"My name is Alice, and sometimes people call me princess, but that's too embarrassing to say it out myself."
"The Witenagemot's—!"
"S-Super important person! Too amazing!"
The self-introduction that was missing a last name, and even a nickname of princess.
Feeling like she seemed to hail from some royal or noble family, Godou smiled wryly. Beside him, Yuri and Hikari's great surprise suggested she was a very famous person. From her behavior, expressions and gaze, it was clear that she was full of the elegance of someone who belonged to the upper class.
Though there were a few things he wanted to criticize, Godou decided to ignore them after all.
In the past few months, Godou's strange friends had been increasing in number. A slightly strange person was no longer enough to unsettle Godou.
"Alice-san, did Erica ask you to come receive us?"
"Yes, I am both a miko and a user of witchcraft—"
Princess Alice thumped her own chest.
"Performing the magical ritual of plane walking, going from earth to the Astral Plane, and then searching for Kusanagi-sama using spirit vision after arriving. You were very difficult to find."
But then she was suddenly able to find Kusanagi Godou's location through spirit vision, Godou recalled the magatama kept in his pocket.
"Actually I was following the trail of a certain witch, and pursued all the way from France to Asia. The snake deity Leviathan that Cult Leader Luo Hao is using as a sacrifice, only survived till now as a result of that witch, which is why I changed my targets to the snake deity and the cult leader, and came to Japan. Then just now I happened to encounter Erica who was troubled by Kusanagi-sama's absence, and decided to assist her."
"The troublemaker was actually involved in underground activities on a worldwide scale..."
Hearing the simple explanation, Godou felt powerless. Though the trouble came from overseas, it also brought an ally like the princess here. If he thought that way, the situation didn't seem as dire.
—It was at this moment that Yuri drew near.
"Godou-san, I have an ominous feeling. Pursuers will be here shortly!"
Yuri warned with a voice full of tension. Pursuers?
Godou, Yuri, Hikari and Princess Alice were standing by the lake as tiny monkeys with golden fur almost the color of tea-brown suddenly appeared and surrounded them. Could this manner of movement be transfer!?
The little monkeys numbered almost twenty, and every one of them resembled the monkey divine monarch.
"The city of the [Keeper of the Horses] was a barrier designed to seal the divine monarch. But it cannot shut in his summoned divine messengers... Godou-san, what should be done?"
Come to think of it, that monkey god seemed quite intent on acquiring Hikari.
Surrounding them, the little monkeys slowly shrunk their distance, keenly watching every move of Godou's group.
Ask Yuri to use transfer to escape? From the manner they appeared, it was likely they would use the same method to follow, so the root of the problem would not be solved. Also, last time Ena went out of control during divine possession in the Netherworld, who knew if the same might happen to Yuri—
"Surviving this battle... Seems a bit difficult."
The Campione's senses told him the approximate strength of these enemies before him.
These monkeys were very strong. If Erica and Liliana's battle strength was rated ten, then these guys would be around four or five.
In other words, compared to a Campione's abilities, they were very weak enemies, but that would require Godou to use one of Verethragna's ten incarnations—
No good, none of the conditions for using any of the incarnations were met.
"Kusanagi-san, this is quite a bind. Could you drive away these monkeys using your authority?"
"I would have done it if I could. There are many restrictions to my powers which cannot be used freely. Against mediocre opponents like these, to be frank I am out of options."
Godou sighed as he replied to Alice's question, and began to think.
Though the monkeys count as wild beasts, they were much stronger than humans, and divine servants as well.
Though chances of victory were very low, he might as well struggle and put up a fight, or should he let Yuri use transfer and try to escape as much as possible? Unexpectedly, it was Princess Alice's words that ended his dilemma.
"Oh I see, then let me handle this. This will likely cause other troubles later, but there is no other choice."
Her beautiful blonde hair was full of brilliance.
In the instant the little monkeys jumped over with their grotesque nimble movements, just as Godou watched with his eyes wide open, Yuri protected her sister, and Hikari held on to her older sister, Princess Alice recited loudly:
"Can I see another's woe / And not be in sorrow too! Can I see another's grief / And not seek for kind relief!"[89]
This was a poem of spell words.
Silver white light poured forth, engulfing the monkey army and Godou's group.
"Ah!" "Onee-chan!"
Yuri and Hikari gave a brief yell, but did not seem to be in pain. On the other hand, the monkeys were in a pitiful state. Screaming loudly, they covered their eyes, protected their ears and began to roll around on the ground.
"...What did you do?"
"Using psychic sensing, I injected the impressions of pain and destruction directly into the monkeys' brains, forcing them to feel mental pain, subduing them all."
Hearing Alice's nonchalant explanation, Godou began to wonder if this lady wasn't so gentle and quiet after all. Beside him, the two miko were watching the monkeys' plight in shock.
"Though their hearts might be a little shaken, there is no major problem. Of course as a Campione, Kusanagi-sama will not be affected at all. However..."
A Campione had absolute resistance against magic. At this time, Alice bore a depressed expression.
Godou had an ominous feeling.
"In order to disable them, I exhausted a large amount of magical power in this spirit body. Now it is impossible to carry out the ritual to return to earth, though I still have enough magic to maintain contact with those on the surface... But they are currently dealing with Leviathan and I fear they can't spare any effort to bring you back."
The crowd of divine messengers released by the warlord of [Steel], what unexpectedly strong foes—
Hearing Alice's words, Godou felt the future was bleak. In order to defeat the pursuers they lost the way to return. Of course keeping everyone safe was the top priority, so the one who called herself princess made the correct decision.
But it was also true that they were now trapped in another dead end.
Was there a way to get out of this quandary? Godou struggled to think of a solution.
Part 4
The snake deity Leviathan transformed from the witch Asherah, was hovering in the air above Nikkou mountain. As it circled and coiled in the air, blood fell from wounds all over its body to produce mist and rain. All the tourists at Toushouguu, Futarasan Shrine and Rinnouji were in a state of panic.
This was dusk on the first day of the October long weekend.
As the sun set, the number of tourists in the vicinity of Nikkou mountain had been decreasing.
Still there were close to a hundred of them at the scene. As the unnatural scene appeared in the sunset sky, the tourists were deprived of their sanity.
There were those who fled away quickly, those who clumsily ran as they rolled, and people who were separated from their companions.
Some were pushed over by others, and had their backs stepped on. There were people who ignored others while others cried.
People who had no idea whom to call, and people leisurely taking digital photos of the snake deity.
Shouting, sobbing, lamenting.
Shock, intrigue, excitement, anxiety.
Unsettled people, frantic people, lost people.
It was a state of panic, but very soon all of them stopped moving, just like children tired out from play or exhausted runaways, they stopped their steps, kneeling down, collapsing, lying down, immobile.
"Is that violent woman absorbing the essence of life force?"
Having climbed to the top of Toushouguu's Okusha inner shrine, Lu Yinghua whispered to himself.
This was the burial grounds of Tokugawa Ieyasu, at the highest level of Toushouguu. Speaking of Nikkou mountain, it was a mountain after all. From the foot of the mountain began the main visiting path up the stone stairs, then through the worship hall and main hall, one then had to walk two hundred and seven stone steps up to reach the Okusha inner shrine.
In the air was the violent woman—the slowly hovering snake deity once called Asherah.
The snake deity's blood created a circulating network of life which absorbed life force from the surrounding people into itself. This should not kill, but staying in that state for the long term could get dangerous.
"This woman is almost dead, and yet she's still making so much trouble for others. Whatever, it's nice to have some peace and quiet after all."
There were no signs of people in his immediate surroundings.
Compared to the gates of Youmeimon, main hall and divine stable down below, tourists willing to climb all the way up to the Okusha inner shrine were few in number. With the appearance of the serpent god, what few people immediately fled.
To Lu Yinghua this was quite fortunate.
Because the one who was about to arrive hated noise, it would be best to minimize annoying factors for her. At this moment, he noticed the woman flying over here.
It's his master! Immediately, he switched to a stance of "caution."
As the beautiful master looked at him, he immediately held his right fist against his open left hand.
This was the traditional martial arts greeting of the fist. A necessary measure in order to preempt his master from admonishing him with the loud complaint "shouldn't you respect and greet your master properly!?" Just in case, he should also recite the slogan of followers of the Holy Cult of the Five Mountains.
"May the immortal name of the wise and brave Cult Leader be sung, lasting as long as the heavens and the earth. Your infinite might, wisdom and mercy brings light to this world. Your disciple Lu Yinghua, wishes the master eternal longevity."
Holy Cult Leader Luo Hao, was the maiden whom very few people knew as Luo Cuilian.
She was an unaware tyrant, and people serving her needed to take care in all sorts of minute details.
As her direct disciple who was allowed access to her residence, the master's mood was an all important factor in Lu Yinghua's life of danger.
"—My young eagle, sycophancy on the battlefield is the act of corrupt officials and eunuchs!"
However, the beautiful master was frowning with displeasure, calling out her disciple's pet name.
"As a martial artist with heroic and manly aspirations, do not bring such shame to your elders!"
This time was a failure. With one shout, Lu Yinghua was blown away.
His back striking the tower behind him, he felt a little dizzy. This was a shockwave produced by the [Dragon's Roar and Tiger's Howl], which was not only capable of widespread destruction, but was also an authority that could be used like a fist when the power was suppressed.
Damn it, flattery went overboard and backfired instead. Lu Yinghua stood up again.
Usually he would be reproached for not greeting solemnly enough.
'Though the master-disciple relationship is akin to mother and child, I am the one who stands at the pinnacle of the Holy Cult while you are just a young follower. You have to be clear where you stand. Pay more attention!'
Despite her saying that, Luo Cuilian was one who viewed flattery with disdain, in other words, the crux of the matter depended on the Holy Cult Leader's mood that day. A most difficult and unreasonable condition.
"When King Kusanagi challenged me, I was a little impressed by your foresight... But you're still not pushing yourself enough for perfection!"
"Master's words of wisdom will forever be engraved in your disciple's heart. Allow me to express my utmost gratitude."
Anyway, let me bow my head and accept master's words first.
They had met a few hours ago, but if he reported everything he had done during this time, Lu Yinghua estimated he would receive a total of three educational instructions. There was no need to step on the tiger's tail on purpose.
—Preparing for master's arrival was Lu Yinghua's assigned mission.
Traveling to Japan from Hong Kong just for that, he had to rush back and forth between Tokyo and Nikkou a number of times. Rushing into the Kuhoudzuka home at Saitenguu, enlisting the leader's son using the witch's powers, making him speak about the seal of the [Keeper of the Horses], doing what was required for the Hime-Miko to come to Nikkou, and preparing for the seal's release.
The one who spent the most effort on today's incident was actually Lu Yinghua.
"Master, some interlopers are moving this way. What are your wishes?"
"I leave them to you, get it done for me."
Noticing people approaching, Lu Yinghua obtained the expected answer.
Gods and Campiones were the only opponents worthy enough to make the beautiful master serious.
Lu Yinghua shrugged and looked down. Toushouguu's main and worshipping halls, as well as Sakashitamon Gate's sleeping cat were about two hundred meters away. From the Okusha inner shrine occluded by cedar trees, one shouldn't be able to see anything.
However, his superhuman hearing caught the sound of approaching footsteps.
He heard the sound of two people using qinggong[90] to race across the ground with great agility, most likely Erica Blandelli and Liliana Kranjcar.
"...Well since master agreed, let's investigate a bit."
Lu Yinghua aimed at the stone statue of a crane before him, and struck it with his palm.
The ancient stone crane was instantly smashed, forming numerous fragments of stone. Placing these remains in his pocket, he spied the two leaping around like winged cats with only cedar branches as supporting footholds.
The girls arriving at Toushouguu using qinggong were the two great knights from Italy.
The two went past the five-story pagoda, through Omotemon Gate, and reached the area between the divine stable and the Sacred Warehouse of the Three.
At this time, Lu Yinghua began to fire.
Using only the right index finger, he shot stone pieces from his left palm. The striking of the finger—in other words, the act of finger flicking—sent the stones flying one by one with such extreme speed that they were like bullets.
The targets were of course the two people advancing!
This was the art of Tanzhishentong[91], one of the martial techniques taught by his master.
Against the incoming onslaught of stone pellets (roughly ten shots could be fired in a single breath), the girls immediately evaded. Struck in their stead, a hole was pierced on Youmeimon Gate.
Missed? Then let's shoot until it hits.
Lu Yinghua smiled with anticipation, and once again shot stone pellets with the tip of his finger.
The two girls nimbly dodged left and right to avoid the hail of bullets, even so, the troublesome bullets continued to descend. In that instant, the situation changed.
As the fired stone pellets approached the bodies of the female knights, they were deflected.
Seeing them blocked as if by an invisible wall, Yinghua muttered:
"A spell impervious to arrows, hmm, looks like projectiles are no good anymore."
Operating on similar principles to weapon deflecting spells used by the Righteous Harmony Society during the late Qing dynasty.[92]
A Daoist art(called magic in Europe) for deflecting arrows and the bullets of firearms, it easily repelled shots fired by normal people and could only be overcome by weapons infused with great spiritual powers or arrows fir
ed by masters.
Though Lu Yinghua was a martial arts prodigy, he was not a sharpshooter.
Then let's decide things with close-quarter combat—this time, he leapt to the roof of the Toushouguu worship hall.
The qinggong techniques taught by his master far surpassed the European great knights he was about to fight.
Making contact in the Netherworld happened a short while ago.
Princess Alice's mental waves were able to transcend the gap between the earth and the other world. This godly feat was only possible for the Miko-Hime whose spirit powers of psychic sensing had developed to such a degree.
However, Erica and Liliana could not help sighing when they heard the news that there was no way for them to return.
"What should we do? Suspend this plan and go retrieve Kusanagi Godou?"
Liliana made the suggestion since she was the only one left who could go over there.
But if the blue knight left, then facing Leviathan and Cult Leader Luo Hao alone would be too risky for Erica.
Erica thought for a while, then proposed her amendments to the plan. The princess in the Astral Plane should also be able to receive the plan through psychic sensing. Having decided, Erica transmitted her thoughts through mental waves.
—Yes, let's go along with this plan, we will prepare from over here. I wish you all luck.
"So that's it, Lily, let's start."
"What a reckless plan, but that is all we can do. No matter what, if we do not take drastic measures, a Campione's will could not possibly be hindered."
Memorizing the new plan, Erica and Liliana rushed towards Toushouguu.
As a side note, Amakasu had left the scene taking the unconscious Kuhoudzuka gentleman along with him. Even though he was highly skilled in secret operations, onmyoudou[93] and white magic, a ninja's combat ability was not especially high, and there was no need to accompany them.
"The vanguard is coming, Lily."
"Hmph, arriving from the air, what an ostentatious youth."
Evading the attacks from above, they charged forth.
Finally descending from the sky, Lu Yinghua gazed at the two great knights.
"I have been waiting, Nee-san. If you wish to see my master, she is currently busy. If you have to intrude no matter what, then let me be your opponent."
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