Campione 16

by The Stirring of Heroes

  Probably receiving a spirit vision, Yuri gave a series of warnings.

  From the way Kaoru looked, she definitely was not her usual self. Somehow gone were the dream-like beauty and libertine gaze that displayed curiosity towards everything. Flashing with blue light, her pupils were filled with stern fighting spirit, making her beautiful and courageous face even more striking in appearance!

  Then the figure in the gray school uniform leaped again, intending to attack Godou once more.

  "Please wake up, Sayanomiya Kaoru!"

  Liliana swiftly inserted herself in between Godou and Kaoru.

  Blue-eyed Kaoru extended her right hand as if intending to eliminate the interloper.

  Raising her fist vertically, she sent a right hook towards the silver-haired girl's face. Godou watched with tongue-tied amazement. Like the kick just now, Kaoru was using Chinese martial arts.

  Liliana blocked Kaoru's punch with her right arm.

  She did not draw her beloved magic sword, probably to avoid harming Kaoru's body.

  However, controlled by the "evil-slaying will," Kaoru nonchalantly swung her fist down on Liliana's arm.

  The silver-haired female knight went "Ugh!?" in response, greatly alarmed and surprised.

  However, she did not back down and was just about to grab and pick up Kaoru when—In the next instant, she was crouching on the ground.

  This was the result of Kaoru's left index finger pressing on Liliana's chest.

  "Guh. The technique known as pressure point attacking...!"

  Crouched on the floor, Liliana groaned. Her body seemed immobilized by paralysis.

  Attacking vitals and pressure points on the human body to subdue enemies effortlessly—

  This was indeed a technique used by the Chinese demonic cult leader. The Jiuweixue pressure point was located on the chest. Godou had learned this piece of trivia from her direct disciple.

  Next it was going to be his turn—

  Just as Godou readied a stance, Kaoru went "Haa!" with another vigorous yell.

  Then Yuri went "kyah" and collapsed, apparently losing strength in her lower body as a result of the yell. Furthermore, her legs extending out from beneath her uniform skirt were knocking together noisily as they trembled.

  Apparently, Yuri no longer had the strength to stand.

  Having neutralized a Hime-Miko with a vigorous shout, Kaoru turned towards Godou and approached.

  Her strikingly beautiful face was like the midday sun.

  Watching her expression which aptly conjured descriptions like "justice," "benevolence" or "hero," Godou muttered:

  "...It wanted to avoid getting Mariya involved?"

  Before Yuri could take any action like Liliana, a harmless method was used to neutralize her—

  Was this a show of concern? The only "evil" that needed to be defeated was Kusanagi Godou alone. As if admitting to the doubts in Godou's mind, Kaoru's beautiful face smiled. Immediately, a bladed polearm appeared in her hand all of a sudden.

  The double-edged trident—A great blade shaped into three prongs with sharp edges on the two lateral sides.

  Rather than a Japanese weapon it was indeed a Chinese blade. Wielding the double-edged trident, Kaoru charged at Godou with great agility.

  Erlang's mercy as the "benevolent one" could not possibly be extended towards Godou, probably.

  Without any hesitation, Kaoru performed a downward diagonal slash.

  Godou was not necessarily incapable of evading this double-edged trident.

  The enemy before him was neither a great sinner who had caused the people suffering nor a user of monstrous strength beyond normal parameters. Given the opponent's level of martial technique, divine speed capable of handling the [Raptor] was very probable.

  Under such circumstance, there was only one incarnation Godou could depend on.

  The double-edged trident struck Godou's left shoulder. Slash—

  The double-edged trident continued to tear through Godou's skin, muscles, collarbone, ribs etc, slashing its way towards his heart.

  The only substance obstructing this attack was the bones of a Campione, possibly even tougher than the hardest metals on earth. Unimaginable heat and pain tore through Godou's body and mind.

  Sacrificing his left shoulder to the slash wound, Godou was able to use the [Camel] incarnation in return.

  He made it. The double-edged trident had yet to reach his heart.

  Obtaining combat skills and leg strength that allowed him to fight war gods on equal footing in the past, Godou unleashed swift forward kicks against Kaoru repeatedly. This was a type of kicking strike akin to shoving the opponent away using the soles of the feet.

  Kaoru and her slender body was sent flying by his kick.

  That said, this simply kicked her away. No damage had been caused to Kaoru's body.

  Having gradually mastered his authority, Godou was now capable of restraining the [Camel]'s destructive power to a certain extent. Hence, he was able to perform martial arts like that—

  After kicking Kaoru away with a forward kick, Godou turned and performed a spinning kick instead of lowering his leg.

  This was followed by a high kick upwards. However, he did not make a direct hit.

  Brushing past Kaoru's temple with his foot, he gave her a concussive blow to the brain. His aim was to cause a concussion with minimum damage in order to neutralize Kaoru.

  Pulling it off without a hitch, Godou rendered Kaoru unconscious and she collapsed as though turned off by a switch.

  Kaoru unconscious. Liliana paralyzed. And Yuri with her legs gone limp.

  The three girls were in a rather awkward state. But at least a crisis had been averted.

  After Godou nodded towards Yuri and Liliana who were still conscious, the two girls displayed relieved expressions.

  "True Lord Erlang's will... Seems to have left the room already."

  "Looks like it. But why did it possess Sayanomiya Kaoru instead of Mariya Yuri or me who were by Kusanagi Godou's side? Did it choose the person who had used the evil-slaying sacred talisman?"

  Yuri and Liliana's exchange prompted Godou to recall.

  Amakasu's words. "There were two elite masters among those involved in the incident, so for the sake of saving lives, a risk was taken." One of them was Kaoru while the other was—

  A troubling premonition surged in Godou's heart. Could it really be...?

  "If my premonition is correct, the next person he will try to possess is Seishuuin?"

  The other person, who along with Kaoru had attempted to use the talisman related to True Lord Erlang, was indeed Godou's companion who carried the title of the premier Hime-Miko.

  Greatly shocked, Yuri immediately took out her cellphone.

  "I-I am going to try to see if I can contact Ena-san!"

  Since she was only drained of strength in her legs, moving her upper body should be fine.

  Operating with stiff movements, she called up the contact list and pressed dial. However, she quickly hung her head.

  "The call is not going through..."

  Godou could not help but look at his right arm.

  The divine sword residing there was also supposed to be akin to a "partner" to Seishuuin Ena. Furthermore, despite the sword's usually undisciplined attitude in normal situations, its personality was actually quite meddlesome whenever conflicts were encountered.

  In spite of vast separation in physical distance, it maintained a spiritual bond with Ena—

  "Hey... If Seishuuin were to encounter any mishap, tell this to her."

  Godou knew that he should take care of the girls right here.

  But instead, he exited the study.

  Rushing rapidly by himself along the corridors in the Sayanomiya residence, he made his way to the garden.

  "Call out my name if you encounter danger. Only by doing so will I be able to save you."

  Just as Godou finally walked out the entryway and looked up to gaze at the dark starlit sky above T
okyo—

  Godou heard a faint call transmitted from somewhere faraway. —Your Majesty, Ena has a bit of a bad feeling over here, please hurry over.

  Instantly, gentle wind began to swirl beneath Godou's legs.

  The gentle wind formed a vortex that gradually increased in strength, soon becoming a powerful cyclone.

  When someone in a dangerous crisis called out Godou's name, it allowed him to fly to their location. This was Verethragna's first incarnation, the gust of [Wind].

  This power currently activated to transport Kusanagi Godou to some unknown location.

  Part 3

  Guided by the vortex of [Wind], Godou was brought to an unknown land.

  Godou nodded, acknowledging the result of the instantaneous teleportation performed using Verethragna's authority.

  Finding himself on a riverside strewn with gravel, Godou was confronted by a mixed forest's autumn leaves of vivid red. Clearly this was in a mountain forest somewhere. Seishuuin Ena, who had "summoned" Godou here, was a girl who trained in the mountains as if it were her daily homework.

  She was currently a few meters ahead.

  Ena usually wore that uniform from some high school who knows where. However, this time she was dressed Japanese style with a white kimono top, a red, male-style hakama and a pair of wooden geta clogs.

  This attire was rather fitting for a miko and someone training in the mountains.

  Furthermore, she was wielding a wooden sword in a stance.

  Her blade was pointed towards a certain direction—a familiar set of three eyes!

  A pair of slender eyes hovering in midair with a third eye that opened vertically. Godou yelled out:

  "Seishuuin! That thing is apparently the will of a god called Erlang whatever!"

  "Erlang... Could it actually be the Illustrious Sage, True Lord Erlang? This thing was trying to take over Ena's body, almost succeeding in its surprise attack."

  While explaining nonchalantly, Ena still kept her gaze and the wooden sword directed towards the enemy.

  But judging from the tone of her voice, she clearly did not feel like she was in danger. This was because she knew very well that she was the one who had invoked Godou's [Wind] incarnation. As expected of the Hime-Miko of the Sword, her boldness was exceptional.

  "Rather than an actual god, this thing would be better described as part of a god's will, left behind in the world... That's what it feels like. Because it doesn't seem to have a material body, Ena thinks that as long as one prevents it from possessing someone's body, there won't be much danger."

  Godou nodded emphatically in response to Ena's words.

  As the user of the mystic technique, divine possession, she was more experienced than anyone in the area of contact with gods. Together with the fact that she possessed instincts like a beast, Godou was convinced she must be right.

  However, Godou and Ena immediately stared with their eyes wide open in surprise.

  The sun had already set, giving rise to a starry sky above. Radiantly flashing blue spheres of light were now descending from the night sky.

  These spheres of light floated down slowly like snowflakes.

  The blue spheres of light landed on the three eyeballs. In the next instant, the three eyes transformed into the form of a tall young man—his handsome face bearing stern dignity and propriety. His attire was reminiscent of Beijing opera costumes, Chinese in style and rather colorful. It resembled the military leader costume the Great Sage Equaling Heaven had worn.

  Furthermore, he still had three eyes as if it were the most natural thing in the world. The vertically-opening third eye was positioned on his forehead!

  (Hereby stands the nephew of the Jade Emperor, the general commanding the forces of heaven and earth, bearing the name of Erlang the Illustrious Sage and True Lord. Kusanagi Godou, as the villainous Devil King, you are the target I seek to vanquish. Prepare yourself.)

  The young man announced his name and smiled clearly and candidly.

  This smile was filled with the sort of magnificence belonging to someone who was utterly convinced of his own righteousness.

  On the other hand, the voice he used to announce his name was neither clear nor candid. Instead, it sounded like a whisper.

  This loudness should not be audible normally, but through suspicious divine powers, the voice was delivered to Godou and Ena's earshot.

  "It turned into... a god?"

  "This is something along the lines of a god's legacy will or regrets combining intimately with a body."

  This sudden change greatly surprised Godou and Ena. However, there was no time to ponder the matter.

  True Lord Erlang manifested a bladed weapon in his hand. The front part of the blade was shaped into three prongs—It's the double-edged trident!

  "Watch out, Your Majesty!"

  True Lord Erlang swung the double-edged trident to slash Godou.

  Before the weapon could reach Godou, Ena stepped before him and blocked its path, intending to protect Godou. However, her weapon was merely an ordinary wooden sword—Godou immediately called out.

  "Ama no Murakumo! Go and help Seishuuin!"

  Alerted of the situation by Godou, Ena immediately threw away the wooden sword in her hand.

  Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi suddenly manifested in her empty hands. Similar in structure to a Japanese sword, the divine sword had a mildly curving black blade. Swinging the sword she called her partner, Ena slashed at True Lord Erlang.

  The respective blades of the god and the Hime-Miko clashed together.

  Then they began exchanging blows, two or three at a time—Godou and Ena were dumbfounded once more.

  Finding Ena's sword attack too difficult to evade normally, True Lord Erlang took a great leap backwards. Indeed, Ena was a master of the sword. Nevertheless, she should not be skilled enough to overwhelm a deity who was known as a warrior god of combat. Despite this being the case, why would he retreat...?

  (—Hmph. Mobility is rather restricted since this is merely a crude body. I shall have to wait for some time. Once I grow accustomed to this body, I shall return for a rematch...)

  The god whispered. Immediately after that, the three-eyed, handsome young man vanished like a puff of smoke.

  "Oh? So that god appeared because of Ena and the rest? Sorry sorry."

  "I have no intention of reprimanding you for that, but if you're going to apologize, a little more sincerity would be more appropriate."

  After recounting the series of occurrences, Godou voiced his objections to Ena's airheaded apology.

  According to Ena, this mountain was somewhere in a corner of Chichibu. She was training in the mountains as usual, using the deep mountain aura to cleanse and purify her body and mind.

  "In that case, we'll just have to wait here for the strange god(?) to attack again. After all, he only came to this place for the purpose of targeting me. Plus deep in the mountains here, we won't be causing trouble to people and cities."

  "Yes, understood. Let's do that."

  Ena grinned and calmly expressed agreement.

  In actual fact, Kusanagi Godou and Seishuuin Ena were surprisingly similar people. Both possessed animal-like instincts and personalities that tended to take action before worrying, thus allowing them to act decisively during emergencies.

  Given these two as a team, prolonged strategy planning would be the last thing one would expect.

  "Then the last issue is where we should wait for that guy to appear. Although we could just stay here, it's really quite cold."

  Just earlier, Godou was still in the city center of Tokyo.

  But now, he was in the deep mountains of Chichibu where autumn was in full swing. The location was also at quite a high altitude. With only regular street clothes, whether the wind or the night air itself, both felt rather chilly.

  "Well, let's take Your Majesty to a nice place. There's a mountain hut not too far from here."

  Ena immediately suggested.

  "I know the
old man who uses the place when he comes here for gathering mountain vegetables and hunting. Ena also keeps stuff like rice and miso there for emergency situations. So we can make dinner there."

  "Dinner eh? That's a really great idea."

  Although Godou already had dinner earlier, it was not enough to fill his stomach completely. Furthermore, a meal to warm up his cold body would be most gratifying. Godou's eyes began to shine brightly.

  Thus the two of them started walking along a mountain path.

  Before setting off, Ena wrote a letter using notebook paper and an oil-based marker she had brought. After folding the paper four times and throwing it into the air, the letter suddenly vanished. This was mailing magic for sending letters faraway. In this case, the destination was the Sayanomiya residence.

  This was for reporting Godou and Ena's situation to Kaoru, Yuri, Liliana and the rest because cellphones had no reception in a mountain like this. However, this spell could not be used unless the receiver's location was known, which meant that Godou and Ena had no way of obtaining a reply...

  At any rate, Godou and Ena fulfilled their minimum obligation to keep in touch.

  Godou followed Ena along the mountain path which took them upstream of the river. Sometimes they had to push vegetation aside and other times they had to follow animal trails.

  Naturally, there were no street lights or anything of that sort while they traveled at night like this.

  When they walked in areas with a clear view of the sky, the moon and the stars offered illumination. The stars in the night canopy of the sky proved to be an unexpected bright source of light.

  However, there was no such blessing when moving amidst dense foliage.

  During these times, it felt like wandering in darkness with something sticky entangling one's body and Godou's only beacon was the view of Ena's back ahead of him. Even an experienced hiker would probably have difficulty advancing in these conditions.

  On the other hand, Kusanagi Godou was a Campione.

  In actual fact, given the "special constitution" of a godslayer, Godou possessed rather powerful night vision.