Warning
Warning
Wooooong──!!
A low, heavy tone resonated from the ceiling.
A thin line appeared at the center of the auditorium ceiling, then began to split open left and right.
Ben Stiller, who had been watching the lid open overhead from the stage, swept his fallen hair back into place.
'Didn't come after all.'
From the moment he arrived, he'd spread his energy sense into every corner. But even now, standing on the stage, he still couldn't feel any trace of the woman he'd been trying to find.
'Bill-damned bastard.'
Ben Stiller gritted his teeth at the shabbily dressed man standing alone across from him.
The urge to rush forward and snap the man's limbs surged every time he recalled the humiliation from earlier that day.
"Huuu."
But he steadied his breathing, brought his emotions under control, and replayed the incident in his mind.
'Seizing control of someone's mana...'
That was why he'd been helpless today, unable to do anything.
His mana, normally flowing through his circuits, had suddenly slipped out of his control and stopped dead. Solidified like a chunk of iron.
The mana that filled his circuits had frozen, robbing even his freedom of movement. That was why he'd been forced to stand there taking hits like an idiot.
'I don't know what you're after, but it won't go the way you want.'
Ben Stiller was sure of it.
Seizing control of mana wasn't the ability of the Bill-damned bastard standing in front of him. It was the work of another accomplice hiding somewhere far away.
His reasoning was simple.
From the moment he arrived at the auditorium, his opponent hadn't manipulated mana even once.
Aside from manifesting an ability, using magic or artifacts always required mana. Yet the man before him had never manipulated mana while they'd faced each other today.
So he was sure.
Someone else, someone who knew he would show up, had hidden and done the work.
And he'd already decided who those hidden actors were.
'Bill-damned bitch.'
The Queen of England who had brought him here.
'Fuck, I knew it was shady from the start.'
She'd offered fifty million dollars just to pick a fight.
If the target had been some nobody, he would have grown suspicious and refused. But this man was rumored, in strict confidence among the highest ranks of the temple, to be the lover of none other than the Representative of the God of Amusement and the Executor who enforced divine will, Claire Vin Asen.
So he'd accepted without hesitation.
First, he had no significant ties to the God of Amusement's side, so even if he got on their bad side, he had little to lose. Second, this might just create an opportunity for him.
A cold-blooded woman without emotion, devoted solely to her god.
That was the public image of Claire Vin Asen.
That was why, despite her dazzling beauty, no one had ever approached her until now.
But suddenly she was in a relationship with some nobody who'd appeared out of nowhere?
That cold-blooded woman who would cut down even a child without mercy if they defied her god's will?
So he'd thought:
Claire was still a human with emotions, after all.
If he proved he was a superior man to this Baek Woo-jin, he could surely win her heart.
He still thought so.
But to create that situation, he'd had to accept an unplanned, massive hemorrhage of resources.
"I'm counting on you."
"The Great One has already given his confirmation. Worry not."
The servant of the Goddess of Benevolence he'd brought as a notary for this event.
To everyone else, she appeared to be just an ordinary priestess, but she wasn't the real notary today.
'Eleanor... the moment I return to Washington, I'm designating you as an enemy.'
Ben Stiller was swallowing his rage yet again, bringing his emotions under control, when—
"My apologies for the delay."
Eddie Holt, a middle-aged man whose every motion exuded dignified grace, stepped onto the stage.
First, he bowed once to Baek Woo-jin, once to Ben Stiller, and then turned to greet the spectators seated in the opposing gallery.
"I am Eddie Holt, head butler, serving as notary for this bout on behalf of the British Royal Family."
Though his voice carried no mana, it rang clearly through the entire auditorium, almost uncannily so.
'So it was you after all.'
Seeing the Queen's Shadow step forward as notary in place of the god's servant, Ben Stiller became even more certain he'd been played by the Queen.
"And..."
Eddie Holt straightened and pulled out a smartphone.
Fwoooosh──!!
A brilliant light gathered in the air, then took the shape of a small child.
The child's eyes opened, and it beamed like a little trickster as it spoke.
【Hellooo~!! It's Vuar here, come to watch in person because some good-for-nothing bastard was eyeing my daughter!!】
"......?!"
Ben Stiller's eyes flew wide.
A completely unexpected situation had just unfolded.
But his shock was short-lived.
【Ah, ah! Don't you worry too much, you good-for-nothing! I'm strictly here to spectate! Isn't that right, Verotha?】
Fwoooosh──!!
A pillar of intense holy power descended from above.
The gazes of Ben Stiller and the audience naturally turned to the priestess enveloped in that beam of light.
Ssssss.
The beam descending from the sky seeped wholly into the servant of the Goddess of Benevolence.
The priestess looked up at Vuar with radiantly glowing eyes and let out a sigh.
"You remain as fond of spectacle as ever."
【Mhm, mhm! The secret to staying young, you could say?】
"...Haa."
The priestess—no, Verotha, the Goddess of Benevolence now possessing her—shook her head and stepped forward to stand before Eddie Holt.
"From this moment, I, Verotha, shall strike down any who speak falsehood with divine punishment in my name. Step forward if you accept these terms."
It wasn't even the deity's true manifestation, only a possession, yet the crushing pressure that squeezed his entire body made Ben Stiller swallow hard as he moved his feet.
'...This was worth the expenditure after all.'
Glaring at Baek Woo-jin, who had started moving one step at a time just like him, Ben Stiller curled up one corner of his mouth.
'I'll knock every one of your teeth out.'
How dare he slap his cheek.
He began to gradually release the emotions he'd kept suppressed.
"Both of you, answer. Will you face this duel fairly, using only your innate abilities?"
Sensing the irresistible force in that voice, Ben Stiller smiled and nodded.
"I swear to face this duel fairly, using only my innate abilities."
Ben Stiller glared at Baek Woo-jin, who stood across from him.
'Run. Run away now, while you still can.'
If you do, I'll forget about the slap, at least.
"Fine."
"......?"
But Baek Woo-jin didn't run. He answered.
In casual speech, no less, not even a respectful form.
Ben Stiller stared at Baek Woo-jin as if he were insane, checking the translation artifact on his finger. Baek Woo-jin's conduct just now was that absurd.
"Their truth has been confirmed."
"......?!"
But what stunned Ben Stiller even more was Verotha's attitude.
Gods were, by their very nature, authoritarian and arrogant.
A famous story told how, long ago, a high ranker from India refused to bow to them simply because he didn't acknowledge the gods—and for that single offense, divine punishment was dealt, shredding every last one of his magic circuits.
Make no mistake: what Baek Woo-jin had just done was, at best, on the same level as that Indian high ranker who'd gotten himself erased from this world, and more likely worse.
'...Is it because of Vuar?'
The one god who wasn't authoritarian and was friendly toward humans.
Yet also the absolute god who held greater authority than any of them.
Gulp.
Ben Stiller swallowed dryly.
"Do not treat a god's name lightly."
"......!!"
Facing the golden glare directed at him, Ben Stiller's eyes snapped wide as he hurriedly nodded.
Verotha turned to address the gallery.
"Should anyone interfere in this duel, I, Verotha, shall deliver the most terrible divine punishment in my name."
With those words, Verotha descended from the stage.
【Let's get on with it already!!】
"Ah, my apologies."
Eddie Holt, still holding the smartphone where Vuar was displayed, apologized and stepped forward.
"Declaring defeat or losing consciousness will be treated as a loss. Do you agree?"
"I agree."
Ben Stiller answered as if he'd been waiting, while Baek Woo-jin merely nodded once.
"Furthermore, targeting the head or heart is prohibited."
"......."
This time, Ben Stiller also didn't answer, merely nodding once like Baek Woo-jin.
"Confirmed. Both participants, please return to your positions."
At Eddie Holt's direction, Ben Stiller and Baek Woo-jin returned to where they had first stood.
"The signal will be this medallion touching the floor."
Eddie Holt produced a gold medallion, tossed it high into the air, and quickly descended from the stage.
Fwooosh.
The coin, rising against the moonlight, hung there for the briefest moment before beginning its fall.
Ting—!!
The instant the medallion struck the floor, Ben Stiller unleashed the killing intent he'd kept suppressed.
"I'll make those stiff knees of yours kneel first!!"
Kugugugung─!!
The auditorium shook as if about to collapse at Ben Stiller's roar. Several senior professors clapped their hands over their ears and crumpled.
And that was all.
"......!!"
Ben Stiller was horrified.
He'd concentrated the mana he'd prepared in advance into both legs and kicked off the floor.
The distance between him and his opponent should have closed in less than the blink of an eye, yet he was still standing in the exact spot he'd started from. No—he was floating there.
"Ridiculous, this is ridiculous!!"
Fwoooosh──!!
Every thrash of his limbs sent massive gusts howling through the air.
But that was it.
"I said cut the crap... you fucking bastards..."
No matter how much he struggled with the body he'd strengthened by killing monsters and stealing their traits, his feet never touched the floor.
"Is that it."
The silent Baek Woo-jin's mouth finally opened.
At the same moment, the Ben Stiller floating in the air was yanked forward in an instant and pulled right in front of Baek Woo-jin.
"You son of—"
"If you open your mouth again, I'll rip out your tongue."
Ben Stiller's throat tightened and his lips trembled involuntarily.
The man's voice was laced with chilling killing intent.
"From this day forward, do not casually speak the name Claire Vin Asen."
The sonorous voice spread, chewing and spitting out every syllable.
"Should you break this rule—"
Baek Woo-jin's gaze shifted toward the gallery.
"—I promise I will make what happens to this one feel like a joke."
Crunch.
"Cough...!!"
Along with the sound of something breaking, dark-red blood spilled from Ben Stiller's mouth.