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Campione 12

Page 19

by Transient Holy Night


  "What do you mean very enthusiastic? The other girls are like, so you also......"

  He probably understood and omitted the rest of the line when he spoke. Godou was bewildered as he gazed at Ena.

  This time his adversary was capable of interfering with his interpersonal relationships. Truthfully speaking, he would really appreciate it if she could help.

  However, if the opponent decides to utilize that previously used curse, then even Ena would become aberrant.

  The Hime-Miko of the Sword should have understood that though. However, why is she here? Godou's gaze carried a sense of suspicion. Ena, being just as bright and cheerful as before, nodded heavily.

  ——Now I get it! Just when Godou suddenly realized Ena's intentions.

  'Another follower? Kusanagi Godou, your party contains many talented members. Since it is like this, I, wielder of the artifact of Saturnus, shall entertain you all.'

  The Grey One began chanting and a rustling noise was heard as the divine tree shook its branches and leaves.

  'The festival of the fruit deranged the citizens, making them intoxicated. Consoling them. Bringing celebration. Slaves will have their moment of glory. Kings will abandon their thrones for shackles. This dream is the one bestowed by the god who heralds the spring......'

  He heard the same spell words for the curse used eight days ago at Tokyo Bay.

  However, Godou wasn't worried. Even Ena had a calm and collected expression.

  The Grey One chanted along to the divine tree's accompaniment. The violent wizardry currently being unleashed by the two was nothing be afraid of.

  “By the blessing of bows and arrows, bestow honor upon this great sword!"

  Upon hearing the Hime-Miko of the Sword chanting her spell words, Godou released the power within his right arm.

  Performing the opposite, Ena extended her right arm and used her hand to search for the divine aura of steel. To her, this existence's aura was like her partner. Godou nodded, entrusting the hime-miko with the sword.

  Ena used her hand to pull the colorless and formless divine aura towards her and tightly grasped it.

  "Beseeching the grace of Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi! May its shadow manifest hither!"

  Upon completing the spell words, Ena fetched her partner.

  Her partner, the Sword of Susanoo, was retrieved from the scabbard that was Godou’s right arm.

  ‘Oh!? This lady can actually use the divine sword!’

  Seeing Ena summon forth the Sword of Susanoo, the Grey One responded in astonishment.

  The majestic sword had a blade length of three-foot-three-and-a-half-inch. The blade possessed a pitch black color and a slight curvature. Furthermore, the pitch black divine sword was embedded with the ability to disrupt magic!

  What was severed was of course the curse released by the Grey One!

  The Hime-Miko of the Sword was the only human being privileged with the ability to wield the sword of Susanoo. This was the reason why Ena wasn’t afraid of the curse.

  “Seishuuin, the opposition is now on the move!”

  On the other side, Godou had already transferred his attention from the curse to the divine tree. He didn’t see a spectacle like last time. Perhaps it was because his fighting spirit had been ignited. Godou’s magical power had greatly increased. Under this state as a Campione, he understood that the curse was already nullified of power.

  Since it turned out like this, in his eyes the greatest threat was the rapidly grown divine tree over there.

  Rustle……..Rustle……..Rustle……..

  Rustle……..Rustle…..…Rustle…..…

  Godou and Ena were both looking up at the majestic divine tree.

  The multitudinous branches swayed, the leaves shook, the colossal tree trunk trembled, creating an indescribable tone in the park along the seaside.

  In a flash, several thousand black colored fruits instantly cultivated on the colossal thousand-year-old tree.

  These fruits suddenly plummeted down from the tree branches. All of the fruits dispersed into the air. Like being permeated by a black mist, the skies overlooking the park was completely enshrouded.

  An innumerable amount of fruits hovered in the air, becoming a canopy above the current location. The winter constellations were no longer visible.

  Afterwards, a portion of the fruits plopped down.

  After violently striking the surface, the fruits exploded. The dirt, asphalt, vegetation, parterre, and fence enclosures in that area were all caught in the explosion. Everywhere throughout the Kasai Rinkai Park was being bombed in rapid succession.

  Seeing as the fruit exploded near their vicinity, Godou said with a dejected voice:

  “If this continues we will get blown up too!”

  “I said not to worry. Let me take care of it Your Majesty!”

  Undaunted from the start of the ongoing explosions, Ena caressed the sword of Susanoo with her left hand and then started chanting.

  "This was where Susanoo no Mikoto started his uprising, leading a thousand savage gods!"

  Godou had previously used these spell words when handling the Ama no Murakumo.

  The hime-miko’s body was flushed with the divine blade’s aura. Incurring the holy spirit of a god, this was the trump card known as divine possession which had the power to match that of divine beasts and demigods.

  "A thousand swords standing upon the earth, used as city walls to defend against the enemies.”

  Ena, being under divine possession, grasped the divine sword Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi. Its pitch black blade and hilt, which was modeled after Japanese swords, were instantly smashed into pieces and dispersed.

  It was indeed shattered, having turned into shards. Furthermore, the numerous shards of the Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi hovered around Ena and formed something similar to a fortress around her.

  “The sword of a thousand was defeated and became a diminutive serpent. However, Mikoto obtained a sword from the great serpent's tail. Namely, the Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi, which became the steel that defeats a thousand blades!”

  Legend has it that back in the olden days, Susanoo tied down the blades of a thousand swords as a substitute for a fortress.

  In the end when he had lost every single blade, he received the Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi, a divine sword which surpassed the one thousand sharp fragmented blades. Ena currently planned on using these spell words for the great undertaking of presenting its one thousand blade fragments!

  "By the prestige of the divine sword, rush forth to deal a single strike!"

  In a split second, the one thousand fragments created by the divine blade dispersed and flew towards the black fruits that covered the skies like a permeating mist. Furthermore, a continuous attack began towards the annoying exploding fruits. The fragments pierced through, penetrating the fruit and setting it off to explode.

  After she recovered, the sky was already blossoming with the countless fireworks display and rumbling sound from the explosions.

  Following that, the black covering over the sky dissipated.

  The valorous divine blade emerged after the fragments returned to Ena’s hand. The Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi once again appeared.

  Rustle Rustle! Rustle Rustle! Rustle Rustle! Rustle Rustle! Rustle Rustle!

  The divine tree produced an even more intense noise compared to what they have heard up until now. Perhaps it was displaying its animosity.

  In addition, even the Grey One yelled out.

  ‘A divine artifact that embodies the logic of heretic steel!? This be a terrifying display of the works of the gods!’

  “What a weird irritating guy.”

  Ena nonchalantly muttered and rushed towards the Grey One.

  The divine sword, having just returned to normal, had no problem piercing through its target. The Grey One didn’t even try to dodge as the sword ran right through him. His body crumbled just like before.

  However, a sound came from above.

 
‘Ha ha ha. Divine sword wielding girl, it’s insignificant even if you destroy my body. As long as this Crown still exists, the sprout of Saturnus and I shall continuously regenerate!”

  This voice came from the emblem floating above the divine tree. The familiar bird design was the Crown of Saturnalia that was supposed to be rooted to the surface of Tokyo Bay.

  “Sure enough, the problem lies over there…...”

  “Then Ena will head over and destroy the tree. If that strange guy comes to hinder me, will Your Majesty take care of it?”

  Godou of course felt this was the correct assumption as he nodded. Ena carried the divine blade and sped off.

  She rushed as if she was flying towards the root of the divine tree. As a result, a green vine protruded from the ground to obstruct her.

  Simply put, the vine was like a large serpent as it assumed an ancistroid form with its neck, turning itself into a whip-like shape.

  The front portion of that vine attempted to lash out at Ena’s lively body. The Hime-Miko of the Sword, with the movements of a monkey, easily dodged the strike and closed in on the root of the divine tree.

  Immediately after, a second vine emerged from the ground to once again impede Ena’s path.

  Not only that, a third and fourth vine also appeared. In the end, about ten vines, akin to a nest of snakes, continuously lunged towards Ena.

  “It feels like the Yamata no Orochi!”

  Not to be outdone, Ena swung her sword after she appeared to recall the tale of Susanoo and Yamata no Orochi[24].

  A purple liquid spurted out from the severed vine.

  Furthermore, Ena gracefully leap from place to place with her body movement resembling Minamoto no Yoshitsune[25] as she dodged the onslaught of whip-like attacks. For the moment the odds of winning this battle seemed quite high.

  However, the enemy had powers that equally matched that of a divine beast. It was probably time to unleash the Bull to provide cover.

  Just as Godou contemplated over this, a chant was heard.

  "Hear the sorrow of David, people! Alas, may the heroes fall! Alas, may the weapons of war be destroyed!"

  “Eh!?”

  These solemn sounding spell swords, this was without a doubt the secret technique that was her trump card.

  "Undrinking blood of murderers, the unretreating bow of Jonathan! Unconsuming flesh of the brave soul, returning the sword of Saul in vain!”

  Godou looked at the direction where the voice came from. As expected, it was her.

  She stood there with her right hand carrying the silver longbow and her left hand lifting the arrows of blue light. Her silver ponytail swayed, draped over her shoulders was a blue and black shawl. She was indeed set in battle attire.

  "O' bow of Jonathan, with eagle's swiftness and lion's strength, a hero's weapon. Achieve soaring victory!"

  Afterwards, an arrow of blue light was finally released. Liliana Kranjcar fired a destructive weapon that could even injure and kill a god.

  The released arrow of blue light split into six individual arrows midway through, all of which were directed towards the divine tree’s thick trunk.

  This was probably because the dozens of enormous vines that were being manipulated focused their attention towards Ena.

  Attacked by the spell words of David, which can even kill a god if the being’s fatal spot was hit, the tree withered away with astonishing speed.

  Right away, the divine tree lost all its moisture and water content at once, becoming all dried up.

  Afterwards, the colossal tree that had been producing those sounds began to collapse. The crumbled pieces of the tree then broke up even further and were scattered by the ocean breeze.

  On the other hand, at the same time when the divine tree began to collapse, Godou expressed utter shock to Liliana’s battle engagement.

  “Why are you here!?”

  “It would’ve been strange if I didn’t show up. Beginning with our unresolved case, it led to this kind of situation development.”

  Liliana’s voice carried a tone of dissatisfaction.

  “Actually I want to ask, why can’t I be here?”

  “T-That, well you see, that grey bastard had caused a ton of disturbances.”

  This aspect was very hard to elaborate on which put Godou in a dilemma.

  Because she was inflicted by that curse from before, Liliana’s memory become quite hazy. Due to its effect, a subtle difference arose in Godou and Liliana’s relationship. The matter regarding everyone’s first encounter with the Crown was forgotten.

  If the Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi was utilized, it could rescind the memory derangement.

  However, for the Grey One, who was hovering in the sky, as long as the Crown of Saturnalia was still intact, the memory disruption could happen as many times as he wanted which would result in a perpetual cycle.

  Uncertain as to why Godou was hesitant, Liliana took a step further and angrily corrected him.

  “Kusanagi Godou, all you had to do was this. Say ‘please accompany me in battle’, and trust me. Perhaps this is an enemy that is somewhat hard to deal with, however I am your number one knight. Being there to assist Kusanagi Godou anytime, anywhere, is one of the duties I have assumed.”

  “Eh——?”

  What Liliana just said felt like her usual catchphrase.

  During that brief moment of surprise, once again a voice descended from the skies.

  ‘Hmm. You have apparently gathered your followers to your side once more. In that case, it would be most amusing to render your arduous efforts naught——’

  The Grey One’s tone sounded as if he was quite interested. This bastard is in high spirits once again!?

  Godou was aware that a sense of anger was emerging from within him. At his side, Liliana’s face was full of suspicion as she surveyed the Crown of Saturnalia that was floating in the sky. Moreover, Ena was racing back to them while single-handedly holding the Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi.

  Should he request Ena to combat that curse with the Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi——?

  In the split second Godou was contemplating over this,

  ‘Do not worry, Godou-san. That kind of power will no longer have any effect on us.’

  He heard a whispering sound by his ear.

  It was actually the voice of a girl that he didn’t anticipate to be here. Cautious like an austere follower of commandments and possessing a tender voice, this was without a doubt a voice relayed through psychic sensing.

  “——Mariya!?”

  The recently sent message was transferred by the hime-miko. That said, it was to be expected.

  As Liliana’s line of sight crossed his, the silver-haired girl only said ‘no problem’ towards this and heavily nodded, remaining perfectly composed. Ena perhaps picked up on the situation. Her grin seemed to express ‘hey, that’s amazing’.

  Immediately afterwards, a surge of wizardry descended from the sky.

  ‘Slaves will have their moment of glory. Kings will abandon their thrones for shackles. This is the one dream bestowed by the god who heralds the spring......'

  The spell words to dethrone a king surrounded Godou, Liliana, and Ena.

  However, there was also the chanting sound for the counterattack.

  "For the sake of maintaining order in Rome, the Senate decreed the suspension of imperium. Steel of the lion, take this as your foundation!"

  Godou had definitely heard these spell words before.

  This became known as the secret technique of the Diavolo Rosso, which was utilized when a sturdy garrison was required to be built.

  "Senatus consultum ultimum, hereby decreed!"

  Instilled with protection magic, a steel chain-like object was flying around in the sky like a living being.

  The sword, Cuore di Leone, transformed into chains——these chains were fixated on the heads of Godou and the girls, depicting the same pentagrams used by King Solomon[26]. These were supposed to be the seals that guarded the
body from fiendish magic and demons.

  “Evil be purified, Disaster be dismissed, Misfortune be exorcised, efficacious signs of the bearer of Fortune, I implore your manifestation!”

  This voice came from an even younger girl compared to the ones that usually accompany Godou.

  Only she could have used the disaster purification spirit arts on the lock of the Cuore di Leone which defended against the curse descending from the sky.

  ‘Oh——!?’

  “Well, it’s pretty much like this. Despite having powers of divine origins, the will of the divine artifact possesses a restricted spiritual power.”

  The commander of the lion of steel had triumphed with a magnificent victory as she approached them.

  “Hikari’s disaster purification is able to eliminate a small portion of a god’s power. I firmly believe that it is now completely defendable.”

  Her name was of course Erica Blandelli.

  A red and black overcoat draped over her body. Her battle stance was already primed.

  The miko sisters were also by her side. Yuri and her little sister Hikari, a hime-miko learning on the job, were reservedly smiling.

  “If that really wasn’t just to make our relationship with Godou drift apart, but rather a curse making us loath Godou, then the situation right now would’ve turned out much differently. They wouldn’t even qualify as a devil king Campione’s adversary if that was the case. Oh, and Lily.”

  Playing the leading role by an appearance at the very end, it seemed to be an act in which Erica excelled at.

  She amply displayed her own capabilities while speaking towards her old friend and rival.

  “I, Erica Blandelli, am the one who holds the title and position of Kusanagi Godou’s number one knight. No matter what, I’ll never surrender that position to you!”

  The girls of red and blue were disputing over who would be the number one knight.

  This type of conversation had already been a common occurrence. The two of them conversed just as they did in the past.

  Part 3

  “When in the world did you guys break free from the curse?”

  “It happened during the evening today after parting ways with Godou.”

 

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