Campione 06

by Flying Phoenix of Divine Mountain

Watching the night scenery in boredom, the boy was roughly fourteen years old. With a proper well-proportioned face, he was wearing a black top along with black jeans.

  Not far away, there was a crouching girl who looked about the same age as him.

  Unlike the oriental youth, she was Caucasian with a head of brown hair and angelic beauty. However, her especially large eyes were filled with murderous and evil intent. This was a vicious countenance.

  Those who knew about the supernatural incident at Los Angeles would probably have noticed.

  Her name was Asherah, and two weeks ago, she was still the leader of the [King of Flies], the otherworldly witch.

  "It's coming soon... Brat, get yourself ready."

  Asherah reminded him, for she was using seeking magic to find the presence of the "target."

  "You finally found it, Sis. This wait has been killing me."

  The youth smiled. A casual and uncaring expression that was not cute at all. Asherah could not help but frown at his lack of tension. She once again gave her orders.

  "Your failure is not acceptable. Put all your effort into it."

  "I know. So, I will express my opinion too... After I catch that fellow, don't you fail now. If I get scolded by my master because of your mistake, I will make you pay back triple."

  "What did you say?"

  Asherah's evil eyes were full of the glint of disaster. The witch, who could curse a person to death just by her glare, only received a gaze of indifference in return. When necessary, destroy the enemy without hesitation. Such was the unrelentless will that could be seen.

  "You're called Lu Yinghua, right? Clearly just a brat, but you sure have a way with words."

  "Compared to quarrelling, I have something even more amazing. Even if my opponent is female, I will not go easy... In fact, a woman would make me even more aggressive instead. Would you like to try it?"

  The youth -- Lu Yinghua slowly spread out his palms. He possessed slender and nimble fingers, while his broad palms had been forged hard and solid through training.

  The two stared at each other, but the situation soon ended.

  "That fellow has appeared. I shall catch up later. You go and get ready."

  "Got it."

  Following the directions of Asherah to sense the presence of the target, Lu Yinghua pressed his palms together.

  Arguments and the mission had to be handled separately. The attitudes of the two instantly became serious.

  "The target really did surface, Sis, those eyes of yours are really convenient."

  Lu Yinghua looked down from the edge of the roof.

  From the entrance of the hotel, the targeted young man was just walking out.

  Wearing a high class custom-tailored suit, he was a very handsome man. By activating the flow of qi[32] from the energy center[33] below the navel, Lu Yinghua could clearly recognize the target's face even from the twenty-first floor.

  Next, it was Asherah's eyes that tracked the young man's movements.

  Using magic to enhance her vision and hearing, she had the entire interior of the hotel under surveillance.

  This continued for several minutes.

  ...Until the target's high-class vehicle was confirmed to be leaving the hotel's car park.

  "Then I'll be going, you can slowly catch up later."

  Lu Yinghua spoke to his companion and then jumped. Leaping without any running start, he flew across the Roppongi night sky, his body tracing a trajectory towards the ground like a thrown object.

  His jumping was like a shooting star; his flight was like a magic bird.

  Flying down from the roof of the hotel, it was like hovering on the wings of a glider. Landing on top of a lower building, he flew once again, this time onto a street light on the side of the road.

  The next time landed him on top of an electrical pole.

  Flying yet again, this time was the wall on the fourth floor of a building. Kicking his legs he flew again.

  With superhuman qinggong and jumping ability, he moved from height to height. His gaze was focused on the target's car making its way through the streets -- Kuhoudzuka Mikihiko's luxury car.

  Against an automobile travelling at several tens of kilometers per hour, Lu Yinghua easily pursued with exceptional speed. Along the way, when the target entered the Shuto Expressway, he stopped on a neighboring car to conserve his strength.

  After a few dozens of minutes, the target entered a surface road in Setagaya. Travelling along the quiet road, there were no other people or cars in the surroundings. At this point, Lu Yinghua used a new tactic.

  He moved onto the roof of Kuhoudzuka Mikihiko's car.

  Descending from the sky like a feather, the young heir of the Kuhoudzuka family was completely unaware of anything unusual as he clutched the steering wheel. Lu Yinghua landed on the car with neither sound nor impact.

  And then he knelt down and gently tapped the car roof with his palm.

  With just that, all the car windows were shattered -- the windshield, the two sides and the back. This light touch of the palm was able to smash all the windows without leaving a single trace on the roof. A miracle brought about by Lu Yinghua's palm strike.

  The unexpected incident forced Kuhoudzuka Mikihiko to hit the brakes.

  Stopping the car, he left the vehicle to inspect the surroundings.

  "Young master, greetings for the first time. I already know your name, so let me give you mine."

  Lu Yinghua jumped over the target's head and landed on the asphalt.

  He didn't make a sound, nor was there any disturbance in the air.

  "Lu Yinghua. However, there is no need for you to remember, for you will very soon forget."

  "...I have heard of the powerful palm strikes associated with this name."

  The Kuhoudzuka gentleman muttered to himself as he reached his hand into the car to retrieve a wooden sword.

  Heh. Lu Yinghua smiled. He made an expression as if surprised by the other person's response. At this time, the Kuhoudzuka gentleman suddenly made a thrust with the wooden sword. Aiming for the throat, there was no intention of mercy.

  One shouldn't lose initiative due to pointless issues.

  Lu Yinghua continued to smile as he faced the unexpected resistance from the target.

  As he smiled, he used his hand to chop at the wooden sword approaching his throat, severing a quarter of the blade. Seeing his wooden sword transformed to a wooden club, the Kuhoudzuka gentleman was shocked.

  "How slow, too slow. Your reaction is much too slow, it's almost like an imbecile. There is no value in using my palm."

  Lu Yinghua approached casually, his footsteps as slow as a cow.

  Nevertheless, the distance to the Kuhoudzuka gentleman was easily closed.

  Smack! The Lu family's casual young master lightly flicked his opponent's forehead with the tip of his finger.

  An attack with the middle finger, in other words, a forehead flick. Just like that, the young heir of the Kuhoudzuka family fell down unconscious.

  As Lu Yinghua watched the unconscious target, a young girl descended from the sky.

  The vicious young beauty Asherah. Unlike Lu Yinghua's repeated leaping, she used a witch's technique of [Flight] and really flew here through the sky.

  "Looks like preparations are complete. Then this man's brain and heart belong to me now."

  The witch approached the collapsed Kuhoudzuka Mikihiko.

  "This kind of brainy spell is very difficult, right? Are you sure you won't have a problem?"

  "Hmph, as long as I use my magical power, this is a trivial task, do not underestimate me."

  Glared at by Asherah, Lu Yinghua simply shrugged.

  "Whatever, this is not my area of expertise, I'll leave it all to Sis. Finish it quickly, and get to the next stage."

  "Yes, the [Steel] that this fellow guards, happens to be your master's mortal enemy -- a [Heretic God]."

  Asherah's evil eyes examined the unconscious young man on the ground.
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br />   "Hero worshipped from a rare era, the key to the sealed [Stable], let us use this fellow to accomplish our goal. Lu Yinghua, hurry and send this good news to Her Eminence!"

  Part 5

  The next day after visiting the Sayanomiya residence.

  Lunch time on the roof of the high school section of Jounan Academy, familiar faces were gathered together.

  Godou, Erica, Yuri, Liliana, the four of them were all involved with strange and secretive associations or mysterious shrines so they frequently met outside of school. On the other hand, they were equally likely to take off separately after school and do their own thing, leaving after a simple greeting.

  However, they always gathered here for lunch every day. (On rainy days, it was the cafeteria.)

  Without any agreement, it was just business as usual every day.

  As a side note, Godou's little sister Shizuka who attended classes in the middle school section, also came here often, just not every single day. Though it was the same campus, the buildings were different, so she would only come when she found it too troublesome to buy bread at the snack shop.

  Today Shizuka was not present, which allowed them to converse beyond the usual topics.

  "Hmm--? That misogynistic guy came to Japan?"

  Hearing about that Lu some guy or another from Godou, Erica stared wide.

  "Misogynistic?"

  "Yes, appearing to be very popular with the ladies, but exceptionally stubborn and repressed. He holds a particular grudge against beautiful and capable females, so I am one of those he detests."

  Whenever Erica described herself as powerful and beautiful, she definitely had her good reasons.

  "Back then, when I often had the chance to chat with him, it seems like there was a very powerful and violent woman close to him. That was probably why he developed this weird kind of oppositional defiance, or perhaps there was some kind of early childhood trauma."

  "...In other words, he is a strange fellow."

  Erica nodded to agree with Godou's conclusion.

  "He is an extremely strange person, but a genius like a demon, whose martial arts prowess even exceeds Sir Salvatore. One day he will leave behind a reputation like Mozart or Da Vinci."

  "Even more amazing than that idiot... It can't be?"

  Godou couldn't help but make sure. He had once experienced firsthand with his body Salvatore Doni's exceptional skill with the sword, so it was very difficult to believe.

  "In terms of overall natural talent, no doubt about it. Didn't I say all along? Sir Salvatore's only godly skill is the sword. Before becoming a Campione, his bodily constitution could not even store magical power. What we call magical power, is known as 'qi' to Chinese users. Do you understand what that means?"

  Hearing Erica's question, Godou immediately thought of "martial arts = kung fu = qi = qigong[34]?"

  Furthermore, magical power was what fueled spells and authorities. Compared to an ordinary mage, a Campione's body contained several hundred times the magical power. Godou had heard this before.

  "Correct. Commonly known as qigong, Chinese martial artists call it neigong[35] A master in neigong will have their body surrounded by strong magical power. In addition to being applied towards magic or Daoist arts, it can also be used in mystic techniques of martial arts."

  Just like a warrior in a RPG can consume MP to use a finishing move? Godou recalled the games that Shizuka played and tried to imagine.

  "So without reaching a level of neigong equivalent to the mastery of unarmed and sword skills, one cannot learn the most advanced mystic techniques in martial arts. The sword skills of our knights follow the same concept, swordsmanship and magical power have to be trained at the same time. For his talent to lie exclusively on one side, Sir Salvatore can only be described as a heretical genius."

  The heretical genius, user of the evil sword that deviated from the norm.

  Godou could agree to that, for it was a very apt description that suited that man very well.

  "As much as possible, avoid entering a confrontation against that guy. In terms of penetrative power and mobility, I may be outmatched... However, I am confident that a violent conflict will not develop between us."

  Erica spoke with a slightly displeased expression. It was only natural. The [Diavolo Rosso] was about using wits and excelled at strategizing. As long as she had the intention, she would brutally target the enemy's weaknesses, reacting like an intellectual criminal to obtain final victory. However, her true nature was a knight who liked to make a direct frontal charge.

  Winning a direct battle was the true reward of the battlefield. It was very dangerous to enter a direct conflict with those who adhered to this aesthetic, which meant that for the sake of victory, she could discard her pride.

  "Anyway, let's hurry and start having lunch -- Ah, Yuri seems to have brought quite a few things today?"

  Setting the unpleasant subject aside, Erica looked at today's lunch.

  "Ah, yes. If possible, everyone please share."

  Yuri took out a lunchbox containing catfish rice.

  The other lunchbox was packed with fried egg, kinpira[36] burdock, Chikuzen style chicken stew, teriyaki mackerel, pickled Chinese cabbage, etc, while the thermos contained miso soup with seaweed and tofu.

  Erica took out an assorted platter of Chinese dimsum[37], with shrimp dumplings, crab roe shaomai, and sticky rice dumplings with fillings of pork and chestnuts. One glance was enough to tell it was prepared by the maid and assistant Arianna. Though it was a shame it had already cooled off, it was still very delicious.

  And Godou decided to thank the heavens, for there was nothing pot stewed.

  "Mariya Yuri, what is with you? Just like Erica said, your lunches recently have been especially generous?"

  Receiving the paper cup filled with miso soup from Yuri, Liliana asked with an incredulous tone of voice.

  "Hikari's matters have troubled everyone lately, so I thought I should return the favor slightly..."

  The beautiful Hime-Miko replied shyly. Due to the increased number of participants, everyone had been bringing less lately. Even if she hadn't prepared extra due to Hikari, the number of dishes she brought were still quite numerous.

  "Pay it no mind. Caring about a girl close to him is a [King]'s duty, this sort of thing is completely trivial... I also do not think there was any additional trouble."

  "Yes, I understand."

  Liliana spoke as she picked up a thick piece of fried egg, while Yuri remained embarrassed.

  The silver-haired blue knight was very calm, awe-inspiring and composed. This sort of declaration was full of her unique style, an act only possible for someone who had committed to some sort of great decision.

  Ever since the wager yesterday, this kind of atmosphere persisted.

  As if waiting for the next step, silently gathering power --

  Godou turned his head to the side and looked at Erica. The blonde red knight was watching her old friend and rival with incredulous eyes, as if hesitating before an animal, wondering if it was a rare beast or a ferocious beast... something like that.

  At this time, something vibrated amongst Yuri's belongings.

  Beside the bag carrying the lunchboxes, the cellphone was ringing.

  "Sorry, please do not mind me, everyone go ahead and eat first."

  Reading the call display, Yuri got up politely. Leaving the spot they were gathered at, she took the call at a corner of the roof.

  "Kusanagi Godou, I have also prepared dessert for today. Thanks to the praise for the previous cake, I attempted some other varieties, please try this with fig jam."

  Liliana suddenly opened a lunchbox, a cheesecake neatly arranged within it. On the side was a small jar containing an orange-colored jam. Since it was her, this was likely homemade as well.

  "How rare, Lily, you used to stick with just the main course for lunch."

  Erica often enjoyed speaking with subtle tones and meanings, but this time she was rather direct,
and even bore a suspicious expression.

  Liliana did have such a preference in her cooking just as Erica described, most likely because she wished to claim the lead position on the lunch table, and subconsciously decided to do the main course.

  "Just preparing main courses to make everyone full is too ordinary, it is good to do something like this from time to time... Always in the spotlight, someone like you may never understand this feeling."

  The silver-haired knight spoke calmly, though her words ended on a competitive note.

  ...In actual fact, though not to the same extremes as Erica, Liliana also attracted a great deal of attention. If this wasn't the case, the red and blue pair would not have been able to become rivals. Though that was the truth, for Liliana to foster such a notion, it was most likely what happened yesterday that prompted her change?

  "What happened today, Lily? You seem slightly unusual?"

  Finally, Erica asked directly.

  "Not unusual at all... Only that I have decided with determination, as the premier knight serving by Kusanagi Godou's side, public recognition by him and others around him is imminent, so I must act and think in a manner worthy of this position and responsibility."

  Liliana's answer was very solemn, and her tone was firm and powerful.

  "Therefore Erica, towards your actions of seduction, I will consider turning a blind eye to them. The one in charge cannot be jealous of a mere lover. Of course, this is conditional on whether your actions have any ill effects on Kusanagi Godou's schedule."

  This declaration delivered with such a superior attitude, made Erica cast a sinister glance at her.

  "Ah? In other words, very soon you will become Godou's most trusted partner?"

  "In about a month -- right, Kusanagi Godou?"

  Liliana furtively looked at Godou, she had absolute confidence in victory.

  Yes, but not really. No matter what, with those conditions, Godou was certain he will not lose.

  "Looks like there's some kind of secret agreement? But for someone to be the premier knight and lover, simply might and magic are not enough. What is important is the capability to advise a king, to have wit and strategy, diplomacy, the art of conversation and negotiation... Can you do all that, Lily?"

  A very elegant smile appeared on Erica's face as she questioned, presumably the beautiful side effect of her rise in fighting spirit. Subtle behavior as befitted the [Diavolo Rosso].