"We meet again, my most lovely son."
Rael's eyes slowly opened, and he realized he was again in the Pandora Realm, somewhere between the border of Life and Immortality.
When Rael regained his consciousness, he felt dizzy for a while, only managing to smell a unique scent entering his nose.
Profoundly and richly floral, reminiscent of roses, it also possessed some of the scents of lilac perfume.
When his senses returned to him again, Rael felt that the back of his head was resting on a slightly slender leg, more precisely on two soft and smooth thighs.
"It's the lap pillow again." The thought flashed through Rael's mind.
This was the third time he had killed a Heretic God, but the second time he had come to this place. This time Rael woke up soon after arriving. Unlike the first time, he regained consciousness after a long time.
When he opened his eyes, he first saw the Goddess, who had a slender figure and appeared to be between twelve and thirteen by her face.
He doesn't know whether to describe her as a loli or a young teenage girl.
Overall, Pandora is a slender young woman in her early teens with blue eyes, vibrant purple hair, and pointed ears.
Although she looks immature, with a sweet smile on the corner of her mouth, she has the cleverness of a grown woman, revealing a seductive charm rather than the innocence of a young girl.
Then Rael's gaze fell on Pandora's thin but glamorous red lips, and what appeared in his mind was the taste he had tasted the last time he came here.
At this moment, Rael had only one thought.
Will Pandora get angry and take revenge by not holding the ceremony this time?
"Oh, you're looking forward to Mommy's kiss, aren't you? What a bad boy."
"You are indeed an insatiable son. It is not impossible to get your mother's reward... but you are strange, my youngest son."
Pandora's red lips opened slightly, and she said with a smile in her immature but seductive voice.
There was a look of curiosity as she looked into Rael's black as obsidian eyes.
"It's amazing you keep the memory of this place even after you leave the ritual."
Rael's heart shuddered. Unexpectedly Pandora found out about this.
Rael was incredibly nervous, but his face did not show anything as if he did not understand his "strangeness."
Pandora might have been testing him.
As Rael thought about this, Pandora touched his lips with her tender fingers and said in a doubtful tone.
"... The only ones who can keep their memories from here are the 'Enlightened Ones' among the humans."
"But such a person is impossible to become a Campione. They cannot embrace the madness as my little Rael did."
Pandora seemed to consider herself Rael's mother, even calling him an affectionate nickname.
The fingers that touched her lips fell to Rael's forehead and circled there as if wishing to probe his brain.
She placed the other of her hands on his cheek and said in a voice full of motherly love.
"... Well, those matters are not important. It is a good thing that you can keep your memories of this place, little Rael. Then I can inform you about something."
Rael can't resist Pandora treating him like a Son. His parents from his past life had long since passed away, and he had no parents in this new World.
The only thing that left Rael confused was the Goddess who created the Campiones, whether she was naive or acting.
This woman was someone Rael could not decipher.
"What do you mean, Pand-"
"Mama!"
Pandora seemed very interested in this mother-son game. She said in a dissatisfied voice as she pinched Rael's nose lightly.
At the same time, she adjusted her position to make Rael more comfortable on her lap.
"Well, Mom."
To some extent, Pandora is indeed his mother, who gave him a solid and robust new life, so he has no problem calling her mom.
"Hehe ~ my little Rael is indeed a smart and obedient boy."
Pandora giggled happily, so Rael was 'rewarded' by her.
Pandora lowered her head and gave Rael a light kiss on the forehead. Then her face suddenly became serious.
"Mommy loves you, that cute little child!"
"My dear son, Mommy doesn't want you to be in danger. So, she will tell you some important things about the Heretic Gods so that you can prepare in advance."
"Listen well. I want to talk about the source of the Gods and their specific nature."
"In ancient times, ancient society was based on the principle of a matriarchal society. At that time, in the matriarchal descent system, an individual was considered to belong to the same descent group as his mother."
"At that time, women were foremost in the leadership of humanity because they could reproduce. Which made women's status higher than men's."
"When humans were fighting for survival, reproduction was necessary to replenish new blood in the tribes, so women were the rulers."
"Because of this, the Gods born of faith were primarily women, and those who possessed high statuses were all Goddesses."
Rael said nothing, just listening to Pandora's words, lying on the cozy thighs of his mother. The latter appeared to be a thirteen-year-old loli.
He felt comfortable listening to the 'Lullaby Story' with a soft pillow beneath his head.
"As human civilization developed, humans learned to make tools to help them in their battles."
"Especially when the use of metal was discovered by human civilization, it marked the doom of the goddesses."
"With the discovery of smelting, humans began smelling metals for their uses. Humankind had Steel weapons, the threat of beasts was reduced, survival became easier."
"Men have an advantage in physical strength and fighting ability. To survive and develop, humankind adapted. The matriarchal society gradually became the patriarchal society."
"... In the Realm of Immortality, the place where the Gods who did not rebel against their myths dwell, the status of the Goddesses began to decline."
"The status of the male gods has increased. The goddesses at the top of the mythology gradually became male gods' wives, daughters, and priestesses."
"Among them, the most miserable were the Goddesses who degenerated as monsters; dragons and serpents."
"And why? Because in the struggle between the two groups, both cursed each other's faith, goddesses became snakes and evil dragons, and Gods became demons and evil beasts."
"Unfortunately, the matriarchal society was the loser. In human myths, the goddesses became the evil dragons and snakes killed and conquered by the male gods."
"When a Goddess was assimilated into a new area or religion, she would be turned into a monster, who would be killed, and her Priestess would marry the male God's priest to make her subordinate to the ruling Gods."
"Little Rael, you may have heard of many myths where Gods kill evil snakes and dragons that terrorize the common people."
"Marduk killed Tiamat; Susanoo killed Yamata no Orochi; Perseus killed Medusa; Indra killed Vitra; Thor killed Jormungandr; Siegfried killed Fafnir, and even Seth killed Apophis."
"These myths symbolized the dominance of male power. With 'Steel' in their hands, the heroes defeated and suppressed the noble goddesses of the past, becoming the [Steel Heroes]."
"Gods are generally divided into three categories."
"Earth Gods embody nature such as the sky, sea, earth, Underworld, darkness, the cycle of life, death, rebirths, and the dragons."
"Gods of Steel, those who embody the concept of the sword, their myths contain veiled references to sword forging."
"And finally, the Sun Gods, who are Gods of Light."
Pandora's fingertips gently caressed Rael's cheeks with all a mother's affection, showing concern for her son.
The sadness and worry on her face became more and more intense.
"I created the [Circle of Usurpation] ritual that could give birth to Campione's, humans capable of fighting the Gods."
"However, the Gods wouldn't let the Demon Kings be so presumptuous."
"So, under the arrangement of Fate, the 'King Who Manifests at the End of the World' was chosen. The 'King Who Manifests at the End of the World' is the title given to the Hero who took on the Fate to exterminate the GodSlayer."
"The 'Fate' responsible for electing the God-Bearer of the Divine Sword of Salvation selected the Strongest Steel."
"... He is the [King of the End] and [Strongest Steel] the enemy of all dragons and snakes and Demon Kings."
"Whenever the number of Campiones increases to a certain number, the [End King] must awaken, and he absorbed the essence of the [Mother Earth Goddesses], whereby the [End King] can rise as a Sword God to become the Strongest Blade."
"The [Strongest Steel] has great power to destroy all the Demon Kings. Many Campione's have been born in those thousands of years, but none of the ancient Campione's have survived."
"They were all annihilated by the [End King]!"
"In today's era, there are already Five Campiones, more than in any previous era, and I suspect the number will increase. The awakening of the [King of the End] is inevitable."
"My little Rael, soon you will have to face the [Strongest Steel]."
"Even if it is me, there is no way to help you. All I can do is wave the flag and cheer for you from behind the curtains."
"You must be careful with 'He Who Manifests at the End of the World. Although I know that being careful has no effect, I had to convey that."
Pandora seemed to be looking at her son, who was about to suffer a horrible fate, and her voice was extremely miserable.
At this moment, Rael was thinking about the myths and legends of Pandora. Perhaps Pandora was also an [Earth Mother Goddess], one who symbolized dragons and snakes.
She hated the Steel Heroes. Maybe she even hated all the Gods. And so she created the existence on par with them, the Campiones.
"Why do you care so much about my well-being?"
Rael blatantly asked the question that bothered him. Pandora seemed very concerned about him.
"Because you are my son."
Pandora said with a motherly tone.
"You have many sons, there are Five Campiones in this era, and in the past millennia, there must have been dozens of them, right?"
"That's different. A child who is smart, cute, obedient, and not clumsy like you is a first for a mother."
"Let's close our eyes and leave the rest to your dear mother. What I have said must be kept in your mind. Since you have listened so attentively, a mother should reward you."
Pandora spoke softly and full of motherly love, then hugged Rael's head and lowered her own.
Her lips went towards his.
The ritual Usurpation of a God was beginning!