Campione 11

by The Second Tale

  "Tiger! Using those immortal claws and eyes, your terror shall create balance!"

  Bianchi uttered spell words again, casting new magic.

  That was probably a "summoning" spell. From the depths of the dense forest, two shining spots the brilliant color of emerald were approaching. Those were eyes of a beast. With yellow and black fur, that tenacious, massive, wild beast — a "tiger" indeed.

  An extremely massive tiger, probably weighing 300kg. Furthermore, there was more than one.

  A second tiger began walking out from the depths of the forest...

  "Even if magic is cast on a Campione, it will be completely deflected. It's a well-known fact."

  Bianchi whispered. Godou finally understood.

  Back when spells were being cast in the storeroom, none of them had any effect on Godou.

  "However, there are other avenues. Take the bones and the face for example... Because all it requires is the appearance, techniques like physiognomy were usable like earlier. Targeting a Campione's powerful divine aura, investigative magic can be used to locate them."

  Bianchi looked upon the two huge tigers in the room with great satisfaction.

  "Since objects summoned by magic can cause damage, controlling these artificial magic beasts will work — hey [King], these fellows are man-eating tigers accustomed to the taste of human flesh and blood. No matter how peacefully you try to negotiate, they won't listen to you."

  Man-eating!? Godou felt his body stiffen in fear.

  The two ferocious tigers followed Bianchi, growling as they stared at Godou with their resplendent eyes. At the same time, they snarled and ground their teeth, saliva flowing from their mouths.

  Truly beasts summoned by magic. They seemed to be waiting for the order to attack.

  Was there no way to escape!? As Godou glanced at the exit, the steel door closed itself shut with a crash. Immediately, the click of a lock could be heard.

  This also seemed to be magic. Godou had a hopeless feeling.

  Locked in a room with two man-eating tigers, it really seemed like a hopeless situation. What should he do? How could he win against these things!?

  —Seek victory in earnest, with raging battle spirit. Godou proceeded to whisper:

  "I am the strongest, holding all victory in my hands..."

  Muttering, as if talking to himself.

  "All evil-doers, tremble before me. The powerful but unjust cannot vanquish me."

  Further muttering. This was scripture that Verethragna had once chanted. The god of victory sleeping within Godou — the power, usurped from that youth and now inherited by Godou, told him the spell words.

  Godou dispelled the tigers' existence from his mind and closed his eyes. Appearing in the depths of his vision were ten forms.

  The first was a gust of wind. Next was a bull. Then a white stallion. A camel. A boar. A glorious fifteen-year-old youth. A high-speed flying bird of prey. A ram. A goat. And finally, a warrior wielding a golden sword —!

  "I am Verethragna, destroyer of obstacles! The strongest guardian with the most victories under his belt! I seek battle! I seek a formidable foe to bring me defeat!"

  Loud and clear, that youth's voice. Godou heard it once again after a day.

  I see. So this is that guy's authority? I should use this to fight!

  "Godou, watch out!"

  Hearing Erica's warning, Godou sprang into action, his eyes still closed.

  He evaded the attack by jumping sideways. Only then did he open his eyes. Relying on vision would have been too slow, that was what his instincts told him.

  One of the man-eating tigers had jumped to where Godou was previously standing.

  Its ferocious teeth only caught air. It was a splendid evasion. However, the tigers still remained. The other tiger pounced ferociously at Godou who still had not recovered from his jumping posture.

  A massive tiger weighing over 300kg. Yet its huge body was flexible and agile.

  It charged forward with speed far surpassing humans. But most incredibly, Godou was able to watch its charge very clearly — not only could he discern it, he could also dodge it.

  Godou already had excellent dynamic vision originally.

  Thanks to that, in his past baseball days, he was able to hit average fastballs. At peak condition, he could even see the ball trajectory clearly.

  —What he saw now felt similar to back then.

  Ultimately, an average middle school student's fastball was on a completely different level compared to that of a charging man-eating tiger.

  But then again, there was no time to ponder such a question. Godou crouched down.

  Rolling on the floor like a log, he evaded the tiger's attack. Though it was undignified, he did not care. It was fine as long as it worked.

  "What!?"

  Seeing Godou's sudden agility, Bianchi was shocked.

  This guy was not as incompetent as Erica described. Godou suddenly concluded without reason. If the blonde beautiful female knight was assigned a score of ten, that guy should be around six or so.

  Godou proceeded to glance at Erica.

  She was giving that look again. An expression full of interest, as if observing a newly discovered rare beast.

  —This was what that girl wanted to see?

  Figuring out the intentions of his "partner," Godou was speechless. She's truly like a devil! For the sake of investigating the power and constitution Godou had obtained, Erica deliberately incited Bianchi.

  Godou supported himself with his hands against the wall and stood up.

  Danger had yet to pass. If he continued rolling on the floor, it would be like an invitation for the tigers to attack. He suddenly noticed at this time.

  Eh? In my current condition, perhaps... A sense of certainty suddenly surfaced.

  Then he carefully examined the artificial tigers.

  This sort of strong and wild tiger, could not possibly exist in nature. But the man who had usurped [Victory]'s authority, held the power to match that kind of strength —

  Pushing with both hands against the wall, Godou imagined the wall's collapse. Gritting his teeth, he began to yell.

  "Guh — Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!"

  This scene could only be described as ludicrous.

  The "wall" crumbled and collapsed from Godou's mighty push.

  This mansion's wall — the one opposite to where Bianchi was standing, and the stone wall connected to the forest. With a clattering sound, it collapsed from Godou's arm strength.

  No, this unyielding might could not have been produced from arm muscles.

  A terrifying and massive power was being transmitted from the ground that Godou stood on. This sacred might was produced from the essence of the earth.

  This power was indeed Verethragna's second incarnation, the [Bull]. Godou finally understood.

  "Tsk. No matter how strong you are, there's no meaning without battle technique. Go!"

  Bianchi ordered the tigers.

  Godou swiftly went outside the walls — to the garden of the house. For no particular reason. He simply felt like it, which was why he deliberately destroyed the wall.

  Furthermore, he immediately realized there was some truth in what Bianchi said.

  Godou's survival instincts and ability to evade danger had been explosively amplified by his becoming a Campione. Nevertheless, continually running away from the two man-eating tigers was not an easy task.

  Godou was soon caught, and a man-eating tiger's jaws closed down upon his left shoulder.

  "Ouch! That huuuuuuuurts!"

  Godou cried out from the pain. Even though it hurt a lot when he was beaten up by Verethragna yesterday, the feeling was numbed instead due to having few cuts. The current pain felt like the most intense Godou had ever experienced in his life.

  But then Godou realized.

  The tiger's teeth had dug into the shoulder, biting through flesh, but the bones were —

  The bones were strong enough to halt the sharp canine
s of the man-eating tiger. Had this been his original body, the bones would have been bitten off together along with the shoulder and the arm.

  "My body, did it become especially sturdy?"

  In the end, he also discovered another fact. It was extremely painful. Still, pain was simply pain. If he summoned his courage, could he not endure?

  Besides, what was with this perfect opportunity? Godou used his free right arm to grab the throat of the biting tiger.

  Even with monstrous strength, a human could not possibly win a fight against a wild beast.

  Completely outclassed in agility and speed. Even a world champion boxer could not hope to win a fistfight against a tiger.

  But in a situation where one was being bitten like this, all it took was a reach of the arm.

  Guuuuuuh!? The tiger began to groan as if puzzled.

  It was only natural. Because its throat was being held by the [Bull]'s mighty strength. And then crushed.

  Godou crushed the tiger's throat along with its vertebrae. In that instant, the man-eating tiger's gigantic body scattered into yellow and black particles, collapsing like sand. So that's what artificial lifeforms looked like when they died...

  Godou turned to look at the remaining tiger.

  He could once again use himself as bait, but he noticed he still had other incarnations he could use. The pain from his body infused Godou with new strength.

  The incarnation that could only be used when heavily injured. Ferocious and strong, the mighty [Camel] incarnation!

  Immediately, the man-eating tiger pounced.

  Godou jumped at the same time. Due to abandoning the [Bull] and taking the [Camel]'s form, the previous monstrous strength was gone. But that was not a problem at all!

  With one quick motion from his left leg, his knee slammed hard into the tiger's face.

  Its skull and face shattered at the same time, the tiger began to hyperventilate. Immediately it crumbled like sand. This combat sense, destructive kicking ability, and jumping power were all bestowed by the [Camel] incarnation.

  "Say, now that you've seen all this, isn't it about time for you to stop—"

  Godou tried his utmost to sound friendly.

  His face paled, Bianchi cried out "Darkness!" The dark mist surrounding Erica began to move and entangle Godou.

  The mist was rather cool and breezy. It actually felt kind of pleasant since Godou's body had heated up from battle.

  "...Sorry, looks like it's not working."

  Godou spoke gently once again. Trying to speak in such a manner actually took more effort than before.

  Bianchi cursed "Bastard!" and threw out some kind of object.

  It smelt like sulfur and looked like limestone.

  "Guh!?"

  For an ordinary human, it was probably an item that would produce tragic results like grenades or dynamite. However, the magically created heat, pressure, and explosion disappeared as soon as it touched Godou.

  "Guh... Monster!"

  Bianchi finally turned his back to Godou. Once again he took out a piece of that kind of limestone and threw it at the walls of the mansion's garden.

  Jumping through the opening created by the explosion, he escaped outside.

  "Well, given his boastful words previously, ending things so anticlimactically is rather fitting."

  Having released the chain barrier, Erica approached.

  She must have decided there was no longer a threat once the spellcaster had left and the mist disappeared.

  "What are you going to do, Godou? Insist you're a pacifist and let him off without saying a word?"

  "Why do you have to ask me something like that?"

  "I can't see that kind of generous expression on your face. Aren't you rather mad?"

  Godou nodded at Erica's accurate assessment.

  "If treated that way, isn't fighting back perfectly reasonable?"

  "Even as a pacifist?"

  "Pacifism and non-resistance are not the same. I'm not a saint like Mahatma Gandhi. I'm not someone who can turn the other cheek when my left cheek is struck."

  Godou muttered as he stepped outside over the collapsed wall.

  Bianchi's mansion was built on a hill overlooking the Cagliari harbor and Golfo degli Angeli. The emerald-green Mediterranean Sea could be seen far out in the distance. Walking downhill from the path before the mansion would reach the Cagliari harbor where Godou had visited a few days earlier.

  Bianchi was currently running as quickly as he could along down this path.

  He was rather fast. If this continued, he would run directly to the harbor. But Godou became aware of something at this time.

  Within his body, there was a voice whispering softly to him.

  —Destroy. If my power is used, that thing will be gone in an instant...

  A black beast cried out from the depths of his heart. But Godou shook his head. Stop. This must be something like the whispers of the devil.

  But then, Erica suddenly clutched her chest and knelt over.

  "What's wrong, Erica?"

  "M-My chest hurts. It seems like I didn't defend completely against Bianchi's spells. Due to that darkness, my heart almost stopped..."

  Seeing the profile of the beautiful girl's face distorted in pain, Godou felt like his heart was exploding. He glared severely at Bianchi's back.

  ROOOOOOAAAAAAR. The beast in his heart cried out in turn. Should this be done!?

  "Go! Take him out!"

  Godou cried out naturally.

  In that instant, the ground beneath Bianchi turned a murky pitch black as he ran for his life. A massive beast burst forth from that location and charged!

  ROOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAR!!

  It was a massive [Boar]. Roughly 20m in length or so.

  Its fur was black. Exceptionally ferocious, its face was hideous and could only be described as fearsome. Two long tusks protruded out from the sides of its mouth, as sharp and as wide as massive grand blades.

  This was Verethragna's fifth incarnation, the [Boar]'s first summoning.

  Godou remembered. This was the monster that rampaged through the harbor the first day he came to Sardinia!

  The [Boar] charged ahead at this time. With fearsome speed and momentum, it crashed towards Cagliari's harbor. Bianchi was almost trampled to death but managed to make a desperate jump to the side, burying his face in mud, trembling nonstop at his narrow escape.

  Then all sorts of things happened.

  First of all, Erica casually stood up as soon as she saw the black monster.

  "Hoho. Looks like the authority you usurped from Verethragna can take on many different forms."

  That was what she said. Godou had been completely played for a fool.

  Furthermore, when he heard the words "that thing will be gone in an instant," "that thing" was not referring to Bianchi but the Cagliari harbor up ahead.

  The [Boar] delightfully (from what Godou could tell) rushed at the the harbor it had attacked several days ago as one of Verethragna's avatars that had split from him.

  The monster's massive black body pranced about with joy. Charging, crashing, rapidly destroying the buildings and harbor facilities around it.

  Godou clutched his head in his arms, furiously yelling out "Idiot! Stop!"

  The [Boar] screamed as if displeased with the order.

  Even so, it continued to rampage, until it finally stopped after ten minutes or so, retreating into the ground as suddenly as it had appeared. Fortunately, the [Boar] only destroyed uninhabited warehouses and facilities, and casualties were miraculously zero.

  Nevertheless, Godou deeply regretted his recklessness.

  From this point onwards, who knew how many more times he was going to experience regret like this?

  Chapter 2 - On the Island of Storms

  Part 1

  It was roughly ten in the morning when Godou reached the Cagliari harbor this morning.

  A mere five hours had passed. Nevertheless, "god-slayer" Kusanagi Godou's surroundin
g environment had already undergone dramatic upheaval even before then.

  "Gentlemen, I apologize deeply for summoning everyone here on such short notice. We have gathered here for but one purpose, to announce the birth of the seventh god-slayer."

  The announcement was being made in a private function room of Cagliari's best high-class restaurant. The current speaker was Erica Blandelli. As everyone's gaze was drawn to the one she pointed to, Godou felt rather uncomfortable.

  Three other people were present, all middle aged or elderly men.

  Apparently they were the commanders-in-chief of magic associations in the Cagliari region.

  "A fortnight ago, two gods had descended upon Sardinia -- the ancient Persian Warlord Verethragna and the Phoenician's god of the sky, Melqart. Of the two, Verethragna was vanquished personally by Kusanagi Godou. Erica Blandelli hereby presents this report, having borne witness to the fact."

  Erica explained the result directly, omitting the entire process.

  But no one pursued the matter. The three commanders-in-chief had received reports of the "black monster" appearing in the Cagliari harbor and that the summoner was apparently a Japanese youth. As a result, they listened quietly to Erica while casting doubtful and fearful gazes at Godou.

  Being stared at, Godou turned his attention to the room.

  This was a private function room in a high-class restaurant. Even though there was no chandelier on the ceiling, there shouldn't be a sense of dissonance, right? Godou examined the meticulously crafted chair he was sitting on, concluding that anyone could tell its high-class origins without being an expert.

  (I never expected I would one day visit a place like this...)

  Godou sighed at the surprising direction his life was taking.

  During this time, Erica issued orders as the [King]'s representative.

  "Gentlemen, Kusanagi Godou's demands are few in number. His only wishes are for you all to handle the Cagliari harbor incident's aftermath and information control, punish the instigator David Bianchi, and at the same time, provide full support in tracking down King Melqart. That's all."

  After the Cagliari harbor commotion, Erica had proposed:

  "Given the current state of affairs, it's best to handle the aftermath using the name of the king, announcing to the magi of the world the birth of the seventh Devil King. This will make further action more expedient."