Black hair and eyes, simply dressed,
yet exuding an aura of superiority that made everyone who saw him want to bow down.
He was Heimdall.
With his divine power unsealed,
Heimdall defied physics, floating in mid-air, stepping down as if on an invisible staircase.
His feet didn't touch anything solid,
yet the air beneath him seemed to form invisible jade steps.
With each step,
ripples spread through the void,
not from magic, but from pure divine power pressing against this fragile world's physical laws.
The noise below had long since vanished.
Whether it was the girls wielding bamboo swords or the boys with painted faces, they now stood frozen, staring up at the descending figure.
Finally, Heimdall stopped about ten meters from the principal's office window.
His gaze penetrated the special bulletproof glass, falling directly on the black-haired girl inside.
Their eyes met.
Heimdall spoke slowly,
his voice clear and resonant, as if striking a chord deep within the soul.
"Do you wish to understand the meaning of life?"
"Do you want to experience what it truly means to be alive?"
This classic line, once uttered by a true deity, was no longer a simple question, but a dialogue that struck the very soul.
Upon hearing this,
the girl behind the window smiled slightly.
There was no fear,
no panic.
Her usually arrogant and bored black eyes now burned with a flame of "excitement."
"Interesting."
Amaha Kirukiru murmured,
looking up at the divine presence, a thrilled smile spreading across her face.
"If you can truly make me feel alive, then anything is fine."
As Amaha Kirukiru finished speaking,
Heimdall's figure vanished instantly.
There was no afterimage, no sound of rushing wind.
It was as if that frame of reality had been cut away.
The next moment,
Heimdall stood before Amaha Kirukiru, less than half a meter away.
Close enough to see each other's reflections in their eyes.
Simultaneously,
Heimdall sensed the excitement in Amaha Kirukiru's heart at his arrival.
"I sense your desire to challenge me?"
"You wish to challenge?"
"A mortal challenging a god..."
"Such ambition is truly rare in that world."
Heimdall did not dislike Amaha Kirukiru's fighting spirit; instead, he admired it.
After all,
in Orario, those top-tier LV.6 and even LV.7 Adventurers all harbored strong ambitions.
Some even truly possessed the qualifications to touch the divine realm.
"If so"
Heimdall lowered his gaze, looking at the girl whose muscles had instantly tensed to their absolute limit.
"Then, come."
"Whoosh—"
At the moment Heimdall's voice fell.
Kirukiru Amou moved.
No, it was a concept faster than movement.
Her center of gravity sank instantly.
Her right foot slammed down, shattering the floor beneath her.
Her whole body was like a fully drawn powerful bow, the brute strength accumulated over years exploding without reservation at this moment.
Her hands turned into hand-knives, her fingertips shimmering with a cold, hard luster like metal.
[Ryukyu Kobujutsu: Uechi-ryu].
This was an ancient martial art that tempered the flesh to the extreme, turning every inch of the body into a lethal weapon.
Nukite, elbow strikes, knee strikes...
At the moment she took her stance, thousands of attack routes, power-generating techniques, and muscular rhythms unfolded, decomposed, and reorganized in Heimdall's mind as clearly as a holographic projection.
The authority of the [lord of war] allowed him to instantly see through all the secrets of this martial art.
Even more thoroughly than the ancestor who created this martial art.
"Too slow."
Heimdall said softly.
"Bang!"
A dull explosion erupted between the two.
Kirukiru Amou's hand-knife, capable of cutting through steel, was forcibly repelled by an irresistible force just before it touched Heimdall.
That force arrogantly tore her stance apart.
It penetrated the steel-hard muscular defense she took pride in and blasted directly into her body.
This force was enough to cripple a seasoned Level 1 Adventurer.
"Pfft—"
A blossom of blood bloomed on her finger.
It was the blood vessels bursting under the instantaneous pressure.
Kirukiru Amou was sent flying backward, slamming hard into the office desk behind her.
The solid wood desk instantly shattered into pieces.
She fell miserably into the pile of wood chips, clutching her finger as bright red blood flowed through her fingers and dripped onto the floor with a "drip, drip" sound.
Pain.
Intense pain.
Since she reached the top and developed a body of bronze and iron bones, how long had it been since she felt this sensation?
Three years?
Five years?
Since those so-called strong people fell at her feet one by one, her world had been nothing but boring crushing victories.
And now...
That long-lost pain, which felt as if it would tear her soul apart, made her body tremble uncontrollably.
Not because of fear.
But because of excitement.
"Ha... haha..."
Kirukiru Amou stood up unsteadily, looking at the blood all over her hands, the smile on her face growing wider and even appearing somewhat distorted.
"Is this blood?"
"Is this pain?"
She looked up, her dark eyes staring intently at Heimdall, who stood in place, her eyes filled with fanaticism.
Heimdall looked at the girl who was clearly injured but whose aura was rising even higher, a hint of admiration flashing in his eyes.
Truly someone he had chosen.
The strike he just used had enough power to break the bones and tendons of a seasoned Level 1 Adventurer.
But Kirukiru Amou, relying solely on her physical body to resist, had only suffered a minor injury, and not even many bones were broken.
This physical strength was already no less than that of low-level Adventurers wearing light armor.
As long as she was granted a falna, her potential would be immeasurable.
Heimdall made a fair assessment.
However.
Before Heimdall could speak.
Instead, Kirukiru Amou, who had been acting wild and looked as if she would rush up to continue fighting to the death the next second, made a move that even surprised Heimdall.
She did not hesitate.
One knee bent.
She knelt heavily on the debris-covered floor.
She lowered that head, which had never been lowered to anyone, and knelt before Heimdall in a posture of near-submission.
"God."
"Please take me away."
"To that place you mentioned where I can truly live."
Kirukiru Amou only respected the strong.