"Since you called me here, it means you must have something important to tell me." Ren asked curiously.
Pandora would only appear in person when an individual becomes a Campione for the first time. After all, one could only obtain Divine Authority by slaying a Heretic God, and after that, they would never see Pandora again.
However, this time was different. Pandora took the initiative to pull Ren's consciousness into the underworld, something that usually only occurred during the transformation ritual. This situation only made Ren even more curious.
"Little Ren is truly smart, and you deserve to be mother's favorite child."
After Pandora once again declared her affection for Ren, she wiped away her smile and revealed a serious expression.
"This time, I summoned you here to warn you."
"Warn me?" Ren was momentarily stunned.
"Yes, a warning. Though it's not yet time, if you encounter a Heretic God with the Steel attribute in the future, please be careful."
Pandora's expression was extremely serious, showing none of the liveliness or cheerfulness from before. Her beautiful emerald eyes were fixed on Ren.
Ren even noticed a hint of irritation there.
"The god whose name contains the Steel attribute is your nemesis. Since you were born in the East, I'm specifically warning you." Pandora continued, her face remaining solemn, adding weight to her words.
"..."
Ren listened carefully, not wanting to miss any detail.
"In the far east, the strongest Steel is sleeping. So before he awakens, you need to gather as many Divine Authorities as possible. You must not lose!" Pandora said firmly, her voice laced with undeniable concern.
"Can you tell me why?"
Ren knew that the strongest Steel Pandora referred to was the King of the End, the nemesis of all Campiones.
If there was still a possibility of peace between Heretic Gods and Campiones, then the relationship between the King of the End and Campiones was purely life or death.
"You know, wasn't humanity originally a matriarchal society dominated by women? And weren't the highest-ranking deities all goddesses?"
Of course, Ren had heard this story before, but Pandora's explanation provided more context.
"Then, over time, the matriarchal society gradually declined and was eventually replaced by a patriarchal one. The once-mighty goddesses became subservient to men, and some even degenerated into dragons and serpents. And those dragons and serpents, destroyed by the Steel attribute wielded by the heroes of the next generation, were called the Steel Heroes."
"..."
Listening attentively, Ren slowly began to understand the direction of Pandora's explanation.
"I am the one who conducts the Campione Reincarnation Ceremony, and I possess the dragon and serpent attributes, so Campiones are akin to dragon and serpent goddesses. But the gods who become the targets of Campiones, in order to protect their own interests, collectively uphold a protective oath and have chosen the strongest Steel to oppose you."
"The Campione reincarnation ritual began thousands of years ago, but little Ren, do you know why they all disappeared?"
Pandora spoke with slight worry. Before Ren could respond, she revealed the truth.
"Because they were all defeated by the awakened King of the End."
She stared at him, her eyes filled with both concern and seriousness.
"Be careful, don't be too reckless. That man is truly infuriating—he's the enemy of women, he doesn't even deserve the title of hero! So if you meet him in the future, little Ren, you must not lose! You have to beat him to a pulp!"
Pandora encouraged Ren, urging him to take revenge on the King of the End on behalf of the dragon and serpent goddesses.
'Well, the deep hatred of the dragon and serpent goddesses, as well as the Earth Mother Goddesses, is understandable. Warriors became heroes who left their names in history, their achievements being the slaying of dragons and serpents. The most famous example is Perseus, who killed Medusa.' Ren thought to himself.
He recalled that the King of the End would only awaken from his long slumber when the number of Devil Kings on Earth reached a certain amount. Currently, there were eight Devil Kings, which was quite a lot. Thus, the King of the End would soon awaken.
'It seems I won't have any time to rest. Anyway, I must make the most of the Holy Grail before other Campiones come to bother me.'
Marquis Voban and Black Prince Alec were the most likely candidates to come to London to seize the Holy Grail from Ren.
Marquis Voban was obsessed with collecting more Divine Authorities, while finding the Holy Grail was Black Prince Alec's aspiration.
Meanwhile, Doni simply wanted to challenge Ren to satisfy his maniacal fighting desires.
After defeating the Mayan Sun God, Kinich Ahau, Ren had acquired two Divine Authorities. Even so, he still felt it wasn't enough.
"I understand. I'll make sure I'm ready for whatever comes my way."
Seeing Ren motivated by her warning, Pandora smiled, though the worry in her eyes hadn't fully disappeared.
"Good, little Ren. I believe in you. Don't let me down."
Pausing for a moment, Pandora added in a teasing tone, "Until next time, little Ren. Congratulations, you're going to be a father soon."
Without waiting for Ren's response, she sent him back from the underworld.
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
When Ren opened his eyes, he found himself back in the real world, lying on the hot ground. Above him stretched a night sky adorned with twinkling stars.
"I'm back…" He murmured softly as he sat up and rubbed his head. However, something strange caught his attention.
"Hmm? I remember my meeting with Pandora… She must have done it intentionally so I wouldn't forget her warning about the King of the End."
He could feel that his body was different. A new Divine Authority now resided within him.
"Solar Flash, huh… So that's the name of the Divine Authority I seized from Kinich Ahau. Honestly, this isn't the offensive-type Divine Authority I was hoping for. I expected something related to time or the sun."
In Mayan belief, Kinich Ahau was also associated with the cycle of time and the sacred calendar. That was the Divine Authority Ren had hoped for. After all, powers over space and time were rare in any world.
After all, despite feeling satisfied with his newfound strength, he couldn't help but feel a tinge of disappointment.
The Solar Flash Divine Authority had two main effects.
The first was Godspeed. With this ability, Ren could transform into living light and move at the speed of light.
"As far as I know, only Godou and Black Prince Alec possess the Godspeed ability. But now, I do too."
"Kinich Ahau was often depicted flying across the sky in the form of a fiery bird. This must be the origin of the Godspeed ability." Ren recalled the information about Kinich Ahau.
Back to the main topic.
The second effect was Blazing Horizon, a secret attack mode of the Solar Flash Divine Authority. This technique transformed the light energy normally used for speed into an intensely powerful wave of thermal energy.
With Blazing Horizon, Ren could fill his body with pure solar energy and then release it as a massive explosion in the form of fiery waves of light. These waves not only swept away anything within their range but also burned, melted, and obliterated everything they passed through.
"Tsk, just as I thought, killing another Heretic God didn't increase my magical energy capacity. It remains constant." Ren clicked his tongue in frustration, feeling the limitations of being a Campione.
If one were to use an online game analogy to explain the effects of the Campione Reincarnation Ritual, ordinary humans would be at Level 1, while Campiones were characters who started directly at Level 100. With the system capping Level 100 as the highest level in the entire game, Ren, as a player, would never be able to gain additional experience points, no matter how many monsters or enemies he defeated.
The only thing that could grow was the number of Divine Authorities he possessed.
This wasn't good news for Ren.
"This world is too complicated." He muttered, massaging his temples.
As a Reincarnator, he knew more than most people.
This world was a fusion of various anime, not just the Campione! That meant threats like aliens from Dandadan existed here as well.
Ren recalled the information he had once read—there were 666 alien species in the Milky Way Galaxy, including an alien named Ludris, considered the strongest in the galaxy. Even worse, there were aliens called the Kur who came from outside the Milky Way.
If comparing raw power alone, Ren felt that Campiones were superior. However, he knew full well that aliens didn't rely solely on brute force. They possessed unique abilities beyond human comprehension and advanced technology far surpassing Earth's civilization.
"So this is what Thanos called the Curse of Knowledge when he spoke to Tony Stark. Truly, awareness of the dangers threatening the human species."
However, he quickly shook his head, trying to dispel those negative thoughts.
"Enough. For now, I'd better go back and rest. There's no point worrying about something that hasn't happened yet."
Then, he recited the incantation to activate Godspeed.
"Radiance of the sun, shine your light into me! Carry this body across space and time, leaving behind a shadow that even the world cannot chase!"
In an instant, Ren's body transformed into a bright golden light before vanishing completely from the spot.