There were two prerequisites—first, a correct understanding of covenants and related concepts, the ability to comprehend the concept of death, and a mastery of the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception beyond any limits.
Second, an evaluation of one's skills. Trained by the legendary assassin Hassan-i-Sabbah, the Old Man of the Mountain, whose assassination techniques could sever anything. His art was not limited to merely cutting life but killing enemies through destiny, that is, fate itself.
Alaric could not reach this level. What he could achieve was seeing the future—seeing the end of all things, the day when everything collapses.
On the day when all things meet their death, only a rare few can reject death, but this was not something Alaric could encounter at this moment.
However, as someone who possessed the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception, Alaric had reached at least the minimum threshold of the Old Man of the Mountain's assassination techniques.
Guiding his blade with fate/future, cutting both tangible and intangible things—it was all possible within his understanding!
At this moment, all Alaric needed was to swing his sword.
Nothing uncuttable, nothing unbroken.
Organic, inorganic, magic, light, atmosphere, earth, consciousness… all of it was accepted by those jewel-like Mystic Eyes.
And with the pure assassination blade driven by this understanding, surpassing human logic, he unleashed a transcendent, demonic peak strike!
Buzz!
The atmosphere roared. With just one sword strike, the surrounding airflow became chaotic.
A surge of divine energy radiated golden brilliance. The supreme Sun Goddess finally revealed her divine nature to Alaric.
An otherworldly being. A foreigner who had descended onto this star countless years ago!
The brilliance rivaling the sun burst forth, capturing Alaric's entire attention.
The golden holy sword, a projection constructed by Alaric magical power, was vaporized in an instant, dissipating into nothingness. Yet, before it vanished, it had already fulfilled its purpose.
The promise originating from the Goddess, the invisible bond known as the Three Goddesses Alliance, was severed in a single strike by Alaric!
Fragments of fabric floated in the air, and a faint bloodline nearly split Quetzalcoatl apart, leaving a deep mark on her chest.
"…"
Quetzalcoatl's divine energy surged through her entire body, her golden hair wildly flying, and her eyes turned into golden irises as her divinity began to manifest.
Under Quetzalcoatl's gaze, Alaric felt immense pressure.
Even though Quetzalcoatl had descended in a downgraded form, her supreme divine status still vastly exceeded the domain of humanity and placed her among the pinnacle of divine beings.
This made Alaric feel exhilarated—
Toward the current Quetzalcoatl, a desire emerged deep within Alaric's heart. His dragon blood began to yearn for the Winged Serpent, filling his mind.
"Hmm~~ Truly~~~ Impressive!"
Even with her divinity activated, Quetzalcoatl seemed practically unchanged. Still wearing that cheerful expression, she sensed that the covenant of divinity had been severed, and the cost was only minor physical damage.
This made Quetzalcoatl even more delighted.
It wasn't because she felt joy from freeing herself from the covenant's restraints, but because she was genuinely happy about Alaric's performance.
It was as though she were watching her own child grow up, becoming capable of standing on his own.
"Tezcatlipoca, I absolutely won't hand this boy over to you!"
With overflowing joy, Quetzalcoatl stepped forward and embraced Alaric, vigorously ruffling his hair, laughing, "What an amazing technique~~ You must have put in a lot of effort, right~?
You've worked so hard~~"
"…"
Alaric froze, weakly grabbing Quetzalcoatl's shoulders, trying to escape from her soft embrace, but he couldn't succeed.
The surging divinity attracted Alaric, while a faint fragrance entered his nose and seeped into his heart. It was a scent like the sun, yet as free as the wind.
Strands of golden hair brushed against Alaric's skin, stirring an inexplicable excitement within him. His hands, which originally intended to push Quetzalcoatl away, shifted subtly, gripping her shoulders instead.
As the divine energy continued to surge, Alaric's dragon heart began to beat wildly.
Noticing Alaric's abnormality, Quetzalcoatl's expression remained unchanged, though she gradually suppressed the activation of her divinity.
Exceedingly activating her divinity wasn't just putting pressure and temptation on Alaric—it was also putting pressure on Quetzalcoatl herself.
At this moment, Quetzalcoatl was ultimately inhabiting a Servant's body. A body constructed of ether had a limit to how much divinity it could contain, and exceeding this limit would lead to bodily collapse.
Only the legendary Grand Servant vessel could truly bear the full divinity of a supreme god and fight with their full, or even beyond-full, power.
After a long while, Alaric and Quetzalcoatl finally separated.
"Ah, big sister seems to need a change of clothes before she can meet anyone!"
Quetzalcoatl, as if just noticing her exposed chest, laughed heartily, "Alaric, that sword of yours was amazing. Only leaving a mark, yet you were able to touch the covenant and kill it."
As the supreme deity, Quetzalcoatl immediately saw through the truth of Alaric's Mystic Eyes of Death Perception: ultimate future sight connected to the Root of the World through a brush with death.
An extremely powerful Mystic Eye capable of perceiving the death of all things.
Even for these gods, whose authorities were linked to the Root of the World, as long as they hadn't escaped the concept of death, their deaths could be seen by these eyes.
What surprised Quetzalcoatl even more was the skill Alaric wielded. Though not yet fully mastered, she could sense the brilliance of its ultimate form—a death-dealing assassination art that reached the very boundary of death itself.
"Wow, Kuku, what are you two up to?"
Amid this peaceful atmosphere, an incongruous voice suddenly interrupted.
Jaguar Man casually carrying a long spear strolled over to Alaric and Quetzalcoatl as if nothing had happened.
With a raised brow, she glanced at the disheveled Alaric and Quetzalcoatl, then grinned, flashing her fangs. "Take me with you? I'm super strong! Rawr!"
Alaric shot a brief glance at Jaguar Man before quickly ignoring her. He turned to Quetzalcoatl and said with a smile, "Quetzalcoatl, can we be allies now?"
"Of course, ~~ Big sister is your ally now~~!"
Quetzalcoatl winked and snapped her fingers with flair. "Feel free to ask big sister for help anytime!"
Receiving Quetzalcoatl's reply, Alaric finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Even though he had been highly confident in this mission, he still feared unexpected developments.
Fortunately, everything went smoothly. Next up would be the journey to the Underworld in a few days.
...
Several minutes later.
After bidding farewell to Quetzalcoatl and returning to Uruk, Alaric received some unexpected news:
Gilgamesh had suddenly died.