Campione 07

by Great Sage Equaling Heaven

  "If that's the case, hurry and get yourself over here. Worry about the details later."

  Admonished by Godou, Liliana finally moved over, but it seemed like she still had not steeled her determination and she stopped a step or two away.

  The one who pulled the blue knight over was Ena.

  "Liliana-san that's no good, if His Majesty said you must come here then you should accept his love openly."

  "Ena-san, please do not force her, you need to respect people's wishes in these matters... But Liliana-san, let me state that the others and I do not regret engaging in this behavior."

  Even Yuri was persuading in an inoffensive manner, bearing a smile radiant as a blooming sakura flower.

  "P-Please wait a moment. I still have not prepared myself — Mmm~~!?"

  Because Liliana still could not make up her mind, Godou silenced her with a kiss.

  "From now on it might be quite arduous, you would do best to prepare yourself."

  The silver-haired maiden was afraid for an instant, but nodded after swallowing.

  Godou distilled the [Protection] within him, and sent it gradually into Liliana's body.

  "Mmm... Aaaaaah!"

  The beautiful fairy-like face was distorted by pain as Liliana screamed out acutely.

  Through their lips, Godou slowly delivered [Protection] into her body.

  "Y-Your overwhelming power is certainly being transferred, b-but why does the rhythm feel a bit different from when the others were receiving it?"

  "Idiot, if I start with pouring that amount of power, it will be very painful for you. Didn't you see how everyone else was suffering?"

  "D-Do not mind me, Kusanagi Godou. Please treat this as a test of my loyalty, pay me no mind! As the premier knight I cannot lose to anyone here..."

  Perhaps due to bearing the intense pain, Liliana cried out with her eyes closed.

  For an instant, Godou shifted his gaze away from the blue knight and met with Erica's. I could do as she says, but she will be in great pain, oh? Well, she's not a girl you can convince with words alone though — with no other way, Godou accelerated the delivery of [Protection] into Liliana's energy center.

  "Mmmm... Ah, aaaah~~!"

  Liliana almost fainted from the pain and she separated her lips from Godou's mouth.

  "See, didn't I say just now, it's best to start slow. You don't need to rush — Hmm!?"

  Godou's mouth was suddenly stifled, for Liliana had stolen his lips with a kiss.

  Pecking away at Godou's lips, her kiss felt as soft as an angel's feathers.

  "I-It is fine, I am your knight... Enduring this kind of pain is expression of my loyalty to my lord, it is my honor."

  Liliana murmured lightly as she panted heavily.

  "I, Liliana Kranjcar, would suffer the shame of a lifetime if you had to worry about me specifically when lined up against Erica and other women. So I implore you, do not give me special consideration — I will surely bear it!"

  However, reality was not that easy.

  Hoho... Just as Godou wondered how to respond, Erica smiled. Compared to her usual diabolical smile, this one carried a greater sense of innocence, making it more of an impish smile.

  "In that case, Godou, you should treat Lily and me the same as what you did with Yuri and Ena, and give us some good loving."

  Erica poked her head in between Godou and Liliana and offered her lips. Compared to just now, it felt much softer, and Erica's kiss was like a gentle caress on Godou's lips.

  "You're joining in as well? Is this something that needs to be done with two people?"

  "Of course, you can do it, right? Didn't you say that you hate ranking us? So you must love us fairly and take care of us equally."

  Godou immediately figured out what she was scheming impishly.

  Grabbing Liliana's shoulder, he pulled her over, lining up before him the Eastern European beauty who was like a fairy, side by side with the impish beauty. At this moment, Ena interrupted:

  "In that case, you can't ignore us either. Yuri, come over here as well."

  "E-Ena-san! Stop dragging me...! ...Really, everyone is too shameless, over indulging in this kind of behavior is not proper..."

  Ena embraced Godou, and somehow, Yuri had also begun hugging him at the urging of her childhood friend. The Yamato Nadeshiko-like Hime-Miko who was usually consumed with prudent forethought, was now gazing at Godou with an intoxicated and seductive expression, despite admonishing the others.

  Godou drew his face near the four maidens, and stole away their lips in turn.

  Kissing Erica, kissing Liliana's lips, and also catering to Yuri and Ena at the same time.

  With the silver-haired knight at the center, Godou passionately kissed the other three girls one after another in turn, distributing [Protection] amongst them evenly.

  "Ah... Kusanagi Godou, if someone were to witness this scene, then... It would be most troubling — as a knight, for me to indulge in such scandalous behavior — !"

  "Unfortunately, your king is the kind of man who does this sort of thing."

  Godou suddenly let go of the panting Liliana.

  "Do you all regret swearing an oath to a man like me?"

  "Hoho, I will serve by your side, and be your sword and shield throughout your path of conquest. And then I shall be your right hand and trusted advisor, assisting you as you lord over the earth. It is completely unnecessary to confirm this sort of thing with me, Erica Blandelli."

  "Same for Ena. It is because Your Majesty is this kind of person that Ena feels her heart pounding every time."

  "No matter what kind of great sinner you might become in the future, I will always stand by your side..."

  Erica spoke nonchalantly, while Ena declared joyfully and Yuri smiled gently with kindness. And then, Liliana finally confessed her innermost feelings with honesty.

  "I-I am the same! Kusanagi Godou! We are entwined branches and birds flying wing to wing. If you ever retire from the fate of godslaying, then I will accompany you in your chambers, and do everything in my power to serve my king. As long as it is your wish, no matter how shameless or immoral, I will still —"

  The current Liliana was no longer the awe-inspiring and righteous knight, nor the slightly out-of-line domestic girl. At some point, her face started to show an expression of a woman with fairy-like beauty and a seductive charm of fantasy.

  "Though as a knight, this is troubling... But on a personal level, I-I really like you like this, so I will no longer find myself at a loss over unnecessary things —"

  What followed after this was a chaotic scene.

  As the four of them offered their lips to him in a row, Godou savored and enjoyed them fully, in no particular order.

  They could no longer tell whose lips belonged to whom, or whose tongue was being entangled. As they licked one another's saliva without conscious identity, the five of them ended the ritual, and the divine warlord's protection was bestowed upon the girls.

  Chapter 6 - God and Godslayer, Intense Showdown Between Two Heroes

  Part 1

  A few hours passed after the godslayers had fled.

  Though it was late at night, the Great Sage Equaling Heaven, Sun Wukong, was far from sleeping.

  "Damn it, Old Sun here was looking for a good fight and all they did was run away. What cruel and inconsiderate fellows!"

  Summoning his golden cloud, he flew to the peak of Nantaisan.

  He grumbled as he overlooked the darkness beneath. Due to the depletion of divine power, Zhu Ganglie and Vaisravana were no more, having returned to their figurine state.

  "In that case, to prevent those fellows from fleeing the next battle, I'd better lay down a proper trap... Bait them, surround them, and beat them up to my heart's content..."

  The Great Sage sat cross-legged on his cloud and began to mutter.

  "Showing them my divine might is really the most effective method. That godslayer brat seems to be rather obsessed with the girl in my belly... He w
ill definitely show up on his own volition. As for that fellow dressed in black, it'd be great if he came, if not then I'll just lure him some other way."

  Despite pondering for a great while, in the end all he reached was a half-assed conclusion.

  The divine monkey was the world's strongest ruffian, but also a god of battle foreign to the concept of advance planning.

  "Hohoho, this vast land is already my territory, and it'd be nice to further extend its boundaries."

  Muttering to himself, the Great Sage Equaling Heaven pulled out a handful of hairs from his fur.

  Chewing them a few times in his mouth, he blew them away. Repeating this process dozens of times, tens, hundreds, thousands of strands of fur were scattered in the wind.

  "Innocence. Supreme success / Perseverance furthers. If someone is not as he should be / He has misfortune / And it does not further him / To undertake anything. Under heaven thunder rolls: All things attain the natural state of innocence. Thus the kings of old / Rich in virtue, and in harmony with the time / Fostered and nourished all beings."[73]

  Chanting the spell words, the Great Sage distributed his divine power to the doppelgängers.

  Then let's wait for these mechanisms to spread over the vast land. Other than extending the territory, they could also display the monkey king's divine might to those Campiones, and be used as a signal for battle.

  Let's sit back and wait for the prey to show itself. Even though he did not feel sleepy in the slightest, the Great Sage went to sleep anyway on his cloud, twisting and turning.

  Meanwhile, Toushouguu had been turned into a stone prison as the result of the Great Sage Equaling Heaven's divine power.

  In order to handle the crisis of the imprisoned demonic cult leader, there were still people at work even though it was late at night.

  The personnel responsible for sealing off the area were members of mobile armed forces, police-related people, spellcasters trying to reverse the cataclysm through magical means, as well as History Compilation Committee members...

  Their base of operations was a tent put up temporarily on the main visiting path to Toushouguu. Currently, three prominent members of the handling committee were gathered here.

  "Ah~~! Every time I am reminded of Master's imprisonment within the stone, I feel like my body and soul are completely frozen! Dear heavens, if only this unworthy disciple, Lu Yinghua, could suffer hardship in Master's stead! Etc etc... Now it's my turn, flip over and reveal all the cards! I will use the combo of [This is that person's home!] followed by [I won't accept him having that kind of wife!]'"

  The former half of this speech was yelled out loudly, while the latter was spoken softly enough to be heard only by people next to the speaker.

  Lu Yinghua was the one speaking, putting on a one-man-show as he operated a handheld gaming device with a touchpen.

  "I'm not going to take that move head on. Activating the [You temptress, don't go near him anymore!] defense... By the way, Mr. Lu, what is the point of your little skit?"

  Similarly, Sayanomiya Kaoru also spoke as she played on her handheld.

  Though it was already 4am in the morning, the attention she paid to her appearance was impeccable, dressed in a refreshing suit jacket and a white open-collared dress shirt, as well as cotton trousers (all in men's style, of course).

  "Of course there's a point. Master's personality is far from ordinary... Even if she is trapped in the stone prison, it would not be surprising for her to be listening to sounds outside using supernatural hearing. This is an important part of establishing proof of presence."

  "The fact that she has a personality that makes one suspect such possibilities, is truly the most terrifying thing about her..."

  Amakasu commented on Lu Yinghua's answer.

  He was still dressed in his usual suit, except this time he wore a sweater and a thick cotton-padded jacket inside, as well as a surgical mask and a full array of equipment to keep warm and resist the flu.

  "Spurt(the sound of blowing one's nose). Even if the situation evolves into one of those thirteen-man teams in student council battle manga, it would not be surprising... It's my turn, let me activate this interference magic, [Police Intervenes: Level 3]!"

  "Wow... This will cut down to one third the power gauge of all cards with the stalker attribute!?"

  "As a result of this effect, Mr. Lu's cards have all turned into fodder, and the only opponent remaining is Kaoru-san..."

  "Oh my! Amakasu-san, I hold in my hand the card that makes all others commit suicide, the [You Fail in Life]... Wouldn't you believe it?"

  "Who knows? Kaoru-san has already used that card twice. Bold as you are, I don't think you'd use that kind of double-edged card in a hat-trick... Cough cough!"

  "Hohoho, I will feel troubled if you underestimate me too much... I shall now use [My Womb Bears That Man's Child!] to start an assault on Mr. Lu."

  "Targeting me!? Don't look down on me! I sacrifice all the stalkers and summon [Misery]!"

  The three of them were networking their handhelds to engage in a three-way battle.

  As the battle (also known as killing time) gradually reached a climax, there were also others hard at work.

  "Hmm... No good... Ordinary Daoist arts cannot counter this petrification!"

  "Oh no~~ Will Her Eminence be buried alive forever!?"

  These voices were quite unclear, and had very distinctive accents.

  Lu Yinghua had summoned subordinates of the Lu family from places like Yokohama, Shinjuku, Ikebukuro and Akihabara, who were now carrying out rescue operations.

  Amongst them, there were seven or eight male experts in Daoist arts.

  "To be honest, the Committee does not actually allow foreign unaffiliated personnel to enter its territory —"

  "That's okay, consider it a favor I owe you now."

  "If the young master of Hong Kong's Lu family says so, then that would be for the best. However, what kind of practical progress do you expect? I think this is just a waste of effort."

  "Took you long enough to say something like that. It is not only a waste of effort, but completely meaningless. Although from the perspective of human Daoist arts, the spell can be categorized as a type of Qimen-Dunjia[74], it is cast by a deity after all. Of course it's impossible for my bros to neutralize it. I never had any expectations in the first place."

  "Wow... You are clearly the leader and yet you speak like this?"

  "Because he knew it wouldn't work from the very start. It does allow our Committee members to handle all matters unrelated to the rescue attempts, so there is nothing to complain about. However, pure numbers in personnel is meaningless in resolving the current incident..."

  Due to the uneasiness in her heart, Kaoru stopped moving the touchpen in her hand.

  Amongst the Hime-Miko, Mariya Yuri had the best spirit vision, but in actual fact, Sayanomiya Kaoru also possessed the same ability. Though her proficiency was inferior to Mariya Yuri, it was still at a substantial level.

  "Cough cough, Kaoru-san, what is it?"

  "I had a very unpleasant premonition, as if something bad was about to happen."

  "Then we can't ignore it. Just to be safe, we'd better make preparations, cough cough."

  Amakasu took out a small knife and began carving Chinese characters into the petrified ground.

  Immediately, Kaoru sensed a massive amount of magical power flowing.

  Like some kind of terrifying but minuscule object was drifting here, carried by the wind and infused with something like divine power, and that the surroundings were undergoing change.

  The Daoist experts of the Lu family, as well as the policemen on night watch, had all transformed into monkeys!

  Japanese monkeys, gibbons, chimpanzees, orangutans, etc... All sorts of primates. Their nails and fangs were exceptionally long while their bodies were frighteningly large, and they looked especially vicious.

  As soon as they caught sight of the two Committee members and the famed young m
aster of Hong Kong's Lu family, the monkeys became full of murderous intent!

  In the instant that they pounced ferociously —

  "By the name of the Mysterious Lady of the Nine Heavens, obey my commands in haste!"

  Amakasu recited the mantra.

  The characters of "Changes of the Six Yin"[75] carved in the ground began to release magical power.

  Striking the ground with his hand, the petrified surface peeled off and could be flipped like a sheet of fabric and used to cover the three of them like a curtain.

  Their figures vanished in an instant. Or rather, they appeared to have vanished.

  "Cough cough! This is also a type of Qimen-Dunjia... I'm only good at these kinds of little tricks."

  "Not at all, it is very effective as always."

  Kaoru praised her subordinate's quick act of merit.

  Unable to find the three of them, the monkeys began looking all around in the surroundings, sniffing for smells, trying to track them down, even though their quarries were right under their noses.

  Qimen-Dunjia — ninjutsu was a type of wizardry that came to Japan from China.

  It offered the capability to hide, disappear and reappear far away in an instant, and also had spells in Fire, Water, Earth and other variants. For a ninja descendant like Amakasu, these were family secrets passed down the ages.

  "The empty wind beneath the moonlit snowing sky, mayst thou blow apart the path of the heavenly clouds... Reluctant to let the goddess return, hoping to keep her beauty on this earth!"

  While protected by the concealing arts, Kaoru used an investigative spell.

  Amplifying her vision, Kaoru surveyed the city of Nikkou from above as if using a telescope.

  The quiet little town should not have many pedestrians at such early hours before dawn. However, the silhouettes of creatures could be seen, slowly coming out of the people's homes in the dead of the night.

  Either opening windows with great dexterity or violently smashing the glass, these creatures coming out were all monkeys.

  If theories were correct, they were all humans who had been turned into monkeys by the Great Sage Equaling Heaven.

  This was the darkest hour before the arrival of daybreak...