Campione 07

by Great Sage Equaling Heaven

  "Ooh— since it has come to this!"

  From the top of an ice dragon's head, the punctured Vaisravana released a water current from his hand, naturally his target was the black demonic bird flying in the air. Smith boldly performed a defensive maneuver against this counterattack.

  "How sad, your death struggle is meaningless, and only serves as a chance for me to show off my powers."

  The attacked devil king released his transformation in the air.

  The black demonic bird returned to the black-clad black-masked John Pluto Smith.

  Due to the instantaneous decrease in body size, Vaisravana's attack passed through directly without hitting anything. The caped devil king fluttered in the wind like a feather, and pulled out his gun, aiming at Vaisravana as he descended.

  "Wah— !"

  This time the abdomen was penetrated, causing Vaisravana to collapse. Of the six magic bullets, only one remained, but having defeated one of the three deities, it was enough—

  As he slowly descended towards the ground, Smith suddenly heard the resounding voice of the Great Sage Equaling Heaven.

  "Middle Bro and Lil' Bro! Combine your powers, you two! Summon me back to earth!"

  "Big Bro, I got it! I will entrust all my remaining strength to you! It is now time for the three gods to unite and vanquish the Rakshasa!"

  What!? Before Smith's surprised eyes, the Curtain Lifting General Vaisravana's figure dispersed, becoming tiny sand-like particles of light which flew towards the high atmosphere.

  Flying high towards the heavens, the Marshal Canopy Zhu Ganglie was accompanied by the golden palm.

  He too, heard the voice of his sworn older brother, and decided to surrender as well.

  "Hmm what a pity. Booze, gambling, women, breasts, butts, beautiful legs! There is still so much that I want to do! But in my current unsightly state, there is nothing else I can do! Big Bro, I am coming now!"

  Clutched tightly by the golden palm, Zhu Ganglie's body also dispersed, forming the same shining particles of light like the youngest sworn brother and escaping from the confines of the hand to fly towards the corner of the sky where the sworn older brother was located!

  Turned into a railgun projectile and flying towards space, the divine monkey, the Great Sage Equaling Heaven, Sun Wukong, proceeded to chant a mantra with calm composure.

  "Dubhe, Merak, Phecda, Megrez, Alioth, Mizar, Alkaid! The Seven Stars of the Northern Dipper, I beseech you to manifest!"

  As the divine essence of the subordinate gods rushed over to him, the Great Sage absorbed it to raise his own divine power.

  "Snakes and dragons, offer your bloody carcasses to me; flames, heat up iron to forge into steel; clear water, cool the sword's blade! All shall empower my divinity as the sword god!"

  In order to attain an unshakable ego, the Great Sage was returning to his roots as a sword god.

  In order to form a sword, he gathered the power he needed.

  The devil kings attacking me and the Rakshasa tearing me apart! The Great Sage Equaling Heaven, Sun Wukong, was now about to enter the path of hellish trials to become the divine sword that vanquishes evil and embodies justice! Overwhelming power filled his heart and mind.

  Once again confirming his mission as a sword god, he expressed approval of the ancient covenant.

  "Hah—!"

  The Great Sage Equaling Heaven finally released himself from the cursed bonds of electromagnetism.

  As he overlooked the territory of Japan, he summoned his Ruyi Staff.

  It was finally time for a counterattack. Smiling, he grew in size, letting his body reach the dimensions of Zhu Ganglie. Though he was able to expand further, making his body too large would be detrimental to speed.

  Next in action were the two sworn younger brothers who had hurried over.

  Zhu Ganglie's essence turned into a massive black boar, roughly the same size as the current Great Sage who sat on his back, taking on the role of a wild beast mount.

  Then Vaisravana's essence formed a dragon, wrapping itself around the back of the Great Sage Equaling Heaven, taking on a ready stance that seemed like it was going to attack on command.

  Thus, the three gods became one, and everything was ready.

  The three divine spirits' bodies were enveloped by white flames as they fell back onto the surface like a shooting star.

  Veering off from the direction of Nikkou, they had to correct their trajectory along the way while being surrounded by high heat, passing through the stratosphere and finally returning to the troposphere.

  The ground beneath could now be seen. Nantaisan, Lake Chuuzenji, Senjougahara, Lake Yunoko, etc —

  Along the way, the black demonic bird's silhouette could be spotted in the distance.

  One of the godslayers was trying to pursue me. Excellent, let's strike him down.

  The Great Sage Equaling Heaven descended upon the land of Senjougahara once more.

  However, this time the massive landing impact remodeled the landscape. Riding astride the black boar, leading the dragon, the Great Sage Equaling Heaven's mighty entry made the ground crack and overturn, blowing away soil and vegetation, creating a crater.

  At the bottom of the crater, the Great Sage Equaling Heaven lightly kicked the beast's abdomen, ordering it to make its way to the surface.

  The black demonic bird also came and landed, transforming into the man dressed in black. On ground level, the team of the young man and woman was also heading over here.

  "So, godslayers, let us fight to the very end!"

  The Great Sage Equaling Heaven shouted at the mortal enemies before him with great delight.

  Thus the three Campiones faced off against the three gods who had united as one.

  Godou was still maintaining the [Goat] incarnation, whose priestly power informed him that the Great Sage Equaling Heaven had become three gods in one.

  Taking on the role of a horse was the giant black boar transformed from Zhu Ganglie.

  Vaisravana had become a dragon, its long and slender body slithering along the Great Sage's back.

  And then the steel monkey of Scythian origins wielded the Ruyi Staff, like a knight in a jousting tournament except with unusual body measurements, a bizarre knight standing ten-odd metres tall.

  The fur on Great Sage Equaling Heaven's two arms stood on end and were fired like rockets.

  As countless hairs flew through the air, their front ends were sharp as needles. These things could probably pierce right through a steel plate!

  "...This is bad!"

  Godou could not help crying out as the kings scattered and the needles struck the ground. Anyone who gets hit would be skewered! And that was just the first wave of attacks.

  Firing in succession, the needles formed a hail of projectiles that blotted the sky.

  "Quoted from the chapter of Carefree Roaming, the perfect man has no thought of self; the god-like man, none of merit; the sagely-minded man, none of fame!"[93]

  With the sound of Luo Cuilian's melodious chant, the impact of magical wind blew away thousands of needles, but at the same time, the three gods in one also made their move.

  Crash! The ground shook as the black boar carrying the Great Sage Equaling Heaven began to gallop, charging and racing. That kind of speed was like the wind. Despite the huge size of its body, its movements were faster than the eye could see.

  "One who slices everything apart, be summoned for the sake of victory!"

  Godou tried to counterattack, again using lightning and Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi to generate massive magnetic forces, intending to send the Great Sage into space once more, but because the Great Sage had vastly increased his mass, an immediate effect could not be produced. No good, it's too late!

  The Great Sage Equaling Heaven was arriving on the giant boar.

  As the boar raised its hooves to trample Godou, Luo Cuilian and Smith, there was clearly no time to use the railgun.

  "Massive timber splitting mountains, producing great
force! Stacking multitudes of golden bells, producing impenetrable iron cloth!"

  The demonic cult leader charged at this time.

  From her back drifted a flaming aura which took form as the golden Benevolent King, blocking the beast's charge. What amazing peerless arm strength! However at this instant, the Great Sage Equaling Heaven leaped from the boar's back.

  "Hah—!"

  Somersaulting to behind the Benevolent King, he used the Ruyi Staff to strike at the golden back.

  Ooof! The Benevolent King's courageous expression was distorted, but he still kicked backwards at the Great Sage Equaling Heaven behind him. However, this kick was easily avoided, and the Ruyi Staff once again roared as it whistled through the air.

  Smack smack smack smack smack! The rapid series of impacts sounded like fireworks.

  With the sound of explosions, the Great Sage had made a continuous series of at least a hundred strikes in an instant. Completely unable to fight back, the Benevolent King was struck by a decisive blow from the Great Sage, and the golden half-nude male was dispelled without trace.

  At this time, a black shadow flew up from the ground.

  This was the black demonic bird transformed from John Pluto Smith again.

  He must be thinking that a ground battle's outcome might be uncertain? However, it looked like there was something chasing after the ferocious flying bird.

  It was the serpentine creature that had been standing ready on the Great Sage's back — the dragon.

  Flying with the same speed as the demonic bird, the dragon blocked the bird's path from in front, preventing Smith from flying freely.

  Somehow, the giant boar had also jumped high into the sky, was it trying to attack the demonic bird together with the dragon? But the height of this jump could not reach the position of the demonic bird, and only arrived a position slightly below where the dragon and the bird battled —

  The Great Sage Equaling Heaven also jumped at this time.

  Jumping nimbly as if flying with wings, one could not connect it with the weight of the giant body at all.

  Wielding the Ruyi Staff, the divine monkey's target was the giant boar in the air. Using the boar's fur as a foothold, he made another giant leap, and so the Great Sage Equaling Heaven reached the altitude where the demonic bird and the dragon were fighting.

  The Ruyi Staff was swung.

  Aaaaaaaah! Struck in the neck, the demonic bird screamed in pain and crashed towards the ground.

  "Uh... As befitting of the Great Sage... I am faced with a difficult battle..."

  Before Godou, Luo Cuilian had been brought down to one knee.

  Blood dripped out from her mouth, and it seemed like the damage suffered by the Benevolent King was reflected onto her body.

  "Wait a moment and I will proceed to use all of my divine powers, defeating the three-in-one Great Sage... Godou, watch and learn carefully from the heroic fighting form of your elder sister, got that?"

  Even though injured, she still wanted to stand up and fight for victory.

  Amongst Campiones, Luo Cuilian's fighting spirit and willpower were typical of the illegitimate children of the fool — Epimetheus, whose talent was possessing insanity that transcended strategy and victory probability.

  Maybe she really could win this fight.

  Perhaps she could turn this crisis around alone.

  But this won't do! Godou shook his head, for 'perhaps' was simply not good enough.

  I want to win, and will do everything to achieve it myself. Within the plans of victory traced out in Godou's mind, the power of this woman and the fallen young man were needed.

  "—Nee-san."

  For the very first time, Godou was able to use this manner of address naturally.

  "How many times have I repeated, you should be calling me 'Onee-sama.' How forgetful of you..."

  "Nee-san, this sort of thing is irrelevant at this time. In order to defeat that bastard monkey, the three of us must cooperate together. Don't say anything about fighting alone again."

  Godou gazed directly into the maiden's eyes, speaking his mind in earnest.

  "Besides, Nee-san is the one who said this is the first time for us to fight in cooperation, perhaps you have forgotten? I will definitely end this battle with victory, so I will use everything at my disposal. So come, fight together with me, this is my request of a lifetime!"

  "W-When did you start becoming so obsessed with this battle?"

  If that's the case, you should have spoken earlier. Luo Cuilian nodded as she blushed.

  "Very well, fulfilling the little brother's willfulness is also part of a sworn elder sister's duty. I will not object. In the name of the bonds between us, this battle must be won no matter what!"

  Godou gave simple instructions to the assenting elder sister.

  When forming impromptu teams without sufficient time to get accustomed to one another, it was necessary to keep things simple.

  During his baseball days, Godou had many opportunities to train and compete with representative teams. Furthermore, as the catcher whose position was central to defense, he was used to making this kind of duty distribution.

  "The root of my power of Vajra, now is the time for great might that can tear apart heaven and earth!"

  Hearing the summons of the demonic cult lady, the Om pair of golden Benevolent Kings manifested.

  As the vanguard she was to use her full strength, hence the simultaneous use of dual avatars.

  —Prior to the advent of firearms, the combat potential of cavalry was equivalent to tanks in modern warfare.

  This was due to an absolute advantage in both offensive ability and mobility, because riding horses traveled faster than on foot, and attacking on a galloping horse carried the benefit of much greater momentum. Furthermore, with bows and arrows as well as other factors such as outstanding cavalry tactics, many equestrian tribes conquered vast territories in both the orient and the occident.

  And now in the present, the enormous Great Sage Equaling Heaven was riding a giant boar charging on the plains of Senjougahara.

  Facing them were the two Benevolent Kings approaching on foot. For infantry to be able to counter the historically proven principle of cavalry superiority, the demonic cult leader's martial might was truly astounding.

  The Great Sage Equaling Heaven charged forward, riding the giant boar.

  Blocking him was the open-mouthed[94] Benevolent King, but the wild boar attempted to thrust its sharp tusks at the flank of his abdomen.

  The close-mouthed Benevolent King used his open-mouthed partner as a platform to launch an attack at the divine monkey riding the black boar. Jumping lightly into the air he made a series of killing palm strikes.

  However, all of them were blocked by the Ruyi Staff.

  The dragon lying in wait on the Great Sage's back, also bared its fangs as it opened its jaws to bite the throat of the open-mouthed Benevolent King.

  While all this was happening, the giant boar below did not stop charging, and was competing in a battle of strength against the incomparable might of the Benevolent King. The open-mouthed one's muscles bulged as he halted the advance of the giant boar.

  Like a mounted knight, the Great Sage Equaling Heaven swung down his staff, striking the open-mouthed Benevolent King soundly in the face.

  The open-mouthed Benevolent King persevered but was clearly at a disadvantage. Using the time bought, Godou concentrated on raising his magical power.

  Due to the enemy's abnormal size, Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi needed to be infused with power to reach a critical point.

  However, there were still other tasks required during this time, hence Godou approached the fallen young man.

  The place the demonic bird crashed down just now was close by. Crouched down on the grass, the masked king was struggling to stand up.

  "Are you unable to fight any longer?"

  "In terms of boxing, this is as if the knockout count reached eight. Still, I can just barely pull myself
together, enough to let me give a miraculous reversal performance."

  Still eloquent as ever, then he must be fine. Godou had no intention of extending a helping hand for the man trying to stand up because John Pluto Smith did not ask for his help.

  Several seconds later, the two of them stood shoulder to shoulder and smiled at each other. Although Smith's face was obscured by the mask he wore, surely he must be showing a fearless smile.

  That's right, that was the kind of man he was.

  "You are concentrating magical power as if preparing for some interesting operation. By my guess, Her Eminence is buying time for you right now... Hmm, how unexpected for her to have a personality that dutifully supports a man with such profound devotion."

  "Stop saying these weird things. Ignoring that, I am currently preparing to use this move."

  Trying to silence Smith's nonsense, Godou told him the essential details.

  "However, the one to perform the finishing blow has to be you. Previously you mentioned a trump card with heat and fire, can you still use it?"

  "Don't worry, I am not a man who misses out on rare opportunities for a grand performance. It's ready any time... So... what are you planning?"

  Hearing the plan Godou was considering, Smith whistled from beneath the mask.

  Wiggling his index and middle fingers in a pretentious manner to substitute for a response — it seemed to be saying, what a reckless proposal, but count me in.

  The black-caped young man departed with shaking footsteps, but Godou was not worried in the least.

  If this man had already said he was ready any time, then he won't be embarrassing himself. Hence Godou raised his right arm towards the sky in preparation.

  "It was this place, that Susanoo led a thousand unruly deities in rebellion — intending to take over this country!"

  Was this his second authority or simply just a weapon? In order to summon the sword with the ambiguous identity, Godou recited spell words.

  If it was just an authority, it should be minding its own business instead of interfering during strange occasions. If it was just a weapon, it was buried too deeply inside Godou. Was this problem the result of the chaotic conditions under which this fellow was defeated?