back. But Su Mo, who had inherited only the power and not the curse, had no such flaw. His [Man of Steel] was impenetrable from all directions.

Doni's version was the same. It turned out that the limitation of only gaining one power per god-slaying had its benefits—no curses, just raw ability. Even after having his ambush blocked, Nuada wasn't discouraged. Instead, he laughed heartily and invoked a Word of Power.

"O invincible sword, cut down all before you!" As his incantation rang out, the silver blade in his hand lengthened slightly. A dangerous gleam danced across its edge.

"Let's see whether your defense is stronger, or my blade is sharper!" As if to resolve an age-old contradiction—an unstoppable force meeting an immovable object—Nuada raised his sword and brought it crashing down.

From the gleam of the blade alone, Su Mo felt the same overwhelming pressure as when Doni had unleashed the [Ripping Silver Arm].

Could the [Man of Steel] withstand such a blow?

Which would win—the strongest sword, or the strongest shield?

Su Mo didn't particularly care. Because the answer had been clear long ago:

—Victory belongs to the one with more magic.

And attack consumed more magic than defense. Su Mo, though he had magic to spare, had no intention of simply taking the hit.

Clang!

He raised his golden sword and parried Nuada's silver blade. Well, "parried" was a bit generous.

Crack!

A fracture ran down the golden blade. That sword, which existed more as a magical construct than as a physical weapon, was partially cleaved by Nuada's power. Against an active Authority, a sword without an invoked Word was no match. But fortunately, Su Mo's golden sword was not physical. Even if broken, it could be repaired instantly by infusing it with another Word. And so, Su Mo began to speak.

"The sword that can cleave all things belongs to Nuada, King of the Tuatha Dé Danann."

"From Doni's Authority alone, one might assume the blade and silver arm are a single system."

"It might even be mistaken that the silver arm itself is the key to activating the magic sword."

"But that is absolutely the wrong assumption."

Nuada, hearing Su Mo speak mid-combat, didn't understand what he was up to and paid no attention. His silver blade continued flashing with blinding light as he swung it again and again, aiming to destroy Su Mo's weapon before he could finish his incantation. Nuada's swordsmanship was weaker than Doni's—and far below Su Mo's. But even the finest technique meant little if the weapon lacked power. The unenchanted golden sword was nearing its limit under the onslaught. Before infusing the incantation, Su Mo directly activated his newly acquired Authority—[Man of Steel].

He used it to shield the not-yet-formed golden sword, reinforcing it with the essence of steel. Runes shimmered along the blade, their meaning etched in ancient form. With the sword now hardened by the unyielding nature of steel, even Nuada's own blade struggled to make any real impact.

Off to the side, Doni's ears perked up when he heard a familiar name mentioned.

As Su Mo gracefully parried Nuada's slashes with expert swordsmanship—occasionally even pressing forward to force the god to defend—he began reciting a chant infused with sacred truth.

"Nuada, the Silver Arm, was once wounded in battle and had his arm replaced by the god of healing, Dian Cecht. But later, Dian Cecht's son restored his original flesh and blood, allowing him to return to the throne."

"Both times Nuada was crowned High King, he no longer bore the silver arm. For a god who had already regained his full strength, the silver prosthetic was irrelevant—perhaps even a hindrance to his rule."

"Therefore, the magic sword has no real connection to the silver arm at all!"

"The true identity of the Silver Arm God Nuada's blade is one of the Four Treasures of the Tuatha Dé Danann—"

"—the Sword of Victory, Claíomh Solais!"

"Also called the Sword of Wind, the Sword of Flame, the Undefeated Blade... it's known by many names."

"But in truth, Claíomh simply means 'sword,' and Solais means 'light.'"

"So, the essence of this sacred blade is a sword of light that can take any form—and always brings victory!"

With a single, powerful verse, Su Mo completed the invocation of the sword's legend. At that moment, he withdrew the man of steel from the golden blade. Now imbued with the wisdom and power of the divine chant, the golden sword no longer needed reinforcement. It possessed an edge equal to—or greater than—that of the legendary sword of light itself.

Clang!

Steel met light once again, but this time it was Su Mo's blade that had the upper hand.

Doni, listening nearby, was completely dumbfounded. His face froze in a mixture of shock and betrayal. "Wait, seriously? That's how it is?!" For the first time, he learned the true origin of the power he wielded. "So, the silver arm... has nothing to do with the sword?!" He had always subconsciously assumed the two were connected. It had been mentioned before: Authorities are shaped by the impressions of the god-slayer who acquires them.

For Doni, during his first battle against a heretic god, the most vivid image etched into his mind had been Nuada wielding a silver arm and a gleaming sword. Having never studied mythology in depth, he assumed that the magic sword was somehow forged by, or a result of, the silver prosthetic. So, every time he activated the Authority, he would subconsciously imitate Nuada—transforming his right arm into silver before drawing the sword. Only now did he realize that the silver arm had nothing to do with the power he was using.