A Certain Multiverse's Holy Right

"The victors shall execute the vanquished."

As Roy approached, holding the blood-red cross sword in his hand, Marquis Voban, now lying prostrate as a defeated black dragon, spoke with a calmness devoid of any fear.

This was the nature of the Campione, their fate sealed in endless battles until the day they perished in combat.

It was not that Campione did not understand the fear of death. Rather, the moment they became Campione, they embraced the inevitability of their destiny. Even Roy, when he became a Campione, seemed to see a glimpse of his fated demise.

Because they understood their end, Campione did not fear death—it was merely a matter of time.

But unlike others, Roy refused to accept such an ending. He was no ordinary Campione; he had the power to defy his fate.

"Then, farewell, Marquis…"

Roy pointed the cross sword at the massive head of the black dragon. Though the Black Dragon of the Underword's scales were thicker than steel, impervious to modern weaponry, they now faced the Sword of Judgment wielded by the Archangel. Even the dragon's impenetrable scales would be cleaved.

With the blood-red cross sword, Roy stabbed decisively toward the dragon's forehead, aiming to end his fellow Campione's life.

"Heh heh heh… But my story doesn't end here. My fate may already be written, but today is not my curtain call."

As the sword pierced the dragon's forehead, Marquis Voban's massive form crumbled into dust, leaving only a faint trace of his spirit. His cunning smile lingered even as the 40-meter-long dragon disintegrated into ash, swept away by the wind.

But Roy's expression was far from relaxed. Instead, he frowned, clicking his tongue in frustration.

"What absurd immortality… Even after all that, he still managed to escape with a wisp of his soul."

The Black Dragon of the Underworld—Marquis Voban's ultimate trump card—had granted him immense physical power and an almost exaggerated level of immortality. This was why this power had been his hidden ace for eighty years.

The Holy Right granted Roy victory, not the guaranteed death of his enemies.

Judging by the outcome, Roy had indeed won. After unleashing the Light of the Right Hand, Marquis Voban had lost all ability to resist, allowing Roy to slay him with ease. However, the Marquis's potent immortality had still played its role. Despite being in a situation of certain death, a fragment of his soul had managed to flee, leaving him not completely dead.

"But resurrecting from just that fragment of a soul will be incredibly difficult, even for you, Marquis Voban. And even if you return, you'll pose no real threat to me."

Roy shrugged, showing no regret or frustration over failing to annihilate the Marquis completely.

His Holy Right had already measured the Marquis's strength. Should Voban resurrect, Roy would no longer need to engage him in battle. He could simply summon the "third hand" and finish the job with a casual wave.

Unless Voban could somehow acquire greater power in a short time and invalidate the calculations of the Holy Right, he would never again qualify to challenge Roy.

Given the slow progress of a Campione's power after their initial rise, it was unlikely Marquis Voban would achieve any qualitative breakthroughs. As one of the oldest Campione, his potential had already reached its zenith. Unless he abandoned his status as a Campione, there was no path forward.

In Roy's eyes, this marked the end of the most ancient demon king.

"I currently lack the means to completely nullify immortality. Ordinary immortality isn't an issue, but something as exaggerated as Marquis Voban's is genuinely troublesome."

Roy examined the blood-red cross sword in his hand, feeling a sense of dissatisfaction.

The ultimate counter to immortality in this world was the Steel Hero, who slew Earth Mother Goddesses. While Michael, too, had defeated the ancient dragon Satan and could be considered a Steel Hero, the legend merely described him driving Satan back to hell, not killing him outright.

Michael, therefore, was not a true Steel Hero, and his methods for dealing with immortality were limited.

"I need to upgrade this sword. At the very least, it needs the ability to restrain immortality."

Although Roy's cross sword was a top-tier divine weapon, its primary purpose was to activate the Sword of Judgment. Functionally, it was closer to a "staff" than a sword.

Michael's element was "fire," and in the mysticism of the Tarot, fire was symbolized by the staff, while air was represented by the sword. Thus, Michael's cross sword was essentially a "staff" in function, with the appearance of a sword. A staff with a sharp edge—this was a magician's true weapon.

Just as Roy was contemplating how to upgrade the sword, Aiwass suddenly manifested behind him. Her voice, beautiful and full of a humanity that Roy found oddly unnerving, carried a hint of sharpness as she spoke:

["Pandora's Ritual has revealed partial results. The next time you slay a god, I'll try to see if I can strengthen your authorities further."]

Roy blinked in surprise at her sudden statement. Then, realization dawned, and he couldn't help but beam with delight.

This was like receiving a pillow just as sleep overcame him.

["Based on my analysis, I strongly suspect that Pandora's Ritual does not belong to Pandora herself. The ritual has been solidified, and Pandora is merely the key to initiate it—not the creator of $!$##!#$."]

Aiwass floated behind Roy, her presence almost like that of a true Holy Guardian Angel. The playful, casual tone in her voice was increasingly infused with an unmistakable touch of humanity.

"What does that mean?"

["To put it in terms you can understand: this ritual of usurping powers should be an inherent property of a certain object. Pandora is merely the custodian or user of this object."]

"So, Pandora isn't as mysterious or powerful as she pretends to be?" Roy asked with a raised eyebrow.

["Exactly. Your previous assumptions were wrong. Pandora does not possess great abilities herself, nor could she possibly be some mastermind pulling strings behind the scenes. At most, she is just a special kind of god."]

Aiwass's confirmation brought a smirk to Roy's face.

"Good. That means the next time I meet Pandora, I won't need to tread so carefully or play nice. I can take a firmer stance with her. I thought she invented this ritual, but it turns out she's just borrowing power that isn't hers, like a fox relying on the tiger's might."

The smirk widened into a confident grin as Roy's tone relaxed.

He had been overly cautious around Pandora, afraid of exposing any flaws and causing a problem with the Campione ritual. Now that he knew Pandora was not as all-powerful as she seemed, there was no need to worry anymore.

["…"]

Aiwass remained silent for a moment, as if contemplating something.

["Roy, what you need now is to acquire as much knowledge as possible. I'll guide you in learning a variant of the 'Ritual of Usurpation' later, but completing it will require your personal effort."]

The angel's words shifted back to a reminder.

"I'm confident in my ability to comprehend things, but acquiring knowledge takes time."

Roy stroked his chin as he pondered the issue.

As Aleister Crowley's son, Roy had inherited the legendary magician's unparalleled wisdom. His capacity to learn and master new knowledge in record time was unmatched.

In the past, during his time in the world of A Certain Magical Index, Roy had been a third-rate magician, not because of a lack of talent but because of limited access to magical knowledge.

The apartment where Aleister once lived contained only philosophical and theoretical magic texts—high-level abstractions devoid of foundational teachings. Without basic knowledge, Roy couldn't study magic, no matter how great his comprehension abilities were.

Had he been given the time, Roy could have used those philosophical texts to reverse-engineer magic itself. But Aleister eliminated him before that potential could be realized.

Now, Roy had access to knowledge, but acquiring it was a time-consuming process. He had to painstakingly read books, memorize their content, and apply his wisdom to truly understand them.

"I recall that this world has a method to acquire knowledge through 'bodily fluid exchange.' However, the knowledge gained is borrowed and does not become permanent. I could attempt to modify this magic to make the acquired knowledge stay in my mind longer. Then, before it fades, I could use my comprehension to fully absorb and integrate it."

A sly grin tugged at Roy's lips as he added:

"It's not difficult to modify such magic. The real challenge will be finding someone with vast knowledge who is willing to share it with me. Preferably a woman, of course. I suppose a man would work too, but I wouldn't be interested in that."

"Ah, the perks of being a demon king. Women are much easier to persuade when you're in my position."

Roy laughed, clearly amused by his own thoughts.

Aiwass neither agreed nor disagreed with Roy's approach. After all, sex magic (dual cultivation, sort of) was an ancient and legitimate magical discipline, recognized in many worlds and cultures.

Instead, the angel offered a simple warning:

["You are being watched."]

"Hmm? Someone is nearby?"

Although Roy phrased it as a question, there was no doubt in his mind about the validity of Aiwass's statement.

(T/N: I decided to change Aiwass's text since she doesn't speak normally like a human does. Should have done this before but its whatever. Also, it seems Roy had no idea about the divine tool called Circle of Usurpation and just thought it was Pandora's self designed ritual. This confusion arised due to LoreTemple's translation that I initially was seeking for some terminology. So after reading this chapter I went to raws and checked that in Chapter 16 I believe, there was no mention of divine tool called Circle of Usurpation. Sorry about that but I am not editing that out.)